You’re showing up. You’ve got a website, an Instagram, maybe even tried networking or Google Ads—but the clients aren’t coming. What gives? In this episode, we’re digging into a quiet culprit behind ineffective marketing: your language.

If your copy feels generic, vague, or disconnected from how you actually show up in the room, it’s likely not doing the heavy lifting your marketing needs. I’ll walk you through why even solid strategies fall flat without the right words—and how realigned language can flip the switch from “no traction” to “my clients finally get me.”

Whether you’re DIY-ing your copy or considering a full revamp, this episode will help you understand what might be getting lost in translation—and what to do about it.

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

 1️⃣ Why “doing all the things” might not be the issue—and how to tell if language is your real marketing block

2️⃣ How common strategies like SEO, Google Ads, social media, and networking hinge on your words more than you think

3️⃣ What happens when your copy actually reflects your voice, your values, and your work—and how that changes everything

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Join the waitlist for Confident Copy (special pricing + bonus): walkerstrategyco.com/waitlist
• The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
• Natasha's website: goldenhour-counseling.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: 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—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 y'all.

2

Welcome back to Marketing

Therapy episode 20.

3

I heard that if you make it to 20 podcast

episodes, you are gonna keep going.

4

Most people quit before 20, so buckle up.

5

We're, we're in this for the long haul.

6

Um, I'm excited about today's episode.

7

I wanna talk about something that I

see so many therapists overlooking in

8

their marketing, and it makes a lot

of sense why we're gonna look at that.

9

When therapists decide they want to fill

their caseload, they're like, all right,

10

I'm gonna do this private practice thing.

11

I'm gonna commit, I'm gonna do the things.

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Then their focus usually goes

straight to strategy, right?

13

Tactics, SEO, Google Ads, networking,

Instagram, TikTok, whatever that might be.

14

Psychology Today.

15

None of those instincts are wrong.

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Of course, we need those

tactics and strategies, right?

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But what I've seen.

18

After working with thousands of

therapists at this point is that so

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often they do the things and still

don't get the results they want.

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That's when I know that this isn't a

visibility problem for that therapist.

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It's a language problem because everything

you're trying to do to grow your

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practice ads, blog posts, networking.

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Depends on what you are saying

and how you are saying it.

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So that's the thing that I see way too

many therapists skipping right on past.

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There words, and if your words

aren't working, if they are vague,

26

if they're generic, if they're out

of sync with how you actually show

27

up, then let me tell you, no tactic

or strategy is gonna fix that.

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So in this episode, I wanna dig into

why the words you use matter more than

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you probably think, and how getting them

right can really start to change the

30

results you're seeing from your marketing.

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So what do I mean when I say

everything you're trying?

32

Depends on your words.

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Because I really do

hear this all the time.

34

Therapists come to me saying,

Anna, I'm doing all the things.

35

I have a website.

36

I created an Instagram account.

37

I even went to a networking event.

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I hated it, but I went to it last month.

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I'm still not getting the

kinds of clients I want.

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And here's what I tell them.

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It's not that you're not showing up,

of course, it's not that you're not

42

trying, it is that your language,

the words you're using to describe

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what you do and who you help, aren't

doing the job they need to do.

44

All right.

45

I wanna actually break this

down strategy by strategy.

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So the most common tactics or

strategies therapists think they

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need in order to get clients and

what's actually underneath them.

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So, SEO, we've all heard it, the big

three letters, search engine optimization.

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This is how you get

clients through Google.

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And people often think of SEO as

this very kind of techie behind the

51

scenes thing, and in some ways it is.

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But at the end of the day, you

know what it's about language.

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Google more than ever is scanning

your website and trying to figure out

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what it's about based on your words.

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How authoritative are you?

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How much expertise do you

have in this specialty?

57

Are you trustworthy?

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Do you know enough to

actually be rankable?

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Not just the headlines you're using, not

just the little places you plug in a quote

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unquote keyword, but the actual phrases

you are using to talk about your work.

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What's interesting with the onset

of ai, and you may have heard of

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clinicians getting clients through

chat, GBT and things like that,

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chat, GBT is even more so looking

at how you talk on your website.

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So if how you talk is vague or full

of feel good generalities like.

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I create a safe space or a laundry list

of specialties or things that you treat.

