Don’t Skip This Step When Marketing Your Therapy Practice
When it comes to therapist marketing, most private practice therapists fit into one of the following groups:
“I don’t even know where to start with marketing my therapy practice. It feels gross and ‘salesy.’ I got into this field to help people.”
“I’m doing a little bit of marketing. I hand out business cards and do some networking but I’m not the most consistent.”
“I’m running in circles! I’m doing all the things but not seeing results.”
You’ve likely heard that you NEED to be focusing on SEO, your website, going to networking events, posting on forums or directory listings, blogging, podcasting, Instagram, passing out business cards and flyers… the list goes on and on and on.
The good news is that you don’t have to do it all. In fact, unless you have a 48 hour day or superpower efficiency skills, you can’t do it all. So I want to encourage you that by learning to do a few things really well, you can develop a focused and sustainable marketing strategy that helps you book more clients.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard an audible sigh of relief when I say that I believe less is more when it comes to marketing your private practice.
Whether you haven’t started marketing your therapy practice at all, or you’re struggling with what to focus on, there is one really important piece that you need to get right: clarifying your marketing message.
The real reason many struggle with marketing is...they don’t have a clear message! Mastering your message will solve 80% of your marketing problems.
Most therapists (and business owners of all kinds) skip this critical step before diving head first into doing all the marketing. When working with my custom website clients, I always start with clarifying their unique therapist message. I don’t even begin the website design process without this piece.
When you spend the time upfront to get really clear on your message (who you’re talking to, what you bring to the table as a therapist, and speak to your clients’ specific challenges), everything else becomes SO much easier.
The clients you help best can actually find you, and booking a session with you becomes a no-brainer because you’ve demonstrated that you understand them and can help. That’s what having a clear message can do. Your message is the heart and soul behind all of your marketing efforts.
In this blog post, I’ll explain why clarifying your message will make all of your marketing activities more effective, and walk you through how to get clear on your own therapist message. You can even use this process to give you a framework for what marketing activities make sense to pursue. So without further ado, let’s jump in!
What is a Marketing Message?
First off, what do I mean when I say a clear message? Let’s take a look at what makes up a compelling message.
The first part of a clear message is all about YOU.
This includes your beliefs and passions apart from your training as a skilled therapist - what you’re passionate about, what experiences have made you who you are today, what led you to become a therapist. What do you bring into the room that’s different from other therapists?
The answer to that is a combination of your strengths, skills, passions and beliefs.
Your message has to communicate who you are as a therapist, when it comes to your work, you are a critical part. This isn’t just an impersonal service.
The second part of a clear message is all about YOUR CLIENT
So this gets at, who are you speaking to? If you don’t know who you’re speaking to, it’s impossible to market your services to them well, in a way that speaks to the pain they're experiencing in an authentic and personal way.
The way you would speak to an anxious millennial struggling with big life decisions is very different from speaking to women struggling with fertility issues and pregnancy loss. In real life, you would show up in different ways for these two people.
Your messaging allows you to do that through your marketing materials-- to show up in an appropriate way based on what your prospective client is experiencing.
Marketing isn’t something that most therapists receive training in, so if your current messaging isn’t helping you book clients, do not despair! Therapists are actually uniquely qualified to develop compelling messages because the components mirror the therapeutic relationship-- what the therapist brings to the session and what the client brings. Your message needs to get at both.
Let’s look at the two most common mistakes I see related to each of these pieces, and action steps for how to fix them.
2 Marketing Message Mistakes to Avoid
Messaging Mistake #1: The most important element is missing-- YOU!
It’s important to get a sense of what makes you unique as a therapist. If you don’t differentiate yourself, it will be harder to attract new clients.
We live in a noisy world where our attention is constantly being vied for. To stand out from the crowd, you need to draw on your uniqueness to differentiate you in your marketing.
Therapist marketing content often leads with credentials, modalities specialized in and lots of jargon that clients don’t understand. This makes sense, you spent 1000s of hours gaining this expertise, so why wouldn’t you put that on your website?
But remember that your relationship with a client is first built off of connection.
The goal of your marketing message is to connect, not to inform.
Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy’s research shows that when meeting someone new, we subconsciously assess whether we can 1. trust them and 2. respect them. The impulse to list your credentials and lead with jargon comes from the very human desire to demonstrate competence (and as therapists you’ve spent thousands of hours earning the competence!) and thus engender respect.
