Gordon Brewer: Well, hello everyone, and welcome again to the podcast. And I'm looking forward to you getting to know today Ritu Redwood. And welcome, Ritu, glad you're here, and, uh, learning more about branding. So glad you're here.
Ritu Riedweg: Thank you so much for having me, Gordon. I was so pleasantly surprised when you reached out to me on Instagram, and I was a little bit starstruck, to be honest-
'cause I know you've been doing this for a long time, and you've spoken to many, many talented therapists. I'm really happy to be one amongst them.
Gordon Brewer: You're very kind. Yes, I'm looking forward to our conversation. Ritu, as I start with everyone, tell folks a little bit more about yourself and how you've landed where you've landed.
Ritu Riedweg: Okay. Yeah. So even though I look young, I'm 42 years old. That means I have a lot of life experience behind me. And my journey started a long time ago. I studied social work, actually, so that's my degree. Mm. My degree is in social work, and I wanted to go into international development. But, the universe took me into marketing, and I ended up, uh, working in marketing, and did a lot of that.
Had a long career in that, marketing, branding, and design. Then after marriage, and after becoming a mother it's quite a shock to the system. So obviously I engaged in a lot of therapy for myself, and I absolutely fell in love with therapy. I had experienced a little bit of coaching in the past, and I found it nice, but therapy was transformational.
All types of therapy, so more esoteric stuff, more, for example, family or systemic constellations, and more traditional or the newer trauma therapy like EMDR and EFT and so on. And I absolutely fell in love with it, and I decided to train up as a therapist. And I chose family constellation and systemic, um, therapy.
So I did that for a couple of years, launched myself as a therapist in the world while I had two small children at home. And, uh, I learnt a lot about what it takes to market yourself online as a therapist- Mm-hmm ... especially somebody who wants to also help people online, who doesn't wanna have just a physical practice.
I learnt a lot. I also learnt a lot about myself, and I realized that I am, through working, through my healing work, I'm helping a certain number of people, and then I felt like it's a bit not enough. So I went back to my marketing roots, and then I ma- made it my mission and my focus to help other therapists- With their marketing and their branding so that they can go out and help that many more people.
So my motivation really became that if I'm working one-to-one with my clients, I can help X many people. If I'm working, if I'm helping the therapists become more effective in their branding and marketing, I can impact that many more people. So that's when I shifted my work to doing branding and web design for therapists specifically.
And that's what I've been doing since.
Gordon Brewer: Wow. Yeah, that's great. I love hearing people's stories and just the journey that kind of takes you. And, uh, what I, I really love is it just that, uh, nearly with everybody I interview that's in the therapy world, they get in, get into this space based on their, their own life experiences and struggles and that, that kind of thing.
And so, uh, I think that, that just brings a lot to the table for a lot of folks. You know, I think, uh, one of, one of the things that I'm sure a lot of people that listen to this podcast and, you know, listen, uh, there are a lot of other great podcasts out there for therapists, but one of the things you hear over and over again is the importance of niching, uh, or niching, however you wanna say that.
And, um, and that ties in very, very much with branding. And so what have you learned so far about that, particularly with a marketing background? You know, where, what's the starting place for people of just trying to figure that out?
Ritu Riedweg: The way I look at it is very much through the personal branding lens.
Just like you said, you've had people you've interviewed whose reason for being a therapist is very much connected to their own story. That's at the heart of personal branding. Your story is at the center of your marketing, you know, of your brand. And when you go out and openly share that, that establishes you as an expert, and not only that, as a person.
So by the time somebody, a potential client, comes to you for an initial consultation or signs up to work with you, they feel like they've al- they're already in a relationship with you because they already know your story. Right. So from the very beginning, y- they're open. They're much more open, they're much more vulnerable, so you can very quickly get down to the deep work.
So this is why I think the story is so important.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. And I think, uh, you know, one of the things too that just seems a theme that comes up a lot is, um, particularly in private practice is the importance of doing a bit of self-disclosure. I think when most of us were trained, a lot of us are trained, we, we kind of get trained on this idea of being a blank slate for people and keeping our personal life kind of behind a, a veil or a curtain so that we don't necessarily let that in- interfere with therapy.
But I think one of the things that is, just goes a long way is, is that when people know kind of our human stories, I mean just the fact that we all have life experiences and all experience emotions and all of the different things, that just goes a long way to really connecting with people
Ritu Riedweg: Exactly. It makes you a more effective practitioner from the, from earlier on because people's guard is down and they trust you more.
