Website Marketing Myths &
Strategies for Acupuncturists

Why an Acupuncture Clinic Website is Essential

**NEW!!** Acupuncture Website Marketing Strategies Update: Please read, "Complementary and Alternative Marketing: How to Attract New Patients, Market Your Practice, and Earn Passive Income With Your Acupuncture Website".

If you think you already know what website marketing is and what a website can do for your acupuncture practice, there is a very good chance you are wrong.

I know because for seven years I was one of those “smart” people.

I made the mistake that most acupuncturists makeand used my website as an electronic business brochure instead of an active marketing tool. At least I did not make the more common mistake of believing that a website was too costly or too complicated to have at all.

That's a small consolation when I look back at all the time and money I “wasted” with my website online. It would not have cost me a penny more to optimize my site for search engines so that people could actually find my clinic. Without the proper understanding of how to utilize my website's marketing potential, I missed a valuable opportunity to grow my practice.

What I know now is a website is the most important part of any marketing and advertising budget. I encourage you (actually I am begging you) to take some time to really learn the principles of writing a good website. Even if you hire a webmaster to write your acupuncture clinic website, you must know how your website needs to function in order to market your acupuncture practice effectively.

I am convinced that if more acupuncturists applied the simple proven techniques behind website marketing, they would not only be more successful faster, but the entire profession would benefit by having more expert information about acupuncture available to countless people via the world wide web. 

Myths About Website Marketing

The person who believes that, "acupuncture is just for back pain" and therefore does not seek out acupuncture treatments for asthma, depression, or insomnia, is missing out on an incredibly safe and effective healing system that could mostly likely eliminate their illness.

The same kind of erroneous beliefs about websites may prevent you from investigating and using website marketing for your acupuncture practice. I am going to ask you to suspend your preconceived ideas about what you think websites are and what they can do, and simply read why I believe creating an acupuncture website is vital to your acupuncture practice success.

One of the ways I know that acupuncturists do not have a clear understanding of the power of website marketing is because they often cite one or more of the following reasons why they do not have a website.

Acupuncturists make the mistake of believing having a website is:

1. Too Expensive. Yet a good quality website that includes domain name, hosting, email, e-zines, graphics tools, a written and visual guide, online support, and much more can cost less than $25/month. That's only $300 a year and a great investment in your advertising and marketing. 

2. Unnecessary. The notion that a Yellow Pages Ad is all you need reflects the misunderstanding that a website is just an electronic business listing. From a business and marketing perspective, this is a huge mistake. Acupuncturists must enter the business era of the World Wide Web and understand that an acupuncture website is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.

3. Too Difficult. Fortunately these days you do not have to know fancy computer language or programming techniques to create an acupuncture website. If you are selective about the website hosting company you choose (and I have one I highly recommend) and you can follow a step-by-step guide, then you can build your own website. (I am living proof!)

4. Too Time Consuming. It is true that creating an acupuncture website takes time, but not the kind of time you think.

• First of all, when you start your practice you will have some time on your hands as your business gets off the ground. Putting your energy into a writing informative website pages on the benefits if acupuncture and Chinese medicine (using popular Keywords) is a great investment and use of this precious time.
• Secondly, you have to write your acupuncture clinic consent forms, intakes forms, financial, cancellation, and scheduling policies, and perhaps a welcome letter, brochure, and fact sheets on herbal medicine or acupuncture treatment side effects. All of this information can be easily added to your website and provide valuable information to your customers.
• Thirdly, your acupuncture website saves you time because you direct patients to your website for more information or to download forms (e.g. intake, financial, consent, et cetera). This means you spend less time on the phone repeating the same information over and over again.

The truth is, every source of advertising you invest in, such as your business cards and brochures, the Yellow Pages, and ads in newspapers or magazines should always lead people to your acupuncture website. If all you do is leave people with a your name and acupuncture clinic phone number, your will lose many potential customers.

Marketing research has shown that people need information that they can re-read or look at as many as 9 times before they make a purchasing decision. Your acupuncture website gives them that opportunity. 

What You Need to Know About Acupuncture Website Marketing 

Do-It-Yourself Acupuncture Website Software 

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