Social Media:
Time Sucking Vampire or Business Building Asset?

You can be forgiven for thinking that Facebook is a Time Sucking Vampire,  a place that people go to watch cat videos or, in my case, Orangutan clips, but there is a whole lot more to Facebook, and the Internet, that meets the eye...pun intended 🙂 

When you understand what's possible, Facebook is transformed from an Internet Rabbit Hole into a Therapist's BFF because it can help you reach and support clients in ways that just weren't possible before.


The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery. 

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing. 

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope. 

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies. What’s on your list? 

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude 

•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way. 

•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures. 
 
•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine. 

•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.

•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel. 

•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.


Author’s content used with permission, © Claire Communications

Because although being dedicated and loving what you do is vital to your success, that in itself is no guarantee that you will be able to build a sustainable practice.

Your success depends upon you attracting enough paying clients to work with on a consistent basis.  

And in order for you to attract clients who are faced with problems that you have the skills and experience to solve, you need to be able to let them know who you are and how you can help.


The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery. 

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing. 

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope. 

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies. What’s on your list? 

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude 

•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way. 

•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures. 
 
•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine. 

•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.

•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel. 

•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.


Author’s content used with permission, © Claire Communications

​This is where LinkedIn, Facebook and your website in particular can become your greatest allies.
We Can't Be Everywhere All Day, Every Day But The Internet Can.

LinkedIn provides a place where you can wear your professional hat and Facebook provides an opportunity for you to show more of your personality and highlight your values in a more informal way.  

Such is the power of these platforms, we can now ask them to help connect us with the kind of people we would like to work with as clients or as professional collegues.  

 If you wanted to work with women between 25 and 35 who live in a particular area and who are interested in losing weight, Facebook would find 100's of 1000's within minutes.  It Is Mind Blowing!!  

And because Facebook has become Best Friends with Experian,  they know about us than we do ourselves.  As I said.... This Is Mind Blowing!!

Let's not forget your virtual office: Your Website.​

​Unlike Social Media platforms, you have complete control over how you present yourself on your website and it's never been easier for non techie's to work on their own site.


As with everything, there are pro's and con's involved in adopting a DIY approach.  You can find out more about that here but  all you need to know for now, is that Google rewards you with better rankings when you publish helpful, relevant articles.

Why Publishing Articles Is

More Effective Than Paying For Advertising?
The vast majority of therapists think Marketing, Selling and Advertising are swear words that have no place in a heart centered, service based therapy practice and they avoid promoting themselves. Publishing informative articles feels congruent which happens to be a much more effective way of truly connecting with potential clients.

Do Any Of These Ring True For You?

  • I'm not in this for the money
  • I don’t want to be a sleezy salesperson…
  •  I don’t want to chase after clients…..

​“Advertising is neither good nor bad
 lest what you do makes it so”
​ with apologies to Shakespeare

​ ‘Word of mouth’ and referrals have always been The Best Form Of Advertising and that's not going to change.

What has changed however is that 'word of mouth' can show up as a 'Like,' a 'share' or a comment and be found within a Status Update.  

And instead of being shared from person to person, it can be instantly visible to 1000's and be accompanied by your smiling face which helps make what's been said more memorable.  

Personal referrals will always carry a lot of weight but when you’re a therapist or coach who helps people work through some very personal issues, what are the chances that your clients will want to tell friends, family and colleagues and mention you?

The Internet is a new tool in our tool box.
​We Just Need To Use It Wisely and Ethically

​But we're getting ahead of ourselves...let's look at how you can make it as easy as possible for prospective clients to find you.    

And let's make sure that when they do find you , you create that same great first impression you would make if you met them in person.

First put them at ease and reassure them that they are in the right place and in safe hands. Then encourage them to take that all important, often very difficult First Step. 

One way to do that is for you to find ways to answer these questions from your  Social Media pages and website.  Visitors will ask themselves;

   *   Does this look like someone I can trust?

   *   Do they understand what I'm going through?

   *   Do they know what they're doing?

   *   Can they really help me?

Choose images, video's and articles that reflect who you are and what you stand for that are directly related to your area of expertise.

You can ask to be connected with like minded people by promoting your posts and redirecting people to your website. It's very cost effective, easy to monitor and highly targeted so you only appear in front of the group of people you are most qualified to help.  

Promoting Your Services This Way Is The Opposite Of Expensive, Shotgun Style  Leaflet Drops & Newspaper 'Ad's.'

  • In order for this to work well you must identify your specialist area, have a clear idea of who you are best suited to help and have a simple system to follow.  
  • This system should be linked to your website, which needs to be set up to function as your Virtual Office with enquires being handled on autopilot by Aweber or Mailchimp, low cost services known as autoresponders.  
  • It's a lot easier than you might think and I've put together a short report to help you make sense of it all.  

make it easy for your potential clients to get to know you! 

Having the contact details of every visitor who has shown an interest in your product or service opens the door for you to follow up with something else of interest and value.

Something related to the service you provide which is helpful and relevant for your prospective client which will give them a feel for the way you work and not a sales pitch.

Your e mails will be welcomed and you will have made a great first impression.

This Alone has the potential to double the amount of clients who contact you

This can be done by adding a box which will collect their name and email; a 'set and forget' feature which you can link to personalised messages that make sure your visitors are made welcome and kept up to date.

I realise that this may all feel counter intuitive.

It can be very tempting to keep doing things they way you've always done them but that would be a mistake.

Right now, there are people desperately searching for the very service you offer;

Will they find you?

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this useful.  Because we can only scratch the surface here, I've put together a  free Masterclass  that goes into this in a lot more depth.   Click the button below for access. 

Watch The Free Masterclass

The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery. 

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing. 

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope. 

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies. What’s on your list? 

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude 

•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way. 

•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures. 
 
•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine. 

•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.

•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel. 

•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.


Author’s content used with permission, © Claire Communications

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