Identifying Your Niche
The hardest part can be knowing who your niche is and where to start. Especially if you are coming from an agency in which you were expected to treat any and all people who walk into your office.
Some questions to ask yourself initially:
-Who do I love working with?
-What type of client or issue do I feel excited about to work with?
-What type of client or issue do I dread working with (this can help as well to know what to avoid)?
(Remember not just to focus on what you already know but what you feel PASSIONATE about and want to learn more!)
Some examples include:
Couples
Pre-martial
Affair recovery
Addictions in relationships
TBI
Polyamory/Kink
Blended Families
Neurodiverse
Grief
Child loss
Sibling loss
Perinatal loss
Divorce
Incarcerated parent
COVID/Chronic Illness
Addiction
Substances
Sexual
Food
Pornography
Trauma
Sexual Assault
Military
Domestic Violence
Bullying
Narcissistic Abuse
Religious
Race/LGBTQ/Minority Groups
Cults
Anxiety
OCD
Trichotillomania
Phobias (specific)
ADHD
Kids
Teens
Adults with late diagnosis
Parents of kids with ADHD
Pain/Chronic Illnesses
Terminal illness
Chronic/long term dx
What’s my niche?
⭐Tips
Start with no more than two niches.
Remember you can always adjust your niche so don’t feel so much pressure that this will be your forever.
Don’t worry about becoming too niched… You want to have a clear specialty so not just clients but other therapist can know exactly who to refer to you.
Writing Copy
In their own words, what's the problem that sends your clients online looking for a therapist.
If you have intake paperwork from clients you’ve loved working with, go back through to see what they write as their main issue for seeking treatment.
Remember that clients have no clinical knowledge so “clinical jargon” is meaningless to them.
In their own words, what benefit, outcome, or transformation is your client seeking by investing in therapy?
This is the “magic wand question.” What would their life look like.
Examples:
I could go places with my friends without sweating through my shirt.
I wouldn’t freak out every time my significant other left the house, or we had an argument.
What are the pain points of your specific niche client?
Home Page Copy
TAGLINE:
Describe your practice, niche, and city/state : Additional information below
What is the most simple and clear statement you can write to describe who you serve and what you do?
This must be clear as people scan websites quickly before deciding if they’ll close out or stay and read.
I work with (specific client) who feels (insert pain point here).
I help (specific clients) do this thing (find, achieve, overcome, learn to manage, become more, etc.) so they can (this outcome).
📞Then add a call to action directly under this statement:
This could be:
Call to schedule
Email to schedule
Click to schedule a free 15 minute consultation
Next, speak directly to your clients about their pain and the situation they're in right now.
Identify their specific problem.
What are they thinking and feeling?
What are they afraid of?
What do they think no one knows about their internal experience?
Clients need to know you understand their experience and that you can help. Clearly identifying their problem is a good way to show you are able to help.
Again use “their language” to describe the issue and how you will help.
Use language that they would be googling.
Now, talk to them about the transformation they are hoping for or the relief they will experience from working with you.
How do they want to feel after therapy?
What do they want to change in their lives?
Speak in emotional, non-jargony language, using words your ideal clients would actually use.
Making a statement like you don’t have to live life feeling ______. You can ________,
Make a list of their outcomes from therapy.
Remember you are not guaranteeing an outcome. You are simply saying,
“I help people ______,” or, “After therapy people want to feel ______…”
Now, finally, introduce yourself. Tell why you're different, why this time will be different, and what about you makes you the best choice of all the therapists out there.
People may have zero experience and don’t know what to expect or they’ve had maybe poor experiences in therapy. Paint a picture of yourself and what it’s like to work with you. How would your client describe you?
⭐ Remember that they are often unaware of the differences in our credentialing, training, and education. What’s the MOST important to them is that they feel 1.) Understood 2.) They can connect and feel comfortable 3.) That you won’t judge them 4.) that you are relatable
Include an amazing headshot or an interest photo of you doing your favorite activity or hobby. Just be sure to have a good quality photo.
