Chiropractic Marketing | Chiropractic Advertising | Chiropractic Ads

Would you like to discover the secrets of generating 60% to 80% of your new patients using the Internet? And do so on autopilot, without any time on your part?

You’ve likely hired out your internet marketing to someone who doesn’t understand both chiropractic and online traffic. It may have even cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to design, but it can fail at doing the most important thing – getting qualified new patients into your office!

Click here to find out how to really get new patients on the internet…

Here’s why chiropractor’s are struggling to get new patients online…

Mistake #1. Not enough qualified traffic to their website.

In the early days of the internet, all you needed was a static brochure type website. This worked well because there were so few chiropractic websites online. Your competition was slim.

But today you can no longer use technology designed in 1998 to run your internet marketing plan.

You can’t just put up a static website and hope someone finds it. You must use the latest online advertising and marketing to drive traffic to your site. Qualified traffic that is hungry for a solution to their problem.

Mistake #2. They lack a conversion process to get the prospect to call and schedule an appointment.

What are potential patients supposed to do when they arrive at a website where there’s no clear purpose?

It’s crazy to think potential patients will just browse around and somehow stumble upon the action you want them to take. I see this all the time.

Most chiropractors and web designers have not taken the time to map out any kind of a process for conversions on their website. It just confuses people and they use the back button or get lost poking around without taking any kind of action.

The first thing internet searchers are looking for is not an education about chiropractic history, where you went to school, or what technique you practice. They want to know how chiropractic can help – specifically how you can help them with their problem.

How to Get New Patients from the Internet on Autopilot

You’re about to discover how any chiropractor can turn the Internet into their number one new patient generation tool…in terms anyone can understand…without a lot of technical mumbo jumbo.

The biggest mistake you can make with your practice is to simply hand off the most important piece of your marketing without at least knowing the basics…including how to get qualified local visitors to your website and convert them to paying new patients.

Find out more:
www.ChiroPatientsOnline.com

You’re About to Discover:

-Finally see how to dominate PPC Search Marketing and bring in more qualified new patients.

-The 7 most common mistakes chiropractors make with pay-per-click advertising. Correct these and drive tons of qualified patients to your website.

- Apply a proven, scientific system to generate limitless traffic to your website.

- The single most important strategy to get you at the top of Google, MSN and Yahoo’s Search listings! (I used this one to get ahead of websites that had been around for over 10 years.)

- How to use email marketing to build powerful rapport with new patients before they’ve even met you – and why having a follow up campaign is vital to getting new patients to call and schedule.

www.ChiroPatientsOnline.com

It’s not a matter of “if” you will get into internet marketing, it’s simply a matter of “when”.

More and more chiropractors are using these advanced internet marketing strategies, making it harder and more costly to get started. There’s only going to be more competition online, which makes it harder to get local SEO rankings and more competitive with pay-per-click advertising.

And the longer you wait to get started, the longer it will be before you see results. The flip side is also true: The quicker you get started, the quicker you’ll see results. Start getting more new patients on autopilot now and get ahead of your competition.

Click here to watch a free video on chiropractic internet marketing…

This is part 2 of a two part series. You can read the first part by clicking here.

In my last post, we covered the first 2 mistakes chiropractors make when running their newspaper ads. Today, let’s look at the final 3 mistakes…

Mistake #3. Changing the Picture.

When it comes to a successful chiropractic ad, the picture really is ‘worth a thousand words.’ By using a well placed photo and a caption, much can be said in a very small space. When I write an ad, each photo is selected carefully to portray a certain meaning to the reader. Usually this is a photo that depicts the lifestyle or activity the patient wants to accomplish when they are well.

Also where the picture is placed can make a big difference. A picture placed awkwardly can make the ad seem out of place to the reader, causing him to quickly identify it as an advertisement and skip over reading it. This is why the large Ultimate Chiropractic Ads each have a photo and caption specifically placed in the ad. In some cases that is to the right of the headline. In other ads it’s embedded in the body copy text.

The point here is this: by making changes to the picture in the ad, you could be making a big mistake and hurt your results.

Mistake #4. Taking Out Sections to Make the Ad Smaller

To save some money I’ve seen doctors squish an ad down into a tiny space in the newspaper. Part of what makes an ad work is that it gets noticed. Yet, by taking an ad that was meant to be smaller than a 1/4 page ad and making into a 1/8 (or even 1/16) page ad, you’ve ruined it. It would have been better if you’d saved your money for a bit and ran it as a larger ad size.

Another mistake is thinking that by removing the picture from the ads, you can save a bit on ad space. The biggest reason this is a bad idea is because the caption on a photo is the second read thing in the ad, after the headline. Each of my ads has a photo and caption for this purpose. I want the reader to feel an irresistible urge to read the ad after seeing the headline and photo.

Mistake #5. Writing in Your Own Copy

Unless you have special training in advertising and copywriting, it’s a bad idea to write your own copy into the ad. Even if it’s a small paragraph, this can ruin the flow of the ad and cause it to fail. You’d be better off changing any number of variables — including running a different ad, changing the size of the ad, trying a different paper, running inserts instead of space ads, and more — before trying to write in your own parts.

This was a common mistake made with older ads that have been around in chiropractic. We were told to “write in our own chiropractic story” in to the ad. The problem was that “our own story” made up the first 40%-50% of the ad. And this was the first part the prospect began reading! This meant that if you weren’t trained in copywriting, the success of the ad was almost completely dependent on how well you wrote. Not on the skill of the consultant who wrote the rest of the ad.

