When a potential client is searching for a therapist, what actually makes them say, “Yes, this is the one”? In this episode, I break down what really drives client decisions—and spoiler: it's not your credentials or your list of modalities.

I’ll walk you through how specificity in your niche and messaging creates connection, trust, and the kind of clarity that makes you easy to choose (and refer to). You’ll also hear why being “for everyone” is actually a fast track to being forgettable, and how choosing a niche isn’t a forever decision—it’s a powerful starting point.

If you’ve ever struggled with the fear of boxing yourself in or wondered why your website isn’t converting like you hoped, this conversation is going to shift how you think about your marketing.

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

1️⃣ Why specificity—not credentials—is what actually makes you memorable and referable

2️⃣ A reframe of niching that removes the pressure and opens up more connection with your right-fit clients

3️⃣ Real-life examples of niche statements that move clients from “just looking” to “this is the therapist for me”

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Magnetic Niche Method: walkerstrategyco.com/mnm

The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com

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Explore more marketing support for therapists: The Walker Strategy Co website

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 there.

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Welcome back to Marketing Therapy.

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I'm Anna Walker, and today we're

getting to the heart of something

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that's really easy to overlook, but

absolutely essential in this climate.

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Why do some therapists get

chosen and others get passed by?

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Now we know that potential clients

are looking at between five and

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seven different therapy websites in

deciding who they're gonna work with.

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So who do they decide to work with?

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Why are they choosing therapist

B and not therapist A?

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Why are they choosing

someone else and not you?

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When a client is scrolling through

these websites, clicking out, thinking

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about it, scheduling consultations,

what's actually making them reach out?

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To certain ones and to pass others by

spoiler alert, it's not their credentials.

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It's usually not the list of modalities,

and it's definitely not how many

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years they've been in practice.

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It's whether they are memorable

it, whether they feel seen, that

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moment, that instant where a client

thinks, oh, this person gets it.

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That comes down to specificity.

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If you haven't yet experienced the

absolute euphoria that comes when a

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client calls for a consultation and said,

I read your website and it felt like

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you were speaking directly to me, then

you're missing out on this opportunity.

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Specificity is what makes you

memorable, and I cannot overstate

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right now the importance of being

memorable in your marketing.

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An interesting thing that has

changed in how we look at.

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Buyer behavior.

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So the decisions people are making with

their money, so this is particularly

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relevant if you are looking to book

more private pay clients, is they're

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taking longer in their decision making.

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So it's not that they're not going to

therapy, but they are thinking about it

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for longer before taking the next step.

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So they're doing research about you,

about your colleagues, about your

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peers, and then they're taking more

time to ultimately make that decision.

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So in that amount of time, in that

gap between considering therapy and

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pursuing it, are you coming to mind?

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That is why being memorable

is so critical right now.

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Specificity is what does that specificity

is what makes you referable easy

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to refer to with your networking

conversations, and it's ultimately what

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makes your website convert when you

are not specific in your marketing.

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When you are vague, when you are

trying to be all things to all

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people, you are watering yourself down

when what you say in your marketing

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could ultimately apply to anyone.

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If it could be slapped on any

therapist's website and be true, then

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you're risking becoming forgettable.

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We can't put the burden on your clients

to figure out if you're the right fit.

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We need your marketing to show them.

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I want people to land on your website

and to interact with your marketing

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and know instantly that you are the

therapist that they've been looking for.

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When we think about what's making clients

choose you, it's coming down to your

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specificity and how memorable you are,

how much you connect with your marketing.

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You've heard the word niche thrown

around here, there, and everywhere

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in the private practice space.

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In this market, your niche is more

important than it has ever been.

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But let's talk about this idea of niche,

what it really is and what it's not.

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Because there are a lot of misconceptions,

and I coach hundreds of clinicians per

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year, specifically on their niche, and

one of the biggest things I hear is that

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they're afraid of boxing themselves in,

is that you right now, when you think

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about a niche, you're afraid of closing

yourself off to potential clients.

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What if I change my mind, but I like

working with different kinds of people.

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I don't want to exclude

anyone and hear me.

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Those concerns are valid, but

the truth is, niching isn't

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about boxing yourself in.

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It's simply about positioning yourself.

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It's about carving out a point

of view and a message that your

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ideal client can resonate with.

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It is about becoming that person who is

easy to refer to and easy to say yes to.

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But what's so important to remember

is your niche is not forever.

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You are going to evolve as a

clinician, and so too will your niche.

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So when you quote unquote choose a niche,

and I don't even know if that's great

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language, because choosing your niche

implies that you have to stick with it.

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It is simply a starting point that helps

your RightFit clients understand what you

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do and who you do your best work with.

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It's not about being stuck.

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It's not about boxing yourself in.

