Posts

The Power Of Touch And Presence Vs. Modality Specific Beliefs

October 16, 2017/3 Comments/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Walt Fritz

Disclaimer: I teach continuing education seminars for a living.

When we touch patients in a therapeutic intervention, how many different “things” or actions can we really be accomplishing? How many different structures can we really make contact with or elicit change?

With higher levels of training come apparent deeper and more precise technique and expectation, while the beginner is viewed as less-than. If your practice is like my own, you receive referrals of people who have seen a multitude of manual therapists of all sorts. At the onset of the initial encounter, they invariably share what others have said about their problem as if all of that information is necessary to get to the bottom of things.

I patiently listen as they rattle off a list of claims made about their problems, with many trending into the catastrophizing mode (the WORST trigger points that therapist had ever seen!).

We are all touching the same body in much the same places, but most are believing we are feeling and finding vastly different structures and problems, both normal and aberrant.

To stay in the first person, my brain filters this information and tries to put it all into a framework of my evaluation findings and beliefs that I was taught and I will typically come up with a different language of what the problem might be. In the past I would have spoken in fascial-based language, calling palpated tightness a fascial restriction and telling a very compelling narrative on how these fascial restrictions, ignored by most in medicine, cause crushing pressures on pain-sensitive structures and only with the application of light, sustained pressures of myofascial release will they ever have a hope of resolving their issues. My language now is quite different, as are my beliefs, and I am much more circumspect about how I explain patient’s problems.

As I teach and travel I have a distinct privilege of meeting with and sharing beliefs with hundreds of therapists and professionals from a wide range of pressures. I am also active on hundreds (yes, hundreds) of niche’ manual therapy groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. Playing the fly-on-the-wall allows one to hear or read conversations that range widely from comparing and contrasting the effectiveness of various modalities to reading people’s suggestions for how to handle a problem case.

Well-meaning inquires regarding how to treat a difficult case are often met with a range of emotionally charged suggestions, most speaking to their favorite modality and citing the “inherited narrative” that goes along with this modality. (Thanks, Phil Greenfield!). As that fly-on-the-wall, I am struck with the hundreds of different modalities and narratives that therapists use in daily conversation.

It takes little effort to see that there really are hundreds of different modalities and sub-classes of modalities available to us as continuing education. But can we really be doing all of the things under the skin that those hundreds of seminar lines profess?

It is beyond the intent of this post to deconstruct any modality in this post. My point is to look at the commonality of our actions. Though our touch can often vary from light to deep, with holds that fluctuate from short duration to long, is there a simpler way to explain our touch rather than the often pained and convoluted models put forth by the various lines of teaching? Is it necessary to invent a new way the body works or a new way to describe how we impact the body in order to sell seats in classes? (A rhetorical question, as it apparently is.)

When we treat, we touch people in a manner that is intended to soothe, to improve the quality or ease of movement. This sounds too simple for many, especially those with advanced training. Many in our shared fields are working to simplify the explanatory model, rather than trying to make it more complex or secretive.

Join the Skeptical Massage Therapists group on Facebook, if you would like to see how this works. Read through the long list of threads and attached links to research and other reference materials. Take a side trip over to SomaSimple for a bit of mental flossing. These are very deep rabbit holes; ones that may cause you not to recognize yourself when you finally emerge. Don’t be surprised if you become defensive or angry as you read how others view your modality or its creator, but give it all time to sink in. How we affect someone when we touch cannot be as complex as many make it seem. Simple, well-meaning directed touch and presence may explain much of our outcomes. And this is not a bad thing

5 Habits To Have To Have Before Disconnecting For The Weekend

October 9, 2017/in Business, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy, Myofascial Release/by Robert Libbey

Success is determined by what you do after you do what is expected of you.

1. Celebrate Your Wins And Reflect On Your Future

Develop the Habit of reviewing what went well and celebrate it. It reminds you to focus on your growth, to focus on the positive influences you’ve had, the contributions to improving your patients’ quality of life and helps you begin your weekend in an enthusiastic frame of mind.

Now is the time to take 5 minutes, at the end of your day, and really reflect on the good work you are doing and the lives you are touching (pun intended!) I guarantee that along the way, you helped quite a few people. I have no doubts that you changed a few lives by improving the quality of life of some people.

If your weeks are like mine, this week went by so fast, you were so busy with treating patients, you don’t even know what you did, but you got here somehow.

Ask yourself a few key questions: What did I accomplish this week? What do I want to accomplish next week? Next month? Next year? A businessperson should always be aware of his or her recent accomplishments and reflect on them to better plan for his or her future success.

2. Develop The Habit Of Sending Two “Thank-You” Notes!

As a businessperson, you rely on a lot of people; your team, mentors, partners, and Patients to support you each week. All play an important role in our lives, yet in today’s world, thankfulness seems to be on the downslope.