And these days where people are trying to use AI as ther- as a therapist or, you know, the 2:00 AM therapist or whatever, they need to know that they're working with a real human. Mm-hmm. And not only that, AI will take you to a certain point, and then it will fail you actually. Mm-hmm. So if you're trying to use AI to coach you or to deal with some stuff that, you know, should rather be dealt with an actual professional human therapist, it will eventually fail you and disappoint you.
And then there's a real need for people, then they're kind of desperately grasping for a real human with a real story who will understand and who, who has wisdom, who's not just like people please, not people pleasing. It's c- there's like an actual term for it, psycho something. Like when the AI's trying to please you, right?
It's only going to tell you- Yeah, yeah ... what, what it knows you wanna hear. Right,
Gordon Brewer: right.
Ritu Riedweg: Right?
Gordon Brewer: Yeah.
Ritu Riedweg: So at that point right now, personal branding and that little bit of self disclosure, but strategically. You know, you shouldn't make yourself so vulnerable that the person thinks that, you know, your client thinks you're fragile, or the client thinks that they, you're not strong enough to hold them through their pain because- Mm-hmm
you know, you've shared a little bit about your pain and your past. It's about doing it strategically to make that human to human connection and to get, to help them trust you, and not just because it's marketing, it's good marketing practice, the know and trust factor. But trust is so important in the business of therapy, in the practice of therapy because that's how people open up, and that's how they let you in so that you can do deeper work together.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. It's, um, it's, it's interesting that whole know, like, and trust concept. I, you know, I recently did a training with some therapist up in Louisville, and we were just talking about marketing, and one of the things that is probably the hardest part of marketing, I think, is just being able to get your name out there in places where potential clients are.
And so what have you, you know, in this age of social media and being online and all of that sort of stuff, where are, where do you find are the best starting places for people?
Ritu Riedweg: Mm-hmm. I'm a bit old school, and my number one is Google. You have to be findable on Google, and that is as easy and as free as setting up a Google Maps profile.
So yes, on the surface, I'm a, you know, branding coach now, and I do marketing. I'm, you know, good with design, but I'm actually quite traditional and quite-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm ...
Ritu Riedweg: you how do you say? Quite boring. Oh. It's like the first thing- Old school. Sure ... we do is Google Maps. As, as boring as it is, yes, we can make it look beautiful if that's your thing.
We, we can brand it. But the most important thing is to get you on the map, because people look for therapists on Google, you know? Mm-hmm. And then once they find, let's say, the top three, then when it comes time for them to choose which one they feel like they can trust or they want to open up to and seek the help of, that's when they're gonna go look for you on, on, on one or two or maybe three other platforms.
Now, what are those basic platforms that should be in place? Absolutely a website, because website feeds into Google, so not only are you showing up on Maps, you're also showing up as an entry. And the, this is also very key for AI these days. And then I would really recommend choosing one or two social platforms.
So because I don't live in the States and I haven't worked in the therapy field in the States, so that's not my expertise, but social media is there. Mm-hmm. And my recommendation is just choose two platforms. And one of those can actually be SEO. So if you wanna go all in on SEO or local SEO, do that, and, a- as boring as it sounds it's effective. And the next thing is choose one other platform.
So that could be YouTube, which I know you have because that's where people can watch these conversations and really have a, spend a long period of time with you. That's a really, really effective channel, and the other channel can be anything. If you prefer Facebook, sure, Facebook, and if you prefer Instagram, Instagram.
The goal of whatever social channel you use is not just about work. It's not just talking about work. It's sharing a little bit of your values and sharing a little bit of your humanness. So whether you're a dad- Mm-hmm ... or whether you have, you practice your faith, or whether you're live in a certain part of the world or, or the, the country and there's certain things going on, just share that.
Because those are the things that help people trust you. Mm-hmm. So if I had to summarize again, start with Google Maps, and then get, get found on Google, meaning basics. Have your website. These days, Facebook, Instagram will also show up on L- um, Google, but website always shows up on top, and then choose- Mm-hmm
one other platform. Well, I actually say two, but if you don't wanna do two social platforms, if it's too much, SEO counts as one of the strategies.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So it, one, one of the things that probably comes to mind for people are, uh, when I, when I think about branding is you think about, okay, logos and colors and all of those kinds of things, but also in choosing a name for your practice.
