How To Run “Direct Access Friendly” Newspaper Ads – Small Ones, That Don’t Cost Much Money, Yet Still Attract Dozens of New Patients

by · 18th March 2015

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So lets talk about “old fashioned” marketing.

And specifically, about running “Direct Response Style adverts” in the local newspapers (or magazines!).

First, you should know that they still work!

Not only that, there’s never been a better opportunity to make small newspaper adverts work simply because the big advertisers are spending their $$$ else where – mainly online with Google, Facebook, and Yelp! etc.

And that means the newspapers have space to fill – meaning you can get the positions in the paper you want (to boost response) but also, for much less cost than it used to be!

So you’re cost per acquisition of new patient, is going to be LESS!

The first thing you have to decide on, is this:

Are you going for the “Sales Model” or the “Lead Generation” model?

I’d suggest if you’re new to marketing, new to town or just starting to “get your message out there” and thinking of running your first ads .. then go of the “lead generation” model where you give away something that is of interest to a prospective client – like a free tips report or eBook – and is likely to make the person reading your advert actually want to call your clinic to get it.

With this model of advertising, you’re NOT trying to get people to call and book appointments (“sales” model!).

Why?

Because it’s just to difficult to make work – and often costly.

All to do with “trust” (or a lack of – at this stage of the advertising relationship!)… something that the big corporate hospitals get naturally, chiropractors have BOUGHT because of years of advertising and being clever with it – and the other, often much larger companies who you might be tempted to copy cat from, they’ve probably got much bigger budgets than you and can comfortably afford to do it (and loose it!).

You and I however, we need to follow the GOLDEN RULE of small business marketing success:

Put $1 in, and very quickly get $2 out (if not more)

And that’s easily achieved if you follow these the rules of running “lead generation”, direct response style ads.

First, it goes without saying that your ads must NOT mention you, your clinic, or physical therapy, any more than is necessary – only to introduce you as the “reporter” of the article, or to tell the reader of your “editorial style ad”, why you’re able to write such “tips” reports or eBooks credibly.

See, it’s an “editorial style ad” that is going to get read – and more likely responded too.

Something that might look like this:

marketing ideas for physical therapists

Doesn’t immediately scream out “advert” does it?

It’s LOADED with words – i.e information!

And by the way… no matter what any one tells you, there’s NO such thing as “too much information” – and especially NOT when you’re in pain looking for the right solution!

This is information that COULD be useful to the person WHO you’re writing it for – and who the headline should scream out too.

Click Here To Get Regular Tips To Boost Self-Referrals Sent To You >>> In that last sentence, I’ve just told you about two components of successful small  ads. The “who” (the person the ad is for)  and the “headline” . But, those  on their own are not enough to make small ads work.

See, there’s actually 6 key commponents of

successful small ads.

And here they are as follows:

1.)  Your Ad must talk to only ONE pocket of people  – i.e people age 50+ with back pain!

2.) It must have a “compelling headline” – the job of the headline is NOT to sell anything, only to  force the reader to want to read some more so that they make it to the next part of your ad…

3.)  An irresistible offer – this could be a “free tips report” or a DVD

4.) Strong, emotive copy – use words in your ad that speak directly to the hopes, fears and dreams of your potential new patient i.e. “Imagine how you will be in five years from now if you don’t get this back pain of yours sorted!”… (Who could ignore those types of words?)

5.)  Time Sensitive/Scarcity – no body wants to miss out on free help – if you’re giving away a free tips report, make it limited in number! i.e only 7 free copies available!

6.) Strong Call to action – if you don’t tell people what to do to get your offer, then they won’t do it! So you must tell them to “call this number now” (or miss out!)

So there you go…

The 6 key components of running small cost newspaper ads that get new patients to call your clinic, “out of the blue”!

Follow the rules of “direct response marketing” – like the most successful chiropractors have done for many years – and you’ll be inundated with telephone calls from people suffering with injuries and problems that you can help.

Provide them with enough information about Physical Therapy – and it won’t take long for them to decide that YOU are the right person to solve their problem. After all… they DON’T really want the free tips report – they just don’t know you well enough (or trust you enough!) to ask for anything else.

Not yet, anyways.

Get more marketing tips from me like this, here:

Click Here To Get Regular Tips To Boost Self-Referrals Sent To You >>>

Paul Gough
www.PTProfitAcademy.com

P.S As you read this article…

A personal coaching client of mine – a pt in the Rochester Hills area of (MI), just this weekend secured his first referrals from Direct Access using this precise tactic.

We created him three small cost Ads (1/4 column) following the rules you’ve just read, offered a free “tips” report to help people with back pain… made the reader call (actually pick up the phone!) to get it, and when they did, we had a magically worded script in place ready to convert “enquires”, into paying patients.

Want to know more?…

Come join us all, here:

Click Here To Get Regular Tips To Boost Self-Referrals Sent To You >>>

About Paul Gough

PAUL GOUGH is one of the top Marketing and Business Coaches in the physical therapy industry and his Systems are helping clinic owners all across America run more profitable clinics. He is a published Author, Newspaper Columnist and before his stunning success in business was hired by top professional soccer teams. HIS SUCCESS STORY is one that inspires many pt's around the world - at the age of 26 Paul QUIT a high profile job in professional soccer to begin his own clinic. He had NO money, NO business or marketing skills and NO experience - and yet now owns and runs 4 pt clinics and has a proven track record of growing a physical therapy business from 0 - $2m in record time.
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