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Marketing Ideas

I've recently opened an independent practice and to encourage all new clients to drink more water I give them a refillable water bottle. So far the response has been wonderful. What other marketing ideas have you found successful?

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Permalink Reply by Liz on November 10, 2009 at 1:48pm

I have a question for everyone - we've posted here several times about free listings on our site for massage therapists. Our site is getting great traffic and many folks who have listed are telling us they are getting referrals. Yet, we haven't had much response from folks here to actually list their practice.

Are we doing something wrong? Is there a reason why folks on this site are not taking advantage of our free offer? there are no strings attached..really! :)

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on November 10, 2009 at 9:41pm

i believe Gloria wears them for that session as well. will you be sportin a sarong too? i'd like to see that!! :)

Trevor said:

I also do the magnetic business cards and find they work really well.

I love the idea of the sarongs too! LomiLomi is on my list of studies and I'll keep that in mind for a later date, cheers.

I often recommend tennis ball self massage for clients and have tennis balls printed with my details that I give away, I'm sure many end up in the dogs basket but those that don't remind people to rebook.

Gloria Coppola said:
Magnetic business cards work too! People misplace the paper ones sometimes and if they have a magnetic one it's on the frig with your phone # all the time. My clients appreciated having it handy and laughed when every time they went into the refrigerator I was "right there". It reminded them they needed to get back for another massage. I am also a lomi practitioner and I cover my clients with beautiful sarongs. They get to take it home when the session is done. They are always thrilled and surprised. The smell of the coconut oil lingers on the drive home. When they see it or wear it obviously it reminds them of the session and time to rebook!

I love your idea by the way. AWESOME

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on November 11, 2009 at 1:02am

Liz--

I can only speak for myself, but here are a couple of reasons that people might not be responding here as well as you'd anticipated:

1. There's no such thing as a free lunch. We've been told this over and over, and an offer such as yours may make people a little . . . well, suspicious. What's hidden? What are we not being told? What do you get out of this, other than hoping that people get enough out of the free trial that they are willing to pay the $200/yr?

2. Speaking completely personally, I'm here to connect with other massage therapists, not to be shilled to. When I first joined, I looked up your profile to make sure you weren't a bot, as the only thing I've really ever seen from you is promoting your website. It gets thrown out in chat a couple of times a day, but you don't engage otherwise. In marketing discussions, you may have something that is relevant to the conversation at hand, but it ALWAYS ends with a plug for the website. That amount of single-minded saturation, quite honestly, makes me hostile. It's kind of like multi-level marketing, for me: you could have the greatest product in the world that cures cancer and potty-trains toddlers all in one go, but if I don't agree with the structure or presentation, I'll actively reject it.

But I'm stubborn like that.

Just my $0.02.

E.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on November 11, 2009 at 7:13am

Erica I'm with you on this.

I also thought she was a bot and looked up her profile to see for sure.

I also don't like the fact that a forum for MTs is being bombarded with vedors who are just trying to get us to buy something. in the end it MAY be 6 months free but ultimately it will cost. i'm also curious at Laszlo's remark about it NOT being free for 6 months.

anyhow...i really think if you're gonna be on here you should be wearing your MT hat FIRST and then vendor hat. otherwise i'm not interested. i can do my own search for products, advertising specials, promotional gifts, etc. i don't want to see it here.

just my .02.

L

Erica Olson said:

Liz--

I can only speak for myself, but here are a couple of reasons that people might not be responding here as well as you'd anticipated:

1. There's no such thing as a free lunch. We've been told this over and over, and an offer such as yours may make people a little . . . well, suspicious. What's hidden? What are we not being told? What do you get out of this, other than hoping that people get enough out of the free trial that they are willing to pay the $200/yr?

