How to Create Demand for Your Art Therapy Services
How to Create Demand for Your Art Therapy Services
What if you live and work in a country, city, or town where no one really knows about art therapy... how can you create demand for art therapy services?
Or…how can you get people to pay for something they have no idea about?
This might be a question you have as an art therapist or creative healer.
So today I’m going to share the ways that you can create demand for art therapy. No matter where you are located, this will be super helpful. And even if you’ve just started, it’s going to be helpful to know.
*if you want to hear the full podcast episode of this post, listen on iTunes here, or Spotify here.
There are two big ways you can create demand for something that many others don’t know, i.e., art therapy services.
That is…
Understand what the client is going through (talk to their problem/need)
So let’s back track and start from the beginning. Before art therapy, why do we need someone’s help? Because we have a problem, an issue in life.
When you speak to that problem and present your service as a solution, you can create demand wherever you go.
When you talk about the problem at hand, you create more awareness, inspiration, and motivation to change the problem, to solve it. And it also helps you to position yourself as an expert, or an authority in this problem.
Which then leads to the potential client seeing you as a person who can help them with the problem.
It’s important to actually know what that problem is that people are dealing with, and also to make sure it is a real problem that people want to solve. Understand WHY people absolutely NEED this service.
When you incorporate this into your social media, your content, your marketing in general, you will continuously get people who want your services.
The other way to create demand for your art therapy services is to….
2. Believe there is demand and show up
If you’re reading this… then you are probably not seeing demand for art therapy around you. So what do you do? Do you keep waiting for demand to show up?
The trick I found is to change (what we believe is) the sequence of events.
We think that we need to see the demand, use that as a signal to then start showing up and then provide the service. But oftentimes the order of events is the other way around.
You believe there is demand first, no matter what the circumstance is, and show up. Then the demand is created.
Believe there is demand first and show up and be available for people to reach out to you. Then people will reach out to you.
You don’t wait for the people to reach out to you first to believe that there is demand, and then show up. No, it actually starts from YOU.
Belief creates the demand.
So the important part of this is believing that people want this. They want your service. And to do that… you need to be sold on yourself. Ask the question:
Are you sold on yourself?
If you are providing a service you gotta be sold on yourself. Do YOU believe in your services? Do YOU believe it changes people’s lives? That people need it? That people are missing out big time if they don’t get it?
You have to see your service as GOLD (which it IS!) You gotta be like I wanna shout this off the rooftop - it’s soooo good! Have that feeling and energy around what you provide. Then you’re gonna be a magnet!
This is the infectious good energy that will draw people in - when you are excited about something and you believe strongly in it, you are going to share about that thing, you are going to be a magnet when you share because you’re just sharing it from a place of joy and love. And people are drawn to that energy.
Audiences, communities are built from that. And when you have a community, selling your services is natural and easy.
Now, if you are thinking - “ok, I went deep and I was honest and my answer is that I’m not so sold on my services, I’m not really sold on art therapy, or that I can provide that type of amazing art therapy service...” then this is a chance to recognize that it is really your BELIEF that’s coming in the way of showing up and creating a demand.
It is only a belief.
Which can always be changed.
So let’s change it. :)
Go from thinking…
people don’t like art therapy
people aren’t interested in art therapy or my services
people won’t pay for this kind of thing
To thinking…
people love art therapy
people are so interested in my services, they’re knocking on my door for it
people know and understand that this is important and they are committed to their growth
How do these latter thoughts/beliefs sound to you? Do they sound more expansive, more joyous, and more positive?
If so, it is time to adopt them. Believe in your worth. Believe in the worth of art therapy. Believe in your success.
Let me know, have you ever struggled with creating demand for your services? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you want some help and guidance in creating demand for art therapy or your services, especially through social media and marketing, definitely jump into my Visionary Art Therapists Business course, a course where you’ll learn the strategy and the support you need to start and grow your dream (art) therapy business and offer non-clinical services. You can see details & join here.
With that said, I really hope that this was helpful for you to learn. Thanks and see you next time!
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