Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back everyone to the Designer Practice Podcast. I’m your host, Kayla Das. Today we are going to be talking about my second favourite topic, after passive income streams, and that’s websites. It’s one thing that some practice owners put off. But, in my opinion, it is the golden jewel of marketing because it’s the one place we have control over. Whether you use therapist directory profiles, social media platforms, or even search engines, we don’t actually have control over each of these platforms because they have their own purpose rules and algorithms. But on your website, you have absolutely full reign. But it’s not just having any website, but having a quality website that generates client referrals for you.

So today I have Lisa Doiron, Brand and Website Designer and owner of Lisa Marie Creative with us to share why it’s important to have a quality website for your private practice.

Hi Lisa, welcome to the show. I’m so glad to have you here today.

Lisa: Thank you, Kayla. I’m really happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Kayla: Yeah, and you know I love websites. I love talking about them. I love everything about them. So, I’m so excited for today’s episode. Although I know there are some listeners who might not share the same excitement that I do over websites. But I know that they’re going to find so much valuable information to help them with their websites by listening to this episode.

Also, I might be letting the cat out of the bag, but I know you have a special freebie that we’ll discuss at the end of the episode that can help our listeners create a website that helps them stand out and attract clients into their private practice.

Lisa: Yeah. I have my free Website Health Assessment that I’m happy to share with you. I created it for business owners to make sure their websites are supporting them and their business goals.

Kayla: Amazing. We’re going to give you all the links and all the details about that freebie at the end of the episode.

Introduction

But before I get too carried away talking about websites, because I can definitely go on a tangent with that. So please introduce yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about what you do and who you work with.

Lisa: Of course, I’m a website and brand designer from Alberta in Canada, and I provide high quality personalized website design services for mission-driven business owners. Empowering them to positively impact the lives of others and gain more freedom to do what they feel called to do. I believe that a well-designed website can be a powerful tool to connect with their audience, grow their business, and make a meaningful difference in the world.

Kayla: Lisa, it’s so funny because you had actually created my business logo for me. And I absolutely love it, by the way. I will never get rid of my business logo. Before we go into all about websites, tell us a little bit about the process that you go through in regard to helping your clients with logo and website design.

Lisa: So, I have a process that I follow for my clients and basically, I lead them through some guides. Depending on what level of package that they choose, we’ll work together on it or I’ll send them guides that they fill out and they give back to me. And that just allows me to get a sense of their personality, their goals, their vision, their ideal client, their client journey, their design, aesthetic, all that stuff that helps me visualize what they’re looking for.

I also ask clients like give me examples of websites or brands that you love. So, it gives me an idea of what they like, what they lean towards as far as design and aesthetics. So that really helps me get into the mind of my clients and come up with a beautiful design for them that really suits their personality and their industry.

Why It’s Important to Have a Quality Website

Kayla: So, let’s get down to business. First of all, when we think of websites specifically quality websites, why is it even important?

Lisa: A lot of business owners just feel like they need to have a website to be found online, which is only one purpose. It’s an important one if users can’t find your business online, they’re far less likely to become a client. But once your website is live, anyone looking for a therapist can find you at any time.

But a website has potential for so much more. It can be used as a revenue generating tool for your business in so many ways. I’ll highlight a couple of the ways for you.

The first one is marketing. A large part of running a successful business is having a solid marketing strategy and a website provides more efficient, cost-effective strategies to help you attract clients, grow your business and increase your clientele by getting visitors to your email list, getting found by potential clients that are searching for your industry online and allowing you to share your business info and all your assets, your content with your audience via social media, networking events, podcast, blogs, that kind of thing.

The second way it can be used as a revenue generating tool is creating credibility or relatability with your potential clients. It positions you as a professional, established business, provides visitors with the information they need about you and your practice. So, your hours and location, who you work with, the type of therapies you practice, your fees, frequently asked questions, stuff like that. Your potential patients prefer to do business with people that they feel like they know, like, and trust. So, by having your website on there, by having messaging and content that makes you relatable establishing you as an expert in your niche. And having a welcome video, introduction video, headshots, stuff like that, people begin to know you, trust you, and know that you’re good at what you do. Creating content for your site such as a blog or resources to support your patients, sets you up as a knowledgeable professional or an expert in your niche.

And another is having a central hub for all your content. So, you’re able to take independent control over the assets in your business. You own your content rather than it being at the mercy of social media platforms and their algorithms. And it allows you to control your client journey, so how they experience your business, your story, leading them through your messaging and your services to your call to action.

