Ask Anna: Is My Niche Too Broad to Attract Full-Fee Clients? (Episode 18)
Ever feel like marketing advice demands you pick just one niche—but your caseload says otherwise? If you love working with a range of clients and fear that niching down means giving up what you enjoy, this episode is for you.
In this special "Ask Anna" edition, I answer a question therapists ask all the time: "How do I market my practice if I don’t want to give up variety?" We dig into the real issue behind that question (spoiler: it's not actually about variety) and explore how to create a clear, compelling message without boxing yourself in.
You’ll learn about the "Red Thread" framework I teach inside my programs—a strategy that helps you tie together your range of interests so your marketing feels both focused and freeing.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
1️⃣ Why the fear of picking "wrong" keeps so many therapists stuck between joyless clarity and vague marketing
2️⃣ How the "Red Thread" helps you connect the dots between diverse client types and a cohesive message
3️⃣ The four types of Red Threads (person, problem, outcome, and approach) and how to discover which fits your practice best
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Hey there. Welcome back to Marketing Therapy episode 18. Today we're kicking off what will likely be an intermittent series called Ask Anna. So this is where I'm going to be answering real questions I get from therapists, whether that's in our dms email inside my programs, or from the clients that I've worked with over the years.
Because let's be honest, if one person is asking it, hundreds are quietly wondering the same thing, right? And today's question, it's funny, when I put out our first ask for the Ask Anna episode, I got this in three different places, different versions of the same question. It is truly one of the most common ones that I get, and quite frankly, one of the most misunderstood.
So today I'm answering a question I received from Melissa via email and Robin in our Facebook group among many, many others. And that question is essentially, what do I do when I like variety? Does it mean that I can't market myself effectively? Do I have to pick just one thing?
What do I do if I enjoy variety? This comes up constantly. I am regularly, I'm talking weekly coaching clinicians on this in our Confident Copy program, and this comes up with therapists who are brand new and with those who are seasoned, been in practice for years, and it makes a ton of sense. Because when you hear people talk about marketing or niching, it's often presented in this all or nothing black and white way.
It's like your only choices are pick one population, stick with it forever, you're married to it now, or give up on having a clear niche or a specific message and just throw a laundry list of issues out there. Here's what I wanna say and what we're gonna talk about in this episode. This isn't really about variety.
This is about the fear that if you choose wrong, you're either gonna lose clients or you're gonna lose joy. Am I right? If you're sitting here listening right now and you enjoy working with this wide variety of clients and you feel like all the marketing advice has told you, you can't do that. If you want to be effective, then you feel like you're left with two choices.
Lose clients because you're not marketing effectively or lose joy because you're burnt out serving only one of those populations in the name of marketing.
So what you're really asking, what Robin and Melissa, and so many of you are really asking is, how do I market myself without sacrificing the parts of my work I love? That's exactly what we're gonna talk about today. Because yes, you can have a dynamic caseload. Yes, you can love doing multiple things and yes, you can market yourself effectively.
You can attract full fee right-fit clients while doing so. Now first I wanna look at what's going on underneath this primary question because when someone asks, what if I like working with lots of different types of clients on the surface, that sounds like a branding issue or a messaging issue.
But when you dig a little bit deeper, it's not really actually about variety. It's about fear, which so many of our marketing challenges are when we're honest with ourselves. Fear that if you get too specific. You'll lose out on clients. You could help fear if you narrow in, you're gonna box yourself into something that doesn't feel sustainable or leads to burnout.
Fear that you're gonna cut off part of your identity, something you've enjoyed for many years. Possibly fear that you're gonna cut off part of your income and end up stuck in something you don't actually enjoy. So this fear often gets masked by a kind of internal tug of war that I see, and I hear this often when coaching clinicians in confident copy.
They say things like, I know I should be more clear, but I don't want to pick just one thing. I want my caseload to feel sustainable, but I also want it to be full. I want to enjoy my work, but I also want clients to actually find me and pay my full fee. I want to sound like a specialist or an expert, but I don't want to abandon the things I'm good at.
And the result of all that tension is most therapists default to trying to say everything at once. I see this often when encouraging folks to share their niche statements in our Facebook group. They will try and pack absolutely everything they could possibly do as a therapist into their niche and into their marketing.
