making a living? just how likely?

[John Tolles]

how feasible is it to earn +3k per month in the first six months of opening an office? I'm thinking about enrolling in some hypnotherapy program but I'm not sure if it's a wise career move.

[Cynthia Cameron]

Have you tried Google Ads.

Once you have a website the next step is directing traffic to it. Its like turning on the lights in a darkened room. ;-)

Google Ads allows you to run campaigns using keywords that people would punch into google. You can also hook into Google maps. It has been SO successful for our practice that we no longer advertise in the local newspaper or Yellow pages.

We also have a little questionnaire for clients to see How they heard about us and have now introduced a line to tell us what keywords they punch in. Very helpful.

Hope this helps,
Cynthia Cameron, CHt

www.channelled.com.au

silverback said:

So glad for this thread.
I have a website - www.westessexhypnotherapy.co.uk whick i slaved over for 3 months at end of last year, but I get ZERO back from it. I really mean zero.
My marketing skills are non existent, other than twitter and facebook type posts... so this is all helpful, thanks.

[Kathleen Hanover]

Hi Susan,

Thanks for the compliment, Susan. I do okay. It has only taken me 20 years of hard work to become an overnight sensation. ;) Becoming really good at marketing and PR probably takes as long as becoming really good at hypnotherapy. So I don't know that it would be a good return on your investment (in terms of time) to try to become a marketing expert. Unless it's something you're excited about and into anyway.

However, it might make sense to at least become familiar with marketing concepts, so when you do set out to buy marketing services from someone, you can recognize the difference between quality and crap. I have a bookstore on my website with a list of my favorite marketing, PR, networking and copywriting books. (So I don't run afoul of the no-ads policy, please don't buy anything from my store. If you see a book you like, look it up on Amazon, or better yet, get it free at the library.)

There are a lot of good free resources online. Wordpress is a great open-source blogging platform that can pass for a website (in fact, my site is a customized WP blog.) Twitter and Facebook are free. HypnoThoughts is free. Cold calling is free. Asking for referrals is free.

Re: cold calling, get a copy of The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply ... For referrals, get Endless Referrals.

I haven't taken a lot of classes. Truth be told, I have no formal training in marketing or PR...I have a BFA in theater directing (I concentrated in Shakespeare.) I've worked for and learned from some really smart people and I've done a lot of reading. However, I can wholeheartedly recommend Sandler sales training. It's very expensive, and worth about 10 times what I paid for it. Every business owner should join Sandler's Presidents Club immediately if not sooner. It's really life-changing. My billings have gone up about 50% a year for the past two years with help from Sandler.

Hope this helps!

Kathleen
Seeing the world through marketing-colored glasses

Susan French said:

Hi Kathleen,

It sounds like you have my missing information...lol.

@Kathleen: since you are at the highest end of your field (and congratulations for that, whew, especially in that field), are there books, classes, websites, ideas to develop?

But I know myself. I cringe at the idea of "cold calling" or anything resembling it. That's probably why I've dragged my feet too.

[Kathleen Hanover]

HI Cynthia,

I assume you're talking about AdWords ads?

They can be a very high-ROI tactic but I would highly recommend that it not be the first one a beginner tries if they're just starting out. If you don't set your bid prices and account limits correctly, you could run up an enormous AdWords bill and get no live clients out of it.

Kathleen
Seeing the world through marketing-colored glasses

Cynthia Cameron said:

Have you tried Google Ads.
Once you have a website the next step is directing traffic to it. Its like turning on the lights in a darkened room. ;-)
Google Ads allows you to run campaigns using keywords that people would punch into google. You can also hook into Google maps. It has been SO successful for our practice that we no longer advertise in the local newspaper or Yellow pages.

We also have a little questionnaire for clients to see How they heard about us and have now introduced a line to tell us what keywords they punch in. Very helpful.

