On the Fifth Day of Doula School my Trainer Gave to Me….MORE Marketing ideas!

I see new and seasoned doulas alike asking about how to market a birth business. Did you know that most businesses thrive and survive

based on repeat business? It costs a LOT more (some say up to 10x more) to get a first-time customer than a repeat customer. But if you’re a birth doula, then you’re in the business of ALWAYS getting the FIRST-TIME customer. That means that we need to work SMART in our marketing and we definitely need to be cost

conscious. Here are some of the ideas I recommend for marketing a doula business. In our next blog post I’ll share an excerpt of our Doula School Business Program Module 3, which is ALL about marketing.

Before I share some ideas, I want to remind you that…

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there!”

BEFORE doing any work on marketing make sure you’ve done a thorough job of creating your goals (SMART goals) and of defining your TARGET market. There is no point in continuing until you’ve done that.

Here are some ideas to consider. I added what I think in terms of priority, cost and time investment. Now, depending on where you’re at in your business you may have a different priority level or time investment. Sometimes it takes a LOT of time to do something the FIRST time but then takes much less for subsequent times. I hope this gives you some ideas. Let me know what works for you!

Marketing ideas

Idea Priority Cost Time investment
Brochures Low High Medium (may need outside help for graphic design)
Workshops (ie comfort measures) Low Low High (need outside help)
Networking High Low-Medium Medium (should follow-up with people you meet)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) High Low Medium to high
Social Media Depends Deplends High if done yourself
Prenatal/Baby Show Low High High
Online advertising High Depends Low to medium
Newsletters Low-Med Low Low to medium
Reciprocal advertising High Low Low to medium
Online advertising High Depends Low to medium

About the Author

Stefanie Antunes has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002, after the birth of her second son showed her just how valuable it isStefanie Antunes to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you.

Stefanie is a visionary in the childbirth field. She leads the Discover Birth organization providing a variety of services to expectant parents and training for those wishing to pursue work in the childbirth field. Stefanie is a board member with the Association of Ontario Doulas, former Public Relations Director for DONA International, and sits on many local boards and coalitions to improve our communities. She is a DONA-approved Birth Doula Trainer, runs an Approved Program for Lamaze International and runs two doula agencies Discover Birth and The Nesting Place.

Stefanie is the founder of The Birth Doula Program Hospital .

Stefanie is a contributing author in the best selling Power of Women United and the book Bearing Witness: Childbirth Stories Told by Doulas. She is a regular contributing writer and blogger, and has done many interviews online and for TV/radio.

Before becoming a doula, Stefanie worked in corporate intelligence, helping large companies keep abreast of their markets and competitors. She now works to bring some of those same skills to the doula profession, helping it grow and prosper, along with its many doula members.