Before you leave the office, recognize at least two people for their continued offerings, positive influences, and referrals with simple notes of appreciation. Doing this shows you care about “your team” and that you recognize their support.

3. Develop The Habit Of Reviewing Your Contacts List For The Week

Before you leave your practice, reflect upon your contacts list and review your calendar (see below).

Throughout the week you may have had certain people you came into contact with that can and possibly will influence the direction of your professional and or personal path. Think about the NEW patients you had. Make a couple of quick notes about what the next step in their treatment may be. This doesn’t have to be a concise treatment plan, just a couple of points to think about and get you started in a direction.

Add any business contacts to your LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media accounts. Doing this now makes sure no one slips through the cracks.

Photo by: Pixelkult

4. Develop The Habit Of Having A Clean Desk

Make sure you have all your daily patient files charted. Ultimately you should have the habit of charting your files as part of your treatment time, but for those of us who chart at the end of the day… get it done now!

If you have any clinical records waiting to be copied and sent to lawyers or insurance companies…get them done and mailed.

Clearing your desk of these tasks is a weight off your mind. You now have the freedom to focus on more important weekend activities, friends, and family.

5. Develop The Habit Of Reviewing Next Week’s Calendar

Make note of any business contacts you met with over the past week and how and when you’ll follow up with them. Review or enter times and dates on your calendar for next week of when you may want to contact them again. Make a short list of who needs to be contacted next week and set a tentative date and time to do so.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t get through all of these. The exercise is to get you into the Habit of ending your week productively and positively!

5 Exercises For The Cervical Spine

September 25, 2017/5 Comments/in Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Erson Religioso

As usual, all of your magic hands hocus pocus means nothing if the patient cannot keep the improvements between visits. Here are 5 ways to self-treat the cervical spine.

Start

Don’t think double chin, think triple chin!

1) The Good Ole Chin Tuck

for central or bilateral complaints
- headaches into the frontal cranium
- bilateral neck pain radiating into upper traps
end range is sternal elevation
last year a little old lady asked me if this exercise would make her double chin worse
I said, “I don’t know, but at least it helps your headaches and neck pain.”
I saw her just this past summer for a completely different condition, the first thing she showed me was the lack of a double chin, she was so happy the chin tucks tightened everything up!

Start

Cervical neutral, “yes sir!”

Unilateral nod variation for right-sided HA or upper cervical pain

2) The Good Ole Chin Tuck Part 2

For those who do not tolerate cervical retraction, possibly due to tighter upper cervical spine
this works a bit better for headaches than retractions
a variation for unilateral headaches is the same light nod with neutral cervical spine with a slight 5-10 deg rotation to the ipsilateral side of involvement

starting position, the retracting dead

rotation with self-overpressure to end range, rotate toward the pain

3) Cervical Retraction With Rotation

If the above unilateral nod variation does not work with upper cervical pain or unilateral HA, try this
make sure to rotate but keep the contralateral shoulder from moving anteriorly too early
this works very well to restore lost rotation or keep it after your manual techniques

stock starting photo… “brains….”

end range overpressure to the painful/limited side, welcome to the gun show

4) Cervical Retraction With Side Bending Overpressure

it’s the too simple to work for many upper quarter problems self-treatment!
as always, end range is key here, remember to slack the contralateral upper trap if needed by passively elevating the scapula
try for any hand, forearm, elbow, shoulder, scapula, thoracic pain that is unilateral and not responding to traditional treatments
better yet, try this first for any of the above to rule out cervical involvement

start, triple chin!

finish, forehead parallel to the ceiling

5) Cervical Retraction With Extension

a progression for improvement or plateau for central or bilateral complaints
I do not give this one out too often in lieu of self-generated overpressure into cervical retraction
this may also work for symptoms that are radiating to mid thoracic spine or scapula
make sure they get to end range, which is normally the forehead parallel to the ceiling
also check out this clinical pearl on this very technique

Everything You Need to Know to Get Awesome Referrals From Personal Trainers

September 19, 2017/1 Comment/in Business, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy/by Rick Elnor

Marketing is no fun.

For years the word “marketing” conjured up thoughts of sleazy pitchmen and ads full of unsubstantiated claims. It didn’t seem like much fun. In fact, it seemed like something I didn’t want to be involved in at all.

“Marketing sucks,” I thought. But so did my client roster.

With a young child and a single income just surviving wasn’t good enough.

Given I lacked the money for fancy advertising I set out on a journey to find a way of getting the word out about my services to potential clients. There were many options out there but they all had price tags attached and made some rather outlandish promises.

I needed something that wouldn’t break the bank.

Something I could live with. Something that didn’t spread half-truths or make empty promises. Something that worked.

