Creating a Video for your Counseling Website

Today I made a video to show you all how easy it is to get a video on your website! First I bought a tripod. Here is a picture of what I got. It is no longer available but you can find something like it at the vendor of your choice. It was $15.99. It is then super easy to create your video. Well that is a bit of exaggeration. I spent a bit of time fiddling around finding a good angle for the film and a few practice runs.

Here is what you do over on YouTube

This picture is off the upper right. You can see the blue icon which shows me it is my channel and then you click the red create symbol to upload your video)

Then you move the video over to your computer for upload to YouTube. Then you upload it. Here are a few screen shots to show what that looks like. Once you have it uploaded there you can access the sharing link. That is the link you will post on your website to show the video on your website.

This picture shows where you drag and drop your video to YouTube

Here is a picture of what it looks like when you put the link into the website. This will look different on every website.

That is how you easily get a video up on your website.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2023-01-03T20:35:03+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, Websites|

Is Your Counseling Practice Prepared for an Economic Downturn?

In a Facebook Therapist group, a person recently asked a question about how people had experienced their practice during past recessions. The answers varied as one would expect for a variety of therapists in a variety of places. As a person who practiced in the SF Bay Area during both recessions in 2001 and 2008, I wanted to add my feedback. The Bay Area was hit very hard by the recession in 2008. Many people lost their jobs. During that time I was seeing insurance clients and I did not struggle at all during the recession. One of my suitemates did not accept insurance and did struggle quite a bit.

Therapists have their reasons for being on or not being on insurance panels. In some areas of the country (like the Bay Area) most therapists do not accept insurance. They can sustain their practices with private pay clients only. Because of the high incomes of many people that live there, that is a possibility. In many other areas of the country that is not a possibility. It is so dependent on economic situations. However, it is important to remember that economic circumstances can change.

We have been hearing for several years that a recession is coming. We certainly know that high inflation has made many people reconsider how they are spending their money. Therapy can be considered a luxury item for many. Not just for those paying the full fee but for those with co-payments.

How do you plan for or try and sustain a counseling practice if there is an economic downturn?

Have a specialty that is recession-proof. What specialties will people pay for even if times are tough? Two easy ones are working with children and couples therapy. People will often find money to help their children or save their marriage.
Diversify your practice. What can you add? Groups, consultation, coaching, or teaching or creating an online course. Having a diversity of offerings can keep you going during tough times. Having any type of passive income is awesome. I have some online classes. They were a lot of work to develop but once they were done they have become a source of passive income. I don’t have to do anything but collect the fee (and of course check in every so often to make sure the content is up to date).
Expand your skill set. Learn a technique that is in high demand. During the pandemic, I used the time to become both certified in EMDR and a consultant. This has helped me both be a better therapist and diversify my income by adding consultation to my offerings.
Stay connected with other therapists. This is different now in these post-COVID times. Many of my therapist relationships have started online. I am in at least ten different therapist Facebook Groups. I have to target where I spend my time. I focus on EMDR groups to allow me to be seen as a knowledgeable resource for people. Most of my consultation groups have been recruited for on Facebook. I understand the real issues about social media and the good and the bad. To have a practice in 2022 and on and not be engaged in some social media is to restrict your marketing. People like to make referrals to therapists that they know and knowing someone on social media counts.
Start making videos and even better do them and post them on TikTok. Videos are an easy way to get your name out there. You can almost do video blog posts. Give your thoughts on things related to your practice. A YouTube channel helps your SEO and can build your brand. TikTok is the new wave of social media. People like quick bits of information. The attention span of the average person seems to have dropped, so short content is more effective. Make sure you share your content on social media and use a great picture in your post. This is a marketing tip, but it is even more essential to make yourself stand out during tough economic times. People want to feel like they are getting their money’s worth and working with the best person to help them.

