What’s the number one difference between therapists who struggle to find clients and therapists who don’t? Marketing strategy. Most times, successful therapists are just therapists who know how to reach potential clients.
Take a look at our earlier guide on how to get more therapy clients for the basics of marketing for therapists, from defining your ideal client to capturing their attention with a strong marketing plan.
But with more and more therapists competing for the attention of potential clients, the marketing basics won’t cut it alone. The most successful practitioners are thinking outside the box and discovering creative ways to find and engage new clients.
This article outlines innovative marketing ideas that will help you to truly stand out.
It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and step up your marketing efforts to attract new clients—and have some fun in the process.
Need a tool to help you market yourself and effectively manage all aspects of your therapy business? Try Nuna—it’s free to get started.
Marketing for therapists: 6 creative ways to grow your business
Join online therapist directories
Joining an online therapist directory is a quick and effective way to help potential clients to find you.
The best therapist directories allow users to search for therapists who fulfil certain criteria using advanced filters and suggest “matches” between clients and therapists. This ensures your profile won’t get lost in a crowded list of other therapists.
Nuna offers these therapist directory features—and a whole lot more. The Nuna therapy marketplace is also totally free and fully online so you can find new clients anywhere in the world.
To show up in directory searches, take the time to write a detailed Nuna profile page with searchable keywords on your specializations or the kinds of issues you treat.
Don’t only list specialty areas, though. You should also give potential clients a dynamic sense of how you can help them. Instead of saying “I offer treatment for depression”, for example, you could say something like “I help people with depression to manage their mood, recover a sense of purpose, and connect more deeply with life”.
Nuna’s marketing features let therapists stand out. But marketing is only a small part of Nuna’s solution: it’s an all-in-one practice management software for therapists.
Once clients find you through the therapist directory, they can immediately book or reschedule an appointment in real time. You’ll reduce no-shows, too, with automated reminders.
Nuna lets you connect directly with clients through end-to-end secured teletherapy for video calls, chat, and screen sharing.
With psychotherapy notes templates, invoicing, client profiles, and more, the platform streamlines and organizes your workflow. Less time spent on paperwork means more time focusing on clients—and connecting with new potential clients.
Start a podcast
Podcasts are experiencing a boom. Research shows that in the U.S. alone, 100 million people listen to podcasts each month—three times as many as just a few years ago.
Mental health podcasts are popular, which means there’s a clear hunger for therapy insights and a clear market of potential clients.
Psychotherapy and self-help stars like Esther Perel and Jon Kabat-Zinn have hugely successful podcasts. But less well-known practitioners are also engaging a whole new audience and boosting their online presence with popular podcasts like The Virtual Couch and Emotional Badass.
The best podcasts deliver practical wellness content in a natural, engaging style with tons of personality. If coming up with enough content for a weekly podcast seems overwhelming, you could consider doing interviews with other mental health professionals to offer different perspectives. Therapist Uncensored recently hosted an interview with a top couples therapist who gave specific tips for surviving pandemic confinements and quarantines.
It’s also key to specialize and target your ideal clients. The Trauma Therapist podcast focuses on bringing listeners the latest trauma research and interviewing trauma specialists, while Two Psychologists Four Beers has carved a niche with conversational, lighthearted psychology conversation.
Speak at conferences and webinars
Speaking at conferences is a great way for therapists to gain more exposure to potential clients. If you present at webinars or give Ted talks, you’ll also boost your online presence.
You can apply to speak at academic conferences by pitching them your proposed talk, but if you also participate in non-academic wellness conferences and seminars, you’ll reach more people.
To get invites to speak at online and offline events, you’ll need to establish yourself as a therapy thought leader. You could publish a research paper or create a blog or podcast.
Networking is also crucial. You’ll need to stay on top of the major events in your industry and get to know the organizers, ensuring they’re aware of you and your specializations. If you don’t have the bandwidth to start your own podcast, but want to appear on other therapy podcasts as a guest, you’ll need to make contact with influential podcasters in your field and let them know you’re interested.
Once you get your foot in the door and get an invite to speak, make sure you don’t turn your audience off with heavy selling. Offer them useful advice they can apply to their own lives and you’ll be a sure hit.
