Artwork for podcast Marketing Therapy
71. How Long to Stick With a Marketing Strategy: A 2-Part Framework
Episode 71 • 19th May 2026 • Marketing Therapy • Anna Walker
00:00:00 00:22:44

Share Episode

Shownotes

How long should you actually stick with a marketing strategy before deciding it’s not working? In this episode, Anna breaks down one of the most common (and emotionally loaded) questions therapists ask when growing a private practice.

If you’ve ever felt discouraged because your efforts aren’t producing immediate results, this conversation will help you approach your marketing with more clarity, patience, and confidence. Anna explores why marketing timelines have changed, what today’s slower buying cycle means for therapists, and how to evaluate your strategies without reacting purely from burnout or frustration. You’ll leave with a practical framework for knowing when to stay the course, when to optimize, and when it may actually be time to pivot.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

1️⃣ Why therapists are experiencing slower marketing results than they did a few years ago

2️⃣ How to evaluate whether a strategy truly isn’t working—or simply needs more time

3️⃣ The difference between measurable and relationship-based marketing strategies

4️⃣ Why patience and consistency are competitive advantages in today’s private practice landscape

RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED

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.

Transcripts

Speaker:

Hey, hey, welcome back to Marketing Therapy.

2

:

I'm excited about this episode.

3

:

'cause man, I get this

question a lot and I get it.

4

:

I think it's important that clinicians

ask this, and I'm also here to maybe

5

:

deliver a little bit of tough love.

6

:

So every clinician at some

point asks, is this actually

7

:

working or am I wasting my time?

8

:

Today we're looking at the question, how

long should you actually stick with a

9

:

marketing strategy before you call it?

10

:

Right?

11

:

You know, we talk a lot about the

fact that not everything you do

12

:

in your marketing is gonna land.

13

:

Not everything you do in your

marketing is gonna feel good or

14

:

align with your energy or whatever.

15

:

That's okay.

16

:

That's normal.

17

:

But it's also very, very important

that you give a strategy enough time to

18

:

actually know if it's working or not.

19

:

Before you make that determination.

20

:

So the problem here is not that question.

21

:

You're allowed to ask, is this

working or am I wasting my time?

22

:

But I find that many therapists are asking

that question way too soon with the wrong

23

:

data and against the wrong timeline.

24

:

That's what I wanna break down today.

25

:

How long should you actually spend

not just running on vibes, and I

26

:

don't feel like doing this anymore,

but like what should you actually do?

27

:

Okay.

28

:

This is essentially a framework in

this episode of how to answer that

29

:

question honestly, and to do it wisely.

30

:

Not just because you're burnt out, not

just because you're discouraged, not just

31

:

because you haven't gotten a client yet.

32

:

So I wanna talk first about

the market that we're in.

33

:

'cause we have to get

really honest about that.

34

:

We're gonna talk a little bit about

getting your mind right, and then the

35

:

actual mechanics of this, the actual.

36

:

Criteria I would recommend you

use when evaluating whether

37

:

or not something is working.

38

:

Okay.

39

:

So first and foremost, my friends,

we are not in:

40

:

I probably don't have to tell

you that, but maybe I do.

41

:

Maybe I do need to remind you that

the era of making a change in your

42

:

marketing, implementing something new,

optimizing something, and then seeing

43

:

results the next day, the next week.

44

:

Even the next month.

45

:

That era is no longer, and that's a hard

pill to swallow for a lot of clinicians.

46

:

You know, we've talked recently, and I've

even talked to other clinicians and other

47

:

marketing specialists in the therapy space

about the fact that the pandemic times.

48

:

Kind of lulled some therapists

into a false sense of security

49

:

when it came to marketing.

50

:

Marketing felt really, really easy,

and honestly, it was really fun to

51

:

help therapists with their marketing

during this time because I also got

52

:

to see results from what I suggested

the next day or the next week.

53

:

What's happening now is different.

54

:

That's okay.

55

:

That is just a statement of fact.

56

:

It's not actually good or bad.

57

:

It's not because marketing doesn't work.

58

:

It's not because.

59

:

You're doing anything wrong.

60

:

It's literally because the buying

cycle, the way that your clients

61

:

are making decisions, has shifted.

62

:

That's a neutral statement.

63

:

Now, one thing that we know this is

not exclusive to therapy, is that in

64

:

slower, more uncertain economic times.

65

:

People don't necessarily stop

spending, although in some cases we

66

:

do see that, but they do take longer

to make decisions about their money.

67

:

They slow their decisions down,

so they're doing more research.

