WP184 | Creating Passive Income in Private Practice with Jenny Melrose
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Y’all ever feel like you’ve got a really good idea… but no clue how to actually turn it into income?
Maybe you’ve thought about creating a course, writing a book, or building some kind of passive income stream—but it just feels overwhelming. Or maybe you’ve tried, and it didn’t go the way you hoped.
In this episode, I’m sitting down with Jenny Melrose to talk about what it really looks like to build something outside the therapy room that actually works. Not just more content. Not just more followers. But a strategy that leads to real growth.
We’re getting into where therapists get stuck when it comes to passive income, why your audience matters more than your idea, and how to create something people will actually buy without feeling salesy.
If you’ve ever thought, “I know I could be doing more… I just don’t know where to start,” this one’s for you.
You Feel Called to More… But You Can’t Quite Name It
Y’all ever get that feeling like something’s stirring, but you can’t quite put words to it? You’re doing good work. Your practice is steady. Your clients are getting help. But there’s this quiet nudge that keeps showing up, and it doesn’t go away just because you stay busy. It’s not dissatisfaction and it’s not burnout. It’s something deeper. It’s a sense that there’s more in you to give, more impact you could make, maybe even more income available to you, but you don’t know what to do with that feeling yet. I remember having that exact experience before I stepped into consulting. I couldn’t name it at the time. I just knew I couldn’t ignore it forever.
Passive Income Isn’t About Doing More
A lot of therapists hear “passive income” and immediately feel overwhelmed. It sounds like another responsibility, another project, another thing you have to figure out on top of everything else you’re already holding. But what if it’s not about adding more work? What if it’s about serving in a different way? You are already helping people solve meaningful problems every single day. Passive income is simply an extension of that. It’s asking how you can take what you already know, what you already do well, and make it accessible to people outside of the therapy room. It’s not about becoming someone new. It’s about expanding the reach of who you already are.
Start With the People You Already Serve
You don’t need a brand-new idea or some big, groundbreaking concept. You need clarity. Who are you best at helping? What do they struggle with on a daily basis? What do they wish they had in between sessions that would make their lives just a little bit easier? When you start there, ideas begin to come naturally. It might be a simple guide, a checklist, a short workshop, or eventually something more in-depth, like a course or a book. The goal isn’t to build something massive right away. The goal is to create something helpful that meets a real need for the people you already care about.
You Don’t Need to Compete…
You Need to Be You
One of the biggest concerns I hear is, “But there’s already so much out there.” And that’s true. There are a lot of resources, a lot of courses, a lot of voices. But there’s only one you. People don’t just connect to information—they connect to people. They connect to your voice, your perspective, your way of explaining things, and the stories you bring to the table. That’s what makes your work different. That’s what makes it resonate. You’re not trying to outdo everyone else. You’re simply showing up in a way that’s authentic and aligned with who you are.
Your Audience Matters More Than Your Idea
I see this mistake all the time. Therapists build something incredible, pour their time and energy into it, and then feel discouraged when no one buys. It’s not because the idea wasn’t good. It’s because there wasn’t an audience ready for it. Growing your audience is not the flashy part of business, but it’s the part that makes everything else work. Without people who know you, trust you, and hear from you regularly, even the best product will sit unnoticed. That’s why this work requires patience and consistency. It’s not quick, but it is sustainable when you do it right.
Why Email Lists Still Matter (More Than Social Media)
Social media can make it feel like you’re making progress because you’re getting likes, comments, and followers. But the truth is, those platforms are not built to help you sell. They’re built to keep people scrolling. If you want to actually connect with your audience in a meaningful way, your email list is where that happens. That’s where trust is built over time. That’s where people begin to see you as someone who consistently shows up and provides value. And that’s what ultimately leads to people saying yes to working with you or purchasing something you’ve created.
Nurturing Is More Important Than Selling
One of the biggest mindset shifts is understanding that you don’t need to constantly “sell.” What you need to do is nurture. That means showing up regularly, sharing helpful insights, offering encouragement, and pointing people toward resources that genuinely support them. When you do that consistently, selling becomes a natural extension of the relationship you’ve already built. People don’t feel pressured. They feel invited. And that’s a big difference, especially for therapists who care deeply about how they show up in the world.
You Probably Need to Talk About It More Than You Think
If you’ve created something and it didn’t sell the way you hoped, it doesn’t necessarily mean it failed. It might just mean people didn’t see it enough. We tend to mention something once or twice and then move on, assuming people aren’t interested. But the reality is, people are busy. They miss emails. They skim content. They need to hear things multiple times in different ways before they take action. Talking about your offer consistently isn’t pushy. It’s necessary. And the people who need it are grateful when you remind them it exists.
You Can Have Strategy and Flexibility
I know a lot of y’all feel like structure kills creativity. You don’t want to be boxed into a rigid plan where you can’t follow what feels right in the moment. But having a strategy doesn’t mean losing flexibility. It just means you have a direction. When you know the core areas you want to focus on and the kinds of offers you want to build, you can still pivot, explore, and follow ideas as they come. You’re not stuck. You’re supported by a plan that helps you stay consistent.