Now, there are a lot of listeners that have, you know, already established practices and that sort of thing, but if somebody's just starting out, how, what are some good w- tips for naming your practice, uh, other than it just being your name or whatever?
Ritu Riedweg: That's a really good question. I recommend going with your name, but this is a big step for a lot of people.
So for me personally, before I started working under my name, I had a different brand and I had ... I actually contacted three of my former therapists and I had dedicated sessions to- Mm-hmm ... to work through whatever was coming up around stepping out and doing business under my own name. So I totally respect if that's not, it's, if that doesn't feel right right now, and that's-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm
Ritu Riedweg: 100% fine. Especially for those who are starting out or who are transitioning from one career into therapy or into, you know, being a healer of some sort, then, um, it makes sense that you don't wanna associate your name with your new business. So, It really depends. It really depends. I'd say that whatever you choose, it should be easy to remember, so not too many words, you know, like-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm
Ritu Riedweg: something like that. A .com is very, how do you say? It gives you lots of points when it comes to SEO. So as I said, I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to SEO, so that is a big factor.
Gordon Brewer: Uh-huh.
Ritu Riedweg: And finally, it's about repetition. So however many times you can repeat the practice's name that people associate it with you.
Mm-hmm. Even if your practice doesn't have your name in it, it should, they should automatically think, oh uh, Four Seasons Practice, that's Gordon, or that's Ritu- Mm-hmm ... or whatever. Like, instantly they should have that- Right ... association.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah.
Ritu Riedweg: At the end of the day, branding, if you go back to the root of that word, is when cattle were branded, right?
Mm-hmm. You literally want to brand into your audience's brain this association. Mm-hmm. Whenever they think of your brand or of they should automatically their brain should pull in those associations, and they're going to be about you, about your reputation, and also your values.
Gordon Brewer: Right. You know, it's, uh, yeah I'd love to get your thoughts on this.
When I think of branding, I think about, you know, the big advertisers that we see on, you know, either on social media or, tel- television. Um, and one that comes to mind is, um, the character Flo, um, from the Progressive commercials, Progressive Insurance commercials, and that, that association that we automatically have.
Also the gecko which is, a play on Geico and that kind of thing. Do you think those types of things are helpful for therapists to do? It kind of goes, you know, they using, I guess maybe my question is, is using humor helpful in branding and you know, getting your information out there?
Ritu Riedweg: Well, it depends. If you use humor in your work- Then absolutely it makes sense. You know, for example- Mm-hmm ... one of my earlier on, um, mentors, uh, a lovely lady named Christine, she was an EFT therapist, and- Mm-hmm ... she uses a lot of humor. We'd be cracking up in session, and it... for somebody like her, it absolutely makes sense to have a cheeky brand element or a brand mascot.
For somebody who wants to create the feeling of groundedness, then maybe tree or roots, nature. Somebody who wants to create the feeling of, uh, who has, you know, a bit more, let's say, esoteric or spiritual philosophy or way, maybe a lotus or something from the yoga tradition or spirituality- Mm-hmm
something like that. So it's about... So, okay, so if you had to choose one, you know, if you were thinking about your logo, your branding, your colors, think about what is the feeling you want to create in your client in session- Right ... or also after they leave the meeting or the session or the Zoom or your office, whatever, and then bring in that.
What is associated with that feeling with- Mm-hmm ... if you want them to feel grounded, then maybe something earthy. If you want them to feel elevated and light, maybe something bright and colorful. If you want them to feel joyful and giggly, something pink and purple, so it's about that.
I don't wanna start the conversation about color psychology, 'cause that's a whole other thing. There i- Mm-hmm ... there's, there's a whole other science, actually, and it doesn't have to be that complicated, but color psychology plays a big role if you use it strategically in your branding.
Gordon Brewer: What colors would you say people should avoid for our practices?
Ritu Riedweg: So some colors, so for example, black and silver are associated with power and not money, but power and dominance, let's say. Mm-hmm. Power, and not just dominance, but class in a way, maybe snobbiness or whatever. So-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm
Ritu Riedweg: if you are a therapist for millionaires, absolutely paint the walls in your practice black Mm-hmm ... and have black and gold in your logo. But if you're a therapist who primarily helps, uh, new mothers recover from postpartum depression and anxiety, then use feminine colors, use colors that are associated with motherhood and femininity.