But the plot twist is that while competence is important, it’s only evaluated after trust is established.
Establishing a connection and trust with prospective clients is so important that until you do that, they won’t have any interest in getting to know you and your services further. That means clicking out of your website, Psychology Today profile, social media posts, or other marketing materials.
So how do you establish connection and trust with your marketing message? By demonstrating empathy and making prospective clients feel seen, heard, and understood.
This is something you’re actually ninja-level good at doing in real life compared to other service-based business owners. When you bring more of the presence you have in client sessions into your messaging, you show prospective clients that you understand their problem, and know how to help.
Don’t just take my word for it, let’s look at some examples of how to do this and what to avoid.
EXAMPLE #1
My approach to psychological healing is integrative, mixing psychodynamic, mind/body, transpersonal, and CBT.
My philosophy of therapy stresses respect for the client and an acknowledgment of the importance of meeting the client where he or she is.
I have considerable experience helping people address a wide array of concerns, including depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, trauma recovery, and dual-diagnoses.
How did that make you feel? Did your eyes glaze over?
We don’t get any sense of who this therapist is, what it’ll be like to sit in a room with them, what they believe or stand for, or who they are. Now I am not intending to throw shade at this imaginary amalgamation I created-- therapists write this way because that’s how we were taught to write in graduate school.
Anybody else remember writing not-so-personal personal statements packed with the terminology we were learning about? 🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️
Now let’s look at a different way to approach writing your marketing materials, one you’re especially well equipped for, my friend!
EXAMPLE #2
Life is too freaking short to be anyone but yourself. You’re tired of waiting for things to be different. I work with motivated people who are ready to step out of the roles they’ve been playing and begin living their own story.
I don't believe that your past determines your future. My focus is to challenge your inner critic and help you give a voice to your wonderfully messy, powerful, wise, interior life.
As an anxiety specialist, I help clients find the courage to live their life with boldness and joy. Most people wait for change to happen as life goes on without them. You're not most people.
Example #2 feels pretty different, right? It feels like the therapist is speaking passionately about something she really believes in. We get a sense of this therapist’s beliefs, how she views the world, and even what it’d be like to sit in a room with her.
This example comes from one of my All Inclusive website clients Christina, who shared this feedback a new client gave about her website, “I just want to say that I appreciate how everything you’ve written sounds so human and personal (like you know a human will be reading this).” WOW!
The difference from the previous example is that this therapist is authentically showing up. Just as all of you do every day in real life with your clients. You can show up authentically in your messaging without inappropriate self-disclosure. You do that by tapping into your why-- as therapists you are incredibly insightful, thoughtful, wise people. I doubt any of you rolled out of bed one day and stumbled into this profession. When you give the typical, “I see everyone” general response, it hides who you are and your valuable work. It’s the opposite of showing up.
If your current website copy or marketing materials sound like this, it’s okay. All you have to do is bring more of your day-to-day presence with clients into your message. I’m not going to leave you hanging, below are some prompts that invite you to tap into your why and passion.
The first step in owning your expertise and clarifying your message is taking the time to become aware of and articulate (to yourself) the work you want to be doing. We don’t often take time to explore and share what makes us uniquely good at our jobs. Coming up with an honest answer to the question “what sets you apart from all the other therapists” isn’t an easy task. It requires some vulnerability because it’s less about WHAT you know, and more about WHO you are.
ACTION STEP 1:
Take a few minutes and answer whichever of these prompts resonates with you.
What have you overcome to get where you are today?
What about your background inspired you to become a therapist?
What do you stand for or believe in?
What breaks your heart?
When you allow yourself to tap into your why, it’s energizing. Think about going to a networking event or conference, when you hear 10 therapists all say that they see individuals, families, and couples from ages 0 to 100 do you walk away with a clear connection and recollection of that person? Or, when there’s someone who speaks about their passion, eyes shining bright, you feel the energy and it sticks with you. They don't have to give any personal details about their life to show that piece of themselves. It also makes sharing your message quite a bit more fun than listing off modalities!
Now that we’ve covered the first mistake of not including enough of yourself in your message, let’s move to the second mistake which has to do with your clients.
Messaging mistake #2: You are trying to speak to everyone.
When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. When it comes to marketing, you have to know WHO you are marketing to. When therapists come to me saying they’re doing XYZ marketing strategies, but still aren’t booking clients, it usually comes back to not having clarified who they’re speaking to.