68

:

They're comparing more often.

69

:

There's more time between them

learning about you for the first

70

:

time and then committing to you.

71

:

So someone literally might visit

your website three times and a

72

:

bunch of other therapists, they

might sit on it for two months.

73

:

They might reach out to you for a consult.

74

:

They might ghost you.

75

:

Or at least it feels like it,

and then they come back a month

76

:

or two later in book with you.

77

:

That's actually a pretty

normal conversion right now.

78

:

Not ideal.

79

:

I understand.

80

:

And not all of them are gonna be like

that, but that's an example of how

81

:

this buying cycle has gotten longer.

82

:

Evaluating more, sitting

with the decision, taking

83

:

more time before saying yes.

84

:

This is not, again, a

fundamentally red flag.

85

:

This is not fundamentally something wrong.

86

:

This is just how it is.

87

:

So we've gotta get really, really

honest and clear about that.

88

:

We've also talked about

the trust recession.

89

:

We have an entire episode on this,

and I'll link it in the show notes,

90

:

but we know that trust is taking

longer to build because of the

91

:

increased skepticism that people have.

92

:

Right now.

93

:

All of us as buyers and as consumers, are

more skeptical than we have ever been.

94

:

That's especially true when we

feel financially or emotionally

95

:

stretched in any way, which many of

us do in the current climate, right.

96

:

So because your clients are

more discerning and are more

97

:

cautious, more deliberate, right?

98

:

Then therapists who are doing well right

now are the ones focusing on building

99

:

trust and who are communicating that

and cultivating that in their marketing.

100

:

So what does this mean practically?

101

:

This means that your marketing may

be working, it may be working really,

102

:

really well, but it might be working

on a timeline you just didn't expect.

103

:

So the danger, the trap that many

clinicians are falling into right

104

:

now is quitting a strategy that

is actually gaining traction.

105

:

They just can't see or feel it yet.

106

:

That's the danger here.

107

:

So before we get into how to know

if your social media is working

108

:

or whatever, we first have to

make sure that your mind is right.

109

:

Okay.

110

:

So mindset is literally a prerequisite

right now, and this is a theme I see as

111

:

I look at the clinicians I know who are

still thriving in this current market.

112

:

You can have the right strategy, you

can have the best marketing plan and

113

:

still fail if your head is not right.

114

:

Strategy requires patience.

115

:

If you have not committed to

having patience, then you're

116

:

gonna check the data too early.

117

:

You're gonna misread signals

and you're gonna pull the plug

118

:

before you get to the results.

119

:

By having a practice right now, by

deciding to be full fee, for instance,

120

:

by deciding to go out on your own,

which are all things to celebrate, you

121

:

are also signing up for the long game.

122

:

Okay.

123

:

Not indefinitely.

124

:

It doesn't mean that results won't

eventually come, but the game

125

:

is longer than it used to be.

126

:

We're not getting to make changes

and see results next week.

127

:

When I've had to summarize this as

I've spoken to many, many clinicians

128

:

over the last 24 months, when we really

saw this shift start to happen, it

129

:

is that you are going to have to be

more boots on the ground, more engaged

130

:

in your marketing than you used to.

131

:

If you're newer to private

practice, maybe you started your

132

:

practice post COVID, awesome.

133

:

You probably are signing up for

more boots on the ground and more

134

:

engagement than you expected.

135

:

You've gotta recognize that

as you get into this, you are

136

:

going to experience windows of

time that are discouraging 100%.

137

:

The period between starting and

seeing results when it feels

138

:

like nothing is working is a

very, very normal place to be.

139

:

You've gotta be prepared

to push through that.

140

:

If you know that you're gonna face those

windows, those discouragement windows,

141

:

then you can prepare for them, right?

142

:

So know that, prepare for them,

acknowledge them, and then be

143

:

ready to push through them.

144

:

What I really want to drive home for

you today is that patience is actually

145

:

an active strategic choice right now.

146

:

Your ability to be patient is a

competitive advantage because impatience,

147

:

this desire to just quickly pull the

plug or this isn't working or jumping

148

:

between strategies, that is expensive.

149

:

It's expensive because you restart.

150

:

It's like starting a cold engine

on a cold day as opposed to running

151

:

one that's been running for a while.

152

:

You pivot too quickly.

153

:

And you essentially accumulate this

graveyard of half tried strategies

154

:

with no real data, and often

just a bunch of frustration and

155

:

very few clients to show for it.

156

:

That's what impatience can cost you.

157

:

So staying the course

is the work right now.

