How to Elevate Your Dietitian Marketing Plan and Get More Clients
Your dietitian marketing plan is all about matchmaking.
It’s a matchmaking process to find your ideal clients, and it’s a matchmaking process to find what marketing strategies work for you.
In today’s blog, we’ll be talking about barriers to marketing, mindset shifts for marketing, and the 5 most popular types of marketing for private practice dietitians.
Do you want at least 3 new clients in your private practice? Sign up to design a marketing plan in our free challenge Marketing Bootcamp!
How You Feel About Marketing
We love marketing but understand that we are not the norm. You have told us that you don’t love marketing, it doesn’t feel intuitive, and it doesn’t always come easy. In fact, many people avoid marketing because they simply don’t feel good doing it.
In order to effectively market your business, your ideal client needs to know that you are available to help them solve their problem. This means you have to be visible, in order for them to find you. This also means that you have to shift the way you think about being seen. This is not easy to do, but yet every business has to work through this in order to have an effective marketing plan.
If you are struggling with marketing, my favorite mindset shift is “marketing is all about the match”.
What can you do in your marketing strategy to match your business solutions with the clients that need your services?
Think about the following:
- The problems that your ideal client has
- The solutions they have tried to solve this problem (and the money they have spent!)
- How they feel about their problem
- How your business brings value to them in solving this problem
- What will motivate them to say “yes” to your business offer
Barriers to Marketing
Marketing is the act of increasing awareness of your business among your audience. Marketing has to consistently happen for any business to thrive.
However, there are barriers to marketing that hold people back. These include but aren’t limited to:
- Fear
- Overwhelm
- Too much work
- Scared of what people will think
- Imposter syndrome
- Feeling rejected
- Not knowing what to do
- Creating engaging content
- Time constraints
- Keeping up with trends
- Not good with technology
Take a minute to identify any barriers you feel are holding you back from marketing.
Mindset Shifts for Marketing
Working on mindset can be very helpful in overcoming barriers. Here are some mindset shifts to practice for marketing:
- I have to do this in order to keep business flowing.
- Think of marketing as a way to serve and support potential clients by sharing valuable information.
- Authenticity resonates with people. Don’t be afraid to share who you are.
- Regular, consistent marketing builds trust and keeps your practice top of mind for others to refer to you.
Reflect on the barriers you identified previously and create your own mindset shift to help you overcome the barriers.
Now, we’re going to explore the 5 most popular types of marketing for private practice dietitians and healthcare professionals.
- Website/landing page
- Networking
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Speaking
Website/Landing Page
One of the first steps in dietitian marketing is having a place online where your potential client can find you. Your website will need a functioning back end, brand alignment, and client-centered language.
- Functional back end: A well-designed website goes beyond aesthetics; it needs to have a fully functional back end. This means that ensuring all features work seamlessly. Having a glitch-free user experience can help attract and retain clients.
- Brand alignment: Your website needs to reflect your brand’s values, personality, and approach to counseling. Consider how you want your clients to perceive your practice.
- Client-centered approach: When designing your website, keep your ideal clients in mind. What are their needs, concerns, and preferences? Speak directly to them, addressing their pain points and offering solutions.
If you’re not quite ready for a website, you can create a simple landing page or Google doc.
Set up a professional directory profile (like Healthprofs) or a Google doc and use this as a “landing page” for more information about your practice. You can always upgrade to a website as you grow.
Networking
Warm leads are your referrals! These are people who know you from a connection in common. This connection is usually from someone else who is engaging with your business, whether they are a client already or a healthcare professional who has worked with you in the past.
- Here are a few places to network using your warm leads:
- Talk to your family and friends to find more connections
- Use past and present client teams
- Reach out to professionals you have worked with in the past
- Tap into your local community connections
- Use your online community connections
Cold leads are potential clients that are engaging with your business for the first few times. They really don’t know you or what you stand for and they are just getting introduced to your business. Cold leads are usually people who find you on the Internet or maybe even find a social media post of yours. Some research has shown it takes 7-10 “touch points” for a cold lead to know/like/love/trust your business.
Here are a few ideas to find cold leads:
- Who are the other professionals who may also treat your target client that you do not know yet?
- Are there any organizations/facilities/professional communities that also help your ideal client?
Email Marketing
The experts say that email marketing is currently the most effective online marketing strategy. When looking at common statistics for online marketing strategies, email marketing is usually the highest return on investment. This means that the work associated with setting up an email marketing system is usually well worth it.
There are many different types of email marketing campaigns. Here are some of the basic ones:
- An “opt-in” email: You want to offer your potential clients something valuable in exchange for their email address.
- A “get to know me” email sequence: These allow a potential client get to know who you are and what you stand for.
- A “nurture” sequence: This is used to nurture your ideal client by adding value.
- A “sales” sequence: These emails sell a service or product for your business.
- A newsletter: A real-time email to your entire list.
If you want to create an opt-in to get more people on your email list, popular ideas are:
- A PDF guide
- A video/video series
- A mini-course
- A call with you
Social Media
Social media should be social! The key to success on social media is to engage with your audience. Engagement will increase your visibility, put your account in front of new followers, and allow you to increase your brand awareness. The best practices for engagement change frequently and can vary among the different platforms. This is why strategy with social media is important.
Popular social media platforms:
- TikTok
- YouTube
No matter which platform you choose, you need a strategy. Think about your client’s pain points and the solution to their problem. Social media should lead your ideal clients to your business to engage.
Speaking
Whether it’s speaking to a doctor’s office or appearing on a podcast, using speaking for marketing is important for building trust. Speaking is a powerful marketing tool, allowing potential clients to authentically connect with you and build trust. Here are some different ways you can use speaking to market your business:
- Podcast
- Speaking to a doctor’s office
- Short form videos
- Videos on your website
- Conferences or webinars
- Workshops
- Live streams
Create Your Visibility Plan
Every business needs a visibility plan to help get yourself seen! This is the top of your marketing funnel. We went through so many different marketing channels today to support your visibility plan.
As you learned, there are many different types of marketing channels. All business owners get to choose how they market their business based on their passion, the market, and boundaries.
Some business owners choose to market in a way that is more behind the scenes, like improving SEO. Other business owners prefer to network and collaborate with other professionals.
Build a visibility plan based on your strengths!
Start by assessing if each different marketing channel is a priority to you. Remember, you can’t do it all at once.
How to Elevate Your Dietitian Marketing Plan and Get More Clients: The Takeaway
Your dietitian marketing plan is about finding the marketing channels that are the right match for you.
By using your personality strengths in your marketing, you can enjoy the process and find more clients.
There are many different channels you can use to market your dietitian business, but here are the 5 most popular:
- Website/landing page
- Networking
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Speaking
One thing we always say about marketing is the best marketing strategy you can have is doing good work with your clients. Never forget this when you’re thinking about marketing.
Want to work with me to build your private practice?
Business School is a comprehensive 6-month program designed to guide you through every stage of building a private practice: getting set up, seeing your first clients, growing until you’re fully booked, hiring a team, expanding your offers—and even learning how to coast when needed. Inside, you’ll follow a step-by-step curriculum with the flexibility to choose the path that fits your current stage of business and life. You’ll get access to advanced toolkits, templates, and systems for business topics like marketing and finances, but also for counseling skills and client support. Beyond the curriculum, you’re supported by personalized 1:1 coaching, weekly office hours, and monthly themes that address the real challenges of private practice. The program keeps you moving forward with built-in accountability that builds resilience and confidence so you feel like a legit business owner. Learn more and apply here!
