Thank you for choosing CounselingWise to help you create compelling website content!
Our team of experienced writers is excited to work with you.
By utilizing well-written pages on your therapy/coaching website, not only are you building rapport by giving potential clients the information they want and need, but it also extends the amount of time they spend on your site. This increases conversion rates and helps search engines like Google see how valuable visitors find your website so they can rank you accordingly.
The success of our writing process hinges on two major factors:
- Writing your website page(s) is a collaborative experience.* From the interview to your review and revisions of the page draft(s), your feedback is an important part of the process. You are the expert on the content topic and your own voice/style; we are the experts on combining our proven writing method with your input to compose effective page content that represents you/your practice well.
- Open and clear communication is essential. If there is anything you would like changed in the draft(s) you receive—whether small grammar issues, changes in terminology, or a more substantial style change—the surest way to get the page you want is to ask questions and share honest feedback with your writer. It is a process, and it’s important that you give this process a chance, especially for the first page, so that the writer can really understand your vision.
(* To better understand our collaborative approach, please read: How Clients Can Best Fill Their Role in the 3 Collaborative Phases of Page Writing.)
Grasping the Fundamentals
To get the right input from you and successfully collaborate, it’s important that you understand two fundamental parts preceding the actual writing of your page(s)—the page questionnaires and the types of pages we write.
1. Submitting Page Questionnaires
It all starts with you giving us the all-important information we need in order to get started with your page(s)— the content. For this, we have created questionnaires for a variety of page types. If you’re reading this page, you should have received a link to a questionnaire for each page you ordered. We ask you to fill out and submit each one within a specific timeframe. The quicker you can provide us with the answers, the sooner we can assign a writer and get started with your page content.
- TIP: So as not to get bogged down with too many details when filling out questionnaires, ask yourself: “What information do I need to provide that will help a reader (potential client) get a good general idea of why they should know this information, why they may need my service(s), what approach(es)/help I offer, and how they can benefit from working with me?” This means, you need to give enough information to help the person make an informed choice, but not so much that they will feel overwhelmed.
To prepare for filling out these questionnaires and understanding why we ask certain questions, please look over the information provided below for the types of pages we typically write. (The most common pages clients order are: specialty pages, modality pages, and about pages.) You can simply choose to read the information corresponding to the type(s) of page(s) you ordered.
2. Understanding the Purpose of Various Page Types
Specialty Page
Length: ~1000-1200 words
Sample pages:
Specialty pages are pages to market your service(s). They are often the first pages on your website a potential client lands on. In order to write a strong marketing message that resonates with the reader, we need to crawl into the skin of your potential client. The more specific your message is and the more spot on it is about what they’re feeling, the more they will perk up and pay attention to what you’re saying.
Our 7-Point Marketing Message for specialty pages is specifically designed to accomplish this by creating an emotional connection with the reader from the start. Page content is mostly written in 2nd person voice, talking directly to the reader/potential client. The specialty page questionnaire is the most detailed one of all questionnaires we use.
Its structure includes several sections:
- Exploring the problem
- Normalizing the issue/therapy
- Presenting solutions/marketing your services
- Answering reader questions/concerns
- Call-to-action
Note: Aside from utilizing the general therapy service questionnaire for specialty pages, we have also created unique questionnaires for evaluations/assessments, supervision/consultation, online therapy, and coaching services pages. The questions are similar to the general specialty page questionnaire but fine tuned to get to the heart of the information we need for these particular topics.
Modality Page
Length: ~800-1000 words
Sample page:
While specialty pages touch on the modalities you use in your treatment approach, they do not go into as much detail as you perhaps want about a particular modality because we focus on therapy service in those pages. If you use one or more specific modalities (such as CBT, EFT EMDR, etc.), it can be beneficial to have an information page on your website that provides more details.
As therapy clients become more informed about different approaches, many are searching for specific modalities, and a well-developed modality page can help you reach more clients. But even if a potential client isn’t informed, a modality page can help readers understand why a particular treatment method can allow them to experience relief, healing, and/or growth. The majority of this page content is written in 3rd person voice, about the modality or who it can help, with some parts in 1st person voice, explaining how the therapist/practice uses the approach.
Our modality page structure typically includes:
- Providing a general understanding of what a particular modality is
- Explaining how the modality works and who it can help
- Describing how you/your practice use(s) the modality in session
- Call-to-action
Note: If you want to provide a more general overview of your approaches, it may be more effective to write a “My Approach” page instead of a specific modality page or pages. You will still be able to incorporate modality-specific search terms people are using to find treatment in your area.
About Page
Length: ~600-1000 words
Sample page:
The About page is the second most visited page on most therapy websites. It gives you an opportunity to detail your journey, philosophy and/or approach in a way that helps potential clients like you, trust you, and find you credible. Therefore, the information you provide should give them a sense of you as a therapist and as a person so they can find common ground and be able to relate to you. Content for this page is written in 1st person voice, as if the therapist is talking directly to the reader/potential client.
When filling out the questionnaire, don’t be too stiff and only talk about your accomplishments, education, or credibility. Instead, think about providing some fascinating details that have nothing to do with your work, let your personality and passion show, highlight your sense of humor, and make yourself likable.
About page structures usually include sections like:
- Detailing your professional background
- Providing some information about you as a person (not a therapist)
- Listing statistics, quotes, and education/degrees
- Call-to-action
Note: In some cases, you may prefer to have a page focusing on more specific details of your whole practice or only on professional information, like your journey as a therapist and how your background informed your therapy philosophy. If that is what you decide, you may wish to replace the general About page with a “My Practice” or a “My Background” page respectively.
Homepage
Length: ~200-400 words
The homepage, or welcome page, is generally the page with the least text content on a website. Its purpose is to summarize to provide a quick overview of the problems your potential clients have, your specialties, and possibly a few notes about your specific approach or unique selling point (that which sets you apart from other therapists in your area). This information is written in 2nd person voice, directly to the reader/potential client.
Note: Homepages are typically one of the last pages we write before a website goes live to ensure we have a good feel for your style/tone and how your website will be structured.
Speaking Engagements
Length: ~600-1200 words
The length of a speaking engagement page can vary depending on the number of speaking topics you would like to market. Though, it should generally stay within the specialty page length’s limits. Parts of this page content might be written in 1st person voice (bio), 2nd person voice (exploring client’s issues), and 3rd person voice (talking about details of the speaking topics).
Typically, these pages include sections for the following 4 components:
- Providing a short bio of the speaker
- Exploring the challenges faced by the reader or their reasons for seeking out your service
- Listing a detailed explanation for a SINGLE speaking topic (if you’re only marketing 1 topic) OR listing MULTIPLE speaking topics with short explanations (if you’re marketing several topics)
- Call-to-action
Note: The questionnaire is designed to allow you to choose which of the 4 components you would like to include in the page. If you want them in a different order, you can let your writer know which order you prefer (though, the call-to-action should typically be at the end of the page).
Thank you for taking the time to prepare yourself for this collaborative process!
—The CounselingWise Writing Team