You know you need a niche. You’ve heard the advice, read the blogs, and listened to the podcasts. But actually defining your ideal client? That’s where many therapists get stuck. In this episode, Anna breaks down a practical, reflective process for identifying the clients you do your best work with—and why the answer starts with understanding yourself first.

Rather than treating niching as a permanent decision, Anna encourages listeners to view it as an evolving practice. She walks through how to identify the common threads among your favorite clients, uncover what makes your work uniquely effective, and use those insights to create marketing that feels more specific, authentic, and compelling.

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

1️⃣ Why defining your ideal client starts with understanding what you do best as a clinician.

2️⃣ How to identify the “red threads” that connect your favorite clients and reveal your niche.

3️⃣ Why specificity in your marketing helps you attract more right-fit clients—not fewer.

4️⃣ How your niche can evolve over time without limiting your growth or opportunities.

Resources & links mentioned

• Magnetic Niche Method: https://walkerstrategyco.com/mnm
• 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 there.

2

Happy Tuesday.

3

Welcome back to Marketing

Therapy, episode 76.

4

We're talking today about the

concept of your ideal client.

5

Now I remember seven years ago

when I started Walker Strategy Co.

6

and began serving clinicians, and

the idea of figuring out your ideal

7

client or choosing a niche was like,

mind blown moment for some people.

8

Like, just the idea of picking a niche,

figuring out your ideal client was, like,

9

absolutely groundbreaking for some people.

10

We're past that.

11

Chances are by now you

know you need a niche.

12

You hear it everywhere.

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You see it everywhere.

14

You've probably heard the

concept of the ideal client.

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This isn't new for you, and yet

figuring out who the heck that

16

person is, what the heck that niche

is, that's the hard part, right?

17

So you see the advice out there,

pick a niche to find your client,

18

like it's obvious, like duh, but no

one actually tells you exactly how.

19

And the reality for a lot of clinicians

is you're either too new to know what

20

to do with the information about your

ideal client, about your niche, so you

21

maybe have experience, you have exposure.

22

You know who you like or maybe who

you don't like, but not what to do

23

with it, or you've been doing this

for so long that you've never stopped

24

to actually look at what the common

themes are and pull these things out.

25

You've just been heads

down doing the work, right?

26

Either of these, whatever camp you find

yourself in, maybe you're pre-licensed,

27

and you're like am I good enough?

28

Am I qualified enough?

29

Am I experienced enough to pick

an ideal client or pick a niche?"

30

Or you're so deep into this, and

you're just ready to finally be

31

lit up again by your work, right?

32

Whatever camp you're in, we can

figure this out together, and

33

it starts with self-observation.

34

It starts with looking at first and

foremost what you do well and what you

35

bring into the room and then turning

the lens on your client and starting

36

to figure out who that person is

that allows you to do that best work.

37

Okay?

38

And that's what this episode is about.

39

I want to walk you through this process.

40

This is a process we go through

in a far more in-depth way in our

41

Magnetic Niche Method mini course.

42

If you haven't jumped into that,

it's $47, walkerstrategyco.com/mnm,

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the letters M-N-M.

44

That's a tongue twister.

45

But the Magnetic Niche Method is my

signature process for articulating a

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niche in this market, and I designed it

after coaching hundreds and hundreds of

47

therapists on their niche and helping

them do it whether they are, like I said,

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brand new or deep in the work and ready

to revitalize that work or step out of

49

burnout or lean into your ideal clients.

50

So here we're gonna be talking about

a process that I ultimately want you

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to remember you can come back to.

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This is not a one-time exercise, okay?

53

You do not pick your niche and then be

married to it for the rest of your career.

54

You are not pigeonholing yourself.

55

You are not closing yourself in.

56

You are simply getting clear enough

to market with intention right now.

57

I was just kicking off with a clinician

earlier today, so I just got off a

58

kickoff call before pressing record

on this episode, and she has been

59

wrestling for a long time about,

do I continue speaking to men?

60

Do I wanna do individual female work?

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Do I just wanna work with couples?

62

And we had a really great conversation,

and I'm excited to see where

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she lands following the coaching

and conversation that we had.

64

But ultimately, I reminded

her, you can change your mind.

