Lots of people imagine that making a website is a big project that takes lots of time.

They’re right. It is a big project. By big, I mean hugely important. Not time consuming. You can have a simple site up in less than a week. Get your “quick and dirty” website out there now, and make it better as you go.

In today’s world, it’s impossible for most healers to attract clients without a professional-looking website. If you don’t have one, get one today. You’ll never know how many potential clients you lost because they looked at your site and didn’t find what they were looking for or, worse, couldn’t find you at all because you don’t have one.

If someone refers a friend to you, chances are that friend may find herself typing your name (common misspellings and all) into Google to try to find you. You need to make it easy for her. Really, really easy. Because the worst is when you lose a client who was looking for just what you offer, just when you needed them, because you were harder to find than the other practitioner on the list of names her friend gave her.

If you’re finding it hard to think of what to write, you may be thinking too much about conveying an image. It’s uncomfortable, even scary for many of us to make ourselves visible.

Your goal is to attract, or connect with, the person who wants to work with you. That means you need to come through on the page. Share your passion and how you got into your work.

Think about who you enjoy working with and write as though you’re having a conversation with that person. What does she care about? Empathize, show you understand. Talk about the stories of others like her that you have worked with and how they grew or gained. What is he really struggling with now? Use your website to show your empathy, depth of knowledge, and character.

Tell your new client how she’ll feel when she walks away from your time together. Show her why she should trust you.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing Your Website

Using a website as an online business card. That is so 1992. Really.

Don’t get caught in the trap of thinking your website is a place to list your phone number and email. Sites like this are a huge missed opportunity! Your website is your first impression. It’s a step on the way to building a relationship with you. You want this to be a good relationship that builds trust, starting with your site as square one. Create a site that is professional to build your visitors’ confidence in you from the very beginning.

Not having a website. These days, if you want to work with anyone under 60, a professional website is a must. You can do it yourself or hire someone to help, but you need a clean page with images, well-edited text, and things that are interesting (not to you, but to your clients). Think great articles, photos, and videos.

Thinking, “I have Facebook (or Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), I don’t need a website.” Sites like these are constantly changing their policies. They can change their policies one day and hide you from your connection’s news feeds. In fact, Facebook is currently trending toward a model where only paid pages show up in your news feed. Any social media website has its own financial agenda, which can sometimes conflict with your goals. A website is a direct way to communicate with your supporters and strengthen your relationships.

Besides, any social media site can lose popularity. Remember MySpace?

Focusing too much on what you offer. Your website needs to communicate what you care about, why you care, and what you do. If your website includes a long list of services, you run the risk that your visitor will glaze over as they read. When faced with lots of options, most people freeze and do nothing. You want the person to contact you, right? Writing out a long list of services is really, really likely to stop your visitor from giving you a call today.

Imagine that you are the person you want to work with. What do you care about? What would you want to see to feel confident that this professional “knows their stuff” and can follow through? You’d have a great website if you only focused on the answers to these two questions.

It’s more powerful to talk about stories of how clients changed after a session with you, or what they took away. Let your clients speak, or share their stories.

Giving people tons of options. This usually takes the form of listing tons of “packages” or session types. Again, most people respond to “choice  overload” by doing nothing. Keep it simple to avoid your visitor freezing like a deer in headlights. Give them some basic information about working with you (a couple of sentences, max), and direct them to call or email you to inquire about your schedule.

Or, keep your package list short. List 1 – 3 (max!) simple packages and make sure the information is presented in a way that is easy for a new reader to scan. As practitioners, we tend to be so familiar with what we’re offering that we think it’s easy to understand when really it’s far too much information for an unfamiliar person to consume. Ask your friend to scan your list and tell you what they think you’re offering. A new pair of eyes may see something you missed. When in doubt, shorten it, simplify it, and then shorten it again.

To give you a sense of what this can look like in action, here’s a  sample from a website I authored:

Five Benefits of a Postpartum Doula

About Lindsay
I feel honored to have supported dozens of families through pregnancy, birth, and the transition of early parenthood. Passionate about evidence-based medicine and preventative, integrative health care, I provide unconditional support to you and your family. I care for you based on your needs, encouraging empowerment and self care.

Are you feeling ready?
You’re not alone. It’s easier with support. For parent resources and information, go to bringingbabieshome.com.