As a long-time clinician and business owner myself, I know how draining it can be to run your wellness practice without the right marketing strategies in place.
It’s downright exhausting!
If you’re a physician, you spent four long years learning to care for patients, and now you’re expected to become a marketing expert?!
I completely empathize because I’ve been there myself.
Which is why I’m sharing my #1 tip for making marketing easier:
Pick 👏 A 👏 Niche.
Getting super clear about who you want to serve + how you want to serve them is hands down the best thing you can do to build a more sustainable practice.
Niching down not only helps you get more transformative results for your patients, it also helps you build a more profitable practice for YOU.
Now… I know, I know…
Niching down feels scary to some of you, but stick with me and we’ll work through this.
We’ll look at what holds practitioners back from niching down, why you need to do it anyway, and how to go about choosing the right one!
First, What Does “Picking a Niche” Even Mean?
In short: your niche is your specialty. Picking a niche means choosing a specific health problem, modality, or demographic (sometimes all three) that you feel most drawn to.
I’ll give you an example.
Let’s say you’re a naturopathic doctor.
When you pick a niche, you’re no longer a doctor who serves just anybody. You’re a naturopathic doctor who helps menopausal women feel better by balancing their hormones naturally.
See the difference?
Niching down makes the work you do much more specific (and makes your marketing a whole lot easier!).
And along with that comes the understanding that not everyone is a good fit to work with you, and owning that.
Stick with me here…
Some Common Fears About “Picking a Niche” in Wellness
“Did she just tell me to turn clients away?”
“Clients that I’m perfectly capable of helping??”
That’s right, yes, I did 😉
But this actually isn’t a bad move for your business!
Before we get into the reasons I recommend “niching down” (can’t wait for this part!)… I want to address two common fears about niching down that hold practitioners back.
Fear #1: “I won’t get enough business If I niche down”
Sounds reasonable, right? When you serve fewer people, you get less business.
But I’m actually going to challenge you on this belief.
Whether you help young women with fertility issues or older women navigating menopause, I promise you… there are plenty of people looking for your support.
People are searching every day (online and off) for someone with expertise about their specific problem. The truth is – you actually attract more people to your practice when you have a clear niche. More on this later.
Fear #2: You’ll be trapped in this niche forever.
What if you’re not 100% sold on one particular area of expertise?
Or, what if something happens later on in your career that changes your perspective?
Friend – it’s all good!
Because I’m going to let you in on a little secret: you can pivot anytime you want!
It’s your business, after all. Plus, once you’ve learned what it looks like to niche down and serve a specific demographic, you’ll be able to replicate this process more easily.
3 Important Reasons for Picking a Niche.
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know I often talk about effective marketing strategies for growing your wellness practice. Maybe you’ve even implemented some of these in your business – if so nice work!
What I want you to understand is this: niching doesn’t compete with any other marketing strategy. In fact, it’s the exact opposite – it makes all the other marketing strategies that much easier and more effective!
Here’s why:
1. When you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one.
Wanna know the key to executing an effective marketing plan (and having a practice that gets you jazzed to get out of bed each morning)?
Knowing your perfect patient.
Once you know exactly who you want to serve, you can create services, messaging, and content geared towards that exact person.
Take your website copy for example (“copy” just refers to the words on your website):
How can you possibly create engaging copy for (1) a middle-aged man with chronic fatigue, (2) a woman going through menopause, and (3) a young woman struggling to become pregnant?
It’s not possible!
You can talk generally about the importance of whole foods and getting to the bottom of underlying issues. You can talk about the benefits of targeted supplementation and the power of diet and lifestyle changes.
But the reality is that there’s a sea of other holistic & functional practitioners talking about these things, and I want you to stand out!
Now imagine if your website spoke directly to just one of those people. You could really demonstrate your understanding of their symptoms. You could speak to all the things you know they’ve already tried without success.
You could make them feel completely seen & understood.
And this is important, because when someone reads your message, you want them to say:
“Wow, this is the exact person I’ve been looking for. I need to book an appointment!”
2. Picking a niche sets you apart as an expert.
When you niche down, you become an expert. And patients trust experts with their health. They also pay more for experts 😉
Think about it… if you’re suffering from migraines, would you rather book an appointment with a general primary care doctor? Or a migraine specialist? It’s a no-brainer, and it applies to every health problem in the book.
Before you know it, you’ll become the “go-to” person for the specific health issue you solve. I see it happen for practitioners all the time!
3. You get to serve patients you love treating.
Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like you’re at the helm of the ship, steering your own business in the most desirable direction available? Getting to choose which types of people you want to work with, and turning away those you sort of… don’t?
Oh wait – you can be!
Picking a niche is like taking the wheel – it gives you the power to choose the type of person you’d like to work with most. Do you have a soft spot for mothers suffering from postpartum depression, high-performance executives experiencing burnout, athletes, those suffering from anxiety & panic disorder, neurodiverse kids… what gets you fired up??
You won’t be the best fit for every patient (and that’s a-okay!).
Ultimately, niching down allows you to build a practice you love. One that you feel in control of and excited about.
And that’s exactly what I want for you!
Picking a Niche for Your Wellness Business.
Okay, so you’re convinced of the benefits in niching down, now what?
How the heck do you pick one??
We’ve already dabbled in this a bit, and there’s really no “wrong way” to pick a niche. But here are a few questions to help you get more clarity:
- What area are you naturally drawn to? Think about your current patients. Is there a health issue you feel particularly confident about or interested in? Notice which cases you’re extra excited about.
- What health challenges have you overcome in your own life? You or someone close to you might have a story of overcoming cancer or infertility issues, for example. This experience may even be the reason you got interested in healing in the first place! Being able to embody the transformation you’re offering to your patients builds extra credibility.
- What topics could you talk about for hours? You know the ones. These are often great areas to niche down in. You’ve got a natural interest in that area – capitalize on it!
Thinking about these questions should help you gain clarity about your niche.
And remember, you’re not married to it forever.
The Key to Your Success
Yes, picking a niche can feel scary.
But it’s actually the key to unlimited success.
My best advice: Pick one and run with it.
You’ll be surprised by the increased confidence you feel when you have a clear sense of direction, how quickly you understand your perfect patient, and the success you experience in your business.
If you need some extra help with all this “niching down stuff”, I’m here for you!
Helping YOU run a successful wellness practice is MY NICHE, and I couldn’t love it more 🙌
Simply set up a free 15-minute strategy call with me, and we’ll chat about what makes the most sense for your business.
