How a private-practice dietitian gets her first clients, without becoming an influencer

How does a new private-practice dietitian get her first clients? Mostly through people who already trust her or already search for her: clinicians who refer, directories where clients look, a Google listing if she sees people in person, and a website that makes the next step obvious. None of it needs daily posting, and none of it is guaranteed. Below is what to do this week for each channel, what doesn't help, and how to count what works.

We don't have reliable data on where new dietitians' first clients come from, so treat this as a plan to test, not a ranking. Pick two or three channels that fit how you work and do one small thing in each, instead of doing all of them badly.

How do you get referrals from doctors and other clinicians?

Ask a few clinicians who already know your work, and make it easy for them to send the right person. When someone refers a patient, they are handing over a person they feel responsible for. They need a clear picture of who you help, how soon you can see that person, and how to send the referral.

This week: pick five people, not fifty. A former colleague, a physician or nurse practitioner you have worked alongside, a therapist, a physical therapist, an OB-GYN office: whoever sees people in your niche. Ask each for a 15-minute call, and send the one-page sheet below first.

What goes on a referral sheet?

One page in plain words: who you help, who you don't, how soon, what it costs and how to refer. Here is an example for a fictional practice.

[Your Name], MS, RDN | Registered dietitian nutritionist, Austin, TX

I help: adults with IBS and other ongoing digestive concerns.

Not the right fit: [situations outside your scope, so they refer the right people].

First visit: 60 minutes, in person or by telehealth for clients in Texas. Next opening: [date].

Payment: private pay, with superbills. In network with [plans you accept].

To refer: [the way their office sends referrals: form, fax, secure message or phone].

If you take insurance, ask each plan whether it requires a referral for dietitian visits, because the referring office will ask. Then ask each referrer whether they want a short note after the first visit, and how they want it sent. What you may share, and how to send it securely, depends on your own privacy setup, so check with your privacy officer or a healthcare attorney first.

Can you thank the people who refer to you?

Thank them in words, and send nothing of value without advice. The HHS Office of Inspector General explains that the federal Anti-Kickback Statute bars knowingly and willfully paying "anything of value" to induce or reward patient referrals for services that federal health care programs pay for. It covers the person who pays and the person who receives, and the consequences include fines, jail terms and exclusion from federal health programs.

Before you offer a gift, a fee or a swap of any kind, even if you are cash-pay only, ask a healthcare attorney.

Which directories should you be listed in?

The ones where your future clients can look: the Academy's directory, the directory of every insurance plan you join, and a state or local dietetic association's if it keeps one. A listing makes you findable. It does not make you chosen, so keep the details identical to your website.

This week:

• The Academy. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Find a Nutrition Expert lets people browse by "location, specialty, language or insurance and payment options," and describes the people in it as Academy members. The page doesn't explain how to be listed, so ask the Academy what it requires.
• Insurance plans. If you are in network with a plan, look for your listing in its provider directory. Search for yourself the way a member would. Check your name, credentials, address, telehealth, specialties and whether you show as accepting new clients, and tell the plan or whoever handled your credentialing if anything is wrong. Credentialing is its own project and each plan explains its own steps, so we don't cover it here.
• State or local association. Ask colleagues whether yours keeps a find-a-dietitian page, and whether a listing costs anything.
• One set of facts. Use the same name, credential string, address, phone number and website everywhere.

Should you set up a Google Business Profile?

It is worth doing if clients meet you in person, and a telehealth-only practice may not qualify. Google's eligibility page says a business "must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours," and it lists online-only businesses among those that aren't eligible. It doesn't mention telehealth, and it doesn't say how it treats a practice that sees some clients in person and others online. Read the page for your own situation, and if you are unsure, ask Google Business Profile support before you start.

This week: work out which group you are in. If you qualify, follow the steps in our guide to Google Business Profile for dietitians, which covers the name, category, website link and verification steps. If you see clients only by telehealth, you may not qualify, so put the time into the other channels here.

What should your website say so a referral turns into a booking?

Four things in the first screen: who you help, where you're licensed and see clients, what it costs and which plans you take, and how to book. A clinician's referral, a colleague's forwarded link and a client who types your name into Google all end up there, usually before they contact you. It is the one channel here you fully control.