They write a homepage for their website that lists every single demographic they could serve. Every presenting issue, every modality they use
they initiate networking conversations where that new person they've met likes them, but they have no idea who's actually the right fit to send their way. It is these therapists trying to hit every single note just in case. Let me cover my bases, is what I see So many do. But here's what I want to gently say, and this is ultimately something that I think the people asking this question already know that when you try to speak to everyone in the same sentence, no one really hears you because no one feels truly seen.
Your favorite clients, the ones you absolutely love working with. That light you up. You get excited when you see them on your calendar. They're not looking for a therapist who says everything or claims to work with everyone. They're looking for someone who gets them. Someone who can name what they're going through in a way that makes them stop and think, are you, in my head, it feels like this was written just for me.
That's the type of experience clients in this market in particular are seeking. They don't know that. But when we see what actually resonates and what doesn't, that's the type of experience they're looking for. And when you try to hedge your bets and just speak to everyone, spray and pray, as we say, you dilute the thing that would actually make you stand out.
This episode is about a lot of different things, but if there's only one thing you take away, I want you to remember that there's a reason. That clients choose you. Even if you serve teens, couples, people with trauma and eating disorders, this big variety of clients, there's a reason every single one of those chooses you.
And if you are using your marketing to spray and pray, and you are not hitting on that reason, that thing that leads them. To choose you, then you will sound vague and you will dilute the expertise that your clients are ultimately looking for.
So often I see clinicians make this mistake and the cost is massive. They get on consults and feel like they're auditioning for jobs they didn't even apply for. Can you resonate with that? Have you ever been on a consult where you feel that way or clients aren't actually a fit, but they take 'em on because they did reach out and they need someone?
Sometimes they even have a caseload that's technically full, but it's not energizing. It's not exciting. It's not lighting them up and reminding them why they got into this work to begin with. Oftentimes, I'll also see in these clinicians kind of this low key anxiety about raising their rates or putting themselves out there because they're not sure how to do that without losing people.
That's what they're operating from is this fear of losing people, of excluding, and so they end up staying small in their marketing. And oftentimes there's this weird sense of shame. You know, you see other therapists out there being super successful and maybe enjoying variety and somehow they've got something you don't.
And so it can really feel like you should be able to better explain the work you do by now. I think that's the real tension here. And here's what's extra tricky. A lot of therapists try to solve this by doing what the internet tells them to do or chat GPT.
So they force themselves, they pigeonhole into one population or one age group, one issue in the name of niching, and then they end up attracting only that kind of client. And while the marketing feels a little bit clearer, the work feels flat. And repetitive and limiting.
And the clients who do this, who narrow themselves in the name of marketing, they miss the richness of the variety they once had. Maybe you're someone who enjoyed variety in a group practice or community mental health setting, and then launched your private practice and quote unquote niched because you were quote unquote told to, and now you're like, I miss.
Those age groups, I miss those demographics. I miss treating those issues, and you can start to feel a little bored or a little burnt out, and then it feels like you're back to this black and white thing. Well, I either stay here or I go broad and I go back to being vague and generic.
I want to tell you right now that there is a third option one where your message is clear. And your caseload is energizing and your clients feel seen in your marketing, not just as a checkbox on a list, oh yes, I qualify for this item on the laundry list, but as a real human with real needs that you are uniquely equipped to help.
That's what I wanna talk about next as we get into really answering this question. How do I maintain variety in my marketing? So this third alternative, what do you do when you enjoy working with a wide range of people, but you still want to attract full fee, right-fit clients without being scattered or generic or boring.
You find your red thread. Your red thread is a concept that if my confident copy students are here listening, or maybe you're a magnetic niche method student, you know all about this. Your red thread is about tying together the variety of clients that you enjoy and finding that thing, that reason that those clients pick you regardless of which bucket or category they may fall into.
Because here's what I believe about this work. I believe you can have as much variety as you want. I believe you can have a beautifully diverse and interesting and sustainable caseload. You just need a message that ties it all together, and that is what the Red Thread does. It's the through line, the theme that runs underneath all the work you love to do.
It's what makes you not a generalist, whatever that is, that's your red thread. It's what gives your practice focus. Even if all your clients don't all look the same on paper. Now, there are four kinds of red threads that we see most often and that we have seen be incredibly effective, particularly in the private pay space.
You don't have to memorize these, but when you hear them, I'm guessing one or two might instantly click for you. So there's four types of red threads. The first is a person based. This means that you work with a type of person. Even if the circumstances for that person are different. So that can be high achieving women, new parents, helpers, neurodivergent people.
