WP 28 | Standout on Psychology Today with Laura Long
In this episode of the Wise Practice podcast, Whitney Owens sits down with Laura Long, licensed marriage and family therapist, clinical supervisor, and business coach at yourbadasstherapypractice.com. Laura's off-the-cuff coaching style, sense of humor, and ability to keep it real has helped therapists become better business owners and grow their practices without losing their minds. In this episode, Whitney and Laura discuss how to unleash your inner badass and build a thriving practice.
Overcoming fear and unleashing your inner badass
Laura's approach to coaching is all about helping therapists overcome their fears and unleash their inner badass. She believes that building a successful practice should be fun, not stressful. According to Laura, one of the biggest challenges therapists face is their own fear. They are afraid of putting themselves out there, of being judged, and of failing. Laura encourages therapists to embrace their fears and use them as a motivator. She says, "When you feel that fear, that's when you know you're on the right track."
Laura also emphasizes the importance of being authentic and true to yourself. She says, "You have to figure out what feels good to you, what feels right, what feels authentic. And then you have to go after that. Because if you're not being authentic, people can smell it a mile away."
The power of in-person retreats and conferences
In-person retreats and conferences can be a game-changer for therapists looking to grow their practices and build relationships with their peers. Laura believes that smaller, more intimate conferences are the way to go. She says, "What I realized in going to those huge conferences with thousands of people there, I felt sort of like a number. I didn't actually take advantage of the networking opportunities. When I started going to these smaller conferences led by our own peers and colleagues, I found out I can still get my CCEs and form these amazing connections with people. That was a total game changer and I'm never going back."
In-person retreats are another great way to connect with other therapists and build relationships. Laura says, "The power of in-person retreats is that you get to really know people on a deeper level. You get to spend time with them, you get to see them in different environments, you get to really bond with them. And those relationships can go so far, not only professionally, but personally."
Marketing and customer service for therapists
Laura's approach to marketing and customer service is all about challenging the status quo. She believes that therapists need to stop following the same tired old marketing strategies and start doing things differently. One of the ways she suggests doing this is by creating a strong brand identity. She says, "Your brand is the way you show up in the world. It's what people think of when they think of you. And it's what sets you apart from everybody else."
Another way to stand out from the crowd is to provide exceptional customer service. Laura believes that therapists need to focus on building relationships with their clients and going above and beyond to meet their needs. She says, "It's not just about providing therapy. It's about providing an experience. It's about making your clients feel heard and seen and valued."
How to Create an Amazing Psychology Today Profile that Attracts Your Ideal Client
When it comes to creating a Psychology Today profile, there are a few key things to keep in mind. In a conversation between Whitney and Laura, Laura shares her three-step process for making a great profile that will help you stand out to potential clients.
Use a Quality Headshot
The first thing that people notice when they are on Psychology Today looking for a counselor is the profile picture. As Laura notes, "I don't think it's based so much on what you look like. I think it's more about the quality of the image you use." Therefore, it's important to have a clear, professional-looking headshot that accurately represents you and your brand. A blurry selfie in your car with the seat belt on is “not a good look.” How do you want to show up in the therapy room? Make sure the background is appropriate, dress professionally, and ensure the image is of high quality. This will help clients see you as a professional and feel more comfortable booking an appointment with you.
Craft an Attention-Grabbing Opening
When potential clients are scrolling through profiles, they're likely to pay attention to the first one to two sentences of your profile. As Laura says, "What you say in those first two sentences is going to make the difference between me clicking on your profile or clicking on the person underneath you." Therefore, it's important to use your prime real estate wisely. Instead of using generic phrases like "life is hard," think about who your target audience is and craft a message that speaks to them specifically. Use language that will draw them in and make them feel seen.
Show Your Personality
Finally, it's important to let your personality and uniqueness shine through in your profile. The last paragraph might be a good time for the faith-based therapist to highlight their integration style. As Laura notes, "People want to work with someone they feel they know, like, and trust." Don't be afraid to inject some of your own personality and style into your profile. Share a bit about yourself and your approach to therapy. This will help potential clients feel more comfortable and confident in booking an appointment with you.
Links and Resources
FREE, 4-part video e-course on crafting a Psychology Today profile that effortlessly converts prospects into clients
-
WP 28 | Standout on Psychology Today with Laura Long
===
Whitney Owens: Are you looking to connect with other faith-based practice owners? Grow your business and strengthen your faith? Then you don't wanna miss out on the Wise Practice Summit hosted in beautiful Savannah, Georgia this October 5th through the seventh. With 14 dynamic speakers and 10 top-notch sponsors, you will have access to a wealth of knowledge and resources to take your practice to the next level.