Give Yourself Some Grace While You Figure This Out
This is new territory for a lot of therapists. You weren’t trained in business, marketing, or content creation. You were trained to help people. So when this feels hard or confusing, that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means you’re learning something new. Growth takes time. Clarity takes time. And building something meaningful outside of your practice takes time, too. Be kind to yourself in the process. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. You just have to be willing to take the next step.
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Meet Jenny Melrose
Jenny Melrose is a business strategist and host of the Practice to Profit podcast, where she helps entrepreneurs turn inconsistent income into sustainable, CEO-level growth. She specializes in helping solopreneurs simplify their strategy, focus on the metrics that actually matter, and build businesses that support their life—not consume it. Jenny is known for breaking down complex ideas into clear, actionable steps that create momentum without burnout.
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[00:00:00] Whitney Owens: If you're a therapist or private practice owner trying to grow your business online, you've probably heard that SEO matters, but figuring out where to start can feel overwhelming. That's where they come in simplified. SEO Consulting specializes in helping practice owners increase their visibility on Google in a way that feels ethical, sustainable, and aligned with their values.
[00:00:22] You don't believe in shortcuts or a one size fits all strategy. They create customized SEO plans designed to help you attract the right clients consistently over time to make it easier to get started. They're currently offering a waived onboarding fee for our foundational SEO programs, which is a $350 value.
[00:00:41] So if you've been thinking about investing in your long-term growth, this is a great place to begin. You can learn more@simplifiedseoconsulting.com. Hi, I'm Whitney Owens. I'm a group practice owner and faith-based practice consultant, and I'm here to tell you that you can have it all. Wanna grow your [00:01:00] practice, wanna grow your faith, wanna enjoy your life outside of work, you've come to the right place.
[00:01:05] Each week on the Wise Practice Podcast, I will give you the action steps to have a successful faith-based practice while also having a good time. Now let's get started.
[00:01:17] Jingle: Where she grows your practice and she don't play. She does business with a twist of faith. It's Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast, Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast.
[00:01:36] Whitney Owens: Welcome back to The Wise Practice Podcast. I'm your host Whitney Owens, and I am so glad that you are here. In our conversation today, we interview Jenny Melrose, and I think it's a really important conversation about passive income and how to create that in your practice. I know a lot of practice centers come and talk about feeling pulled towards doing more.
[00:01:57] Feel like the Lord is kind of putting something in your [00:02:00] heart, but maybe you just haven't named it yet. Maybe you're not really sure what it looks like. You're just kind of questioning it. You just start to kind of get this, this thing in the back of you. I remember when I wasn't really sure about being a consultant, I, I just kinda started getting this like idea within me.
[00:02:17] Jingle: Hmm.
[00:02:17] Whitney Owens: What if I were to help practice owners? With a faith-based perspective, and I kept pushing it away, unsure of what was to come, and I really honestly couldn't put a name to it, couldn't really put words to it. I was just trying to figure out a little bit of like, I guess I was really bringing curiosity to it, right?
[00:02:35] So there comes a point when you're running your practice and you got this idea within you and you're not really sure, and you're kind of like me, you're starting to wonder, is there more to this than I'm getting a credit for? You're not discontent. You just feel like a deeper calling to more. So maybe the work you're doing, it's not fully satisfying, even though you still feel called to it.
[00:02:59] [00:03:00] Maybe you're realizing there's a greater way to serve others. You have gifts that you wanna give that maybe you're not using currently, and you start to realize that, hey, there might be some additional income that I could make. If this resonates with you, you definitely wanna stick with it. For this episode, you might be wondering, where do I start?
[00:03:18] What would it look like to have passive income? You know? Or do I need a second business? Can I do it within my current practice? So this is what this conversation is all about. So Jenny and I walk through what it looks like to build passive income in a way that's thoughtful, sustainable, and aligned. It's not just about chasing trends or adding busy work, but paying attention to where you feel called learning how to build something that's sustainable and meaningful for you.
[00:03:48] Jenny brings lots of knowledge here to the table today, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her. And then I also wanna give a quick shout out to a mastermind group that we're gonna be launching in the month of June with [00:04:00] Laura Long called, it is called, called Tomorrow. Because as therapists we do feel called to more.
[00:04:08] A lot of times God's knocking on our door and we just don't know those steps. So if you're interested in joining a mastermind group specifically about that, head to wise practice consulting.com to learn more. And if you're unsure, Laura would be happy to jump on a call with you to talk through it. Just make sure you fill out an application and she will be in touch with you because we wanna make sure that if you feel called to more, that you're answering it and that you know how to answer it and that you don't have to do it alone.
[00:04:39] So if you've ever felt the nudge to do something outside of the therapy chair, you're not quite sure how to move forward.
[00:04:46] Stay listening.
[00:04:54] Welcome back to The Wise Practice Podcast. Today I have Jenny Melrose on the show. She's a [00:05:00] business strategist and host of the Practice for Profit Podcast, where she helps entrepreneurs turn inconsistent income into sustainable CEO level growth. She specializes in helping solopreneurs simplify their strategy, focus their metrics that actually matter, and build businesses that support their life.