The details vary, but it's this identity thread that's consistent. So if you reflect on the variety that you enjoy, the clients that light you up. Is their common denominator. Something about who they are.
Then there's a problem based red thread. This is the traditional version of thinking about a niche, and that's where you help people through a really specific struggle. So traditionally that's, well, I do grief or I do trauma, but it can actually be a lot more creative than that if you want. It can be anxiety that's rooted in perfectionism or overthinking people pleasing a disconnection from yourself.
Relationship issues. So in a problem based red thread, you can work with teens and couples and adults, but they're all navigating the same internal challenge. That's the theme in this type of red thread. Now the latter two red threads that I'm gonna share here are especially powerful if you have a wide range of clients you enjoy serving.
So when I am coaching clinicians through this in confident copy and we're deciding how to articulate their red thread and how to put words to their niche, if they have what feels like very disparate specialties, usually one of these is what we lean into most heavily. So the next one is outcome based.
So this is you focusing on the result or the outcome. People want out of therapy, even if they're coming from different backgrounds, different demographics, different presenting issues. Your clients want to feel more confident, more connected. They want to experience long-term change.
They want to restore a sense of joy or balance in their life. They wanna heal the root cause. The desire here is the common thread. And that can be really, really powerful if you have a wide range of presenting issues because you as a clinician are likely leading them to some similar end point, right? So reflecting on that can be powerful.
And then finally is the approach based red thread. So this is the one that's about how you work. So if you notice the first three person problem and outcome, they were about your clients and what they have in common. Sometimes you are your niche, so it could be your method, it can be something very specific like E-M-D-R-I-F-S, brain spotting, relational life therapy, or it can just be your style, your environment, your direct, honest, no BS approach, your inclusive environment.
Clients are drawn to you in this case, not just for what you help with, but how you do it. So those are the four kinds of red thread person problem, outcome, and approach. And at this point, I have coached thousands of clinicians in this framework and seen the way that it can liberate clinicians who have felt bound by the traditional niching advice.
And enjoy rich variety while still having a very clear and focused message that establishes them as an expert, as a specialist in the minds of their clients. Now, most of the clients I work with often see themselves in more than one of these. So if I just ran through this and you're like, well, I see similarities in all of them, you're absolutely not alone in that.
That's very, very normal. In Confident Copy, we help you figure out which one or two are going to create the strongest foundation for your niche. Because yes, there are likely themes in all of these, but which one or two are really the cornerstones for you to base your marketing upon? And here's the key there.
We always come back to the client's perspective. What are they looking for? What do they think they need help with? What's going to make them stop scrolling? And say to themselves, this feels like me for your example, maybe your red thread is your somatic approach. You realize that that's the common theme.
But if your clients are mostly showing up, just saying, I wanna feel less anxious in my relationships, we need to lead with that. They aren't necessarily seeking out somatic therapy. And so the approach based red thread might not be the best fit there. Can you see what I mean? So you're still using the somatic work?
But your marketing is speaking to what your clients are actually aware of right this minute that my friends is how you enjoy variety and still have focused effective marketing, particularly when it comes to private pay clients. Now, once we identify a red thread, it's one thing to know this, it's another to bring it to life, right?
So here's how we do that. We start by writing a niche statement that reflects your variety. We need to make sure that we are calling out those distinct groups, but still feels cohesive. It's the kind of thing where every single one of your ideal clients could read it and feel like, yes, that's me.
So it's about figuring out a way to language the work that you do in such a way that every single client would be like, are you speaking directly to me? That's the cool part of a red thread. 'cause that's actually possible when we figure out what yours is. After that, we look at your website structure.
Okay? So we need to make sure that there is a clear path for each of the different types of clients that you work with. It's not that we are just mashing them all together and marketing to them all at once. We need to make sure that there's a home for each one of those different specialties on your website.
We don't want anyone to feel like an afterthought. We want everyone to feel like they belong because you are speaking to them specifically, and that happens primarily through your website structure. Then we bring that red thread into places like your homepage and your about page, the more universal pages of your website.
That way, no matter who lands on your site, they feel seen. They feel like you get it, and they trust that you're someone who can help them. So that red thread becomes a theme for all of the marketing that you do. And then the specialties underneath that, those different demographics or presenting issues that you enjoy, those become the pillars of your marketing.
So sometimes you lean into your red thread more heavily. Sometimes you lean into those pillars more heavily, but they all work together as a system. 'cause here's the thing, you do not need a single narrow niche to get full fee clients. What you need is a clear and cohesive message that shows people what makes you the right therapist for them.