And with only a hundred attendees, you will have the opportunity for an intimate and personalized experience unlike any other, but it's not just about business. This conference is also about building lasting connections with fellow faith-based practice owners. As I myself can attest, some of my closest professional and personal friendships were formed through events just like this one.
You never know who you're gonna meet and what impact they're gonna have on your life and practice. In speaking of location, the Alita Hotel is the perfect place to soak up the charm and beauty of Savannah. On the River Street, you'll be walking distance from incredible restaurants, unique shops, and pictures, squares.
Plus the hotel has a stunning venue with luxurious amenities. But I know that time and money are a valuable resource and there are many business opportunities clamoring for your attention. But here is what I want you to know. This summit was created for you, the faith-based practice owner and private practice you were thought of in every detail.
It is not my event, it is yours. I truly believe this conference is worth your investment and it will change not only your practice, but will change you. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with fellow faith-based practice owners in one of the most charming cities in the south.
To grab your tickets, head on over to whitney owens.com.
Whitney Owens: Hello friends and welcome back to the Wise Practice Podcast here with Whitney and my good friend Laura Long is in the house. So I love having Laura around for like lots of reasons, but she also makes me more fun. So this will be a fun podcast episode, um, cuz she inspires me. But before I get into the episode, let me tell you Laura's background, for those of you who don't know her, she's a licensed marriage and family therapist, clinical supervisor in Greenville, South Carolina.
She's a business coach, speaker, and leads your badass therapy practice.com. She helps people become more ambitious type a therapist. She helps them push through fears and unleash their inner badass. She's best known for off the cuff. Coaching style that includes an irrelevant sense of humor and an uncanny ability to keep it real.
Her approach to marketing and customer service challenges the status quo and helps therapists to become better business owners. She shows therapists how to grow and scale their practices without losing their minds. Building their private practice should be fun. You can find out more at your badass therapy practice.com.
Laura Long: Hey Laura. Hi Whitney. Thanks for having me.
Whitney Owens: So glad to have you on the show. Um, and I think I told you this somewhere else, but now I can't remember, but I'll share this story here. I. It was during your talk at Ernesto's conference, not your typical psychotherapist. I was like sitting and listening and you were inspiring people to get stuff done.
I was like, okay, I have to start the consulting business. Like I've been pushing it off cuz I was nervous, scared, what's my name gonna be? Just every stupid excuse in the book. And then I bought Whitney Owens Consulting while you were speaking and so you always bring this like special part to
Laura Long: me. That like seriously, this is gonna sound cliche, but that actually warmed my heart to hear you say that because that was the whole point, right?
Is to do the thing. So literally while I'm presenting, you just registered that domain and here you are eight months later. Yes, doing it.
Whitney Owens: So tell us love. Yeah, so tell the audience a little about, I mean you have the coaching business, you also are a therapist and have a private practice. So can you speak to both of those so people kind of have an idea
Laura Long: about who you are?
Sure. Yeah. So I'm in private practice currently. I do maintain a pretty small caseload, uh, cuz I'm doing a lot of stuff. I also am a clinical supervisor in South Carolina. So for those of you LM FTAs out there in this. State who are looking for a supervisor, I can do that as well. I do teach at two different universities in their marriage and family therapist department, which is amazing because I don't know about you Whitney, but, uh, we never got any of this in graduate school, so I'm trying to help pay it forward and teach the younger generations how to start their private practices and how to do so from a place of confidence and abundance and not be so scared about all the things.
We don't know. Um, and then through your badass therapy practice, I have courses, I run online masterminds and my new favorite thing to do is host in-person retreats, which you have been to one of them with our next eye. That's right,
Whitney Owens: that's right. Well, in-person retreats and conferences are definitely the way to go and like can making relationships, getting to know people and those relationships can go so far, not only professionally, but
Laura Long: personally.
Well, and let me just tell you a quick story. Uh, I'm sure that mine is not unique in this way, but I, once I became licensed and I needed to get my continu continuing education, I thought that these huge, large scale conferences were the only way to really get that done. And first of all, I think. Covid sort of, um, changed the game for a lot of us when it came to getting our Es.
But what I realized in going to those huge conferences with, you know, thousands of people there, I felt sort of like a number. I, I didn't actually take advantage of the networking opportunities. It just, they didn't really feel, they didn't, they didn't like feed my soul. And when I started going to these smaller conferences led by our own peers and colleagues, and I found out I can still get my CCEs and form these amazing connections with people.
I mean, that was a total game changer and I'm never going back. So for those of you listening, if you've never been to some of these smaller summits, like what Whitney's putting on later this year, uh, some of our other colleagues are putting on these much more intimate and focused. Summits and conferences, man, if you haven't been, you've gotta get yourself to one because those relationships will change the trajectory of your career, and I'm not overstating that.
