Tiny Time, Big Results: How to Market Your Coaching Business in Tiny Pockets of Time
Most people start a coaching business with a deep desire to impact the lives of others. Create transformations. Make a difference. You start out bright eyed and bushy tailed. And then a few weeks in and you’re sitting starting at your desk, looking at your four walls and wondering ‘where are the clients?’
This is not an uncommon story for the majority of coaches. You may be a brilliant coach, but struggle with getting your message out there. Which is all that marketing is. Sharing your message and reaching the people who need you.
In this article, I want to share with you simple ways to share your message even if you only have limited pockets of time to market your business. In my coaching and consulting business, I work 3-4 hours a day so I can spend my time with my children and have a great quality of life. But to enable me to have a business that allows me to do this means I need to make sure people know what I can do for them and how they can find me.
Marketing your coaching business is not an isolated activity. It is not a hat you wear then you take it off and put on your coaching hat. It is something that needs to become part of the fabric of your business life. When you are clear on the way you help people and how you help people, you can’t help but share.
Some of you may even want to shout it from the rooftops, but when you take the steps I’m about to show you, marketing your business will become part of how you do business. It will become your second nature. To effectively market your business and grow it, you need to be very clear on your message, who you help, how you help them and why you help them.
The Why
So let’s start with the why. I describe myself as a business coach and I help coaches, consultants and experts grow their business working only a few hours a day. But that’s just the surface of what I do. What I am really doing is helping people create and live the best life they desire. By using their business as a vehicle for their passions, talents and gifts.
You might think you’re a weight loss coach. In fact, you are helping your client regain their sense of self-worth which has become tied up in their weight. Which means they take on a different perspective of life!
You may be a dating coach. You think you are helping your client to get that first date whereas in fact, you’re facilitating the start of a loving and fulfilling relationship. When you dig deeper into why you do what you do, it allows your message to emerge powerfully which becomes part of your marketing message so the people you want to reach ‘hear’ it and not just skip over it.
This is why choosing a niche or a group of people or a problem to solve can be the most powerful tool you use to grow your business. And once you have chosen a niche, get even more specific and choose a micro-niche so you become the go-to person for that area. You may be hesitant to do this, but ask yourself, how many people do I need to work with to have a profitable business? You don’t need the world to work with you and when you hone in on the group of people who need you and you want to serve them, you’ve hit the sweet spot!
Your Positioning
Once you’re clear on the why and you know how you help people, you then need to think about how you want to be seen by your ideal clients. Are you bargain basement or premium deluxe? Are you bland like vanilla or a bit fruity like mango or tutti frutti?
Your positioning will determine the quality of clients you reach and the level of income you can achieve. Creating clarity on your message and how you want to be seen by your prospects and clients will make marketing your business so much easier and simpler.
What if I don’t have time to do marketing?
If you’re like me and you have limited time in your business, you may be thinking ‘I don’t have the time to market’. This is a dangerous trap to fall into. Because no matter how busy you may be right now, you need to market your business consistently. You may have helped with this in the form of an assistant, but you still need the marketing wheels to be turning. If you want clients in 6 months’ time, you need to be marketing now. If you have no clients right now, chances are you weren’t marketing 6 months ago or you were marketing but it wasn’t consistent.
How to market your business in tiny pockets of time
Here are 3 simple ways to market your business in less than 10 minutes:
- Get creative sharing value
You don’t want to be the coach who’s always pushing your service. Instead, think value. Don’t be afraid to give away your information. A quick and easy way to do this is to create a short social media post around an area you teach. It could be a quick tip or a concept you want to share. Type it out, don’t censor or edit too much.
If you want to use an image along with the text, use the Phonto phone app or Picmonkey on your PC to put your tip on a picture (use the Pixabay site to get a free image…always check permission!) Share with your social media of choice (top tip…if you’re not sure which social media platform to use and you’re exhausted at the thought of using all of them, ask yourself ‘where is my ideal client hanging out?’ and only post there)
- Shoot a quick video (you can either post on YouTube, your blog post or Facebook Live) where you share something of value.
The video is fantastic for helping people create a connection with you so to them it feels like they know you even if they’ve never met you before. This has been powerful in my business and I often receive comments from new clients that the videos helped them to make a decision about working with me.
- Include a call to action in everything you do.
Whether it is a video or a blog post, let people know what the next step is…it can take time for someone to get the courage to contact you so let them know how they can, in everything you do. It might be a booking link to schedule a call with you or a link to get a free report or PDF.
Growing your business by marketing it effectively means you know the value you have to give, you are not shy about sharing it and the people who need you will find you. Your coaching business needs a constant flow of leads and prospects to profit and thrive and the only way to do this effectively is to get clear on your message and share every day.