Many newly qualified EFT practitioners are unsure about how to set up their EFT business. The question I get asked very often is ‘do I need a website?’. The short answer is yes and no. I will explain why. The website alone won’t bring you any clients. A website is a tool and part of your marketing strategy, not a tool it can stand alone. What you need to have is a conversion strategy in place. A conversion strategy is a way to bring people interested in EFT to become clients.
There are different types of websites. You can have a sales-oriented website where you sell sessions, courses, seminars etc. You can have a website where you promote yourself and your story. In the latter, you will have no buttons for booking appointments. Alternatively, you could have a webpage to promote your blog. Of course, you can combine all those different types in one.
Always remember, you want a website that is clear and simple. You want people to get into your website and understand straight away what you do. If they get bored they will leave straight away.Another reason people will leave your website is if your website is heavy and it takes too long to load. Nowadays, people are using their phones more, so if your pages don’t open straight away, people leave. That is why is important to design your website properly, reduce the size of your images and remove anything that takes too long to load.
To set up a website you need to have a hosting platform such as Wix, WordPress, GoDaddy etc. A hosting platform offers you the templates and all the tools you need to build a website. A domain which is www.something.com and a logo. The platforms above offer you all three services.
It is important to have your website updated. You can choose and edit a template or you can build a website from scratch. Check websites of people who do EFT, write down what you like and whatnot. That will help you communicate better what kind of website you need.
As I mentioned above, having a website is not necessary to run an EFT business. If for example, you work with elderly clients or clients find you only through a word of mouth, then having an expensive website doesn’t make any difference. You can always have a landing page you can create for free and have all your info in one place. Landing pages sometimes lack space so you may not be able to put everything you need in. However, having a website offers you credibility and it makes it easier for your clients to look you up and reach you.
Another option is to have a profile on a platform such as www.gumroad.com where you create a short profile and you upload your products and services. They have free and paid plans. It is worth checking it out.
Something else that you need to bear in mind is that it is illegal to sell services and products without having your business registered. Please speak to an accountant as different countries have different laws about that. Also, your website is like your resume. It is illegal to lie about your credentials so always be ready to show your credentials if you get asked.
The biggest problem for most EFT practitioners is to have a constant flow of clients. This is down to the nature of the EFT as you can have results in just one session. Please, please don’t misrepresent EFT, don’t offer cures even if it worked for you. Always have disclaimers in place. Give information from only credible sources/research.
Regarding your marketing strategy, the advice I’m going to give you is to do what makes you feel comfortable and natural. You will hear people saying create a Facebook page, an insta account, do videos but if any of that makes you feel uncomfortable it won’t work for you. I, personally get very tired of people who misuse social media, they are online all the time, post everywhere and comment on anything with the hope that that will bring them, clients. Being online all the time doesn’t guarantee you, clients, especially if what you share is your personal life and not something that is helping other people. It is also exhausting for you to try to come up with ideas about what to post and what to say unless you are a social bee that makes you feel comfortable otherwise don’t do it, find another way that works for you.
Conversion is the most difficult part of or business. Having people visiting your website or like your posts doesn’t guarantee that these people will book a session with you. What normally works is to offer your clients actual help. Write a post about your recent experience with a client (always ask for permission to share and please don’t use names), share info about the latest research. Create courses, e-books, free consultations/sessions, organise tapping groups/seminars, take part in conferences, analyse an issue in detail, collaborate with other therapists etc. People come to you to solve a problem they have so you will need to show them that you know what you are doing, you can help them resolve it.
Another thing you can do is to offer a product like an e-book for free in exchange for their email address. Having a large mailing list helps you send your offers/news to a relevant and targeted audience. People who are on your mailing list are the ones who are interested in what you offer. You have many chances to get clients from there.
Is it necessary to have a niche? Well, in my case I got some clients and I lost some others just because I was too specific. Some of them I lost were ideal clients for me. You can have a niche but you can still have added in your website all the other things you do and you are good at.
You can use ads to promote your business. Setting up an ad is not an easy task. It needs lots of experimentation and patience. It is important to set aside a budget for advertising. Always remember, you are competing with other practitioners and many of them can spend thousands of pounds on advertising. However, there are organic ways to bring traffic to your website. Let’s see some.
Keywords: Find the more researched words and expressions around EFT and put them many times on your website. So when people are searching, your website comes first.
SEO: Set up your website in such a way that google search can read your website easily, having tags, meta-tags, word count etc set up properly.
Comments: When you comment on other people’s posts, have your website attached to your comment.
Backlinks: This is when someone is using as a reference your website/your blog as a reference. Google will rank your website as credible and will move it if not on the first page at least in the first few pages.
There are countless things you can do to promote your business and bring clients. I recommend you try different things until you find what works for you best. Please leave your comments below and tell me what you think of the post and what are your difficulties are so far with setting up your EFT business.
Best of luck!