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You can evolve.

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You can change.

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This does not have to stay stagnant.

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So please hear that message in your

own ears today, that if you go through

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this process and you figure out an

ideal client and you figure out a

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niche, whether it's in this episode,

Magnetic Niche Method, Confident Copy,

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whatever it may be, that can change.

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This is a process.

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This is a strategy.

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This is a way of thinking and approaching

the work that you do well and your

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marketing that you can come back to.

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So may that be liberating, not

limiting, when it comes to figuring

77

out what it is that you do best, okay?

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You can change.

79

You should change.

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You're allowed to evolve

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Consider viewing the idea of niching

as a practice that you go through.

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Something that you return to and not

just a box that you check in your career.

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Okay?

84

All right.

85

So as I mentioned earlier, before you

can identify your ideal client, you

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first, you gotta look at yourself.

87

You gotta get really, really comfortable

with what you do well, with what you

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bring into the room, with why you're

really good at the work that you do

89

before we can start thinking about

who you're doing that work with, okay?

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I see a lot of clinicians jumping

straight to, "Who do I wanna work with?

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Who do I wanna be bringing in?

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Who is gonna pay my fee?"

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Whatever that might be, instead of

first and foremost, "What do I do well?

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What makes me excited?

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What lights me up?

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What gets me energized?

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What are the sessions I leave where

I'm like, 'Ugh, I'm so glad this

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is what I chose for my life.'"

99

That's what we gotta start with, okay?

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Your ideal client is ultimately

defined in relationship to you.

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Let me say that again.

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Your ideal client is defined

in relationship to you.

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What you bring, what you're good

at, what lights you up, okay?

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So yes, your marketing

is all about your client.

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You're gonna hear people say often that

your marketing is not about you, people

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don't care about you, but it has to be

informed about who you ultimately want

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to be sitting in a room with, okay?

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So I love to start this process

by encouraging you to reflect.

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To think about the sessions that

have energized you the most, the

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clients that if you could clone an

entire caseload of them, you would.

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Sink down into those memories,

sink down into those sessions,

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and then do some reflections.

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After sessions that leave you feeling

alive or fired up, maybe you had a

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breakthrough last week, sit with that.

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If you have one this

week, reflect on it after.

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Don't just rush into the next

session or be grateful and move on.

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Actually reflect on it.

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Write it down.

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What happened in that session?

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What did you bring?

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Where were you shining?

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Because yes, the client is

doing the work, but not alone.

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You're bringing something

special into the room.

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That's really what niching comes down to.

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There is a reason every client

on your caseload right now,

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or every client on your future

caseload, is going to choose you.

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What is that reason?

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If we can figure out what that reason

is, then we have found ourselves a niche.

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Okay?

130

But you do something special.

131

You have the absolute power and training

and experience and presence to help your

132

clients legitimately change their lives.

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That is so powerful.

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So please don't just skim over that

as if that is something that every

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therapist is capable of doing, because

there is something special you do.

136

Now, in The Magnetic Niche

Method, we walk you through some

137

reflection questions on this.

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So before you get into even picking a

niche, quote-unquote, you first reflect.

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You first do a little bit of journaling.

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What do you wanna be known for?

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What do you want your practice

to be a destination for?

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When other therapists think of

you, when your community thinks of

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you, when clients think of you…

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Similarly, how do you want your clients to

refer to you when you're not in the room?

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When they're telling a friend about

how wonderful it was to work with you,

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or they're just thinking back on how

much change and transformation they

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experienced in their life or their

marriage or their work, whatever it is.

148

How do you hope they refer to you?

149

What words, language, concepts?

150

When you leave a session that

lights you up, what did you do?

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What did you bring into the

room that made it effective?

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'Cause like I said, the client

might be doing the work, but

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they're not doing it alone.

154

There's something you

brought into that room.

155

What was it?

156

Get curious about that.

157

Explore it.

158

Get comfortable with it.

159

And ultimately, why are

you good at this work?

160

When I am sitting down with done-for-you

clients, so people for whom we write

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their websites, I will encourage

them, "Brag on yourself here.

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Tell me why you're good at your work.

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What do you do that other

clinicians may not?"

