There are many forms of free advertising. Introduce yourself to the other tenants when you see them. Tell them what you do; they are going to ask out of curiosity anyway. Ask them if they have ever had a massage or whatever the type of bodywork it is that you do. One or two neighbors as clients may pay your utilities every month. The right building can provide free advertising. If you’re located in a building which houses related businesses as mentioned in the location chapter, you can attract those clients. Consider referring between non-competing businesses such as a good chiropractor whose office does not offer massage, a yoga studio, nutritionist and the like. Leave business cards on bulletin boards in yoga studios, health food stores, gymnasiums, and anywhere else you can think of. Keep business cards on you for when you happen to run into these places or people where you can leave your business card.

Get around. Make yourself known so you can pick up clients. If you get some extra time, volunteer for something you feel is worthwhile and check out groups that interest you. Once people get to know you, they will want to make sure you have business. Tell your clients that if they know someone who might be interested to please give them your card. When a client refers someone, give them a little gift to show appreciation. Be creative, try different things. Have some fun with it.

Many therapists set up their e-mail so a customer query gets an automated message "I'll get back to you in X hours." All this does is tell the inquirer you received the e-mail. The inquirer already knows that. (If you hadn't, the customer's e-mail provider would have notified them that the e-mail bounced.) Therefore, try to make the automated message response personal so they feel there is someone really there. Give the name of the person who will get back to them. Let them know you’re in session. Have the automatic responder include answers to commonly asked questions such as hours, prices and direction so it may prove of some value to the client.

Try to get back with them quickly. Consider checking your e-mail between appointments, so the inquirer gets a response within an hour or two during business hours. If this is too difficult, it would be a good idea to add a note to the e-mail such as “e-mails are replied to within…..hours.” You would be better off not offering an e-mail address if you do not reply promptly. Because massage is a service business, answering e-mails quickly is a good way to show service is high on your priorities. Also, the timeframe for the inquirer’s buying decision is not unlimited. In other words, if you don't get back to them meaningfully, they may discount your sincerity and move on.

Make sure the directions that are given are well thought out. Some websites give vague directions like "I'm behind the Bank of America." This is probably not adequate. Write down your directions and drive the directions like someone new to the area so you can finesse your instructions. Remember, if you’re in session, you will not be able to guide them over the phone if they get lost. If they have to call to get more directions, then your instructions are probably lacking. Mapquest has a feature for your website where the client can enter the starting address and automatically receive detailed driving directions and a map to your business location. See here for more information.

Think about signage. Drive around and look for signage that really gets your attention and that you can duplicate on your building. This one time purchase can draw as much business as a monthly ad.

False and misleading advertising claiming duties, rights or privileges not possessed by law can create problems for a massage therapist. If the therapist was negligent, a board investigation may include a demand to see all the advertising material the licensee has produced, including samples of all current business cards, letterhead, advertisements (newspaper, magazine and fliers) and current photographs of all business signs within so many days prior to the offence. If the violation was willful, there may be a suspension.

A therapist recently told the story of how this happened to him. A competitor had filed false complaints against him and others. He would have been fine as the charges were completely fabricated except that the licensing board did such a perusal of his operation, they found some of his business cards which, according to the state, suggested he was offering treatments which were not covered in his license and he was suspended.

Many states have laws covering misrepresentation. For example, in the state of Arizona it is against the law for a massage therapist to misrepresent themselves when communicating with the general public and is cause for disciplinary action . It is also against Arizona law for a massage therapist to “Falsely [hold] out oneself as licensed or certified in any discipline of massage therapy without successfully completing training approved by the board in that specialty.” There are probably many states that have similar laws.

The NCBTMB Code of Ethics has language on the matter: “Represent their qualifications honestly, including education and professional affiliations.” This is an easy one because no one is likely to mess up accidentally. Also, you wouldn’t want to claim an affiliation until you actually could prove it. For example, you wouldn’t claim something simply because you were on the cusp of it becoming true. You would want some proof so you’re covered.

The NCBTMB Code of Ethics lll which says, “Accurately inform clients, other health care practitioners, and the public of the scope and limitations of their discipline,” may be more subtle. For example, I use to work as a medical profiler, going to people’s homes, taking their blood pressure and medical history, asking for urine samples and, on some occasions, running EKGs. I liked it when they would call me doctor…I was young. After letting them know I was not a doctor, they would still ask me to listen to their heart or something else you would ask of a doctor. Sometimes people just assume, so you will have to be sure they have the correct understanding. Third parties who advertise a therapist’s services can place the therapist in trouble as well. Any such advertising must conform to all the same regulations as if the therapist placed the ad.

How will people know your business is there? How will people choose you? Those are the big problems of advertising. Since you’re just starting out, it is important not to compromise revenue with high advertising expenses. Go slowly and make sure the place you advertise is productive. You might be surprised. My partner and I found a magazine that is just about in every waiting room here in Orange County. Our massage services fit right in with flavor of the magazine. We thought it couldn’t miss. However, it did and in a big way. No one called on this great ad and half of Orange County had to have seen it.

