Introverted? Hate traditional networking? Here's an easy, quick read to get you started on blogging as part of your client attraction marketing action plan.

1. Screen shot of one of Deah’sblogs, found at:
Th e N o Hy p e Me n t o r
http://thenohypementor.blogspot.com
Qu ic k S tart Gu id e
B lo g g in g w ith Gra c e a n d Ea s e
fo r th e ra p is ts , NDs a n d c o a c h e s
from Deah Curry PhD
Certified Professional Marketing Coach
Page 1 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

2. This quick Start Guide is a copyrighted publication of Liminal Realities
and The No Hype Marketing Mentor,
made available exclusively to the clients of Deah Curry, PhD, CPC.
No part may be transferred to other persons via any means whatsoever.
By requesting and/or receiving this Guide, you are agreeing to use the material
and ideas contained within for your sole individual professional use in the pursuit of
your client attraction activities, and to not circulate or distribute this Guide
to others as part of your business networking or professional activities.
Who This Quick Guide Will Help
The Blogging with Grace and Ease Quick Guide is best suited for introverted
solopreneurs who have not ventured very far into relationship-centered, internet-based
marketing, but want to create trust and rapport with a targeted client or patient
population niche and establish themselves as THE provider to turn to when help is
needed. Blogging can be a good marketing tool for you if you are disciplined and find
writing a fairly easy and fun activity .
Contents
What’ s the Difference Between a Website and a Blog ~~~~~ p 3
Blog, Ezine, Mini-Courses , Articles , or E-Books ~~~~~~~~~~ p 4
Where Are Blog Platforms Found ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 4
Getting Your Target Niche to Your Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 5
When You Should Start Your Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 5
Why Professionals in the Healing Arts Should Blog ~~~~~~~ p 6
How To Start and Sustain a Client Attracting Blog ~~~~~~~ p 7
Ethical Cautions & Legal Disclaimer Notice ~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 10
Don’t Forget ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 11
Good Example Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 12
More Services ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ p 13
Page 2 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

3. What’ s the Difference Between a Website and a Blog
A blog – which is techno-speak for web log – is meant to be a collection of continually
fresh entries. They should be short : 5-7 paragraphs of not more than 3 sentences
each is long enough. The topics should be focused and reader-friendly . The more
useful , the better.
As marketing tools, the most effective blogs are solution focused . Each entry poses a
problem, then offers ways or steps for solving it. Because the purpose of a blog is to
build readership by offering useful tips, information or resources, the best blogs have
new entries at least once a week . That frequency is another reason to keep entries
short.
A blog serves the purpose of providing information of value to your potential clients of
the future. These are individuals who aren yet ready for your services, or who haven
’t ’t
yet decided that they even have a problem that needs attention. They are simply
looking for quick answers to specific questions.
A website is a horse of a different color. It too is a marketing tool – and should be
your primary marketing “face” to your ideal client niche. It is meant to establish an
emotional connection with prospective clients who are ready to hire you.
Although it is good for a website to have new content somewhat often (because this
helps your search engine rankings and thereby helps people find your services more
easily), website pages tend to remain mostly intact once perfected to optimum client
attractivenes s . (With minor additions of new links and offerings, of course!)
The exception to that is when you have a page of products , services, or free
resources that you are continually adding to. Usually that will not be your homepage.
However, your website homepage might include a self- refreshing feature that
’s
continually updates itself. Examples of this would be a revolving quotes widget, or a
poll widget in which visitors can participate in the poll and then will see the results.
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© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

4. For a revolving quotes feature, see www.ThinkExist. com . For a poll widget, see
www. Bravenet . com .
Blogs , Ezines , Mini-Courses , Articles , or E-Books
There are many forms of writing that can be cultivated to market your practice. I
recommend doing the ones that are fun and easy for you. Here are some broad
distinctions between the choices to help you decide what may be your best option.
Blogs – often a first introduction to you. Readers come to you looking for solutions ,
how to information, and in some cases, thought- provoking or persepctive shifting
opinions about their choices. One topic or question per post is standard. Best when
done daily, weekly is acceptable. You write for a niche audience, but don really know
’t
who’sreading. Free to the reader.
Ezines – a warm keep in touch connection with prospective, current, and former
clients. You go to established, known, niche readers who specifically want your
thoughts or advice . Usually several topics or short articles are included. Best when
done weekly or monthly . Used to address known areas of interest among your
followers. Free.
Mini-Courses – an automated installment series for a try-before-you-buy taste of you.
Teaching or information that demonstrates what buyers of your services or products
will experience when working with you. Create once , then little to no effort required.
Used to build warm prospects list and further the sticky factor for your website. Free.
Articles – develops emotional connection with readers through anecdotes , stories
about other people struggles and inspiring successes. Or can be repurposed and
’s
lengthened how-to or why-to information from previous blogs and ezines. Usually
500- 1000 word limit. Online on your website and in article banks, used as special
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© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

