Help doula clients find you - and choose you.

Yes - yes, yes, yes. I’ve written a whole blog post about this in fact! TLDR: Instagram is borrowed land. The algorithm changes, your reach drops and if the Zuck turned it off tomorrow you'd have no way of contacting your audience.

More importantly, when a family searches "doula near me" or "birth doula in Leeds" on Google (which is actually how doula clients search for doulas), your Instagram profile won't appear - but a website will. Your Instagram might be brilliant for warming people up, but your website is what converts a curious stranger into someone who reaches out.

A website is something you own, you can express yourself authentically on and that doesn’t require CONSTANT updating. One blog a week on a website is considered extremely up to date and how do you feel about yourself and your business when you think about posting on Instagram once a week?

There are three things that make the biggest difference.

Firstly, set up a Google Business Profile - it's free and it's what puts you on Google Maps when someone searches "doula near me."

Secondly, make sure your website mentions your location clearly and consistently, not just on your contact page but in your homepage copy and page titles too.

And thirdly, publish regular content - even one blog post a month - that answers the questions your ideal clients are actually Googling. Make sure you’ve got your SEO Keywords down so that you can use them naturally and in abundance across everything you put on your site including blogs.

If you want a step-by-step guide to all of this specifically for UK doulas, that's exactly what my course Doula Near Me covers.

Yeah man! I'd always argue it's better for you to build your own website, because then you'll have complete confidence editing it yourself whenever something needs changing, without waiting on a designer or paying someone every time you want to update a price. I work with Squarespace, which is genuinely beginner-friendly and I teach doulas to go from first login to launching their website and beyond — covering the design, the copy, the technical setup, and the basics of SEO. If you want the full guided experience with live weekly calls and a community around you, that's The Doula Website Circle. If you'd rather work through it at your own pace, The Doula Website Method is the self-paced version.

They're overwhelmed, excited, scared, and hoping someone out there gets it. Your homepage copy should make them feel immediately seen by describing their experience, not your qualifications. Once you've done that, get specific about who you're for - not "all families" but for the real families you most love working with and say the one thing that makes you different from every other doula in your area that will make them go SNAP.

If you're struggling to find those words, Start the Conversation is a short course built specifically to help you work this out.

Yeah man! I'd always argue it's better for you to build your own website, because then you'll have complete confidence editing it yourself whenever something needs changing, without waiting on a designer or paying someone every time you want to update a price. I work with Squarespace, which is genuinely beginner-friendly and I teach doulas to go from first login to launching their website and beyond - covering the design, the copy, the technical setup, and the basics of SEO.

If you want the full guided experience with live weekly calls and a community around you, that's The Doula Website Circle. If you'd rather work through it at your own pace, The Doula Website Method is the self-paced version. 

If you have everything you need - your copy, your photos, a clear idea of who you're trying to connect with - a Squarespace website can be built in a focused weekend. If you need to write and create all the graphics, but are following a plan and set aside a work week for it you could definitely get it done in that week,

Realistically though, most doulas take three to six weeks from starting to launching. This allows time for births to come up, kids’ needs to be met, homebirth meetups to be organised and you still have time to work on your website.

The website creation process in The Doula Website Circle, is built around how the doulas I’ve worked with actually get stuff done. The part that takes the longest, normally - which isn't the technical building - is the thinking. Getting clear on your messaging, your ideal client and what you actually want to say is the work really takes a bit of time. But inside The Doula Website Circle you have fill-in-the-blank templates that mean you’re never left staring at a blank page, a group of supportive peers who are always on and to bounce ideas off and my to hold you through the process - in the knowledge that yes, it’s hard, it’s quite confronting at times having to look at your business, it’s scary pinning your colours to the mast and saying this is me.

Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.