I would love to hear your feedback about how you have handled different economic circumstances in tough economic times. Feel free to post in the comments.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2023-01-03T20:36:35+00:00marketing, therapy practice|

New CEU Requirement for CA licensees

The Governor just signed AB 1779 which requires that all licensees and people getting a license for therapy in CA get three hours of coursework in Providing Telehealth effective July 1, 2023. If you completed such a course in the past find the certificate and make sure it is in your CEU packet for the year starting July 1, 2023. If you are audited after 2023 you will need to provide documentation that you took this coursework. Here is the BBS FAQ on this requirement.

There are some new legal and ethical requirements for associate registrants. Each year before you renew your registration you must take 3 hours of CA Law and Ethics coursework. If you fail the Law and Ethics exam you will no longer have to take a 12 hours Law and Ethics class before you take the exam again. Here is the BBS FAQ’s on this.

The BBS also implemented AB 1758 which, is in regards to, the Supervision of Applicants for Licensure via Videoconferencing. Effective August 29, 2022, supervision can now be via video. Here are the FAQ’s on that.

The entire law can be found here.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2023-01-03T20:37:06+00:00Get Your Business Moving!|

4 Tips For SEO Optimization of Blog Posts

Since most therapists have what is called a static website (there are not often changes or new content added) we have to add fresh content in different ways. The blog post is one of those ways. Frequent blog posting can engage your potential clients and help your SEO. First, I must say, the most important, tip in content writing is ALWAYS writing content your reader will be interested in. If you write boring content, it does not matter how many people come to your pages because they won’t engage.

Many of us are also trying to market in multiple locations, which is quite hard. I market in both PA and CA for my counseling services. I have intentionally optimized different pages for different states. However, that won’t necessarily be enough for many of my keywords. My Bay Area optimization has decreased since I moved and tried optimizing in PA. In order to get Google reminded about my Bay Area work, I recently wrote a blog post called Bay Area EMDR Intensives. My keywords were location (Bay Area, EMDR, and EMDR Intensives. Sometimes it can help us rank by working with less competitive keywords. EMDR Intensive is going to be less competitive than counseling will be. I may not rank for counseling but I am ranking for EMDR intensives.

4 SEO Tips for Blog Posts

Develop a strong headline. This headline should use one or more keywords. A title with a number in it gets clicked more often.
Google is suspected to be rewarding longer posts. Write a minimum of 300 words and strive for 1,000 words.
Use headings to break up content. You can see how I did it in this post. There is a heading that says Writing Good Content for SEO Optimization and then a second one that is in a small heading font that says 4 SEO Tips for Blog Posts
Have strong page titles and page descriptions. Do this on all pages and posts. You do this behind the scenes of your website. Below you can see a screen shot of a google search for EMDR intensives in PA. One of the counseling pages I targeted for those keywords did show up. I am indicating what the title is and what the description is.

Keeping fresh content on your website is an ongoing task. It is easy to forget and then a year goes by without posting. (2020 anyone?) However, it is important to keep up this work, and if you get off schedule, just start up again.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2023-01-03T20:37:34+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, marketing, SEO|

Build Your Private Practice Counseling Practice With Work-Life Balance

In the summer lull? Are you enjoying it by spending more time with family or doing fun things? Or are you worried because your August income dropped by 40%?

Many of us have taken the changes created by COVID into our brains and are looking more and more at our work and questioning if it’s part of a good work-life balance. I know I am not the only therapist that is seeing fewer clients and trying to create other income streams. For me I have developed an EMDR intensive program, I do this work, and I have become an EMDRIA EMDR consultant. My goal is to continue this and maybe even add some additional teaching work. Because teaching invigorates me.

As many may know, I recently undertook a major life change. I moved back to the East Coast to PA. After almost 30 years in the Bay, it was time for a change. In PA, the cost of living is so much less that it means I can work even less. I can also spend more time doing the things I want like riding my bike and starting some volunteer work. For others, they want to create a schedule where they can meet their kids’ needs, live on the road for a bit, or even leave the country. With telehealth becoming common it gives many of us many more work and scheduling options.

I want to help you figure it all out. How to have a good work-life balance. How to do the work that energizes you. How to make the income you need. Then I will help you get there.