Mm-hmm.
Whitney Owens: A hundred percent agree with you. Yeah. So actually Laura, when I first heard about you before we met, cause we met in 2019 at a conference back then. Mm-hmm. Um, but before that I always knew you as the Psychology Today girl.
Laura Long: Yeah, I sort of pigeonholed myself there, didn't I? Well it, but,
Whitney Owens: but at the same time, you offered something really great that therapists were looking for, and so today in our interview, I want to even branch out further, like online directories, and are these things that therapists should be spending their time and energy on or not?
And let's kind of go from there. If they are, how, how should we do that?
Laura Long: Mm-hmm. Totally. And I think that the most common one is psychology today. So as you and I were sort of talking about what we wanted to have this podcast episode be about, I think that was sort of the gist, is let's just talk psychology today.
But then right before we started recording, we realized, you know, there are other directory profiles that we may need to consider. And depending on your niche market, depending on who you're trying to target, there may be a handful of other directory profiles to think about posting on. So I think that's why.
Psychology today is sort of the kingpin, I would say. Whenever someone is looking for a therapist on Google and they enter, you know, therapy for anxiety in Savannah, Georgia, odds are on the first page, at least the first two or three results are going to come from Psychology Today. So we have to give a nod to that, that if you're going to only choose one, that might be the one you'd want to to select.
But it might also be helpful to do a little bit of research in your local area and your community and see if there are any other. Profiles or directories that would cater to the demographic that you're trying to target? Yeah,
Whitney Owens: definitely. And like anything in business, it's like trial and error. Mm-hmm. I mean, even if you are gonna do psychology or anything else after a few months, track that data and make sure that it's worth the investment that you're making into that directory.
Um, but there are definitely some Christian counseling directories out there. The other great thing about Psychology Today is we can put the spirituality piece mm-hmm. Into Psychology today as one of the filters. So, That's really helpful. Um, but yeah, making sure that you're watching that data
Laura Long: is really important.
Absolutely. And if it's your first time on Psychology Today, there are plenty of places you can go to get, you know, a free six months. Um, if it's your first time, I think, um, you can also get a referral code. Probably most directories are gonna have some sort of referral code you can get with someone to try out the platform for a few months for free.
And then also, as Whitney was saying, you know, thinking about the return on investment. So if a. Costs $30 a month. Well, if you're not really making anything, that seems like a lot of money, but if you even get one client from that profile, it more than pays for itself. So just thinking about return on investment in addition to just the upfront cost.
Yeah, I think that's an important,
Whitney Owens: and really thinking about the longevity of a client that, you know, looking at your stats like somehow. Often does a client usually come for, they come for eight weeks or they come for 12 weeks? Well, that's the cost that you're making or that's the income you're making off of
Laura Long: your cost.
Yeah. And a really great way to keep, uh, some data aside from what the directory may provide you with is every single time a new client reaches out to you, when you ask them how they found out about you, they might just say some something like, oh, I went on Google. Well, that doesn't actually give you information about where they landed.
So I would always press a new client just to say, okay, do you remember what you typed into Google? Do you remember if you ended up on a directory of some kind? Or did you just go directly to my website? But asking questions like that can really help you determine if a prospective client went from Google to Psychology today to your website, because they may not always reach out to you directly from the directory profile itself.
And so you don't wanna have like a false negative where you think that no one's coming to you. Through something like Psychology Today, when really they are, they're just going from your profile to your website, which is what we want them to do anyway. Exactly. Yeah.
Whitney Owens: Thank you for providing that information.
It's, it's so important to really track that in detailed form. Um, alright. So safe to say that we believe that online directors are helpful and good for therapists to market their practice. Yeah. And so how do we, what do we do, Laura? Yeah.
Laura Long: How do we, give me the secret sauce. Gimme the recipe. So I think before we can even talk about what to put on your profile, It's really important to know who your profile is for.
And I don't just mean it's for someone looking for therapy that's way too broad. So we actually need to spend some time reflecting on the exact type of client that we're wanting to attract and who are we wanting to serve predominantly in our practice, um, on most of these directories as. Especially psychology Today, you're extremely limited on how many characters, how many words you can put in your profile.
I see it as a really weird kind of dating. Profile. You know, it's like you only have so many words. So if you're trying to attract a large audience, it's just gonna be so difficult to rise above the noise and all of the other profiles that are there. So my first point for everybody is to do some, what we may call market research.
Some people don't like that term, but just doing some basic, uh, exploring of who it is that you're trying to attract. Uh, and there are three categories that you wanna think about. So the first category is pretty obvious. It's demographic information. Like who, who do you do your best to work with? Do you love working with teens and their families?
