Everything You Ought To Know About Guest Blogging To Build Your Therapy Practice

When I look for practice-building advice for my own business, I look for a therapist who has rock solid experience building and reinventing her own business and one who has walked her path with joy, grace, transparency and generosity.  No one I know has done that any better than Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW. 

One tool she has leveraged for her business’ growth and every-expanding success has been her use of blogging.  Today, I am honored and excited to share with you this interview with Julie talking about her decisions related to guest blogging and where they have led her.

_____________

An Interview with Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW

 

Tamara:  Please introduce yourself so that my readers who are not familiar with your blogging will understand why I’ve invited you to speak with us specifically about blogging on highly trafficked sites.

Julie:  I’m Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW, a private practice consultant, author, media contributor, wife and mother of 4, and owner and executive director of Wasatch Family Therapy in Utah. My private practice, founded in 2002, has grown from a solo practice to a private pay practice that employs 20 providers with 3 locations.

Tamara:  So how how have you used blogging to build your private practice?

Julie:  I tend to be an early technology adopter and had a website in the early 2000’s, before most therapists had websites. About 8 years ago I had a gut feeling that I needed to and wanted to gain media and social media skills and build a trusted online presence. I added a blog to my practice website and started blogging regularly on topics that I hoped would speak to our ideal clients.

After building a decent archive of articles, I started looking for opportunities to blog on larger websites. I read somewhere that back-linking would help your website SEO. Around that time I stumbled across Psychcentral.com and was drawn to their Ask a Therapist column so I decided to email the CEO to ask if I could join the Ask a Therapist team.

In early 2011 I started blogging for them.  What shocked me is that John, the CEO, offered to pay me! What was even better is that I got to own the content and repost it after 4 weeks on my websites. I had no idea that I could get paid to answer mental health and relationship questions and own the content.

Tamara:  How did you make the transition from guest posting on PsychCentral to having your own column there?

Julie:  After regularly blogging for PsychCentral I pitched my own blog on PsychCentral Pro –  Private Practice Toolbox. The idea was sparked by an increase in therapists contacting me with questions about how I had continued to grow my fee-for-service private practice, during a downturn in the economy, free of managed care or any other contracts.

Also, I had recently been invited to speak a few times to mental health professionals on building an online presence, how to land media interviews, how to use social media, etc. and I found that I loved sharing what I had learned about the power of building an online presence as part of growing your private practice. I’m all about helping people achieve their dreams and if there is anything I can do to facilitate that, I’m all in.

Tamara:  What led you to make the decision to guest post on sites other than your own and how you decided where to do that?

Julie:  I decided to seek opportunities to blog on high-traffic websites to serve my communities, build trust by establishing myself as an expert, to raise visibility of my practice, and to build back links to my websites to increase my readership. I looked for websites that had high traffic, so I could reach more people with my message, had a good reputation, and whose mission was aligned with my purpose and passion.

Because of my extensive content creation and online presence I now get solicitations to write for and/or interview with high-traffic websites. For example, I was invited to be the relationship expert for Answers.com.

Tamara:  Is guest blogging something you would recommend to other therapists and what are the steps to doing that?

Julie:  I definitely recommend blogging to other therapists because it is a great way to serve, build trust, educate, and share your passion. I usually recommend blogging on other sites after they’ve laid some groundwork first. That groundwork is:

1) Launch your own practice website with a blog on the site.
2) Blog regularly on your site on topics that you are passionate about and that are helpful to your ideal client to demonstrate your writing skills.
3) Create accounts on least 2-3 social media platforms and share your blog posts and curate the best of other content relevant to your ideal client.

Tamara:  Can you talk about the benefits of guest posting on other websites?

Julie:  There are so many benefits of blogging on other websites. For your private practice, it makes it easier for potential clients to find you. You’ll be easier to find in Google searches. Your content will be more accessible. Your name will be seen which develops trust and establishes credibility.

An unexpected benefit for me has been that it has opened up additional opportunities for sharing my message on even larger platforms and help more people. This has helped to grow my social media following, further establish me as a trusted expert, increases traffic to my websites, improves SEO.

Tamara:  How did you initially learn about guest posting?

Julie:  A few years ago I had an experience where I really GOT the benefit and the power of regularly creating content on my websites on higher profile sites. A couple of years ago I received the following email:

Hi Julie –

I hope this note finds you well! I wanted to get in touch to let you know that you’ll be included on the “SharecareNow 10 – Depression” list  .This list will be publicly announced next week. This is a list created using several different metrics to ascertain the most influential members of the depression community. If you’d like a more detailed description of how we created the list, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You are not asked to include any payment or any sort of participation in order to be included on the list. Of course, you’re more than welcome to share with your readers. We’d also like to personally invite you to join the Sharecare community as an expert – so you can help to answer questions that relate to depression…”

I soon learned that Sharecare was a health-related social media platform created by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, in partnership with Harpo Studios, HSW International, Sony Pictures Television, and Discovery Communications, the company provides a wide array of expert answers, ultimately creating a community where healthcare knowledge is built, shared and put into practice.

Then I learned that I was #1 on the list! I was floored. When I found out how on earth they found me they told me that it was because of the volume of online content that I created relating to depression, the # of social media channels that I produced depression related content (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, several blogs, podcasts), and the high level of engagement with my content by followers (comments, shares, retweets, etc.)

Tamara:  WOW!  That was a fabulous trajectory that, in my mind, was meant to happen!  Thank you for sharing such an inspiring example of what can happen! 

