Direct Mail for Coaches

I receently received this fantastic direct mail package from an online coach promoting her upcoming event. It came in a shiny purple (my favorite color!) cellophane wrapper and the mail inside was brightly colored and written beautifully. It got me thinking....

Why don't more coaches use direct mail? Just because we're online doesn't mean we shouldn't reach out with a personal touch. As a copywriter for online coaches, I very rarely have coaches request direct mail content; and after seeing the elegantly wrapped, detailed mail from this particular online coach, I have to wonder, why not?

The internet is a fabulous marketing tool, that goes without saying, but why do online business owners, coaches included, limit themselves to the online world? I have to say, the coach who sent this package will definitely stand out in my mind.

I think including direct marketing into their marketing strategy. Perhaps sending postcards on holidays or more indepth mail for upcoming events or sales. Why not? It can only enhance your marketing efforts! So give in a shot, it may just lead to several new clients who are impressed with your personal touch!

Steps to Creating an Effective E-Course

E-courses (email courses) have become a popular way to attract new clients or customers. Some people choose free email courses as a way of growing their list, while others use paid email courses as a way of earning residual income. Either way you choose to use e-courses, it's important to follow a few guidelines.

1. Create lessons based on a service or product that you offer, so that your e-course will up-sell to that product or service.
2. E-courses are emails and should therefore be short, sweet and to the point. No more than 300 words per email.
3. Break your lessons down. Each email should serve as a lesson. If it's a large lesson, consider making it a two part lesson.
4. Your e-course should be between 3 days and 10 days long. Too little will not offer enough, while too much will get exhausting for the recipient.
5. Each lesson should have your bio included and a link to contact you.
6. Your final lesson should be a wrap up of the entire course and next steps. Your next steps should include either contacting you or ordering a product related to the course.
7. Consider including a freebie at the end of your e-course.

By using these six guidelines you will be able to create an effective e-course that will grow your business. Be sure to include the e-course sign up on your homepage and use social marketing to get the word out. When done correctly, e-courses are a fun, simple way to boost your business.

Why You Should Create Your Own Coaching Curriculum

Coaching is so much more than just coaching sessions; clients want products that will inform them and give them action steps to success. When you're not having a one-on-one or group coaching call, what are your clients reading? What are they working on?

I have found that my clients have reported much more success when implementing their own curriculum – programs and lesson plans. People have a hard time committing to coaching; I've seen it over and over with my clients who are coaches – it's one of their biggest complaints. It's usually this complaint that gets the ball rolling with the creation of new products and programs.

By providing a curriculum or program along with your coaching services, you are giving your clients a tangible (in most cases printable) item, something they can call their own and use between coaching sessions. There is only so much that can be discussed during each session; but imagine how much more you can get through to your client with your own curriculum! Your wisdom is now able to be held in the hands of your clients, causing them to spend time searching within themselves – becoming more committed to themselves and to your coaching.

For those of you with quiet clients, the ones who are resistant to speak about what's really going on, a workbook or journal will help them work through their issues as they feel comfortable doing. Then the exercises will give you both content to discuss – making the session more rewarding for both of you.

Your curriculum could consist of any number of things. If you have programs, you can adapt your curriculum to your programs in the form of workbooks, worksheets, journal prompts and exercises; or if you don't have specific coaching programs, you could create these items based on your coaching methodology. You could include CDs, MP3s, podcasts and so on. You could even create a fill-in PDF document (software for this is as inexpensive as $20 at pdfill.com) and when your client fills it in, they can email it to you for review.

It makes sense for coaches to have a supplemental curriculum for their clients. It provides a greater sense of commitment from your client and allows you to truly connect with one another. Many hands-on learners will also appreciate having something tangible to use during and in-between their coaching sessions. Your coaching wisdom will go so much further with your own curriculum!

If you're interested in learning more about creating your own curriculum and coaching products, visit http://www.aokbusinessservices.com/ for assistance.

Growing Our Businesses Using Our Inner Strengths

Owning your own online business is a fantastic way to increase your wealth while also staying home with the kids. I began my business in 2001, and it has morphed in ways I could never have imagined. Throughout the years I have discovered that my business has grown and changed according to my inner strengths.