5. report give- aways or fliers at networking events, or published by local, regional or
national newspapers or magazines. Usually free to readers, and unpaid in publications.
E-Books – detailed how- to guides or collected interviews , with background
information, definitions , resources , and in some cases, worksheets . Graphics ,
charts, tables , color provide professional quality. No word or page limit: 10-50 pages
is common, up to 250+ pages not unheard of. Should be structured in sections, with
table of contents. Can be purchased from you, sold through 3rd party outlets like
Amazon in some cases, or free to the reader.
Where Are Blog Platforms Found
Your blog could be part of your website . Technologically, that’spossible – especially
if a web designer has created your website and included blogging and archiving pages.
Some people recommend that, as a way to increase search engine rankings for your
website.
You might even have used a webhosting service that provides a website self- design
program in which you have a choice of a regular website or a blog template. Some of
these services allow you to integrate blog pages into the regular website template.
For do- it-yourselfers , I recommend keeping the website and blog separate . This is
easier to create without a lot of special computer code knowledge because there are
several free internet services where you can create a blog without having to worry
about anything but writing the entries.
Check out these services for blogs:
• www. blogger . com (free, will need a free Google account login)
• www. bravenet . com (free, with cool features)
• www.typepad. com (free trial, then $4.95/mo)
• www. wordpress . com (free, but more difficult to set up)
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© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

6. Getting Your Target Niche to Your Blog
If you create a blog somewhere other than your primary website, be sure to add a link
on the blog that will take visitors back to the website.
Also, if you are very good at keeping your blog active – that is, updated with new
entries every week – be sure to list your blog on your business card and in your email
signature block, along with your website.
Another great way to direct traffic to your blog – which should then send traffic to your
website – is to post teasers on the social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo,
BizNik, Facebook, etc. In fact, by some magical process, your blog entries may begin
appearing on some of these. As disconcerting as that can be, it’sa good thing. For an
example of how that works, see www.Twitter. com/NoHypeCoach
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© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

7. When You Should Start Your Blog
A blog can be started any time. If you are already in practice, I recommend starting
your blog after your primary website is completed. A blog is a supplement to your
primary website, not a substitute. It’smain function is to inform and assist , not to
persuade or sell (those are the main functions of your website).
If you are still in training , though, it’snot a bad idea to start a blog. This can serve
several useful pre-marketing purpose s for you:
• Gives you experience in setting up an informational site on the web
• It’sa less pressured time to test out ideas , see what your niche responds to
• Starts a bank of rapport building articles that can be multi-purposed later
• Begins to establish your web presence as a knowledgable person
• Can be a place where student- colleagues interact with your ideas
• Builds web traffic that will help search results for your website later on
Start a blog when you have something of value to say , and be mindful of using
different entries to elaborate on each point, so that no one entry is too long.
When should you end a blog ? Perhaps it’sa good idea here to mention when you
should terminate your blog and take it offline. As a marketing tool, a blog whose last
entry is more than 6 months old may be more detrimental to your business than not
having a blog at all.
Before taking your blog offline, though, be sure to copy and paste all the entries into a
Word document. This will preserve your intellectual property so you can use it for
other purposes at a later time.
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© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

8. Why Professionals in the Healing Arts Should Blog
When you blog, you are creating and/or enhancing your profes sional reputation.
You are giving information of value to potential patients or clients that may be the start
of your therapeutic alliance or coaching partnership.
Giving free self-help advice, action step tips, healthful recipes, etc., promotes not only
goodwill , but lets future clients / patients get to know what to expect from you. It
positions you as warm, friendly, generous, helpful, empathetic, and knowledgeable
without having to say any of those things directly. It gives potential clients a favorable
experience of you before you’veeven met.
More importantly, a blog contributes to your reputation as a specialist in your type of
work. Even though most of us were trained to be generalists in our professions, to gain
a steady flow of clients you need to market as a specialist. Presenting yourself as a
specialist does not limit who you actually accept as a client or patient. It simply
maximizes your client attrativeness magnetism.
In terms of time and energy management, blogging is one of the most effective tools
and uses of time for the introverted solopreneur. An entry can be multi-purposed and
used in your newsletter to referral sources, as a tip sheet give-away from your website,
as part of an installment mini-course (autoresponder) series, as a networking or
workshop handout, etc. Write it once, use it 4 or 5 times, or more.
And, as a special bonus for the introverted solopreneur, blogging is a way to network
without having to attend a chamber of commerce or prospecting breakfast at 7 am
and remember your elevator speech! Blogging is a very low-cost / high reward
marketing activity.
Page 8 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