📞Call to action button again:
This could be:
Call to schedule
Email to schedule
Click to schedule a free 15 minute consultation
Vendors for Referrals
Knowing how to describe who you are and how you help on your website positions yourself in a unique way where prospective clients are getting to know you even before they meet you. Through your copy ( and use of video as discussed below,) they can experience how they're relating to you and with that, there's less likelihood of it not being a good fit for either you or the client.
Unfortunately, instead of focusing on content that speaks to the ideal client, therapists often make the mistake of using the valuable space on their private business website or on outside advertising websites to highlight their therapist credentials. They'll describe themselves with language like, "holding space, offering a safe and supportive environment, blah, blah,etc” which really doesn't mean so much to those that aren’t not in our profession! Sadly, most people assume therapists are all the same with how we're trained and the approach we take in counseling our clients. We're not doing ourselves any favors by just using clinical jargon to describe ourselves.
Ultimately, describing yourself and your therapeutic style using relatable language gives clients a better sense of who you are and how you can help. Listed below are some tried and true approaches to take so that you can communicate in a way where your ideal client feels that you can easily relate to them, to the challenges resulting from the problems they're facing, resulting in an increased likelihood that you'll be the therapist they select.
From our years of experience in private practice and in describing ourselves using the tips listed above, we've seen that it's rare for a prospective client to have their initial questions be about our professional degree, our years of counseling experience, or the particulars related to our clinical training. Instead, what clients are likely to ask about is whether we've helped other clients who've had the same type of issue they have and also how optimistic we are about being able to give them support and help needed for them to be able to overcome the roadblocks which have blocked them from having what they want. When we weren't positioning ourselves in the ways described above, we found that clients mostly asked about whether we accepted health insurance (we didn't), and how soon we could get them in for an appointment.
Now that we've listed what shouldn't be the first things highlighted on your homepage and profile, we recommend that you use your website space to write or speak to your ideal client in a way that identifies with their biggest concerns. You may then film a separate video or cite a website or written resource that describes the particulars of a specific intervention. You can then hang up those degrees and certificates on the walls for them to see once they have their first appointment instead of posting all about them on your homepage!
What clients really want to know is:
Do you understand me? (their specific pain point)
Are you human and relatable? (can we connect)
Can I trust you? (can I open up to you)
Starting with, I help (people- your specific population) to (address the pain point) so that they can (what is their ideal outcome) Also give some details about yourself that are unique and relatable.
Example:
I help burned out therapists have the confidence to open their own private practice by providing every tool that’s needed to be successful beyond their wildest dreams.
I'm a therapist who made a lot of mistakes when starting my practice years ago and I’m passionate about supporting clinicians so they can hit the ground running with a successfully built practice and foundation.
Hi I'm Melissa.
I am married with three kids.
I am a horrible book hoarder and always have a stack of unread books on my side table. Most of the time I fall asleep before I get to one page.
I have a love for cheap earrings and it's rare to see me without a pair.
Below is an inexpensive course that gives you the template for your website and psychology today profile. This is a really important step if you are self-pay in then being able to attract plenty of ideal clients .
Writing Copy for Your Website
🔗 Resources & Article
This platform can vary from provider to provider. It can depend on location, the number of therapists in your area, and how well written your profile is, which helps you standout from others. Relatively inexpensive overall.
If you would like a free month of Psychology Today, please send us your name and email and we can send an invitation for a free month. Click the email below and add your information.
Psychology Today
Free!!! Also has several areas to identify and more details for the right clients to find you.
