Getting Paid: How To Use Holidays & Celebrations Throughout The Year To Fill Your Practice With Clients You Love Using Easy & Affordable Marketing & Networking

When you’re top of mind to colleagues and referral sources, you get referrals—and job opportunities. 

This is true for pre-licensed and licensed. 

Therapists always ask me how to get more clients they love—without spending a lot of time or money. Since the pandemic these queries have not only increased but intensified. 

Why? 

Pre-pandemic most therapists were at the top of people’s minds since they saw each other in person at work, workshops, conferences, professional organizations. Connecting was easy since it was part of daily work and professional interaction—you saw people organically on your way to or from a session, meeting, workshop and were able to greet each other, do business, catch up, and arrange to meet for lunch, coffee, happy hour—in a matter of minutes. 

Circulating among like-minded and allied professionals was easy, fruitful. 

Since the pandemic, most clinical and professional interactions are online, so connecting takes place—or not—online through Zoom/video platforms, texts, apps, email, DMs, social media. 

How can a therapist stay at the forefront of potential clients, colleagues, and referral sources minds? 

Holiday & Celebration Marketing. 

Think about this, throughout the year there are lots of holidays and celebrations. Each provides an opportunity to reach out and connect or renew connections with colleagues, referral sources, etc. 

Pick a holiday, celebration, commemoration and send a card, message, graphic, image, video—as a greeting and to make contact. Use email, snail mail, texts, social media . . .  Your preference. Any will work. 

If you’re not a major holiday person, don’t use one—pick one that isn’t. Any holiday or celebration you or your clients like, celebrate, commemorate will work whether it’s Lunar New Year, Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Earth Day, Cinco de Mayo, Pride Month, Juneteenth, Summer Solstice, Diwali, Grandparents Day, Star Wars Day. Choose one that works for you, your practice, your clientele. 

Yes, making contact by emailing or snail mailing referral sources, colleagues, mailing list, portion of a mailing list—an actual physical card, e-card, short email message with or without a template, will keep you connected to, and top of mind to referral sources and colleagues. 

A physical card even works without a handwritten note or signature! Printed messages and printed signatures work equally well. 

This type of Holiday & Celebration Marketing is effective and will work to bring you more referrals and opportunities. Even during a pandemic. No mask wearing, vaccination, social distancing required. It doesn’t have to involve Zoom, video, phone. 

You don’t have to drive anywhere, park, register, pay admission, dress up or talk to anyone . . . It doesn’t have to cost much or take much time. 

You don’t need a big list or mail/email/text/DM everyone on your list. Sending a small number still works. 

Hate the idea? Then send a short, personalized, email greeting message on a plain email or holiday email template. Three or four sentences will do. A hello greeting, wishing them well for the holiday, celebration, commemoration; thanking them for their client or job referrals—or expressing some kind of gratitude for the year, season—then closing. 

Or post a holiday or celebration greeting, graphic, image on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook—or video holiday or celebration greeting or message on any of those. A video greeting also works well on TikTok. Choose which works best for you. 

Why does this work? Throughout the year there are lots of holidays, celebrations, people and things to commemorate. Each provides the opportunity reach out and connect with colleagues, referral sources, friends, past clients. 

When we connect with others in one of these ways, it keeps us in the forefront of their mind—they think of us first when needing a referral or an opportunity that’s right for us. 

Sometimes professionals will send this type of holiday or celebration email to a segment of former clients (who they have permission to email) and attach a pdf of or link to a helpful article or one they wrote. You’d be surprised how many of these clients send a referral or make an appointment for a session very soon after they receive it. It works equally well even when there is no holiday or celebration. 

The type of card, message, greeting doesn’t matter, it’s the contacting and connecting through the card, e-card, email, newsletter, video, reel, text, that makes the difference. 

You don’t even have to send this to very many people for it to be effective—5, 10, 20 cards will do. No need to send 100 for this marketing and networking to be effective. 

It can be personalized or not—this just depends on you, your budget, amount of time you have, type of practice (branding, niche), the type of referral sources, clients you work with. 

It’s very budget friendly at any price point in any budget. While it takes a little time and effort, it usually adds up to less time, effort, and money than you were spent before when you were driving in traffic to an early morning event that cost you $35-50 or more to attend. 

If you don’t want to do this yourself, and your marketing and networking budget allows it, hire a virtual assistant to send e-cards or snail mail cards signed, addressed and sent online or send actual snail mail cards that are put together and mailed at the post office. Don’t want to pick out card or printed message? Have the virtual assistant do that! Or have the virtual assistant make a graphic or image card for social media. 

Remember to carry out sending a virtual or physical card, you need a person’s email or physical address. Don’t forget many professionals have given up physical offices but still have that address on their website or directory listing. If you aren’t sure that they are still at the physical location, then an e-card or email message is probably the best choice. 

For those who don’t want to spend any money or write anything—or for those on social media or who only want a Facebook or Instagram holiday or celebration card or graphic, that’ll work, too—especially for those professionals near or far you don’t have an email or physical address for. However, don’t rule out the power of receiving a snail mail card you hold in your hand and know the person made an effort to send to you—or an animated e-card that makes you laugh or feel calm and peaceful. People remember. 

A caveat . . . in picking out your card or writing your email message, be sure to be consciously inclusive of others who may not celebrate the same holiday as you do during the holiday season. 

While you don’t need to tailor your cards or messages specifically to the receiver’s holiday—doing so is a nice touch if you’re sure the holiday they celebrate (Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Christmas). Remember to check out the words as well as the graphic so that you don’t inadvertently send a word or visual greeting that includes a Christmas tree or Santa to someone who doesn’t celebrate or believe in those traditions. An alternative to sending a holiday season (Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah) greeting is to skip that holiday altogether and pick another celebration. Either works. 

Cost

Sending a snail mail card costs $2-$10 per card with envelope depending on the cost of the card, whether you have your name and or greeting printed on it, and postage on top of that. And you need to buy stamps and take them to the post office to mail. 

Paper Source, MOMA, Hallmark, etc. have physical cards that can be bought for the same price and sent online—with your actual signature and or note—no post office for stamps or mailing. These often play a song or have a pop-up graphic. 

E-cards cost less. Most e-card services are less than $50 per year for an unlimited number of cards sent throughout the year, not just during a holiday season (Jacquie Lawson, 123 Cards, Doozy). 

An email message without any holiday graphic or template will do just fine and costs zero dollars. 

An email message with a holiday graphic or template can cost zero dollars (free plans) to $10 a month, $100-$120 per year (Canva, Adobe, Spark) depending on the app. 

At the low end the cost for most therapists is going to be under $50; at the medium price point, $100; the higher end $200+. 

How much money have you not spent on driving to in-person networking events—at the very least gas, parking, registration fees? Online events are certainly lower cost but most still cost something. This cost, at most, would be the same as 2 or 3 networking events. 

Try it out. It can be fun and creative. Consider sending some type of a card or greeting. If you get 1 referral and only 1 session you will have covered your cost. Besides the cost for these cards is a tax-deductible business expense. A win-win. 

Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, is in private practice in Santa Monica where she works with Couples and Gifted, Talented, and Creative Adults across the lifespan. Lynne’s been doing business and clinical coaching with mental health professionals for more than 15 years, helping professionals develop even more successful careers and practices. To learn more about her in-person and online services, workshops or monthly no-cost Online Networking & Practice Development Lunch visit www.Gifted-Adults.com or www.LAPracticeDevelopment.com.