I Need Advertising/Marketing Suggestions & Advice

[Tashina Marker]

Ok Ladies I am really trying to step up on my advertising,I have kicked ,waiting to get cards made up till I am certified ,right out the door.I am going to get them now & just put on professionlly trained ALACE doula.

I am wanting to know what web sites you are listed on? Wether free or paying, I don't care.

I actually got a chiropractor to let me put a stand of fliers in his office.(if it had been left up to the secretary she would have said NO!)

I went to a preganacy out reach center to ask if I could put flyers up ,they said they would have to talk to their director & would call me.Still no call,it's been almost a week.Now I am going to call all the director's of the preganacy places in town & request a meeting.

I am brain storming & I suddenly am feeling..... BOLD. Like I am doing something ,I am geeting out there.

I know we've had this discussion before,but what else do YOU do? Any suggestions?

I think I am going to call the hospital & offer to do an in-service here soon.We'll see how that goes,I'll probably go through 7 people & end up with an answering machine ,sigh.

[DL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker Ok Ladies I am really trying to step up on my advertising,I have kicked ,waiting to get cards made up till I am certified ,right out the door.I am going to get them now & just put on professionlly trained ALACE doula.

Good for you! Get something economical (like VistaPrint); you can always upgrade once you're certified if you desire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker I am wanting to know what web sites you are listed on? Wether free or paying, I don't care.

DoulaWorld.com
DoulaNetwork.com
thebestfedbaby.com
Those are all free.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker I actually got a chiropractor to let me put a stand of fliers in his office.(if it had been left up to the secretary she would have said NO!) I went to a preganacy out reach center to ask if I could put flyers up ,they said they would have to talk to their director & would call me.Still no call,it's been almost a week.Now I am going to call all the director's of the preganacy places in town & request a meeting.

Great about the chiropractor!! Now...go visit some more of them! Make sure that you ask for their business cards in order to refer your clients to them, too! Marketing is often a common courtesy type of thing: "if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours"

About the pregnancy outreach center that didn't return your call.....I would suggest that you make a follow-up call. Persistance is often the key, I think. Requesting a meeting with them is a fantastic idea. I used to volunteer for a local Pregnancy Care Center; I will tell you that they really do like to meet you before they'd refer you to anyone. I can certainly understand that, but if they are busy and forget to get right back to you, it can be frustrating for the doula-in-waiting. Don't take it personally; I'd call again and make an appointment to talk in-person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker I am brain storming & I suddenly am feeling..... BOLD. Like I am doing something ,I am geeting out there.

Awesome!!!! 'Atta girl!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker I know we've had this discussion before,but what else do YOU do? Any suggestions?

I became good buddies with some local Certified Nurse-Midwives. I found that to be the most helpful for me so far. Also...networking with other doulas in the area can help (if they need a backup or need to refer out). If there is any type of doula or birth workers' co-op that you can join, I'd definitely do that! The co-op that I'm a member of lists all of our websites, email addys, and phone numbers on their site. (Btw...you might want to consider getting yourself a website if you don't have one.)

I haven't done this myself yet, but you could also call up some local CBEs and see if you could present your services to the class in a short talk and/or leave some of your materials to be given out. I know that whenever I'm a CBE, I'm gonna really talk up doulas a lot!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tashina Marker I think I am going to call the hospital & offer to do an in-service here soon.We'll see how that goes,I'll probably go through 7 people & end up with an answering machine ,sigh.

See if you can make an appointment to meet with the DON (Director of Nurses) for OB/ Labor-Delivery to speak with her. She's the one who would have to approve you doing an in-service, plus, it's just good to be known.
HTHs!

[raspberrymoondoula]

take your cards and go stick them in all the pregnancy books at barnes and noble i do it all the time lol

[DL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raspberrymoondoula take your cards and go stick them in all the pregnancy books at barnes and noble i do it all the time lol

Do you know if you've ever gotten an inquirey from someone finding your card(s) in their book(s)?

Whenever I go to Best Buys or CompUSA, they usually have a computer or two that are hooked up to the Internet for display purposes. I always pull up my website so that it will be displayed (no one's ever taken it off while I've been there; at least not until I leave the store).

[fearlessbirth]

I WONDERED about sticking my cards in books at B&N. Lol But felt like I'd be so 'caught' and wonder how I'd explain myself if I were busted. Lol

Tashina, you and I are at the same place in our doula journey...here are some things I've done:

GET THE VISTAPRINT CARDS!!! Lol I didn't want to get anything until I'm certified but I got 250 cards free with only $12.95 for express shipping the first time and $5.95 regular shipping the 2nd time. I hesitated to do that but realized I wanted SOMETHING out there to get my name out...something small even. I ran out of the first box rather fast.

TRY TO GET SAMPLES...I made goody bags to deliver to where I drop off my cards/flyers so a) they remember me and b) so the potential clients remember me. I LOVE free stuff and would personally be more likely to call someone that gave me a bag of free stuff. Lol

NETWORK WITH OTHER DOULAS: I have my first back-up job through a doula at a crisis preg center here in town. When I first dropped off my bags and flyers the coordinator was weird with me. Then I explained that I wasn't intending on charging these girls...I just wanted to experience and perhaps to work WITH their current doula not INSTEAD of. Their doula called me a couple of days later and we hit it off!