What I soon learned is that my initial impressions of marketing couldn’t have been more wrong. Marketing doesn’t have to suck. You are the one in control. You can market your services ethically and have fun if you put in the work. The work, in this case, consists of building relationships and a referral network which can keep you busy without risky ad campaigns or flashy “click funnels”.

Sustainable marketing efforts all come back to building value for both those in your network and your clients.

The following process is the same process I used as a fitness coach. This process has been refined to help Massage Therapists pull great coaches/personal trainers into their referral networks with the help of my co-author (a former personal trainer and current RMT) Keenan Hollingsworth.

The Benefits of Trainer Referrals

Before we dig into the process of building a referral network let’s first talk a bit about what makes personal trainers a great source of patient referrals for Massage Therapists.

A personal trainer is someone your patient sees very regularly, often multiple times per week, every week, for months or even years on end. One of the biggest reasons people stay with their trainer long-term is the strong relationship they develop; there is trust, camaraderie, and mutual respect. This rapport goes a long way when it comes to referrals. People trust their trainer, and having the trainer’s stamp of approval is going to make it much easier for you to get the patient in the door, and have them buy into the treatment plan.

Personal trainers are told by their clients about all the client’s little aches and pains, old injuries which they felt hadn’t healed properly, or certain exercises they couldn’t perform because their “ _____ is falling apart”.

Unfortunately, the truth is that these complaints often go unaddressed because the trainer hearing them doesn’t have a trusted source they can refer to. Building a strong connection with a personal trainer can lead those “my knee has been killing me lately, I can’t-do squats” comments into new patients for you, and hopefully, in turn, better feeling knees for the client!

A huge benefit of working with a personal trainer is home-care.

We all know patients can struggle with completing their home-care. Whether it’s due to lack of motivation, feeling like they don’t have time, being uncomfortable performing the exercises unsupervised, or any other of a million reasons, “compliance” can be a difficult hurdle. A good personal trainer is a perfect adjunct to this.

If you communicate properly with the patient’s trainer, they can help reinforce the importance of doing the home-care, and help the patient work through it during their sessions. If I think a patient will benefit from strengthening their upper back, what’s going to be more effective, sending them home to do rows with a TheraBand, or working with their trainer to program in a variety of progressively harder upper back movements within the workout they are already going to be doing? Someone who’s going to coach them through every exercise, push them for quality technique and effort, while programming in methodical increases to improve strength and endurance…or their kid watching them fumble around in the kitchen trying to remember exactly how to do an exercise they were taught them 3 days ago? I think the answer is clear (and it isn’t the TheraBand).

A lot of research is beginning to highlight just how important “general exercise” really is, for health, mental wellbeing, and even pain management. Unfortunately saying “just go out and get some exercise” can be a daunting task. If a patient mentions the desire to “get in shape”, or the need to “get back to the gym”, having a personal trainer you can trust to work with them in a safe, effective way is an amazing resource.

Whether they just want one session to learn what to do on their own, or they’re looking for a long-term trainer, being able to recommend someone with a similar philosophy and message as you, is valuable to both you and the patient.

Define Who You Are Looking For

The first step to finding the best referral sources is to define the type of client/patient you are looking for.

Experienced trainers often specialize and target a specific population. This can mean that while some work with the general population others focus on specific genders, ages, sports, levels of athletic performance etc. If you define your dream population it will start to narrow down the list of trainers you should be trying to recruit into your network.

Once the perfect client has been defined it’s time to think about the perfect referral source. Personal Trainers with an approach similar to your own will always provide better referrals than trying to solicit everyone to pass your name along. As a Personal

Personal Trainers with an approach similar to your own will always provide better referrals than trying to solicit everyone to pass your name along. As a Personal Trainer, I want someone in my network who understands the value of exercise, the power of the words we use and the importance of evidence. I also want someone who is used to working with a wide range of athletes. The more my clientele aligns with a Massage Therapist, the more people I can refer to them.

Think of the values that define your massage practice. On a lined scrap of paper record these values. This set of values can function as a checklist which you can quickly refer to, allowing you to decide if someone will ultimately be a benefit to your network or more trouble than they are worth.

Referrals are a two-way street. If you don’t trust a trainer’s expertise enough that you would feel comfortable sending patients their way, it is not worth your time to recruit them into your referral network.

Getting To Know The Locals

Providing a service which revolves around physical contact means local clients are needed.

As such, a strong local referral network is one of the keys to success. Building this network isn’t as complex as it may seem. If you live in a place which is large enough to support your business, you live in a place where there are trainers who want to be part of your network.

Finding them isn’t as hard as it may seem at first.

In my experience the better relationship you have with a potential lead the higher chance you have of bringing them into your network. Due to this, I like to start with the people closest to me and work my way out to new contacts and relationships.

Marketing is all about building and supporting relationships and this task is no exception.

Start With The People You Know

This step seems hard for many people.

