Ever wonder why some therapists seem to get all the right-fit inquiries—even with less experience? Let’s talk about the role your website plays in that (and how to make yours finally pull its weight). In this episode, I’m walking you through the evolution I’ve seen in therapist websites over the past seven years and what today’s clients are really looking for when they land on your homepage.

You’ll hear why both copy and design matter (now more than ever), how they work together to build trust, and how to know when something’s not working. Whether you're going the DIY route or ready to hand it off, this episode will help you prioritize what actually matters so your website connects and converts.

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

1️⃣ Why copy is still king—and how it creates the emotional connection clients need before reaching out

2️⃣ How design acts like a first handshake, setting the tone for trust and professionalism

3️⃣ The simple shift that turns your website into a clear, welcoming, client-attracting experience

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Confident Copy: walkerstrategyco.com/cc
• Squarespace Templates: walkerstrategyco.com/templates
• DIY Brand Kit (DBK): walkerstrategyco.com/dbk
• Fill Your Practice Formula (part of the bundle): walkerstrategyco.com/fypf
• Done-for-you website services: walkerstrategyco.com/services

Connect + Subscribe

Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who’s building their private practice.

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

About Marketing Therapy

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

Hey, hey, welcome back to Marketing Therapy.

2

In today's episode, we're gonna

look at the evolution that I have

3

seen as I have supported clinicians.

4

For almost seven years,

specifically around their website.

5

Now, when I started Walker Strategy

Co about seven years ago, it was while

6

I was looking for a therapist myself.

7

I was scrolling psych Today, I was

Googling, I was looking at websites.

8

And I noticed primarily the way

that therapists weren't leveraging

9

their opportunity to connect.

10

I was seeing their words falling

short in their marketing.

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So they weren't using that Psych Today

Profile to really catch my attention.

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The websites weren't

communicating their niche.

13

I didn't feel connected to them.

14

And back then, way back in 2019,

design of that website was kind of a

15

nice to have, but I was really seeing

the way that words were, everything.

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And that is why back in the

day, copywriting for therapists

17

was my bread and butter.

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It is what I did day in and day

out because at the end of the

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day, I saw the way that these

therapists weren't leveraging their

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words the way that they could be.

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Now today, things have

changed quite a bit, right?

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Copy is still what's

ultimately forming connection.

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But design is playing a

part that it didn't use to.

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And so when I think about a website,

it's in two primary buckets.

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It's the content, the words, the niche.

26

Everything that's happening

as it relates to language.

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And then there's the design, there's

the experience of that site, and when

28

we think of them together, the way

that I summarize it is content or copy

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is king, but design today is queen.

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And so here in this episode, I wanna

talk about the fact that your client's

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expectations for your website, and

therefore the expectations you need to be

32

meeting in your marketing have changed and

how today premium clients want and need,

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and are looking for the whole package.

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So we're gonna talk a little bit about

how copy and design ultimately work

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together on your website, what matters

now, how you should be prioritizing this.

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And what next steps you can be taking

if you're realizing that one or both of

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these areas is ultimately falling short.

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Now things really changed in the pandemic.

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Not only did every single clinician move

online and therefore need to market online

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in a way that they never did, but the

rest of us just spent our lives online.

41

And so we really saw the experience

people expect to have online skyrocket

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through the pandemic because it was a

time of a lot of innovation online and

43

at the same time as those standards

were rising, we were also becoming

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more critical, more skeptical,

more unsure than we have ever been.

45

So what happens when these standards

for web design and user experience

46

go up and our skepticism goes up?

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You need to be thinking

about that in your marketing.

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Your clients are more discerning

than they've ever been.

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They're also more visual than they've

ever been, and we see the way that

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they're making really fast decisions

based on subconscious cues, cues about

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safety and trust and professionalism.

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We really saw the way that

the pandemic accelerated our

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sophistication as consumers.

