Two Things You Must Know If You Want Your Website To Attract Your Ideal Client

So, you want to attract your ideal client. You’ve used Brighter Vision’s killer ideal client tool to pin down who she is, and where you can find her. Great. But… Now what?

Now, before you go and find her, you need to do this one crazy important thing: Get to Know Your Ideal Client.

Like, really get to know her.

Not just her age and income bracket or her marital status. And not just where she hangs out. You need to know her on a deeper, more intimate level. Her motivations, her fears, and her anxieties.

Here’s why:

Conversion copywriter Joanna Wiebe explains it best with this example.

“You don’t buy the Wall Street Journal because you’re 55, you’re male, you’ve got 2 kids and you bring in between $125 – $250K a year. That may all be true of the average WSJ reader, but it’s not compelling. Something motivates you to buy the Wall Street Journal – and that’s what we need to know to start writing copy that sells the Wall Street Journal.”

And it’s what you need to know – about your ideal client – to write a website that attracts her.

See, your website is your first point of contact with your ideal client. It’s the first chance at a connection. What you say and how you say it sets the tone for the rest of your relationship.

The best way to connect with your ideal client – to inspire her to step into a relationship with you (and not out of it and away from your website) – is to help her feel understood.

Just like in therapy, your website needs to show your ideal client that you understand her. That you care about her. That you’ve considered her problem and you know how to help her through it – just like you’ve helped so many others in her shoes.

Because you’re not trying to sell her so you can up your client list. And you’re not trying to promote your services in a sales-y way. Or push your expertise.

You really do care. You really do want to help her. And you and I both know that you can.

But, here’s the thing:

Your ideal client doesn’t know it yet.

What you write on your website is your way of helping your ideal client come to know what you already know – that you are the solution she’s been looking for.

As expert marketer Jay Abraham has said, “when you can define the problem better than your client, they assume you have the solution”.

How do you communicate with ideal clients on your website to help them see you as their solution?

You get clear on these 2 things before you write a single word for your website (or your FB ad or your Google ad or your next tweet):

1. Get to know how aware your ideal client is of you and your industry before they come to your website.
2. Make sure you deeply and intimately understand your ideal client’s motivations, fears and anxieties before your write to them on your website.

Here’s the best part of all of this:

As a therapist, you already know all of this information. As in, you already know your ideal client – deeply and intimately. It comes with the job.

While other service providers are scrambling to research their target audience before they write a single line of copy for their website, therapists like you are cruisin’ because you’re a giant step ahead.

Ok, let’s unpack these 2 bits of information, so you can channel them into powerful words on your website that leave your ideal client feeling like, “That’s exactly how I feel! She really gets me!”

1. Get to know how aware your ideal client is of therapy.

Awareness has a lot to do with readiness. And knowing how ready your ideal client is for therapy and how much they know about you and how you work affects what you say to him on your website.

If your ideal client is someone who’s had therapy before, they’re likely super ready to jump back into it if the need strikes. They don’t need a lot of information about therapy as much as they want to find out about you, your style and your services to see if you match what they’re looking for.

People who don’t know a thing about therapy first-hand will need a lot more information about what it is and how it works to warm up to the idea and to clear up any stereotypical views of it. When I ask the question, most therapists I work with say that their ideal client is someone who’s “ready” for therapy.

I get it. Working with a client who doesn’t want to do the work can be rather unpleasant. But dig deeper than “ready” or not. Understand how ready your ideal client is for therapy so you can actively join the conversation happening in her head, and weigh in on his decision-making process.

2. Deeply understand your ideal client’s motivations, fears, and anxieties

Ok, so the first point we just covered is about getting clear on what information your ideal client has  – about you and about therapy – before landing on your website.

This next point is about understanding why they want therapy in the first place, and what fears and anxieties are standing in the way of them getting it.

Just like in therapy, helping your ideal clients feel understood on your website is a powerful way of building rapport and trust. The more you show your ideal client that you understand her and her pain–and you do–the more likely she’ll stick around to consider what you offer as a solution.

So, consider the hesitations your ideal client has of getting therapy. Does she feel hopeless because she’s tried absolutely everything and nothing has worked? Is she desperate for help but embarrassed to start therapy? Use your past experience with your ideal client to get clear on her barriers to getting therapy, and to working with you. Write your website in a way that works through these fears and anxieties.

Here are some questions I use to help me get clear on my ideal client’s pains and fears before I write:

• What’s going on in your ideal clients’ lives that’s compelled them to look for a therapist like you?
• What does your ideal client want out of therapy?
• What’s happening in her world that’s causing her pain?
• What’s at risk if she doesn’t take action and get therapy?

Ok so, why is all of this information important? Because when we buy something, we don’t just purchase a service, or a special price or deal. We purchase what we’re getting in exchange for the dolla’ bills. We purchase an experience. A happier, better version of ourselves.

People aren’t paying to see a therapist – they’re paying for what they hope therapy will give them…a happier, better version of themselves.

But they aren’t always ready to step in and make the buying decision. Not without a little coaching and support.

Which is what your darling website is for. Use your website to speak directly to your ideal client. And use your words to coach and guide her to make a decision that supports her, like the therapist you are.

About Hannah Shamji

Hannah Shamji is an Online Persuasion Strategist and a soon-to-be Registered Professional Counselor. She helps therapists write websites that attract & invite the right clients--clients they love & get excited to work with--into their practice.