🔗 Link & Resources
Therapy Den
Networking
It’s helpful to use social media sites such as Facebook, Linked In, etc and/ or joining local therapist groups. You can ask others who live in your general area for suggestions or do an online search
Check with local groups on Facebook and introduce yourself and your specialty to others. Reach out to other therapists via an introductory letter or post on networking sites. Fellow therapists love to have a name and face to refer clients to when their practices are full. Churches are also a great referral source
Allow time in your schedule to attend networking events- you can find out when local networking groups are meeting-one suggestion is to use Facebook search and type in the counties in proximity to your practice area and add therapist Gand/or networking to see what pops up. You might contact the Chamber of Commerce in your area and learn about the perks of joining. If your area has Next Door Neighbor, consider joining( it's free) because they have a section to list your business and the service you provide
Consider the value of sending out a letter and brochure prior to opening- a sample letter is provided
Consider your niche and if there are providers who also serve your niche(ie:doctors, chiropractors, dentists, clergy, salon owners, NAMI, etc) Send a letter to introduce yourself and how the services you provide in your private practice might complement the care they're providing to your niche client
For example- peri and prenatal mood disorders - sending contact info to local OBGYN or area hospitals
If you work with teens, you might contact local middle and high school counselors or after-school clubs(YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc, etc) to see if they would be open to an introductory meeting with you and/or allowing you to provide a flier or leave pamphlets or business cards in their lobbies
Consider a free or low cost offering that provides solutions to some challenges that your ideal client identifies. Reach out to venues such as churches, the library, salons, after school clubs, rec centers, etc about space to host. The library and rec centers have lobby space to potentially share your business information.
Facebook, in person, sending out brochures
📩 Letter for referrals
Social Media
Choose a few platforms where your niche spends their social media time.
Teens: Ticktock, Instagram, You Tube
Adults: Facebook, Instagram
It’s recommended that you use social media platforms to briefly introduce yourself to those whose concerns are consistently voiced by your target audience. We recommend that you pick no more than two social media platforms to start off.
Engage your followers using video and/ or written posts. Briefly Introduce yourself and your website. Share how often followers should expect to hear from you on social media and even more importantly, stick to this! When you share how often they should expect to hear from you ( a few times a week, weekly, monthly,etc) then your followers have a good idea of when they will hear from you and then be more likely to be an engaged audience as they follow your business on social media.
We realize that there’s been an increase in people who are seeking a counselor in the last 1.5 years, but generally speaking, you should expect that people might follow your page for several months before they reach out to schedule a visit. By that time, they will have followed you and then know you based on your engagement with followers on social media. You’ll have the benefit before ever meeting them for that initial appointment that they will trust you as their, “go to,” for their specific struggle.
When you are consistently providing your followers on social media with tips and are then posting video or written content which interests your ideal client, your audience will grow. More importantly, when your content is viewed and then tagged, your website will more quickly show up as others are searching for information related to the type of content that you’re sharing with your followers..
Get your name and face out there
Advertising
Having quality video which introduces you as a private practice owner provides you with a wonderful opportunity to showcase your personality. Video allows potential clients to experience you before they ever meet you! We've found that having video to introduce yourself helps to lessen the likelihood that you'll have clients who aren't a great fit, which then allows the space in your schedule to support clients who truly gel with your counseling style and skill set. This creates a great counseling experience for all involved!
Many private practice therapists don't have video to introduce themselves to potential clients and possible referral sources. Therefore, if you end up deciding to take the time and potentially spend the money to film a personalized video, then it will definitely set you apart from others who are practicing in the field!
Helpful Hint: Costs may vary depending on length of video, editing choices, etc. You may be able to find students who have the video/ editing skills needed to assist you at a much lower cost than you'd expect! Perhaps your completed project is cited as they are building their work portfolio or you're able to recommend them and credit their work on your website in exchange for a lowered fee? We encourage you to keep an open mind about video being a doable option for your practice!
Videos
🔗Resources
Canva is a graphic design resource which can assist you as you create images and graphics which showcase your business logo, website, social media posts, and much more.
There is a monthly fee to subscribe to Canva and we see it as a very affordable way for your business to have a professional, appealing image . It's also easy to use even for the technically challenged! All of our business graphics, logo, and charts were created using Canva.
Canva
🔗Canva Link
SEO & Website
First task is to identify your target niche and then to develop a website to include at minimum, your home page, an About Me page, 1-2 specialty pages (the number of pages is dependent on your decision on which niche(s) you’ve decided to target since the specialty page will include content relevant to the particular niche. Include the state and local areas at the top of your home page.