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It's actually liberating because it's

helping you focus on who you do your

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best work with and then attracting

those folks because it is in that

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specificity that people will find

the connection that they are seeking.

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It is in that specificity that

you will become memorable when

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they are considering who they're

actually going to proceed with.

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I really like to use the neurosurgeon

versus general surgeon metaphor here.

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Now, if you needed brain surgery, you

wouldn't go to a general surgeon who

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might be able to help, who got some

training in neurology in his residency.

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You'd go to the neurosurgeon who does this

exact procedure every single week, right?

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It's the same in private practice.

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When someone is struggling with

something specific and they view

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their needs as very, very specific,

they are probably the same types of

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needs you see in all of your clients.

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They don't know that, right?

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Their need to them is very

intimate and very specific.

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When they're struggling with that, they

want someone who specializes in that need.

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Not just someone who quote unquote works

with adults or does couples therapy or

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treats trauma, it's about being specific

to what they think they need help with.

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We've been talking about memorability too.

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Specialists are easier to remember,

they're easier to trust, and they're

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easier to pay premium fees to.

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You would expect to pay more to a

neurosurgeon than a general surgeon.

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And you'd be willing to, because you were

looking for that level of specificity.

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So what's actually making a website

or your marketing convert, right?

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It's one thing to know your niche.

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It's one thing to have a

specific type of client.

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It's another for that to

actually work for you, right?

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It's another for you to actually get

on the consultation with someone who

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said that the website spoke to them.

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So this isn't just about having a website.

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This isn't just about having

marketing, but it's about clearly

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communicating who it's for, what

you help with and how you get there.

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It's about having messaging

that mirrors what your client

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is already thinking and feeling.

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I like to imagine it as your marketing

joining the conversation that is

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already happening in your ideal

client's head, they have already

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been thinking about how anxious they

are for weeks, months, or years.

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How can you join that conversation?

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How can you sort of create that

feeling of, are you in my head?

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How did you know?

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You only do that through being specific

when your words make someone think.

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That's exactly how I feel.

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It is at that moment that they reach out.

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So it's about using your marketing

to speak to those very, very specific

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challenges and helping create that

sensation of how did you know?

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Are you?

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In my head, that's exactly how I feel.

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That's the power of this.

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Let me give you a few examples of

really powerful niche language.

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Instead of saying, I work with people who

have anxiety, I want you to imagine this.

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I help overthinkers who look put

together on the outside, but feel

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constantly on edge underneath.

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If you were realizing your overthinking

was getting you into trouble and

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keeping you up at night, that

would be far more compelling than.

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Quote unquote, anxiety or instead

of, I help people with trauma, I

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work with adults, navigating the

aftershocks of childhood experiences

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they thought they'd already dealt with.

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Okay.

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That's speaking to someone who's

self-aware enough, who's already

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done a little bit of work, but is

ready to dive more deeply in, or

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instead of, I do couples therapy.

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I help two successful

people who love each other.

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Okay, so we're speaking to high

functioning people there, but feel like

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they can't quite connect, start speaking

the same emotional language again.

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For those people that feel like roommates

whose careers have gotten in the way

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of their relationship, I'd be far more

compelled to reach out to that one.

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Can you feel the difference here?

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This is the power of a

clear and specific niche.

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Now, what's important here is that your

niche doesn't just help your clients.

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It helps you too.

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When you know who you are

speaking to, your confidence

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goes up, your referrals improve.

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Networking gets easier.

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Your boundaries around who is the right

fit and the wrong fit, get clearer.

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Your burnout goes down because

you're attracting people.

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You actually enjoy and light you up.

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You open up your calendar and

get excited about who's there.

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You stop wondering if your

marketing is working 'cause

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people are telling you that it is.

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They're saying your website felt

like you were talking directly to me.

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But this cannot happen if you

are not focused on being specific

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and memorable in your marketing.

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This is exactly why clients

choose us at Walker Strategy Co.

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This is exactly why I've had the chance

to serve thousands of therapists.

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Our niche isn't just

small business owners.

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Our niche isn't even just therapists.

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It's therapists who are strategic

and self-aware and ready to do things

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differently, and that specificity

shows up in everything we create.

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From our website templates to our

coaching, to the words, you're hearing

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me speak right now in this episode.

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Now, if you want help, putting

words to your niche in this

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way, in a way that connects and

converts and makes you memorable.

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That's exactly what our magnetic

niche method was built for.

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In that mini course, I go step by step

through my signature niching process.

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And the feedback I've gotten on this

program has been absolutely incredible.

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It has blown me away.

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It's really gonna guide you toward no

longer overthinking your niche, and

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finally nailing the words that are

gonna make the right clients say yes.

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Check out the show notes for the links

to the magnetic niche method, but please

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hear me when I say you have a niche.

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When we figure out what it is, you

will unlock the rest of your marketing.

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I'll see you in the next episode.