Like most of you, I hate to toot my own horn, but people that take my classes and work with me love my super authentic and pragmatic nature. I have had my own counseling practice for over 20 years. I have seen a lot, and I am happy to share that knowledge with you. Email me to set up a free 15-minute consultation to see how I can help you set and reach your business goals for your counseling practice.

getdowntobusinessconsulting@gmail.com

I am offering a 15% discount for services purchased through Labor Day. Mention reading this blog post to get it.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2023-01-03T20:38:04+00:00coaching, Get Your Business Moving!|

Making Video Content for Your Website-You Need a Video!

Video content on your website is a great way of connecting to your potential clients. Over the years, I have done several videos for my counseling website. The first was made with an actual video camera. Subsequent ones have been made using my computer or iPhone. Today I just made a new video using my iPhone and using a tripod selfie stick with a remote. This means no awkward lean-in and lean-out to turn off the video.

Since we can make videos about ourselves now there is NO EXCUSE for not doing it! I know you will come up with some like I don’t want to see myself! I get that for sure. I hate watching videos of myself. As I recorded today’s video I must have done 10 takes. My shirt was the wrong color. My shirt had lint on it that showed up dramatically in the video. I said UM too much. But it is important to persevere. Clients need to make a connection with you and if you are not seeing people in person your website is how you are going to make that connection.

Once you create the video you may or may not want to edit it. I put my video into Imovie and was able to clip the end a bit. It took a second for me to turn off the video (even using that remote) and it seemed awkward so I just clipped the video two seconds.

When you are done you upload the video to YouTube. You should create a business account there for this purpose if you don’t have one already. You upload your video, put in a good title and description using your keywords, and publish it.

YouTube will give you a link that you can then post on social media or on your website to showcase your video. Look how I did it here.

Having videos on your website will both help engage potential new clients and help with your SEO. It is a win-win.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2022-08-29T19:17:45+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, marketing, SEO|

Can You Keep Your Home Address off of the Internet?

The answer is somewhat but not totally.

With many therapists no longer having offices the question of what address to use is often asked. Many people use a mailbox place either virtual or in person. This can be a solution for the places that give you a street address. However, what I recently learned is that when you update your NPI address (remember that?) you cannot use a mailbox place. Their computer catches it when you type it in. I recently tried it myself. They caught it and then asked if I still wanted to use it. I indicated yes so I could see what happened. What happened was NPI called me and they didn’t hang up until I gave them a different address. Which had to be my home address. I own my home and I work primarily across the country from my clients so I knew my address would be out there on the internet anyway and I also know my clients are low risk as far as ever looking for me on the internet.

You may know that NPI information is public. Today i googled my name and address to see what came up. What came up was old office addresses. My PO street address also came up. A good result! I did find a site CareDash which is one of those sites that puts up a profile for you and then doesn’t let you remove it (unless you live in CA!). I set up an account and edited the address to the address I want to be showing for me. I also emailed them to see if they would delete the profile. I am waiting for a response.

I also found out that if I type in the name I use my NPI information did not come up. I used my legal name for my NPI and that information came up only if I googled my legal name. That was positive.

In order to make sure your info. This is time consuming but free. Most sites will remove it upon your request. Another option is a paid service. Here is an article that gives you some links for removal and has a link to a paid service. The review for the paid service said it worked well but it is expensive. It does appear they are able to do a deeper dive.

There are some other options. If you are concerned about people seeing your home you can blur your home on Google Maps. Find instructions here.

Here also are some instructions from Google to remove content. This includes if you have requested removal of information but it is still showing up in search results.

At the end of the day if you get mail or packages at your home you probably will not be able to remove it totally. You can certainly reduce how much it shows up by searching and removing listings. For an office address the safest bet is to use an actual address for mailing purposes. Many places are now offering shared office space which include mail service and office space by the hour.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2022-08-29T19:33:55+00:00Get Your Business Moving!|

Make sure your website is indexed by Google

It doesn’t matter how hard you work on your website and how much you pay for Search Engine Optimization if Google has not found your website. To check type in “site:”followed by your website URL. So for my counseling website it was “site:”www.cathyhanville.com.

Below is what showed up when I did that.

You can see that that website has over 200 pages that are indexed which is great. Shows that posting those blogs has paid off.