To ask those they know if they would be interested in forming a mutual referral relationship takes courage as it opens a person up to rejection, but if you believe in your service (and theirs), not asking is a missed opportunity.

My favorite approach in this situation (especially if you are prone to nervousness), is to write down who and how you are going to ask in advance and don’t over think it. Contact every trainer you can, be it a new relationship or one that has slipped into the past.

Take an interest in what they are doing, ask about both work and life outside of it but eventually come around to explaining that you are open for referrals and open to referring to them. Build on the relationships you have as chances are if you trust in them already they trust in you as well.

Ask The People You Know If They Know Anyone

Trainees are passionate about their personal trainers.

If they think their trainer is amazing they will tell you. Likewise, if they think they need a new one they will tell you that too. Asking friends, colleagues, and family for introductions to their trainers is a win-win-win situation. Not only does the person you are asking feel their opinion is valued but the trainer feels valued to be considered worthy of consideration and you gain a potential lead.

Ask EVERYONE whose opinion you value.

Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, and other healthcare professionals are great sources especially if they are already in a trainer’s referral network but anyone in a highly social profession could be an exceptional source for information about local personal trainers.

Trainers often target highly social professionals as referral sources so real estate agents, lawyers etc. all may have been approached previously by the trainers you are trying to target.

Social Media

Social Media is ubiquitous, it is the perfect tool to find local, proficient and engaging individuals able who are able to provide clientele fitting the criteria you defined earlier.

Almost every trainer has a social media presence and almost every trainer is looking for ways to increase client retention and acquisition rates.

The most effective way I have found to locate Personal Trainers and other referral sources on social media are by using Facebook. Facebook provides query filters which allow the narrowing of friend searches to your current city, hometown, mutual friends etc. This is a powerful tool. Search, pick the people that seem to best fit your desired criteria and start communicating. Posting insightful comments on things that they post, friend requesting them as you build a repertoire and then speaking via messenger is extremely effective. It’s not an immediate payoff but relationships take time. A little effort each day is all that it takes.

It’s not an immediate payoff but relationships take time. A little effort each day is all that it takes.

Of course with local personal trainers, the real goal here is to meet them in person and see if both your clients and theirs would benefit from being part of the same referral network.

Meet, Connect, And Assess

The main task you have in the first meeting with a potential referral source is to get to know them and for them to get to know you.

Finding common ground is a requirement before trying to convince them of your value and bring them into the fold. Most of this should have been done via your messenger conversations but this is a chance to build on it.

Buy them a coffee (or a beer if they so please) and just have a conversation without thinking too much about referrals and such. What makes or breaks your referral chances is the personal connection. Essentially they are buying into you, not just the value of your services. Keep it light, keep it fun, and don’t be a pushy salesman, nobody likes that crap. More than likely work and the purpose of the meeting will come up naturally as it will be a “common thread” which is easy to fall back on when conversation stalls.

Just like a date, if it goes well follow-up, heck even if it doesn’t go all that well follow up. The trainer that doesn’t mesh with your style may know another one who does. Don’t burn bridges if you don’t have to.

The follow-up, continuing to speak to people on a regular basis, and offering support (where you can) is probably the most overlooked variable involved in getting people to refer patients your way. A continued line of communication builds trust, it keeps you in their minds and it shows you are in this for more than just yourself.

Photo by: StartupStockPhotos

Expanding Beyond The Locals

Due to the rapid expansion of online training and trainers working remotely, the potential for referrals from trainers all over the world now exists.

A personal trainer in Cork, Ireland may have a client in Burbank, California for example. Trainers are no longer limited by geographical location which means they can work with people who are local to you.

If they don’t they probably know someone who does. Bringing trainers from all over the world into your network and expanding globally is the same process as with local trainers.

Sure you can also join mutual Facebook groups, use Twitter, Instagram etc. but the idea is the same. It is all relationship building. Meeting for coffee gets replaced by meeting via video chat or a phone call but the steps remain the same.

The Process in 35 Words Or Less

Define who you are looking for
Ask your existing network for introductions
Search using Facebook’s search modifiers
Comment on their posts to open the lines of communication
Move it to messenger
Video chat
Keep communicating, nurture the relationship

A Word About Incentives

Small personalized gifts are a great way to leave a lasting impression and keep you in their mind but never devalue your services. I’ve sent books, birthday cakes, and cufflinks but I’ve never provided a discount on my services to get people signed up. If you provide value they will pay what you are worth. No discount needed.

Conclusions

In many ways building a referral network is not unlike building a client base. The ideal person of interest must be defined and a search for such a person must be undertaken. This initial phase is followed by building/expressing value over time. It isn’t a “quick fix” but a strategy for long-term growth. Answers to common questions can be pre-written and rehearsed but relationships can’t be automated. In a world of gimmicks and inauthenticity personal connection is what will make you stand apart from the crowd.

