The massage gift certificate is one of the most effective tools for you to use to grow your new massage therapy practice. Do not be afraid to use this tool.

You will want to use professional-looking certificates with a matching envelope to entice your clients to buy them for their loved ones.

There are beautiful certificates online that can be ordered with your name, address, and phone number. They are not very expensive.

You can also go to a local print shop and give them all of the information that you want the certificate to say.

A massage therapy gift certificate is usually good for either a dollar amount or one service such as a full body massage, a hot stone massage, a deep tissue massage, a chair massage, a hot wax treatment for your hands or feet, or a foot massage, for example.

If you choose to sell a massage gift certificate good for a dollar amount, the client should be able to choose which service he/she wants to apply it to and pay for the rest of the service from his/her own pocket.

Consider ordering your certificates in several colors so you can use them all year long. For instance, red and/or green for Christmas. Red can also be used for Valentine's Day and even for Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

Green can be used for St. Patrick's Day in March as well as Christmas. Get pastel ones for Easter and any type of Spring promotion that you may want to have, such as April Fool's Day, or May Day.

Get some bright colors for the summer. Another summer idea is to use a light blue to represent water as in a beach. Blue is also good for the 4th of July and Memorial Day.

Get some orange ones printed up for fall and for Halloween. Orange or a light brown are good for Thanksgiving. Have some white ones printed with special silver ink for New Year's Day gifts. Don't forget to buy some special certificates that say "Happy Birthday" on them.

You will need to promote your certificates at the front of your office, letting your clients know that they are there for the convenience of your clients, to save them a shopping trip.

Consider putting up a bulletin board for your gift certificates, and change it each month, promoting a different holiday or special and always keep one corner of the board available for the Happy Birthday certificates.

Your massage therapy gift certificates may be the perfect solution to your clients' gift-giving dilemma! You hold the answer to their most perplexing question this holiday season--What should I get for ________?

And not only for Christmas and Hannukah but for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions where gifts are appropriate.

By selling them to your clients, you are helping them and yourself. You help your clients by meeting a real need. Many people are absolutely stumped when it comes to buying gifts. A massage really is the perfect gift for everyone. Table and/or chair massage is great for everybody. It promotes general health, takes away stress and pain, and makes you feel better about yourself and the world.

Selling massage therapy gift certificates benefits you, the therapist, by generating extra income so you can purchase gifts for those all-important people in your life! You are getting paid, yet you still have time to shop because you do not have bookings.

And later on, when the gift certificate recipients call for appointments, you will accomodate them and many will love your work so much that they will book additional appointments on their own. Also, they will tell their friends and family and you will get even more clients. Word of mouth advertising is powerful stuff!

You can purchase attractive gift certificates online or at a local massage supply store. You can go to your neighborhood printer and have a nice supply printed up in the design of your choice. You can even buy some software for your computer that allows you to design and print your own gift certificates.

They say that presentation is everything so let's make it that way, especially during the Christmas season. You can place festive massage therapy gift certificates in matching attractive envelopes.

Consider going up to the next level. Purchase some pretty sparkly small gift boxes at your local dollar store that are roughly the size of your gift certificates. Place a little raffia or tinsel in the box and put your gift certificate on top of that.

For additional sparkle or if you found plain boxes, you can add a ribbon or a bow to the box top. Or you can buy some inexpensive little baskets at the dollar store. Place tinsel or raffia in it, along with a sample box of chocolates, a small candle, a bar of soap, or a sample size bottle of lotion along with your gift certificate. Add a bow and you have given that little extra with your massage therapy gift certificates that other therapists will not give.

Your clients will appreciate this more than they can say. They will remember your presentation and are sure to purchase additional certificates throughout the year and for the next year's holiday season.

If you want to increase your business, put an expiration date on the certificate of six to nine months from the date of issue. This will make the recipient feel that he/she needs to use it soon or lose it. It will also give you more time throughout the year to give them additional massages after they loved the first one.

But if someone calls you about an expired gift certificate or brings one in, honor it anyway. After all, you did get paid for it and this is a great way to show new clients that you are willing to work with them and that their health is important to you, more important than the almighty dollar!

Before you buy gift certificates for massage therapy, be sure that you read the terms of the gift certificate.

Some massage therapists put an expiration date on their gift certificates. Others do not. While some will honor the gift certificate after the expiration date, others will not. Some may give the client a discount if the certificate has expired.

If you buy your gift certificate at a spa, ask about the terms and take the time to read what the certificate says prior to buying it. Here is why...

My son bought me a gift certificate for my birthday last month (November 2008) from a spa with 5 different services listed on it. It is a very nice Christian spa and salon and I went earlier this week to have some of the services done.

Much to my surprise, when I went to check out, they charged me $14. I told them that there should be no charge since I was using one of their gift certificates for massage therapy that the employee was holding in her hands. She told me that the very small print says the user must pay a 20% gratuity at the time of use. Make sure that you read the small print on a gift certificate before you buy it.

To be forced to pay a specific amount for a tip is wrong in my way of thinking. Whether the service was good or bad, this spa is forcing you to tip. A tip is a nice thing but sometimes, people just do not have that extra amount.

Now, don't get me wrong. The spa was clean, and nicely decorated. Christian music played in the background. Each employee that I came into contact with was friendly and helpful and the services I got were top notch. However, I feel that since this was a gift, I should not have been forced to pay a tip. How much I pay in tips should be up to me. After my services on the gift certificate are finished, I will probably not return to this spa because of the forced tips.

As a massage therapy professional, I enjoy receiving tips but I also understand that not everyone can pay a great tip each time they receive a service from me. Clients are on a budget and their income is not unlimited, just as mine is not.

So just watch what those gift certificates for massage therapy say before you buy them so there are no surprises.

If you are a massage therapist and you want to sell gift certificates, I think it is a great idea, especially considering that many recipients never use them. That means free money!

I did not realize it until recently, but some states actually have laws governing gift certicates so be sure and check out this site before selling them.