5 Ways Blogging Helps Grow Your Private Practice For Solo Practitioners
As solo therapy practice owners, we often do everything in our practice. You see clients, write notes, send intake document,s and manage insurance or billing. It’s hard to maintain any work-life balance. Writing blog posts feels like just one more expectation on your plate.
I get it. When I first started my private practice it felt like was going night and day trying to get everything done. Blogging felt like just another line on my never-ending to-do list.
But blogging has turned out to have one of the biggest returns on my time investment. Not only did it help me attract more ideal clients, but it has also allowed me to help more people, even those who aren’t ready for therapy or are out of my state. It’s also brought in media inquiries and consultation opportunities. As well as a steady stream of clients who know and trust me before our consultation.
The good news is that if you are a solo practice owner and don’t plan on expanding your blogging efforts don’t have to continue into infinity. Doing it for a short period of time can impact your practice for years to come.
Today I’m going to talk about exactly how blogging can get you to a waitlist of clients excited to work specifically with you.
Creating quality blogs that connect with your clients and help them where they are. Is an all-around win for everyone. Let’s get started, here are 5 ways that blogging can help grow your private practice.
1.Increase Traffic To Your Website (Without Spending A Fortune on ADs or SEO)
There are a lot of therapists out there. But one of the cool things about being a therapist is that because each of us is unique we have people out in the world that we are the best fit for as a therapist. The key is helping the right fit clients find you.
This is where blogging comes in. Each page that you have on your website increases the likelihood that your ideal client will find you when they are searching for mental health topics that connect with your ideal client. So if you only have a homepage and a contact page it will be hard for the right clients to find you and to know that you are the right therapist for them.
Each blog post is like a new fishing line in the water. If they are done correctly the way they connect with your ideal client will help to reel them in.
How SEO helps- a therapist explanation
I think what makes SEO feel overwhelming is that it feels like a science with lots of technical details and things that need to be done just right. In reality, it’s more of an art form. You learn the “rules” and then apply them in a way that fits with your piece.
The important thing is to have content that your ideal clients are looking for and is helpful to them. Written in the language that they are using.
Blog posts keep working for you as long as they are up. I still get clients from posts I wrote 2 years ago.
Why Consistency Matters (But Not As Much As You Think)
Remember as solo practice therapists we don’t need a ton of new clients coming into our practice. So we don’t need to blog every single day or even every week. Once or twice a month can really make the difference over time..
Small consistent efforts make for big long-term results.
Tip for In-Person Therapists
If you see clients in person, include your location naturally in your blog posts. Instead of just writing about anxiety, write some location-specific posts. An example of this would be “Managing Anxiety in the San Francisco Bay Area” or “Finding the Right Trauma Therapist in Queens, New York”
You might also want to write about local events and how they impact your community’s mental health. This helps locals find you but also says you understand what they are experiencing.
We aren’t trying to beat Google. Just help our ideal clients find us.
2.Establish Your Expertise (Without Sounding to stuffed up)
As therapists most of us hate having any sort of visibility or attention on us. Especially putting ourselves out there as an expert. We’re trained to focus on others and keep ourselves out of the room.
But in reality, who you are as a person is part of who you are as a therapist and is the number one variable in determining how good your therapy is for the client. Are you a good fit for them? Your uniqueness is what makes you a good fit for your clients. So your website and your blog is where you show that off.
Your Style as a Therapist is Your Superpower
Know what makes your approach different. Even if you do CBT or DBT you aren’t like the therapist next door who uses the same modality. Maybe you like to use heavy metal references or you are a Superhero fan. Whatever it is your blogs are a perfect way for your clients to learn about your style.
Your blogs show your ideal clients what it’s like to be in the therapy room with you. They are learning about your approach and how you will help them.
Maybe you use Harry Potter characters to explain IFS or Hamilton songs to help heal entrepreneurial burnout. Some of your blog posts might be something like “What Hermoine tells us about our manager parts and how we can help them” or “Lessons in burnout from Hamilton”. This helps your ideal clients get to know you better and be excited to work with you.
Posting something like this can be scary. What if we are pushing away those who don’t like Harry Potter or Hamilton? Honestly, these clients might not be the best fit for us and if they are still a good fit they will see past that. It’s better that people know you aren’t for them before you are both invested in working together as therapist and client.