[00:05:18] Don't consume it. Jenny is known for breaking down complex ideas into clear, actionable steps that create momentum without burnout. Jenny, thank you for coming on the show today.
[00:05:28] Jenny Melrose: Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited about this conversation.
[00:05:32] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah. Well, today we're gonna kind of talk about passive income, creating businesses for therapists, which you're an expert on.
[00:05:38] I have done with many people. But before we get into that, I love just like getting to know you. So tell me a little bit about you, where you're located, what you're into, family, whatever you wanna share.
[00:05:47] Jenny Melrose: Yes. No, absolutely. So I am originally from New York. I have now lived in North Carolina for almost 11 years and got the biggest snow storm just this past weekend that I've ever seen, even [00:06:00] growing up in New York.
[00:06:01] Um, 11 inches of snow. So it is like shut down the area. I'm just north of Charlotte and I have two daughters that are still asleep. Thank goodness for this interview because they are in seventh grade and 10th grade. And they will not be interrupting 'cause they will still be sleeping.
[00:06:19] Whitney Owens: Wow. Yeah. Mine are nine and 12 and I'm starting to notice that sleeping in part and, and I'm in Savannah and we just had snow for the second time.
[00:06:31] Jenny Melrose: Consecutive years.
[00:06:33] Yes.
[00:06:33] Whitney Owens: Well, so the, in the first time in over a hundred years that we've had two days, two years in a row. I'm saying this all wrong, more coffee needed. But anyway, I was like, whoa. Like over a hundred years, you know. But, um, yeah, so I'm seeing them sleep in and they definitely slept in, um, when school was out yesterday, so I hear you.
[00:06:49] Jenny Melrose: It's funny.
[00:06:50] Yeah,
[00:06:50] Whitney Owens: definitely. Um, we did our, uh, last summit in Charlotte, not two summits ago. Whew. The Wise Practice Summit. I host a conference every year and, uh, I love Charlotte. It's a [00:07:00] beautiful thing. In fact, I'd go back there. Yeah.
[00:07:02] Jenny Melrose: It's one of my favorite, absolute favorite places.
[00:07:05] Whitney Owens: Mm.
[00:07:05] Jenny Melrose: The weather is great.
[00:07:06] The people are so friendly and the area's booming, so it's just
[00:07:10] Whitney Owens: wonder. Yeah.
[00:07:11] Jenny Melrose: Wonderful.
[00:07:11] Whitney Owens: Well, wonderful.
[00:07:12] Jenny Melrose: Yeah.
[00:07:12] Whitney Owens: Well, Judy, tell us a little bit about how you got into the world of working with therapists.
[00:07:17] Jenny Melrose: Yes. So I started off actually as an inner city school district teacher and as a teacher I started back in 2009, so back when dinosaurs pretty much roamed the actual internet of things that actually existed.
[00:07:32] Um, I started a food blog and that food blog replaced my teacher salary and I was then able to leave teaching. We moved from New York down to North Carolina. And I was working on that side of my business full-time. And what ended up happening is I was getting asked constantly, how did you leave teaching?
[00:07:50] How did you replace a $75,000 salary with something that you're solely doing online? And so I started speaking around the country and at that time I
[00:07:58] had itty bitties. [00:08:00] They were two
[00:08:01] in five. So it was really difficult to be traveling all the time and speaking. And I, every time I'd come back from conference, I would get asked.
[00:08:11] So many questions that I wasn't able to answer in person or that they wanted so much more information. So I said, you know what? I'm gonna lean back into teaching and I'm gonna create a course. And I have a course called Blogging Business Pro that actually teaches. Business owners how to create a blog that's going to be able to help them get found rather than trying to work on social media and just be more or less screaming into the void.
[00:08:39] So I was able to then turn around, um, once we launched that course, I also started my podcast Pro Practice to Profit, and that podcast I have had now for 10 years. And I sold the food blog back in 2019 for six figures because I. Realized that my true calling was being able to educate people. Masters [00:09:00] in education.
[00:09:00] I love working with women and I especially love working with therapists. Before I went to go get my master's in education, I was supposed to get my master's in social work and I Oh, cold feet, and kind of turned into the more normalized route for at least my family. I came from a family of teachers, so.
[00:09:20] Turned and got a little nervous. But I love my therapists. The hearts that that they have, the impact that they make on this world is so important to me. And to be able to help them get that message out there and help more of them without needing to be in the actual therapy room is my true calling. I absolutely love it.
[00:09:41] Mm. I love your story. I have so many questions, but the, the one that I feel like is the most important is, what was your best blog? Like what got the most attraction? Because I wanna know what that food was.
[00:09:54] Oh goodness. That's such a good question, actually. It's my Turkey recipe. [00:10:00]
[00:10:00] Ah, nice. Yes. Nice. That's so, so interesting.
[00:10:03] I mean, you basically just started a hobby, something you were just interested in and you wrote and it got so good. And of course, I'm sure you have a lot of skills you teach in your course that now it's something and you sold it for six figures.