WEBSITES: There's another thread about this and I hit up most of those, but I can't think of their names off the top of my head.

ETC: Sounds like you're doing a GREAT job. The newspaper article sounds awesome and I'm sure that'll be GREAT for your business. In addition to chiropractors, etc. try massage therapist, health food stores, herb shops, and attend your local La Leche League meetings if at all possible. While I haven't gotten any clients,yet, from LLL meetings, 2 women were very impressed that I attend them because BF is SUPER important to them and while I have no formal training in lac. counseling, etc. I do get a small education and refresher every month at the meetings.

I don't know if I really answered a question you might have had. Lol I just wish you all the luck in the world....and we'll get through this together!

[Jackie7183]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raspberrymoondoula take your cards and go stick them in all the pregnancy books at barnes and noble i do it all the time lol

HAHAHA! I thought I was the only one who was that sneeky. Does it work, I did it for the first time this weekend???

[DL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearlessbirth I WONDERED about sticking my cards in books at B&N. Lol But felt like I'd be so 'caught' and wonder how I'd explain myself if I were busted. Lol

Yes...that would be me with my luck...."busted"!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearlessbirth TRY TO GET SAMPLES...I made goody bags to deliver to where I drop off my cards/flyers...

This will be , but Cathy...I just have to tell you.... My eyes were playing tricks on me, and when I first read about the "goody bags", I read "goofy bags"! That made me giggle as I was trying to picture what your "goofy bags" must have looked like! Oh dear...I should really call it a night...what's next? Pink elephants?

[fearlessbirth]

Ha ha ha..that would be funny if I just had Goofy head party bags (Disney's Goofy) filled with Lansinoh and teas. Lol Maybe I should try that.....lol

[tlcdoula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raspberrymoondoula take your cards and go stick them in all the pregnancy books at barnes and noble i do it all the time lol

When I was trained I was actually told that this is not really a good idea as it looks tacky. I know that I have heard that many times. I think people get annoyed by things falling out of books and magazines and typically toss them out without a second glance.

[DL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlcdoula When I was trained I was actually told that this is not really a good idea as it looks tacky. I know that I have heard that many times. I think people get annoyed by things falling out of books and magazines and typically toss them out without a second glance.

I agree, Michelle...but I didn't want to say it!

Yes, I actually read that once on a website that talked about business card etiquette (that you should not leave them in books, in bathrooms, etc.). They should either be given out personally, inserted into your brochure or correspondence, or displayed in a proper business card holder.

[Tashina Marker]

Thanks Ladies for alllllllll your help.

[capandcradle]

Tashina, Doing a nursing inservice, if nursing CEUs is involved, have specific guidelines and measurable outcomes. Email me for more info.

I find I get the bulk of my referrals from word-of-mouth and from DONA. I wouldn't pay to list my name on the internet with so much free stuff available.

You might find a group of doulas to do what they do in Huntsville, AL. Huntsville doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, LLL Leaders and moms have a group that meets monthly at the public library called "Birth Stories and More." They send press releases to the paper and TV monthly and feature a talk and Q&A from a midwife, doula, childbirth educator, breastfeeding counselor, a chiropractor discussing the Webster Technique, etc. It's fairly well attended, even by hospital staff curious about what goes on.

[sldsheppard]

we still have the welcome wagon here welcoming new people into the area and you can get your business into the gift pack by offering a discount or free item. Offer and adult ed class on anything or maybe several different topics.......here we get paid for the class and we technically advertise our business in the class but you can take names and call outside class to those interested if they request

[mammamayI]

WOW! Community Ed classes are a GREAT idea! I have been trying to figure out a way to do an EARLY pregnancy childbirth ed class and get people to know about it, and be interested enough to take it. I suppose I could market it by calling it a Cesarean Prevention class...because you start preventing cesarean early in pregnancy with diet, OFP, exercise, choosing the proper practitioner...finding a great doula... and if it was in the Community Ed booklet, it would advertised for me. Even if I only got one couple to start...some grandparents would talk to their newly pregnant daughters about it, and word could get out. Huh. Good thinking! THANKS!

Oh! Ha-ha-ha...off to brainstorm an outline. It already includes the cesarean rates for local hospitals...and perhaps the BREASTFEEDING rates for local hospitals, as, as a doula and a LLL leader, thats a sore point for me lately...huh...yeah, but that's a little off topic for the subject, isn't it. I guess maybe I'll offer another class on breastfeeding preparedness. Not, "This is proper latch" but "these are the things you can do prenatally, during labor and birth, and in the immediate post partum period to help your breastfeeding relationship get off to a great start"...

Great idea.

[Christiandoula]

I am also a "beginning" doula. Some good Ideas!

One Idea I had was to hold a "Doula Class" -- To educate the public on doulas-- It's an idea!(because everyone in our area seems like the first thing they ask you when you tell them you're a doula is..What' that?)

Have fun working!