Practical Marketing Strategies for Wellness Pros That Actually Work
In this episode of Elevate Your Practice, I sat down with Michelle Grasek, an experienced acupuncturist and marketing educator, to dive deep into practical strategies for holistic practitioners looking to improve their marketing without adding extra overwhelm. We discussed why being specific in your marketing actually attracts more of the right clients, and how optimizing your Google Business Profile and engaging in local community networking can yield quicker, more impactful results than social media alone. Michelle also busted common myths about marketing feeling "pushy" for wellness professionals, reassuring us that most consumers appreciate clear, helpful information. Whether you're looking for a simple marketing action step or inspiration to show up in your community, Michelle’s insights are the boost you need to make marketing feel more genuine and effective.
Key Takeaways
Defining your ideal client or patient avatar is essential for effective holistic practice marketing strategies.
Niching down helps clarify your marketing message and makes it easier to attract right-fit clients.
Trust and specificity in website messaging improve client connection and local SEO search visibility.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile can yield faster results than many other marketing efforts.
Consistently updating your Google Business Profile keeps it relevant and boosts local search performance.
In-person networking and community involvement can build key relationships, especially in smaller towns.
Overcoming the fear of appearing pushy with authentic, generous marketing helps you show up consistently.
Completing one actionable step on your Google Business Profile can make your marketing more effective today.
Michelle Grasek
Michelle Grasek is the host of the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast. She’s a practicing acupuncturist and marketing coach who’s been teaching marketing in the wellness industry for 11 years. It’s her mission to help you grow your business using marketing techniques that are genuine and generous. Michelle aims to help you outline a strategy, focus on marketing that’s authentic, and get new patients every week.
Transcript
[00:00:00] Samantha: Hi, I'm Samantha Mabe, website designer and founder of Lemon and the Sea, and this is Elevate your practice. If you're a holistic health practitioner ready to grow your practice without wasting time on things that don't work, you're in the right place. Each week I share a website, SEO, and marketing advice along with guest experts so you can bring in the right clients and feel confident about how you are showing up and serving the people that you help. Let's get started.
[00:00:43] Samantha: I'm so excited to have Michelle Grassic on the podcast today. We had initially connected over on her podcast, which is linked in the show notes, and I knew that I wanted her to be on the show to talk about marketing and how we can make sure that our marketing is actually reaching the right people.
[00:01:08] Michelle is an acupuncturist and a marketing coach, but her tips apply to anybody in the holistic health field. She is the host of the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast. She's a practicing acupuncturist and marketing coach who's been teaching marketing in the wellness industry for 11 years, and it's her mission to help you grow your business using marketing techniques that are genuine and generous.
[00:01:35] Michelle aims to help you outline a strategy, focus on marketing that's authentic, and get new patients every week. She shares her practice building tips and strategies on her website and on social media, which will be linked in the show notes. And we had a really great conversation about how you can get better results from your marketing.
[00:02:06] Samantha: Hi Michelle. Thanks for joining me.
[00:02:08] Michelle: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Michelle’s Background
[00:02:11] Samantha: Can you tell us a little bit that might not be in your bio about what you do and who you work with?
[00:02:18] Michelle: Sure. Yeah. So I am an acupuncturist. I have been for about 15 years, and I've also been teaching marketing in the wellness industry for about 11 years. And I run a podcast called Acupuncture Marketing School.
[00:02:33] I love teaching marketing from the angle that it does not have to feel gross. It can be, uh, it sounds corny, but genuine and generous and real, and I think that's important.
[00:02:45] Samantha: Yeah, that's awesome. And I love thinking about it like, if you don't do marketing, then people don't know that you're there. They don't know that you can help. And we're looking for solutions and I really don't want people to take all their advice off of TikTok, so...
[00:03:05] Michelle: why not?
[00:03:06] Samantha: I found some good stuff there, but then I like to dig a little bit deeper.
[00:03:10] Michelle: Yes.
Getting Better Marketing Results Without Adding More Work
[00:03:10] Samantha: We're talking about like, attracting patients into your practice, but how can holistic practitioners like acupuncturists that you work with or other types of businesses start getting better results from their marketing without adding more to what they have to do?
[00:03:27] Michelle: So I think the number one way to do this is to really dial into your target market, identify your ideal patient avatar or ideal client depends on what you Google, you might be able to find different variations on that. But use that avatar to create a marketing message that is really speaking to your people.