Who you’d be deciding to target is dependent on personal interest, relevant training, and overall comfort level. Include the option to be directly contacted on 2-3 places on your home page and at least two different spots on your specialty pages and FAQ’s page. A FAQ page should be added since prospective clients will likely have questions about cost, acceptance of health coverage, and what they should expect in working with you. Make it convenient for your client to schedule a consultation or initial visit on all pages!
Once you’ve set up your home page, about me page, and at least one specialty page, be certain to include internal links. Internal Links are links you’ll include in your website to be taken to other pages on your website. Creating internal links allows visitors to more easily navigate your website and pages and gives Google information about which pages to crawl (More on crawling listed below)
If you don’t link your important pages back to each other, you’ll then have “orphaned pages,” You want to avoid orphaned pages which are pages not linked to or from anywhere on your website. This means that any orphaned pages won’t likely be crawled and found on a visitor google search.
Now submit information about your business via Verifying your Business Profile. To do this, you’ll go to Google Maps and enter your office address in the Search Bar. You’ll be able to Claim This Business and Manage It. You’ll follow the Verification Process. Adding a Map also helps you be found and then rank for Local SEO
A final step is to check your website speed with Google Page Speed Insights which can be accessed through your Google Analytics Account. Once signed in, you’ll go to Your View, Open Reports, Select Behavior, Choosing Site Speed. It allows you to test desktop and mobile speed. This uses a scale from 0-100, with a high score indicating
Now you’re ready to set up Google Search Analytics and Google Search Console. There are other search engine and analytics options but we’ve included these since they’re free.
Prep Steps for Marketing Your Practice
Google Analytics: Setting up analytics is key for being able to track and monitor your SEO efforts.Analytics show who’s visiting your site, how much traffic your pages have, which pages your visitors are spending time on, and how visitors have been finding your pages.
If you’ve had an existing website, then it’s likely been set up with Universal Analytics and you’d need to then migrate your analytics to Google Analytics 4.to continue being able to use Google Analytics free of charge. Note that you do have the option to use both Universal and GA4 for analytics but if you do this, it’s important to export any analytics reports from Universal you’d want to keep before 2024 to avoid losing this information.
If your website and specialty pages are new, GA4 is the default. We suggest going to support.google.com where you’ll be guided in creating an Analytics Account, Creating a new Google Analytics 4 property, Adding a data stream, and Setting up Data Collection for your website.
It’s suggested that you check your website speed with Google Page Speed Insights which can be accessed through your Google Analytics Account. Once signed in, you’ll go to Your View, Open Reports, Select Behavior, Choosing Site Speed. It allows you to test desktop and mobile speed. This uses a scale from 0-100, with a high score indicating that your website is performing well. If your site isn’t performing well, tips are included to help you create a better search experience for visitors.
Google Search Console: You’ll want to register your site to be found by the different search engines. This allows the search engine to crawl and index the content on your website, and this shows you where the SE and potential visitors might be getting stuck crawling your pages.(ie: 404 errors, server errors) You’ll also be able to mark “no index” on pages you wouldn’t want shown on a SE visitor query. It also shows you why certain pages you’re wanting indexed aren’t being indexed so you can troubleshoot.
Indexing is the process by which the SE adds crawled pages to its index. This occurs once the SE crawls your page content and then stores it to be recalled and provided later in response to a visitor’s search.
Additional Measures to Help Avoid Errors and Ensure Accurate Indexing
There are a few different ways besides Google Search Console to use in double checking what’s been indexed. These include:
1. A Mobile Check (a must!) of your website’s indexing. You need to do this since SE’s don’t see your site pages in the same way that a visitor does. Your webpages may look great on a laptop or tablet but not show well on a smart phone. Google uses a Mobile First Indexing Strategy which means your site must be mobile friendly and easy to read.
Google Has a Mobile Friendly Test Tool for you to test your web page URLs that allows you to easily complete this test. Then use this again anytime you update or add content.
2. A Site Search (which we strongly recommend) in Google. To do this, visit Google and enter site.your website’s address Google will then return the count of pages they’ve indexed from that entered website.