Do you love working with couples? If you can take it a step further and even think, okay, is it premarital couples or is it younger teens? Um, So demographic information is really important. It's not the only category, but it's something that usually people stop there and they go, oh, okay, well I want to have a private practice where I work with young, single women.
Okay, that that's great, but now we need to take it a step further. So the next category you wanna think about beyond just your basic demographic information of who you're trying to serve is the presenting problem. Again, seems sort of obvious that, okay, if we're going to write a profile for. Young single women.
We also need to consider what are the presenting problems that they are seeking help for. And I think one challenge that therapists have in this way is that they focus too much on their own interpretation of the problem. So they might call it anxiety, they might call it, um, trauma or attachment. Trauma.
And all of this I think of as being sort of, Psychobabble, would you agree, Whitney? It's like we get so caught up in how we may think or perceive, you know, oh, emotion dysregulation or something like that. But your ideal client is most likely not thinking of their challenge issue, presenting problem in the same way that you are filtering it through your own lens.
So that too takes a little bit of research. Um, you can even do this online, where you go online and pretend to be your ideal client. What kinds of things would they be looking for? Uh, prior to looking for a therapist, you know, sort of self-help type search engine queries, what would they be calling it?
Mm-hmm. Because it may not be anxiety, it might be, uh, it's probably not gonna be emotion dysregulation or attachment trauma, but what would it be instead? Might it be perfectionism or people pleasing just as examples? Mm-hmm. That's so great.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. I feel like I see a lot of times on Psychology Day and even other online directories, it's like people
Laura Long: aren't
Whitney Owens: speaking and you're kind of saying this, but like speaking to the person that's reading it
Laura Long: right in their language.
Whitney Owens: And so when I started working with teens and honestly I started working with teens cuz there weren't a lot of people working with teens in Savannah. So I wanted to get a lot of clients when I first started and I was like, okay, the teenagers aren't reading this. The parents are going on psychology day.
The parents are stressed out and they wanna know that someone gets it. So
Laura Long: ding, ding, ding.
Whitney Owens: Yes. So I changed it and spoke directly to parents about what their experience is like raising a child and how. Terrible. It can be.
Laura Long: Well, and you actually, you just teed me up perfectly, so thank you for that. Everyone listening.
Whitney did not see my notes prior to this. Um, but the third category that we need to be thinking about that is so important and the most overlooked when it comes to writing a directory profile is psychographics. So it goes beyond what is their age. It goes beyond what is their pre presenting problem.
And now it speaks to the heart of who is this person, right? Like how do they conceptualize their life? What, uh, and this would include faith, like what role? Does faith play in their life because mm-hmm. Not everyone who would consider their themselves religious or spiritual would fall into the category of your ideal client.
So that's another layer that you need to be thinking about if you're a faith-based practice owner. So it's how, what is their worldview? What are some of their, um, cultural beliefs, their religious, their spiritual beliefs? How do they, like when they're walking around their world, what is going on in their mind?
Mm-hmm. Um, And I think that that's such an important thing to think about that is often overlooked when people are writing these profiles. They focus so much on demographic information and the presenting problem, but they often lose sight of, I need, I need to relate to this person. I need to write in a way that is authentic to me, but also connects with them on a deeper level than simply saying, I treat anxiety and depression.
You know, like that's not, that's not helping that, that doesn't connect. So I'm glad that you brought that up about working with teens. You weren't just talking to the teen, cuz odds are they weren't looking at your profile in the first place. You were trying to connect with the parents, but then you had to take it a step further and say, what is my ideal parent?
Like, what are they thinking about? Or how are they experiencing parenting? So you went beyond just their parents. And they're parents of teens who are maybe having some challenges. You really peeled back those onion layers. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you.
Whitney Owens: Um, you just try to do things and then when they work, you keep doing 'em.
Right. You
Laura Long: do more of that. Yeah. That's good. That's
Whitney Owens: right. Well, I love what you're talking about here with, with faith, because it's the component of like, Where are we on our journey as a therapist and how much faith integration do we wanna do in our practice? And so then thinking about, is my language drawing in a certain type of Christian or certain type of religion?
And how can I tailor my language to meet my ideal client? So some practices want to overtly be Christian drawing, mostly Christian clients, cause that's who they wanna work with. So they would want to have language on their directory that's. Overt. Mm-hmm. You know, and actually in my practice, like even though we offer Christian counseling, I'm very hesitant to do that.
I want to bring in people who are jaded. I love working with jaded people in faith, um, and bring in a lot of, we wanna see people that aren't necessarily Christian. So there's kind of that fine line in our language of, you know, drawing in those clients, but not pushing others away. And so I'm glad that you kind of spoke to
Laura Long: that.