[00:10:17] And it's still out there today. It, it's, some of the pictures are still mine.
[00:10:22] Some of it has adjusted part of the agreement, of course, to sell it. But some of the stuff had to stay. Yes. It's, it was. An adventure because it, at that time I was a new mother. 2009 was when my first was born. So I actually had started the blog, like you said, as a hobby because I kind of lost, lost myself as a new mother.
[00:10:41] Oh yeah. Also kind of learning how to cook at the same time, 'cause she needed to eat and my husband wasn't home to do all the cooking. So it was kind of like. It was a baby of mine. Even when I went to go sell it, it was kind of like this back and forth, like, oh my God, I'm really going to do this. I'm really going to sell this crazy thing that I put so much [00:11:00] heart and soul into.
[00:11:01] But I knew I needed to pay attention to the education side of what I was starting to do.
[00:11:06] Yeah. I bet every therapist listening right now is like, I wish I could do what Jenny did. Right?
[00:11:13] They can. That's the,
[00:11:15] they can. Okay, so let's kinda walk through that process. I mean, I think most therapists, especially at the beginning, they don't either.
[00:11:24] They don't know how to create passive income. They want it, they don't know what to do or. If they have an idea and they don't know what to do with the idea. Mm-hmm. So maybe, we'll, let's start with, you know, they don't know what to do. What would you, how would we start this?
[00:11:38] Yes. So the first thing I would say is know your niche.
[00:11:41] Know who it is that you are best serving. So if you're gonna specialize whatever you're specializing in with in your practice, whether it is faith-based, healing from shame, or if it is. Officers that are dealing with their own marital issues, or if [00:12:00] you are talking, it can honestly just know your niche. A DHD for itty bitties and they have depression because of it.
[00:12:07] Whatever your niche is, think about what would you provide your people outside of the therapy room so that they could handle what they're dealing with better. Whether that is a book, whether that is a course, a workshop. As a parent of an a DH daughter who really struggled with understanding it was a DHD, even as a teacher, she had a lot of depression s that were really scary to me, and bringing her to a therapist was amazing, but I felt like there were so many things that I could have been doing at home that he didn't know.
[00:12:49] I wished she had resources for me. That's what you as a therapist want to provide for your people.
[00:12:57] Alright, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you all the hard questions [00:13:00] here. So. What if there's already a lot of resources out there, how can their resource be found?
[00:13:08] The first thing that I will say is that in a day and age where AI is huge, and there's so many things out there that are AI generated, the difference between you and AI or you and a therapist that's been doing this and has digital products and been doing it for five years is you.
[00:13:25] People want to get to know your own personality. They want to be able to connect with the person that you are. There's going to be some people that are meant for them and then others that are just not. Um, so understanding like you bring something to the table, your voice, your stories, your personal experiences that you have had with your clients in the office and.
[00:13:45] Potentially your own family situations can greatly impact the voice that you have and the way in which you speak to people. Mm-hmm. So that would be my first thing. The next thing that I would say is like really start to figure out. [00:14:00] One who that audience is, so that as you start to create content, and I'm not talking social media, as you start to create content, it can get found.
[00:14:10] And the way in which you would do this, if you were to start today, you, in my opinion, you have three places to start website, which a lot of you already have, right? Mm-hmm. Article, tell me about a problem that your people have and solve it for them. That's an article that you could have on your website.
[00:14:28] Two, you could create a podcast. A podcast is a great way to get found. People are constantly looking for that. Connection with your voice through the audio, but they're also looking for their problems to be solved. And then the third could be YouTube, because YouTube is also searchable and it speeds up the process so much faster because not only do they hear your voice, but they also hear your mannerisms.
[00:14:54] They see you as a person. That whole idea of ai, it goes right out the window. [00:15:00] They know who you are, they hear the stumbling in your voice, or they just see that you're a real person.
[00:15:06] Yeah, I love that. I, I can't stand listening to a YouTube channel or a podcast where somebody is talking perfectly that drives me nuts.
[00:15:15] I wanna, I want that human aspect and that messing up. Most certainly.
[00:15:23] AD: Hi, I am Laura Long, one of the consultants at Wise Practice. And over the past decade, I've helped hundreds of therapists develop and launch their own programs, workshops, intensives, and other income streams beyond the therapy room. If you've been feeling like God may be inviting you into a new season of growth or a greater impact, but you're stuck or overwhelmed on where to start.
[00:15:42] You're not alone. The call to More Mastermind is a six month experience where we'll help discern your direction, design a simple first offer, and actually begin building it without burning out your life or your practice. If you're ready to move from thinking about doing it, to actually doing it, head over to wise practice [00:16:00] consulting.com and apply today.
[00:16:03] Whitney Owens: I think about people I've worked with, I'm thinking about one in particular who worked with couples, and she created a course for couples, right? But the problem was she couldn't get people to purchase the course. So she had spent all this time and energy on it, and then nobody did anything with it. So I have a really hard time getting therapists from this idea that they have that's really good, and they have a lot to give to actually selling that product.