• Who you help. One sentence, in the words clients use. Our guide to writing a specialty page has a template.
• Where you're licensed. List only states where you are allowed to practice. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that practitioners hold licensure or certification in all states where their clients are located when services are provided, unless an exception or exemption applies or the state doesn't require licensure or certification. It tells RDNs to confer with the state's licensure or certification board on specific questions about telehealth and how state laws apply, so check with the board before you list a state.
• Cost and plans. Your fee or how to ask for it, whether you are cash-pay, in network or both, and the plan names.
• How to book. A button to the scheduling tool you already use, on every page.

Our dietitian website checklist has the full 10-point list, plus mobile, accessibility and privacy basics. If you don't have a site yet, you can draft a free preview of your site from a few short answers. Plain text that states these facts also improves your odds of being found by Google and AI assistants, though nobody can guarantee a ranking or a mention. How AI assistants choose dietitians to mention explains what is known.

How do you use past colleagues and local groups?

Tell them, specifically. People can only refer you if they know what you do and who you do it for, and they repeat a sentence more easily than a job title.

This week: send ten personal messages, not a group blast, to past colleagues, classmates, supervisors and friends who know people in your niche. An example you can adapt:

Hi [Name], I've opened a private practice. I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist helping [who you help] with [what you help with]. If someone comes to mind, here's my page: [link]. I'd also love to hear what you're working on.

Then pick one or two places where your clients already gather, such as a parent group, a running club, a clinic's community class or a workplace wellness team, and offer something useful, like a short talk or a Q&A. Read each group's rules about promotion first.

If you have just left an employer, read what you signed about contacting its patients or clients before you tell anyone. Don't assume you can use patient contact details from your old job, and ask an attorney about anything unclear.

What does a first week look like?

Seven small steps, one a day.

• Day 1: write your one-page referral sheet.
• Day 2: ask five clinicians for 15-minute calls.
• Day 3: look yourself up in the Academy's directory and in each plan's directory, and fix any mismatch.
• Day 4: check whether you qualify for a Google Business Profile, and start one if you do.
• Day 5: open your home page on your phone. Does the first screen answer the four questions above?
• Day 6: send ten personal messages.
• Day 7: set up the tally described in the last section.

What doesn't help?

• Waiting for a website to do it alone. A site helps people who have already heard of you decide. On its own, it doesn't send anyone. This is our view, not a measured finding.
• Paying anyone who guarantees page one. Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, and that if someone promises first place in search results, you should find someone else. We can't promise rankings either.
• Paying or giving gifts for referrals. See the Anti-Kickback note above.
• Fake, bought or selective reviews. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, bars fake reviews, paying for reviews that must express a particular sentiment, and using intimidation or unfounded legal threats to suppress reviews. Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Google's policy is stricter about incentives: it bars them entirely, "such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services," and it bars asking only the clients you expect to be happy. Ask every client the same way, and don't ask relatives or employees. The FTC says an owner's relatives who write reviews should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship to the business, and Google removes reviews based on a conflict of interest.
• Client stories, photos and testimonials. You don't need them. HIPAA's authorization rule says a covered entity needs the individual's authorization before using protected health information for marketing, with narrow exceptions such as a face-to-face communication. Whether a given story counts, and whether HIPAA covers you at all, are questions for a healthcare attorney (the privacy section of our website checklist explains the basics). Never write or invent a testimonial yourself: the FTC rule bans fake ones.
• Daily posting because everyone says to. Nothing here depends on it. If you enjoy social media, treat it as an extra.

How do you know what is working?

Count where each inquiry came from. Make "How did you hear about me?" the first question on your booking form or discovery call, and keep a simple tally by source: inquiries, discovery calls booked, clients started. Keep it to counts, with no names and no health details.

Review it monthly, not daily. When you get a handful of inquiries a month, one referral more or less changes the picture, so look for patterns over several months before you drop a channel. Don't measure yourself against anyone else's numbers: we don't have reliable benchmarks to give you.

If you have a Google Business Profile, our guide lists what its Performance section shows. To see whether AI assistants mention your practice, run the free check for AI mentions now and then, instead of reading one answer as a score. Pick two channels, take this week's step in each, and start the tally. That is a first month's plan, and none of it is a promise.