Being good at what you do isn't always enough to stand out. In a market where potential clients have more choices than ever, the goal isn't simply to look professional—it's to become unmistakable. In this episode, Anna explores what that actually means and why the practices gaining momentum are the ones giving clients a clear, specific reason to choose them.

Building on the Perfectly Fine Website Problem from Episode 85, Anna shares examples of therapists who've become unmistakable by leaning into their niche, perspective, personality, and the specific experience they create for clients. If your marketing feels polished but still isn't producing the results you want, this episode will help you identify what may be missing—and how to make your practice harder to overlook.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

1️⃣ Why being professional or "perfectly fine" is no longer enough to differentiate your practice.

2️⃣ What it actually means to become unmistakable—and why specificity matters more than trying to appeal to everyone.

3️⃣ How real therapists have used their niche, personality, and perspective to create marketing that stands out.

4️⃣ Why becoming unmistakable isn't about manufacturing a brand persona, but communicating more clearly what already makes your work different.

Resources & links mentioned

• Episode 85: https://walkerstrategyco.com/show-notes/85
• Kasryn's Marketing Therapy interview (Episode 17): https://walkerstrategyco.com/show-notes/17
• Confident Copy: https://walkerstrategyco.com/cc
• The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com

Connect + subscribe

Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who's building their private practice. Explore more marketing support for therapists:

The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com

About Marketing Therapy

Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker, a marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.

Hey everyone.

2

Welcome back to Marketing

Therapy, episode 86.

3

I'm excited about this one.

4

This episode was born out of last week's

Perfectly Fine Website Problem workshop.

5

If you wanna listen to that, it

is the prior episode episode 85.

6

But today I wanna dive more deeply

into one of the concepts I heard

7

really resonated with folks.

8

I want to expand on this idea, and I wanna

make sure that you can answer yes to the

9

question I'm gonna pose here today, okay?

10

Now, if you're on our email list, you

may have gotten an email, what was it?

11

I don't know, last week sometime, telling

you about the last month of my life, and I

12

don't need to get into the details, and I

didn't get into the details in that email.

13

But suffice to say that

14

I went to s- through some really

challenging personal things, and my

15

therapist, my personal therapist has

always been incredible since we started

16

working together, but in the last month

has just been worth her weight in gold.

17

And as I've reflected on the support

that she has been to me, it's just

18

shown me, reminded me of the value of

the work that you do every single day.

19

I've worked with therapists for over

seven years now because I believe in

20

the work that you do and I've always,

as I kind of share my story, if you've

21

heard it, I say that I'm a product

of good therapy and I have been.

22

There have been a number of really

incredible therapists in my life and

23

in my family's life throughout the

years that just has led me to such

24

a deep respect for the work that

you do and a desire to support you.

25

But this therapist that I have right

now has given me a new understanding of

26

what happens when a therapist is really,

really, really good at what they do and

27

in the room with the right fit client.

28

I didn't know therapy could be this good.

29

And I share this personal note not because

it's particularly related to what we're

30

talking about in this specific episode,

but just because I want you to know that

31

the work that you do matters, that we

literally cannot measure the impact of

32

what you do for your clients and what that

impact does to their families and to their

33

relationships and to their communities.

34

I don't know.

35

Maybe you just need to hear today

that the work you do matters.

36

The reason I'm here, the reason I do

this podcast, the reason I coach in

37

Confident Copy, the reason we serve

our clients in WSC Studio, whatever it

38

is, the reason we do this is because

we believe in the work that you do.

39

We want you to help you do more of it.

40

I want you getting in the room more

often with the clients whose lives you

41

can impact the way that my therapist

does now and others have in the past.

42

So just know that.

43

Know that that's where I come from

and maybe you needed a boost this

44

Tuesday morning and a reminder if no

one has, has said it lately that what

45

you do matters and thank you for all

the hard work you put into serving

46

your clients and serving them well.

47

Now let's talk about what

we're talking about here today.

48

Like I said, this came out of last

week's workshop, and in last week's

49

workshop, we were talking about the

three new rules for becoming the

50

obvious choice for premium fee clients.

51

What has to happen now when things have

changed so much in order to stand out?

52

And it was an incredible workshop.