How To Get More Traffic To Your Website

August 28, 2017/in Business, Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy, Social Media/by David Gaskin

Getting more traffic to your website isn’t voodoo.

It doesn’t take a miracle and it’s not rocket science either.

The secret ingredient – which isn’t that secret – is to give people a good reason to visit your site.

Combine that with a strategy and a consistent approach and before you know it, you’ll begin to see more visitors to your website.

This article will show you, in 3 key areas, how you can go about getting more traffic to your website.

These 3 areas are:

Optimize Website Content – Increasing traffic to your website starts with optimizing the content on your website for both people and search engines
Connect on Social Media – Being active on social media plays a major role in developing a consistent stream of traffic to your website
Leverage Content Outreach – Reaching out to the key influencers in your industry will further grow your website and attract new audiences

So now that you have an idea of what we’ll be looking at, let’s dive right in!

Optimize Website Content

The first leg of increasing traffic to your website is to make sure the content on your website is optimized and performing at its best.

Here are some things you should consider:

Set Up Analytics on Your Website

Getting more traffic to your website starts with having in place an analytics and tracking system.

Without one, you have no way to measure the amount of traffic to your website.

Luckily for you, this system already exists and it’s free!

You’ve probably already heard of it: Google Analytics.

Google Analytics will give you both the insights you need to know what’s working and what’s not, as well as a clear picture into your current traffic numbers.

Some of the more important metrics to pay attention to in Google Analytics are:

Users – The number of unique visitors to your website
Bounce Rate – How frequently people “bounce” off of your website and back to the search results page
Sessions Duration – How long people spend on your site
Top pages – Which pages receive the most traffic
Pageviews – How many pageviews your content received
Exit % – The percentage of people actively exiting your website from a particular page

As you begin to analyze these metrics and compare them to actual pages on your website, you’ll start to realize valuable information that you can use to tweak and refine your traffic growth strategy – which leads to the next step:

Develop a Content Marketing Strategy:

Having a plan in place will make it much more likely that you’ll see success as you strive to increase your website traffic.

Here’s what should go into an effective Content Marketing Strategy:

The goal of the strategy – What are you hoping to gain with more website traffic? Do you want more people to subscribe to your mailing list? Are you trying to sell more products? Start your strategy off by defining S.M.A.R.T goals.
A definition of your audience – Knowing who your audience makes it that much easier to send the right message and reach the right people for your business.
The types of content you intend to produce – This could be blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, e-books, a combination of all or some.
What is your edge? – How do you plan to add value and separate your content from your competitors? What makes your content unique and valuable?
Frequency of posts – How often do you intend to post new content?
Getting your content out there – How do you intend to reach people with your content? (We’ll be taking a closer look at this later on)

You may find your strategy changes over time; your goals may change or you might discover new insights about your audience.

That’s alright and is to be expected.

The important thing is to remain focused on your goal yet remain flexible enough to course-correct as required.

Keywords

Now with a way to track website traffic and a strategy in place for getting more visitors, it’s time to look at the actual content itself.

You may already have a good handle on the topics that matter most to your audience.

If that’s not clear to you, you can turn to tools such as Google’s Keyword Explorer, another free tool that lets you see the search volumes for a particular phrase or keyword.

This is a great tool that will give you a sense of how many people are searching for a particular phrase and what the competition is like for that keyword.

For additional ideas, try plugging your candidate keywords into Google and scrolling down to the suggested searches section:

These are related search terms that Google also gets high volumes of search queries for that may give you additional inspiration about what content to produce.

Write More Compelling Headlines

People have short attention spans. That means you have to hook them quickly!

One of the most sure-fire ways to do that is to write catchy, compelling headlines that people just can’t help but click on.

Here are a few quick tips for writing catchy headlines:

Use numbers in your headlines (“7 Tips to Reduce Belly Fat”)
Create curiosity (“How I Managed to Quit My 9-5 Job and Travel the World”)
Use compelling language (“The Definitive Guide”, “The Secret to..”)
Add something in brackets (“The Top Cities in the World to Visit [Infographic]”)

Keep your headline length below 70 characters to avoid them being cut off by Google and other search engines/devices.

Great headlines alone aren’t enough to create sustainable website traffic.

Write Better Content

Without content to match, you might get visitors to your website but they’ll quickly “bounce off.”

Without content to match, you might get visitors to your website but they’ll quickly

Here are some things you can do to keep readers sticky to your page:

Perfect your introduction – Learn how to write a good introduction that hooks your readers early on and entices them to read on.
Use shorter paragraphs – Shorter paragraphs are easier for readers to scan and digest. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep your paragraphs under 5-6 lines, ideally 2-3.
Provide data – Real facts are much more compelling than opinions and speculation. Surround your content with data and link to it with images and descriptive link text.
Use multi media – Images and other multimedia are a great way to break up chunks of text and engage readers further.
Proofread – Typos and other inconsistencies weaken credibility, so make sure content is error-free before you hit the ‘Publish’ button.

