We spoke with Shay Johnson, Holistic Nutritionist, Herbalist, and business mentor for female wellness professionals, who lives in Joshua Tree, California with her family. Shay helps women set up either their Practice Better platform, or their program, course, or membership to thrive online.

Let's jump into our chat with Shay!

You’ve grown your business successfully using an organic approach to marketing. Can you share what organic marketing is and how you use it in your business?

Organic marketing is a marketing strategy that naturally attracts and converts clients without paid advertising. The focus is generally on boosting awareness and making personal connections to attract customers to your business.

At this time, I market my business primarily on Facebook. I have always enjoyed Facebook, particularly Facebook groups. Through Facebook, I have both grown my business and made lasting friendships with some wonderful people.

While I love Facebook groups, I currently do not run a group. I have always preferred to join existing groups and network with other professionals who have highly engaged Facebook groups. I have been invited to speak, teach, and moderate in numerous Facebook communities through these connections. That has been a real win-win.

From your perspective, why is an organic approach to marketing especially important in the health and wellness space?

I believe organic marketing is essential for any marketing plan online, especially for small wellness practices without staff or funds for costly advertising campaigns. Organic marketing builds authority and trust, increasing conversion rates because consumers are more likely to buy from people they know, like, and trust.

Organic marketing has helped me create awareness and engagement, significantly increasing conversion over paid advertising. My conversion rate was between 5 - 10%, a little over the industry standard with paid advertising. With organic marketing, I see conversions as high as 40%.

You use Practice Better in a unique way in that you do most of your marketing right from the platform! How does Practice Better help facilitate your organic marketing process?

Practice Better makes it possible for me to run my business with just one platform. Before Practice Better, I was using four different platforms (hello overwhelm!).

My workflow in Practice Better is pretty simple:

• Connect: I share my booking link and invite people to book a low-cost strategy session with me before I sign them on as a long-term client.
• List Build: I share links to my free offers on Practice Better (downloads, workshops, master classes, etc.) to build my client list.
• Nurture: I nurture + connect with my client list by regularly sending messages via chat and broadcasts.
• Organic Promotion: I regularly let my client list know about specials, promotions or new products.
• Fullscript: I keep clients connected to my practice through supplement sales.
• Secure Future Biz: I use waitlists. Waitlists are fantastic because you are securing clients for next month!

My favorite Practice Better features are automations, email-only programs, program or booking registration pages (these are my sales pages!), and of course, chat and broadcasts. I no longer use a third-party email marketing platform; I use Practice Better to deliver my freebies and stay connected with my list. I utilize the Plus Plan so I can build my client list without limits.

You’re a real advocate for keeping systems simple and streamlined, especially when it comes to marketing in your business. Why is that?

I keep my marketing system simple because having time for self-care is super important, especially for teaching others how to stay healthy! I've pushed myself to the point of overwhelm and burnout in my business before - not fun! I enjoy having free time to sit on my deck with a dandelion latte or eat movie snacks while watching Walking Dead with my husband. When I am balanced and grounded, I can show up as my best self for everyone in my life - including my clients.

What advice would you give to other health and wellness professionals who feel overwhelmed by the marketing and sales side of their business?

I would say, let go of what’s no longer serving you. It can be scary to let go because we’ve been told that we need an extensive sales funnel and marketing system in place if we want to succeed online. While that may be true for some online businesses, it’s not true for every business.

For example, there’s a huge difference between a “course creator” and a “health practitioner with a course.” As health practitioners, we see clients or patients, and in addition, we may have a course, program, or membership for additional income streams.
If my goal is to enroll 15-20 women in my next group coaching program, I do not need the same sales funnel as a course creator whose goal is to enroll 1500 participants at their next 100k launch!

Do you have anything coming up that you’d like to share with the PB community? Where can our community go to learn more about you?

Yes. This fall 2021, I am releasing my new PCOS course and Part 2 of my Design Bootcamp for Practice Better users.

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Shay!

You can learn more about Shay by visiting her website at www.shay-johnson.com or by connecting with her on Facebook.

Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for nutritionists, dietitians, and wellness professionals. Streamline your practice and begin your free trial today.