I believe that acupuncture clinic marketing is a form self-love

I know… that sounds crazy, right?

But I really do feel that taking the time to share our medicine effectively with the world is saying to the world:

~ my healing work deserves to be supported, my healing work deserves to be shared, I deserve to create security for myself and my family, I take my work seriously, I want to share my mission and my medicine with the world, I deserve to be heard and share my message ~

It makes sense, right? Want to hear more? Watch the video, listen to the podcast, or read the transcript below, whichever is more convenient for you. You can also listen directly on iTunes here.

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Why marketing your acupuncture clinic is a form of self-care

Everyone needs to take care of themselves, it a basic human need…but what does it mean to market your Acupuncture Clinic as a form of self care? We will discuss that in this video! I am so excited to share my secrets with you!

You know how we say that eating well is a form of self-respect? That self-care, eating well, exercising, meditating, maintaining boundaries, sharing our truths… that is self-respect – saying you deserve to be treated well.

And I likewise think that learning how to market our practices well and effectively and mindfully and authentically, it’s a form of self-respect. Marketing our acupuncture practices is a form of self-love.

I see branding and marketing our acupuncture clinic as an opportunity to really be ourselves, to be able to fully articulate our truths.

It’s so worth it to take that time to figure it out, do some soul-searching… so we can fully articulate who am I and what am I about and who do I serve and why am I here and why and how do I help those people that I serve?

To really be able to explore that and articulate that, that is what really effective marketing is, I think.

And it’s why just copying someone else’s marketing doesn’t work because every one of us acupuncturists is so different, which is what I love about us. There are a million kinds of people and conditions that we could help and that we could really be passionate about. Each of us is going to have our own different story of how we got here and what fires us up and what we’re passionate about and what pisses us off and who we really want to serve and what we’re about and what we believe.

Each of us is going to have our own best marketing message, and I love helping acupuncturists figure that out. I really believe that it’s a form of self-love to say, “Yeah, me and my healing work and my practice, we deserve to take that time to figure that message out.” And I believe that’s when we can feel the most fulfilled and be of the best service to the world and experience the most abundance.

I would even take it as far to say … you know the Buddhist principle of “right livelihood”? Part of the Eightfold Path of doing no harm and making the world a better place. I think that good acupuncture marketing is part of that Buddhist “right livelihood” for us…

…That connecting the people who need our services to our healing work is just as much a part of our job as just healing people is.

And I think that, when we take full responsibility for how we’re showing up in the world and really, really show up, Brene Brown style, really show up and take responsibility for how we’re showing up, not just in the treatment room but in the world with our marketing message and how we’re communicating with the world, I think that that really matters and is part of our job, part of that right livelihood thing in Buddhist thought. And I think it’s self-love…marketing… I know, that sounds crazy.

As acupuncturists, we got into this medicine because we craved more meaning and connection.

I think a lot of us had previous careers. I had a previous career in finance, and I for sure craved more meaning and connection. I hated just pushing people’s money around and making rich people richer. It felt like, oh my god, I needed more meaningful work, and I also wanted more connection.

And I love my job, and I love that that’s what I get to do all day. It’s like speaking my love language, being like, “Hello, come in, sit down, tell me what are your problems and your struggles and how can I help you?” Really, that’s my love language I get to practice all day long and really create meaning and connection. And it’s part of why I love my work.

But it’s funny that a lot of us, while we’re showing up in the treatment room that way… are you showing up in your marketing that way too?

Are you creating meaning and connection in your marketing efforts?

I think that a lot of us are doing what I did in the beginning too, kind of taking ourselves out of the equation with our marketing. We just aren’t showing up. We assume, which I did too, that marketing is icky and salesy and slimy and pushy and not something that we want to be part of.

But that’s not the kind of marketing we’re talking about. That’s not the kind of marketing that works this day and age. We’re talking about really, truly being able to articulate what we’re really about and connect with people beyond just in our acupuncture treatment rooms, but even when they just stumble upon our marketing message, that they can see that and be like, “Whoa, there is hope for me. She can help me. Somebody gets me. Wow.”

You can create meaning and connection even in your marketing message. So many of us are about that, and I want you to know that it’s possible and should be the goal to create that also in how you’re communicating with people who don’t yet know you personally.

I think it helps us feel … it not only attracts more patients to our acupuncture practice, but it makes us feel more fulfilled with our work too. I studied psychology a little bit in college. Have you ever heard about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? It’s like a pyramid, and the bottom rung is just security and safety and food and shelter and necessary needs. You can’t really move up the pyramid unless you have each layer below it met. And the top bit, the top piece of that triangle, is self-actualization and feeling like you are really, truly showing up the way you’re meant to in the world.

We’re communicating about our work and really saying… “This is what I’m about, and this is what I believe, and this is my story and my journey and why I do what I do, who I want to serve and how I really transform them.” And really taking charge of how we are communicating about our work with the world, I think that leads to a feeling of self-actualization, which is spiritual, I think. The top little triangle of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – self-actualization.

And I think that really embracing mindfully marketing our work, it helps us to become a better version of ourselves because we become more in touch with our truth and our values and our passions and able to clearly articulate it, which is powerful.

So I think that marketing is self-love, and it’s actually also serving the world. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what I really believe.

If I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Katie Altneu, acupuncturist and herbalist. I have a clinic in Denver. I’ve been in practice nine years and also a business teacher at CSTCM, where I’ve been teaching acupuncturists for eight and a half years, and I’m also the founder of AcuProsper.com where I have online courses that teach acupuncturists how to start their clinic and how to grow their clinic and attract more patients. If you want to be notified about when my courses open up, sign up for my Top 10 Tips, and you’ll be on my email VIP list, and I’ll let you know when the courses open up.

Cool, thanks so much. Keep doing what you’re doing because the world needs you.