What? (Part 3 of 5 W's and 1 H)

I brainstormed several different ways of starting this post. Here's the winner:

Q: What?
A: Counseling. For human problems. That gives your client some benefit.

OK, that might be too succinct, but if you just get that question and answer, you'll improve your site.

The What of our sites (whether you call yourself counselor, social worker, therapist, analyst, or psychologist) is our paid services. To me, the goal of our sites is to get clients to come in, let us provide counseling services, and then pay us for it.

I know there are people who want to have other streams of income - sell e-books, tapes, etc. That's fine, but for a vast majority of you therapists out there, that income is going to vastly overshadowed by your fee-for-service income. I bring up this point because I think in developing your content for your website you should make it crystal clear that you...

1) provide counseling services - and be direct about whether your services are geared to the individual, family, marriage, pre-marital, child, adolescent and/or teen.

2) you do services for with certain complaints. Depression, anxiety, relationships (these 3 words cover the vast majority of client complaints - it is the 80/20 rule in effect) are the clearest examples.

3) if you have a niche or specialty, that you do these services for those issues too.

4) and that the counseling is given to provide benefits to your clients. There's a saying in advertising - "Features tell, benefits sell". People don't come for the DBT or the CBT or the EFT, they come for the peace of mind, or the returning of hope and energy, or the end of fighting in their marriage.

OK, I'm getting off my soapbox now.

Best, Peter
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