[00:03:51] Because I think what happens is we go after the marketing strategies that are the things that we hear maybe on TikTok that are really results driven, like, I should run Facebook ads, or I should work on my SEO, and all of that is great. That's totally fine. But if you haven't first dialed into who is your ideal person that you wanna attract, then any marketing you put out, it might hit the mark, but I think chances are a lot lower that it's going to really ring a bell for your ideal person.
[00:04:27] So I always walk my students through target market and ideal patient avatar so that we can write their marketing message and then create their branding. And then we get into all of the visibility pieces, like having an email newsletter or getting out in the community, et cetera, because I think it's so much more effective when you know who you're speaking to. And I totally understand that target market and ideal patient are like the least sexy parts of marketing. Everyone's like, I've heard of that before. I filled out a worksheet. It changed to nothing because it's a little challenging sometimes to know how to actually apply it to your marketing in a practical way.
The Value of Niching Down
[00:05:05] Samantha: And so many people, we're trained in our businesses that we could work with anybody. Like I could design websites for anybody because there are some foundational things that are the same. But that doesn't help when it comes to how do you speak to these people? How do you reach these people? So I think niching down is more helpful and less scary than people think.
[00:05:32] Michelle: Yeah. I will say, aside from people saying like, this topic is boring, the next thing they say is, if I niche down, won't I be scaring people away? Will that make my marketing less effective? And especially if you're brand new, like the last thing you wanna do is scare away paying patients. So I definitely understand that. I have found in the past 10 or 11 years that that's more of a theoretical concern than an actual thing that happens in real life.
[00:06:02] And the example that I like to give is most of my marketing for my acupuncture practice is centered around cosmetic acupuncture and more recently women's health 'cause my associate is a specialist in women's health. We still get male patients who come in who aren't, they're not there for cosmetic acupuncture, they're just there for pain or headaches or whatever.
[00:06:25] You are still going to get people who come from various referral sources. And there will always be some people who just land on your website and say, wow, I just like this person, or I like these reviews that I read. And even though they specialize in digestion, I could see from their website, I'm still going to send them a message and say, Hey, I have migraines. Can you help me with this? Because we are often making decisions based on that know, like trust factor. So if someone makes a connection with you, even if they're outside your target market, they still would prefer to work with you than to continue Googling and pick somebody else.
[00:07:04] Samantha: I definitely agree. When I was looking for a naturopathic doctor for my son to figure out what supplements we wanted to give him, instead of just throwing things at the wall. I reached out to somebody I had worked with. She specializes in like perimenopause and menopause, and I was just like, would you also work with a 6-year-old boy? And she was like, yeah, I can do that. Might take a little bit of extra research, but i'm happy to help. And I've heard that from a lot of people. It doesn't mean that you're not gonna get people from all over. It just makes it so much easier to market.
[00:07:47] You and I had a conversation about SEO on your podcast and when I do SEO research and I look for keywords, it's much easier to rank for something like fertility acupuncturist than it is for acupuncturist. So even that piece, it's much easier to show up in front of the right people if you are targeting a certain group or a certain symptom or one specific thing that you're gonna focus on.
[00:08:20] Michelle: Absolutely. And I always encourage people to think about the patients who are their biggest fans, the ones who are talking about you to everyone. It's almost like that trust is passed on through different people, right? Like, oh, I told my best friend and now they really wanna come see you, but they're coming for something totally random that we've never even talked about before. And okay, great. That's always going to continue happening.
[00:08:49] For me, so much of marketing is about trust. When you're thinking about the individuals you're trying to reach, and I love what you said about the SEO just being easier when it is more specific 'cause you're not trying to compete with everybody.
[00:09:06] Samantha: Especially if you are in a location where there are a lot of practitioners that do the same thing, it's much easier if you can say, I work with this specific type of client, I help with this specific issue.
[00:09:21] And people, when they are searching, they might be typing something general in, but they're more likely gonna refine that search to find somebody who fits with what they actually need.
How SEO and Google Interpret Specificity
[00:09:36] Michelle: I don't know if AI or or search engine optimization is doing this in general like Google, but do you feel like Google takes what it knows about a person and factors that in? So even if they're searching something generic or broad, it's still giving them answers that are like a little bit tailored to what it knows you've searched in the past?