158

:

Patience is a active and

strategic choice right now.

159

:

If you can be prepared, if

your mind can be in that place.

160

:

You can be successful right now.

161

:

That is the theme I see in the

most successful clinicians I know.

162

:

Now, one more thing before we get into

the actual criteria is that you have to

163

:

know how you are getting your clients.

164

:

Before you evaluate any strategy,

we gotta know what's actually

165

:

generating your inquiries, okay?

166

:

So if you do not currently have a

practice in your practice of asking

167

:

how clients found out about you,

you gotta implement that today.

168

:

You have to implement that.

169

:

Right now you are flying blind, otherwise.

170

:

You are running off of what

you think is working or what

171

:

you poured your energy into.

172

:

Most recently, what it could have

been the thing that you have been

173

:

doing faithfully for six months

that generated this inquiry.

174

:

You cannot assign, pass or

fail to something that you're

175

:

not actually measuring here.

176

:

All right, so this doesn't

have to be complicated.

177

:

My favorite place to put this is just

in the contact form of your website.

178

:

How did you hear about me?

179

:

Psych Today Referral.

180

:

Google search, ai, whatever kind of

the most common ones are capture that.

181

:

Measure it.

182

:

Because without this, you are

not evaluating your marketing.

183

:

You are just guessing, and we

don't wanna do that, right?

184

:

That's not why we're here.

185

:

Now, it's important to note

that your website analytics

186

:

are also part of this picture.

187

:

I've talked recently about how

this should be a regular practice.

188

:

You should be looking at your data on

a monthly basis or so to understand how

189

:

traffic is trending, where people are

coming from, what pages they're visiting.

190

:

That can give you additional.

191

:

Insight.

192

:

So just a side note on that.

193

:

But primarily we need to at least be

capturing how people found out about you.

194

:

Alright, so now let's get

into the actual criteria.

195

:

How long should you stick with something?

196

:

I kind of view these in two categories.

197

:

One are our very measurable

strategies, alright?

198

:

These are things like Google ads.

199

:

These are things like

social media directories.

200

:

We have a clear input output here.

201

:

So what I would recommend here

as you implement a strategy like

202

:

this is that you kind of define

your window before you start.

203

:

So you agree, you commit to

doing something for X amount

204

:

of time and then evaluating.

205

:

So not just stopping when you're

frustrated or discouraged,

206

:

but deciding ahead of time how

long you're gonna stick to it.

207

:

Because if you decide that

timeline in the middle.

208

:

Of that discouragement

window I was talking about.

209

:

It's like changing the rules mid game.

210

:

Okay?

211

:

So know how long you're gonna stick

with something before you start it.

212

:

My general rule of thumb, and this is

universal to literally any strategy, you

213

:

need to do something for at least three

months before you assign, pass or fail.

214

:

Okay?

215

:

In that first month, you're kind of

getting your feet under you, right?

216

:

There's gonna be a little bit

of noise, there's gonna be a

217

:

little bit of figuring it out.

218

:

Month two, you might start

to see some signals emerge.

219

:

It might not be hard data, but you

might start to see kind of some

220

:

patterns in engagement, some patterns in

interest, questions, things like that.

221

:

And then month three is really where

you can start to truly evaluate.

222

:

Is this generating inquiries, A and B?

223

:

Is this generating inquiries

at a rate that justifies how

224

:

much I'm investing in it?

225

:

I've mentioned before in our

recent episode about whether or

226

:

not Psych Today still works, and

I'll link that in the show notes.

227

:

We talked about the fact that psych today

is incredibly high, ROI because of how

228

:

little effort you have to put into it.

229

:

You optimize your profile,

maybe you update it every

230

:

month or something like that.

231

:

But for how little effort you

put in one client is awesome.

232

:

If you're getting one client from

Instagram or you have been posting

233

:

daily, showing up on stories, dancing

on reels, you gotta decide at some

234

:

point whether or not that is justified.

235

:

And for some people it's gonna

be like, yes, it absolutely is.

236

:

And for others it's not.

237

:

So there isn't necessarily

a black and white there.

238

:

But what I'm noting here

is we have to weigh.

239

:

The return on the investment, whether

that is time, money, or energy.

240

:

Now, like I mentioned, my general

rule of thumb is three months.

241

:

Directories do have a little

bit of a faster feedback loop.

242

:

I recommend keeping a version of

your psych today or other directory

243

:

profile up for six to eight weeks

before drawing some meaningful

244

:

observations and making decisions.

245

:

But like I said, three months

is kind of the standard here.

