Your website shouldn't feel like a completely different version of you than the one clients meet in the therapy room. In this alumni check-in episode, Anna answers a thoughtful question from a Confident Copy graduate: How do you let your personality shine through your marketing while still keeping your website focused on your ideal client?

Using the metaphor of a pair of light pink pants that felt "too bold" to wear, Anna explores why so many therapists default to "beige" marketing that feels safe but ultimately blends in. She shares practical ways to infuse your personality into your copy without making it all about you—so the right clients recognize themselves, recognize you, and feel confident reaching out.

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

1️⃣ Why your personality belongs in your marketing—even when your website is client-centered.

2️⃣ How "beige" marketing keeps you from standing out to the clients you're hoping to attract.

3️⃣ A simple exercise to help your authentic voice come through naturally in your website copy.

4️⃣ Why the goal isn't to appeal to everyone, but to help the right clients immediately recognize that you're the therapist for them.

Resources & links mentioned

• Episode 76: https://walkerstrategyco.com/show-notes/76
• Confident Copy Live waitlist: https://walkerstrategyco.com/cc-waitlist
• Done-for-you copywriting services: https://walkerstrategyco.com/services
• The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com

Connect + subscribe

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

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

About Marketing Therapy

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

Hey everyone.

2

Welcome back to Marketing

Therapy, episode 77.

3

Did you know that Marketing Therapy

turned one year old this month?

4

Yeah, we didn't really acknowledge

that birthday, but happy one

5

year to Marketing Therapy.

6

77 whole episodes.

7

This is something, and I will not

get sidetracked from our topic today,

8

but this podcast is something I

would have never imagined doing, and

9

being on the other side of it is one

of the most rewarding things I've

10

ever chosen to do in my business.

11

I enjoy it so much.

12

I love getting to hear from you

guys and talk about these episodes.

13

I love getting to share what it is

that we're noticing and learning,

14

and it's just been really wonderful.

15

So thanks for tuning in, whether this

is your first or your 77th episode.

16

Now, this is an alumni check-in.

17

If you're not familiar, our alumni

check-ins are an opportunity for our

18

Confident Copy graduates to ask follow-up

questions as they go out into the world,

19

as they put their copy into action,

as they start marketing themselves.

20

What else is there to wonder about, right?

21

So in the same way that you might

have a client graduate from therapy

22

and then come back for a check-in

session three, six, nine months

23

later, this is that opportunity

for our Confident Copy graduates.

24

So this is exactly what I would

say to them if we were sitting

25

down in a one-on-one call,

and you just get to listen in.

26

Now, the cool part about these

check-in episodes is that our

27

students are not asking questions

that are exclusive to them.

28

They're not even exclusive

to Confident Copy.

29

They are relevant to just about

every therapist right now, or

30

at least some of them, right?

31

So this one is really, really

good and was asked of a student

32

who has asked to remain anonymous,

which is perfectly fine, but she

33

had a really fantastic question

that is especially important in this

34

market we're in, where specificity,

personality, humanness is so critical.

35

So she said, "When we are writing our

website for clients to see themselves

36

in it," she means, "how do we balance

that with adding in our personality?

37

Where and how do we add that in, our

personality, outside of the About page,

38

which is still geared towards them?"

39

So what I love about what this student

is asking is that she is keeping

40

her ideal client front and center

when it comes to her marketing.

41

She is not getting pulled into that trap

of making her website about her and her

42

approach and what makes her different,

but instead is really championing her

43

client, and I love knowing and seeing

that that is front of mind for her.

44

Now, she mentioned as a little more

context for this, that my email I sent

45

out about the pink pants I bought, and

I'll share that story with you in a

46

moment if you haven't heard it Really

resonated with her, but she found that

47

she is struggling with translating her

own personality in her writing, and she

48

feels like she lands better in person and

can't get it to come across in her copy.

49

Have you ever felt that way?

50

I am so much more fun and interesting in

the room than I am in my words, right?

51

So I want to address that.

52

I wanna talk about this

pink pants concept.

53

I wanna talk about personality.

54

We're gonna cover a lot of ground here.

55

Now, if you're not on our

email list, you should be.

56

But if you didn't get an email that I

sent earlier this summer, I talked about

57

this pair of pink pants that I purchased

right before getting pregnant last year.

58

They are light pink.