Link Internally

If done right, linking internally to your own content is great for SEO and the User Experience.

From an SEO perspective, it increases time-on-page. It also promotes loyalty and increases the odds that your content gets shared on social media.

When linking internally, make sure you:

Use descriptive link text – Descriptive text not only tells visitors what they can expect to find if they click on the link but also indicates to search engines the content of the link.
Link to relevant content – Don’t link for linking sake but instead link to content that will augment the User Experience and enhance the value that you’re already providing to your readers.
Don’t overdo it – A page full of links looks spammy and takes away from the impact that good internal linking can have; it also cheapens the SEO power with every additional internal link you add.

Employ Basic SEO Best Practices

You don’t have to be an SEO expert to execute on some of the basics.

Including these tips will ensure that the search engines know how to understand your content:

Have one main heading that includes your keyword phrase, usually the h1 heading
Include the keyword phrase in the URL of your page, remove any stop-words like ‘and’ or ‘the’ and separate words with hyphens to make sure the URL is the most search engine-friendly it can be
Include your keyword phrase or semantically similar words in the meta description of the page and somewhere within the first 100 words of your content
Remain on topic and put secondary keywords into secondary headers as content unfolds
Link internally and externally throughout your content when it makes sense to do so from a value-added perspective

Track Content Traffic

Remember when you set up Google Analytics on your website?

As you publish your content, make it a habit of checking in every week or so to see how your content is developing.

Take a look at the metrics we mentioned above and see how your content is faring.

Sometimes you’ll find that one piece of content, in particular, is receiving the most amount of traffic while another isn’t doing as well.

In cases like these, don’t get too precious about the content that isn’t doing so hot.

Instead, think about what you can do to leverage the traffic you’re already getting.

Make Sharing Super Easy

It probably goes without saying but your content should be easy to share.

In the next section, we’ll be talking more about social media but remember that it’s critical that you include social sharing widgets alongside all your web content.

Build Up Your Mailing List Subscribers

Email marketing has one of the highest success and conversion rates versus all other content marketing.

That said, developing your email subscribers can have long-term rewards for your business.

One way to gain more subscribers is by using what’s called a Lead Magnet.

This is essentially the exchange of something valuable for the visitor’s email address.

You’ve probably encountered these a thousand times, usually in the form of an offer to receive a free e-book or a special piece of content.

Lead Magnets can supercharge your mailing list subscribers so consider what you can offer readers to sign up for your mailing list!

Connect on Social Media

Now that we have a solid handle on how to approach creating content and strong methods in place for ensuring our content will hit the mark with both people and search engines it’s time to spread the word on social media.

Identify Your Key Social Media Channels

Each social media network has its own set of characteristics, each attracting uniquely different audiences and demographics.

Depending on your business and which market you’re looking to attract, the social media channel you choose to focus on will vary.

Ideally, the best way to learn which social media channel you need to be on is to ask your audience.

In case you don’t have that info handy, here’s an overview of the types of audiences the major social media networks attract:

Facebook is the dominant social media platform with a majority demographic ranging from 18 to 49 all the way up to 65. It sees a daily 1.15 billion active users and leads the pack among all other social media platforms.

YouTube gets more viewers than any cable network on TV. It attracts users between the ages of 18-34 as well as a large portion of people aged 35-49. As YouTube is owned by Google, your content will benefit from being tied into the Google search engine algorithm.

Instagram is the fastest growing social network. Geared more towards images and videos, Instagram tends to have a younger demographic (with most of its users under 35). If you have a business that can make use of this heavily visual platform, then this might be a strong fit for you.

Twitter is perhaps the most over-saturated and transient social network, leaning more towards being a social feed than content posting platform with more than 50% of its users never posting an update. Twitter is most popular among millennials and people under 35.

Pinterest has a wide spread across age demographics ranging from 18-64. Interestingly enough, this visually-oriented social network is made up of about 80% women.

LinkedIn is unique in that it is mainly geared towards professionals and B2B. It has a significant amount of active users so if you’re targeting business professionals, you shouldn’t ignore LinkedIn.

Develop Your Social Media Followers

Now that you’ve identified which social networks you should be targeting, it’s time to develop your social media followers.

Developing an audience on social media takes time and a commitment to sticking to and executing your Content Marketing Strategy but here a few a things you can do to maximize your efforts and speed up the process:

Fill out your social media profiles completely and be consistent with your company image
Link to your social networks from your other social networks
Include social links in your email signature, website, and published content
Share and engage with other people’s content
Post your content regularly
Engage with your social media followers

Maximize Your Post for Each Platform

As you begin to post content to social media, it’s important that you maximize your efforts by optimizing the way you post to each platform.

