Why Ads Don't Work and 1 Tweak That Changes Everything

We hear this from big-hearted healers all the time: "My business-card ad used to get calls like crazy. But now...nothing."

Sadly, we're not surprised.

Here's what you need to know about advertising: It's designed to take readers through a 4-step psychological buying process known as AIDA, which stands for:

1. Attention
2. Interest3. Desire
4. Action

As you can imagine, those are 4 very different experiences that usually happen over time. So expecting one ad to do all those things simply isn't reasonable.

One solution is to run an ad at least 7 times to create a sense of familiarity. But that gets expensive.

And even if you could invest all that money, when you offer an intimate service like holistic or spiritual healing , it's still too much of a leap to expect readers to go from a magazine to your doorstep.

Here's what to do instead: Do NOT plan your ad to lead to your service. Instead, plan it to lead to a free gift you're offering on your website that's delivered over time.

Let your ad do the work of attracting Attention and Interest and getting people to your website. Then give them a gift in exchange for giving you their name and e-mail address.

When you get them on your contact list and send them the gift of your wisdom over time, they begin to think of you as their trusted guide. And that's when they trust you to take care of them the moment they need your services.

What kind of gift should you share? Here are 3 guidelines:

**Guideline #1: Your free gift should be delivered over 21 days without having to send it by hand.

Just like it takes 21 days to create a habit, it also takes time for your message to make an impact on your potential clients.

When you design your free gift to be delivered like love letters, a bit at a time, you can effectively create a relationship with thousands of potential clients as easily as courting just one.
**Guideline #2: Your free gift should represent the spirit of your wisdom and your unique brilliance as a practitioner.

You may be a healer, even a hands-on healer, whose greatest gifts are offered in person. Yet you're a healer because you have a distinct viewpoint and beliefs about your work and the world that you feel overjoyed to share.

Allow yourself to claim your space as a teacher, mentor and guide in addition to being a healer.

When you point the way to inner peace and well-being, you perform a memorable service that potential clients appreciate and want more of.
**Guideline #3: Your free gift has got to be generous.

Share valuable tips, tools or strategies people can use on their own, whether or not they hire you. That way you're serving at every level. And you're creating a sense of value in your work that goes beyond the modality you practice.

When you share your wisdom as an act of love, people want to express their love right back. And that usually comes in the form of happy clients who gladly pay your healthiest fees.

Not sure what gift to share or how to share it? We'll be helping you create that gift, soup to nuts, in our all-new Client-Rich Academy for Women in the Healing Arts. Check it out at www.ClientRichAcademy.com .