The fourth one is it saves you time so you can work with more patients. Your website speaks for you rather than having to respond to calls, emails, or messages. So, any initial questions a client may have before their first session is covered, which saves you and your potential client’s time by being able to find all your information in one place.

Maybe having an access link to a client portal for payments, information forms, et cetera. Your website is working for you 24/7, regardless of your office hours. Consider your website, your networking assistant that will help you build your network and establish credibility for your business. Also having integrations set up to streamline your process makes you look more professional. Like integrating your booking app allows patients to see your availability and book right on your site, or setting up automated emails and reminders about their appointments.

Another way is it allows you to scale when you’re ready. You can create online or in-person programs to scale your business and move from one-on-one to one-on-many model for like groups, workshops, retreats, stuff like that. So, you can serve your clients or patients at a higher level.

And creating your personal website now will establish your domain as a trusted site and help to increase your SEO ranking when it really matters. So, if you do the work now, it will pay off in the long run. And through your early marketing efforts, you’ll already have a committed following and online presence and a personal branding set in place.

Your Website as the Central Hub

Kayla: Perfect. And something that you touched on, which is what I do in my own practice and talk about it here on the podcast a lot, is that central hub, I actually call it funneling. I funnel all of my content to my website. So, I love giving free content, whether it’s through this podcast, whether it’s through blogging, whether it’s through free lead magnets, whatever it is.

But I love giving free stuff, and with that I funnel it all to my website. And for that exact reason, you just highlighted, you own your website. You don’t own social media platforms. You don’t own therapist directory profiles, right? They are all designed with different purposes. Whereas your website is designed both from the visual standpoint as well as the content that’s on it the way you want it designed.

Lisa: Most definitely. And social platforms change constantly and the rules change constantly. And I know businesses that their Facebook page, their business page has been shut down unknowingly for some reasoning, and they’ve had to restart their entire business Facebook page and all that content is lost.

Kayla: It seems like social media platforms have been really strict with what they even allow on pages or posts these days. So, depending on what type of therapist you are or the clientele that you serve. Depending on what the words you use or how it’s perceived, by not your ideal client, but by the platform overall, can be out of your control. Whereas your website, as long as someone is searching on Google and they’re searching for something specific and you have the content, the blogs, or, the building, the SEO piece, you also just spoke about. As long as that is all there, you’re going to show up.

Lisa: Well, and that’s the thing, when people are looking for businesses these days, they don’t look on Facebook, or at least I don’t. And I don’t know many people that do. They look on Google. And your Facebook profile may or may not show up there. But a whole other issue is that the algorithms in these platforms, and you don’t know if people are actually going to be able to see your content or not? It depends on how many people are responsive to whatever you’re posting. So, there’s a lot of factors that go into the social media thing. Although, it can be a great tool, it shouldn’t be the only tool, and a website is something that you most definitely have control over.

Most Common Website Mistakes

Kayla: Yeah, I completely agree. And that’s why I love talking about websites. That’s why it’s my second favourite topic. So as a website designer, what are some of the top website mistakes that you see? And how have those impacted, say, client contact rates for your clients?

Lisa: That’s a good question. Well, of course, not having a clear and easy way for their audience to contact them is huge. Not having clear calls to action.

Failure to define a clear business purpose and to define what you do for your visitors.

Using jargon or industry terms that customers don’t understand. That’s a huge one.

Making your website all about you, your accolades, your accomplishments, your credentials instead about the client and how they will benefit from working with you. Clients want to know what’s in it for them? How will it help them? So that’s a huge one.

Talking about what you offer instead of how you can help them.

Having broken links or missing items.

Having a busy, confusing, or hard to follow navigation or layout is huge as well, because clients get overwhelmed really easily and if they can’t easily find what they’re looking for, they’re onto another site.

Kayla: Yeah. You’re saying everything that I share with therapists and coaches when I’m teaching them how to create therapist directory profiles as well. It’s not using what we call psychobabble. As therapists we’re so use of that clinical or legalese type language that we were taught in our degrees. But our clients are not familiar with that, whether it’s our therapeutic approaches, whether it’s even words that might not seem so clinical or therapeutic, but just words that we’ve learned. Like for instance, one that I always talk about is anti-oppressive practice, and that is very, very big in the social work world.