Later we dropped an ad into a little throw away paper where people advertised their yard sales, cars for sale by private owners, handyman etc; there were no ads in there for massage. The ad took off. There were so many calls from that little throw away paper it became our main source of advertising.

Many people today are using the World Wide Web. Geocities.com offers free web sites (though the customer will see an ad provided by Geocities; the ads disappear if you upgrade by paying a small monthly fee). The company offers an automated “click and choose” system so setting up the web site could not be easier—they probably have the best platform for this. If you’re not interested in point and click, Geocities has pre-formatted web sites where you just fill in information and they put it up on the web. The web site will provide rudimentary data on the amount of times the site is visited, broken down by hour, day, week or month.

Take care of where and how you advertise. The NCBTMB has certain guidelines concerning advertising. Be sure to review the NCBTMB Code of Ethics and Standards on advertising before you place your first ad.

In the NCBTMB Standards of Practice Standard I: entitled Professionalism, item Q says, “use the initials NCTMB to designate his/her professional ability and competency to practice therapeutic massage and bodywork, or the initials NCTM to designate his or her professional ability and competency to practice therapeutic massage only.” Item T says “use the NCBTMB logo and certification number on business cards, brochures, advertisements, and stationery only in a manner that is within established NCBTMB guidelines.”

Savvy clients know the NCBTMB represents the high professional credential in the massage field and will be looking for some indication that you’re NCBTMB certified. Even those that don’t know what it means will probably be impressed to see it. My accountant has affiliations and membership certificates and so forth plastered all over the wall in his office. I don’t know who these organizations are but I’m impressed anyway.

Some of the state boards and local jurisdictions have rules restricting advertising. Be sure to check the rules before advertising. For example, the West Virginia Massage Licensing Board has a law which states a licensee may not advertise in any way a service for a condition that would require diagnosis. If a massage school suggested it was okay to diagnose or taught any classes which included diagnosing, the students would assume it was okay to do so if they had not read the law.

Many states and other licensing jurisdictions have laws about suggestive advertising. You’re not likely to do that. You just want to make sure you’re not giving the impression that you doing that, so look for anything that might suggest that you are. Where you advertise also influences how one perceives your ad. You just don’t want people reading things into your ad that are not there and then have to straighten them out over the phone or even worse deal with it in session. Your energy is better spent elsewhere.

Florida has a law which says each massage therapist or massage establishment licensed shall include the number of the license in any advertisement of massage services appearing in any newspaper, airwave transmission, telephone directory, or other advertising medium. Washington DC is another example: it has a similar law and there are probably others. It should be mentioned the one exception to that Florida rule is the license number of a licensed massage therapist who is an owner or principal officer of the establishment may be used in lieu of the license number for the establishment.

Unlike the NCBTMB advertising requirements, which have an obvious ethical basis, state requirements may be unanticipated. That is why it is best to know your law well and not let these particulars slip by unnoticed. NCBTMB Standard II is entitled Legal and Ethical Requirements. Item (a) says “obey all applicable local, state, and federal laws.” So if a massage therapist breaks any of the local, state or federal laws, they may have to defend their certification with the NCBTMB as well.

If a business had an ad that said “Massage therapist to the movie stars” and dropped in a few well known names, it would probably get a lot of attention. However, if they were to say that Meryl Streep, for example, was endorsing their massage, she could sue for the misuse of her name. If they were to mention she is one of their clients, without first getting her permission, they could have a problem. She has a certain expectation of privacy and furthermore her name is licensed and when it is used to promote a product or service, she gets paid for that. Therefore, she can sue. One of the NCBTMB Standards addresses this as well in Standard III item (a), Confidentiality.

Standard IV is all about business practices. In fact, it is titled “Business Practices.” In any case, you should go over all the Standards before you open because you don’t want to accidentally jeopardize your certification.

Copy is the word for the text of your advertisement. Maya Angelou said that if there were a machine that could measure words, we would probably find out that words were real things. It seems that they are. They certainly have a relationship with the nervous system because particular words trigger particular feelings.

For example, a woman would prefer to think of herself as “full-figured” rather than “plump,” though they have the same meaning. When advertisers want to sell a woman weight loss, they use the word “fat”. When they want to sell garments to the same woman, they use the word “full-figured”. Both words mean the same thing but solicit different feelings. Full-figured just seems sexier…a larger cup size. The message is: buy something for your sexy body. Use the word “zaftig” and she’s completely off the hook. Since it is a word not commonly used in our culture, it holds no associative feelings and is in a sense neutral. By carefully choosing your words and basic knowledge of key elements in advertising, you will save money and be more effective.

Think about the nature of the service in the mind of the clients because that is how you will relate to them. The NCBTMB website says that “The three (3) most often cited reasons for getting a therapeutic massage are relaxation (27%), relief of muscle soreness, stiffness or spasm (13%), and stress reduction (10%).” From there you can introduce new concepts if you like. For example, after pacing them with mentions of relaxation, health, relief for aching muscles and other things that are usually in the mind of the potential client, you can move them into new directions. Then you can even tweak it by introducing some unique and intriguing method, technique or service. Be sure to present yourself as an expert in any new treatment. Get the prospect to start saying yes. That is what those marketers are doing when they call you….