164

You've gotta get really,

really comfortable owning that.

165

That's not to say that you're perfect.

166

It's not to say that there

aren't areas for you to grow in.

167

But the fact is, you are good at

what you do, and you gotta get clear

168

on why in order for this niching

and marketing thing to truly sink

169

in and to truly be effective.

170

Now, if you're sitting here and

you're pre-licensed or you're

171

brand new to private practice, you

might think, "Well, I haven't been

172

doing this long enough to know."

173

You have likely served some clients

you either know were a great fit, you

174

would love to do work with more clients

like that, or that you know were not.

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Both of those are powerful data.

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So again, look at what you've got so far.

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Look at what you've got under your belt.

178

Think about what your ideal caseload

would look like, and reflect from there.

179

Because again, you can come back to this.

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Just as you start putting yourself out

there in one way and you gather more

181

data about how you do your best work and

who you do your best work with, then we

182

can pivot, we can shape, we can refine.

183

But you've already probably got more

data and more insight into this than

184

you're giving yourself credit for.

185

So just some encouragement for

those pre-licensed folks or

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those thinking maybe, "I don't

have enough experience yet."

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Yes, you do.

188

You have enough experience to know

at least a little bit about what

189

it is that you bring into the room,

why you do this well, and who are

190

the right or not right fits for you.

191

That's good enough for now, and

you can always come back later.

192

So first, like I said, we're

looking at yourself, getting really

193

comfortable with, "You know what?

194

I am a dang good clinician."

195

When you choose a niche from that

place, it is so much more life-giving.

196

We can trust that you are going

to be choosing a niche that is

197

actually going to fill you up.

198

You're not just choosing a niche

because it's, quote-unquote, profitable.

199

And we can know that you're choosing a

niche from hopefully a posture of that

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abundance of confidence of knowing that

you do things well, and there is just

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something to be said for that energy.

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We can't put a finger on it.

203

We can't measure it, but when you

feel good about the work that you do,

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when you feel good about how you're

marketing yourself and who you're

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speaking to, the results are just better.

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Like I said, I k- I'm not a

particularly woo person, I've said

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that before, but man, there's just

something to be said for that.

208

So starting there, sinking down

into your best sessions, your

209

best clients, your best days.

210

What's happening there?

211

What are you doing?

212

How are you showing up?

213

Knowing that first and foremost.

214

Then, then we're gonna start

talking about your clients.

215

This is where we turn the lens on

them and we start thinking about,

216

"Okay, when I'm doing my best

work, who am I doing that with?"

217

Who are you sitting across

that room from, right?

218

Now, if you're like a lot of the

therapists that I work with, you might

219

be saying something like, "But Anna,

my ideal clients are so different.

220

I like working with couples, but I also

like working with dudes in their 30s,

221

and I also like working with teens."

222

You know, whatever that might be.

223

Maybe you feel like they're

just really, really different.

224

I hear you.

225

And on paper they might

not look anything alike.

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Their ages might be different.

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They might have different

presenting issues.

228

Whatever.

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I hear you.

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There's still a niche in there.

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Because at the end of the day, like I

said, there's a reason they pick you.

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There's a reason, so we're

gonna figure out what that is

233

I like to think of them

as common denominators.

234

So if I were to hold up five of your

ideal clients, say, so call to mind

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three to five of just the best clients

you've ever worked with, there's

236

some common denominator here, right?

237

There are some threads that

run across all of these clients

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because you are the constant.

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You brought something

consistent to the room.

240

There was a reason all of those

clients chose you, and the clients

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who respond to you, who respond to

your approach and the way that you

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work and how you show up in the room,

they share more than you might think.

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So maybe give them a little bit credit

about how they might be similar.

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I often find that the resistance

to looking for those patterns, the

245

resistance to finding what those

common denominators are, is because

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you don't wanna leave anyone out.

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Well, I wanna be able to bring in

this person and that person, the other

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person, so therefore I can't be specific.

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We know this.

250

Specificity is the name of the game

right now, and specificity does not

251

mean you're refusing other clients.

252

It just means that you

are being for someone.

253

You are showing up as the

right fit for someone.