If your website is not indexed then you need to go to Google Search Console to get it indexed. If you don’t have an account there I have a link at the end of this post on how to set up the account.

Once at Search Console you navigate to URL inspection which you will see on the left. Then at the top you type in the page you want to see is indexed or added to the index. If it is not indexed you will see a message (like shown below) where you can click the button to request indexing.

This is a simple thing to check and fix if it is not done.

Article on getting Google Search Console Account set up.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2022-08-29T19:23:53+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, SEO|

The Importance of Developing Your Marketing Message

I teach a Nuts and Bolts of Starting Your Private Practice Class. One of the aspects people struggle with the most is marketing their practices. Therapists seem to have an aversion to marketing. Which I get. Our product is related to us. Selling our product is in some ways selling ourselves. I can see why that can feel gross.

However, if you want a successful practice, especially a private pay-only practice, you need to market hard and consistently. That includes an excellent website and social media marketing. I talked to a colleague today who said she spent an hour a day marketing on Facebook. Groan at your own risk. This person has a very successful group practice that is all private pay that is almost always full.

There are a few aspects to this. One is developing your marketing message which, I will discuss today and a second is the ways to deliver it, which I will discuss in my next blog post. Be sure to sign up for my mailing list if you want to be notified when I publish that post.

Why do you develop a marketing message?

To attract your ideal clients. You don’t want to just get clients you want to attract the clients you work with best. Pre-internet we developed our connection with clients in the first session. This engagement has to happen in about 30 seconds when a potential client finds your webpage. If you don’t connect with a potential client quickly on your website they will click to the next site.

How do you connect with a client that quickly?

Let them know you get them and their pain. Show them you are safe and they can relate to you and you can relate to them. The best way of doing this is by having a video on your website. Again I hear the groans. How else is a client going to connect better than hearing you speak? You can have content and a picture (and you better have both!) but a video gives your potential clients the strongest way to make a connection with you. On my counseling website, I have a video I made with an i-phone showing me as I am. I am an authentic therapist and I believe this comes through in my video. You can also spend some money and get a more professional video. I get that it is hard. I myself struggle to watch myself in a video. But I have heard from clients that are referred to me that my video and website spoke to them. That is the connection you want to create with your potential clients.

What is in your marketing message?

The first thing is speaking to pain points. The client needs to believe you understand them. The second thing is expressing why you as their therapist versus the many other therapists out there? What gives you the expertise to help them? That should not be expressed in I was trained in psychodynamic therapy and practice DBT. That means nothing to most potential clients. They want to know you can listen and help them develop skills that will change their lives. The third piece is to showcase your personality. You must give the client a sense of who you are in the room (see the video statement above). Many people do not understand how therapy works. They can be intimidated by the process. You want to help them see you are a professional but, also a human being that can help them. The final piece is a brief call to action. For us, that is usually a statement that says call me today for a free 15-minute consultation.

If you want to be notified when I post again please join my mailing list below. I promise I don’t send it out much! Or follow me on Facebook.

Feel free to reach out anytime if you want to hear more about how I can help you with your marketing message.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2022-08-29T20:16:39+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, marketing|

Can You Do a Google My Business Listing for an Online Business?

Like many of us, I no longer have an office or see clients in person. I also moved to another state as a result I now have two states to market to.

I took a journey to figure things out. First, I set up a Cathy Hanville, LCSW PA page. I was asked the areas served and I put in some local areas because for online work I can see someone throughout PA. Google’s policy is that if you can enter a Service Area then you can have a listing without a specific address.

Google did require a NON-PO Box address to send me a verification code to enter.

However, I later realized I could edit my existing profile by clearing the address by going to Info on the left and then hitting clear this address on the bottom of the page as shown below.

I then edited the service areas. I put in areas for both PA and CA. As you can see, I put in both states and added a few more local areas.

As I have said before, having a Google My Business Listing is one of the best things you can do for your Search Optimization and your overall marketing plan.

Cathy Hanville, LCSW2022-08-29T20:19:42+00:00Get Your Business Moving!, SEO|

12 Next