Payments FAQ
Your Annual, Voluntary Support
DoulaMatch.net remains a free resource for both doulas and consumers. However,
to sustain the website and the necessary activity to 1) Drive consumers to the
site and 2) Keep DoulaMatch.net a credible site for available, trained and
certified doulas, we ask for your financial support.
When you support DoulaMatch.net you pay for:
- Keeping a profile and availability calendar on this site which is marketed to
over 100,000 pregnant women (and their friends) on Facebook each month.
- Exclusive capabilities such as client testimonials, and searches based on
availability and geography.
- The ability to show your availability on your own website.
- Marketing directed precisely to pregnant women and their families.
What Level of Support Should I choose?
We've established our annual, voluntary levels of support: $10 (for
doulas just starting out), $25 (for established, working doulas), $40
(for doulas who have received paying clients from DoulaMatch.net). Three values
helped us determine these levels:
- We do not want to compete with the certifying organizations annual dues. It is
important to us that doulas take the time and resources necessary to become
certified and to support their certifying and membership organizations with
their annual dues.
- We want doulas to feel good about supporting DoulaMatch.net’s work, and to
support us at a level that’s commensurate with our value to your doula practice.
- We want all doulas to participate in DoulaMatch.net, regardless of ability to
pay.
We expect everyone to strive towards the $25.00 annual goal, and stretch to the
$40.00 annual goal if you have received paying clients from DoulaMatch.net.
Why should I pay if I have not yet received a paying client from DoulaMatch.net?
If you value giving families the ability to search for available doulas who
match their needs and expectations for training, certification and fees, please
help us deliver that service to the families looking for doulas.
If you value the ability to display your profile and availability calendar to
potential clients, please help us provide that service to you.
The programming, hosting and marketing of DoulaMatch.net requires time and
money. The last two years have proven DoulaMatch.net could deliver and market a
quality doula availability database to consumers that doulas would embrace. Now
we need your support to sustain our work. Help us showcase your profile and
availability to the clients who are looking for you!
How can I show my appreciation for clients I received thanks to DoulaMatch.net?
We are proud to help you grow your business! You can recognize DoulaMatch.net’s
value to your business by making a referral payment. Most professions consider
5-10% of the professional fee a fair amount to pay for a referral fee. We leave
the amount up to you to decide and thank you for remembering us when clients
find you through DoulaMatch.net. Referral payments can be made by filling in the "other amount" on the Payments Page
Do I receive any benefits for making payments to DoulaMatch.net?
We recognize everyone who financially supports DoualMatch.net with a special DoulaMatch Supporter badge
next to their name in doula search results.
What happens if I do not make a financial contribution?
If most doulas choose to withhold voluntary contributions, we will implement other revenue models such as requiring paid memberships for all doulas or adding advertising to the site. Our preference
is to find a way to get by without cluttering the site with advertising, and to keep the site available to all doulas.
How will DoulaMatch.net use my payment to deliver more value to me as a doula?
In 2011 – 2012, we plan to:
- Upgrade the DoulaMatch.net design. Something more modern than our original green format.
- Program updates. We want to address what doulas are asking for, especially postpartum doulas' needs for differentiating day and night availability.
- Marketing. Create a new Facebook application to drive traffic to our site; research nationally popular podcasts with the right demographics to drive consumer traffic to DoulaMatch.net; partner with regional and national doula membership organizations using DoulaMatch.net search features on their own websites so consumers never have to leave the member organization’s website to see that organization's available doulas. Please see PALS Doulas and Doula Association of British Columbia for examples of how these organizations have used DoulaMatch.net on their own websites.
How do you process my payment? Is it secure?
We use Paypal to process all payments. You can either pay using your Paypal account, or use your credit card directly on our site. You do not need a Paypal account to make a payment. Any major credit card is accepted. Paypal handles
all payment processing for us including direct credit card payments. For direct credit card payments Paypal is handling the authorization and payment
processing behind the scenes. We do not store any of your credit card information, and we use secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption
technology like any other internet ecommerce web site.
Is my contribution tax deductible?
It is not deductible as a charitable contribution. Please consult your tax advisor to determine how to treat your contributions to DoulaMatch.net as a business expense.
How is DoulaMatch.net marketed?
Doulamatch.net has been marketed primarily by word-of-mouth and by our Facebook application, BirthWatch. We expect consumer awareness and knowledge of DoulaMatch.net to grow in the next several years through consumer marketing by purchasing podcasts sponsorships, release of new Facebook applications that drive traffic to DoulaMatch.net, and continued linkages of doulas' business websites to DoulaMatch.net. DoulaMatch.net has between 1,200 and 800 visitors each day (80% consumers, 20% doulas).
What is the history of DoulaMatch.net?
After years of keeping a referral database for doulas in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, my husband and I started DoulaMatch in 2008 to better connect families with doulas. We sought to:
- Enable families to compare experience, certifications, and services offered across all doulas serving their area
- Save time for both families and doulas by only showing doulas who are actually available when and where the consumer needs one
- Enable doulas to differentiate themselves by displaying their certifications and independent consumer testimonials
How else can I support DoulaMatch.net?
Links to DoulaMatch.net whether they are on your own site or in posts you make on public forums all help our search index ranking with Google and other search indices
Another way you can support us is through our Amazon affiliate link at the bottom of this page. It costs you nothing extra. Just click the Amazon banner link at the bottom of this page before shopping at Amazon and DoulaMatch will receive a small referral fee directly from Amazon.