I was floored! How on earth did they find me out of all of the content creators on the Internet? A little clinical social worker in Utah? That seems to me as likely as finding a needle in a haystack! But they found me, in large part because of the content I created on higher trafficked websites (PsychCentral, TheWIN, and others). This honor opened up opportunities to blog for ShareCare, Yahoo!, and DailyStrength.

Tamara:  One of the things I find in our online community here at Private Practice from the Inside Out is that many therapists are hesitant to ask but really want to know about the money that can be made in blogging.   What kind of money can a therapist who is committed to blogging make doing this type of work?

Julie:  Don’t be shy about asking for money but also be prepared to create a lot of free content to establish your credibility.

It is so fascinating how uncomfortable most therapists are talking about money! A former private practice consulting client who had struggled to set money-related boundaries in her practice herself, reframed money as simply an “energy exchange.” I love that idea.

Also, keep in mind that being paid for work doesn’t necessarily involve money. Sometimes the payment is reaching more of your idea clients, or an opportunity for someone else to present you as an expert, or the chance to grow your social media following, or the chance to build new relationships.

Tamara:  Can you provide a dollar range and what might be expected from a therapist in return? Any negotiating tips you can share?

Julie:  In my experience, a general amount paid per blog post can range anywhere from $10-200 for a 400-600 word article. As far as negotiating, always approach it from the perspective of how you can serve their readership. That means you have to do your homework and know who their audience is.

Also, before negotiating, make sure that you have something to offer them, like a large online tribe that you will direct to their website to increase their traffic, or an existing reputation that helps them build their reputation through association with you.

Tamara:  Are there particular challenges / concerns that therapists should be aware of?

Julie:  One challenge that therapists should be aware of is that there are a lot of people willing to create content without financial compensation. Expect to blog for no financial compensation when you first start. Like anything else, you have to prove yourself valuable and capable, and once you do, you become more valuable.

Tamara:  When should therapists start thinking about blogging on highly trafficked blogs?

Julie:  I already addressed this earlier, but to reiterate, therapists should consider blogging after they have been blogging on their own site and have some social media following.

Tamara:  For the therapist that is ready to reach that bigger audience, what should they do?

Julie:  Get inside the head of your ideal client so you can focus your efforts. Ask yourself what websites your ideal clients are most likely to visit, and which websites are already reaching your ideal clients? Those are the sites you want to target!

Once you narrow it down to a few sites, make initial contact with the editor and start building a relationship. Always lead with what you can do for them and their audience – how your unique expertise and perspective will serve their readers in a meaningful way.

Tamara:  Can you offer any tips / tricks / suggestions to stand out from others interested in blogging on the same blog?

Julie:  Do your homework! Study the website and ask yourself, “How am I uniquely qualified to add value to this particular website?” “How can I add something fresh and different? A different subject? A different angle on a topic that is already being covered?”

Tamara:  Do you have any other thoughts / advice that therapists might want to know related to blogging on highly-trafficked sites?

Julie:  1) Effective website – Develop a professional, easy to navigate website, that features your blog on the homepage so when potential editors visit your site they trust you and your expertise. Your website is your online portfolio and it’s your initial “hello”.
2) Pro photo – It’s worth it to invest in a great head shot and use it consistently on your blogging profiles, website, social media thumbnails.
3) Great bio – Have a few snappy, short bios already written, that appeals to your ideal client to use as your author bio at the end of each blog post.
4) Link, link, link – And always include links to your website(s) and social media profiles on everything you create online.

Tamara:  Finally, I know you are transitioning out of your private practice. Are you leaving clinical work altogether? Would you like to share your big news here so that we can continue to follow your work? And, where is it we can continue to find you online?

Over the years I have learned to follow my gut, to trust my intuition, and to go toward things that energize me. After being in clinical social work practice for 20 years, I decided to discontinue my clinical practice last month. I will still continue to own and run my private practice and to train and mentor clinicians at Wasatch Family Therapy and take care of my family.

It was a difficult decision and I shed a lot of tears saying goodbye to my clients, but it is the right decision for me. I feel called to focus my energy differently and in ways that I can make a unique contribution and make a difference for more people.

I am not even sure exactly what that is right now, but my sense is that I will share what I’ve learned with larger groups through speaking, seminars/webinars, media interviews, and writing songs and books. And I will definitely continue to provide private practice consultations.

I am just finishing up my dissertation and will graduate this May with a PhD in marriage and family therapy. I am hopeful that that additional credential will open doors that may not be open to me now. Even if it doesn’t change anything professionally, my PhD studies and the process writing my dissertation has been personally transformative — life changing on so many levels.

My dissertation, titled (Pro)Creating: Transforming Constraints to Creative Productivity in Mothers Through a Partnership Model of Family Organization, and studying the intersection of women, creativity, and family life may open up some new projects.

A journal entry quote from the “prologue” of my dissertation seems a fitting way to end this interview.

This weaving process [of writing a dissertation] has mirrored how I’ve lived my life—the weaving of a complex and rich and overwhelming and growth-filled tapestry that is always in process. I have learned to expand my own view of creativity and to value my care taking and engendering contributions in family life as creative work and creative expression. I have examined my own creative process in weaving together multiple domains of life simultaneously to inform the development of this model. “Inquiry becomes an opportunity for self-contextualizing, self-inquiry, and self-creation…that navigates between the twin requirements of rigor and imagination.”  ~ Alfonso Montuori

_________________

For updates, interviews, consulting, webinars, new projects visit JulieHanks.com . You may also join Julie and 3,000+ therapists in Private Practice Toolbox Facebook Group.