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Google has no idea what to do

with that, and neither does any

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AI model, and more importantly,

neither does your ideal client.

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So even SEO is about words,

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Google ads.

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Maybe I'll just run out and

spend some money on Google ads.

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Great.

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Same thing.

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When it comes to Google Ads, you

are literally paying money to put

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a small block of copy in front of

potential clients and then invite

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them to read more copy on your website

in order to decide if you're the

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therapist that they're looking for.

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So if the words in that ad and the words

on that website don't resonate, if they

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don't grab attention or create connection

or really speak to the specific need that

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has led that person to type in that query.

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Into Google in the first

place, then you're literally

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throwing money into the void.

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You're flushing it down the toilet

ads don't work if you don't have the

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words right, Instagram, social media.

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Okay.

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Powerful strategy when done, right?

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Absolutely.

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Great tactic.

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It is easy to assume.

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Social media is mostly visual, right?

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Especially Instagram, but even TikTok.

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Things like that.

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And design matters, no doubt about it, but

it's your caption, your story, your voice

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that's ultimately building connection.

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I've seen therapists with beautifully

branded Instagrams, I'm talking stunning

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aesthetically, who are still not

getting inquiries because their content

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isn't really saying anything real.

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No one's reading it and

thinking, oh, this is for me.

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And again, that comes back to language.

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What about networking?

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Networking is, as I consider it, an

absolute non-negotiable when it comes

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to getting clients, particularly

full fee clients in this market.

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And that can feel like it's all dependent

on how professional you are or who you

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know, or how well connected you are.

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And again, all those things influence it,

but even in face-to-face conversations,

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one-on-one coffee chats with other

therapists, it's the same problem.

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What do you say when someone

asks you what you do?

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If your answer sounds like everyone

else's, oh, I work with women with anxiety

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or adults with relationship issues.

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People don't mean to,

but they tune you out.

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They don't remember you, and if they don't

remember you, they can't refer to you.

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Not because you're not skilled, not

because you're an introvert, not

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because they don't like you, but because

you haven't said anything distinct.

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Even those referrals rely on your work.

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And that surprises a lot of people.

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A lot of times they'll think of

referrals as kind of automatic.

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I'm good at what I do, I share it.

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I get clients.

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The only way that system works is if

people understand what you do, and

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it's your job to communicate that.

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If your referral partners can't clearly

articulate who you help and why you're the

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go-to for that population or the person

they're thinking of sending your way.

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Then they're not gonna be able to

send the right people your way, or

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they'll send clients your way that

are totally misaligned and not the

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right fit, which is just a draining

experience for everyone involved.

125

Right?

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Even networking is about your words.

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So that's the pattern that I see.

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Therapists show up, they try quote

unquote, all the things, the number of

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times I've heard that, all the things.

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And then when it doesn't work, they blame.

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The tactic.

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Well, Instagram doesn't work.

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SEO isn't for me.

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It's too hard to rank on Google, I guess.

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No one's using psych today these days.

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But the truth is, if your words aren't

working, your strategies won't either.

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Whether you're writing an email or

posting on social or updating your

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website, introducing yourself at

a lunch and learn whatever you're

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doing, your results are only as

strong as the language you're using.

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So this is where I wanna pause

and say something directly to you.

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If you are sitting here listening

and have been putting in effort

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to your marketing, good on you.

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That is huge.

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Not every therapist does that.

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Some therapists expect this

to happen on autopilot.

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But if you have been putting

in effort, congratulations.

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Seriously, that's wonderful.

148

If you've shown up and posted

and written and reached out.

149

Then you have started to build an

important muscle in your marketing.

150

But if you are still not getting

the traction you want, then it's

151

probably not a strategy problem.

152

It's probably a language problem.

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It's because the way you're

describing your work isn't landing.

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It's not connecting.

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It's not clear or distinct or memorable

enough for the right people to say,

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this is what I've been looking for.

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And that's where everything else can start

to unravel because the words you use don't

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just describe what you do, although of

course they do serve that purpose, but

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they signal who you are as a therapist.

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Language tells people who you work

with, whether or not you are for

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them, whether or not you are safe.

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And especially in private pay

work, whether or not you are worth

163

the fee you charge, this isn't

actually about your worth, right?

