Myo Life
Myo Life is a podcast for bored, burned out dental hygienists (and myofunctional therapists) who are ready to work less, earn more, have total control of their calendar, enjoy geographic freedom and most of all - make a bigger impact for their patients - while ditching the long hours, constant aches and dreaded Monday's. You will learn simple and effective strategies and tools to start and grow your profitable myofunctional therapy practice. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing!
Myo Life
#12: Your 24/7 Personal Assistant: How to Make Your Website Work for You
Your website isn’t just a digital placeholder—it’s your 24/7 personal assistant, working behind the scenes to educate potential clients, streamline your business, and save you valuable time. In this episode, Carmen breaks down how to build a website that serves—not just sits there. Whether you're just starting or refining your existing site, you’ll walk away with actionable insights on what to include, how to automate, and how to make your website a powerful tool for your business success.
Hey, I'm Carmen and welcome to Mayo Life. That's short for my outrageous life, which is exactly the kind of life I get to live since I found the courage to ditch dental hygiene and build a life I'm bonkers about as a Mayo functional therapist and entrepreneur. Here you will find all the things Mayo business and how to build a life that you, too, are bonkers about. I'm very happy you're here. Shall we dive in. Hey there, friends, welcome back to the podcast, where we dive deep into building a business and a life that you are absolutely bonkers about. I'm Carmen Woodland, your guide and biggest cheerleader on this journey to create freedom, flexibility and financial success.
Speaker 1:Today's episode is all about one of your most powerful business tools your website. I like to think of it as your 24-7 personal assistant. It's there to educate potential clients, streamline your work and save you a ton of time. But here's the catch Not all websites are created equal. It is not just enough to have a website. It has to work for you. In today's episode, we are going to talk about what that means, what you need to include and how to set it up so that it serves both your business and your clients. Plus, I'll share a few lessons from my Ignition Implementation Lab about building a website that serves.
Speaker 1:So grab a coffee, or, hey, a glass of wine, if it's one of those kind of days, and let's dive in. Or hey, a glass of wine, if it's one of those kind of days, and let's dive in. So first let's talk about why your website is essential. So this is a big question. I'm asked a lot why is your website so important? Here's the thing. It is not just a fancy digital storefront. Your website is a central hub for your business. It's where people go to learn what you do, how you can help them and what makes you the expert that they have been searching for. But even more than that, your website is your time saver. Think about all the repetitive questions that you get. What's the process? How much does it cost? Who is this for? Do you take insurance? Instead of answering those questions over and over in emails or phone calls, your website is going to handle it for you.
Speaker 1:So let me give you an example. Back when I was just getting started, I spent hours responding to emails with the same information. Nowadays, people get sent directly to my website. They can find everything that they need FAQs, pricing, how to book, you name it, it's all there. It's like having an assistant that never sleeps. So if you are serious about building a business that supports your dream life, you need a website that doesn't just exist, but it has to serve. So I'm going to show you how to do that.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about what your website should include. Let's break down the essentials. So first you have the boring but important stuff. So this is your terms and conditions, this is your privacy policy, this is your disclaimer. These are not glamorous, they are not sexy, my friend, but they're necessary to protect you and your business. The nice thing is is you really do not even have to work too hard on these, because you can buy templates. I inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy because you can buy templates. I, inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy, I have a lesson called Legally Launching your Business. It is taught by a lawyer. She also has some really great packages of templates that you can buy, which is what I did. Okay, so we've talked about that.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about your content. Your website should answer the most common questions that your clients or potential clients have. Think about what you find yourself repeating over and over. Those are the things that go on your website, for example, you might include an FAQ section. So these are the questions that you answer all the time. I'm always adding questions to this. You might have educational materials explaining what you do and how it helps.
Speaker 1:So on my website I list out symptoms and I think I call them pieces of the puzzle. So I list those out, pieces of the puzzle. So I list those out, so somebody going there can see, oh, I have these symptoms. So they can kind of self-identify like, oh, this person might be somebody who could help me, and then lead magnet. So that might be a checklist, that might be a self-assessment, so that's going to add value and build trust with your humans. Also, just a side note, it's going to help you build your email list, which is something that we do inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy, because you have to do it. I know that you might be just new, new-ish in your business and you might not be thinking at all about lead magnets or growing your email list, but the people that you gain as followers on social media that's rented property, but you own your email list. So we will be having conversations about that, but that is a way to use your website as a tool.
Speaker 1:Also, don't forget about scheduling. Also, don't forget about scheduling. Your website should make it super easy for clients to book with you. So if you're still going back and forth with emails trying to find a time that helpful because you teach your clients how to treat you and you don't handicap them so you're not doing the work, especially if you're going to build an online or a global brand, like I have. I have people in every time zone around the world, so the last thing that I want to do is be sending emails back and forth trying to figure out a time zone. Well, wait, it's 12 o'clock here. What time is it there? Oh, it's eight o'clock. Oh my gosh, no thanks. So I think that having that on your website is super helpful, okay.