[00:16:30] Jenny Melrose: Yes. So you need to have an email list that is the way in which you are going to sell it. And the way in which you have have an email list is you provide them with something for free in exchange for their email address. So for that couples therapist that created a course for couples, I would say, what's something you could give them a checklist, a bunch of questions they could ask each other and go back and forth on.
[00:16:53] Something along the lines of a guide where you'd be giving them a PDF in exchange. They're giving you your email [00:17:00] address and then you have these people and own that email address to be able to nurture with consistent content and to, and I know therapists hate the word sell. Invite them to purchase a product that's, I've been learning to talk to my therapist.
[00:17:20] 'cause a lot of them go, oh, don't say sales. I think we use car sales. And I'm like, okay, we will invite them to buy a product or service. And that's what you're doing because when you have a product or service and you know how to fix a problem, it is selfish not to share it because now they're not able to actually have the transformation that your product provides.
[00:17:41] Whitney Owens: Yeah, you're bringing up such a good point. We talk about this a lot when I'm doing caseload management, churn ratio retention, because really getting a client to keep coming in, it's not so much about you being a good therapist, it's about your ability to sell a product. You're selling therapy, and therapists feel guilty about that, but it's what you said.
[00:17:58] It's like I'm not forcing [00:18:00] therapy on anybody. I'm actually helping people and inviting them to get better. And if I don't give them that option, they're not gonna get better.
[00:18:08] Jenny Melrose: Yes. And no matter how much time you've spent in therapy, you can always improve. Let's be honest. If you've been married for any certain amount of time, you know that the relationship changes as your kids get older.
[00:18:20] Yeah. As people both get older, things change. So having therapy, like you said, it's not a cell, it's a, they're continuing to improve upon themselves and their relationship. Okay.
[00:18:31] Whitney Owens: Yeah. So when someone has an email list, it sounds like that's a pretty important part. I, I, I certainly agree. Do you have to get it to a certain place before you should sell something and then like, I would like to hear more about the nurturing sequence as opposed to the selling.
[00:18:46] 'cause just the other day I got an email from someone, I was like, I haven't heard from her in a real long time. She's selling something right? Because she isn't nurturing, she's just selling. So I'd love some feedback on that.
[00:18:57] Jenny Melrose: Yes, absolutely. So you got me on the [00:19:00] nurture sequence, and I wanna go back to your first question, but it's already gone out of my head because I so wanna talk about the nurture, actual aspect of it.
[00:19:07] Mm-hmm. So the nurture aspect is sending them educational information. So in the beginning when we were talking, I, you asked about visibility and I said podcasts, website as far as blog content and YouTube, those are all nurturing. That's an invitation to just gain more information that's a resource for them.
[00:19:26] So when you are consistently putting out content, that is something that you can email to your people about. And it starts with a simple email. It doesn't have to be a long email that has all of these different links. Like you have a YouTube video that's just come out and you. Talk about that. Maybe you are bracing because you're at perimenopause and you're at a weird stage within your couples and your relationship clearly is where I'm at.
[00:19:54] So because of that, maybe that's what you're talking about in that video. That's what you wanna [00:20:00] talk about. Then in that email, are you struggling with feeling connected to your husband? Maybe you've gone through empty nest and all of a sudden your relationship isn't what it used to be.
[00:20:11] Jingle: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:11] Jenny Melrose: Here are some simple things that you can do to help your nervous system if you're in perimenopause to help you with it, but find out more and it takes them directly to the YouTube video to go watch the content and gain the information and the resources.
[00:20:27] So that is part of the nurture. I always, and you said, I haven't heard from this person in a while. I recommend at a minimum, you're emailing your list once a week. I also recommend that you're putting out content once a week, and again, blog, podcasts or YouTube. You can also do all three and repurpose. So you could start with a YouTube video, pull the audio, and make a podcast, and then create a blog post from that actual audio.
[00:20:56] There's so many ways to, and it doesn't have to take forever [00:21:00] in order to do it.
[00:21:01] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah, we just started doing the podcast on YouTube recently because I was like, I don't, I can't keep up making videos. Let's just start putting the podcast on there. So that's been great. This is great. So my other question, um, was about does your list have to get to a certain number before I should start to try to sell anything?
[00:21:19] Jenny Melrose: I love that question. I'm so glad that you reminded me what it was. Okay. I would say you want your list a minimum of a hundred people, especially if you have a product that is over $25 that you are trying to sell. Yeah. I think if you're under 25, you can create that product, have it be a one-off workshop where you can actually.
[00:21:37] Figure out the interest level in the topics that you're talking about. 'cause part of the problem that I often see is that therapists will use very therapy kind of words like my therapist that works with officers will talk about hypervigilance and. The first time she said it to me, I'm like, I'm sorry, you have to tell me what you're, I have no idea what you're talking about.
[00:21:59] [00:22:00] And she explained it as like, well, when the officer is like always on, like ready to go looking at the door, what put us back to the door. And I'm like, oh, that makes so much more sense. And maybe that wife knows that word because she's been married for however long with an an officer. But don't assume that Oh yeah.