Yeah, and I think that is so important because as you just pointed out, there are different layers, if you will, or levels of religiosity and spirituality that we all have. And so as a provider, how do you want to come across in a way that's authentic to you, while also attracting the kinds of clients who you do your best work with?
You can't appeal to everybody, especially in the limited amount of time that you have to make that sort of impression on a directory profile. So that makes it. Vital for you to not only know where do you stand in your reli religiosity and your faith and how you want to be presented, but also how do you wanna connect with that type of client?
Are you l are you wanting to attract a client who is looking for a Christian-based counseling center that they are overtly, uh, Christian? Or are you wanting to attract someone who like yourself, they may be a little jaded in their faith and they're wanting to explore that? Um, In a, in a safe container, right?
Mm-hmm. So what We can't do both, right? Like, I can't, I can't be a, an overt cri Christian and also trying to cater to people who are jaded. Mm-hmm. So I think it makes it even more important for you to do your own exploration about the kind of therapist you want to be in the room while simultaneously exploring the clients that you are hoping to attract in your practice.
And speaking more to the psychographics than just the demographics or the presenting problem.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. And, and just if anyone's listening, thinking like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Like, that's totally okay. And I love how Laura talked about kind of the exploration of you finding yourself and the way that you wanna do.
Therapy as a therapist, but also your business and your branding. And it doesn't have to be perfect. Like if you are, um, you know, not wanting to be so avert about your faith and then you get down the road and you change your mind, like that's okay. You can change your directory. Like you can change your language and see what kind of clients it's drawing in and make those adjustments.
Laura Long: Absolutely. Just like you were saying earlier, if it works, you keep doing it. If it doesn't work, you simply pivot and change course. And maybe you change one of the variables. It doesn't mean you have failed or that you are a failure in some way. It just means that whatever you tried maybe didn't work.
And guess what? You are the boss. So you can change your profile at any given time. You can change your brand, you can change your website, uh, and in fact, I've done that before where I called it niche burnout. Um, I was working with couples for the first three, four-ish years of my practice, and then I started getting a bit burned out and I completely changed course.
And now I predominantly work with individuals. So of course that meant that I had to change my directory profile. It had to change my networking, um, who I was networking with. I had to change my website, some of my positioning in the community, and guess what? I did it and it's all fine. I didn't die. It's all fine.
So you can do the same thing. Now I feel like that is all very foundational. Like we have to know all of those things before we can even open up the blank word document to write the profile. But of course what we haven't talked about is what do you really write on it? Like what, how do you actually go from a blank word document to a full on directory that you feel really proud of?
And you're reading that profile going, yes, this encapsulates how I want to show up. And I think that it'll do a great job attracting the kind of clients who I do my best work with as well. So here comes my three paragraph formula, guys. I actually have the recipe for you. Y'all ready for it? Now, I will say that this is specific to psychology today, but I do think that it can easily be translated to other directories.
It just sort of depends on the. Word count, word limit. And if they give you, you know, one huge text box to write in, or if they separated out, similar to how psychology today goes. Um, and so what I would say before I jump into the, the formula is that the first thing that people notice when they are on Psychology today looking for a counselor is, what do you think, Whitney?
What do you think is the first thing that people see when they're just kind of perusing profiles on that main screen? I'm just gonna put you in the hot seat here. Oh, I know. Scroll down. They're looking at those pictures. They're looking at those pictures. I
Whitney Owens: cannot tell you how many people will say they just liked the look of the therapist when they wanna call our practice and schedule.
Laura Long: Yeah. Isn't that. A little disconcerting, but it's just based on the image. But I don't think it's based so much on what you look like. I think it's more about the quality of the image you use. So, um, if you are, now, I know that iPhone cameras are really good now, so I'm not, not, um, harping on that. But if you are taking a blurry selfie in your car with your.
Seatbelt on that is not a, a good look that doesn't scream, you know, professionalism. And yes, I really wanna see this person. It screams more dating app. So we wanna get away from anything that could look like a dating app. What I will say is it all does go back to your branding and how you want to show up in the therapy room, but I do 100% recommend that you have a professional headshot, and I don't mean professional as in like go to JCPenney.
Glamor shot, you know, with the blurry background, and you got your fist on your chin real estate agent in a power suit sort of picture. That's not what we're going for. When I say professional, I simply am referring to the quality of the image or the clarity of the image. So I think that you can technically take a professional looking picture from your phone, but you would just need to be really clear about the background.
Make sure that you're dressed in a way that you resembles and is congruent with how you would show up in the therapy room and you just wanted to look like it was done purposefully, if that makes any sense. Not just like standing in front of a gray blank wall. I call those the um, the jail bird. Photos, you know, the mugshots where it's just, yeah, the therapist in front of a gray wall.
