One Entrepreneur on Marketing: Glenyce Hughes of The Healing Room

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs on Marketing," where I'm talking with entrepreneurs about their strategies for marketing and promoting their businesses.  In this interview, I caught up with Glenyce Hughes of The Healing Room.

Regarding your approach to marketing, push or pull?

I guess mine's a little bit different.  I would use the word allow.  I put the information out there, so you can find my workshops on my website, or I will put a poster out or an advertisement in a paper, and then I just allow.  The people that are right for it will be attracted to it, and the people that aren't won't even see it.  I just put it out there and let it be.

It's very relaxed.  I've been in business seven years now, and it certainly didn't start out that way.  I've just found that when I was pushing and pulling, classes weren't near as full.  Now that I just allow, they're pretty much always at their max, so obviously there's a gift to being relaxed.

What do you think about branding?

I don't know a lot about branding.  The only thing, in terms of branding, that I ensure I do is that on my web page and on my brochure and on my ads, my picture is always there so that people can have that connection.

How important is your personality when it comes to building and marketing your business?

I think it's extremely important, especially in a service-based business.  People need to feel a connection with me.  They need to know that they'll feel comfortable with me.  Personality is everything.

What are your top three ways to promote your business?

Although it's not something I can do, the top is word of mouth.  That is my number one in terms of getting business.  The top three that I can do, the first one is web page.  The Internet is the most important thing at this point.  When you've got a web page, people can see you, people can read about you.  I put everything on there that would answer any question, including price.  I want people to get everything when they go to my web page and ask questions that are relevant to their situation separate, but I want them to be able to be on there at two in the morning and get everything they need to know if I'm the best person for them.

The other thing that I do, there's two different alternative health magazines, one in the province that is next to us, which is Saskatchewan.  They do one for the whole province.  I've been advertising in there for probably 5+ years, and it's direct marketing really.  Anyone who is interested in the type of stuff I do would have that magazine or would pick up that magazine.  There's also one that just in the past few months has started in my area that covers half of Alberta, and I advertise in there also.

The third one would be the newsletter.  I've been doing a newsletter since I opened, and that's really generated a lot of interest.  People sign up for it on my web page.  I put different things that would be of interest.  There's a little something that's happened in my life that I've grown from that I share that people can usually resonate with.  I list my workshops.  I list different things that I've got going on.

What have been your keys to success when it comes to growing your online audience?

One thing that I do, when I do a reading for somebody or something where I have to connect with them after the session, I always let them know that I've got the newsletter on my web page that they can sign up for.  Facebook has been a really big thing for me.  I put all my information out there and have a group.  Otherwise, it just grows.  There's nothing really that I consciously do.

Any final thoughts on marketing a business?

The key is that your heart needs to be in the business.  Some people, what they see is the potential for money or maybe part-time versus full-time, and even though their heart isn't lined up with the business and it doesn't dance when they think about the business, they want the other aspects of it.  When that happens, we come into heavy energy.  We come into where we're having to push or pull or make things happen.  When we can do a business from our heart, everything just falls into place.  It doesn't mean there aren't hiccups along the way, but everything is easier about it.  Figure out what you love and do that, instead of figuring out what the world needs.  I think there's actually a quote about that, figuring out what the world needs.  I have never seen that work as effectively as doing what you love.

Comments

[Meghan Corbin]

Hello!

I enjoyed your interview. Especially I liked your answer to the last question about letting energy flow. Also, I liked your marketing approach of "allowing". I have a purse business, and I have experienced the same thing, that accosting people to purchase my purses isn't always as effective as putting the product out there and allowing them to make the choice.

thanks for the great insights!

Meghan