254

When you attempt to market yourself

without knowing who you're talking

255

to, without holding in your mind

a particular type of person or

256

whatever that might be, you end up

resonating with absolutely no one.

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Okay, so we have to know

who we're speaking to here.

258

So again, hold in your mind three to

five of just the best clients you've ever

259

worked with What qualities did they share?

260

Did they have qualities

in their personality?

261

Were they all, like,

really rigid type A people?

262

Were they creative

thinkers, deep thinkers?

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You're probably gonna say,

"Anna, they were motivated."

264

I understand that.

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Motivated is not itself

a personality trait.

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They're probably motivated

therapeutically, and I understand that you

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wanna do your best work with those folks.

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What else?

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What about outside the therapy room?

270

Were there personality

common denominators?

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Maybe it was in their demographics.

272

Maybe when you look at it, that client

I was mentioning that I just kicked

273

off with earlier, we realized as we

went through the kickoff exercises

274

that, hmm, we're speaking to people in

a little bit of a later stage of life.

275

We're not speaking to 20s and 30s.

276

We're speaking to 40s and 50s and,

and above with her ideal clients.

277

Maybe it is demographics, and

that opens us up to something.

278

Maybe it's similarities in

their presenting issues.

279

So not so much outside the therapy

room, right, their personality or

280

their demographics, but maybe it

is what they brought to the table.

281

It was that tendency toward people

pleasing or that over-functioning even

282

though they don't have the words for it.

283

Maybe it was repeated patterns in their

relationships that they're noticing.

284

Maybe it was the presenting issue

that was the common denominator.

285

Maybe it was in their goals, what

they wanted to accomplish in therapy.

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Maybe it was a desire for better

relationships, to not be the

287

type of parent that they had.

288

Like, maybe it was not so much

in what brought them in, but in

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where they were wanting to go.

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Or maybe it was in what they

were wanting out of therapy.

291

Again, holding in your mind

those clients, were they all

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showing up, say, "I want skills.

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I want something concrete out of

this process," or, "I, I wanna figure

294

out what the root of this issue is.

295

I wanna do the deep stuff," whatever

that, whatever that might be?

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Was the common denominator more in what

they wanted out of therapy with you?

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This is where we can find

those common denominators.

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And in the Magnetic Niche Method and

Confident Copy, we call those red threads.

299

Find the red threads and start pulling.

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Pull on them.

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Go look for what those commonalities

are, and you're gonna start to see,

302

wow, there is more that ties together

these clients than I originally thought.

303

And that is where the

heart of your niche lives.

304

That is what allows you to speak to a

variety of different clients, if that

305

is what you enjoy, and still have a

centered and focused and clear message

306

that makes you compelling, that makes

you specific, even though you work with

307

a handful of different types of people.

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It's a really, really powerful process

when you sit down and do this exercise.

309

Now, the common denominators you

are likely to land on are gonna

310

tend to fall into, like, one or

two of the following buckets.

311

It can be a certain type of person,

so demographics or personality wise.

312

It can be a certain type of problem, a

presenting issue, a symptom, something

313

that, that brings them in, a circumstance.

314

It could be a desired outcome or goal.

315

Again, like the cycle

breaking, things like that.

316

Or a certain type of therapy experience.

317

So one to two of those is really where

the heart of your niche is going to live.

318

You can likely find some commonalities

in all four of those categories,

319

and that's fantastic, but usually

one or two are gonna rise to the

320

surface as your primary red threads.

321

This is where your ideal client

definition is going to actually

322

start to become marketable.

323

Not just who I like working with,

but who you are speaking to in your

324

copy and in your content and in your

social media and in your networking.

325

Not just who you like to work

with, but who are you speaking to?

326

This is where you start to find those

golden nuggets that make you memorable

327

and that make you specific in the eyes

of the people that you most enjoy.

328

Now, when you know who you're talking

to, when you go through this process

329

and you get really, really clear, not

just on what you bring to the room,

330

but on who you're actually talking

to and who that person is that you're

331

sitting across from, people start to see

themselves in your marketing, and that

332

is what they are craving, especially

in the age of AI and everything that

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we're up against in this current market.

334

That's how you get on consults and

people say, "I read your website and

335

it felt like you were talking to me."