Um, so yeah, so having a, a photo that is clear and the clarity is really nice. The colors look great and it really shows you, um, we don't need a full length photo. This isn't like a pageant photo, but just something where you can look at and go, okay, yeah, that's exactly how I look. That's a congruent experience for my clients.
Um, if you have recently. Cut off all your hair or like change something majorly about the way you look, then you would probably be due for some new headshots. Because again, I want my prospective clients to have this very seamless, smooth experience with me, and I don't want them at any point to think that I'm gonna look and be a certain way.
And then they come into session, they're like, oh my gosh, you have red hair and I thought your hair was brown. What's the deal? So yes. So your image is I think, key at first. Um, but in terms of this formula that I, that I teach, and I do have a free course on this, I use a little bit of colorful language though in it.
So just to warn those of you who may not be fond of that, you may not wanna do the free course, but the first paragraph and specifically the first two sentences of your profile, I refer to those as your prime real estate. And the reason for that is that when people are going down through various Psychology Today directory profiles, and they're sort of scrolling through the pages, they're looking at pictures first, but the only thing they can see beside your picture is that first little section, that first little blurb.
And it's not the whole first paragraph, it's just that first one to two sentences. And what you say in those first two sentences is going to make the difference between me clicking on your profile or clicking on the person underneath you. And so this is where it's really important to know the psychographics of who you're trying to attract.
Instead of simply saying life is hard and can feel overwhelming. Well, that's true for everybody. But who are you really talking to? So in your case, Whitney, when you were trying to target parents of teens, I'm curious if you can even remember something you might have said in that first little section of your Psychology Today profile that really tried to draw in those parents who were looking for a therapist for their teen.
Do you remember something that you might have said or alluded to in that first little section?
Whitney Owens: Um, I think I said something about disconnection. Mm-hmm. Like you used to talk and now you can't and your kids won't open their door
Laura Long: Yeah. To their bedroom. I've been watching TikTok a lot lately, actually these last three years since the pandemic.
Um, and I see that that is a huge pain point from a lot of parents when they post their videos of like when their children were smaller and they used to be all over them. Mm-hmm. And to parents, it was like, ah, just gimme some space. And then, I mean, they're trying to do it like tongue in cheek, but I can tell there's a sadness to it that now their teen stays in their room and when they finally emerge out of their room, the parents are like, oh, she's here.
Like we can talk. So it sounds like you were speaking to that in your profile, that there's this sense of disconnection and they used to feel close to their child and now they notice that there's a lot of space between them and they don't really know how to get that back. That would be an amazing way to start a profile for your ideal client.
Right? And so for those of you listening after you do some of this exploratory work in the beginning about the demographics, the presenting problem, the psychographics of who it is you're trying to target, what is going on in their mind right now as they're looking for a therapist. It could be two in the afternoon, it could be two in the morning, but something.
Led them down this rabbit hole to where now they are looking at a profile for a therapist. So what is actually happening for them in this moment? One way that I get into the hearts and minds of my ideal client is I use a technique I call the creepy coffee shop scenario. And in that I go into my mind and I pretend as if my ideal client is at the coffee shop and I'm sitting at the booth behind them and they're confiding in their closest friend, like their best friend in the whole wide world.
And they're telling their best friend about what they feel like right now, what their life is like, what's going on for them, and all of the challenges that they're experiencing. And I try to think of it in their exact words, not in how I'm interpreting it or how I might sift it through my therapist lens, but what is this person really struggling with and what is it like to be.
Them on a day-to-day basis. So when I was working with couples, I found that they would often say that they felt like roommates. I'm sure that those of you who work with couples maybe have heard the same thing. So I would use a very similar language in the first sentence of my paragraph back then, and I'd say something like, you and your partner used to feel so close, but now it's like you've become roommates overnight.
You're just ships passing in the night. Something like that. And so if someone was looking for a couple's counselor and they saw verbatim their exact phrasing that happens in their own mind, they might start to be like, oh my gosh, this person understands more than anybody else because they're actually using the words that I am thinking that would make them much more likely to click on my profile.
Um, and so about, about the formula, that first one to two sentences is your prime real estate, but the whole first paragraph to me is telling that prospective client that you get it, that you understand what it's like to be them to walk in their shoes. And you, you, you don't literally say, I know what it's like.
You paint a picture of their life. So you sort of tell a story. Um, in my example, I may have started with you and your partner used to be so close and now. You feel like roommates. Then I wanna expound on that for the whole first paragraph. How are they like roommates? What does that look like? You know, you used to do X, Y, and Z together, and now it's all about just getting the kids from point A to point B, and you really just have felt this massive disconnection over time, and you wish that things could be better.