Be Clear on Who You are Writing to
When you know specifically what you are writing to it makes writing easier and your blogs more engaging. Once you are clear on your ideal client you can write directly to them and they will be more interested in writing.
You can establish your specialization by writing about specific experiences your clients have and your unique approach to common challenges your ideal clients face.
Building Trust Through Showing Your Work
Blogging lets you show your clients your expertise and approach instead of tell them about it. Through blogging you share your thought process and walk them through your approach to common challenges that your ideal clients often struggle with.
For example, if you work with women in their mid-forties who struggle with eating disorders, write about the specific approach you take toward helping them heal.
Authenticity Beats Perfectionism
Being yourself in your blogs (appropriately) helps your clients get to know you and learn if you are the right therapist for them. Writing about learning moments can help you to build trust even more than presenting yourself as the expert who knows everything.
What experiences have shaped the way that you think about your work?
Remember your blogs are not academic papers. The goal is to have your ideal clients read your blogs and feel heard and understood. And to know who you are enough that they know you are the therapist for them.
3.Increase Accessibility (Because Everyone Deserves Support)
Finding your blog post may be someone’s first step in the journey to seeking therapy. They may find your blog in the middle of the night and connect with you enough through your blog that they decide to reach out for a consultation.
Your blog is the help they need that meets them where they are. It guides them to more help when they are ready.
Breaking Down Barriers (Both Real and Perceived)
Therapy can be really intimidating when you’ve never tried it. Or for some who have had bad experiences in the past.
Your blogs can help ease this anxiety by explaining the therapy process in easily understood language. You can also help people who have had a negative experience to feel safe by teaching them about how you work with their issues.
You can also help them build trust and confidence by giving them practical tools that will help them right away.
Supporting Those Who Aren't Ready (or Able) for Therapy
We all know that the way that the world works means that not everyone who needs therapy can access it. It might be they can’t afford it, difficulties with scheduling, location, fear of the associated stigma (decreasing but not yet gone) or they may not be ready yet.
Either way, your blog provides support to ideal clients who eventually make it into your office and to others who don’t have the ability for whatever reason to access your services.
Think of it as a way to help others even beyond your therapeutic work.
You can use your blogs to:
Share practical self-help strategies
Provide resource lists
Give basic mental health education
Making It Easier to Find the Right Fit
If you’ve tried to find a therapist recently you know how hard it is. You’re looking for a perfect match. You blog helps your potential clients understand if you are the right therapist for them.
When you write about your specific approach your ideal clients can self-select based on whether or not your voice resonates with them.
Creating an Inclusive Space
Your blog can also be used as a way to show your understanding and inclusivity of special populations. You can do this by writing about the struggles of certain communities you serve, cultural considerations in your area of mental health, and how your practice is particularly accessible to marginalized groups.
The Ripple Effect
The internet is worldwide. So your blog posts will reach beyond your community and the scope of your license. The article you write about managing anxiety might help others all over the world and be used for future reference by people who really need help.
The blogs help people feel understood and less alone whether or not they can work with you.
Not only will your blogs continue to bring prospective clients to your site but it will also continue to help others out in the world. Even when you are on vacation.
4.Help Your Clients Get to Know You (Before They Even Book)
When your website and blogs are on point your clients feel like they already know you when you go into your consultations. This changes the conversation from is this the right therapist for me to let’s work out the details of whether or not we can work together.
Because they’ve read your posts they know who you are and what your priorities are in therapy. You know how you will help them and what it will be like to be in the room with you. If you do it well.
That’s how blogging helps your practice-it saves both you and the client time.
Let Your Personality Shine
I know in therapy we want to be really careful about how much professional information we share. But your personality is a big part of who you are in the therapy room. You are showing them who you are.
When you do that you don’t have to give them irrelevant details about your personal life. But if you have stories (appropriate of course) in your personal life that help your clients know you understand them go ahead and use them.
Clients don’t pick a therapist based on credentials (they often don’t understand what those letters mean) they pick one based on whether or not they feel like you will be able to understand them. Feeling heard and building a connection is the first step to that.
Using the personal touches you use in therapy in your blogs will help your clients know if you are the right therapist for them.
These personal touches help potential clients think, "Ah, this is someone who gets me!"