[00:22:18] Use the language that they are looking for to solve the problem. Why is my husband always on edge? Any of these types of questions they'd be searching for, and that's the content that you create in order to pull them in. So when we're looking at, again, that product, like you don't really want necessarily to have something that's this big piece course that's going to be.
[00:22:40] Over a hundred dollars probably right out of the gate. You wanna show them that you can give them a transformation one through the freebie, and then from like a low priced, lower hanging fruit workshop that's gonna give a piece of it and then the course is gonna be the full solution.
[00:22:58] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah. I think this is so [00:23:00] important.
[00:23:00] I, I just see a lot of therapists that don't grow their audience.
[00:23:03] Jenny Melrose: Yes.
[00:23:04] Whitney Owens: You know, and they have these great ideas and I'm like, that's a great idea, but. You gotta grow that audience before you can get anywhere. And it's gonna take a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of work, a lot of money. Even a podcast, I mean, you have one and you gotta pay for every episode that you put out.
[00:23:17] You know? Unless you're gonna do it all yourself, lemme tell you, I'm not doing it all myself. Um, plus I wouldn't do a great job. But like, it takes so much time and energy to get there and I think people see where someone else is and they just forget that importance of. Building that audience and doing the thing and putting the content out there over and over again.
[00:23:36] Jenny Melrose: Yes, and I think the important thing too, to also keep in mind is that a lot of therapists that have come to me have been told, put it on social media, like start on social media, go on Facebook, use Instagram, do the things on TikTok, and they're educating and they're doing all the things and they're getting followers and it's like immediate gratification.
[00:23:53] And then they're like, but they're not making any sales from that. Social media is not set up. To make sales. Social media is [00:24:00] set up to keep them on that platform and with the way that the algorithm works, that can be gone at any time. You can lose that audience. They don't see your content anymore or a platform could shut down.
[00:24:11] So really understanding, like that's why I always start with those three pieces of content of YouTube Podcast Block. Those are things you can control and. They're searchable. Yeah. Whereas Facebook and Instagram, they're really not searchable.
[00:24:27] Whitney Owens: Yeah. I think it's so important. I have done some research on like clicks and followers and all that and it's like your email list is gonna sell things so much better.
[00:24:38] Jenny Melrose: Yes.
[00:24:38] Whitney Owens: Than that. Okay. So I'm gonna pick your brain in a selfish way now.
[00:24:42] Jenny Melrose: Please. '
[00:24:42] Whitney Owens: cause I got you here on the ship again. I don't really know when I'm gonna air this show. It's gonna be a little bit because I have some other things going on, but I actually wrote a book.
[00:24:50] Jenny Melrose: Okay.
[00:24:51] Whitney Owens: Did you,
[00:24:52] Jenny Melrose: I did not know that.
[00:24:53] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:24:53] And I see you have a book. Well, I saw it in your picture, but, um, actually before I tell you about mine, will you tell me about yours?
[00:24:59] Jenny Melrose: Yes. So [00:25:00] I published my first book in 2020. It's called Influencer Entrepreneurs. And if anyone does some digging on my podcast, they will notice that that used to be what the show was called before it.
[00:25:10] Oh. From practice to profit. And I, when I started the influencer entrepreneurs, it was this idea that I really wanted to teach people that as a business owner, you could be an influencer. And it actually got switched and people took it as I was talking about social media, because I'm talking about being an influencer.
[00:25:29] And I was like, no, no, no, no, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, no, because Uhhuh, you sold your business on rented property. Absolutely not. So we rebranded. And totally changed the podcast to practice, to profit. But the book came out in 2020, right before COVID, and it was this idea of being able to create visibility for yourself online.
[00:25:49] So it was came out a really good time.
[00:25:51] Whitney Owens: I know the irony of that, huh? Because you'd probably been working on it for a while.
[00:25:55] Jenny Melrose: Mm-hmm. Yes.
[00:25:56] Whitney Owens: Oh, that's fun. Okay, so I came out with [00:26:00] this book, I have it here on my desk. It's called, uh, the Practice of Becoming. Yeah. It's a Lent devotional for faith-based Practice Owners.
[00:26:06] And I'll, I'll just say it happened real fast. I'll, but I went in, you know, told everyone about my book Launch. You know, and I was like, all right, let's see if this works right. I got this passive income idea. Actually, I just really wanted to get it out. I didn't actually really think I'd make any money off of it, and I'm laughing at myself because, you know, you get these ideas.
[00:26:25] I'm gonna sell this many. I think I sold three books. The day the book launched. Now give myself credit, I didn't talk about it at all in advance because I barely got it done before the day I launched it.
[00:26:37] Jenny Melrose: Right.
[00:26:37] Whitney Owens: And I printed it on Amazon. I didn't go through like legit publisher. I think I've now sold like 26, but I'm like, oh, like I have all these people on my email list and like it's only 15 bucks.
[00:26:49] Like, come on people. So I'd love any thoughts, recommendations you have about it?