53

Lots of incredible takeaways.

54

We got great feedback from folks.

55

But this one in particular

I want to dive into today.

56

And the question I want to pose to

you today is, are you unmistakable?

57

Are you unmistakable right now?

58

Because as I look across the landscape

of the clinicians I know and have

59

personally coached or worked with

or friends of mine, those who are

60

experiencing success, and that success

might be raising their fees, filling

61

their caseloads, de-paneling, whatever

you, you want to consider success.

62

I can think of clinicians who,

who fall into all sorts of

63

categories that we would aspire to.

64

When I look across that landscape,

I see a couple common themes, and

65

one of the biggest ones right now

is that they are unmistakable.

66

You know when you've run into that

therapist and not someone else.

67

And we've talked a lot in this

podcast about this idea of the

68

sea of sameness that your, your

clients are wading through.

69

Ten years ago, that wasn't an issue.

70

There wasn't a sea of

sameness to wade through.

71

These days, with all the AI slop out

there, with all of the therapists

72

available via telehealth, with all of the

coaches available, with all the Instagram

73

carousels that are offering pseudo-therapy

to people, whatever that is, okay?

74

The sea of sameness that your

clients are wading through,

75

everyone starts to look the same.

76

And as I look across that landscape

of successful clinicians, they've

77

stepped into something different.

78

They are setting themselves apart.

79

And in this market, I am seeing

the way that that is more

80

critical than it has ever been.

81

So that's what this episode is all about.

82

It's about can you answer yes to

the question, are you unmistakable?

83

And if you can't, what do

we need to do about it?

84

All right.

85

As we get into this,

86

if you're listening to this episode

in real time, the doors for Confident

87

Copy Live are closing in two days.

88

So Thursday, the 13th of August, our

89

If you're realizing you need help

becoming unmistakable, if you need to

90

get really, really clear on your niche,

even if you enjoy multiple different

91

types of clients, if you know that your

website needs to start standing above and

92

rising above the sea of sameness in your

individual market, that's what Confident

93

Copy was designed to help you do.

94

I just heard this week from someone

who joined a handful of months ago

95

and is getting inquiries from people

via PsychToday, via her website,

96

saying, "I read your website,

and I'm ready to work with you."

97

She said even that someone had

accidentally reached out to

98

her via Alma, even though she's

de-paneling, and she let that person

99

know, and they said, "That's okay.

100

I'm still interested in working with you,"

because of what they saw on her website.

101

If that's what you wanna see happen

in your own practice, Confident Copy

102

Live's an incredible way to do that.

103

Not only do you get access to our

proven system, but you get sixteen

104

weeks of live coaching and feedback

along the way from myself, our Confident

105

Copy Coach, Monika, and a community

of other clinicians who are working

106

toward the same types of goals you are.

107

Okay?

108

So please know that as we get

into this episode, that if you're

109

like, "Yeah, I need help becoming

unmistakable," Confident Copy Live would

110

be an incredible next step for you.

111

Now, what's interesting is that the

idea of a niche has changed a lot.

112

I remember seven years ago when

I'd tell clinicians they need a

113

niche, they would be like, "I do?

114

You're kidding me."

115

And figuring out a niche was so fun, and

then we found it, and then they put it out

116

in their marketing, and then it worked.

117

We got the clients, and

it was a beautiful time.

118

These days, you know

you need a niche, right?

119

I am not telling you anything new.

120

But what's interesting is that the way

that you need to niche has changed.

121

A niche used to be able to be

a topic, anxiety or trauma or

122

maybe a demographic like women.

123

These days, a topic can be

copied by anyone, right?

124

The number of clinicians that I get to

work really, really closely with in our

125

done-for-you services, the number of those

who are marketing to a high-achieving

126

professional woman, pretty high.

127

Okay?

128

A lot of you are seeking

to attract similar clients.

129

That's perfectly fine.

130

If you are going to be chosen,

we have to go a level deeper than

131

just high-achieving professional

women or just trauma, just EMDR.

132

Okay?

133

What used to work, those kind of

high-level topics, aren't anymore.

134

To become unmistakable, we

have to go a level deeper.

135

Unmistakable isn't necessarily

even about the topic.

