As a therapist, you probably serve more than one client, not to mention specializations and certifications you’ve collected over time. You’re an impressive one, but it’s a lot to say in one conversation or over the phone. Sometimes it can feel like you’re bragging because you don’t know which information will be most valuable or interesting to the person you’re talking to, so you just say it all! 

This is where a website comes in handy. It’s like an online business card where new business can find you and potentially new clients can learn more about what you do without you having to brag to their faces! But just like you don’t need to tell your whole life’s story in a conversation you don’t need your whole life story on your website to sign new clients!

In this post, we’re going to cover the three things you need on a website to clearly communicate who you serve, build trust with website visitors, and ultimately make money. Let’s get going!

Clear Messaging

Don Miller of StoryBrand says, “Confused people don’t buy.” If you want your website to help you sign new clients and make money it needs to be clear. Think of it this way: You’re leading the visitors to your website on a journey of envisioning a new reality for themselves, understanding what they need to get there, and realizing that you have the solution to get them there and are someone they can trust. 

If you were going to send someone on a journey you would make sure they either have a very clear map or a very trail to follow, right? Your website is the map or trail. Here are two different ways to make your website SUPER clear:

#1. If you serve more than one group of people:

1. The first sentence anyone sees on your website needs to answer the question: What do you help your clients achieve or leave behind? This can feel overwhelming. So write down all the different things you help clients with and try to boil that down into one overarching topic. 
2. Narrow down the different individuals you serve into two or three different categories.

#2. If you serve one specific group of people:

1. The first sentence anyone sees on your website needs to answer the question: Who do you serve and what do you help them with? You probably help your clients with a lot of different things, but in order to keep visitors focused not confused to your best to summarize it. You’ll get to talk more about what you help clients achieve in a second.
2. Narrow down the different ways you serve clients in two or three different categories.

Giving visitors to your website all the information about how you help people might seem like you’re making sure you won’t miss anyone who needs your services. But have you ever been in an annoying group text that won’t shut up?! That’s what too much information on your website feels like to a visitor. It’s confusing and they get lost. And then, guess what? They don’t schedule an appointment. 

Keep what you do and who you serve simple and clear and you will be well on your way to scheduling new sessions!

Invitation to Schedule a Session With You

Have you ever played “Find Waldo”? It’s a fun game (for some people). Don’t make it so that visitors to your website have to play “Find Waldo” to schedule a session with you. Because you know what’s really hard to schedule? A session that’s never offered!

There should be an invitation to schedule a session with you on every single page of your website. If you have more than 500 words on a page there should be 2-3 invitations to schedule a session with you. Don’t think of this as being annoying. Visitors don’t have the click the button, but it’s there if they’re interested. It’s convenience. 

Just like you don’t want to confuse anyone who lands on your website, you don’t want to lose anyone who lands on your website because they’re trying to find out how to schedule a session with you.

About Page

The “about page” is where you build trust with visitors on your website and communicate that you not only have the education to help them get where they want to go, but also relate to them and have empathy. There are two ways you want to do this:

#1. Your Photo. Show your face. You are a human working with humans. It’s hard to build trust with a “no image” or cartoon. Also, take care to use a photo where you look professional. Hire a photographer or convince a friend to snap a photo of you that captures your professionalism, personality, and commitment to excellence.

#2. Make your visitors feel seen. I know, it’s the about page, so shouldn’t it be about you? Yes, but it should be about how YOU are the right person to help the person visiting your website. So, consider this question:

Do you want to know about a therapist’s experience and degrees or do you want to know how a therapist’s experience qualifies them to help you through your challenges?

The easiest way to share about your experience while sharing how it qualifies you to help someone is like this: share a personal struggle that brought you to where you are and how it inspired you to become a therapist or mention how you helped other clients walk in victory by using your skills and qualifications.

Do you see how, in both suggestions, you mentioned your experience and qualifications, but those weren’t the main point – helping people was the point?

If you’re ready to earn the trust of visitors on your website, go find an image of yourself looking professional and write a short bio about how your experiences qualify you to help others!

Are Websites Still Worth It?

We believe they are, otherwise, we wouldn’t have written a whole blog post on what you need for a money-making client-signing website we also wouldn’t have friends who own a business building websites.

But, in case you’re still not convinced, think about this: When you’re looking for a Doctor or a Dentist. Any medical professional what is one of the first things you do even if a trusted friend told you about them? You google them! Right?

That’s the #1 reason we believe a clear and compelling website is important for your online practice. Having a website makes you relevant and gives you credibility because you immediately look valid and professional.

If you’re interested in having a website for your practice or want your website to have a facelift, check out Websites by iTherapy.  We build cutting-edge budget-friendly websites for many of the therapists that work for us. We’re experts when it comes to technology and we understand the online therapy space very well!