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Today we are used to sleek, personalized

experiences, whether we realize it or

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not, but the Starbucks app that you

order your coffee on to the website, you

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click through from an Instagram ad and

buy something you don't really need on.

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It's shaping how we view everything

and therapy is included in that.

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I've met many clinicians who come to

me with decades of experience saying,

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and I've never had to market before.

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I've never had to worry about my website

before, but I'm looking around and I'm

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seeing all of these newer clinicians

who don't necessarily have the same

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credentials and they seem to be having

more success than me, and I'm realizing

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I need to be thinking about my marketing.

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I need to be thinking about my website.

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I say, great.

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We pull up their website

and it is a dated.

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Early two thousands.

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Design that is likely losing

them inquiries despite being so

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incredibly capable as a clinician.

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Now, if we're not careful, this

can feel very vain that this is all

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just about looking a certain way.

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But I want to remind you that the

end of the day, this is about trust,

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that clients are looking for signals

that reassure them of the quality.

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Of your online presence reflecting

the quality of your clinical work,

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they're simply looking for signals.

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And so what you're doing in your

website is offering those signals so

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that they equate the experience on your

website with the experience they're

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going to have with you as a therapist.

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Now we have to start with talking

about what Copy does here.

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So copy is the words on the page.

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It's everything from the headline

at the top of your homepage to

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how you talk about your approach

to what your specialties are.

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It's all of the words, and the main

job of your copy is connection.

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It's how you show your clients that you

get them, that you deeply understand

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their experiences, that you can help

them move toward the life change

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that they're ultimately seeking.

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It's about showing them, Hey, I get you.

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I get you so well that I can paint

a picture of what it is that you're

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experiencing, and here's what we're

gonna do together to make that different.

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It's about helping clients see themselves

in what it is that you're presenting,

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and to view you as an expert in the

problems they themselves are facing.

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We cannot do this in any other

way than we can with your words.

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Copy is what gives voice to your empathy

and to your expertise as a clinician.

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And we were talking about

how this is all about trust.

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Copy is building trust through clarity.

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Clarity about who you help and what

you specialize in, and what clients

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can expect in working with you.

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My Confident Copy students hear me say

all the time that Good copy attracts

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your right fit clients and it blesses and

releases those who are not the right fit.

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Your copy's job is not to

be all things to all people.

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It's not to make every single

person want to reach out.

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It's job is to filter the right people

from the wrong ones so that the right

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people realize it, see themselves in it,

and are compelled to reach out to you.

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If you've ever heard someone.

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On a consult call, say something

like, I feel like you were inside my

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head, or I've even had confident Copy

students or Fill Your Practice Formula.

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Students who say that clients quoted

their copy back to them, that's when

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you know that your copy is working.

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But this is the job that

only your copy can do.

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Your copy is in charge of

whether or not you rank on

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Google or show up in AI results.

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Your copy is what communicates your niche

and whether or not you are an expert.

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Your copy is what connects with these

clients and drives them toward conversion

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and a pretty design pretty words is

not the same as substantial words, and

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so that's the job of your copy here.

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It's about driving conversion

and SEO visibility and

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emotional connection, right?

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It's like the heartbeat of your site.

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But design is the other

side of the coin here.

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If copy is the conversation

you're having with your clients,

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design is like the first H.

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Right, like you shake someone's

hand, if it's firm and solid,

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that gives you one impression.

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If it's not, it's like a limp fish

that gives you another impression.

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Either way, you might continue the

conversation, but you're gonna enter

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into that conversation with some

sort of belief about that person.

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Okay?

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So design is your first hand handshake.

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It's about creating the first impression

with your clients, that instant gut

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reaction when someone lands on your site.

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We've talked before about the halo effect.

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This is actually a proven

psychological concept.

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Imagine that you are walking in

a cute little downtown somewhere.

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We have downtown Franklin

here close to Nashville.

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If you've ever been there,

there's a cute little boutique.

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You open up the door of

that boutique, you walk in.

