Marketing your Life Coaching business is one of the most crucial activities you'll have to consistently spend your time on. In order to get life coaching clients, it is vital that you invest time in activities that'll help you become seen by your ideal clients.
No one hires a coach by landing on their website or by seeing them once or twice on social media. To get hired - and get hired without you chasing clients - put a plan in place that will keep you visible in front of your ideal clients on an ongoing basis, building your "know, like, and trust" factor - the magical foundation elements to getting hired.
None of the marketing strategies mentioned below should be implemented on their own. While some might work on their own and lead down to getting you hired; most of these work best when in combination with one another.
- Your blog posts should have call to action to sign up for your eCourse, video course, or sample your online course; or, yes, request a complimentary session.
. - Your YouTube Videos should promote your blog posts, as well as your other marketing pieces.
. - Your social media posts should mention your YouTube Videos, your Articles, Blog Posts, or whatever else you have going on
. - Your freebie - ideally an eCourse, so your subscriber has a chance to "fall in love" with your content - should mention your coaching services and your complimentary session; as well as any other paid or free offers you have going on. The key is to get your subscriber to consume as much of your content as possible, so they get to Know, Like, and Trust you - the foundation that you need before you can get hired.
. - Your paid advertising - if you decide to go that route - should be linked to your most powerful marketing pieces. I don't think there's a single coach who used paid ads to get people to a complimentary session; but 1000s of coaches use paid ads to get their prospective clients to sign up for their eCourse, video course, webinars; and, yes, while many hate or look down on Automated Webinars, paid ads combined with Automated Webinars will do magic. HOWEVER (!!!) If you are new to the world of coaching and to all these marketing strategies, in the beginning, stay away from Paid Advertising(!) till you have all your ducks in a row.
. - Within each of your marketing pieces (articles, blogs, videos, etc.) Give One Call to Action to One Other Piece of Your Marketing Puzzle. Note that most of these Calls to Action are NOT "hire me" type CTAs - they are primarily intended to get your ideal client engaged with you often, turning them from a stranger into a "fan" and into someone who will consider hiring you. For example:
- invite viewers to connect with you on social media
- let them know about your complimentary sessions (though, since this is a video that could be viewed by 1000s, make sure you let them know that spots are limited)
- inform about your private groups (FaceBook, LinkedIn, or whatever platform you use)
- invite them to test-drive 2 or 3 modules of your online course or membership site
- ... whatever else you have going on, mention them - as appropriate - in each of your videos
With that in mind, let's jump into some of the most effective ways to get your ideal clients "fall in love" with you and consider hiring you:
10 Top Ways to Get Your Life Coaching Services Introduced to Your Ideal Clients
Here are some examples of the easiest-to-implement marketing activities:
1. Complimentary Coaching Session
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Yes, your Complimentary Coaching Session is part of your marketing activities (and hopefully NOT your only marketing activity).
In the first year of their business, Complimentary Sessions are often the most effective way to get new clients, so make sure to master leading session that converts prospects into paying clients.
While many coaches focus solely on providing Complimentary Sessions as part of the Clients-Enrollment Efforts, it is rarely effective on its own. Instead, let your complimentary session be part of one of the other strategies mentioned on this page - that way your prospective client already comes to the session with a heightened level of trust, making it more likely to hire you.
NEW HERE? Here are a few articles that you might find useful:
*No worries, they open in a new tab
12 Ways to Generate More Leads & More Income with Your Blog
5 Steps to Getting Your Blog Posts Read and Acted On
How to Get Coaching Clients with Your Website, PART 5 – 12 Must-Have WordPress Plugins in 2020
Quick Basic SEO Tutorial
RELATED RESOURCES - For Members of ClientsEnrollmentFunnels:
How to Conduct Complimentary Sessions that Get You Hired
How to Get 3 New Clients This Month
2. Capitalize on the Power of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is by far the most effective way for many coaches to connect with their ideal clients and get hired.
LinkedIn has multiple ways how you can connect with your ideal clients and nurture those relationships, developing the KLT factor - "Know, Like, and Trust.
Stay visible in front of your Ideal Clients:
- Be active in groups where your ideal clients are active. Focus on groups where you see ongoing discussions and activity (posts have likes and comments). Make sure to read the group rules before you post. Some groups allow sharing your blog posts, webinar announcements, etc.; others don't
. - Limit your activity to 2 to 5 really active groups; though, yes, you should be a member in a few dozen groups where your ideal clients hang out, so a) you can find the most active groups and b) post your articles, blog posts, videos, etc. in the groups that allow link-sharing.
. - Start relevant discussions - both in LinkedIn's main feed, as well as in the active groups you are a member of
. - Comment on member posts! This is by far the most effective way to connect with your ideal clients. Notice discussions that talk about challenges, problems, or unfulfilled desires, and chime in with your comments.