If you are a therapist who prefers to work with men and help them step into their masculinity, then use colors that are those deep blues, those royal blues, um, maybe- Mm-hmm ... navy forest green and things like that. In general, there are a few colors that create a sense of safety and calmness.
The, the more boring colors.
Mm-hmm. The muted, the muted shades, right? So whatever you are drawn to in order to give your client a f- an, a subconscious feeling of safety and relaxation the moment they s- go onto your website or the moment they go onto your social page or the moment they step into your office, if you wanna c- coordinate all the colors, then just mute the shade down and then that's, that helps rather than distracts.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah, that's fascinating stuff. I just, yeah, I, that's probably something we don't think about a lot, but, uh, yeah. And so, yeah, and as you mentioned, I mean, using your own name for a practice, but if you're thinking of expanding your practice or starting a group practice eventually down the road, what other things would you offer as ideas around just the naming of a practice?
Ritu Riedweg: Okay. If it's a local physical space, then- Mm-hmm ... incorporating the geography into the name is also- Mm-hmm ... really, really helpful for Google. And for not just Google. Okay, so the reason why I'm putting such an emphasis on Google is because Google wants to make the end user's experience as easy as possible.
Mm-hmm. So essentially when you s- if you're choosing, for example Columbus therapy, g- Columbus group practice or whatever, Columbus therapies- Mm-hmm ... let's say, just as an example. Then it shows up higher on Google Maps, and people are- Mm-hmm ... actually googling therapy, uh, in near me or, you know, whatever, postpartum therapy or, um, grief therapy, whatever it is, right?
They're, they're looking for that. Mm-hmm. And that is a very, very boring but helpful. At the end of the day, you also wanna make it super easy for your potential client to find you.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Ritu Riedweg: So I would recommend these, that's, like, the easiest tip.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm.
Ritu Riedweg: Other than that you could incorporate part of your name into the group practice if you feel confident enough.
And-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm ...
Ritu Riedweg: another thing to do would be not just specific therapy, like spec- specific modality, but your philosophy. Mm-hmm. You know, whether it is holistic or whether it is, more natural or whether it is more clinical, incorporating that into the practice name is, can also be useful.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. You know, it's funny how I, I kinda stumbled on that by accident with my practice in that it's, the, the name of my practice is Kingsport Counseling Associates, and we're located in Kingsport, Tennessee. So anytime somebody Googles counseling in Kingsport, guess who comes up at the top of the page?
And so, yeah, and so I th- I think it is a good idea to, i- if possible, to put location name within the name of your practice, or at least include it in the, in the URL or the subheading or whatever of your, of your, um- Of your website, yeah.
Yeah.
Ritu Riedweg: 100%. Yeah.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. Um, I'm curious, I know you mentioned web design.
Um, I know a lot of times people getting into private practice, in fact this, this question came up in this training I just g- I got through doing and what are the best resources you would recommend for housing a website? I know there's lots of different platforms. I'm, you know, I've used WordPress for years, uh, but there's other things out there.
What would you say would be some starting places for people if they're thinking about s- starting their web- website?
Ritu Riedweg: Okay. My number one secret hack that I've used since 2007 when I first started building websites, that's almost 20 years ago, which is kind of crazy to think about-
Gordon Brewer: Uh-huh
Ritu Riedweg: but it's been always find a pre-made template, and I don't know why more people don't know about this. And-
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm ...
Ritu Riedweg: pre-made template, you're not restricted to a platform. Mm-hmm. For example, Squarespace has a lot of pre-made templates. Mm. Wix kind of launched with their pre-made templates. That's how they penetrated the market.
But WordPress has tons of pre-made templates, and you can find them just by Googling WordPress, WordPress templates for therapists- Mm-hmm ... or whatever platform you wanna use, whether it's Squarespace or whether it's you know, there are so many new platforms right now. So that is- Uh-huh ... the best place to start.
Yep. And when, when you're choosing a template, try to pick one that you're going t- that has already done a lot of the work for you. So a lot of web designers create actual websites for clients, and then with the client's permission, they take that exact website, the way they've designed it, the words they've wr- the copy that they've written, the different pages that they have, the different modalities that they've listed, with the client's permission, they'll change it, make it a bit more blanket kind of a website- Mm-hmm
and publish or sell it as a template. So other therapists can literally take a pre-made website and just change the bare minimum things, so change in their photos- Mm-hmm ... change in their names, change in the color palette if they want to, and the keywords. And then you can literally have a website fully done, a really professional, expensive looking website m- made by a real web designer m- in a week or two, depending on how hard you wanna work at it.