[00:09:58] Samantha: I would say that's more AI is going to pull information from your website and any profiles you have on other websites . Anywhere that it can find like your name, it's gonna put that together and it's gonna say, okay, I recommend. This particular practice because of all these reasons, and a lot of times it will actually tell you like where it found that information.
[00:10:26] I will say I just Googled my own business the other day, and even those search results have changed because instead of just being different links to my website and then my Instagram profile, LinkedIn profile, it was actually pulling specific Instagram posts that I had made and like specific things. They might be more popular or whatever, but it's showcasing those as well as just like the website links.
[00:10:54] Michelle: It's fascinating. Crazy.
[00:10:57] Samantha: Things are always changing, but I think the more clarity that you have and the more clarity that you can give in your marketing, yes, the easier it is for any of these tools to then recommend you to the right people.
[00:11:11] Michelle: Yeah, I mean, that's a really good point. Sometimes I will remind my marketing students that everything we're doing with our website and all of our search engine optimization efforts, are really just telling Google who to send us. Who are we a good fit for? And so when we are really vague on our website, it doesn't help Google know when it gets a search query if we're the right person. Instead, we are just vanilla, like 40 other acupuncturists, and it's looking for someone who rings a bell and is like, oh, okay, this person matches what, or this business matches the search query better than this handful of people who have really nothing in particular to say.
[00:11:55] And I think that it's really hard for people to hear that too, is because especially if they're resistant to niching, niching down, but yeah, Google appreciates the help.
[00:12:06] Samantha: Yeah, and I think we appreciate the help too. Once you land on somebody's website, if I've typed in something and I land on your website, I want it to be specific and feel like, oh, yes, you understand me and what I'm going through, and your solution is actually going to get me the results that I'm looking for.
[00:12:28] And so being really vague in who you work with, but even just being vague and saying things like, feel better or revitalize your life .
[00:12:39] Michelle: Yes. Live a more vibrant life. What does it mean?
[00:12:44] Samantha: It doesn't mean anything. Nobody wants to live a more vibrant life. They wanna like sleep at night. And not be in pain when they go on a walk.
[00:12:53] Michelle: Yes.
What’s Working in Marketing Right Now
[00:12:55] Samantha: So what are some of the marketing approaches that are working best for clients right now?
[00:13:03] Michelle: Right now, I would say that optimizing your Google Business profile seems to be getting people really good results, i'll say quote the fastest because I'm really not sure how long it takes, but you know, it's not like overnight, but it's still faster than many other marketing approaches.
[00:13:23] I don't know about you, I had a marketing mentor who always used to say, try and be consistent with a new marketing strategy for at least three months before you decide if it is working, because it literally has to like marinate. It has to mature. And if you give up in three weeks, then you really don't have a good handle on whether it's gonna give you a good ROI.
[00:13:45] Whereas with optimizing the Google business profile, I think it's getting results for people faster than three months certainly. And that could be things like really just making sure that the whole profile is fleshed out and is packed with keywords related to the symptoms you love to treat and want more of, and your location and like nearby towns and cities that you wanna pull from. So your services, your business description, all of that should have those keywords in there.
[00:14:19] The other thing I think is really helpful is actually filling out, I think it's called service area, as well as the things that people are always like, oh my gosh, it's so boring, or it's so tedious, is making sure you regularly add an update. Sometimes they're called posts, some people call them updates. Once or twice a month, add an update to your Google business profile. It's like a micro blog post and people are like, oh, I have to remember to do that. I'm like, put it on your calendar. It'll take 10 minutes to share a blog post that you wrote like six years ago. And but Google really appreciates seeing that your profile is refreshed, so to speak, that it is updated.
[00:15:03] I think Google cares a lot about providing a relevant answer to someone's query, and again, we can help Google know that we're the answer by refreshing our Google business profile because then it has more confidence like, oh, this business is open, is making an effort. So that if they send someone to your website, they can feel good that you are probably a strong answer to their search query. And that matters to Google a lot.
[00:15:32] Samantha: Yeah. Yeah. I like to tell people that Google likes itself. So when you put the effort into your Google Business profile, it is going to rate that higher. Same thing with reviews. Like reviews on your website are great. Google likes to see Google reviews.