246

:

What's important here is that you have a

healthy relationship with the data, okay?

247

:

That you can monitor these

things without obsessing, right?

248

:

You're not checking

things every single day.

249

:

You're maybe checking in

biweekly, monthly, something

250

:

like that, not daily or hourly.

251

:

I've talked to people who are

pulling up their Instagram

252

:

analytics literally on the daily.

253

:

This allows you to see trends.

254

:

Okay.

255

:

Not just the daily fluctuations

or the monthly fluctuations

256

:

that are so, so, so expected.

257

:

I want you to be able to view

this objectively, to make

258

:

decisions from that place.

259

:

Then you can optimize thoughtfully

as you gather that data.

260

:

That might mean small

adjustments to your strategy.

261

:

It might mean, you know what, this

isn't working and that's okay with me.

262

:

I've given it a solid try.

263

:

But we can't do that without some data.

264

:

So as you get to that three month

mark, or whatever timeline you decided

265

:

on ahead of time, ask yourself,

is the volume of inquiries here

266

:

proportional to the investment?

267

:

Right?

268

:

So the time, money, energy investment

that you made, is that proportional?

269

:

Is there a conversion problem

hiding behind this traffic problem?

270

:

And I recently just talked

about that in part two of our

271

:

summer Slump Playbook series.

272

:

Definitely.

273

:

We'll link that in the show notes

if you haven't listened to that yet.

274

:

But we've gotta make sure if we're

pouring water into the bucket,

275

:

that bucket is holding it right.

276

:

Otherwise we could be losing clients

on the other side of the journey.

277

:

And then finally, if it's not

working, quote unquote, and I'm

278

:

putting that in quotes because not

working can mean a lot of different

279

:

things to a lot of different people.

280

:

Is it the strategy itself

or is it the execution?

281

:

Is social media not working, or is it

the way that you are doing social media?

282

:

And what this invites you to look at

is whether or not this is actually a

283

:

sustainable option for you, that you're

open to optimizing or shifting on, or if

284

:

it just straight up isn't the right fit.

285

:

Because you get to decide that you

are in charge of your marketing.

286

:

You are the CEO of your practice, and you

get to decide if this is worth the time,

287

:

money, and energy you're putting into it.

288

:

And if maybe just.

289

:

It needs to be updated or optimized or

maybe it's just not the right fit for you.

290

:

Alright, so those are kind of

those more measurable strategies.

291

:

Then we have the more non-measurable ones.

292

:

Networking, for instance,

we can't always track.

293

:

Alright?

294

:

I reached out to six people this

week and it turned into three

295

:

clients three months from now.

296

:

It's much, much harder here.

297

:

This is a way more qualitative.

298

:

Strategy than it is quantitative like ads.

299

:

Ads are very cut and dry,

very, very numbers driven.

300

:

So networking, any sort of

relational marketing, right?

301

:

Local marketing, things like that.

302

:

SEO even falls into this because

it is such a long-term play

303

:

that we can't necessarily know.

304

:

Okay?

305

:

The strategy I put in that today

turned into a client three months

306

:

from now, it's much harder to

draw those relationships because

307

:

they're just compounding over time.

308

:

So this is not necessarily a.

309

:

Measurable item, but this is where

we gotta have a little bit of faith.

310

:

Okay?

311

:

These strategies are not

going to give you a dashboard.

312

:

You're not gonna get to log

on and see your networking,

313

:

you know, analytics report.

314

:

Unfortunately, this is just the

nature of strategies like this.

315

:

It doesn't mean they're wrong, of

course we know we need to network,

316

:

but it's just the nature of it.

317

:

So what's important to remember

is that these compound.

318

:

So when you are having regular

conversations, you are planting seeds.

319

:

Some seeds will grow in a week, some

will grow in a year, and you rarely know

320

:

which is which until you plant them.

321

:

So there is a level of trust in

the process, in faith in yourself,

322

:

trust in yourself that as you

engage in this, as you plant the

323

:

seeds, that some will be fruitful.

324

:

The clinicians I see who benefit most

from marketing aren't necessarily reaching

325

:

out to the highest number of people,

although volume is part of the equation,

326

:

but they keep showing up consistently.

327

:

They stay in touch with relationships.

328

:

They cultivate them.

329

:

They continue forming new ones.

330

:

They don't let the discouragement of

not hearing back or not clicking with

331

:

someone, or not quote unquote getting

a client, keep them from continuing to

332

:

push forward lots of networking episodes

here in the marketing therapy library.

333

:

Scroll back to find some we talk about

it at least once every two months or so.