For example, if Twitter is one of the social media platforms you intend to be on, you will want to understand how to use hashtags effectively and the syntax for targeting users and key influencers on the platform.

Each platform offers its own unique set of characteristics so once you know which social media platforms your business should be on, do your research and find the most effective way to post your content.

Stick to a Schedule

When it comes to social media, there is something to be said for when you choose to post your content.

For example, the best times to post on LinkedIn are in the mornings before work, at noon, and after work midweek, Monday to Friday.

Each social media platform is different, so do your research to discover the best times to post.

Photo by: geralt

Leverage Content Outreach

You’ve optimized the content on your website and are now connecting to your audience on social media.

The next step to really take your website traffic to the next level is to connect to key influencers in your niche and get your content published on industry-leading websites through guest posting and content republishing.

Doing this puts your content in front of large, highly-targeted audiences. It also helps your website rank better on Google by linking your website to these publications.

Republish Your Content on Larger Websites

Large content publications generally have huge content needs and are actively looking for content to post to their website.

Here’s how you can get your content on these large publications:

Step #1: Find websites that accept and/or republish content

Websites that accept content will have pages detailing their guidelines for content republishing and guest posting.

To find these pages, start by searching Google for your industry keyword plus “guest posting”, “write for us”, or “submit an article” (many other variations exist, so you’ll want to employ smart search tips for finding guest blogging opportunities).

Step #2: Choose content you are going to pitch to these websites

Once you know who’s accepting content, it’s time to figure out how you can add value to these publications.

In the beginning, it’s easier to pitch an original piece of content than it is to pitch content that already exists on your site, so it’s a good idea to start off by understanding the publication that you’re targeting.

Are there opportunities for your content? Is there a gap in their content that you can fill with your knowledge or expertise?

Also, familiarize yourself with the tone and style of the publication so that your content will be a more natural fit for their audience.

If you find that your content isn’t a great fit off-the-bat, you can always tweak your style a little bit to match.

Step #3: Pitch your article

Once you know what content ideas you’re bringing to the table, it’s time to pitch them to the publication.

Pitching your ideas is where the rubber meets the road, so it’s important to bring your A-game and to do it right.

Here are some tips for crafting a winning pitch:

Write an engaging subject line – Content editors get boatloads of pitches so stand out by crafting an engaging subject line
Know who you are pitching to – Do your homework and find out who you’re pitching your idea to and, if possible, address them by their first name in the pitch
Understand their readership – Large publications are in the content business, so make sure you’re giving them stuff their audience will find valuable and be sure to include in your message how your contribution will benefit their readers
Include options – Your first idea may not be accepted, so have 2-3 additional ideas to offer in your pitch
Be patient – It may take up to a week before your pitch gets seen so don’t be too eager to follow up right away

Step #4: Prepare your content

Once you get the green light from the publication that your content idea has been accepted, it’s time to prepare your content for publishing.

Here are a few pointers:

Review the content and publication guidelines of the publication to make sure that you are following them correctly
Include at least one link back to your website in your content; aim for 2-3 links to your own content if it makes sense to do so
Provide your professional bio and a headshot along with your finished content

Conclusion

We’ve now broken down the three key elements to getting more traffic to your website:

We looked at optimizing the content that is already on your site so that it connects better to your readers, creates engagement and more social shares, and does well with search engines from an SEO standpoint.

We talked about using social media to find the right audiences for your business and stimulate more visitors to your website by making the most out of the content you post.

Finally, we discussed how connecting to large content publications in your industry can provide you with huge boosts in terms of website traffic and SEO and how you can find and approach these publications about republishing and guest posting opportunities.

All that’s left to do now is to get to work.

Good luck!

“Pain Is In The Brain” – Is It A Load Of S**T?

August 21, 2017/1 Comment/in Massage, Massage Clinic, Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy, Pain/by Ben Cormack

“Pain is in the brain” is by far and away one of my least favourite phrases and in my opinion unhelpful in understanding a modern view of pain.

Why….?

Well, there are a number of reasons.

It implies (to me anyway) it is not IN the body. This for many people is tough to get their head around, and rightly so.
This may also imply that it is “all in my head”. Again not a helpful message for many and could potentially create more problems than it attempts to solve.
Has created polarisation. As pain obviously has a good part of its genesis within the body we now get the “pendulum has swung too far” fight back. This is a completely warranted stance against this argument. The problems potentially lie in the perception of those who think that anyone who believes the brain is a major player in the pain experience is suggesting pain is all “in the brain”. It is easy to create a counter-argument against a polarised opinion.
That it is idiopathic and spontaneously erupts. Whilst this may be true in some isolated cases for many it is a maladaptation of the system in response to a more physical Genesis.

PAIN IS AN OUTPUT OF THE BRAIN

‘Pain is an output of the brain’ seems a much more sensible way to explain the pain process in my opinion. This allows a model that incorporates both inputs from the body and a modulation of that input in the brain.