9. How To Start and Sustain a Client Attracting Blog
First, Brainstorm Topics – Start a list of topics you think your ideal client / patient
niche wants information on. (This requires knowing some details about who they are.
Need help with that? See www.TheNoHypeMentor. com )
Topics can be found everywhere. Use spare moments to imagine the day your ideal
client is having, and brainstorm topics they would read to help them get through it.
Keeping eyes and ears open for good topics is part of engaging in the act of
marketing intelligence : gathering information about what matters to your potential
niche.
Otherwise idle time spent waiting in public places is a rich opportunity to develop
months of blog topics . Eavesdrop on conversations at the table next to you at lunch,
on the parents standing together at the soccer game, on the other passengers at the
airport while you wait for your flight, on couples standing in line for a vente skinny
mocha, on exasperated moms at the grocery store, etc. Build your list from what is
really on people ’ s minds .
Pay attention to what is in the daily news that would cause distress to your market
niche, and brainstorm how you’dhelp the 5 people who come to your office today with
that problem. Anticipate the issue s that routinely arise with the seasons, the holidays,
other calendar or life span events, project how you would help, and add those topics to
your brainstorm list of topics.
Sometimes brainstorming gives you several bullet points to address for each topic.
Be sure to capture those to expand on later.
When you can’tthink of more topics, review your list and note what points you could
make on each one. If you have more than 3 good points to make, divide that topic into
separate entries to avoid it becoming too long for the average blog visitor to read.
Page 9 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

10. Start Writing -- The best tip I can give you for writing your blog entries with ease is to
turn your topic idea into a question , imagine a real person is sitting in your office or
on the phone asking this question, and simply write out your answer. If that doesn fill
’t
3-5 paragraphs, ask one of the 5 basic questions about the question:
• Who does this topic affect, impact, impair, benefit, behoove, help?
• What are the 2-3 most important things everyone should know about it?
• When will this problem occur, or when will it end?
• Where will the problem occur, be the worst, have least impact?
• Why does this happen at all, why did it happen now?
• How can readers change, end, or improve the problem?
Write simple, direct, jargonles s answers to your topic question. No need for
references – YOU are the reference! No need for statistics and proofs – blogs aren’t
meant to be academic essays. Be short, and to the point – your readers have limited
time and attention spans.
Don’t bother with the proper rules of essay writing you learned in high school and
college. Blog entries don’tneed well crafted transitional paragraphs, or conclusions.
Simply stop writing when you’veaddressed each point.
Do bother with proper spelling, grammar and syntax , as these are important to
creating your image as a knowledgeable professional and specialist in your field.
Blogs aren’tcell phone text messages where all rules are completely fractured and
communication itself needs a decoder ring.
Writing is easiest when you have that list of topics to choose from. But don’tlet lack of
a list stop you. If inspiration strikes, once you are in the swing of blogging, you will
likely be able to write an entry in 15-30 minutes during a class break, on the bus in
traffic, at lunch, as a brain stimulator to get you awake in the mornings (that’soften
when I blog). When clients cancel, that’sa perfect gift hour to write a couple blog
entries.
Page 10 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

11. Get Your Blog Online -- If you are a computer novice, get a kid to help you.
Seriously. Your own children and teens, or the neighbors are likely to be techno-
’,
savvy enough to establish a blog account for you and to guide you through the
template design process. Or take a class at a nearby community center , or call a
local community college for low-cost assistance.
If you have some internet experience, you should find the blog platforms listed earlier
fairly easy to navigate. Blogger.com is the easiest by far. Whichever one you select,
play with it. You won break it. Experiment with templates, colors, and features until
’t
you have the design just how you like it.
Due to some technical issues I don fully understand, you may not be able to simply
’t
copy and paste from Word into your blog directly. This is the one obstacle with
Blogger.com. It will save a lot of frustration to simply compos e your blog online .
Preview the page to see how the entry will look to your blog visitors. Change the font
style, color, or size accordingly.
Post One Entry a Week – To be a good client attraction magnet, your blog needs
fresh entries on a frequent basis. Just what frequent means for you depends on how
much you are relying on your blog to build your professional reputation on the internet.
If this is your only web presence, daily is best. Weekly is probably the minimal
frequency that will serve you as a marketing tool.
If you have other web presences – a website, an e-store, locator profiles – you can get
away with updating your blog monthly or even less. In this case, great content is
really important . Make sure every entry is of high value to your niche .
Frequency matters. Why? Because a blog that hasn’tbeen updated – no new entries
– in more than 3-6 months can leave a visitor wondering if you are still in busines s . If
they have been regular readers and have come to rely on your valuable information,
they may feel abandonned , even though you have never met. While this is not a legal
obligation, it’sbad public relations. You could lose clients you didn’teven know you
lost.
Page 11 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

