“Welcome to my website! I’m happy you’re here!”

Thank goodness you clarified that! We wouldn’t want people to think you didn’t want them on your site!

Jokes aside, a welcome statement on your website is useless. You only have a few seconds to capture your visitors’ attention, and they are not willing to hang out on your website for long. Make everything on your website - every word, every button, every image - have a purpose.

Your primary goal should be to tell potential clients what you offer and how those offerings help them. You may have other objectives - such as to entertain, spark an emotion, or prompt action, but make sure these don’t distract from your primary goal.

Here are five more copywriting mistakes I see on therapist websites:

1. Things that are implied

   A good rule of thumb is never to state what is implied or can be implied. For example, you don’t need to write “click here” next to a button. People know to click on buttons.

2. Things that don’t mean anything concrete

   “I offer teachings and tools to support the evolution of personal & collective consciousness.” It took me less than 10 seconds to find this line while Googling a random therapist’s website. Because your website visitor will have no clue what this means or how it applies to them, they will instantly feel confused, disconnected, and possibly stupid. Invite clients in by speaking their language and giving them concrete information.

3. Things that are clever or trendy

   Clarity always wins. Cleverness rarely does. Avoid trendy, clever, or cutesy language. While it might seem that you’re “personalizing” your messaging for your ideal client, you’re likely to be called out for sounding inauthentic.

4. Brand voice overkill

   Voice is the impression or tone your readers get when they take in your captions, blogs, and content. It helps your readers trust you and builds authenticity. But, we can get a little too obsessed with displaying our brand voice. It can feel performative or give content the appearance of a script. Find your brand voice, yes. But don’t elevate its importance over what your client wants to hear or see in your copy.

5. Selling the service

   It is only by helping your clients that your service is valuable. In other words, your service lacks value if it doesn’t help them solve their problems. You can only charge because the buyer gets something from your services. Don’t focus on the features of your offer until you’ve clearly described to me WHY it’s valuable.