[00:15:50] I think that's one of the things you build the strong foundation, you update once or twice a month. You're not spending hours every week trying to post there. But what you're doing is you're just making sure that it's accurate. And because so many of us work with local clients the Google business is going to show up in their search results, is gonna show up in maps if they look there. I think I read a stat that like 60% of people who look for something in Google Maps are gonna go visit a business that does that thing within a week. That, I think is a key thing to focus on.
Networking and Building Relationships Locally
[00:16:29] Michelle: I think that is working well for my marketing clients and my students lately. It's really fascinating. I'm an introvert. I think a lot of acupuncturists and wellness people are introverts and I don't know if I just attract them to me, so maybe it's disproportionate. But I will say that when people are willing to do it, um, in person networking, if you're willing to commit to the long term, I think is. Also working well for people, but it's a, it is a long-term game 'cause you're, it's just about building relationships.
[00:17:04] And especially, you know, if you are in a small town, you're just letting people meet you. Of course they're gonna be more likely to refer someone to you 'cause they met you and they liked you and they're, instead of referring to a total stranger, they're like, oh wow, you just mentioned you have headaches. I was talking to acupuncturist that she sees patients for headaches all the time. Like, here's her name. They're not gonna say like, oh well there's six acupuncturists in town. Here they are. Choose one.
[00:17:32] Samantha: Do you have any quick suggestions for like where to do that networking or how to approach it?
[00:17:37] Michelle: Yeah, so I mean, as an introvert, with an introvert audience, I get a lot of pushback about this, which is fair. It took me at least a year to really feel comfy just showing up at networking meetings where I am. But I'm in a town of 7,000 people and I feel like in a small town, people knowing my face is non-negotiable for success for a small business. This may not be true everywhere.
[00:17:59] So I usually tell people, if they are having a hard time going to those meetings by themselves, try to get to know the people who run the meetings. So, I like Chamber of Commerce meetings because if you join the Chamber of Commerce, it's usually like two, 300 bucks a year. Their job literally is to support you and help you get visible in the community and let other business owners know about what you do.
[00:18:23] So what I did was I volunteered with them for their fundraisers. We're talking maybe three days a year. But then that meant when we had our monthly meetings and I showed up, all of the staff at the chamber was like, hi. They knew me, right? So now I was going by myself, but I knew there was gonna be like six people who I could hang out with, who would talk to me.
[00:18:48] I just tell the Chamber of Commerce people, i'm an introvert and I have a hard time interrupting conversations to introduce myself to strangers. Most of the people who work at the Chamber of Commerce are going to be extroverts and they would freaking love to take the lead and introduce you. So I have people at those meetings who see me and they're like, oh, I thought of someone that you should know. Come with me. And then I'm set for the whole hour, right? They put me into a group of people, they introduce me and then they leave me. And I'm like, okay, no, I'm good.
[00:19:21] So if people are, are like, no way, I'm not doing Chamber of Commerce. I'm never going to those networking meetings. I'd rather stab myself in the eye with something blunt. Then I think volunteering consistently in the community is a really nice alternative because pretty much no matter what the volunteer activity is, if you're seeing the same people over and over, they are gonna start asking you questions about what you do and maybe personal questions like they wanna get to know, like, do you have a family? Blah, blah, blah. But eventually the conversation is gonna come around to the fact that you're an acupuncturist, here's what you specialize in, and suddenly they'll have questions for you. Right?
[00:19:59] So I think that those in-person things are helpful just to get us outside the office, like whether we're acupuncturists or not, I think being a wellness provider can be a little bit isolating 'cause we're sitting in our office space by ourself and then like the patients come to us and we don't realize how much value there is in like going out in the community.
[00:20:22] Samantha: It is a good reminder that like even that takes time. You can't expect to go to one meeting and have a bunch of clients. And what I have found when I joined my Chamber of Commerce, was there. We're not a lot of people in the wellness space that go and so people aren't necessarily gonna know what you do, but if you do get a chance to build those relationships, then you're gonna be one of the only people there that they even know.
[00:20:47] Michelle: I had someone complain to me recently, she's like, my local chamber of commerce is all realtors and bankers. Like what do I, why do I care? And I'm like, well, first of all, you get to be the only wellness person you that makes you the go-to. And secondly, like realtors and bankers, like they need healthcare. They know people who don't feel well. Like, and they talk to everybody. They know everyone. So yeah, I think that's a really good point. If you're the only one of a kind at a one of those meetings, then you are in a good place.