Upon doing this, If you don’t see that all of the pages you’d like to include are indexed, there are different reasons for this including but not limited to the age of your website or page, duplicate content on pages, the quality of content on the page, your not including a sitemap, etc.
3. Google’s URL Inspection Tool gives you information about the indexed version of a particular page. Using this tool allows you to test whether a URL is
indexable, that any personalized and relevant video you’d want to include is then linked to your page, etc.
Upon registering, you’ll be able to see and troubleshoot any problems visitors might encounter once they find you. That includes any broken pages, pages missing a page title, and any duplicate content.
All Things Google
Keyword Research will be an ongoing task as it’s an important part of Ongoing Marketing Efforts
Keyword research- there are different tools that allow you to enter keyword and keyword phrases to help you see where you’re already ranking. Being informed about the keyword and keyword phrases your ideal clients are researching helps you brainstorm creative ideas for written or video content.
Being able to see where there are gaps in available content or optimizing your pages with new keywords/keyword phrases will help you stand out in your community for ideal clients
Free KeywordTools include but aren’t limited to: Uber Suggest, AnswerThe Public, Google Search Console, Ahref’s Free Keyword Generator Tool, You Tube Keyword Tool, and Hoth Keyword Research Tool. Hoth Keyword Gap allows you to compare your website domain with competitors to see any content gaps that you can then fill in with your clinical knowledge.
Social Media- Different Platform Scheduling options allow you to create content and schedule the release of content- platforms include Hootsuite, Buffer, and Later
To get your posts noticed and increase traction, Facebook Lives, Instagram, Tik Tok- you want to go where your ideal client spends their time. Canva is a great design tool to use in giving your posts a visually appealing aesthetic.
Newsletters, Blogging, and Pamphlets
Completing a Psychology Today profile, Therapy Den,... are also good alternatives. Want to emphasize using keywords and phrases familiar to your ideal client vs clinical language which isn’t how our clients speak. Also helpful to include a video introducing yourself along with a picture of you, your office, pictures of your office, and link back to your website. Unless your training is a talked about counseling approach in the mainstream (ie: EMDR, play therapy, equine therapy) it is unnecessary to use valuable wordspace in these directories to list your clinical training. Introduce yourself in a client focused manner, using keywords/ keyword phrases in describing your understanding of what your clients are struggling with, and then how you’re able to help while describing what they’d expect as a result in working with you.
Having a Clear Niche or two allows for more targeted marketing, both with area therapists and on social media. Creating specialty pages on your website allows you to speak to the unique challenges faced by your niche and when coupled with keywords/keyword phrases, helps your ideal client be able to find you and to feel that you get them even before meeting with them for that first visit.
Social Media Content
1. Educational
2. Inspirational
3. Entertaining
4. Connecting
5. Promotional
Meta-Descriptions- it is 150-160 characters long. It describes the text that shows up under the SEO title in search results and should include a description of what your blog post is about. If you don’t choose your Meta Description, google will pull the beginning of your blog or written copy for the Meta Description.
Meta Description is very helpful for searchers and information in the meta- description gives an inside view about your content, encouraging a person to click and be led to your page.
Ideally, keyword and keyword phrases are used in the introduction/opening section and used within the context (no keyword stuffing!) of what you’ve written. This gives search engines insight into how you help and your content being relevant for people looking for help.
● Always be sure to submit new specialty pages, blogs, or any other page updates to Google so that they can index your page
URL (Slug)-this is the string of words that makes up the website link to a specific page
Another way to optimize your blog post being found in a search is by editing the end of your URL before it’s posted. Think about this as including keyword phrases and increasing a reader’s clarity of the content they’re about to read.
Include key phrases/descriptions in the alt-tag on the image. Then name the image file as one of your keywords or phrases. Helpful when doing telehealth or serving different areas of the state/states where you’re licensed to include pictures of the geographic area that you service.
There are different therapy networking groups on social media that are free and allow you the opportunity to introduce yourself. Take advantage of these, include a link to your website, and a call to action sort of interest in connecting to area therapists in becoming acquainted. You want to come from a place of service in wanting to connect and have them be top of mind when potential clients call and their challenges are outside of your area of expertise.