As a therapist on a budget, I love nothing less than finding ways to market my private practice for free.
And because I truly believe in sharing what I’ve learned from my frugalness, I’m going to share with you 5 free tools I use (or wish I had used) in my private practice.
(1) Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
I absolutely love Open Path Psychotherapy Collective, not only because they are a free therapist directory, but also because of what they do and what they stand for. Open Path is a non-profit organization that provides therapists with a free directory to market their private practice, in turn requesting that the therapist provide a sliding scale to clients found through their site.
What’s great about Open Path is once you sign up for your free directory profile, you have the ability to turn on and off referrals at anytime. So, maybe you are not accepting clients at a sliding scale today, but next week you find referrals are slow and you are seeking additional clients into your practice, or maybe you have a spot for a sliding scale open up. You can easily toggle ‘turn on’ accepting clients for new referrals on your Open Path dashboard. Open Path pays for their sites advertisements, which means it’s one way you don’t have to pay for marketing but be found by potential clients. To sign up for a free therapist directory profile with Open Path click here.
(2) Therapy Owl
Therapy Owl is a free therapist directory based in Canada; however, they also provide free listing for US therapists. I like Therapy Owl as it is Canadian-based (being a Canadian myself, I always want to support local) and they allow therapists of different backgrounds list on their platform. They provide listings for mental health therapists, massage therapist, speech-language pathologists, physiotherapist, and so more. To sign up for your free therapist directory profile with Therapy Owl click here.
(3) Google My Business
Have you ever searched a business on Google and a business page shows up? Do you wonder how to do that too? This is called Google My Business and it is a free marketing tool for businesses. With Google My Business you can add your contact information, location, website, and even pictures if you’d like. As a note, Google My Business is different than Google ads, and Google ads do have a cost associated with them. It is important to distinguish the difference before signing up for either. If you are interested in checking out Google My Business click here.
(4) Facebook Business Page
Facebook Business Pages are often under-utilized in our profession but they can provide a free way to reach clients. However, I’ve noticed a slight difference between my Facebook Business Page than other types of marketing tools I use. I’ve noticed that my Facebook Business Page is where people follow first and reach out later – usually through my website. I believe, Facebook Business Page is a great place to share articles, resources, and tips that can give your potential client small wins. A Facebook Business Page provides an avenue for clients to know, like and trust you first and when they are ready, they remember you as the therapist of choice. If you are interested in learning more about setting up a Facebook Business Page, click here.
(5) Psychology Today (Free 6 Month)
Okay, so Psychology Today does have a monthly fee but I wanted to add it here because many therapists do not know that you can receive your first 6 Months Free if someone with a Psychology Today profile provides you with a referral email. When I first started my private practice, I had no idea this existed and I set up my account without a referral email. When I realized I had missed out, it hit me hard because I’m the coupon-lady who gets all the deals. But I don’t want this to happen to you. If you intend to sign up with Psychology Today, get your referral email prior to starting up your account. To get your free 6 months on Psychology Today, just ask a friend who has a Psychology Today profile to email you the link. But you’ll want to do this before you start any of the signup process!
There you have it – 5 free marketing tools that can increase your client referrals & save you money!
I hope you have found this article helpful and that it provides you cost-saving ways to market your therapy practice effectively. Please share it with other private practitioners so they too can benefit.