Marketing For Hypnotists

This is a follow on to the last blog post, and I think very valuable for the reader. She has some good ideas, but is about to make a couple of classic mistakes. See if you can guess what they are before I point them out.

Q: I'll let you know how it goes... it is a 13 x 21 poster affixed to the stone waste receptacle at the front door... as a first time customer (and because I hesitated a little) he reduced the price to $12 per week. This is a busy Kmart on Biscayne Blvd in North Miami, FL.

I have decided to just go after smokers... yellow background black letters. Something like this:

Are You Finally Ready to Quit?

Hypnosis Works!
305-123-4567
www.miamihypnosis.com

A: This is a good decision. Go after a specific Niche. You might also
test for Weight Loss there.

Now for some tough love:

1) You haven't promised any kind of benefit

2) Quit What? Never assume anything. Be very specific.

3) Almost no one cares if it's hypnosis, what they care about is can
you solve their frickin' nasty smelly smoking habit.

4) TESTIMONIALS!!! The average person is not aware of how well hypnosis works, and they certainly don't know about your ability to help them. Plus, you can NEVER have too much proof.

5) There is no compelling offer

6) There is no reason to act now

7) You have in no way educated them as to why you are the best choice they could possibly have if they are ready to stop smoking.


Maybe this will help give you some ideas:

"Stop Smoking in 4 Weeks
Without Drugs or Painful Withdrawls"

[testimonial with photo]
[testimonial with photo]
[testimonial with photo]

"Call Today for FREE 20 minute
Consultation ($60 value)" 333-4444

or

"Download a free report that explains
how you can be smoke free in 4 weeks"
www.yourdomain.com/smokefreein4weeks

If you were my client, I'd also have you put some sort of risk reversal in the offer.

And I would have you follow up with multi step process
(email/mail/phone) to help the prospect through the buying decision.

Good luck with your test.

Cheers,

Craig

I recently answered some questions on a local Hypnosis forum where hypnotists exchange marketing ideas. I got some good feedback on what I posted so I'm posting them here for you.

Q: I have been approached by a local Kmart to put a poster size sign at the front door advertising my business. They claim 40K people per week walk through the door. Cost is about $20 per week. Does anyone have any experience with this form of promotion? Would you advertise your practice or a speciality?

A: While the low cost is a temptation, you really want to consider is this your target market?

The cost is really not an issue, ROI (Return On Investment) is what
matters.

Example: If I told you that one $5000 ad each month would result in
$30,000 in new business over the next 3 months, you'd have to be brain dead not to jump on it.

The ROI for this ad would be 6 to 1, or put another way, for every
dollar you spend, you get 6 back.

By the way, this is a real world example from a Hypnotist friend of mine in Ohio. He perfected a full page ad that was like turning on a
firehouse of new clients every time it ran in the local paper.

That's when advertising is no longer an expense, but an investment.

Honestly all marketing decisions should be based on this type of
analysis.

So back to your opportunity, you obviously don't have any data yet, so
as a clever marketer you set up a TEST.

In order to test you must set up a way you can MEASURE RESPONSE to that ad.

Borrowing an age old trick from Direct Mail and classified ads, you can put a unique offer, and they must tell you a code to get it.

"For your Stop Smoking Guide ask for Dept B."

Then be sure you tell them what to do (simple clear instructions)

"Call today to set up your free consultation 333-4444"

If you use a website, again use a unique link so you can measure the
traffic.

Run the test for at least a month, maybe up to 3. If it hasn't paid for
itself, either change the ad (I would do this first), or stop it when you are sure it just isn't going to work.

If you change the ad 2 or 3 times and don't get any response, then you are not reaching the right market.

If it does work, then test the same idea at other similar stores.

Make sure you Advertise a BENEFIT. No one cares if it's Hypnosis or EFT or NLP or if you're a witch doctor.

If you can solve their problem, they'll do business with you.

Now go find some clients.

Cheers,

Craig

I'm not sure who said it first, but it's a great metaphor to keep in mind every time you want to market your hypnosis services and products (you do have products, don't you?).

What 'selling the sizzle' means is this... sell the benefits of using/owning a thing, rather than the thing itself.

Benefits VS Features

Especially in the Hypnosis industry this seems to be all too common problem, and here are some examples of how it manifests...

• In advertising, the focus is on HYPNOSIS and not rapid solution of the problem prospects have
• Selling HYPNOSIS, to a broad audience in a 'one size fits all approach' instead of targeting each niche such as women who want to lose weight, and matching the message to what these women need.
• Putting an alphabet soup of letters behind the name in ads and on business cards. Almost no one knows what that stuff means and it does nothing to convince someone you can solve their most burning problem
• Headlines that say "Happy Days Hypnosis Clinic" instead of "Stop Smoking NOW Without Drugs or Painful Withdrawl"
• Expensive Yellow Pages ads that not only offer no benefit, but are also in the WRONG part of the directory

When you are creating your marketing materials, think about the difference between a cut piece of meat approximately 12 ounces (features)

and seeing a fat juicy steak being gently touched by the flames on a grill, smelling it as it slowly cooks in just that perfect way you like it, and hearing it SIZZLE as you begin to anticipate the delicious meal you are about to enjoy. (benefits)

Now of course, if you don't like steak, either you won't have a reaction to that paragraph or worse if you are vegetarian, you may even ab-react to it.

What that means is... you are not the target market for me if I sell steaks, and you have just disqualified yourself as one of my prospects.

This is exactly what you want to have happen. If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.

However, if you are a steak lover, it's very likely you started thinking about eating steak, either the last really good steak you had, or maybe having one at your next meal.

This is again exactly what you want to do with your marketing copy. It's called 'entering in to the conversation in their mind'.

As a hypnotist, this concept should be EASY for you.

I'll talk more about this in future posts. For now, remember...

Sell that Sizzle!

Now go get some clients!

Craig