[00:26:54] Jenny Melrose: How do you continue to put it out in front of your people right now?
[00:26:58] Whitney Owens: Today's Tuesday. Okay. I think [00:27:00] today the episode I recorded a while ago will come out about how I wrote a book, I think that comes out today. Um, and then I have two more podcasts about Lent and like the experience of Lent encouraging people to get the book, um, so we can experience it together.
[00:27:14] I have had it on my email list a couple of times I've posted on every.
[00:27:19] Jenny Melrose: Sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. Go back to, I've had it on my email list a couple times. What does that actually look like? It's in there as like a Ps like a drive by quick. Like, here it is. Whoops. And I'm gone.
[00:27:29] Whitney Owens: Uh, one, I mean, I certainly had one that was just about the book.
[00:27:33] Jenny Melrose: Okay.
[00:27:34] Whitney Owens: But it's been part of my newsletter every week since then. Okay.
[00:27:39] Jenny Melrose: So what I would recommend is a funnel. I know you hear the word and everyone goes, Ooh, that sounds awful. But all it is, is it se sequence of emails that invites people to purchase the book. So they come in for your opt-in, your freebie, that you're giving a guide that's in line with the book, and then after that comes [00:28:00] for emails that invites them to purchase the book by giving them an idea of what problems are gonna get solved with it.
[00:28:06] So like your first email. We talk about the problems that they're struggling with and how it can be fixed, and then invites them to buy the book. Your second email might be like a question and answer email that kind of walks them through a question about the pain point, whether it is faith-based, whatever it is that the product actually solves.
[00:28:26] So the book solves. So question and answer type emails, but again, with an invitation solely about the book. Your third email may be a testimonial from someone that has read the book. So-and-so has struggled with this, this, and this, and this is what she found, and you give her a testimonial of that. She's provided you with invitation to buy the book, and then I would do one last one again, that goes back to like the pain point and the transformation and what this book can really provide them with and leave it, then let that be just part of it.
[00:28:56] The thing that a lot of people don't understand is that. [00:29:00] Years ago, I would tell people, you need to see something. Someone needs to see something. Six to eight times. Yeah. Before they're gonna take any action. That is nowhere near close to how many times I need to see it now, thanks to TikTok and Instagram and all of the crap that is out there.
[00:29:17] So it actually has become, they need to see something in four different ways. So platforms. YouTube Podcast, BOG and Email, and they need to consume up to 11 hours worth of content before they're going to take any sort of action. And this is why it's so important to consistently weekly be putting out content and again.
[00:29:41] Letting them know about the book as soon as they come on so that when you have a podcast episode that references it, they're like, oh yeah, that's great. She talked about that in her email list and now they're kind of like in with you. They know your voice, they know what you're all about. Now they may take back action.
[00:29:58] Whitney Owens: Yes. So do you, do [00:30:00] you think that people will leave the email list because you've talked about the thing you're trying to sell for four weeks in a row?
[00:30:05] Jenny Melrose: Absolutely not. In in, in my opinion, if they do, that's okay. They weren't my people.
[00:30:12] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah. And I, I think the other thing I struggle with is I have so many things I wanna promote and that I'm doing.
[00:30:18] So maybe that's part of it. 'cause then I'm sitting here going, well then I can't share about this cool idea I had about this with practice owners or whatever. 'cause I'm just talking about the book all the time.
[00:30:26] Jenny Melrose: Yes.
[00:30:27] Whitney Owens: Um,
[00:30:27] Jenny Melrose: two solutions for that. First is make this an evergreen sale sequence that just naturally is happening over the course of four weeks.
[00:30:36] That way you don't have to worry about, I can't send another email. I email my list three times a week.
[00:30:42] Whitney Owens: I was gonna say they would be getting two or three emails a week.
[00:30:45] Jenny Melrose: That's okay. My people, some of 'em will get. Four to five. If they didn't open the first one because they were too busy, they'll open the next one.
[00:30:53] You have to remember, people's inboxes are just so busy. It's not a matter of, they don't care to hear from you. It's. They're [00:31:00] busy, they just got 11 inches of snow and their kids are climbing the walls.
[00:31:04] Whitney Owens: That's right.
[00:31:05] Jenny Melrose: You know, so you have to really think about, it's an invitation, it's not selling. So when you're looking at that, like really start thinking about, that's just going in the background, that kind of like introduction to the book, and then you can still do your other things that you wanna talk about.
[00:31:21] The second solution, and this is where my strategic growth plan that I'm actually offering to your audience. Walks you through this idea of creating a content calendar, understanding what you're promoing when, so that you can really look at 90 days, and then also up to a year to know where you're going to put things in place.
[00:31:44] One of the big mistakes that I watch a lot of people make is that. They will create content that has nothing to do with a product or service that they're going to try to sell. It's something that they saw on social media, looked really shiny and pretty, and they're like, oh, I wanna talk about [00:32:00] that too. I could talk about this, but.