. - Become seen DAILY, but at least 3 to 5 times a week in these groups (again, limit your activity to around 3 active groups).
. - After you interact with someone who you identify as a potential client, invite them to connect
. - Once you established visibility in a group - after weeks and months of being present with your posts and comments - regularly offer your complimentary sessions to members who you connected with and you can see they need your help.
Click HERE to request a Detailed Checklist on how to get visible on LinkedIn and How to Get Clients. Just type in (or paste) "LinkedIn Marketing Checklist" in the message box, and we'll send it to you in the next 24 to 48 hours.
If you are a member of ClientsEnrollmentFunnels, view our newbie-friendly LinkedIn Tutorial Videos Series - Click Here! (we welcome your feedback on this course, so we can continue improving upon it!)
Yes, FaceBook, Pinterest, and Instagram can also be great sources of clients. The key is to find the one that it's best suited for you and generates results. We have tutorials for each - can see some of the titles here!
3. Get Interviewed on Radio Shows... or Start Your Own Show
Interviews are an excellent way to get in front of your ideal clients in real-time. They are also excellent - one of the top - credibility boosters. Many radio shows invite listeners to call in with their questions, giving you a chance to interact one-on-one with your potential clients.
The easiest way to get started in "getting interviewed" is to get on www.BlogTalkRadio.com shows ( During the first years of my coaching business, I was interviewed by dozens of shows, many with 10,000s or 100,000+ audience members).
Simply type in the BlogTalkRadio search engine the keyword that you want to be interviewed on, and you’ll find hundreds of shows that are looking for guests in your area of interest/niche.
Try to focus on shows that have a high listenership; though, in the beginning, I'd accept anything. Bigger shows will want to hear some of your past interviews; so, it's good to have a few under your belt, no matter how many people listened to that show.
Of course, the most coveted interview is the one that's on National Radio... which, for most of us - especially in the first years - is probably out of reach; BUT, can still get on national radio every month a few times...
I, for example, called in several times to the National Public Radio (NPR) with comments on the topic they were discussing, and each time I got emails and phone calls from prospects, clients, and friends from all around the US, just excited that they heard me on national radio.
What talk shows do you tend to listen to? Call in. Let your voice be heard...!
There are some great books out there that can help you with getting Free Publicity, such as
→ “How to Get on Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office,” by Joe Sabath; “
→ Guerrilla Publicity,” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Jill Lublin;
→ “On the Air,” by Al Parinell
Related Resources:
Marketing Made Easy with iTunes – GETTING STARTED
GROW YOUR BUSINESS through INFLUENCER COLLABORATION MARKETING
4. Blogging
Blogging can be your best trust-builder and clients-enrollment marketing tool, or it can be absolutely worthless in terms of clients-enrollment IF no one sees your blog posts.
However, while you build followership and visibility, blogging is still great for SEO/search engine optimization purposes - so it still has marketing value (it helps the search engines fall in love with your content and place you on the first pages of search results)
Blogging has tremendous Credibility-Booster Power - which is probably the #1 benefit of your blogging efforts.
While most of us embrace blogging as part of our web presence, you'll have to proactively "promote" your blog posts in order to get it seen by your ideal clients:
- Post a link to your new posts to social media:
- FaceBook and LinkedIn Groups,
- LinkedIn main feed,
- Boosted FaceBook post,
- Instagram,
- Pinterest,
- ... whatever you got going on social media, use it to promote your blog post
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- Send a link to your new post to your list (if you don't have a list yet, make sure to commit to creating one, as it's the most effective way to promote anything)
. - Create a Video based on your blog post and upload it to YouTube - make sure to optimize the video with the right keywords in the video title and video description
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Give Guest Blogging a try - it can be super-effective in getting you massive visibility in front of your ideal clients.
The key is to guest-blog on platforms that are visited by 10,000s of your ideal clients monthly (ideally daily). Search for blogs of non-competing businesses - businesses that are complementary to your coaching business - such as blogs on management, yoga, mindfulness, life balance, etc.
Try to think out-of-the-box. What businesses out there do something different, yet serve your ideal clients? Contact these businesses and offer to (regularly) guest-blog for them.
Related Resources:
Top 10 Blogging Mistakes – Infographic
5 Steps to Getting Your Blog Posts Read and Acted On
5. eCourse, Video Course, or other "Freebie"
Have a powerful "freebie on your website, ideally in the form of an eCourse or Video Course (vs a one-time download). Checklists are great too - anything simple is great, as long as you can structure it in a way to build a relationship with your ideal client.
Keep your eCourse parts short. Give one or two paragraphs of text - establish the challenge or goal of "today's message," then give a few Action Steps (bullet-points or check-list items).
eCourses and Video Courses are the most effective way to reach 100s or even 1000s of prospective Life Coaching clients every month and do so on almost complete Auto Pilot. It takes some work to put the puzzle pieces in place, but once you set it up, your freebie will keep working for you day and night, 24/7 for years to come!
