If you’re already a certified coach, you’ll want to get the word out and promote your business. Your certification makes you qualified and gives you the skills – now, it’s time to grow your client list.

In this article, you’ll find the best methods to help you promote your business. From word-of-mouth tactics, social media marketing, email marketing, and brand awareness building methods, you’ll find all the answers you need so you can grow your platform as a coach.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS AS A COACH

METHOD 1: USE WORD OF MOUTH TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

One of the fastest ways for any small business owner to get the word out about their offerings is through word of mouth marketing.

As a small business owner and coach, you likely won’t have a big marketing budget – especially if you’re just starting out. That means using lean and agile marketing efforts will help you grow your client base without breaking the bank.

When you’re with friends and family – tell them that your coaching practice is open. Inform them that you’re taking on new clients. Your close friends and family members may potentially know someone who could benefit from your services and can refer them to you.

Your close community of friends and family members is the most likely to refer people to you, so make sure you share with them exactly what it is you do. If you’re a Health Coach, share a little bit about what that is. Since this field is still relatively new to many, it’s good to explain what you do and who you help through your services.

Don’t assume that the people closest to you aren’t interested or don’t know anyone, and don’t assume they won’t want to help you. Allow those special people to show up for you in powerful ways by letting them know what you’re up to and how they can help.

Ask those close to you if they might know someone who would be a fit for your services. It isn’t pushy to simply ask, “Do you know someone who might benefit from what I am offering?” You might be surprised. If they say no, that’s okay! You haven’t lost anything. But if they say yes, then you might just be expanding your client list!

METHOD 2: USE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

As a coach, social media platforms need to be a part of your marketing plan for getting the word out about your business.

A straightforward way to take advantage of all the free platforms is to post that you’re open for business. Something as simple as posting on all your channels (despite how many connections you have), can help bring in clients. Of course, you can get more sophisticated and use something like what we outlined in our recent article, “How To Market Your Business Online With Facebook (Without Ads).”

If you haven’t read that article, here’s a brief recap that you’ll find useful…

Social media is used by billions of people each month, and there’s no easier way to get the word out to your target audience. With your free accounts, you can let thousands of people know all at once that you’re open for business.

Even if you have a few hundred connections in total, it’s safe to bet that some of those people are looking for what you offer – or that they know someone who is. Until you spread the message, they won’t know you exist, and they’ll miss the opportunity to hire you.

Get your message out on social media and allow the world to see your light.

METHOD 3: SEND OUT EMAILS TO GET THE WORD OUT

If you’re a coach with a website, you know that collecting email addresses will help your business grow. Contrary to popular belief, email marketing is big these days, and the most current data from companies like Google, eBay, and other giants report a 4400% ROI on emails for every dollar spent ($44 return on investment for every $1 spent).

Email marketing is powerful. But what do you do if you’re new and don’t have an email list (or it’s just teeny-tiny?). Simple – just start with what you have.

If you’re just getting started, your email list may only consist of close friends, acquaintances, and family members. That’s okay! There are likely people on your contact list who know someone who needs your services, or maybe they need someone with your skills. Just like word of mouth, you won’t know until you try it out.

Like anyone who gets started with anything, the first steps are small. Sending an email is a small step that could reap you big rewards (or just put you in contact with people you haven’t talked to in a long time).

If you aren’t feeling up to emailing every person on your list, you can take a small step and review who’s on your email contact list and selectively choose some people to reach out to. Your email can be short, personable, and simply let people know you’re taking new clients..

Big dreams are built with small steps like this, and emailing whatever size list you have is one of those important steps!

METHOD 4: CREATE BLOG POSTS FOR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

If you’re a coach, one way to get more clients is through your website. And given that there are over 1.8 billion websites online, it’s essential to optimize your site. The days of ‘set and forget it’ with websites are over. If you want your website to work for you, you’ll want to set up a blog to attract readers and potential clients.

Put simply, a blog helps your website get traffic. If you’re not familiar with the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO), here’s how Dictionary.com describes it:

“Search-engine optimization: the methods used to boost the ranking or frequency of a website in results returned by a search engine, to maximize user traffic to the site.”

In other words, SEO is optimizing your website so more of your target market sees your site. This can be done by blogging.

While we could get really fancy here about marketing strategies with blogging, let’s start with the fundamentals. Let’s begin with a simple method for blogging.

First, start blogging about your expertise. On your blog, share new findings in your niche, solutions that can help potential (and current) clients, and success stories. Think about your ideal client and share blog content that will speak, support, and draw them in. It’s that simple. Don’t get hung up on all the different ways to be an SEO expert; instead, start creating content for your blog.

METHOD 5: PAY FOR ADVERTISING

This method is purposefully last. If you haven’t started a blog, sent out emails, or told people in your community about what you do – start there. Those methods will help you draw in clients and produce some income.

Once you have some money, you can consider allocating a budget to market your business.

If you feel ready to spend on marketing, start with setting up a local business review page. If you don’t have a page, go here (click on “Google My Business” under the bolded word “Computer”). Once you set up a free account, you’ll be given a $100 towards your first Google marketing campaign if you’ve never run Google Ads before.

Since it can be useful for your SEO to be listed on Google reviews, be sure you create a review page. And because you get a free credit, you can call Google, and they’ll help you set up your first marketing campaign. If you decide it’s not worth it, turn off your ads before your credit is used up.

CONCLUSION

Building up your business takes some work, and it starts with word of mouth. Then, just go from there by using all the other resources available to you. By sharing what you do in every way possible – you’ll start to build some traction. Use social media, word of mouth, email, and anything else you can. Test it, see what works, what you like, and what doesn’t fit your desires – get rid of it. You’ll only know if you try, so, get started with something today.

For more tips, head here: Use These 5 Simple Tips to Create a Content Marketing Strategy that Attracts Clients.