Start a TikTok account
According to the New York Times, “mental health professionals are going viral on the app”. It’s not for everyone—but if you put the time in and understand your audience, social media marketing through Tiktok can be a powerful digital strategy for reaching new clients.
TikTok is a great opportunity for therapists to connect with younger Gen Z clients, who may not use the typical therapy websites and directories. Gen Z is known as a generation that sees the personal and social value in doing emotional and wellness work. They’re far more likely to go to therapy compared with older generations—so they’re an important audience of potential clients to engage.
TikTok offers therapists a platform to post short, snappy videos, raising awareness of mental health issues and offering wellness tips and tricks.
For inspiration, check out Dr. Julie Smith’s feed (@drjuliesmith), which offers relatable but educational content on mental health disorders, or Nadia Addesi’s Tiktok (@nadiaaddesi)—her recent video on physical symptoms of anxiety we’re too embarrassed to talk about got almost 3 million plays!
Provide free self-help practices on Youtube
Since there’s lots of free therapy information online, it can be difficult to get hits with generic educational videos unless you do something really creative.
But there’s a whole audience of potential clients who are looking for simple guided practices to do in real time. You can create wellness content to help with their mental health issues, from guided mindfulness meditations to guided strategies for calming down a panic attack or getting out of an OCD loop
Offering free resources for self-help is an effective content marketing strategy that will boost your online presence and get your name out there.
By targeting your content to the particular mental health issues you specialize in, you’ll find potential clients who are specifically interested in your therapy practice.
Write a book
This isn’t for everyone, but it’s a more accessible marketing strategy than many people assume. If you enjoy writing—whether it’s blog posts or articles—creating a book is a great way to establish your expertise and market your private practice.
One good content marketing tactic is writing a shorter ebook, which doesn’t require a huge time commitment. You can consider using your ebook as a lead magnet, where visitors to your website can download the book by signing up to your newsletter.
You can also write a full-length book. Instead of sending it to conventional publishers, which is a long and difficult path, you can self-publish and distribute online. You’ll need to pair the book release with a strong digital marketing strategy including promotional activities on your Facebook page and other social media accounts.
This pays off as a form of direct online marketing that can net you new clients. But it’s also a way of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your field, which can create even more publicity if you’re invited to give talks or appear on blogs or podcasts.
Marketing for therapists: other ways to find potential clients
These creative tips can help you stand out in the crowded online therapy marketplace—but you’ll need a strong core marketing strategy behind them.
As we outlined in our guide on how to get more therapy clients, the fundamental steps are:
- Defining your ideal client and niche
- Blogging shareable mental health content
- Developing a strong content marketing and social media marketing strategy
- Using client reviews, referrals, and testimonials
- Creating a professional website that’s SEO-optimized (search engine optimization) so you show up in Google search
- Sending a newsletter with free resources for wellness
If you’re just starting out, take a look at our advice on how to start an online therapy practice and key mistakes to avoid when starting a private practice in counseling.
Creative marketing in a nutshell
By going off the beaten path, therapists can make meaningful connections with a whole potential client base.
You should:
- Use a therapist directory
- Start—or guest on—a therapy podcast
- Speak at conferences,
- Upload short and sweet wellness videos with Tiktok
- Write a book
- Offer free self-help resources
These unusual marketing tips will help you to find new clients—and make a name for yourself as a leading mental health professional.
Frequently asked questions about marketing for therapists
How do I market my psychology practice?
To market your psychology practice, define a niche and then engage potential clients with a creative marketing strategy. Consider listing yourself on therapist directories, creating a podcast, speaking at mental health events, and using social media platforms like TikTok.
How do I market myself as a therapist?
The best therapists combine a strong basic marketing strategy with creative techniques to get more therapy clients. Determine your ideal client and then connect with them through a therapist directory, podcast, social media, or by offering free resources for self-help.
Can therapists advertise on social media?
Yes, many therapists choose to advertise on social media to get their therapy practice seen by more people. You can use Facebook ads (video ads, picture ads, or carousel ads), Instagram ads, or Google ads.
Need a tool to help you market yourself and effectively manage all aspects of your therapy business? Try Nuna—it’s free to get started.