59

They are barrel leg, which is uber trendy.

60

It was very much an impulse buy,

but I was excited about them, okay?

61

So I buy them, but then

they just sat in my closet.

62

They felt a little bit too bold to wear.

63

You know when you buy something

new and you can't figure out

64

how to make an outfit with it?

65

That's how I was feeling.

66

But I chose to wear them to dinner with

some friends, and my friend opened up the

67

door, and literally the minute she saw me,

she said, "Oh, my gosh, those are so you."

68

And it was like, bam, that's all I needed.

69

That was the confidence boost

that I needed to wear these

70

pink pants confidently, right?

71

Well, then I get pregnant.

72

I can't wear them anymore.

73

I'm doing a third trimester purge

of my closet right before my

74

son came, and I saw them again.

75

I hadn't seen them in a while because

I'd been busy wearing maternity pants.

76

But it occurred to me as I found them

in that purge, that a lot of therapists

77

are doing the opposite of the whole

pink pants thing in their marketing.

78

So that's what this

alumni was referencing.

79

Because when you're brand new to private

practice, being beige feels a heck of a

80

lot safer than putting on your light pink

barrel pants in your marketing, right?

81

You don't wanna turn anyone away.

82

This idea of claiming a niche and

carving out this unique space for

83

yourself is intimidating, and so a

lot of clinicians go the beige route.

84

But then eventually something

shifts in your practice, and

85

you decide, "You know what?

86

I am going to charge more," or,

"My niche is clearer," or, "I do

87

wanna be more intentional about

the clients that I'm bringing in."

88

And then the website stays beige.

89

You start putting on pink

pants as a clinician.

90

You start knowing who you're

for, who you're not for, but

91

your marketing doesn't catch up.

92

And the fact is that that mismatch

is subtle but incredibly costly right

93

now, especially when premium-fee

clients are making really, really quick

94

decisions, and any gap that they see is

inviting doubt rather than confidence.

95

And what people need right now to

pay premium fees is confidence.

96

So that's what this alumni was

referencing, is, "How do I put on my

97

pink pants in my marketing," right?

98

"How do I translate that personality

into my writing so that clients

99

really feel like I'm different?

100

And how do they see that personality

come through when I'm trying

101

so much to champion them and

not myself in my marketing?"

102

Okay?

103

So that's what's happening today.

104

Here's the through line.

105

Not everyone is gonna love

your pink pants, and that

106

is the whole freaking point.

107

You are not the right

therapist for everyone.

108

If your marketing is not doing a

good job of letting people know that,

109

your marketing is missing something.

110

So please hear that.

111

Not everyone's gonna like your pink pants.

112

That's okay.

113

The right client will.

114

And what a beautiful thing.

115

Okay?

116

So before I get into this whole idea

of personality, I do wanna touch on

117

what this alumni asked about when it

came to struggling to translate her

118

personality into her writing, that

she was better in person and can't

119

get it to come across in your copy.

120

One of my best tips for this, and I share

this with our Confident Copy students,

121

is if you're really feeling stuck in

creating copy that feels like you,

122

start by talking rather than writing.

123

There's something about the, I think,

distance from our head to our fingertips

124

versus our head to our mouth, right?

125

That things get garbled, and all

of a sudden they get clinical and

126

professional and, you know, not right.

127

Just talk.

128

In the age of AI and things like

that, there are so many places where

129

you can speak into a microphone

and transcribe what it is that

130

you wrote and then use that.

131

So rather than perhaps sitting

down and answering, "What makes me

132

different than other therapists?"

133

Talk about it.

134

Talk into a microphone.

135

Talk to a friend and record it.

136

But truly actually say the things

rather than attempting to write them,

137

and that can often unlock a lot of

personality, because that's where

138

we're gonna get the little euphemisms

that only you say or, you know, those

139

little phrases that your clients come

back and they're like, "I heard you

140

in the back of my mind this week."

141

That's where those things are gonna

shine, if you're finding that when I sit

142

down to write, it doesn't come through.

143

So that's my recommendation there.

144

Go ahead and talk.

145

Talk about the work that you do.

146

Talk about your clients, and then

use what you said for your writing.

147

All right, now let's talk

about this idea of personality.

148

So what I want to really reframe

here is your personality is not

149

the same as talking about yourself.