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You're worth the fee that you charge no

matter how good or bad your words are.

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But people are assigning

worth based on your words.

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Clients are constantly scanning for clues.

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Do I belong here?

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Does this therapist get me?

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Can I picture myself actually opening

up to this person and sharing the

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things I've never said out loud?

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And here's what a lot of

therapists forget your marketing.

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It's the first session.

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It's when clients are already

starting to make meaning.

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They're on your website, your PT

profile, your social media, and

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they're reading between the lines.

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Just like they do in the therapy room,

they're making decisions based on what

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you're saying and how you're saying it.

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So if your language is vague or feels like

it could belong to any other therapist in

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your city, any of the other 10 plus tabs

they have open on their browser right now.

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You're not just losing people,

you are losing the right people,

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the ones you actually want to work

with and want to work with you.

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I had a conversation about this

recently with a group practice team.

183

Uh, they were trying to decide whether

to invest in copy design or both with

184

our done for you service, and I told them

we'd love to support you in both areas,

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but if you are deciding on one or the

other, copy is king, and design is queen.

186

Design matters when it comes to

your website, probably more than

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ever, but I will always stand

by this, that it is your words.

188

That ultimately determine whether

or not someone reaches out to you.

189

And one of the clinicians on the

call actually pushed back on that

190

a little bit, which I appreciated.

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He said that he would've

argued the opposite.

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And I get it because beautiful design

builds trust, it matters, it does

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provide signals to people about

the experience they can expect.

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But you can have the most visually

stunning website in the whole wide world.

195

But if the copy doesn't speak

to the client's experience.

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If it doesn't help them see that you

understand them and how you'll help

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them with the problems they're facing.

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They won't book a consult.

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They will not book a consult

because your website is beautiful.

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They'll book a consult because

your copy connected with them.

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They'll click away, not because you're

not good at what you do, not because

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you can't serve them well, but because

your language didn't do its job.

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But I've seen the reverse happen too.

204

A therapist we worked with had been

marketing herself in a way that

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was kind of soft and supportive.

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Um, that was the tone we were using.

207

That was the feel of what

we'd created for her.

208

But when we talked more about how

she was actually beginning to show

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up in session and she'd really

experienced kind of an evolution as

210

a clinician, it was clear that her

style these days was far more direct.

211

Practical, no.

212

BS telling it like it is, and

her clients love her for that.

213

She had for so long been sounding

quite gentle in her copy, but the

214

reality was it didn't reflect what

people could actually expect from her.

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Her clients didn't need more handholding.

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Her clients are responding to

that direct result, focused

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style, and so we made some really.

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Strategic changes to her copy to reflect

what she was actually doing in the room.

219

We didn't make her more

intense than she was.

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We just kind of stopped hiding it.

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Right, and almost immediately she started

hearing this is exactly the type of

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therapist I've been looking for, or I've

worked with other therapists before,

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but no one described it quite like this.

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That's the type of experience I want.

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That's what happens when your

language matches your work.

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There's not that disconnect anymore.

227

You're not doing the over-explaining.

228

You're not trying to land the

plane on a console, right?

229

Because clients are already aligned

from the start, so it's a small shift.

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Sometimes it can feel like my words

like how could they really matter that

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much, but it can change everything.

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Usually the words aren't working

because they're just a little bit off.

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Not usually because they're vastly wrong,

but because they're too soft or too broad.

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Too focused on the therapist instead

of the client too afraid to say

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what actually makes you different.

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But when you get the words right, it

can be like flipping a switch because

237

suddenly the same strategy you've

been using, those tactics that you

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have been building the muscle around

you website, your networking, your

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directory profiles, your social media,

it starts working because now your words

240

are actually doing the heavy lifting.

241

They should be.

242

They're showing people who you are,

how you help, if you're the right fit,

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why it matters, how to take action.

244

That's the power of language.

245

What happens if you're sitting here right

now and your words don't match your work?

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It's where I see a lot of really

skilled therapists get stuck.

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I mean, really skilled.

248

All the trainings, all the

background still get stuck here.

249

They're doing powerful and nuanced,

transformational work in the room, but

250

the way they show up in their marketing is

generic and safe, boring, overly buttoned

251

up, and what that creates, whether

they realize it or not, is friction.

