If you’ve built the website, created the profiles, earned your certification, and still feel like asking “Where are the clients?”, you’re not doing anything wrong. This stage is incredibly common, especially for new doulas who are balancing real life responsibilities alongside building a practice.
Finding clients as a doula is rarely about one magic platform. It is about visibility, trust, relationships, and time. Below is a grounded, realistic guide to getting more clients as a doula, especially when you are not able to jump in “all in” yet.
Why Many New Doulas Don’t Get Inquiries Right Away
Before getting into strategies, it helps to normalize the quiet.
Most expecting parents
• Do not know what a doula is until late pregnancy or after birth
• Choose doulas through referrals, not searches
• Need multiple points of contact before reaching out
Certification does not automatically translate into inquiries. Trust does.
How to Get More Clients As a Doula?
Start Where Clients Actually Come From: Referrals
The single most reliable source of doula clients is referrals, not Google or Instagram.
This means your first priority is not marketing to parents, but connecting with people who already serve them.
Build Real Relationships With Other Doulas
This can feel counterintuitive, especially in a competitive area, but it matters.
Other doulas
• Refer clients when they are booked
• Need backup doulas
• Often remember who showed up with kindness and reliability
Attend doula meetups, coffee dates, peer circles, or online local groups. Do not pitch yourself. Just show up, listen, and connect.
Lean Into Mentorship and Backup Roles
Being a backup or support doula is not “small.” It is strategic.
It gives you
• Hands-on experience
• Confidence in real birth spaces
• Referrals from seasoned doulas
• Relief from imposter syndrome
Many doulas get their first paid clients after being seen in action by another doula.
Clarify What Makes You the Right Doula for Someone
You do not need to serve everyone. You need to be clear for someone.
Clients often choose doulas because of
• Cultural identity
• Shared lived experience
• Language
• Queer or inclusive care
• VBAC support
• Single-parent understanding
• Trauma-informed presence
Your background is not extra. It is part of your offering.
If you are one of few Black doulas in your area, that is not a marketing angle. It is a deeply needed form of representation and safety for many families.
Use Instagram Without Turning It Into a Performance
You do not need to become an influencer to get clients.
Instagram works best for doulas when it is used as
• A relationship tool
• A credibility builder
• A way other birth workers remember you
You can share
• Education without perfection
• Reflections from training
• Client-centered values
• Behind-the-scenes learning
• Gentle reassurance for anxious parents
You do not need to post daily. Consistency and authenticity matter more than frequency.
Show Up Where Pregnant People Already Are
Instead of waiting for clients to find you, place yourself in their existing spaces.
This can include
• Prenatal yoga studios
• Birth centers
• Lactation shops
• Baby boutiques
• Community boards
• Family-friendly cafes
Ask permission to leave cards or flyers. Many small businesses are happy to support birth workers.
Participate in Parent Spaces Without Selling
Local parent groups, whether online or in person, are powerful.
When allowed
• Answer questions
• Offer support without pitching
• Mention your role naturally when relevant
Trust builds when people feel helped, not targeted.
Consider Agencies or Co-Ops (Temporarily or Long-Term)
Agencies and co-ops are not a failure or a shortcut. They are a structure.
They can offer
• Built-in referrals
• Mentorship
• Backup systems
• Less administrative load
For single parents or doulas working full time elsewhere, this can be a stabilizing bridge.
Accept That Early Clients May Look Different
Many doulas build their practice through
• Sliding scale clients
• Community-based work
• Teen parent support
• Volunteer or low-cost births
These experiences are not detours. They are foundations.
Referrals come from how clients feel after birth, not how much they paid.
Address the Emotional Side of “Putting Yourself Out There”
Fear often looks like procrastination.
Especially when you are
• A single parent
• Working full time
• Entering a crowded field
• Carrying imposter syndrome
You are not hesitant because you are uncommitted. You are cautious because you are responsible.
You are allowed to build slowly.
Confidence Grows After the First Few Births
Many doulas don’t feel “real” until they attend births.
This is normal.
Once you
• Support a laboring parent
• Navigate unpredictability
• Hold space through intensity
something shifts. Your confidence becomes embodied, not theoretical.
That confidence is felt by clients.
It Is Not About Hustling, It Is About Presence
You do not need to be everywhere.
You need to be
• Visible in the right spaces
• Known by the right people
• Clear about who you serve
And patient enough to let trust compound.
You Are Needed, Even If the Inbox Is Quiet
If you feel called to this work, that matters.
Communities need doulas who
• Understand real-life pressure
• Bring lived experience
• Offer grounded, compassionate support
• Do not perform wellness, but live it
The clients will come, often through unexpected doors.
Your job right now is not to panic.
It is to keep showing up, one relationship at a time.