If you’re struggling to find new clients for your practice but the prospect of marketing overwhelms you, take heart: Other therapists have walked the same path. And by listening to what they have to say, you can make your own journey easier.

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For our guide to upgrading your marketing, we talked to three successful, established therapists who have built their practices from the ground up. Here’s a condensed version of the interview, with actionable advice you can follow to grow your client list and create the practice you’ve always dreamed of.

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Featuring:

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• Dr. Marie Fang, a private practice therapist and the founder of Private Practice Skills
• Dr. Audra Horney, who operates a private practice practice specializing in men’s mental health
• Dr. Carrie Jackson, a child psychologist, speaker, and educator specializing in ADHD 

Key takeaways

• Know that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed—your feelings are valid
• Make authenticity and brand identity the core of your marketing efforts
• Narrow down your niche to find clients who are a good fit
• Focus on the marketing channels that bring you the most satisfaction
• Take advantage of AI, but remember that your personal voice is the most effective marketing tool you have

Heard: In your opinion, what should new therapy practices make Priority Number One in terms of marketing?

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MF: Brand clarity! Your brand is a bit like your business’s identity. The more specific you can get about the details of your practice’s values, identity, and purpose as well as the details of who you serve and how you help them, then everything else marketing-related becomes so much easier.

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AH: Authenticity. We’re in a world where AI can write your website, your captions, your emails, even your progress notes. I think people are craving something REAL more than ever. Clients want to feel like they're reaching out to an actual human being, not a robot. When our marketing feels honest, then it allows our ideal clients to find their ideal therapists. 

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CJ: Getting clear on your niche should absolutely be your first step before jumping into investing time and money into any marketing efforts. Without a defined niche, your marketing efforts won’t speak to the right clients and you’ll likely end up creating generic content. 

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Heard: What advice would you give to a newly self-employed therapist who is struggling to find new clients?

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CJ: First, let me validate that what you’re feeling is normal. It’s so easy to fall into a comparison trap when you’re scrolling through social media and seeing other therapists celebrating their full caseloads and business milestones. What you aren’t seeing are the months and slow periods that everybody experiences in private practice.

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AH: Show up consistently (whether that be on your website, therapist directories, local networking, social media, etc make sure your voice and presence is cohesive) and do it in a way that actually feels like you. Don't get on social media unless you WANT to and you actually ENJOY it. You don’t need to chase trends or copy what other therapists are doing online to be successful. Who you are as a person and as a clinician is your unique superpower, and that’s what allows you to stand out in a crowded field. 

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MF: Sometimes we try out a marketing channel, such as an online directory, and when we don’t get clients from it then we conclude that channel doesn’t work, or that it doesn’t work for us and our practice. We write the whole thing off. But I think it’s helpful to look under the hood and see if we can pinpoint where it’s not working and why. Often, we can tweak and fine-tune small details within that marketing channel to correct the issue.

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Heard: What are some approaches therapists can use for building a basic marketing dashboard measuring the effectiveness of their marketing efforts?

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AH: I am not a numbers girl, so I know first hand that marketing data doesn’t have to be complicated to be useful. (True story: I had no idea what a KPI was until about a year ago). At a basic level, therapists just need enough information to understand what’s working and what’s not so we can be strategic and not waste our valuable time on efforts that don't convert. 

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CJ: Start with the most basic question by asking every inquiry about how they found you. Beyond your initial inquiries, you want to see how many of them turn into actual clients. You might discover that while you get 20 inquiries from Instagram, none of them turn out to be good fits for your practice.

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MF: Depending on what marketing channels you use, there are typically ways to track how your marketing funnel is working. For example, if your website isn’t sending you very many clients, you can check your website’s analytics to see: is your website getting any visitors? 

If not, you can work on ways to boost your SEO so people can find your site. Or maybe you have lots of website visitors, but hardly anyone is booking with you. Then perhaps there’s something happening with the user experience or the trust-building process that’s getting lost on your website. 

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Heard: Obviously it varies from one practice to the next, but in general, which marketing channel do you see having the highest ROI for private practices?

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CJ: There’s been a huge increase in therapists focusing on social media marketing over the past few years and it does work, but it’s not the best option for everyone. A therapist can make a video on social media that attracts tons of likes and follows, but if their work in the therapy room isn’t actually helpful…that’s a problem. Relationship-building and networking, on the other hand, is how people find out who is actually a good therapist aligned with their values and goals. When another therapist refers a client to you, or when a doctor sends patients your way, they're vouching for the quality of your work based on reputation, outcomes, and trust.

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AH: I genuinely believe the most successful marketing channel is the one that allows you to be consistent and authentic. I think therapists can choose any lane, but commit to it and make sure it gets your full attention. Personally, I have found social media to have the highest ROI for me (but I truly enjoy it, so it's worth the effort). 

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MF: Listen, I’m an SEO girly all the way. Yes, still, even in the age of AI. The tools that optimize my site for SEO are also working double-duty to help my practice show up in AI recommendations. Aside from paying for my website and domain name, I’m able to keep my practice full this way with no marketing budget. The investment in SEO is spending time learning and implementing it instead of spending money, so the ROI from a budget standpoint is huge.

Heard: How is AI altering the marketing landscape for private practices?

CJ: AI is becoming an actual referral source. I’ve personally had multiple clients find me through ChatGPT. ChatGPT and other AI tools are now using web sources to answer questions, so the same SEO content strategies that help you rank highly on Google can also help you show up for AI.

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MF: When people search for a therapist through AI, they’re getting way more specific than they would with a Google search. With AI, instead of searching for something like “recommend an anxiety therapist near me,” it might look more like an extended conversation with AI, where someone is asking AI for guidance on how to deal with all the nuanced facets of how anxiety is showing up in their life. And then at some point in the AI conversation, they might ask AI to recommend therapists who are a good fit for them. 

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AH: I have a complicated relationship to AI, and use it sparingly, but I do think it lowers the barrier to entry for many therapists by helping generate copy, draft emails, build content, analyze data, and create basic systems without needing a full marketing team. That’s a huge advantage for small practices… At the same time, it means generic content is everywhere. I fear an overreliance on AI removes the human factor from our marketing, which in my opinion is a reflection of the important human work we do behind closed doors.

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For a detailed guide, check out How to Upgrade Your Therapy Practice Marketing.

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