334

:

So you can find lots of of examples there.

335

:

But the fact is that.

336

:

You've gotta be willing to show up

and plant the seeds, recognizing that

337

:

some might never actually blossom and

others will be incredibly fruitful.

338

:

Now, SEO, which I mentioned kind of

falls into this non-measurable category.

339

:

I would recommend at least

a six month minimum here.

340

:

SEO is a longer term

game than it's ever been.

341

:

It's always been a long term

play, but especially now.

342

:

So this means optimizing for Google.

343

:

This means optimizing.

344

:

Even for AI tools, you've

gotta stick with it.

345

:

You've gotta do it very, very well

before you can start drawing conclusions.

346

:

That feedback loop is long, right?

347

:

I mentioned directories

like six to eight weeks.

348

:

We're not gonna know if your SEO strategy

is working in six to eight weeks.

349

:

So what's important here is that you

stay in touch with the data over time.

350

:

Not just that you don't look at it for

six months, but you keep an eye on it.

351

:

You continue pressing forward, and

then at that six month mark you can

352

:

decide, okay, has this been worthwhile?

353

:

And then again, is it the

strategy or is it the execution?

354

:

Are there additional things you

should be doing, could be doing here?

355

:

Like I said here, the

feedback loop is long.

356

:

The variables are many.

357

:

But impatience here is especially costly

because of how high value this compounding

358

:

effect is, but only if you stay in it.

359

:

So again, you gotta show up

ready to commit to that strategy.

360

:

I've heard clinicians talk about, oh,

I quote unquote optimize my website.

361

:

Okay.

362

:

What have you been doing over time?

363

:

Well, nothing.

364

:

Okay.

365

:

Well, we would expect that a couple

of efforts toward optimization would.

366

:

Support you over time, but

SEO is as much an ongoing

367

:

strategy as any other right now.

368

:

So just like you wouldn't, you know, hop

onto Instagram, post a single reel and

369

:

expect to get clients, we can't expect

to do one thing for your SEO or engage in

370

:

one optimization and see the clients come.

371

:

So again, if you're going to sign up

for that strategy, which you don't

372

:

have to, but if you're going to,

you gotta show up ready to do it.

373

:

What I wanna highlight here about these

more non-measurable strategies is it's not

374

:

necessarily about frequency, although you

do need to be regularly engaging in it.

375

:

It's just about not disappearing.

376

:

Please don't ghost the strategy.

377

:

Okay?

378

:

Stay engaged.

379

:

Stay committed.

380

:

Agree.

381

:

Going into it that you're

gonna stick with it.

382

:

One genuine coffee chat a month.

383

:

Maintained over a year.

384

:

Is going to be a flurry of outreach that

you only do twice a year when you get

385

:

scared that you're not getting clients.

386

:

All right, so this is about consistency.

387

:

This is about staying the course and

having faith in what you're doing.

388

:

When you plant a seed, you don't get

to see the roots that are growing.

389

:

You just gotta trust it.

390

:

But if you keep nourishing, you

keep watering like the growth is

391

:

happening even when you can't see it.

392

:

And again, that does not feel as good

as a hard and fast analytics dashboard.

393

:

I get it.

394

:

And yet it proves true

time and time again.

395

:

So how long should you stick with a

marketing strategy before you abandon it?

396

:

My standard answer at least three months.

397

:

My more nuanced answer, it

depends on the strategy.

398

:

You gotta have your mind, right,

and you have to recognize that by

399

:

signing up to market today, you

are signing up for the long game.

400

:

If you understand all of those

things, then you too can be incredibly

401

:

successful and you can be engaging

in strategies that feel good that

402

:

you know are offering return on your

time and energy and money, and aren't

403

:

just throwing spaghetti at the wall.

404

:

Okay?

405

:

Like I said, your patience right now

is a competitive advantage because so

406

:

many therapists are quitting too early.

407

:

The very thing you have been doing

in the last weeks or months, may very

408

:

well be gaining traction, growing

roots, and you just can't see it yet.

409

:

So I encourage you to stay the course.

410

:

I encourage you to keep your mind right,

and I encourage you to keep pressing

411

:

forward and then make decisions that are

thoughtful, that are objective, and that

412

:

will lead you toward the types of results

that you're looking for in your caseload.

413

:

Okay.

414

:

So the question now is

not just, is this working?

415

:

It's are you giving it

a real chance to work?

416

:

Once you answer that,

you'll know what to do next.

417

:

Thanks for joining me today.

418

:

I'll see you in our next episode.

Links

Video

More from YouTube