Copy Examples

Elevator pitch examples for therapists

An elevator pitch fails when it describes the business instead of giving the listener a reason to ask a second question. These end somewhere the other person can pick up.

Ten of them follow, written for therapists rather than filled in from a template. Your customer is someone who has been thinking about this for months, and what they are weighing up before they get in touch is that the first session will be exposing, and that they will not click with you.

The one-liner

I am a therapist in [your town] — I work with people on individual therapy and couples counselling for someone who has been thinking about this for months.

Use this when you have one sentence and no idea who you are talking to.

Problem first

The thing people worry about with therapists is the first session will be exposing, and that they will not click with you. That is the part I deal with. I am a therapist, and I start with a free call to see whether this is a fit.

Use this where the problem is instantly recognisable and the service is not.

Names who it is for

I work for someone who has been thinking about this for months. Mostly individual therapy and couples counselling. If that is not you, you probably know someone.

Use this at an event where most people are not your customer, to find the ones who are.

Credential first

I am a licensed clinical therapist. Licensed in this state, with supervised clinical hours and ongoing consultation behind the work. I mostly do individual therapy and couples counselling.

Use this in a room where qualification is the thing that buys attention.

The contrast

Most therapists [what the default does]. I am the one that answers, and holds the first appointment. That is more or less the whole difference.

Use this when your market has a clear default and you are not it.

With a number in it

I am a therapist — [number] years, [number] sessions, and I tell you how I work, so you can tell whether it fits.

Use this when you have a real number. Do not invent one.

The origin

I started because the first session will be exposing, and that they will not click with you was normal in this trade and it did not need to be. So that is the business: a therapist where I start with a free call to see whether this is a fit.

Use this when the reason you started is short and true.

Ten seconds

Therapist. Individual therapy, mostly. [your town].

Use this when someone asks what you do and is already half-turned away.

Ends with the ask

I am a therapist doing individual therapy and couples counselling. If you ever hear someone say [the thing your customers say], that is me.

Use this when the point of the conversation is a referral, not a sale.

The warm version

[their question] — I am a therapist. The part people usually ask about is being specific about how the work actually goes, so the right person recognises themselves.

Use this where the pitch would land badly and a conversation would not.

Writing for therapists: what actually matters

What should a therapist’s website say that a generic one does not?

Three things, in this order. That you are licensed and insured. That you understand the thing people are actually worried about, which for therapists is that the first session will be exposing, and that they will not click with you. And what happens next: a free fifteen-minute call to see whether we are a fit, with no obligation. Everything else on the page is decoration by comparison.

What does someone who has been thinking about this for months check first?

The credential, then the proof. For therapists it sounds like this. I tell you how I work, so you can tell whether it fits. I explain what a first session actually involves. I state my fees and insurance plainly. Put at least one of those above the fold rather than on a separate page nobody opens.

What is the most common mistake on a therapist’s website?

Writing about the business instead of the customer. "We have been established since 1998" answers a question nobody asked. "I start with a free fifteen-minute call to see whether we are a fit, with no obligation" answers the one they are actually holding. If you only fix one thing, fix that.

How long should the copy be?

Shorter than you think, except where trust is being built. An About page of 120 well-chosen words beats 500 vague ones. The exception is anything explaining that the first session will be exposing, and that they will not click with you — there, specifics earn their length.

Everything else for therapists

Elevator pitch for other trades

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