136

You can continue wanting to do

anxiety work or trauma work.

137

I'm not telling you to stop doing that.

138

But it's about how you hold that topic,

how you address it, your angle on it,

139

your touch, what you help your clients do

as a result of it that nobody can copy.

140

What makes you different?

141

Why are people choosing you as a

high-achieving professional woman and not

142

someone else who could work with them?

143

That's what makes a niche

unmistakable right now.

144

Could a fellow therapist of yours, so

say there's, there's you and then there's

145

Jane, and Jane has a similar niche as

you she also, say, wants to work with

146

high-achieving professional women who

are navigating motherhood, we'll say.

147

Could Jane read your homepage, pull

out the copy, drop it into hers, and

148

it be 100% relevant to her as well?

149

That tells us your niche isn't

doing enough heavy lifting, okay?

150

If the answer to that is yes,

then you have a topic, not an

151

actual position on a niche, okay?

152

There isn't anything magnetic

or unmistakable about what

153

you're putting out there.

154

Not yet anyway, right?

155

Now, what's interesting, and

again, we talked about this more

156

in, in last week's workshop, but

AI has made it trivial to generate

157

something competent sounding, right?

158

You can tell AI, you can tell Claude

all about the ideal client that you

159

love to work with, and Claude will spit

back out some helpful niche information,

160

maybe some website copy, sure.

161

But competence, a competent sounding

website, that isn't a differentiator

162

anymore 'cause we can all do it.

163

All right?

164

It's, it's that everyone's

baseline went up.

165

Okay?

166

So all of a sudden, it's not just

having a website, it's not even

167

just having a professional website

because that's easier than ever.

168

It's something else.

169

It's something beyond that, and that's

where that becoming unmistakable happens.

170

Right now, if you run to AI and you

ask for help, you're just becoming

171

mistakable with the rest of the

therapists who are doing the same thing.

172

We know that clients aren't

working off of one referral, right?

173

They've got five, 10, 15 tabs open, right?

174

They're looking for differences.

175

They're looking for someone to stand

out and have a different point of

176

view and rise above the noise that

they're having to sift through.

177

What are some examples that

you might be blending in?

178

How do you know if you're unmistakable?

179

A couple of examples might be that

similar to that Jane example earlier,

180

someone could take your About page,

swap it out with a therapist down

181

the street, and no one would know.

182

Okay?

183

You gotta have that unique point of view.

184

You gotta have that unmistakable presence.

185

If you've Googled how to niche down

without losing clients, that's probably a

186

sign that you might be blending in, right?

187

You're afraid to get too specific,

because what if you miss out on people?

188

That fear of missing out.

189

Guess what?

190

In this market, the more

specific, the better.

191

Maybe you say things like anxiety,

depression, and life transitions in

192

your website because that's genuinely

who's walking in the door, but you

193

recognize that it's not actually a

strong point of view on anything.

194

So you're responding to what people

are saying as they come in, rather than

195

putting forth a point of view that makes

you unmistakable, that says, "Oh, you're

196

the depression therapist that I want."

197

It's asking the client to determine

if you're the right fit rather

198

than offering that up You might be

blending in if you enjoy working with

199

a bunch of different populations.

200

So maybe you enjoy different demographics

or different presenting issues that

201

in your mind feel very disparate.

202

I've heard people say,

"I have three niches."

203

And so then you write your website to

stretch across all of them, and then you

204

end up just watering down everything.

205

That's another example that

you might be unmistakable.

206

Now, there is a way, please hear me,

that there is a way to enjoy three

207

different niches if that's what

you like to do, without watering

208

down what it is that you do.

209

You can be unmistakable and still

have variety in your caseload.

210

I actually heard from a Confident Copy

alumni yesterday, and he mentioned

211

that he had booked two consults

that day, and they were two very,

212

very distinct types of clients.

213

They were not similar in demographic

or in presenting issue, and

214

yet they both told him that his

website homepage spoke to them.

215

He was unmistakable to them, even

though he was attracting multiple

216

different types of clients.

217

So those are not mutually exclusive.

218

If you're someone who enjoys different

demographics, presenting issues,

219

specialties, you can also be unmistakable.

220

This does not mean you have to get so

specific that you have to forego the

221

people that you still enjoy serving.