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A candle is burning and

it smells wonderful.

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Someone walks up to you and

offers you a glass of champagne.

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All of the hangers are.

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Two finger widths apart.

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The clothes are beautifully

folded, the bags are maybe backlit.

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Okay?

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I'm communicating an experience to you.

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The halo effect tells us that when

you have that type of experience with

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a brand, you make judgments about

the level of quality of that brand

146

just based on the first reaction.

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And so I would walk into that boutique

and have that experience, and guess what?

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I would expect to pay more.

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I would expect that I'm gonna get

higher quality products, that I'm gonna

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get better service, all because of

that initial split second experience.

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That Halo effect

translates to your website.

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So here is where you are creating that

instant reaction, that instant belief

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about who you are as a therapist.

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The hard thing here is

that it might not be true.

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You might be an incredibly talented

clinician, but not create that experience.

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We can't undo that, that first

impression, you only get one of them.

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So your design here is about

communicating professionalism and

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polish and care and the level of

those things that people can expect.

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It tells clients before they even

start reading, before they start to

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the conversation with you, the level

of service they can expect from you.

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Okay.

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Design also makes your copy easier to

experience, easier to ingest, right?

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We have hierarchy of fonts and

spacing and color and flow, all of

164

these subconscious things that guide

the reader through your website.

165

But what's interesting is that the

best design kind of feels invisible

166

because it's just drawing attention

to what matters most without making

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you think about how you're reading it.

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So when we don't have good design,

even strong copy can fall flat.

169

It's like if you had a beautifully

written book, an award-winning novel,

170

but it was printed in comic sands or some

unreadable typeface, the story's there,

171

but no one's actually gonna read it.

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That's what happens when

we're missing design.

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So I wanna get really clear now

about how copy and design are

174

working together in this market.

175

And again, why it's so critical

because of your client's increased

176

standards and increased skepticism.

177

The cool thing is that when

design and copy are working

178

together, it feels effortless.

179

People aren't fighting to find

what they need on your website.

180

They land there.

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They can easily navigate to the

information that's most relevant

182

to them because no one's ever gonna

read every word of your website.

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No one's ever gonna

visit every single page.

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But what we need to do is create a journey

that gets them to what they need in order

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to realize you're the therapist for them.

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And that's the job of your words and your

visuals working together, guiding your

187

client to what is most important to them.

188

That could be your approach.

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That could be what it's

like to work with you.

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That could be one of your specialties

or your micro niche, since no

191

one's gonna read every word.

192

Then your design and your formatting,

and the way these work together

193

is helping them get to the right

ones as they scan, as they scroll.

194

Are they getting what they need and

are they getting it quickly and easily?

195

How do you know when your copy and

your design are working together?

196

Such a great question.

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You're gonna know this when

your design is supporting your

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copy and not competing with it.

199

Sometimes I'll land on a website of

a confident copy student whose copy

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is so incredibly just brilliant.

201

It's fun to read, it's connecting, but

the presentation of that copy on the page

202

is making it really difficult to consume.

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We need both of these things to

work together to not compete with

204

one another, but to be in synergy.

205

Your site needs to be easy to

scan and navigate, and it needs to

206

create that halo effect feeling.

207

How can I create the sense when I

land on your website of the candle

208

burning and someone walking up with

a glass of champagne and the hangers

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and the placement of things, what

can we do to create that experience?

210

So it's about setting a tone

of the visuals that matches

211

the tone of the words.

212

It's about using your design to have that

firm first handshake so that they actually

213

want to engage in conversation with you.

214

Now, you're not in alignment here.

215

If you layout is making it hard to read

or it's overwhelming to look at, there

216

might be mismatched colors or fonts.

217

Things might be off center or off balance.

218

When the vibe of the site doesn't

match the copy, really warm words

219

in a cold, black, and white design,

220

great copy in the wrong design

is like putting the words

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in the wrong tone of voice.