And we even have a class and a course in it, and it is so important to be anti-oppressive as a therapist. But that word and when we talk about it, whether it’s our websites or whether it’s our therapist directories, our clients might not know what that word means. They might understand the meaning of it, and that’s when we can almost simplify or even reframe it in a very different way. We want to ensure that we’re using words that our ideal clients use and not words as we as therapists use, because our website or our therapist directories or whatever marketing we’re using is not our resume.

Lisa: Yeah, exactly. You need to speak to them in their voice. So that’s why having an ideal client is important because reaching out to someone who could be your ideal client and having a session with them, I’ve found really helpful. And it’s something that I suggest to my clients because you’re getting their words in their voice, which is so helpful when creating your client copy. You want to be speaking directly to that person.

Difference Between a Website and a Quality Website

Kayla: A hundred percent agree. One of the things that, I’ve noticed as a business coach is that therapists will have a website and just put one up. It might be a one-page, three block website. Something that they might have created a basic theme, all of these types of things. So, what is the difference between say, having a website and having a quality website?

Lisa: Anyone, like you said, can use the tools available today to create a basic website: home, about, services, maybe a blog and throw that up on the internet.

But what I consider to be a quality website are websites that have strategic messaging to attract, engage, and connect with their ideal audience. The type of content is well written and informative to their ideal audience.

This one is kind of counterintuitive, but it repels those that are not a good fit for your services. So, you’re not draining your energy on clients that aren’t a good fit or aren’t going to benefit from what you’re offering.

Highlights them in the best possible light and is focused on how their services will support their ideal client.

Layout follows a customer journey, like I mentioned before, that leads a new visitor to clear calls to action throughout the website. So, the route in working with or connecting with them can be seen easily.

Includes a valuable free offer as a way to collect email addresses.

Has integrations that will streamline systems.

Website layout and design is aesthetically pleasing and engages visitors and holds their attention.

There’s many ways, like easy navigation. Overall effect is simple and uncluttered. And allowing visitors to focus on what’s important and get the key messages across. There’s so many different ways that turn something from a regular website into a quality website.

Speak to Your Ideal Prospective Client

Kayla: You know that piece where you spoke about repelling not your ideal client. And that’s one thing that therapists and coaches, I work with fear. It’s if I’m not a generalist, I’m going to turn people away and I’m going to lose clients. There’s so many reasons though on why you should use the language that is tailored towards one specific client. Really when we think about that one client, going back to when you said you want to speak directly to somebody, if I’m experiencing one issue, that’s going to be very different than someone experiencing another issue. And when we are generalist or when we are just speaking to everybody, we’re not really making that connection that we want to with our clients.

Even though we think, oh, we’re excluding people, I always say we’re actually including people because now people know that you are there to help them with their specific issue, concern, problem, desire, depending on whatever it is that you are providing.

Lisa: You want your audience to feel like you’re speaking directly to them. So having that person that you’re speaking directly to really helps that process. When you have that person in mind, your ideal client, they’re able to look at your website and feel like you’re speaking directly to them and be like, how did she get inside my head? She’s exactly the person I’m looking for that is going to be able to help me with whatever issue that is.

How a Quality Website Generates Revenue

Kayla: So, I want to go back to something you mentioned when we were talking about why a website is important, you mentioned that a website is basically a revenue generation tool. It’s a way to be able to make money into your private practice.

And I often get the question of “Kayla, do I need a website? I know so and so who doesn’t have a website and they are doing fine.” My second question’s always like, how long have they been at practice? And usually it’s 20 plus years, so they have a lot of connections and resources built. Essentially, how does a website help people generate revenue?

Lisa: Well, when you invest in a website that captures your personality, conveys your unique messages to your clients or patients, and connects with those people, your mindset will shift and your practice will inevitably starts to shift as well, which could give you the confidence to increase your fees is one way.

Getting found by clients that are searching for you online, of course, will generate more leads. And I’ve touched on some of this already, but there’s the marketing potential. It allows you to get potential patients onto an email list by sharing a valuable, free offer so you’re able to send them more offers later, or keep a connection going with them through a newsletter or sending your new services or programs. So, you’re top of mind. And when they’re looking for a service such as yours or when they’re ready, because some people get on email list for the free offer, but they’re not right at that point when they’re ready.

So, if you get them on the list, you’re more than likely to be there when they’re ready, if you’re continuing to send them information and just keeping their top of mind. Right? And it also helps with that know, like, trust factor that I was talking about earlier. So, they’re more likely to eventually become one of your patients.