252

Clients come in expecting one

thing based on the website and

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get something totally different in

the consult or the intake session.

254

The therapists find themselves

over explaining or trying to course

255

correct doing that, landing the

plane in real time or worse, clients

256

don't reach out at all because the

language didn't give them a reason to.

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So sometimes clinicians don't realize

it's happening, but sometimes they

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do know that there's a mismatch.

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They can kind of feel it.

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I'll hear things like, my website

doesn't really sound like me.

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Or I feel like I have to

explain what I really do once

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I'm on the phone with people.

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Sometimes this comes because

they've tried to reverse engineer

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what they've seen other people do.

265

Filled in templates, borrowed phrases,

dropped a prompt or two into chat.

266

GBT tried to quote, unquote, sound

like a therapist, and in the process

267

they've lost the actual voice of their

work and that has real consequences.

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More of that friction in consults,

more wrong fit inquiries, less

269

confidence in how they show up.

270

And this one's important, a lack of

connection with their own marketing.

271

'cause when your website doesn't

sound like you, when your Psyched

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Today profile could belong to

literally any other therapist in

273

your zip code, it's really hard to

feel good about sending people there.

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Am I right?

275

And I get it.

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And I think what's actually

happening here, this disconnect

277

is often rooted in fear.

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Fear of being too specific or saying

the wrong thing of standing out, of

279

being visible, of excluding people.

280

A very common one that I hear, I

hear this, especially when we start

281

working on writing the about page in

Confident Copy, we have a specific

282

framework for each of the pages on

the website and the about page when

283

you come up against having to write.

284

What it is that you do, why you

do it well, why clients trust you.

285

There's some serious moments

of self-exploration and

286

discovery required, right?

287

When a therapist has to get really

honest about why they're good at what

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they do and what makes them different

and what they wanna be known for.

289

'cause a lot of the time they

haven't done that before.

290

It's hard to put that into words.

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It's often quite uncomfortable.

292

And so it's no wonder that the copy

can end up vague or watered down

293

'cause that fear is showing up.

294

Right?

295

And now with the rise of AI and fill

in the blank templates, it's easier

296

than ever to default to language

that looks polished, but doesn't

297

actually say anything meaningful.

298

And I love ai.

299

I think it's a powerful tool in many ways,

but it is the huge culprit of this issue.

300

It looks good, but it doesn't say much

301

Safe copy will not make you stand out.

302

In fact, it might make you forgettable

because your clients right now are

303

wading through a sea of sameness.

304

They're waiting through

countless websites.

305

Where someone slaps something into chat

GBT or threw together a fill in the

306

blank template or reverse engineered what

they think worked on another website,

307

and it all starts to feel the same.

308

The only way we break out of that is if

your words reflect you, what you bring

309

to the table, what you do differently.

310

Otherwise you just blend in.

311

Let me give you an example of this.

312

Earlier this year, we

worked with a therapist.

313

Who honestly is one of the most

magnetic personalities of, of any

314

of the clients that we've served.

315

And we've served many.

316

She's really bold, she's expressive.

317

She swears in session her clients

get results from their work together.

318

And of course, the clients that love

her, love that about her, right?

319

Her website, when she

chose to work with us, was.

320

Flat and generic and outdated, and

so stripped down and sanitized that I

321

honestly wouldn't have recognized her.

322

The person I met on our first call

versus what I saw on the website,

323

completely different, wildly different.

324

It read like any other therapist

site and not in a good way.

325

So we threw it out.

326

With all due respect, started Fresh.

327

Wrote a site that actually sounded like

her, that brought that personality forth.

328

We used the language her clients were

already using to describe their experience

329

to her with neurodivergence and trauma.

330

We made sure people knew exactly who

she best worked with and why that work

331

mattered, what they could expect from it.

332

Within a month, she had four new

clients, one of them being her first

333

private pay client ever, and every

single one of them mentioned her

334

website to her on the console call.

335

Yeah.

336

Not because we invented something new

or manufactured something, but because

337

we finally brought her to life in her

marketing, that's what happens when

338

your words finally reflect who you are.

339

You get to stop over explaining.

340

You stop attracting the wrong people,

and you start hearing, I felt like

341

you were talking directly to me.

342

It's when marketing can

start to feel easier.

