A Framework For Sharing Your Knowledge Authentically and At Scale with Caroline Gaskin
And how to design content that resonates with your audience
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I’m bringing you a new practitioner profile today, as part of our series where I interview complementary healthcare practitioners about their career paths, specialities and their wide range of work experiences. For previous editions I spoke with acupuncturist Steve Kippax about is insights on client retention, osteopath Kerry Dowson shared her experience integrative osteopathy with breathwork, and acupuncturist Sean Cleere showed us his international career trajectory that brought him to running a busy multi-bed clinic in London today. I hope these conversations leave you feeling inspired, support you in your own career or simply give you new insight into what’s happening across this space!
Today we’re meeting Caroline Gaskin, one of the UK’s leading homeopaths who has over 20 years experience in homeopathy, dietary and lifestyle advice as well as flower essence prescribing. Her passion for hormonal and women’s health grew from her own journey through the menopause. During those years a combination of homeopathic remedies, flower essences, superfood cleanses, complementary therapies, yoga and time out in nature helped her to navigate this transition with relative ease, and it’s this personal experience that steered her career path in the direction to become a menopause expert.
In recent years Caroline has expanded her work with workshops, giving public talks and adding writing to her offering. In this article I asked her about her experience with getting people to sign up to her workshops and courses, how to align what you have to share with your audience and getting your message across in various formats. It’s a masterclass in how to communicate with ease and authenticity, all the while growing your following and diversifying your income. And no, this is not a conversation about how to get rich quick with a course that brings in a 7-figure sum overnight. Much more importantly, Caroline shares her insights on finding your authentic voice that helps you to successfully and organically expand your offering and stay fulfilled in your career. Let’s get started!
Caroline, thank you so much for sharing your insights with our community. What has your experience been in expanding your audience on top of your client base as a homeopath, and finding your voice in this saturated field?
Not long after graduating I recognised that clients wanted and needed general health information relating to diet and lifestyle choices as well as their homeopathic remedies. I found I’d be saying the same thing to several clients and began to collate my responses into information sheets that I could share so that I wasn’t always repeating myself. Clients like these self-help tips and sometimes share them. What I write in these sheets is often repurposed as the basis for blogs, the focus of a newsletter or it becomes a workshop handout.
I think the single biggest action that you can take in terms of expanding your audience is to put yourself in your clients shoes and then talk directly to them in a frank and honest way, primarily via your newsletter. Always ask clients if they’d like to be on your newsletter to hear about health tips and any courses or workshops you are doing. The vast majority of people will say yes. Make sure that the option to subscribe is on the form that they fill in at their first appointment. And be conscientious about gathering data. Name and email address and a ‘yes please’ gives rise to what is called permission marketing. That person has said they’d like to hear what you have got to say.
I am strong proponent of newsletters too, and I actually shared some best practices to use when starting to design an authentic newsletter earlier this month. It’s proven to be an effective and organic way to grow for many practitioners and clinics!
So when it comes to expanding further into workshops or public presentations, what is the framework you use to align your message with each different audience?
By the nature of our business as complementary therapists we will have our client's best interests at heart, we know their health history, their doubts and fears and so it’s actually easy to know what to say and to share relevant resources.
I like to use an analogy from the natural world that we each have our own song just like the birds - in marketing terms that is content. And we just need to remember to sing it from the same branch of the same tree on a regular basis – that is consistency. Next time you leave your home, notice the birds singing in your street. Chances are that if you step out of the door at the same time the next day, the same birds will be singing the same song in the same space.
Over time it might be that your newsletter evolves into a different type of communication such as a podcast, a YouTube video or a membership space. But you still have your eye on building your email list and continuing that regular communication.
When you write try to always include something for free like self-help tips and eventually you will find that people will ask you if they can share what you’ve written. Good news travels fast.
The trigger for writing can be a seasonal issue like winter immunity or hayfever or a health topic that you have an opinion on. Or you can answer a question that clients have been asking you. This often brings out the best in you. When you share solutions for what clients are concerned about, they feel safer and better supported. Everyone in your audience hears this and feels reassured, even if they don’t have that particular concern.
