The Fundamentals of Remarkable Mental Health Copy
My job is to help you help others. The way I do that is through ETHICAL mental health marketing, saving you valuable TIME, and focusing on your CLIENTS and what they need in your mental health copy.
In this post, I break down what that tangibly looks like and share with you the heart behind my business philosophy as a mental health copywriter.
Ethics
“Any tool can be used for good or bad. It’s really the ethics of the artist who is using it”
-John Knoll`
Mental health copywriting is a science and an art. At its core copywriting is sales writing. It’s writing in a way that incorporates a clear call to action and makes your mental health products and/or services attractive to your ideal clients.
When it comes to sales, marketing, and things like search engine optimization (SEO) there are countless examples of unethical or questionable practices.
Ethics is my first priority because, at my core, I believe that those struggling with their mental health are a special population that deserves our utmost respect, honesty, and support. So, when it comes to mental health marketing tactics and online presence, we need to approach it in a way that is effective yet ethical.
My aim is to help market your services/products in a way that authentically represents them because they can authentically help people. It’s a shame to let life-changing resources go unused because of poor mental health copywriting. It’s a bigger shame to take advantage of a vulnerable population. Together we can produce copy that authentically represents you and your business.
Mental health marketing doesn’t have to be scary or questionable. We can use the power of words to connect you to the people you can help best — your ideal clients.
Time
In order to do mental health marketing ethically, you need to go the extra step, and that takes time. Time that is better spent serving your clients.
We’ve all heard the age-old saying, “time is money”. However, in your case, as a mental health professional, time is healing. Valuable healing that you’re able to provide to those who are in desperate need of it.
That may sound dramatic, or like I am trying to stroke your ego, but that is what I genuinely believe. I’ve been on the receiving end of an hour-long therapy session that has changed my life. I have spent weeks in an IOP that has put my life’s timeline into two categories: “before IOP” and “after IOP”. Therapy has changed my life.
I am so passionate about what I do because I know first-hand the power of what you do.
So, I want you to do that. I want you to focus on your clients and use your skills to change lives. I want to live in a world where mental illness has lost its stigma, and people readily reach out and get the help they need — the help you provide.
I don’t want you wasting time learning SEO and struggling with mental health marketing.
I don’t want you to create an amazing product and/or service just for no one to notice.
I don’t want you to build a website that gets no traffic.
I don’t want you to waste your time poorly marketing your business when you could be using that time to change your clients’ lives.
I don’t want mental health marketing to get in the way of your clients’ mental health.
Clients
Not only will the time you gain by hiring a professional mental health copywriter be a blessing to you – but an attractive website with quality mental health copy and a clear call to action will also be a blessing to your clients.
Copy, written by a mental health copywriter, has the power to clearly show your visitors if they are in the right place — You could be the perfect fit for a website visitor, but if your website copy does not make that clear, you’ve lost that potential client.
Then, they have to continue the frustrating, confusing hunt for the services they’re looking for.
I know because I’ve been there. Trust me, your therapeutic relationship starts with your online presence. And it is no fun, spending hours upon hours looking at website after website of well-meaning mental health professionals, but not trusting or getting a real sense of who they are.
Effective Mental Health Copy in Action
You’re a mental health professional, you are an empathy expert. Imagine your client that struggles with anxiety and depression. She’s fought so hard just to get off the couch today and has mustered up all her energy and focus to investigate potential therapists. Doing this from scratch is overwhelming work.
She knows that everyone says to “try a few out, you won’t know if they’re a good fit until you actually meet them in person.” But frankly, she doesn’t have the time, money, or emotional energy to meet multiple therapists and divulge her story over and over again until she finally finds a “good fit”, whatever that means.
So, as she looks at website after website. And types all of the office addresses into google maps, to see how far the drive is. And looks to see if her insurance is taken and if not compares out-of-pocket costs. Her anxiety is peaking and she wants to give up on finding a therapist all-together...
Then she stumbles upon your website.
Right away there is a sense of professionalism and empathy. Your contact information is clear to see, and your specialties are listed. She knows right away that you work with her demographic and mental health issues. She knows she is in the right spot, so she’ll continue to read about you, your services, and how you can help her.
She sees your professional picture, and ‘about me’ section that strikes the perfect balance between professional and personable. She skims a few blog posts and gets a sense of your personality, knowledge, and empathy. Your rates are clearly listed. She can tell that you take your work seriously, and that conveys that you will take her care seriously.
She may want to think about it a day or two. But your mental health website copy conveyed an authentic sense of your ability to help her. When she returns to your site later, your contact information is clearly listed and it’s easy for her to know how to reach out to you.
The Power of Mental Health Copy
Your mental health copy can calm the fears of potential clients, and give them the courage and comfort they need to make the big step of reaching out to you. This is truly a blessing. It ends the search. You make it easy for potential clients to make a decision because you honestly and authentically establish your online presence in a way that represents you.
Mental health copy represents you and shows your clients who you are and how you can help. It is the most crucial part of your online presence. Bottom line, if your website is professional and attractive, but your copy is not effective, you are going to have a really hard time converting visitors to clients.
Respecting & Serving Your Clients
Copy is crucial, and should not be taken lightly or be haphazardly thrown together. Respect your current and potential clients by investing in your online presence, and a professional mental health copywriter.
Ethically market your business.
Manage your time in a way that gives the most value to your clients.
Make it easy for your clients to know if you’re the one to help them, and provide them the information and assurance they need to reach out to you.
This is so much more than words on a website, or an e-book, or an infographic, or a blog — ultimately this is a form of patient care.
And together we can put your clients first and offer them the best care possible.