336

Well, yeah, 'cause you were, right?

337

When you start to talk to someone

in your marketing, everything gets

338

clearer for them on the other side.

339

Now, when you don't know who you're

talking to and when you try and sort

340

of spray and pray, your marketing

tries to speak to absolutely

341

everyone and it lands with no one.

342

The metaphor I've used before

is how are you gonna catch fish,

343

with a wide net or a deep one?

344

When you get deep, when you use your

marketing to deeply speak to a particular

345

type of person, you're gonna catch way

more fish, way more clients than if you

346

spread yourself thin across the surface.

347

Vague messaging is going to produce

vague results, especially right now.

348

Now, reminder, this doesn't mean

that you can't talk to multiple

349

different types of people.

350

You can enjoy variety in your caseload.

351

I love getting to see our Confident

Copy graduates go out and market their

352

practice and pulling in different types.

353

That keeps them energized and

revitalized in their work.

354

Maybe that is what you want.

355

You can still have a niche and

enjoy different types of clients.

356

Those are not mutually exclusive.

357

This is also why this exercise

is so worth revisiting.

358

Because as your practice evolves,

as you evolve as a clinician, your

359

ideal client is going to sharpen

and refine and evolve as well.

360

And if your marketing doesn't keep

up with it, then we're in trouble.

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Your marketing has to be updated as

your ideal client is updated, as you

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yourself as a clinician are updated.

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This is often the culprit for

the established clinicians that

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we work with, the people who are

like, "I know I do great work.

365

I've worked with a ton of

different clients across my career.

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I know what makes me excited."

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But my marketing doesn't

reflect it at all.

368

You wouldn't know looking at their

website or any of their marketing

369

that they actually are for a specific

type of person because they spent

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so long doing that generalist thing.

371

So if you're someone who knows, oh

my goodness, there is a space for me,

372

there is something I want to carve out

and a, an ideal client I wanna speak

373

to, we gotta do this first so that it

can sharpen everything else that you're

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doing out there to bring in those folks.

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All right, I hope this

was helpful for you.

376

I love this process if you

couldn't hear my energy.

377

Coaching on niching, seeing people

unlock this in their practice is

378

one of my favorite things because it

genuinely unlocks everything else.

379

When you know what it is that you do

well and who you're speaking to, you

380

have the grounds upon which to build

a marketing foundation and a practice

381

that actually makes you excited.

382

I want you to get excited about

opening up your calendar and

383

loving who you're seeing there.

384

That's what I want for you, and it

starts with knowing who the heck

385

you want that person to be, right?

386

And why you're really, really good

at the work that you do when you're

387

doing it with the right person.

388

So a reminder, this process is a process.

389

It's a practice.

390

It's something to come back to.

391

Maybe you earmark this episode and come

back in a year and reflect on this again.

392

You are evolving as a clinician.

393

You're getting better every day.

394

You're getting to know

your ideal clients better.

395

Please make sure that your

marketing keeps up with that.

396

Please don't leave your marketing,

your website behind as you get

397

better and you improve and you

refine who you wanna be working with.

398

Bring that up to speed so that those

clients can see themselves in what

399

it is that you're putting out there.

400

As I mentioned, Magnetic Niche Method

is a fantastic starting point for this.

401

If you want to explore this, whether

you're pre-licensed and brand new

402

or years in and, and wanting to

refine, walkerstrategyco.com/mnm,

403

Magnetic Niche Method can

guide you through that.

404

And if you know that you want to take

this clarity and head straight into your

405

website copy and your marketing, then

Confident Copy is the place for you.

406

The self-study version is

available at all times.

407

You can jump in right now,

walkerstrategyco.com/cc.

408

Or if you're interested in live

feedback, if you want some guidance

409

and additional insight into your niche

and your website as you go, amazing.

410

Then join us for Confident Copy Live.

411

The wait list for that

will be opening next month.

412

You'll be on the wait list for the

August cohort if you know you want

413

that live experience and coaching

over the course of 16 weeks, then

414

you'll wanna keep an eye out for that.

415

I'll let you guys know here on the

podcast as soon as that wait list is open.

416

All right, go forth, niche well,

get to know that ideal client, and

417

I'll see you in our next episode.