Which Method of Advertising Your Business do You Think Has Been the Most Effective With Getting Clients?
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Kaely Harrod 00:04
Welcome to Doula Tips and Tits. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaely Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born 12 nearly 13 years ago. I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, lovely cheerleader and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business. It is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Welcome back. Today we are diving into another question that was posed during my recent doula masterclass, that was, which method of advertising your business has been the most successful for getting clients. So I'm gonna start like, I start many episodes with a couple caveats on that. It really depends on your area. So I'm going to talk a little bit about my business and what has been most successful for me, and then I will kind of break down different things that you could think about. Okay. So the first I'll say is, I live in the DC area. So it's a very heavily populated area, there are lots of pregnant folks here. As you can hear, there's lots of traffic here. And so this is an area where there's no shortage of pregnant people, right? I think one thing that is really helpful in advertising your business is reminding yourself that there are clients for you, right, and you're not in a, in a situation in a place where you have to kind of fight tooth and nail to get people, right. And I think sometimes we come to the act of marketing, or the act of advertising ourselves or talking about our services, when we're not marketers when it's not kind of our first instinct or our natural state of being. And we come to this place, and then we're, we sort of come there with desperation, or we come there with like, a nervous energy, right? Or we come there with almost this, like, oh, I guess if you need if you think you want me, you could hire me. And that really is already a really big disservice to yourself. So before you're even thinking about where to advertise how to market, I want you to really think about how are you coming to the space of your business? How are you showing up for yourself? And are you showing up in a way that you tell yourself like, I can do this? And and there are people for me to serve here in this space? Or are you showing up for yourself in a way that's like, Oh, I hope this works, right. And as a business owner, you have a little of both. So it's not that I expect perfection out of you. And you should not expect that out of yourself either. So that being said, to answer the actual question, which is what has been most successful for my business, so my business I will say, I have gotten the most number of clients from other doulas. So having good relationships with other doulas where there's mutual referral, and from teaching classes, because teaching classes to pregnant families and pregnant people, is a really good way for people to figure out that you communicate and your your personality and all of that jives with what they want, right? So I will say I teach childbirth education classes. I teach them at this point multiple times a month. But before when, like couple years ago, I was teaching maybe once a month, maybe twice a month. And almost every single class I taught someone wanted to hire me as a doula. That's a pretty good return in terms of doula clients per class, right? At this point, the majority of my clients are straight up referrals from someone because I don't take that many clients. And so with I take one to three clients a month. And so with that number I fill up kind of quickly. So I regularly have folks in my classes that wish they could hire me but they can't. And so then I have the absolute joy and honor of referring them to other doulas which I love and I love hearing from those doulas like oh, this person premier class hired me and I'm like, amazing, wonderful. So I kind of helped them see what a doula could be in their life. And then you get to sort of be that magic for them. Right. Um, So that's one big thing. If there's a way for you to connect with pregnant people, that is going to be a really good source of doula clients in most cases. So some people teach yoga and doing prenatal yoga is really helpful. Some people teach like babywearing or lactation classes. Those are really helpful things. Some people teach childbirth Ed, some people teach like newborn care, swaddling and bathing and things like that. So I would say that, especially if you're teaching people that are local to you, is a really, really good source of doula clients. Another thing is my podcast because part of my business is online services, right? So I have an online childbirth class, I have my virtual doula coaching. And so my podcast is an avenue of marketing that is able to reach a much broader audience. It's also something that I love, I sort of see this podcast as like, short conversations, or short little snippets of my classes and stuff, right? I love to teach, I love to share information. And so this is something that feels really aligned with who I am and what I love about this work. And also, it is a really good exposure tool for marketing. Okay. Now, I will also say that I have gotten a handful of clients from doula match.com. And I don't I'm not marketing for them. I'm not an affiliate or anything like that with them. But I think a website like that, like some kind of some kind of directory, and there are a couple others. There's a directory through the National Association of Black doulas in a BD, I think that's national. Yes, I