Like other professionals, a private practice psychiatrist can only build her client list with an ad in the yellow pages and word of mouth, right? I mean, thats the normal way to do it.
You can do better. To do so, you have to do 3 things:
1. Discover what makes you different.
Figure out who your ideal client is. Lets suppose you have an interest in treating teenage depression. You want to help teens just entering high school, and you identify more closely with the issues young women face. Young teenage girls are your ideal clients.
2. Decide who cares about that difference.
Teenage girls care. But so do their parents, teachers, camp counselors, and coaches. When a teenage girl and/or her network decide to seek out a psychiatrist, they’re going to want to find the best person for their specific situation.
3. Reach out to that group and its network.
Write an article for the school paper that lets young girls know that others are dealing with the same things they are. Attend school board meetings and voice ideas about how the school can help. Run a continuing education class to help parents better connect with their daughters.
Be a Niche Expert
The point is to help your target audience and its network (for free). Besides being a good thing to be a part of, it positions you as an expert in that niche.
It’s about being the biggest fish in the pond (even if you have to shrink the pond).
Of course, not everyone wants to treat teenagers. But thats the point. There is far more room in your community to be the best psychiatrist for teenage depression in young women than there is to be the best psychiatrist, period.
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