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Google maps, Tripadviser, Yelp, Bing, Facebook and other advertising issues for local clients
Posted by on 2022-11-26 at 2:07 AM
For many years I relied 100% on Google maps for my local past life regressions, this is free, you go to Google Local Business and give them your address – and they send you a postcard to verify, you put the code into the listing and they activate it. This becomes an issue when you live in a condo or in a gated community that forbids business use of the property, or if you are just scared to put your address online. There is a way around it – but I am not sure exactly how to do that, they allow you to hide the address of the listing if you go to clients’ houses or hotels – but you will have to contact Google and ask. Handymen, plumbers, and contractors use this option as they work locally, but at the clients’ location and not at their own home or storefront. (and if you live in a touristy city – you will go to hotels or Airbnbs a lot anyway) The problem with Google listing – anybody can rate it, happy clients, or disgruntled clients who were not happy with the session, especially if they had to pay something and not got what they expected. So you have to ask a lot of friends to rate you on Google Local Business, to keep your rating decent. I had a 5.0 rating for years, till I got a client who showed up stoned, cried on my shoulder for an hour, and when I asked her if she had ever seen a psychotherapist – she stormed out, threw some cash at me for my time (I did not even ask for it) and a month later gave me 1 star on Google. Took me a lot of begging all my friends and former clients to give me a 5-star rating and review to upgrade my rating. It matters, people do search your personal info and your business before making an appointment…
However, Google is the main search engine, but not the only one. I recently looked for ‘past life regression in New Orleans” on Bing (Microsoft search engine) and I found out that they use Facebook ratings and also TripAdviser rating – but TripAdviser actually uses Yelp ratings. I would LOVE to list myself on TripAdviser as an ‘interesting thing to do in New Orleans” – but they do not offer free listings. So Yelp is becoming important here. If anybody wants to exchange Yelp ratings – PM me on the forum, I’d love to trade. So far I have no ratings on Yelp at all, and I can’t rate myself, LOL.
A way to get lots of tourists is to advertise it as an ‘activity” on Airbnb, but this only works for group sessions, as it has to be low price, and if you only get 1-2 clients for a group session – you will still have to do it for 30-40$ each, Airbnb does not like cancellations… But if you live in a touristy location and have a large space – it might be a good way to go, I have friends who do this all the time – and from these group sessions, they also get one-on-one clients.
If you have an Apple computer or phone – can you tell me how does it work with Apple? I am on Chromebooks (Google) or Windows (Microsoft) so I have no idea how does local advertising works in Apple-land, I will appreciate the information!
Let us know what FREE local channels worked for you, and since we all are in different places – not much competition locally…but you need to get yourself out there to get local clients. Social media exposure is great for online sessions, but not that much for local sessions. I only get maybe 1 client a month locally who found me on social media, they all want to work online…But Covid is over, and I honestly prefer to work in person, especially with tourists with nice fancy hotel rooms I do not have to clean…
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2 Replies
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I also wonder – if any of you ever tried to work with Wedding Chapels or worked as a Wedding Officiant. (you can get licensed with Universal Life Church, but it might cost something for the package plus the city license). This might be a whole new avenue for getting clients who want to explore their past lives together. Read “We were meant to be together” by Dick Sutphen and ‘Only Love is Real” by Brian Weiss. I already do a lot of sessions with Soulmates and Twin Flames, mostly online, but I would love to work more with couples getting married or renewing their vows, and I wonder how to get into this market. There are a lot of destination weddings in New Orleans, and some of these couples believe in past lives. I have done a lot of sessions with couples, but never really advertised for it. I have couples discount on my website for 2 people on the same day, and I am thinking if I should keep it or take it off as a lot of unrelated folks try to use it, and I can’t refuse them. But I would really LOVE to get more experience working with newlyweds…
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@Irina_Nola I see how you could be prompted to ask the client about seeing a psychotherapist but I also understand that this might serve as a trigger for some clients, especially those who are indeed in need of professional help. That’s why I avoid using such a terminology in my conversations with clients. Instead, as part of the intake process, I might ask them if they had hypnosis sessions before, including traditional hypnosis, or any other traditional or non-traditional services. If they’ve been to any of psychotherapy help, they usually freely offer this information and even disclose the medication they take, if any, without me asking specifically, in which case I can continue “probing” in that direction as needed. I reserve the rights to deny the session to someone without any explanation, except for some generic “it doesn’t seem we’re a good fit for each other”, etc, This disclaimer is also on the Intake form they sign. Usually, I offer a free 15-min phone consultation prior to booking a session, which gives me a great insight into whether I want to work with that particular client or not, as well as for the client to ask questions and also see if we’re on the same page. If during phone conversation I decide we’re not a good fit, I tell this to the person very politely, in a way like “it’s me, it’s not you”? and give them referrals to where they can find quantum hypnosis professionals, including our quantum healers and qhht official websites. The thing is, not being a good fit with one practitioner doesn’t mean they can’t be a good fit with another. Actually, the whole opposite – they can and they will. About Google review – it’s amazing how this synchronicity thing works. Only a few days ago I chatted with a friend of mine who’s in construction business, and he mentioned receiving not so good review on Google. According to him, the woman received even more than they discussed, but she yet demanded something else. What he did to remediate it? He replied to that customer’s review on Google saying that they’re sorry for any inconvenience. Very short and concise reply, with a hint of the proof that what she was asking for was extra but that they’re willing to consider it and see what they can do. He’s going to call this client and see if they can negotiate something, and if yes, he’ll ask her to remove her review. So, might work, I guess. In any case, reply to reviews on Google’s considered helpful.
My apologies for the lengthy post?
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