Marketing Happy: A new Strategy for Holistic Practitioners
In a recent Study Hall where we discuss the concepts of embodied business, we were talking as a group about marketing. Specifically, about marketing ourselves as holistic health practitioners. It can be difficult to describe clearly what we do, especially in a tiny little elevator-pitch type setting, and so I think it feels daunting for people to talk about our work when out in the wild.
Most practitioners seem to be utilizing the ‘pain-point’ marketing strategy. As in: what problem or pain are you solving for your clients? Of course, in our industry this can mean a literal pain-point (I help people with chronic pain / back problems / etc.) or this can be a little more esoteric (I help people feel more confident in being themselves). So this can mean talking about your story, sharing the obstacles you have personally overcome, or sharing testimonials of clients so that others can see that these problems are not insurmountable and can be dealt with via muscle testing and energy medicine.
This is what I used to do for my marketing a few years ago and it seemed to have good results. After all, that’s often how we find someone right? We are Googling or searching for someone to fix a specific issue and we start looking for the best options available in our area.
But today I want to share with you a slightly different strategy. This is what you see if you look at my social media and such these days, and I’m curious to hear your opinion. I think of it more as a ‘living the kinesio-life’ strategy. It basically comes down to trying to model the things that we talk about in sessions and classes: living authentically, making healthy choices, being in alignment energetically with the world around you, etc. Rather than sharing the stories of my pain and problems, I am sharing the joy of my current life; which I truly believe is a result of this work, both the act of doing this work for others and the cumulative result of a million sessions for myself.
I want people to see the possibilities. Not that my life is perfect or that all of my problems are gone. But that there is potential for so much in this work – the idea that it could take you to your best self. The idea that practitioners and instructors of holistic health don’t always have to struggle, but can make a good living (not just a good income, a good life). The idea that there is enough for all of us, and we rise by supporting each other. The idea that we attract the people we want to work with by showing the positive more than highlighting the negative.
What do you think? Does this appeal to you, or does it miss the proverbial boat?