Think about it, if you’re shouting your message from the metaphorical rooftops, but it doesn’t really *say* anything (it’s vague, general), then you’re doing a lot of work for not much payoff. Instead, you want to clarify before you amplify. Once you do that, you don’t even have to shout because the people you’re talking to will be interested in listening.
The way to fix this mistake is by identifying your niche. I know, I know, this advice is given like a broken record, but it’s true. Counter-intuitive as it may be, having a defined niche, and getting even more specific to define the exact ideal client you work best with will attract clients.
You may be hesitant to niche because...
“I don’t have any clients yet, shouldn’t I work with everyone?”
“I like working with everyone!”
“I’m not sure who I want to work with yet.”
Typically the concern is around limiting yourself- whether to seeing one type of client forever, or by turning other clients away before your practice is full. This resistance isn’t limited to therapists, all kinds of business owners fall into this.
In reality, having a defined niche…
Positions you as an expert. It also helps you become an expert because by working with a focused group you develop clinical expertise and can be more effective
EXAMPLE: If I’m a new mom experiencing postpartum depression, I’m not going to choose the generalist who works with 5 different issues.Makes you more referable. Niching down helps other people know who to refer to you. You become the go-to person for that issue.
EXAMPLE: Imagine a networking event, 10 therapists all introduce themselves saying “I work with individuals, families and couples from age 0-100,” and one person says, “I work with single moms.” When someone asks you about a therapist for a single mom, who are you going to remember?Provides focus for your marketing message and activities. This one is huge- having a niche allows you to speak directly to your specific client’s challenges so you don’t fall into the trap of writing general, boring content and gives you an informed idea about what kind of marketing activities make sense to do.
EXAMPLE: If you work with new moms, begin networking w/ PCPs, parenting groups, childcare providers. You also know that your website, professional profiles, and other marketing content needs to speak to new moms.
By niching, you help right-fit clients find you in a way that resonates with them. This is truly a form of meeting your clients where they’re at.
ACTION STEP 2
It can take some time to discover your niche and ideal client. Start by determining the group of people you want to work with (your niche), and the one person within that group (your ideal client) who is most perfectly aligned to benefit from your skills and experience.
Who do you enjoy or feel passionate about working with? Who do you have experience to work with? To start, think about the clients (past or present) with whom you really enjoy working.
What do they have in common?
What was their presenting problem (what did they come to you asking for help with)?
What problems do you love helping solve?
Who do you have experience working with?
If you could only work with one type of client for the rest of your life?
It’s a lot easier to motivate yourself to market to a group of people that you enjoy working with. Passion and enthusiasm are also contagious. If you are excited about your work within your niche, potential clients will sense this and be more interested in working with you.
Look back at your earlier answers to Step 1- Therapist Strengths
Do you see any common themes?
Does anything surprise you?
Any similarities between your experiences, strengths and answers above?
A great message emerges when your “why” overlaps with your clients’ needs.
Where those two overlap you’ll often find the most compelling message. It can take some time to uncover all of this-- both your niche, ideal client, and your message. Much like therapy itself, it requires introspection, insight, and self-awareness. Luckily I know that you have an abundance of those qualities!
When your message is aligned in this way, a shift happens. You move from the icky feeling of selling your services to making an authentic connection with the people you serve. And all of this happens before they’ve even met you.
Marketing is simply the act of helping your right-fit clients find you. And when your message conveys who YOU are, and that you understand them on a deep level, that recognition of “I’ve found you” becomes instant.
If you’re struggling to fill your practice, this is the best place to start. Get your messaging down before you put lots of effort into marketing. Ask yourself how you can show up more authentically and how you can speak directly to your ideal client.
The process of clarifying your message gives you a framework for your next step: figuring out what marketing activities actually make sense to do based on who you’re trying to reach and who you are as a therapist. Now that you know all about how to create a marketing message that resonates with your ideal clients and makes working with you an easy decision, you’re ready to create a marketing plan to amplify that message to the world (okay, to the state where you are licensed!).
In next week’s post I’ll walk you through the steps of creating a strengths-based marketing plan that’s actually sustainable (i.e. not trying every strategy marketing gurus say you must do). Because there are only 2 things that every therapist needs to market their practice. You truly do not have to do all the things.
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