222

This isn't about cutting

out elements of your niche.

223

It's about clarifying them, positioning

them differently, so that people view you

224

as a destination for those things, even if

there's a list of things that you enjoy.

225

Okay?

226

So please hear me on that.

227

Now what makes someone unmistakable?

228

How could you take your current

niche of anxiety or trauma or high

229

achieving professional women or

whatever it is that you do, and

230

how do you make that unmistakable?

231

First, a point of view,

not just a population.

232

Okay?

233

An actual belief about how change happens

that not every therapist can say out loud.

234

Do you have that?

235

Is that coming through?

236

Do you have a point of view?

237

You don't just work with these women,

you work with these women in this way

238

so they can achieve this change We also

need to make sure that we are infusing

239

language that you would use, okay?

240

Words and framing that a client isn't

gonna see everywhere else, okay?

241

Copy that's so specific that you can

display your deep, deep understanding

242

of what it is that they're going through

in a way that other people are not

243

And then finally, a

reputation that precedes you.

244

This is another way to think about being

unmistakable, is having a reputation.

245

What do you want your

reputation as a therapist to be?

246

One of the most incredible things

about getting clear on this

247

is that you become memorable.

248

And when you are memorable, you

are more easy to refer to, you come

249

to mind more often, and you tend

to increase those word-of-mouth

250

referrals in a really big way.

251

So do you have a reputation?

252

Being unmistakable means having

a reputation as a clinician

253

to do a certain type of work

with a certain type of client.

254

What are referral sources saying about you

before clients ever even see your site?

255

That's what's gonna tell you

whether or not you're unmistakable.

256

Do you have a reputation?

257

Are you a destination

for something or someone?

258

Now-

259

I wanna tell you as we wrap

up here The story of Kasryn.

260

Kasryn is a Confident Copy alumni of ours.

261

We've actually interviewed her on the

Marketing Therapy podcast way back

262

in the day, s- last year sometime.

263

But Kasryn came to, to me, I got to know

her when she had started her private

264

practice kind of out of desperation.

265

She needed to leave her current

setting for her own wellbeing, her

266

own mental health and, and wellbeing

as a person and a therapist.

267

So started private practice 'cause

she had to, not 'cause she was

268

like, "I'm ready to make the leap."

269

She needed to do it.

270

And because of that, she

definitely had a fire under her,

271

and she was doing all the things.

272

Kasryn was not just sitting by

passively and hoping clients found her.

273

She was following the advice,

she was doing the things,

274

and was not getting results.

275

She actually went months without

referrals, which if you are needing

276

to make this shift, is especially

scary you can imagine, right?

277

Now, when she started it, she was

really trying to market herself the

278

way that a lot of therapists do.

279

She was trained and could help

several different types of clients

280

with several different concerns and

was really attempting to do that.

281

Not only that, but she was networking,

she was posting on social media,

282

she was joining the directories,

doing the things, like I said.

283

But no one could clearly remember

what she actually specialized

284

in, 'cause she didn't even know.

285

How could she expect others

to know if she didn't?

286

And that meant referrals were

really, really inconsistent.

287

The word of mouth was not generating

referrals the way that she needed to, and

288

neither were her other efforts, the social

media, the directories, things like that.

289

I actually asked her, and she told me,

"Before, I couldn't even give you a

290

niche statement," which is something

we write and create in Confident

291

Copy to use in your marketing.

292

She said, "It was like I help people, and

I also like this, and I also like that."

293

I'm sure you can probably

resonate with that feeling.

294

But she says now people tend

to say, "Oh, I have someone who

295

really needs this kind of work."

296

So they hear Kasryn describe

what it is that she does, and

297

they say, "Oh, I know someone."

298

Can people do that when you

talk about the work that you do?

299

Kasryn is completely unmistakable when

it comes to the work that she does.

300

She comes to mind for people.

301

She's actually had people tell her,

"I'm so excited to refer to you."

302

Absolutely incredible.

303

Today, Kasryn's known for helping

exhausted adults break the cycle

304

of sleepless nights using CBT-i.

305

That's what she got really, really

clear on and what she's absolutely

306

unmistakable for these days.