When I first began my business, I concentrated on skill - what I provided my clients - the actual tasks at hand. It took time before I realized that I had so much more to give! Although I didn't know it at the time, I began looking into myself, my inner strengths, and began bringing those strengths into my business. That is when I began to notice my business growing rapidly!

As a writer, I was providing copy writing to my clients. As my inner strengths began to shine, I realized that my clients liked my "out of the box" thinking and began asking for my advice for how to put programs and products together for their business. I also discovered that I really loved creating programs and products! That's when I decided to make a shift in my business; rather than just providing copy writing, I began assisting clients in developing all types of products and programs.

My business began to make another shift, I noticed that the majority of my clients were coaches - business, life, food and others - so there was something unique in what I was providing that attracted those in the coaching industry. So I did some searching once more, I found that because coaches require unique packages and services to grab the attention of their audience, their products and programs must be unique as well. My sometimes extreme thinking turned out to be my strength; coaches who want to stand out come to me for unique program and product creations.

So what does this mean for you? What are your inner strengths? Rather than waiting until they hit you, as I did, try taking some time to look into yourself, brainstorm on what it is you thrive on and then begin thinking about sharing those gifts with others. Who would prosper from your unique gifts?

Put the Social in Your Social Networks

Last week I talked about standing out from the competition. Online coaches have tons of competition, but if you are unique and authentic, your audience will find you. Give your audience a path to help find you by setting up an informative and personalized social media platform. We all know the importance of networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but are you using it to your best advantage?

I recently had a call with a frustrated coach; she couldn’t understand why she should continue her social media marketing when she isn’t getting much in return. It can get frustrating, but I have found that consistent and informative content on these networks is a great way of establishing a presence and becoming a trustworthy connection. I always suggest a variety of postings daily, which should include content other than your typical marketing posts. Posting content that provides resources, personalized touch, article links and advice will give your connections reason to stop and read what you have provided – thus establishing you as a trusted source.

Another thing to consider is your level of personal involvement with people in your network. During our call, I asked this coach how often she sat down and started a conversation with one of her connections. She hadn’t – ever. While I admit it is not feasible to have a personal conversation with every connection, even having a few per week will add up to a lot of client potential. Let’s say you strive to “meet” three connections a week, and those three connections tell their connections what a great conversation they had with you; how helpful you were and so forth. That’s a lot of word-of-mouth publicity.

This coach began reaching out to her connections and wouldn’t you know she has already booked a consultation with a new potential client. It’s all about growing trust within your circle of connections. The coaching industry, online coaching in particular, demands a high level of trust to be established before someone will agree to sign on. So it is well worth the effort to spend time each week getting to know your audience. How much time do you spend connecting with your audience? Are you providing resources or advice in your posts? If you are having a hard time reaching your audience, consider posting a variety of content as well as reaching out to your connections personally.

As always, if you have any questions you may reach me at andrea@aokbusinessservices.com

Be Unique in Your Coaching Practice

The world of online coaching has become intense – so many people want to share their knowledge and expertise with the world. One has to wonder though, with all these experts out there, which one do we ask for help? Which one is the expert-expert? Through my work with online coaches, I have found the main issue to be – “how do I build up my clientele and stand out from the crowd?”  While this is a heavily loaded question, there is one very simple answer – stop doing what everyone else is doing!

I was recently on a telesummit call (The Shine Your Light Telesummit), listening to branding expert David Tyreman discuss the importance of being your own authentic brand. It really got me thinking, why are we constantly trying to duplicate the success of others? As Tyreman explained, “we start emulating others and the fact is the more we emulate others the more invisible we become because then we have nothing that makes us look unique or different or better.” It makes sense.

Online coaches have a lot of competition, whether they are business coaches, life coaches, career coaches, food coaches or any other type of coach, the competition is fierce. Developing a unique program or service is one way to stand out, so is the way interact with your clients and the level of comfort and professionalism you provide them. So what does your brand say about you? How do you stand out from other coaches in your industry?

Take some time to think about what it is that makes you unique and then strategize ways that you can present that uniqueness to the world.