Can an accomplished massage therapist give me some tips on boosting my clientele?

I'm so discouraged. I've posted on craigslist many times and alot of what I get are men who want ';happy endings'; It's painfully slow. I only get 2 maybe 3 massages a week, so what money I get goes to bills and not marketing. Any suggestions?Can an accomplished massage therapist give me some tips on boosting my clientele?
I am an acupuncturist who is building a patient base, but I think the same ideas apply. The first person to answer your question said a lot of what I was going to say, so I will just add a little bit.





1. If you want to increase word of mouth advertising, join a network club (such as BNI or LEADS). This will give you a chance to showcase what you do and to increase your own visibility. Typically, in these clubs, you will get a chance to advertise what you do on a weekly basis, and can give occasional demonstrations. This will give you the chance to tout the health benefits of massage that so few people know about.





2. Have a clear picture in your mind of what kinds of clients you want to treat. This sounds like it would be limiting, but it helps to distinguish you. If you like to treat athletes, you can talk about the benefits of massage therapy as a modality for reducing recovery time and lactic acid buildup. If you want to do office visits, focus on how you can increase productivity and reduce sick days for companies. There are all sorts of ways you can work with this.





3. Take every good opportunity that you have to educate the public on what you do. There is a lot of misinformation on massage therapy. Any time you can speak the truth and dispel the myths, you will distinguish yourself as an expert and stand the chance of attracting potential clients, so bring your appointment book with you! The upside to this is it's absolutely free and allows you demonstrate and experience your joy and passion (I am actually getting paid to give a talk this month!).





I hope this helps. Good luck with everything!Can an accomplished massage therapist give me some tips on boosting my clientele?
Though not a massage therapists I'm a soon to be acupuncture student. While looking for resources on how to start a successful acupuncture business I came across a book by Kevin Doherty, L.Ac called ';Building your Dream Practices'; though its written by an acupuncturists it is designed for anyone in alternative health fields (as well as alopathic health also).


Most of everything I've read is if you have a website make sure it's designed to drawn clients in, and use it to also MAKE MONEY through residual income.


These three sites though again written by acupuncrists would be of great use for you I feel.
1. Use your massage therapy association/insurer as a resource for marketing tips. I belong to AMTA, and I know that they provide information.





2. Do demonstrations, for example 10 or 15 minute ';sample'; treatments at a local firehouse, business office or nursing home. Bring plenty of business cards and brochures to leave behind. Offer discounts for anyone who books because of it.





3. Go to a local gym and ask if you can post contact information there.





4. Get friendly with local chiropractors; see if you can create a referral network.





5. Offer free massage as a prize in a local raffle or benefit.





6. Give your regulars extra business cards, and ask them to recommend you to their friends.





7. Advertise heavily around gift certificate season (Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas/Hanukkah)--massages make great gifts!





8. Most of all, do a good job with current clients: nothing beats word of mouth.
Craigslist is notoriously known for its ads promoting prostitution even though the authorities are trying to crack down on it.





You need to do something everyday to promote your business.


You need a website that gets you to the top of Google for your keywords - massage, your city.


You need to contact chiropractors and other medical providers to get referrals.


You need to do free events for charity doing chair massage.





There are literally hundreds of things you need to be doing and should be doing.