307

The cool thing is that as a result

of getting clear on that, she has

308

built a thriving private pay practice.

309

She sees fewer clients than she

ever did in her previous setting.

310

She makes more.

311

She left insurance.

312

And she had recouped her investment on

Confident Copy within months of joining,

313

and today is experiencing the fruits

of the labor she put in in that program

314

and the continued effort she's put

into marketing herself to getting those

315

referrals and to ultimately becoming the

therapist that people immediately think

316

of when they ran into her ideal client.

317

That's what it looks like to be

unmistakable, for you to come to mind, for

318

a client to land on your website and be

like, "This is who I've been looking for.

319

I didn't even know there was a

therapist out there just for me."

320

And remember, you can do this regardless

of if you enjoy one particular type of

321

client or a variety if we do it right.

322

That's what creating that magnetic

niche is all about, and that's

323

what we do in Confident Copy.

324

We have our magnetic niche

method that you start with.

325

You learn how to attract right fit

clients and also bless and release or

326

repel those who aren't the right fit.

327

If your niche cannot do both, then

your niche is not unmistakable, then

328

you are at risk of blending in, which

we know in this market can't happen.

329

The people who are filling their private

pay caseloads right now, when I look

330

across that landscape of therapists,

the people who are thriving right now

331

are doing it because they have taken

steps, additional steps beyond when

332

they launched their practice initially

to get real about what sets them apart.

333

And for those therapists who are just

coming now onto the scene, right?

334

We have pre-licensed therapists

that jump into Confident Copy,

335

people early on in their career.

336

They're realizing, "I need to have a

point of view now," and that point of

337

view can evolve, but there's something

about me that makes me special.

338

And when you can lead with that,

that's when that unmistakable

339

identity starts coming through.

340

Remember, you can't afford to stay fine.

341

You can't afford to stay at that

topical niche level these days.

342

We've got to go a level deeper

here to becoming unmistakable, to

343

creating that magnetic niche, to both

attracting and blessing and releasing.

344

Are you unmistakable to potential

clients when they land on your website?

345

Are you memorable?

346

Are you unmistakable to the people

that you network with, the other

347

therapists, the complementary

professionals you talk to?

348

Do they know what you stand for?

349

Have you become a

destination for something?

350

Do you have a reputation as a therapist?

351

In this market, that is

your greatest opportunity.

352

If we can figure out what those

things are, because it's in there.

353

It's in there for every single one of you.

354

We are unlocking the power of your

marketing, even in this saturated,

355

skeptical market that we're in right

now it's the coolest thing 'cause I

356

look across this landscape, and it's

clinicians of varying degrees, varying

357

experience levels, varying licensure.

358

It's not about the experience.

359

It's not about the credentials.

360

It's about whether or not

they have made themselves

361

unmistakable in their marketing.

362

I wanna see that happen for you.

363

Like I said, if you're listening in real

time, the doors to our final cohort of

364

Confident Copy Live close on Thursday.

365

So you got two days to jump in to get

access to our proven framework, the same

366

one that Kasryn went through and so many

other therapists, along with 16 weeks

367

of live coaching, feedback, and support.

368

You and I can go back and forth talking

about your niche until the cows come home.

369

I will be there supporting you, getting

to know you, helping you refine this

370

niche so that it becomes unmistakable

on a deep, deep level inside of

371

the Confident Copy Live cohort.

372

It's my absolute favorite thing.

373

I love writing the copy, and I

love getting to coach you on that.

374

But the niche stuff, oh, man,

it's my favorite thing because,

375

like I said, it unlocks the power

of everything that you do next.

376

So if you know that you want that type

of feedback, if you want guidance in

377

how to bring together different types

of niches that you enjoy, Confident

378

Copy Live is the place to do that.

379

We would absolutely

love to see you inside.

380

Regardless, whatever you do next, I

hope that this episode, A, encouraged

381

you 'cause holy cow is the work that

you do valuable, and B, got your gears

382

turning on how you can be standing out,

becoming unmistakable, and ultimately

383

rising above the noise and getting

found and chosen by the clients that

384

you are best equipped to impact.

385

I appreciate you.

386

I value the work that you

do, and I am cheering you on.

387

I'll see you in our next episode.