Hello, is this Ms. Henderson?

Yes.

Ms. Henderson, this is a representative of So And So Bank. Do you still live on Atlantic Avenue?

Yes.

And that’s in Huntington Beach, right?

Yes.

And your zip code is 92646?

Yes.

And is the phone where the bank can contact you still 714-536-9849?

Yes.

Ms Henderson, I suppose you’ve heard about the problem of identity theft?

Yes.

The next move will be an offer to sell me something and to that I’m suppose to automatically say “yes.”

This is manipulative, of course, and that is not the intent of massage industry. In the case of the massage industry, the goal is simply to pace the target. Therefore, pacing would look something like this…

What your service means to the prospect is how you will construct your language so you need to ask yourself “What is the nature of the product in the mind of the prospect? How do they relate to my services?” Services and products are sold as concepts. People purchase concepts. It may be a lipstick but it is the concept of beauty the purchaser is buying.

We know when people think of massage they think health, relief from aches and pain, self-indulgent feel-goodies, rest, relaxation, escapism, cures and so forth. The associations with these words are different for different people. Each of these words triggers an emotion. Behind the concept is an emotion. The sale is based on the emotions attached to your advertising words; just look at perfume ads.

The actual purchase sometimes requires justification. “I want this experience because…” and “I should buy it because I have to maintain my health.” Having to maintain health is the justification for purchase. Addressing these elements in your copy appeals to your prospect.

In the copy above, the words “You deserve it” is used for the justification. In case that wasn’t enough justification, “Yes” is put in front of it and an exclamation point added. The “yes” and exclamation point are meant to curb an argument because the prospect might begin to talk themselves out of it otherwise.

Anticipate objections and head them off. “Yes” gives them permission to deserve it and further paces them. It is driven home with a “this is profound” exclamation point and follows with the directive to call.

The directive is very important. Never leave them hanging with just the number; tell them to call or something to that effect. You may think this is manipulation but in the massage industry, this is not manipulation. Massage is hard work which improves the recipients’ well being. Value for value is being offered. But no one will realize that unless you get them on the table. You may be giving that prospect the only good thing that happened to them that day or even that week.

Remember, words trigger their own emotion so examine the emotion attached to the words you decide to use. “Credit card debt is like an infection - the longer you ignore it the worse the situation gets.” Here the writer used a simple yet compelling analogy, “infection.” (While the first sentence does not appear to follow the rule of being short, it feels like two sentences because of the dash.) Infection was a great word to use because it is induces the emotion of seriousness and makes the reader read on.

Pointing out lasting value is also a good idea. For example, the lasting value of a massage is better health. If it was presented as just a feel good thing, the prospect may feel it lacks a result and is too temporary to invest in.

Pricing is another issue. Be careful about pricing. If prices are too incredibly low, the prospect suspects the service or product is inferior or lacking in some way (unless it is a sale or special one time offer.) It is a technique of advertising to put price comparisons in ads, even if it is just to say something like “We offer the best prices.”

Remember: lastly, ask for their business by giving them a directive as we did in the example ad. If it is a long ad, you can give directives in the body of the text as well as the end.

Notice how by using the word “fat” in the earlier example, the advertiser is pointing out a problem. In advertising, that’s called “solve the problem” which is another sales technique. One has to be careful about this technique because it can be mercenary. However, identifying a problem and offering your services as a way of treating the problem, only makes sense.

In advertising copy it is best to keep sentences short and to the point, if not to the point, then very intriguing so you don’t lose the reader. The first sentence of your copy needs to be compelling and short in order to get the prospect to read the rest of the material.

Long sentences are too much of an investment for the ad reader. They want to get in and get out so they can determine very quickly if they are interested. Don’t intimidate them with long sentences.

Write short sentences by rereading and finding words that can be eliminated, especially in headings. Make every word count for something. If you’re promoting product lines that are gender specific, consider separate ads appealing to men and women so your ads are stronger and more focused. Make the prospect curious without being vague. Simple wording is key in getting the prospect to read your copy, whether it is a short ad or a lengthy brochure.

When doing lengthy ads, be sure to do a summary of your offer at the end. Add drama where possible. Remember you’re competing with other advertisers and need to stand out. When you’re able to do a lengthy ad, such as a brochure, spend a portion of it on introducing yourself. Brochures are a good place to tell a story. Make your ads personal; in your copy, use words like “you” and “we.” Allow your copy to reflect your personality and that of the business. Introduce yourself. Who are you? What is your theme and how can this be communicated in your ad? The environment should be one of the elements in your imagery.

Typeface has its own personality. Use a typeface that suits your theme and is very easy to read. For readability, sans-serif fonts are considered better. A sans-serif font is Verdana; an example of a serif font is Times Roman. Some prefer the friendly and casual fonts, like Comic Sans.

A small ad leaves little room to make a pitch after you have inserted the basic necessary information such as name, phone number and services. Think of one or two words that you can use to punch it up or a great one-liner. Remember, you’re the expert in your services; you want your ad to reflect that so the prospect feels your confidence and knows you’re credible. Something in your ad should offer them hope. Hope is very powerful and gives people something to look forward to.