R-
Gordon Brewer: right.
Ritu Riedweg: That's my number one secret hack.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. And it's, uh, I think too just being able to be persistent and consistent with it all is- is, um- Yes ... because you, you-
Ritu Riedweg: Yes.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm ... you can't, you don't just build a website and then put it up, and then, then you're, then you're done with it. I mean, it should be constantly updated.
Ritu Riedweg: It should be constantly updated. Right. It needs to stay alive, otherwise Google kind of writes it off if it doesn't notice any new activity on the website. Mm-hmm.
Gordon Brewer: Right.
Ritu Riedweg: One- Right ... one tip that has always helped me, which I actually, uh, learnt in the book called Apartment Therapy.
Funny enough, it's a book that came out, like, 25 years ago, and it's written by an interior decorator.
But he really treated his, his work like therapy, but for estates, you know? Mm-hmm. Anyway. Yeah ... he said that if you wanna unpack, like, let's say you've moved into a new apartment, and if you want to unpack, just set a date for a housewarming party and send the invitations.
And then whether you want to or not, people are showing up in two days, and you better have unpacked, and your house- Yeah
better be ready. That's the same thing. So often what I have done is I've, um, scheduled a launch party. Mm-hmm. So it could liv- it could be five of my friends, they're gonna come over, we're gonna open a bottle of champagne, and we're gonna celebrate the launch of my new website. Ah. Or I'm gonna, I choose a date, and I'm gonna post on social that's the day my website is launched.
And that is the ... How can I say it? The biggest Kind of push, you know, that you need- Uh-huh ... to get through to the finish line and just get it done.
Gordon Brewer: Right. I love that idea of being, having a launch party over for the website. Yeah.
Ritu Riedweg: Yeah, a housewarming party but for a website.
Gordon Brewer: Yeah. That's good.
It's on my mind because my w- my, uh, daughter just recently got a new house, and so she's having a a party this weekend. So anyway, that made that connection. Sorry, I digress. But,
Ritu Riedweg: uh- No, that's the best-
Gordon Brewer: Anyway,
Ritu Riedweg: yeah ... way to make sure you're unpacked, everything is decorated- Uh-huh ... that it feels like-
Gordon Brewer: Uh-huh.
Ritu Riedweg: It's called housewarming for a reason. It literally warms the house and it warms the walls. Uh-huh. When you cook in a house, the smells of the food fills that house, and suddenly it has soul in it, right? Yeah. It's the same for a website. It's your home. Mm-hmm. It's your digital home. It's your digital practice, you know?
Mm-hmm. Office, let's say. And you want to celebrate in a way. You want to tell people, "I want you to go read the About page, and I want you to go read, my Services page."
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm.
Ritu Riedweg: Because this way the website also comes to life, and it, it takes on a bit more energy.
Gordon Brewer: Mm-hmm. Sure, sure. Well, Ritu, I, I know we need to be mindful of our time, and your time especially, but tell folks how they can find out more about you and the work you do and- Yeah
how to connect with you.
Ritu Riedweg: Okay. Yeah, I would love to connect with your listeners here. Um, you can find me on ritureedweg.com, and I'm on all the socials, uh, specifically Instagram as @ritureedweg. And if you're really curious about how to very quickly put personal branding in place for your practice as a therapist, uh, without it taking over your life I've created- Mm-hmm
a nice little handy resource called it's a, it's like an eight-point checklist for therapists who want to set up their social media once and then forget about it. But-
...
Ritu Riedweg: It's, then it's done. And you can find that at ritureedweg.com/checklist.
Gordon Brewer: Okay. Yeah, and we'll have links in the show notes, in the show summary for all of that so people can find it easily.
Well, Ritu, I'm glad we connected. And, uh, I, I, we didn't mention, uh, I'm grateful to Ritu for joining me, because she's in Europe, and, uh, it's e- evening, in the evening time on a Friday evening that she's recording this with me for her. So but thanks, Ritu, and I hope, uh, we'll connect again here soon.
Ritu Riedweg: It's been my pleasure. Thanks so much, Gordon.