It’s better to use ads that require only minimal changes in your contact information (name, number, and address)

Have you ever had less than stellar results with a chiropractic ad that’s worked for everyone else?

I’ve spoken to many doctors who now use the Ultimate Chiropractic Ads to bring in new patients. But occasionally a chiropractor will tell me their results were less than expected. After breaking it down the fault usually lies in 5 categories of changes made to the ad.

Let’s take a look at the first 2 ways you can ruin a good chiropractic ad.

#1. Changing Font Size Proportions.

This one happens more often than you might think. You simply change your contact information on the ad and send it to the newspaper. They tell you the ad needs to go up in size to fill your half or full page order. Then you see the proof. If you’re not watching closely, the newspaper editing department may have completely diluted the effectiveness of your ad.

How? By enlarging the body text of the ad, but not changing the headline in proportion. This makes the ad look weird and any regular newspaper reader is going to notice this point. If you’re using my ads, you know they aren’t designed to look like an ad. But when the font size is disproporti0nate, it’s much easier for readers to say “Oh, that’s just an ad, I’ll skip over that.”

To fix this, simply make sure the original font size ratio stays the same when the ad is enlarged. If the headline is 3 times bigger than the body text before the newspaper gets it, the headline should still be 3 times larger than the body text after they make their changes.

#2. Charging Too Much for the Special Offer.

The question of “how much to charge” for a new patients first visit always seems to get sparks flying with chiropractors. I understand both points of view. Some doctors don’t want to ‘water down’ chiropractic by giving away free exams and x-rays. Other chiropractors are struggling so bad they can’t give away exams even if they wanted too.

Here’s the point…

Marketing is about ethically persuading people to come in to your office and see if you can help them get well. And make no mistake, we must market our practices to be successful (even referrals are a type of marketing.) I’m not saying you must give away anything for free. But if you make a special offer, many people will get over their procrastination and skepticism to come in and see you.

In my ad kits, I recommend between $25 and $50. (Of course this excludes all federally insured patients, Medicare, etc.) This appears to best at weeding out the people who only want a free exam while still maximizing your ad response. In some cases more than $50 is justified if you’re doing a specialized practice. But realize that the higher you go with your price, the lower the number of new patients.

What about the loss of revenue from giving too much away? It is true you loose a small bit of revenue from this first visit. But if you’re set up your fees properly, and know how to do a report, then you’ll bring in plenty on the patients care. There is no need to be so greedy about the first visit you miss out on the huge blessings in store for your practice later on.

Also, see my previous article on this subject entitled “Is Your Marketing Classy and Effective“.

Are you using email marketing to its fullest potential in your practice? Watch this short training video to learn about the different email systems I recommend. (This video is a portion of Bonus Lesson 1 in the ChiroMarketing Academy.)

Am I the only one that didn’t get a business education in chiropractic college?

Chiropractic college did teach me how to adjust, how to pass the boards, and enabled me to get a D.C. degree.

But my first two years in practice I felt like I was in completely foreign territory. Even though I had spent the last 7 years in undergraduate and chiropractic school, not to mention spending a grand total of $138, 000, I still had no clue how to run a business. I think we had one class on it late in the program, but I always felt like the teacher was holding back, as if the school was preventing him from telling us what the real world was really like.

Since that time, I’ve had to educate myself on how to run a successful business, and specifically how to market that business. During this time, I’ve read literally hundreds of books.

In addition to the chiropractic marketing tools I have put together (linked in the top menu on this page), the 7 books I mention below will give you more knowledge and wisdom on running a business than you’ll get in any college, chiropractic or otherwise.

Guerrilla Marketing by Levinson
This book gives you quick, low cost marketing methods for a your business. I don’t like every single one he mentions, but there are many free and low cost  ideas that are good.  You can’t go wrong with this book. Great if your just starting out or going through a tough time with the current economy.

No B.S. Business Success by Dan Kennedy
This book is a straight forward look at what makes a small business successful. If you’re familiar with Dan Kennedy, you know he shoots straight on what it takes to succeed. And he doesn’t mess around when it comes to making money.

Influence: The Pyschology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
Another great book that will show you many free and low cost changes you can make to your practice. Dr. Cialdini shows you how people think when making decisions. Based on pyschological studies over the past 50 years. Address how people react to what you wear, what you say, how your office looks, and so much more.

The One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan
I got this book last year and it is by far the best book on business plans. Don’t think you only need a business plan when you start up a new practice. This book helps you lay out a real vision, mission, and attainable goals. It’s a step-by-step easy to follow workbook and CD-Rom. (After being misled by past chiropractic coaches about the terms “vision” and “mission”, this book helped to finally clear this up.)

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller
You should make every new and current employee read this book, especially if you find them blaming others for mistakes. Also, you should read this and apply it to your life and practice. It’s a quick read, but has the potential to change the way you and your staff interact.

E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
This book can be applied to 95% of your practice. It totally changed the way I look at my business. This is probably one of the most popular small business books ever written.

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
One of the biggest problems with chiropractors is that because we lived off of student loans for so long in school, we are terrible at managing money. But if you want to succeed in business, you have to follow proven, time tested money principles. This book will help you fix your money problems in your business and personal life. This book will change so much more than just your financial life!