Because again, if there's anything you take away from this episode, I want it to be the reminder that there is a reason people pick you. There is a reason you are the right therapist for the right client. Once we figure out what that something is, we unlock the power of your marketing.
The thing I love most about this red thread framework and putting it into action with clinicians is watching the shift in energy. That happens when therapists see it come together. It actually just happened today in Confident Copy. I have been working over the last week with a newer student on figuring out her niche, and today it clicked and she said, I know my clients can see themselves in these words, there's a sense of relief and excitement kind of sitting up straighter and being like, yes, I found it.
I found it. Those light bulb moments are the best because. It is, it's liberating from the traditional advice they've gotten that they have to make themselves small or box themselves in to be effective. That's what this work is about, helping you own the work you do best and then reflect it in a way that actually connects.
When therapists land on their red thread and really start to put this concretely together, everything begins to shift and not just in theory, I've seen it over and over again. They start getting inquiries from RightFit clients, people who actually feel aligned with their work, who are willing to pay their full fee.
Without a ton of handholding or convincing. I think one of my favorite things I hear from Confident Copy students, and I've heard this from a handful of them, is they get on consult calls and clients read the website, copy back to them, like proving how deeply they connected with it and the consults, they often start to feel easier 'cause the person on the other end already feels connected.
They already feel seen. They already know what they want. And they already trust that you're the therapist who can help them get it. Your marketing did this heavy lifting in this initial rapport building that when you get on the phone, you're already 50% of the way there. I love hearing from clinicians after they unlock this too, that they feel confident raising their fees, that they don't feel like they have to niche down further in order to justify that they see the value of what they're offering and they've put words to it, and that is empowering.
And even beyond the marketing wins, there's something more personal that happens. Right? And this is, again, getting back to the fundamental fear that is underlying this common question about variety. It feels like you have to sacrifice either clients or joy, right? The fear that you're missing something.
All of a sudden, you don't have to sacrifice your joy in the name of marketing. You don't have to erase the nuance of your work in order to sound clear. You can be the versatile, dynamic, multi-passionate clinician that you are and still run a premium ful fee practice. I think that's the greatest win of all.
No longer defaulting to a niche that doesn't fit or staying stuck in that vague middle zone that isn't really helping anyone. You start speaking clearly, you start showing up powerfully, and your marketing finally reflects the depth, the variety, the richness, and the quality of your work. So I've been chatting for a while, but hopefully offering a helpful answer for anyone who has been sitting here thinking to themselves, how do I do this well, when I enjoy so many different types of clients?
So Melissa, Robin, I hope this was helpful for you and I hope it was helpful to anyone else that has wrestled with that question. If this conversation has hit home for you, and if you have been trying to figure out how to talk about the work that you do without shrinking it down to some box, or if you've been holding back from marketing because nothing feels quite right, I want you to know that we can help with that.
And that's actually exactly what we do. Inside of Confident Copy. We help therapists like you define your red thread, shape it into a niche that still honors your variety, and then most importantly, bring it to life in your marketing in a way that actually resonates with those clients that you love working with.
The ones who are ready, who are full fee, who feel like a yes. From the very first email you get from them and if you've been stuck in that place where you're trying to sound clear, but end up feeling boxed in, please know today that there is a better way.
Twice every year. We reopen confident copy at a reduced rate. We add in some really incredible extra bonuses. And if you're listening to this in real time, summer 2025, the next one is coming in August. So over the next few weeks, I'm gonna be sharing more of the behind the scenes of Confident Copy. What happens, the power of the coaching, the community, the curriculum there.
If you're not already on our email list, make sure you are. There's a link in the show notes to join the wait list for Confident Copy. By joining the wait list, you get an extra discount. Hello, extra savings. But you also qualify for a continuing support bonus that I've never offered in this way before.
That allows us to continue working together for six months following the Confident Copy Program so I can really help you implement as you move on from the program. Now, whatever it is that you choose to do, whether I see you in Confident Copy, where I would love to support you or not, please know that you don't have to give up variety, nuance, or joy just to market better.
There is a better way and I would love the opportunity to show it to you inside of Confident Copy, or at the very least, by continuing to hang around this podcast and this community. I'm so grateful that you're here and I'll see you in the next episode.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
Confident Copy program: walkerstrategyco.com/cc
Join the waitlist for Confident Copy to access exclusive bonuses: walkerstrategyco.com/cc-waitlist
The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
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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.
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