Share Your Style as a Therapist
Be honest with who you are. If you are a straight CBT therapist who gives homework and focuses only on that type of therapy. Say that in your blogs.
Own who you are and what you do.
If you chase people off who don’t want your style of therapy, that’s actually great! Better to know now rather than later.
Be upfront about how you work. If you're a no-nonsense CBT practitioner who gives homework, say that. If you're all about exploring childhood patterns through psychodynamic work, own it.
It isn’t a bad thing to screen out the clients who aren’t a fit for your practice.
Build Trust Through Transparency
Not only can you use your blog to attract clients to your site through Seo but you can also answer questions your client might be wondering but too shy to ask.
How do you handle a crisis?
What happens if we run into each other in public?
When you address these concerns openly, you're not just providing information - you're showing potential clients that you understand their worries and respect their questions.
Show Your Human Side (While Maintaining Boundaries)
Other information you can share in your blog that might help your clients get to know you is the professional version of why you became a therapist. Or how you apply the skills you know as a therapist.
It’s important to strike a balance with this information. Don’t share more than you are comfortable with your clients knowing but share enough information for them to understand who you are and decide whether or not they want to work with you.
These tidbits help clients to learn more about you and see you as a human as well as a professional.
You do need to be careful that your blog doesn’t turn into a diary or share more personal information than you intend for your clients to understand.
5.Create Content for Other Marketing Materials (AKA Work Smarter, Not Harder)
With a little bit of extra effort, blogging becomes even more worth the time that you spend on it. Each blog post can actually be broken up into other pieces of content that you can sprinkle across the internet.
One Therapy Blog= Many Social Media Posts
An example of this is how I could use this blog. It’s titled “5 Ways Blogging Can Help Grow Your Private Practice That single blog can be turned into:
5 Instagram carousel posts (one for each tip)
A week's worth of thoughtful LinkedIn updates
Several Twitter threads breaking down key concepts
Facebook posts that spark community discussion
Pinterest-worthy infographics summarizing the tips
You can even make it easier on yourself by keeping a running list of quotes for your social media posts late.
Power Up Your Email Newsletter
You can also use your blog posts to spice up your emails to your list. Your blog posts can be broken down into a series of emails. Provide quick tips that your list can use and be used for a resource library that you offer to your list.
Create Workshop and Speaking Gig Content
You can use the information in your blog as an outline for a workshop or your speaking gigs. You can create workshops, discussion guides, podcast talking points, and generate discussion questions.
Create Ready-to-Go Workshop Materials
Got a workshop coming up? Your blog posts are already halfway to being your presentation slides! I recently turned my post about relationship communication into a couples workshop, and the outline was practically done for me. You can use blog content to create:
It’s Already in Your Voice
Whether you write your blogs or have someone else do them as long as they are in your authentic voice it’s easy to repurpose the content to whatever you need. The new content will naturally hang on to your tone and style.
If you are a preplanner (this isn’t quite me yet) you can look for places the content you are creating can be used later. You can even create this other content simultaneously.
The Secret to Sustainable Blogging (Without Losing Your Voice)
This all sounds really great but we’re back to where we started. Time is short and when you run your own practice there is a lot that needs to get done. On top of all that blogging regularly can feel overwhelming.
This is where working with a therapist copywriter can be a game-changer. Think of it as having a writing partner who understands the therapy world and blog writing.
Someone who can do it all and as we get to know each other can put it all in your voice for you. I can do it all from coming up with a topic to writing the blog in your voice and creating social media content to go with it.
Why Your Voice Matters (Even When Someone Else Is Writing)
Working with a therapist is completely individual. A good copywriter amplifies your voice and who you are.
I help your clients really get to know you before you start working with them. It’s my goal for them to know that you are the right person before you talk to them.
Moving Forward
No matter who writes your blogs either you or a writer your blogs are not just about marketing but an extension of who you are. Every post could reach someone who needs your unique voice and ability to help them.
Ready to start growing your practice through blogging but want to hand it off to someone else? That’s exactly why I’m here. As a writer who is also a therapist, I am uniquely qualified to understand who you are and use your unique tone and style to help your clients find you. I understand therapy and can create engaging posts that attract ideal clients while staying authentic to your personality as a therapist.
Let’s work together to share your valuable insights with the people who need you most, without adding hours of extra work. Reach out here to schedule a consultation to learn about our done-for-you services.