You're not really sure what to do. So that whole first paragraph is just going into like painting the picture and telling the story of a day in the life. What do you think about that, Whitney? I think it's
Whitney Owens: awesome.
Laura Long: I think it's cool. You're right on. Yeah. Um, so what the first paragraph should not be is about you, because no one cares about you yet your, your prospective client is not looking to see how many years of experience you have.
They don't care. What type of licensure you have, what your background is, where you've worked before, all of these things about you, they may care about at some point, but in the beginning, they only wanna see someone who gets it. They wanna, they're looking to not feel so alone in their suffering. And so if someone can read your first paragraph and automatically feel some lift to their suffering, like that alone is therapeutic.
Is it not? Mm-hmm.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. I use the analogy of if I have a rash on my arm and I need to go to the doctor and let's say have a list of five different dermatologists, am I gonna look for the one that has all the credentials and all the things like, I mean, I guess that's great, but if one of 'em actually had a picture of my rash that said before and after the cream or whatever.
Mm-hmm. I'd be like, dang. He knows exactly what rash I have. I'm going to him.
Laura Long: Yeah. Our prospective clients want to see themselves in our profiles. They don't care so much about us yet when they get to your website, that's where you have all the space in the world to talk about yourself, and you can have a whole page dedicated to your training, your credentials, your certifications, all of that.
But Psychology Today and these directory profiles where you're limited on space is not the time to be talking about yourself. It's where the focus is on providing some support and connection to your ideal prospective client. So now we move on to the second paragraph, which is, uh, at least on psychology today, a little bit shorter in what you're able to do.
So, uh, I do have, um, a, a theme I guess, around this. So the first paragraph is, I know you better than you know yourself. And the second paragraph I call the dream scenario. So this is now that you've painted a picture of a day in the life of your ideal prospective client and what it's like to be them now you have much less space and time to write a little bit more about what it is their hoping therapy will help them with.
What is the goal or objective that they have in their mind? Now, stay realistic with this. Someone who. Has felt like they and their partner have become roommates, we're not gonna transition from that to now talking about the dream scenario being, you're gonna feel exactly like how you felt felt on your wedding day.
Like that might not be a realistic thing to paint. And so we're not making like these false hopes or giving false hope or these like huge, grandiose, um, promises or guarantees about what therapy is. It's simply helping them to see the hope that they already have. So here's the problem. First paragraph.
You know, a day in the life of you. I'm gonna paint a picture of what it's like. I'm gonna take some risks here, and I can do that in the first paragraph because I did my research up front. I looked online, I looked through maybe my old client charts to see what are the ways in which my ideal clients are discussing the problems that they're seeking therapy for.
But then that second paragraph, we're now transitioning into what is it that you hope. So it might be, um, imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning next to your partner and feel that connection again and look forward to spending a day with them. Or, um, having date night where you're not just talking about the kids, but you're actually making plans for your future.
Something that's that's realistic that they can almost like reach out and grab and see, oh my gosh, that would be amazing if I could get there. And it's something that's realistic and within reach for them. Mm-hmm.
Whitney Owens: Yeah, that's such a good point, Laura. And the idea of in reach, I think that's something for people to really hold onto.
Laura Long: Mm-hmm. Yeah, you're not just painting this, this picture of like an idealistic world that may never exist for them. It's, they already have some level of hope, I would think, or else they're not gonna be looking for a therapist. At least if you're a couple, you know, in my example, if like if you have no hope, you're probably not going to a therapist.
You're probably going to an attorney, unfortunately. But anyone who's looking for a therapist, there's some hope in there. Even if they may not be able to, to grab it themselves. It's up to you to show them that. Yeah, so then the final paragraph is more of a, if you don't already realize I'm the right therapist for you, like, here are just some things that might set me apart.
So this would be the place where if you have any specific thing about your approach, the way you practice, uh, anything about you that you think is unique in some way, this could be a really great opportunity, uh, for a faith-based practice owner to speak to religiosity or spirituality, if that's something that they find their ideal clients.
It's really important to them. So if you're trying to target a type of client who is really looking for a faith-based practice owner, um, someone who is overtly Christian, in your words, Whitney, then that would be a really great place for you to say something like, I offer, um, convenient Christian-based.
To counseling. Um, if you, if your location, you know, if you're in a brick and mortar office, if your location's really great, that's something that you can add there. Um, if your hours of availability are really great, you know, if you see clients in the evenings or on weekends, um, telehealth would be something that you might wanna plug here as well.