Related Resources:
Click HERE for a detailed step-by-step article on How to Build a Tribe of 1000 Followers, using the power of freebies.
If you are a member of ClientsEnrollmentFunnels, view our tutorial on this topic:
How to Get Your First 1000 eMail Subscribers (for Free)
How to Enroll Life Coaching Clients with FREE Short Online Courses
How to Create a High-Engagement Membership or Online Coaching Program
Here's an entire Case Study on how to masterfully include an Irresistible Offer into your website - click here!
6. Online & Offline Publishing
Posting articles on your website, on others' websites, and on article-submission websites. Articles have the same SEO benefits mentioned in #1 above; though, most of us these days stick with blogging on our sites and use those same blog posts to post articles on other places on the web.
Posting your articles on LinkedIn and Medium is always a great idea; as well as posting to a few high PR article submission sites, such as eZineArticles and ArticleBase.
Get Published Offline
Consistently (try to) get your articles published offline in niche magazines, newsletters, newspapers, etc.
This is not so easy, but if you can pull this off, this is a great credibility booster factor as well as one of the most effective ways to get massive visibility.
Visit your niche-related magazines and publication websites and see what are their article submission guidelines (some publications accept more submissions for their online publication – definitely try to get published there as well: Forbes, etc.).
Also, contact your local papers and find out if they want to do a story on you or allow you to publish your article. With a little luck – and good positioning – you might even end up with getting to publish a weekly column.
7. Get Published - or talked about - in the Local Media
Connect with editors from your local papers and find out if they'd be interested to write an article about you.
I was fortunate enough to get written up in two of the local papers, both times with 2+ pages of content. Local editors are always looking for local stories, and us Life Coaching professionals seem to be somewhat of a special "breed," and if you present yourself the right way, many will love to write a story about you and your services (here, too, it helps if you have a specific niche, so you can clearly show how your service will benefit the community).
8. Get Published - or talked about - in National Publications
Getting published in a national publication can boost your business to that next level. Not only will you be visible to 100,000s of readers nationwide, but you'll also have the bragging rights to say "I got published in Forbes" (or whatever publication it was).
Any exposure in local or national media will help you with visibility. I got featured in Psychology Today* on sibling-relationships-related topic; got featured in Parenting Magazine in, well, yes, parenting-related topics...
* In the first years I was a Relationship Coach - even when I transitioned into Executive Coaching/Leadership-Development Coaching, my primary focus remained Relationship-Development
The more visible you are - even if it's not always 100% related to your niche (or not related at all) - it'll help you with becoming Known, Liked, and Trusted - the foundation elements to getting your business running and getting hired as often as you dreamed.
9. Video/YouTube Marketing
Consistently upload videos to YouTube and any other of your favorite video sites
Always place your website’s (or landing page) URL as the first item in your video description – e.g. www.ClientsEnrollmentFunnels.com + video description.
YES, some of your videos will have 11 views even after a year; BUT some of them might take off and have 10,000s or 100,000s of views and will be responsible for part of your massive visibility and some of your sales and new clients*. (I have several videos with 10,000s of views, and one with 200,000+ views, responsible for countless leads and book sales; and, yes, I have dozens of videos with 5 to 20 views as well ?).
Related Resources:
10. Live Events: Webinars & Public Workshops
Webinars and Workshops are the most effective ways to sell anything. While eCourses are the easiest way to sell, the trust level often is still low – many of your subscribers will not know you - however, during a webinar or workshop, your attendees get to know you, and the trust level will reach “maximum levels.”
Many chose to show pictures of their families, hobbies, etc., giving the audience a chance to get to know, like, and trust you (the presenter).
Many use live events to sell Group Coaching, or coaching – or really, anything (membership, online coaching, etc.).
Most of us have an easier job describing our services through a live event, to 50 or 100 people, then doing the same in a one-to-one conversation. The great news with webinars and workshops is that if only 5% or 10% of your attendees buy what you offer, you’ll still walk away with some new clients, or a few $100s or $1000s in sales; BUT if you fail to sell to your Complimentary Session prospect, your failure rate will be 100% for that time investment.
Related Resources:
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The above are just a few examples of the marketing activities you could implement to get clients. Pick two to three of them to get started with and get really good at them - perhaps implement these 2 or 3 strategies for the next 90 days. For example, you could focus on Blogging, LinkedIn Marketing, and (BlogTalkRadio) Interviews. Then after 90 days, if you feel the need to add one or two more marketing activities, then add one that you feel would get the best return on your time (and $s) investment, such as Webinars.
The good news is, we have detailed tutorials for all of the above AND many other marketing approaches. Simply Log into your member area and start implementing the step-by-step tutorials, checklists, and templates. And if you have any questions about any of the content, or if you ever get stuck, you can Send a Message and get some answers...