Hope this helps,
Cynthia Cameron, CHt

www.channelled.com.au

silverback said:

So glad for this thread.
I have a website - www.westessexhypnotherapy.co.uk whick i slaved over for 3 months at end of last year, but I get ZERO back from it. I really mean zero. My marketing skills are non existent, other than twitter and facebook type posts... so this is all helpful, thanks.

[Kathleen Hanover]

Saw a great article about startups this morning:

Startups: Poor Record Keeping is Expensive

Also, I I forgot to include a link: Sandler Sales Training. Be warned, the only worthwhile thing on their site is the "office locator." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sandler is an almost entirely sales-oriented company, and they give marketing short shrift. As far as I can tell, that's their only flaw.

Kathleen
Seeing the world through marketing-colored glasses

[the grumpy hypnotist]

Hello silverback,

If you've gotten Zero response from your site, at least there's nowhere to go but UP. Anyway here's my feedback.

1) the audio clip is annoying because it starts every time the homepage is visited. and it's not clear how to make it stop. should make it voluntary to listen to clip. otherwise, easiest choice for people who want to stop it is to leave your site. I was listening to audiobook when I browsed to your site, your site interrupted me. also not good for all those office workers who surf at work.

2) link to stop smoking page is broken.

3) email signup form offers nothing of value. asks for visitor email, but there is no "what's in it for me" answer.

4) small white text on black background is difficult to read.

5) even more difficult to read with overuse of different colored fonts, bolds, italics and underlines.

6) great testimonial w/ photos from world-champion martial artist is buried. while other testimonials (with less-than-believable initial-only sources) are up front.

7) generally confusing structure with too many drop downs and paths to follow. simple is better for visitor experience and control of sales message. only web designers like complicated sites --- but their opinion shouldn't matter.

8) your personal background is interesting and impressive. but it's buried under-the-fold after a lot of apologetic text about "oh, we don't like to talk about ourselves..." even though it is on the About Me page. If someone is clicking to the About Me page, I think they would want you to get to the point and give them the information they are looking for.

9) the Contact Us page seems incomplete - esp. Our Work section

10) copy on front page seems to lack focus on solving people's problems. Instead there is some history about NLP and how it started in California in the 1970's. Who cares? Quite a lot of generic "dream your perfect life" and "get the life you deserve" and "transform your life" verbiage. None of that convinces me that you can solve my problems.

11) FAQ answers are limited to "What is hypnosis" and "What is NLP". People who are ready to use hypnosis or NLP to solve their problems generally do not care and would not ask those questions. They use Google or Wikipedia to find that stuff out. The FAQ does not answer questions that clients actually frequently ask, so what is the point?

12) Target audience seems unidentified. Is it someone who would relate to your business background? Or your martial arts background? Or people who would be excited by the combination of "Neuropsychology combined with Ancient Wisdom"? What does that mean exactly? And why should it matter? I mean, are you claiming that you as the hypnotist, not only are an expert in neurology and psychology, but also will teach your clients Ancient Wisdom? Do you think clients who want to stop smoking or improve performance are interested in going to see someone who will instruct them in the ways of the Ancient Wise Ones?

Just some things to think about. I think the elements are there but there can be substantial improvement in focus, presentation, navigation and content. I hope this helps.


silverback said:

So glad for this thread.

I have a website - www.westessexhypnotherapy.co.uk whick i slaved over for 3 months at end of last year, but I get ZERO back from it.
I really mean zero.

My marketing skills are non existent, other than twitter and facebook type posts... so this is all helpful, thanks.

[Susan French]

Thanks so very much for all the specific suggestions. I really agree that when faced with a task that is expensive and important, it's good to understand principles before going in.

I love your line about it taking 20 yrs of hard work to become an overnight success...lol.

Thanks,

Susan

Kathleen Hanover said:

Hi Susan,

Thanks for the compliment, Susan. I do okay. It has only taken me 20 years of hard work to become an overnight sensation. ;) Becoming really good at marketing and PR probably takes as long as becoming really good at hypnotherapy. So I don't know that it would be a good return on your investment (in terms of time) to try to become a marketing expert. Unless it's something you're excited about and into anyway.