150

The, the places where you can inject

personality into your marketing are not

151

only the places where you're talking

about you, and I think that's an important

152

reframe for this alumni, and likely for

others that are listening right now.

153

Personality is not a

section of your website.

154

It's not a place where you talk about you.

155

Personality is literally sprinkled

into every single thing that you say

156

and choose to write and choose to

convey on your website, in your social

157

media, anywhere in your marketing.

158

Okay?

159

It's not confined to the little section

of your About page where you talk about

160

what you like to do on the weekends.

161

Okay?

162

It's so much bigger than that.

163

Personality is showing up in

how you talk about your clients.

164

Okay?

165

It's showing up in how you talk about

why it is that they're here and what

166

it is that's going through their mind.

167

It also comes through in the way that you

talk about how you're gonna help them.

168

So in your approach and what it's like

to be in the room with you, all of these

169

places are opportunities for personality.

170

Now, the reason for that is because

in this market in particular,

171

personality is the same in many ways

as specificity, and we know that

172

specificity is the name of the game.

173

The more precise, the more alive your

client descriptions are and your copy

174

is, the more you is coming through.

175

Okay?

176

So if your ideal client, the person that

you just absolutely love to work with,

177

is that super high-functioning woman who

just became a mom for the first time and

178

all of a sudden doesn't recognize herself

and is laying awake at two AM nursing her

179

baby and wondering, "What happened to me?"

180

Okay?

181

If that is your client, then talking

about that, how she's laying awake at

182

two AM nursing her baby, should-ing

herself, thinking that she's behind

183

or has done something wrong, all of

those things are showing personality.

184

Right?

185

Because it's the way that

you're talking about it.

186

The specificity is your voice there.

187

The shift is to stop asking,

"Where do I talk about me?"

188

And start asking, "How do I

talk about them in my way?

189

How do I talk about my

approach in my way?"

190

Because all of it can be injected with

your personality and with your voice.

191

Okay?

192

Now, where does personality

actually live in your website?

193

If it's not gonna be just on

that little section of your About

194

page, then where does it belong?

195

Well, like I said, it

kinda goes everywhere.

196

It's gonna be in how you talk about

your clients, the struggle that brings

197

them here, the inner experience,

right, that they're having that maybe

198

they haven't talked about out loud.

199

It's gonna be in how you talk about your

approach and your philosophy, right?

200

This is so much more than just

name-dropping your modalities.

201

But, like, what is it like

to be in the room with you?

202

What is the process you're

taking your clients through?

203

What is it like to be in a session?

204

What are you gonna do that

other therapists don't?

205

That's another place for personality.

206

Now, we recently did some website copy

in our done-for-you copy suite for a

207

psychodynamic clinician, super skilled,

a lot of fun to talk to, knew her ideal

208

client inside and out, and also knew

herself and her approach inside and out.

209

And one of the headlines we wrote

for her was, "You're not looking

210

for another self-help exercise.

211

Neither am I."

212

Because that was the

thing about her clients.

213

They had done all the things, right?

214

They were not interested

in a CBT worksheet.

215

They'd listened to the podcast,

they'd done the journaling.

216

Like, they were ready for

something much deeper.

217

And so that headline was so her,

and she's also, like, this super

218

direct kind of no BS clinician.

219

So that was a way to bring in personality.

220

Again, she was talking about her

clients essentially, not about

221

her, and yet we were getting a

sense of that clinician there.

222

So that's an example of where

personality could perhaps be brought in.

223

But you have a certain presence, right?

224

You have a cadence to

the way that you talk.

225

You have a way of thinking about

and conceptualizing things.

226

You have metaphors that you bring in to

the way that you talk to your clients.

227

All of those things belong in your copy.

228

One of my favorite sections of the

pre-writing that our done-for-you

229

clients do is a section about their

voice, and they are asked to include

230

at least, ideally more, but at least

10 to 15 phrases, concepts, metaphors

231

that they often use in session.

232

So that could be something as simple as,

"I hear you," and as complex as, like, the

233

metaphor they use to describe EMDR, okay?

234

It can be anything.

235

But that is an absolute goldmine for us

to draw upon when creating copy that's

236

gonna sound like them because we know

that that actually sounds like them.

237

So what are the things that you say?

238

What are the turns of phrase, the

concepts, the metaphors that you use,

239

and how could that be sprinkled in?