Speaker 1:So next, how to make your website work for you. So I have web pages for every step, every single piece of the puzzle. I have something that just lays it out and makes it easy for them. Okay, so I have a checking media and internet connection. So media is going to be how they can check believe it or not, you guys, how many people I connect with that their speakers aren't working or their microphones not working, and that's because some other program, basically, is hijacking it. So I have a webpage that tells them step one, check your internet speed. Step two check your media. So that's already there. I don't have to do it anymore.
Speaker 1:I also have a page next that says how to prepare for a free assessment. So, if you are offering a free assessment, so if you are offering a free assessment, it makes sense for you to have a page on your website that tells them here's what you're going to do. Whatever information you're going to gather for a free assessment, if you're going to have them fill out paperwork, if you're meeting them online, you're clearly going to have to tell them where to go. So every step is detailed go. So every step is detailed. My clients get told, like here's a picture of Skype, here's where you're going to go, all of those things, because not everybody is going to have the same level of tech savviness if you. If I will, okay. So I have a page on how to prepare for an exam. So preparation for an exam is different than preparation for a free assessment.
Speaker 1:I have the ability for them to download their paperwork, so it is a very seamless process. Of course, I've mentioned this before 17 hats. So somebody books an exam with me, they pay for that exam, they get their directions, they get a confirmation, they get all of this stuff. That is automated. It has a link that tells them hey, you go to this link to prepare for your exam. That has the paperwork for them to download. It also gives them a detailed description, photo by photo, of examples of photos that I want them to take. It has a list of the videos I want them to take. So it has all of that information. I do not have to go manually to each person to tell them what I need. When somebody books an exam with me, I do nothing, I do not lift a finger until, like today, is is a bunch of exams. Then I do prepare by downloading their information and putting it in a file. That is all that I need to do.
Speaker 1:Okay, um, prices. Now some people will have a different opinion on whether you should display pricing. One of my mentors says you should not display pricing unless you are at capacity or unless you are so good at overcoming objections. Okay, so I like to have prices on my website because I do feel like it helps people self-select If somebody has $5 to their name and they come to my website and they see my prices. Now there's a variety because I have a variety of programs. But literally if you have something that says, hey, starting at $1,000, maybe your therapy might be $3,000 or $4,000, but you've got some different programs but your cheapest is $1,000, somebody who has five bucks is going to be able to self-select out. So some people will disagree with that. The thing about not having people self-select out is it gives you a chance to practice, and so when my mentor says, unless you are at capacity, that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 1:So when I got to the point where I just did not have any more free time, I needed to be being paid for my time. I wanted to kind of get out the people who wouldn't be able to pay for therapy, the tire kickers, the people who just wanted to explore it. I didn't want to participate in that anymore. So having prices on there helps Totally up to you. I have a booking link, so that is linking to my calendar where they can book their exam. They also can book their therapy from the website.
Speaker 1:So the reason I think it's important to embed your calendar, your scheduling system, on your website is it tells Google if you will. It tells the universe the website universe that your website was a one-stop shop. If they come to your website and there's a button that says click for an exam and then it goes to Acuity, then you're telling the universe that Acuity solved that person's problem, not you. So I like to keep everybody on my website. I want to get the traffic to my website and I want to keep them there. So that's why I embed Um, but everything on my page like there'll be a button that says you know, book an exam here and it all goes to the scheduling page. I also think you should have some testimony. Okay, I love much, like you, read a review for a restaurant. Testimony goes a long way.
Speaker 1:And then information about all the important pieces of myoeducation. So what is oral, facial myofunctional therapy? What are their goals for therapy? I have a page on mouth breathing and sleep, apnea and snoring and speech concerns and digestion and tongue ties. These are all pieces that serve me because again, because I don't offer free assessments anymore, before somebody gives me a few hundred dollars for an exam, they want to know if I can help them. So it's very helpful that they can go to my website and have all this information. Now, my website has hundreds and hundreds of hours of free material. So when people you know, sometimes out there in the wild, or people on social media, will say you know, your services are so expensive or do you have anything for free, it's like, yeah, go look at my website, all of that information is free. Anything that you can download, I've got free resources, all of that stuff. So using that on your website is going to help educate people and also help them self-select, because if they look at your information on the website and they go, oh, wow, yep, she's speaking to me, she's speaking to me, then they know they're in the right place.
Speaker 1:Okay, so before we wrap up, let's recap. Your website is not just a digital placeholder. It is your 24-7 personal assistant. It saves you time, it educates your clients, it educates your potential clients and it helps you run your business more efficiently. So start with the essentials and then focus on automation and don't be afraid to keep it simple. Your website is a tool to help you build a business and a life that you are absolutely bonkers about. You just have to do it.
Speaker 1:I know that holds a lot of people back is just being really scared about that website. So I know that on this podcast we will have plenty of conversations about websites. So that is a wrap. My friend, if you are ready to take the next step, you definitely should check out the Ditch Hygiene Academy. You also can check out any of our a la carte courses that are just kind of bite-sized courses that are designed to help you with one certain thing. So you can check that out in the show notes or wherever you're watching this. Thank you for tuning in and, as always, if you found this episode helpful, share it with another therapist or a friend of yours who might need a little bit of inspiration, and I will be back soon with some Mayo business goodness. See you next time.