However, it might make sense to at least become familiar with marketing concepts, so when you do set out to buy marketing services from someone, you can recognize the difference between quality and crap. I have a bookstore on my website with a list of my favorite marketing, PR, networking and copywriting books. (So I don't run afoul of the no-ads policy, please don't buy anything from my store. If you see a book you like, look it up on Amazon, or better yet, get it free at the library.)

There are a lot of good free resources online. Wordpress is a great open-source blogging platform that can pass for a website (in fact, my site is a customized WP blog.) Twitter and Facebook are free. HypnoThoughts is free. Cold calling is free. Asking for referrals is free.

Re: cold calling, get a copy of The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply ... For referrals, get Endless Referrals.

I haven't taken a lot of classes. Truth be told, I have no formal training in marketing or PR...I have a BFA in theater directing (I concentrated in Shakespeare.) I've worked for and learned from some really smart people and I've done a lot of reading. However, I can wholeheartedly recommend Sandler sales training. It's very expensive, and worth about 10 times what I paid for it. Every business owner should join Sandler's Presidents Club immediately if not sooner. It's really life-changing. My billings have gone up about 50% a year for the past two years with help from Sandler.

Hope this helps!

Kathleen
Seeing the world through marketing-colored glasses

Susan French said:

Hi Kathleen,

It sounds like you have my missing information...lol.

@Kathleen: since you are at the highest end of your field (and congratulations for that, whew, especially in that field), are there books, classes, websites, ideas to develop?

But I know myself. I cringe at the idea of "cold calling" or anything resembling it. That's probably why I've dragged my feet too.

[Al Whitton]

Thanks to you Richard and Cynthia, and especially thanks to you Grumpy.

I' going to start implementing these changes pretty much straight away.


I REALLY appreciate your time and your candour, and hopefully after I make some of these changes (maybe I should completely start afresh with a new design?) I'll get some responses.

I know what you mean about the testimonials - even though they're all genuine.

Right plenty to do then

Thanks so much again,

Alan

[Al Whitton]

I'm mamking progress in implementing the changes suggested by grumpy, and am about 60% way thru them. (the opening text is not finished at all)
Any feedback very welcome - no matter what.

http://www.westessexhypnotherapy.co.uk

I'm going to start a new thread as I feel I am hijacking this one.

Thanks again for

silverback said:

Thanks to you Richard and Cynthia, and especially thanks to you Grumpy.

I' going to start implementing these changes pretty much straight away.


I REALLY appreciate your time and your candour, and hopefully after I make some of these changes (maybe I should completely start afresh with a new design?) I'll get some responses.

I know what you mean about the testimonials - even though they're all genuine.

Right plenty to do then

Thanks so much again,

Alan

[Kenda McCaskill]

Richard you are the man..... Who could not get excited and enthusiatic after your good advise. Any course you can take that involves Richard you will love, and come out of with confidence and excitement.

I know I did.

Richard Nongard - HypnosisGurus.com said:

3K a month is a bit low. Charging only $229 for smoking cessation (2 sessions - this is the LOW end of pricing for such a protocol) means you only need 20 clients a month to make $4500 a month... Charge $279 and have 20 clients a month, just for smoking cessation and earn $5500 a month....

How do you get that many clients? People seach for hypnotists online by geography. Pick a domain name that leads people to you like www.ScottsdaleHypnosis.com or something. Learn about SEO and get good search engine results. (For example, just type in the word "hypnosis" into google and the first video is ME. Not bad search engine placement. (I do not own scottsdalehypnosis.com It is just an example, I do not know who owns it).

Run a business like a business. DO NOT practice out of your house unless you want to chop out 80% of the potential clients who were willing to scedule an appointment. Buy some classified ads in the weekly paper. Spend every minute you are not seeing clients meeting people and doing marketing ie./ Chamber of commerce or Rotary. Meet other professionals.

Set the bar high. As I tell people all the time, in a county the size of your county can you find ten people a week willing to pay you $250 to help them quit smoking? That is 10K a month.