[00:32:02] Is it related to what you're trying to invite them to purchase? Like we have to think as business owners. It can't just be, I'm gonna throw this up, I'm gonna slap this up. I'm gonna throw this spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks. It needs to be strategic, so I always teach my people. Think of three big blocks of content that you have, pillars of content.
[00:32:23] What are the three things that you talk about? Stay in those lanes, and I will often do month one, month two, month three is pillar one, pillar two, pillar three. Yeah. And then I'll go back to it so that my content is all interlinked and connected.
[00:32:39] Whitney Owens: But we're entrepreneurs. We wanna go everywhere.
[00:32:42] Jenny Melrose: You still can, and I believe you, I have a DH ADHD clients that look at me and go, I can't handle you.
[00:32:47] Mm-hmm. And I go, well, that's where we have flexible scheduling and flexible content calendars. You have the ability to do that, but you still have a plan in mind. It's this overarching plan. [00:33:00]
[00:33:00] Whitney Owens: Yeah. I love it. What's your favorite, uh, email, listserv?
[00:33:05] Jenny Melrose: Um, software that I use,
[00:33:07] Whitney Owens: yeah,
[00:33:07] Jenny Melrose: I use kits or it used to be called ConvertKit.
[00:33:10] Yeah, I've been with them probably, goodness, at least 10 years now. I think they, it's very robust, especially if you have products or services. There are other ones out there that will do things that are similar. It's just not quite as robust. Flow Desk, Marilyn Miller Light are great options as well. Those are the two that some of my clients will use.
[00:33:31] Uh, kit just gives you the ability. To see your metrics and to also have kind of these automations that show you what is happening. Where did someone come in and where did they go from there?
[00:33:43] Whitney Owens: Do you know if they, um, integrate with Stripe?
[00:33:47] Jenny Melrose: They do.
[00:33:48] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Oh man. That's the, I found that to be the kicker is when someone purchases something, you want that integration so they get on that list for certain things.
[00:33:57] Right. And uh, I find that can be a challenge. [00:34:00]
[00:34:00] Jenny Melrose: Yes. Um, the biggest part where you're gonna run into an issue is going to be Amazon. Because Amazon you can't get the emails, which is very frustrating. So, as my book was also self-published, and also you can download from Amazon in the book, I have included a page that invites them to grab book worksheets that go along with it so I can get the email address.
[00:34:21] It's a good idea
[00:34:22] and it's an easy ad. Even though you already published, you can always add in an extra page or towards the end that invites them to this to get them onto your list. But everything else, yes, you want your email service provider to talk with the software that you're going to use in order to have them check out with cart.
[00:34:42] Whitney Owens: Yeah, that's great. Well, is there anything that we missed that you wanna make sure to mention today?
[00:34:48] Jenny Melrose: I would say that. When it comes. To being a business owner that one of the hardest things I think in my, my book that I actually spoke [00:35:00] about was I have a PAC framework and each letter stands for something, and the final letter is K, and K is for kindness.
[00:35:08] And I think it's not just about kindness to others. It's kindness to yourself. I know that therapists have these very big hearts and they never want to offend or feel like they are pushing. And, but at the same time, they want their businesses to grow and they expect things from themselves, and I think that they need to make sure that they understand that.
[00:35:29] Everybody's journey is different. Where they are in their business and where they are trying to go. And I think if you can always just remember to give yourself some grace as you were doing this and figuring things out. 'cause not all of us were born with a phone in our back pocket or in iPad in our lap, and because of that, technology can be more difficult.
[00:35:50] So really giving yourself some grace and being able to just. Find the people that you're gonna be able to connect with, that you're gonna see [00:36:00] that they are the same type of person. They really have the same values of what you're looking for, so that you can make sure that you're growing in a way that makes sense for your business.
[00:36:08] Whitney Owens: That's great. Well, for this strategic planner, which sounds fantastic, I think I need to grab it. Tell people how they can get that planner.
[00:36:15] Jenny Melrose: Yes. So if they go to jenny melrose.com, it will be right up at the top. You'll see, stop guessing something along those lines. Grab a strategic growth plan guide.
[00:36:25] That's it there. Um, and then a little bit further down if you are wanting to book a discovery call and talk about your business and figure out what could potentially be your next steps that is there as an option as well.
[00:36:36] Whitney Owens: Wonderful. Well, this has been so great, Jenny. Thank you for coming on the show and sharing your expertise and letting me pick your brain too.
[00:36:43] Jenny Melrose: Yes, absolutely Whitney, thank you so much for having me.
[00:36:49] Jingle: So click on follow and leave the review and keep on loving this work we do with Whitney and Wise Practice Podcast, [00:37:00] Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast.
[00:37:07] Whitney Owens: Special thanks to Marty Altman for the music in this podcast. The Wise Practice Podcast is part of the Site Craft Podcast network. A collaboration of independent podcasters focused on helping people live more meaningful and productive lives.
[00:37:21] To learn more about the other amazing podcasts in the network, head on over to site craft network.com. Wise Practice Podcast represents the opinions of Whitney Owens and her guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only, and the content should not be taken as legal advice. If you have legal questions, please consult an attorney.
