A great way to spot check your marketing materials and advertising is to review what you wrote, then ask, “So What?”

Or a nicer way to say it is, “So what does that mean to me?” (as a patient?)

Here’s a line from an acupuncturist’s site. (Note that she’s read Never Market Again and is already having this changed ASAP!) I’m “dedicated to helping my patients empower themselves in their quest to restore balance and harmony to their lives.”

So what?

So what does that mean to me? You’ll “empower” me how? What does it mean to “restore balance and harmony?” It just doesn’t relate to the concerns anyone would see a practitioner for.

Lines like that are more about the practitioner than the patients (and they don’t really explain the practitioner anyway). I’m sorry to say, patients-to-be aren’t very interested in you - not yet. You’re probably a great person (most acupuncturists are - it makes my job enjoyable), but they don’t care about you yet. So what do they care about?

Simply this: What can you do for me?

That’s why you should make sure to talk about their problems, not your capabilities. Talk about their conditions, not Qi and meridians. Give them hope and reassurance. Anything in your marketing media or materials should talk about what they’re going through, in language they can relate to. It should be almost like you’re listening to them - even before you ever talked!

What would you say to someone who came to you, and just dumped out a whole list of health conditions and problems - so many that you couldn’t even begin to address them one by one? You’d have to talk in generalities, of course. But you’d also be very reassuring and confident you could help them. Perhaps you would talk about treating patients that had all but given up hope. Different patients who thought they’d just have to deal with it.

Most practitioners are naturals at selling themselves in person (especially if they avoid using TCM and OM jargon). If they get someone in their office and talk to them about their problems, they usually turn that person into a patient. Awesome! So let’s do the same kind of persuasion in print! The only problem is, most people tend to not write the way they talk. I blame it on schooling - we’re taught to write to fulfill an objective or complete an assignment. Not to actually communicate!

So make sure you communicate like you would in person. You shouldn’t put anything on your website, your advertising, or your marketing media that you wouldn’t say out loud.

“So what?” is a harsh question. It’s worth asking, though. Making sure you answer it will help ensure patients listen to, or even love what you have to say.

(By the way, you’re always welcome to comment on these articles. It helps me to know what you find helpful or interesting. So feel free to leave a comment below.)