240

Right?

241

And remember, the goal is

to not be for everyone.

242

The goal is to put on your pink pants.

243

And so you really have to, as

you go through this process, be

244

holding in your mind the person

that you are the best fit for.

245

Be really, really specific

about who that person is.

246

If you don't know that, you gotta

start there, and our last episode

247

was on identifying your ideal

clients, so maybe go listen to that.

248

But we have to know who you're

sitting across from in that room

249

as you write this copy, okay?

250

And then how can you speak to them so

specifically, so uniquely, that once

251

they get into the room with you, it just

feels like a consistent through line?

252

How can they meet the version of you

they're gonna get in the room now?

253

That's the power of your language

and the power of your words right

254

now, the power of being specific.

255

So if we bring this back to the idea of

pink pants, not everyone's gonna like 'em.

256

That's the whole point.

257

Not everyone is gonna like how

you talk about your approach.

258

Not everyone is going to identify with the

client reality that you are displaying.

259

That's the whole point.

260

The right client is going

to recognize themselves.

261

They are going to recognize you.

262

They are going to resonate with what

it is that you are describing, the type

263

of experience you're talking about.

264

They're gonna see themselves.

265

They're gonna like your pink pants.

266

And that recognition, the one that

I got from my friend, "Oh, those

267

pants are so you," they're gonna have

that recognition, "This is so me."

268

And that is the goal of copy, right?

269

The goal is that they see themselves,

so it is still client-focused, which is

270

exactly what this alumni was centering

first and foremost, but doing it with that

271

personality, That little bit of you that

another clinician wouldn't say, right?

272

How do you say things?

273

How do you think about things?

274

How do you position

things that others don't?

275

When that comes through, they recognize

themselves and they also recognize you.

276

They get into the room with

you and it feels like exactly

277

who they met on the website.

278

That's the incredible opportunity

available to you in copy, and it's

279

why in this market, the words that

you are using continue to be the

280

number one driving factor behind

whether or not someone decides to

281

reach out to you as their therapist.

282

They pull so much weight

if you use them right.

283

Okay, this is way more in-depth, way

more nuanced than just going to ChatGPT

284

and asking it to write you a homepage.

285

This is about thinking about spending time

with who this ideal client is, what sets

286

you apart, and what your personality is.

287

What are those ways that you can be

injecting what makes you you into your

288

marketing so that people latch onto that?

289

Because in the sea of sameness

that your clients are wading

290

through, you can stand out.

291

Your pink pants can stand out.

292

All right?

293

Okay, I hope this was helpful for you.

294

Thank you to the alumni who

chose to share this with us.

295

If you're sitting here and you're a

Confident Copy alumni, please head on

296

over to the submission form and ask

the question you're wondering about.

297

You might see your question featured in

these monthly sessions that we're doing.

298

If you're interested in

Confident Copy, you're in luck.

299

I am not supposed to tell you this, but

our Confident Copy waitlist is open.

300

We actually won't be talking about

this publicly until next month.

301

But if you know that you want to have

a live experience, if you want to

302

go through our proven Confident Copy

process and do it with support, with

303

feedback, with live coaching, Confident

Copy Live is going to be reopening

304

in August and the waitlist is open.

305

So we're not actually talking about

the waitlist publicly until next month.

306

But it is ready for you if

you know, "Hey, starting in

307

August, I really wanna jump in.

308

I wanna get clear on what makes me me.

309

I wanna know how to bring my personality

into my copy and do it in the right ways."

310

Confident Copy Live is a

great place to do that.

311

So you can head over to

walkerstrategyco.com/cc-waitlist.

312

CC, the letter CC, dash waitlist

if you wanna jump on there.

313

If you're wondering about that

done-for-you that I mentioned that

314

client for whom we wrote that incredible

headline that's also an option.

315

So if you know that you're not

interested in writing the copy

316

yourself, but instead wanna hand it

over to some experts, we would love

317

to partner with you in that way.

318

You can get all the details there,

walkerstrategyco.com/services.

319

Whatever you do next, even if it's nothing

related to Confident Copy or our services,

320

be thinking about how you can be bringing

your personality into your marketing.

321

How can you be putting on your pink

pants, and how could that potentially be

322

resonating with the exact types of people

you wanna be doing your life's work with?

323

I'll see you in our next episode.