Oh, and learn how to promote a market a hypnosis practice from those whith successful practices, not at home hypnotists who never see clients.

I know skilled hypnotists who can;t pay the bills at the end of the month, and some real lousy hypnotists making tons of money. Hypnosis is the product, but it's just a business like any other so get basic business skills and use them and you will be successful.

[janice marshall]

if the site hasn't worked then change it and see how/if that works any better - the good thing about a web site is that you can alter it quickly - unlike a yellow pages ad
janice
http://www.jmholistics.co.uk

silverback said:

So glad for this thread.

I have a website - www.westessexhypnotherapy.co.uk whick i slaved over for 3 months at end of last year, but I get ZERO back from it.
I really mean zero.

My marketing skills are non existent, other than twitter and facebook type posts... so this is all helpful, thanks.

[Craig Eubanks]

how feasible is it to earn +3k per month in the first six months of opening an office? I'm thinking about enrolling in some hypnotherapy program but I'm not sure if it's a wise career move.

Hi John,

First thing that strikes me is this... Doesn't sound from the way you ask the question that you believe it's possible.

" If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." Henry Ford

Next thing is this... and I'm sure to ruffle a few feathers with this... taking a course in hypnotherapy won't determine your success. Your abilities to market yourself will determine your success.

Now, I'm not saying if you are selling hypnosis sessions you shouldn't learn how to use hypnosis effectively. Being highly competent at your advertised profession will in fact bring you word-of-mouth business, which is a good thing.

BUT! If you can't get butts in the door and into your chair, it makes no difference how good you are.

Were I planning to start a new entrepreneurial business, before I did anything I would spend a lot of hours learning how to get clients/customers BEFORE I learned the skills need for the service provided.

If you are serious about this, go buy the all-time classics of marketing, selling, and advertising. Learn the secrets of the pros. People have spent billions of dollars testing to find what works and what doesn't, and you can buy that knowledge for about $100 at Amazon.com.

Here's a list of MUST HAVE books for any entrepreneur:

"Tested Advertising Methods" -by John Caples

"Scientific Advertising" -by Claude Hopkins

"How To Write A Good Advertisement" -by Victor Schwab

"Ogilvy on Advertising" David Ogilvy

"Triggers" by Joe Sugarman

"The Robert Collier Letter Book" -by Robert Collier

"Break-Through Advertising" -by Eugene M. Schwartz

And I also recommend you read "Think & Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and "The Ultimate Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy.

Then, when you take your hypnotherapy training, you'll be getting ideas on how to market the services and you can pose questions to the instructor on what marketing works best for them.

Finally, to answer your question about making $3,000/month in six months... it's totally possible. In fact, $3k a month is hardly enough to live on these days. A competent hypnotist with good marketing should be making a six-figure income or close to it.

Hell, where I live in San Francisco, it would cost you $1000/month just to have an office (and it would be a very tiny office).

If you do the math, and figure out how much you'll need to retire on (there is no way I'm counting on Social Security to be there when I retire), you'll realize that even a six-figure income after taxes, living costs, business costs, health insurance, etc. does not leave much to build a retirement nest egg. Especially if you have a family and are the sole provider.

I personally think every hypnotist should target $10,000 per month as their goal. Once you realize you can make 5 figures in a month (and it's easier than you think) you start thinking big.

Cal Banyan's hypnosis center was pulling in around $400,000/year when I took his training about 5 years ago. And he was located in a small town in the middle of Minnesota. Cal approached it as a businessman first, hypnotist second. He based his whole operation on principles from Michael Gerber's best selling book "The E-Myth". It ran like a well oiled machine. Very impressive.

So, it can be done. It has been done. The real question comes down to if you can do it. And the true form of that question is... "are you willing to do what ever it takes?"

Cheers,

Craig Eubanks
http://twitter.com/CraigEubanks

P.S. There are over a 120 hundred articles, videos, and podcasts on my blog about marketing specifically for hypnotists. Find them here: http://HypnosisMarketingTips.com


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