Using your website links as a call to action on your social posts to drive traffic to your site and further promote your services or programs. Support others with your knowledge and be seen as an expert in your niche is a great tool and it’s, and also it can be used in networking groups for podcasts, like all that stuff. So, it’s not just on social media, but having that place to drive people back to your website. So that they’re able to see what you do. Saves you on times so you can work with more patients by having the integrations that will streamline your systems right on your website.

Kayla: You know, one thing that I don’t think you touched on this time, but you did touch on it earlier in the episode, is blogging. I personally monetize my blog, and you can make money by blogging on your website as well. You can put ads on a website, you can have affiliate services, you can even sell your own services or products or whatever it is that you’re selling. And this is another way of tapping into that revenue piece as well.

Lisa: Yes, I missed saying that, but that is definitely a great strategy for generating income.

How to Start Your Website When Experiencing Tech Overwhelm

Kayla: Yeah. So, tech overwhelm is probably the number one reason why most therapists, or probably most anyone for that matter, avoids creating a website. What advice would you have to give to a therapist or coach who might be putting off starting their website due to tech overwhelm?

Lisa: Well, There’s a number of ways. If they’re not a techy person and they have the means, obviously hiring a website designer who’s a good fit is the best option. So, they’re able to get better results from what they’re trying to accomplish, and they can spend their time focusing on where they shine, what they’re good at.

But sometimes when you’re starting out in a business, you might not be in the position for a higher-level website. So, there’s a few other options. Many designers have starter packages that would give them what they need to get started, plus options for support afterwards. So, the tech doesn’t have to be an issue for them.

Or if that is even too much. There are many designers that sell templates that provide step-by-step guides for setup, so you just need to find one that suits your personality and your industry. And that’s a good place to start until you can grow your business and are ready for a redesign.

If you are a little on the techier side, a lot of website builders now have design layouts built right into them with support documentation to help you. But that’s a little bit more of a challenge, so you have to be up for that. But that’s how to get started, which is the most important thing is just getting your website up there.

And a website is not a one-and-done as a lot of people think it is. They’re constantly changing. Just like your business, your website has to be updated and redesigned sometimes all the way through the lifespan of your business. So, just getting started is the most important thing. And it can always be edited or redesigned or changed later to suit what you’re doing. But having something that allows you to reach your potential clients and get going and then eventually begin to grow and scale.

Kayla: I agree. And the one thing that I’ve heard before is that search engines, and this is more with blogs, I don’t know if this is with all of the website. But with blogs, search engines do like to show the most relevant and by updating your blog posts, even every now and then can help keep it relevant because search engines are saying, “Yes, this relevant information.” Because as we know things change year-to-year, day-to-day. So, keeping it updated for the human aspect, but also the little robot that’s behind the scenes as well.

Lisa: Totally. And even if you don’t have a blog, it’s important to continually update your website for those reasons. We’ve all been on websites that looked like they were designed in like 1991 and no one’s touched it since. So, not only is it more aesthetically pleasing to your audience, but like you said, the bots pay attention to that. And you want to keep that information up-to-date for your potential clients so that they always know where you’re at with your business and if you are a good fit for them.

Free Website Health Assessment

Kayla: Amazing. So, we’re going to take this a little step further, and you do have a freebie that can help our listeners with their websites. Am I right in saying that?

Lisa: Yeah, my free website health assessment.

Kayla: Can you tell us a little bit about your freebie, the Website Health Assessment, and how it can help therapists and coaches with their website?

Lisa: Yeah, of course. It’s a comprehensive guide that will help your listeners to ensure their website is a dynamic tool that is supporting them and their business by providing a good customer experience, engaging the visitors with an aesthetically pleasing design, clear messaging and relevant content, making you stand out from the competition, empowering you to generate more leads, all the things that we’ve discussed that guide touches on. So, they’re able to go in and make sure their website is actually doing its job.

Kayla: Amazing. So, if you want to sign up for Lisa’s free Website Health Assessment, check out kayladas.com/lisamariefreebie.

That’s kayladas.com/lisamariefreebie.

Or you can simply scroll down to the show notes and click on the link.

Lisa: If you haven’t designed a website yet, the freebie is also a good support for you going through that process because that checklist would be something that’s great to follow in the design of your site to make sure that you’re setting yourself up for success.

Kayla: I think I need to download this right after this episode and get my website checked.

Conclusion

Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to join us here today. It was great to have you on the show and share with us why a quality website is so important.

Lisa: Thank you for having me and allowing me to connect with your audience.

Kayla: Thank you everyone for tuning in to today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on The Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time, bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

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