Including aspects of your personal journey helps people to get to know you and to build a relationship based on trust. I can’t tell you enough how important it is that you yourself need to come through in the writing. Learning to write from the heart, from your own space is so special, even if that is something that you need to nurture in yourself. I did a creative journal writing course around 13 years ago and still use the same springboards for writing in various spaces including my own workshops. I so value what I learnt.
Try getting a friend to ask you questions as a trigger for newsletters or dictate as voice notes if typing is a challenge. And remember only you can be you well. Another cute reminder is to be yourself because everyone else is taken.
Later, when your audience is larger you might what to say different things to different groups of people. This is called segmenting, and a clever email marketing programme will help you in this and grow your business to another level. Email software will also show you how many people have opened your emails, what region they are in and which weblinks they’ve opened.
Noticing what your audience responds to might prompt you to create a workshop on that topic or to do a free Q & A session that leads into a workshop. Collaborate with a colleague and bring out a workshop together. This shares the workload, speaks to both your audiences and you will both learn lots. Your clients will love this.
I like your idea of collaborating, where do you see the role of signposting to your own resources and that of others?
If you don’t know the answer then let people know that you will go off to research the subject as that will be appreciated too. It’s also OK to admit to not knowing how to help and to say ‘but I know someone who does’. If you signpost to a colleague it also shows that you care, that you know yourself and your skillset and that you understand that this time someone else is needed for the best possible outcome.
It can be all too easy to try to go it alone. Yes we are independent business owners but we sometimes need reminding there is strength in numbers. If you’re stuck for ideas for content then do a poll. Appeal to your audience saying that you want their input to make what you do relevant to them and, if the response is huge, then write about that in a subsequent newsletter. Talk about the information gathering itself, what you learnt and how amazed you are at the response and that you’ll get onto the new topics once you’ve gathered a bit of information.
It can be daunting for people to bring out a new course or workshop. What has your experience and response been when there's a fluctuating number of sign ups to your offering, any learnings you can share?
Workshop bookings are unpredictable. Sometimes everyone books early and responds to an early bird offer and other times everyone books in the last few days, hours and occasionally minutes!
I haven’t yet figured this one out and question if bookings are related to world events, planetary alignment, subject matter, wording or the time of day a workshop is promoted?
I need deeper analytics but one thing I can be sure about us this: be absolutely clear what your breakeven figures are. Include all your outlays and expenses. Work out your minimum attendance numbers and stick to it. Be clear about your maximum numbers and your ideal attendance.
When launching a course or workshop make time to ask the universe to help you in making it the right fit for you and your audience. Convince yourself it’s going to be great.
Not long ago I pitched a 4 part online menopause course. It had been so successful twice and my audience said they wanted another but the bookings didn’t come in so I cancelled it and did a 2 hour workshop instead and it sold like hot cakes. I was so happy with it I made it into an evergreen video workshop and it continues to outsell all my other workshops except a masterclass on Narayani Remedies (a niche group of homeopathic remedies).
Another thing to keep in mind that it is always ‘beta’ that there is never an arrival at the ultimate version of your workshop or masterclass. You’re always going to bring something new to the space.
You juggle many different projects at a time, how do you manage the workload of seeing clients 1:1 and offering an additional offering for a new audience?
We can all make assumptions and if clients hear you are off doing something else they will think you don’t have time for them. Just state clearly when you see clients what days you’re doing admin and segment your diary.
I have email templates I use to let people know I’ll get back to them if I can’t answer them that day. I prefer using them to an away message though I have many colleagues who use away messages and it does come down to personal choice and knowing your clients and being clear about how it is for you.
And finally, the question we end all our interviews with, what's in store for you this next year, anything you'd like to share with our community?
Yes, I’m working on some more mini workshops for menopause, some new health professional workshops and I’m most excited about starting my own podcast and am lining up some great guests!