But if there's just anything about your practice that your ideal prospective client would find value in. This would be a really great place to put it is in that last third paragraph. And then you can end the entire profile with a simple call to action telling them to visit your website to learn more.
Yes. Thank you for including the call
Whitney Owens: to action cuz a lot of people don't do that. It's
Laura Long: important. It's really important on psychology today, especially because over the years they have changed where the website link is. On your profile, like if someone's looking on their phone and they're, they land on your profile, sometimes the website link is hidden for some reason.
So what I tell people to do on Psychology today especially is not only having the call to action at the end, but actually putting the site, u r l of your practice website just because even though you already have it, On a button somewhere. If someone's looking up your profile from their phone, it may be difficult for them to see that.
So at least they can sort of copy and highlight that and paste it into their browser.
Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. That's so helpful. You know, I was thinking about how a lot of people wanna schedule online. Mm-hmm. You know, which would be another convenient thing to say, and here's my website for you to schedule an online appointment.
Laura Long: Absolutely. And I do that online. I say, you know, I offer 24 7 online scheduling. That's absolutely a, a game changer for people because again, someone might be on your profile at two in the morning and that is when they're most motivated. So I wanna catch someone who's my ideal client at the time when they're most motivated.
And if we're having to play phone tag or email tag for days, they're losing steam and suddenly they're like, you know, maybe I don't need therapy after all. But if they're motivated at one, two o'clock in the morning, why not give them a way to schedule a consultation right then and there so that they feel like they took a step.
And that first step can be so therapeutic and it's before they even step foot inside your office. Just knowing that they took a step in the right direction will help them sleep that night.
Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. I mean, that's how I feel when I'm making an appointment with anybody.
Laura Long: Mm-hmm. I'm like, oh, there's this initial wave of relief.
You know, like a weight gets lifted that you are finally taking action towards something. So by not having online scheduling or some way for them to schedule a consultation, at least you're sort of robbing them of that experience. You know? Definitely.
Whitney Owens: This has been super helpful and I love how you just walked us through and you had titles for each part that's gonna help us remember, like the steps.
Is there anything we haven't talked about, um,
Laura Long: that we need to address? Nothing that we haven't talked about, but I do have something for your audience that might help them craft their amazing Psychology Today profile. Yes. Tell me more. So inside of my flagship program, which is called Your Badass Therapy Practice, I have a worksheet called an Ideal Client Worksheet, and it's a really great two page exploratory worksheet that you go through to learn even more about who your ideal client is.
Focusing on more of the psychographics. And so from there you should be able to then use that information from the worksheet. And it, uh, is a fillable P D F, which is great, but you should be able to use that information to directly translate it into your Psychology Today profile using the three step formula that I laid out today.
I'm giving that free to your audience, so Yeah. Yeah. So yes, so go to the show
Whitney Owens: notes and you can get that it's your badass therapy practice.com/wise practice.
Laura Long: Correct. Okay. You got it.
Whitney Owens: Thank you. Well, that's really kind of you and yes, it's like I'll listen to podcast episodes and be like, those are really good points.
And then just being able to have something to download and put in my hands to actually implement because. That's what we're all about, right? Telling people to implement
Laura Long: the stuff we're talking about. Yep. This is where the rubber meets the road, and we were just talking about taking that first step, right?
For our prospective clients. Scheduling is that first step that gives them that sense of relief and purpose. Like, okay, we're doing something. So now for those of you listening to this podcast episode, your way of taking that first step is to read the show notes and also to download the free ideal client worksheet.
That is the step that you're taking today, where the rubber meets the road.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. And you know, Laura and I are always talking about what a difference it makes when we hear from people and how their lives are changed or their practices are changed. So if you've listened to this episode and then you went and did all the things and you found success, like email, let us know.
Cause we wanna hear your story about how your practice grew from changing your online directories. Yeah, it
Laura Long: keeps us going. It really does. That's right. That's right. Yeah. Great. Well thank you for having me, Whitney. I really appreciate your time today.
Whitney Owens: Oh my gosh. It's such a pleasure to have you on the show.
And then for those of you that wanna get to know Laura better, you can go to your badass therapy practice.com. Not only can you get the pdf, but there's a lot of other great information and mastermind groups that she's doing retreats that she's doing. So make sure that you get on her email list. Um, and also Laura will be one of the speakers at the Last Practice Summit in October.
What, what? So that'll be here in Savannah for all the faith-based practice owners in the house. And we're looking forward to being together and, um, honestly just having a good time and also growing our practices downtown Savannah. So that's October 5th through the seventh. And you can get all that information on my website, Whitney, and stop com.
So Laura, thank you
Laura Long: again for taking the time to be with us today. Thanks, Whitney. Have a great day.
Show Notes and Audio Production by James Marland