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But, when Both of these things are

strong, your website feels like

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a high quality right fit consult.

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It's warm, it's clear,

it's confident, it's easy.

225

The conversation flows.

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That's what happens when these

two things are in synergy.

227

But hey, I know no one

taught you this stuff, right?

228

You didn't go over this in grad school.

229

You didn't become a therapist

to learn copywriting.

230

You definitely didn't become a

therapist to learn website design.

231

So if you're sitting here and you agree

with all of this and you realize, Anna,

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I do want that positive halo effect, I

know that these two things are important.

233

I have no idea how to get there.

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I want to assure you

that there are tools now.

235

That make this simpler than ever, simpler

than seven years ago when I started Walker

236

Strategy co technology has improved.

237

And if you have the right tools

in your toolbox, you can do this.

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You can create that effect.

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You can create that handshake and that

conversation that is going to invite

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those right fit clients to say, Hey,

I reached out because of your website.

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It's the best compliment any of our

clients and our students can get.

242

But you do need a clear process first.

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And so when you're thinking about

how do I tackle this massive project?

244

Remember, content is king.

245

Design is queen.

246

Copy first.

247

If you're going to prioritize anything

with your time or your energy or

248

your money, let it be copy first,

design second, move in that order.

249

Let copy dictate, design, choose what

you're gonna say, then how that is

250

going to be laid out on the site.

251

And please remember, your website

is never gonna be perfect.

252

It's never gonna be done.

253

It is a work in progress just

like all of us are, right?

254

So give grace to yourself.

255

Let this be a work in progress.

256

And certainly you can go full

on done for you if you want.

257

We love working with therapists who

just hand their website over to us

258

and we get to hand it back finished.

259

It's one of the best things that we do.

260

But for many clinicians, the DIY

route can be incredibly empowering.

261

You learn new skills, you

flex creative muscles.

262

You get to take real ownership of your

niche and your brand and your presence.

263

It truly feels like you.

264

I think back to the client of ours who

came to us with such a personality.

265

The first time I signed on to

our call, she was just, she came

266

through the screen with personality.

267

She was vibrant.

268

She knew the clients she loved to

work with, but when I pulled up her

269

existing website, it had none of that.

270

There was no personality.

271

There was no clear niche whatsoever, and

they felt in total disconnect between the

272

therapist I was sitting on a call with and

the therapist I was seeing in the website.

273

When her site was done, it was vibrant

and full of personality, and you

274

knew immediately that she loved doing

her work with neurodivergent women.

275

And within that first month, after

launching, she booked four new

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clients, including her first private

pay one, and every single one of

277

them commented on her website.

278

That's what happens when your copy and

your design are doing their jobs together.

279

This synergy is more

important than it's ever been.

280

I remember seven years ago when I was

primarily writing for clinicians that.

281

Design was this nice to have?

282

It was something you could think

about and you should think about, but

283

it didn't need to be a top priority.

284

That's changed now.

285

And so whether you're hiring someone

like myself and my team, you are using

286

a template, like something in our

Squarespace template shop, you're working

287

with someone else, whatever that might be.

288

Thinking about how people are

experiencing your copy is as

289

important as it's ever been.

290

Again, for those two reasons, not

only have your clients' standards

291

gone up, whether they know it or

not, but their skepticism has two.

292

So what can you be doing on your

website to meet those standards

293

and to decrease that skepticism?

294

It's the job of your copy

and your design done to.

295

Your clients today, they

want the total package.

296

They don't know that.

297

They don't go out looking for a

therapist thinking I need them to

298

have a pretty website and good copy,

but they are subconsciously seeking

299

connection and professionalism

and a premium level experience.

300

And please know that you can

absolutely deliver that without

301

spending thousands of dollars without

hiring someone if you don't want to.

302

It's possible today in

ways it did not used to be.

303

Now we have our Black Friday

sale coming up next month.