The more pain persists then the more it may be driven by top-down rather than bottom-up influences although we must remember that we can get changes, or plasticity, in the nociceptive (noxious stimulus) or danger processing system further down the chain in the periphery and the spinal cord as well.

Stimulus (danger!) processing within the brain can actually be used to turn the output or emergence of pain down as well as up. We have cleverly named ‘on’ and ‘off’ cells in our rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) that do just that. ‘Off’ cells exert descending inhibition on nociceptive transmission while ‘on’ cells facilitate it.

‘PATHOLOGICAL’ PAIN

There does seem to be situations where pain itself becomes more of a pathological process. Phantom limb pain is an example where potentially the mechanism for pain is more about the representation of the limb in the brain than nociceptive signals from the limb and is very prevalent with amputees at between 60 & 80% HERE it is also worth reading Melzack and Katz’s opinion on this HERE.

Harris has suggested incongruence between motor intention and movement as a source of pain HERE and sensorimotor incongruence exacerbates the pain of chronic whiplash sufferer’s HERE although this is not a consistent finding HERE.

Moseley & Valyaen HERE and Zusman HERE have both proposed coupling between proprioceptive information, pain responses and memory within the brain that no longer requires nociceptive input from the body.

HERE we see that the visual distortion of a limb can actually affect the processing of pain!

These pieces of research and theory help us understand that pain is a complex process and a ‘pain’ signal is not just simply relayed from the body but it also does not mean that pain is only ‘in the brain’.

So if someone was to ask “is pain in the brain?” My answer would be no, it is much more likely that it is a complex interplay between bottom up and top down influences modulated by many factors and that the sensitivity of the systems involved in the experience of pain has the potential to change over time at peripheral, spinal and cortical levels.

SEMANTICS

Some might, and have, suggested that this is simply semantics. I would agree completely with this because semantics matter. How people interpret meaning is a huge great big deal when it comes to pain and to not recognize that is a problem. This is a great paper by Darlow HERE and another by Barker HERE

‘Pain is in the brain’ seems open to being misconstrued by those in pain and also those who realize it has a great deal of its genesis within the body too.

IS THE ‘ISSUE IN THE TISSUE’?

Is the ‘issue in the tissue’?

Well, of course, it can be, just sometimes a bit more and sometimes a bit less. This does not mean there has to be a pathological state of the tissue however or if there is that getting better is contingent on a change in the state of the tissue. HERE & HERE.

Although we are realizing that pain and damage are not one and the same, local biochemical processes are likely to be very much at play. Whilst there may not be pathology we may have a pathophysiological process occurring, this being a physiological process that has gone a bit haywire!

An example might be if I go out and run a bit more than my body is used to and the normal reparative processes, such as tissue regeneration, becomes replaced by a different cellular expression such as pro-inflammatory chemicals like neuropeptides. This has been documented with tenocytes (fibroblastic like cells) as they transduce mechanical force (mechanotransduction) into cellular processes such as the expression of substance P potentially creating a peptidergically driven inflammatory state in the tissue HERE and HERE we see an elevation of substance P in vivo in response to load.

So we may have a situation where the local tissue state is chemically sensitized due to activity, perhaps previously under loaded tissue and this could potentially be turned up by changes in sensitivity in the systems involved in pain peripherally, spinally or cortically dependent on individual previous pain experiences.

PHYSICAL CHANGES IN THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN

Changes in the systems involved in the emergence of pain don’t have to be ‘in the brain’ either. The subcortical bits can play their role too with actual physical changes occurring to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) within the tissue. These changes to the PNS include an increase in the number of ion channels in the terminal endings of nociceptors making it easier to get sodium ions into the cell, depolarise it and send a signal (action potential) to the CNS. We also see an increase in the number of receptors and previously silent receptors becoming active.

The signal processing at the dorsal horn can also be ‘turned up’ with more NMDA/AMPA channels making it easier for the peripheral signals to be sent up the chain and an increase in excitatory neurotransmitters, such as glutamate and aspartate, and a decrease in inhibitory chemicals such as GABA and endogenous opioids.

We can also get long-term potentiation of spinal neurons in response to repetitive stimulation or a sustained ‘volley’ of signals from the C-fibres.

Basically put, the more noxious stimulus we receive the more sensitive the dorsal horn becomes to it.

HAS THE PENDULUM SWUNG TO FAR?

That probably depends on your bias and opinion but if someone was to suggest that pain is solely ‘in the brain’ then I would suggest yes it has!

An inclusive model that allows physical, physiological, neurological and psychological processing changes probably fits with what we know about pain at this point in time. Sometimes the pendulum may have to swing big firstly to overcome the inertia of previously held beliefs and then hopefully comes to rest somewhere in the middle.