believe that's right acronym, I will put their information in the show notes. But that kind of directory gives people a place to search for you. And that is very helpful. I will say Instagram is has not been a source of clients for me. But it is a source of people getting to know me and trust me, once they are my clients or when they're considering being my client. So I haven't had anyone that purely met me on Instagram, and became my client from that. However, it is helpful when people are searching to see your credibility and to see your face right to get to hear from you and see you to have someplace where you are showing up. And they can kind of experience you a little bit, if that makes sense. So I hope that's helpful. I know that. Of course, everyone's sort of marketing strategy and how they get clients is different. But another really great avenue that I mean, I would say this isn't the biggest avenue for me just because I don't do it that often, but is meet the doula nights. So when I used to, I used to participate in meet the doula nights on a really regular basis, like once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. And I would get at least one client every single time so that, especially if you're if you're good at like a really quick connection, that is a really good source of clients. And if you're curious about like, how to do a meet the doula night, if you haven't been invited to one make your own, you don't have to wait for someone else to validate you. You can go to a yoga studio or a maybe chiropractor or a massage therapist or somebody who has prenatal connections, right. And talk to them about offering something like that for free for the students that they have. So you're offering their people something for free. And then you're inviting doulas to be a part of it. And ultimately, it's free exposure and marketing for the doulas. It's free education for the parents. And you may not have money show ups the first time but honestly, kind of flexing that muscle building that experience really matters. So that's another thing to think about, like how can I connect with some people prenatally and just meet them right and not make it feel like I'm trying to sell myself, but just talk to them about what you do and who you are. And that's a really great way to make that initial connection. Okay, so
Kaely Harrod 09:49
I hope that was helpful. I do have further thoughts on like referrals and how to get in touch with people and things like that. But I'm not going to dive into all of that in this app. Episode because I don't want it to be crazy long. But I would love to hear what has been the most impactful for your business. What kind of marketing has been most helpful for you? It's easiest to connect with me either on Instagram or on Tik Tok. And I would really love to hear from you. I also love answering your questions. So send me a question, either on either of those platforms, send me a quick DM and just let me know what you would love for me to answer on the podcast. All right, I'll see you soon.
Kaely Harrod 10:36
Thanks for joining us for this episode of the doula Tips and Tips podcast. If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share that on Instagram and tag us at Herat doula, so we can celebrate alongside you. If you found this podcast helpful. We would so appreciate you taking a second to leave a rating and a review on your favorite podcast app that helps other doulas find us as we do this work together. This podcast is intended as educational and entertainment it is not medical advice or business advice. Please consult your own medical or legal team for your own needs around
Marketing yourself as a doula is vital to the process of getting clients. Oftentimes the strategy that works the best varies from person to person. From referrals to social media to teaching classes and organically meeting pregnant people there are many different ways to approach meeting and working with clients.
Location is also a big factor here because in smaller communities with fewer doulas you have the potential to have more exposure if you make good connections with providers and other people who work with pregnant people. If you are in a bigger city where the doula market is more saturated you will have to think about connecting with the right niche of people rather than just pregnant people in general.
I have to say I've gotten the most number of clients from other doulas. So having good relationships with other doulas where there's mutual referral, and from teaching classes, because teaching classes to pregnant families and pregnant people, is a really good way for people to see that you are or are not a good fit for their team. Almost every single class I teach someone wants to hire me as a doula. That's a pretty good return in terms of doula clients per class. So getting in front of pregnant people in other ways besides just doula work is a big help in getting clients
Resource Mentioned:
National Black Doula Association: https://www.blackdoulas.org/national-directory
Key Takeaways:
I have gotten the highest percentage of clients from other doula referrals
My next biggest source of clients is from teaching classes and client referrals
Third biggest source of clients is meet the doula nights and events
Fourth is doula match
I get very few people from social media marketing
CONNECT with Kaely on TikTok or Instagram
https://www.tiktok.com/@doulacoach
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below and coupon code PODCAST
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/birth-prep-blueprint
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
