What to do in your free time
March 27th, 2007 • Posted by Bill Bice • Permalink
If you've recently opened a brand new small spa or started a massage therapy practice, you're facing the daunting challenge of bringing in new clientele while facing much more established competitors. But you have an advantage — chances are few of those long-time businesses realize the value of taking a spa online.
It does seem like a little bit of a contradiction after all — spas are all about the in-person experience. But your prospective clients are online, and that's where you need to be.
There are a ton of no-cost marketing opportunities online when you need more business. Don't have an appointment at 3pm? Pick a project, and go do it:
- You have to start by having a website that you can easily update, like a Dynamic Spa Website.
- Follow the search engine optimization (SEO) recommendations in the Spa Marketing Guide.
- Write an article every week to post on your website. Talk about the benefits of massage, attractions for tourists in your area, the perfect local B&B to stay at, corporate chair massage, rejuvenating facials — anything interesting related to your spa and the area you serve.
- Get links! Reach out to local bloggers, complimentary businesses (like the B&B you just wrote about), associations, tourism bureaus, etc. Offer to write an article for them, and make sure it includes a link back to your website.
- Post on online forums focused on your area about any and all passions that drive you. Include a link to your website in your signature line.
- Get listed and reviewed on CitySearch and other local directories that show activity for your area. Encourage clients to review you, trade services with other businesses with a review as part of the deal and get family and friends to write you up.
Posted in Spa Marketing, Starting a Spa • Share • Trackback
March 29th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
How can I put an online forum on my website?
March 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Hi SpaGirl,
The real value is you participating in other forums, with links back to your website. I would think hard before adding a forum to a spa's website because it takes incredible traffic to get participation that would create a venue of value.