304

If you're new around here, our

Black Friday sale is the absolute

305

biggest sale of our entire year.

306

We do a really fun.

307

A set up called the Five Days of Deals.

308

And so every day, Monday through

Friday, there's a different deal,

309

and on Monday as usual, our best

selling offer is our bundle.

310

Now, in the past, this has been the

bundle of our Failure Practice formula,

311

which is our DIY marketing course

and one of our Squarespace templates.

312

So you get to choose which template

you want, you get lifetime access

313

to the Fill Your Practice Formula.

314

You have everything you need to

go ahead and create that website.

315

This year we are upleveling that bundle.

316

So we are creating the ultimate DIY bundle

by adding in our therapist DIY brand kit.

317

If you haven't heard me talk about

our therapist, DIY brand kit, it's our

318

newest program that we released here

319

create something that is truly custom.

320

That's been the best feedback I've gotten

from students who've gone through it.

321

They thought that they might sign up

and pick from a color palette that

322

other therapists might be using.

323

No, no.

324

In the DIY brand kit, I show you how

to create an entirely custom color

325

palette, font pairing stock images

that feel totally on brand to you, and

326

not just cherry picking something that

other therapists might be using as well.

327

So this pairing the Fill Your Practice

formula, which is our DIY course,

328

all about figuring out your niche

and writing your website, copy the

329

DIY brand kit to really hone in on

what that visual brand needs to be.

330

And then that Squarespace website template

to bring it all together are coming

331

together in this ultimate DIY bundle.

332

And of course, it's gonna be at a

crazy discount for that first day

333

deal on Monday the 24th of November.

334

These three pieces are about giving

you everything you need to get clear

335

on your niche, to write copy that

connects, to design a site that

336

really looks and feels like you.

337

It's our biggest bundle of the year.

338

It's our biggest sale of the year

at the biggest discount of the year.

339

It's.

340

It's the best.

341

So like I said, if you're new around here,

you're gonna love the five days of deals.

342

And if you're realizing as you listen

to this episode, wow, I need both copy

343

and design, both of these pieces matter.

344

They are two things that I need

to be prioritizing in my practice.

345

This DIY bundle might be the

absolute best fit for you.

346

It's awesome for the clinician

who wants to DIY this who wants

347

to get in there and figure it out

themselves to learn this new skillset.

348

And I can't wait to offer

it for the first time ever.

349

Like I said.

350

The best version of the

bundle we've ever done.

351

If you want details on Black

Friday, please make sure that

352

you're on our email list.

353

You can get on there walker

strategy code.com/tfc

354

to access our private podcast.

355

Anyone who signed up for that will also

receive details about Black Friday.

356

We're gonna be releasing the opportunity

to sign up for our early bird so you

357

can get some doorbusters if you want.

358

All details are coming soon.

359

Do make sure that you're on our list.

360

But as I wrap up this episode, I want you

to remember if this feels overwhelming,

361

which I know the website thing can,

if it feels daunting to think about

362

copy and design and who am I and what

am I, and how do I show that this is

363

simply about helping that experience

people have when they work with you.

364

That sense of relief they feel when

they leave a session, that sigh of

365

relief they have after a consult

when they've realized you're the

366

therapist they've been looking for.

367

Your website is simply about recreating

that and inviting them into it.

368

You already know the work you

do well, maybe you need some

369

help putting words to that.

370

Maybe you need some help bringing that

to life visually, but you're already

371

good at the important piece here.

372

Okay?

373

Your clients are out there and when

your copy and your design are finally

374

in synergy and finally working together,

they can recognize you as the therapist

375

they've been looking for the moment.

376

They find you.

377

You don't need bells and whistles.

378

You just need synergy here.

379

Copy that connects, design that supports.

380

That's the total package you need today.

381

I hope this one was helpful for you.

382

Got your gears turning.

383

Like I said, make sure

you're on our email list.

384

You can get all of that Black Friday info

and I'll see you in our next episode.