2. Speaking completely personally, I'm here to connect with other massage therapists, not to be shilled to. When I first joined, I looked up your profile to make sure you weren't a bot, as the only thing I've really ever seen from you is promoting your website. It gets thrown out in chat a couple of times a day, but you don't engage otherwise. In marketing discussions, you may have something that is relevant to the conversation at hand, but it ALWAYS ends with a plug for the website. That amount of single-minded saturation, quite honestly, makes me hostile. It's kind of like multi-level marketing, for me: you could have the greatest product in the world that cures cancer and potty-trains toddlers all in one go, but if I don't agree with the structure or presentation, I'll actively reject it.

But I'm stubborn like that.

Just my $0.02.

E.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on November 13, 2009 at 5:14am

Thanks for your reply Erica, I really do appreciate that you took the time, especially if I made you feel hostile. It really is free for 6 months. We are hoping that people will be receiving referrals and think it is a worthwhile service and be willing to purchase it at the end of the free trial. many businesses use the free trial as a way to introduce their services to potential clients.

You are right in that I don't engage in many discussions - other than marketing, but that is where I feel I have the most to offer and I really am passionate about it.

Erica Olson said:

Liz--

I can only speak for myself, but here are a couple of reasons that people might not be responding here as well as you'd anticipated:

1. There's no such thing as a free lunch. We've been told this over and over, and an offer such as yours may make people a little . . . well, suspicious. What's hidden? What are we not being told? What do you get out of this, other than hoping that people get enough out of the free trial that they are willing to pay the $200/yr?

2. Speaking completely personally, I'm here to connect with other massage therapists, not to be shilled to. When I first joined, I looked up your profile to make sure you weren't a bot, as the only thing I've really ever seen from you is promoting your website. It gets thrown out in chat a couple of times a day, but you don't engage otherwise. In marketing discussions, you may have something that is relevant to the conversation at hand, but it ALWAYS ends with a plug for the website. That amount of single-minded saturation, quite honestly, makes me hostile. It's kind of like multi-level marketing, for me: you could have the greatest product in the world that cures cancer and potty-trains toddlers all in one go, but if I don't agree with the structure or presentation, I'll actively reject it.

But I'm stubborn like that.

Just my $0.02.

E.

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Permalink Reply by Allison Kay Poteet on November 13, 2009 at 9:47am

just ordered it...thanks!

Mike Hinkle said:

Try Laura Allen's Book, One Year To A Successul Business"!

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Permalink Reply by Allison Kay Poteet on November 13, 2009 at 9:53am

I love this! I print labels with aftercare instructions and my info and apply to bottles...before they go in the fridge if they are for the cold water folks!

Lisa said:

Hey Marilyn,

I don't really...but if you do a google search for "promotional water bottles" there seem to be quite a few to compare prices with.

one thing to be weary of with water bottles though....there is a new study that shows that water bottles can be a risk to your health (do a google search on "water bottles health risk"). the better idea might be to do something like this...

this way you can offer regular bottled water and your promo will be a cool way of carrying that size water bottle without the health risks. it'll also initiate a great discussion ON the health risks of the other type of water bottles.

Marilyn St.John said:
Lisa, would you happen to know a resource for a place that would do this sort of printing? I had this idea, too, and can't seem to get it off the ground. Thank you ~ m

Lisa said:
did you make sure that your refillable water bottles have your info on them?

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on November 13, 2009 at 11:15am

See, that's part of the problem. I don't even see you "discussing" anything in marketing--all I see you doing is advertising your site and doing the occasional troubleshooting. If you gave some other marketing tips or engaged in more than "here's an advertising website!", you'd come off considerably more connected. You say you have a lot to offer and are passionate, but I don't see you putting forth anything other than spam.

If I had to guess (other than the initial suspicion that you were a bot), I'd say that posting about the website is your paid day job and that you probably do the same thing on other forums that might be relevant to the website. You might not literally be a spam bot, but your function seems to be the same.

E.

Liz said:

You are right in that I don't engage in many discussions - other than marketing, but that is where I feel I have the most to offer and I really am passionate about it.