12. Ethical Cautions & Legal Disclaimer Notice
Mental health counselors, and to some extent also naturopathic doctors, need to
consider issues of confidentiality, privacy , and duty as mandated reporters when
becoming a blogger. Let’stake the issues and solutions one at a time.
Obviously, client information can ’t be shared or alluded to in order to illustrate a
point. You can, however, speak about an imagined , hypothetical client or patient to
personalize your information and make it more relateable to the reader. Be sure to
clearly note at the bottom or in parentheses that the individuals written about were
fictional.
Nor is a blog the place for client testimonials that you generate. If your patients or
clients find your blog and leave a glowing comment about the treatment they received,
they have implicitly taken the responsibility for violating their own privacy and
confidentiality. This is more likely to happen on ND blogs than on counselors blogs
where people feel less guarded about revealing a treatment for allergies or back pain
than about a deep seated trauma that lingers as post traumatic stress, for example.
You can take control of who gets to leave a comment. The blogging platform you use
will likely have the ability to moderate comments . You get to choose whether to
accept and publish, or reject a comment.
You’llbe able to screen comments if you select the ability to moderate rather than
allowing anyone to comment on your blog. This provides a safety feature for you in
regards to inappropriate or ethically questionable comments. But it does mean that
you will need to be responsive to the notices that a comment is awaiting moderation
and decision from you.
Unlike other authors, self-help suggestions given by NDs and counselors could
potentially be misconstrued as therapeutic or medical advice. For that reason it is a
good idea to include a disclaimer of liability statement in the footer of the blog.
Although it’swise to have your disclaimer reviewed by your attorney, here is one I use.
Feel free to adapt it for your purposes.
Page 12 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

13. Nothing in these blog postings constitutes a counseling, therapeutic or medical
relationship between writer and readers. Content is provided for educational
purposes and liability for any adverse impact should readers choose to
implement information herein lies solely with the reader. Author is not
responsible for the actions of blog readers, nor for any disclosures made in
comments.
Opinions vary on whether you have a duty to report or respond to persons who leave
disclosures of intent to harm or having perpetrated harm. In most cases, mere posting
of blog entries and accepting comments from unknown individuals would not
reasonably constitute a clinical relationship such that your duty to report or respond
would be triggered.
However, if you are concerned about attracting these kinds of comments, simply don’t
allow comments at all. That is perfectly acceptable, and not a detriment to your
marketing purposes of blogging.
Don’t Forget
A few items you don’twant to forget on your blog:
1. The basics : your name and photo, practice name and logo if available, tagline,
email link, phone number, website link and url, office address.
2. A sign up form for your ezine or for an autoresponder special tips series.
3. Links to other sites that help YOU – your profiles in locator directories, your
articles in article banks, your Twitter page, allied professionals with whom you
have cross referral arrangements, professional organizations in which you are a
member (APA, NASW, AANP, ICF, etc) – perhaps to their code of ethics page,
etc.
4. Archive of past blog entries, organized by date, year or title.
5. A mini-bio of you in the sidebar (be mindful of this as a marketing tool, not a
list of personal hobbies)
Page 13 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

14. For further information on blogging and its jargon, see this website:
http://www. ojr.org/ ojr/stories /050714 gardner/
Good Example Links
Counseling Blog ~ Cynthia McKenna, LPC
http://www. counseling . typepad . com /
Life & Therapy ~ Elyn Tromey, LPC
http://elyntromey . com /therapyblog /
That’sNot What I Meant to Say ~ Brenda Corderman, LMFT
http://thatsnotwhatimeanttosay . blog spot . com /
New York Naturopathic Blog ~ Jared Hanson, ND, LAc
http://www.jaredhanson . com / blog /
Lumina Health Naturopathic Medicine ~ Deborah Epstein, ND
http://lumina-health. com /AskDrDeb.aspx
ADD/ADHD Coaching Blog
http://www.addcoachingblog . com /
Cassandra Rae’sSimply Fearless Coaching
http://www. cas sandrarae. com /
Transitions Life Coaching ~ Jackie Fletcher, LCC
http://www/transitionslifecoaching . co . uk/blogger. php
Page 14 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved

15. More Services from Deah Curry PhD, CPC
www.TheNoHypeMentor.com ~ 425-81 4-9083
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who needs to establish a web- presence and/or overall marketing strategy and
wants skills in making a compelling, magnetic connection with niche markets
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Provides skills training, strategies, and coaching for glowing confidence
Astrological Bu sines s Coaching
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Charts best days to open a practice, launch a marketing campaign or move a business
Determines the personality of you business and its compatibility with you!
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In groups or individually, highly structured blueprint for success
Best for the high achieving, serious solopreneur who
doesn let anything anything stand in the way of reaching their goals
’t
Ask about whether this is right for you
Page 15 of 15
© 2009 Deah Curry PhD,
CPC
All Rights Reserved