Debunking Marketing Myths
[00:21:20] Samantha: All right, so what is a common myth about marketing that you'd love to debunk for people?
[00:21:25] Michelle: I hear all the time that people are afraid to do marketing because they're afraid that no matter what strategies they use, they are going to come across as really pushy or greedy in their marketing and man, I don't know if I've ever seen a wellness professional make truly, truly gross marketing. Like, it's like very rarely there will be one person and you're like you know, that feels like fear-based marketing. I don't love that. But I think for local, small business owners, it's just not happening. So it's a fear that is totally unfounded.
[00:22:07] People have this perspective that if they get out there and they get visible, if they have a message to share, there's gonna be trolls. So that's scary, the fear of that. And they're also just worried that their community is gonna think like, who do you think you are, or gosh, you know, they, they must really need, someone told me this once, they must really need business if they're doing so much marketing.
[00:22:30] I don't think the average consumer has any of those thoughts. You know, we are surrounded by advertising all the time, and I always ask my students to think about it this way, like, when was the last time you saw an advertisement that like really ruined your day? Like those shoes that are following you around in a retargeting ad from Zappos, that's not ruining your day, right? It's just like a little reminder like, Hey, you liked these, like, yep, I still like them. Still trying not to buy them, but there they are.
[00:23:00] And so I just think that taking a step back and really trying to put ourselves in the shoes of our ideal patient. And saying if I were to see advertising about something I need and I'm actually interested in, how would it make me feel? Maybe I would feel relieved or interested, like, Hey, wow, I never thought about like nutrition for X, Y, Z before. And then they start to pursue it.
[00:23:30] We are so rarely coming across to our communities in a gross way. So being able to release that fear helps us actually show up in our marketing consistently. You're never going to show up consistently for something that you are genuinely afraid of. Or you were afraid that people are judging you. So getting to the root of like, what is that fear based in and how can I debunk it by saying like, okay, when I'm a consumer, do I ever feel that way? And why? Is it because you watched a car commercial when you were growing up and that person just shouted at you. If you are worried about that, you are never gonna create marketing like that. So just let it go and be like, okay, I know that I don't wanna create a car commercial. Perfect.
[00:24:15] Samantha: We have to remember too, that we see all of our content, but the algorithm doesn't show our content to everybody. And more and more it seems like you're seeing things that you have searched for and you've looked for. So if you're showing up in front of somebody, it's probably because you can help them.
[00:24:30] Michelle: They're searching something related to what you offer.
[00:24:34] Samantha: I really like that. I think. We need to remember how many emails you get from like a website after you've abandoned cart, and how many times they come back to remind you to purchase something.
One Simple Action to Improve Your Marketing Today
[00:24:44] So if somebody listens and they just wanna do one small action today to make their marketing easier and more effective, what would you recommend that they do?
[00:24:54] Michelle: Going back to earlier in the conversation, I would say go into your Google business profile and just try to fill out all the available fields. Make sure that your description, your services are filled out in detailed. Add a new photo, add a post maybe ask for a Google review. Even just doing one of those things is a really good start for today.
Where to Connect with Michelle
[00:25:19] Samantha: All right. Awesome. So if people want to connect with you and learn more, where can they do that?
[00:25:27] Michelle: My website is michellegrasek.com and I'm on Instagram at Michelle Grassic. I have lots of free resources on my website. I love creating worksheets and checklists. Marketing checklists are my jam, so I have some free checklists on my site. Some free PDA credits if people are acupuncturists as well.
[00:25:49] Samantha: Awesome. I will link to everything in the show notes. And you have a podcast too. Thank you so much for coming on and talking about this. I'm excited for people to really get into their marketing, figure out the best thing for them. . And make those little steps forward instead of continuing to push it off 'cause they've got other things to do.
[00:26:09] Michelle: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
[00:26:12] Samantha: Thanks for listening to Elevate your Practice. If you enjoyed today's episode, follow the show and leave a review. It helps more practitioners find these tips and start growing their practices with confidence. And don't forget to check out the show notes for links and resources from today's episodes.
[00:26:33] I'll be back next week with more strategies to help you build a thriving practice.