343

And aligned and natural and

a whole lot more effective.

344

When your copy sounds like you, when

it clearly communicates what you do

345

and who you help, and how you help

them, when it reflects the real version

346

of your expertise authentically, not

just some polished or professional

347

one, everything's gonna get easier.

348

I hear things like consult calls, feeling

more natural, 'cause clients kind of

349

already have a sense of what you're like.

350

Not having to sell them or overexplain

'cause they're already on board.

351

Referrals getting stronger

because your colleagues finally

352

understand who to send your way.

353

You are memorable.

354

But above all, the best thing I

hear when these changes are made is

355

the confidence that comes with it.

356

And I know confidence isn't necessarily

what you set out to find, right?

357

You want clients, I get it.

358

You want a full caseload, you wanna

stop second guessing your entire

359

marketing strategy every day the week.

360

But I've seen again and again that

confidence is the thing that makes

361

all of those things possible.

362

It comes first.

363

It precedes the clients and the

caseload confidence in your voice, in

364

your expertise, in your ability to say

what makes you good at what you do.

365

That confidence shows up everywhere.

366

Because you actually want to

send people to your website.

367

You're proud of it.

368

You don't hesitate to say what you charge.

369

'cause the copy already set that

expectation and communicated your value.

370

You know how to spot your right

fit clients and also how to

371

say no when it's not aligned.

372

Even networking feels more enjoyable

because you finally have the words to

373

describe your work in a way that really

clicks and resonates with people.

374

And of course those internal

shifts lead to external results.

375

It's when you start hearing things

like, I read your website and it

376

spoke to me, or your profile jumped

off the page, and I just feel like

377

you get me, or I know someone I need

to refer to you because now your copy

378

isn't just saying I'm a therapist,

it's saying I'm the therapist for you.

379

I think there's also something that comes

that people don't always expect from

380

this, and that is the mental bandwidth,

the relief, the fact that you don't have

381

to tweak your website every two weeks.

382

You're not agonizing

over Instagram captions.

383

Not trying to convince people

you're worth your rate.

384

'cause the right people already see

it ' cause you're proud of this now.

385

This isn't just a marketing win, but

it's a, it's a practice wide win.

386

Practice changing, career shifting

when we finally get the words right.

387

So again, this episode is for you.

388

If you have been showing up, posting,

tweaking, trying, but still not getting

389

the results you want, it might not be your

visibility, it probably isn't your fees.

390

It might not even be the strategy.

391

It might just be that your words aren't

doing their job, because marketing

392

doesn't have to be about doing more.

393

It can be about doing better, clearer,

more specific, more aligned, more you.

394

When your copy finally reflects that

more aligned, more you more clear.

395

Everything starts to work better.

396

The consults feeling smoother, the

right people reaching out, feeling

397

proud of how you're showing up.

398

That's what's possible here.

399

This is exactly what we do inside of

Confident Copy, where we help you write

400

a website and a Psych Today profile

along with a clear marketing roadmap

401

that doesn't just sound professional

but actually works, communicates your

402

expertise, attracts and converts.

403

The kinds of clients you love working

with, bringing your marketing into

404

alignment with the incredible work

you're already doing in the room.

405

So if this episode brought up that

little voice in your head, the one that

406

says, maybe it's time to revisit how I'm

talking about what I do, you're not wrong.

407

And when you get this part right,

everything else can change.

408

Now, if you're listening to this

in real time, we are reopening

409

the Doors to Confident Copy next

month at a reduced price and with

410

some really great extra bonuses.

411

There's a little bit more

information as the episode ends here.

412

But head to walker

strategy code.com/waitlist

413

to qualify for an extra discount and an

extra bonus you won't find anywhere else.

414

I wanna see you get your words

right, because I want to see your

415

strategies and the work you're

putting in actually turn into results.

416

I want you hearing from people that

they read your website and it spoke

417

to them that they're already ready

to work with you, that they're

418

excited to refer people to you.

419

That is possible, and that

starts with your words.

420

I hope this one was helpful for you

today, has got your gears turning again.

421

Head to walker strategy co.com/waitlist

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If you're interested in

joining us in Confident copy.

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But if nothing else, please

know I'm cheering for you.

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You can do this and I'll

see you in the next episode.