As a coach, your success is proportionate to how you do what you do. Clients want to work with someone they like and trust.<\/p>\n
In a crowded marketplace, leveraging your unique competitive advantage to reach your desired clients can be a challenge. Take Sarah, a coach struggling to build a sustainable business, for example. In her assessment, her approach is so unique that it has to be experienced. It\u2019s something that can\u2019t be put into words\u2014which is why, \u00a0she confessed to me, that she had taken down her website.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d I challenged, \u201cif you aren\u2019t putting yourself out in the world, how are the people that need you most going to find you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I can relate. My coaching business started as a side gig. I didn\u2019t know what I wanted for the long term and didn\u2019t want my employer to find out in the meantime. So, I didn\u2019t market. And looking back, the fear of my employer finding out and the fallout that might ensue was an excuse. As long as I told myself that story, I didn\u2019t have to face the fact that I was unsure of myself and my offerings\u2014that I wasn\u2019t ready to lead in my business. It was a hard truth to face: My fear of being visible was stronger than my desire to help my potential clients. Ouch!<\/p>\n
Four years later when I left the corporate world and received my last paycheck, the realization hit me: I didn\u2019t have the luxury of hiding behind my fear. I no longer had a safety net. Either I needed to step into the spotlight that scared me\u2014ready or not\u2014or fail in my business. My fear of failing was a powerful motivator. And how would I find success? Inviting people to get to know me and my story, who I am and what I had to offer.<\/p>\n
If you are hiding in plain sight, you may be sabotaging your success.<\/p>\n
So how do you harness your inner leader to establish yourself as an expert? Here are five proven strategies to DIY your marketing:<\/p>\n
A heart and hustle mindset entails doing what it takes to grow your business. It\u2019s a willingness to say yes from the heart, a place of service, when fear holds you back. If you think about helping and providing value, it\u2019s easier to \u201cpromote\u201d yourself. Say yes to the strategies that light you up and align with the business you are building, then be unattached to the result.<\/p>\n
Relationship-building is the new black. What can you do to provide value? For example, have you ever nominated someone in your network for an award? When you shine the light on others, the light reflects back on you. Or maybe you read an article that would make great content for a coach who has a different niche. Send it over to add value and continue to build the relationship. Most likely you will be on their radar the next time they want to make a referral.<\/p>\n
If you study top coaches, most are thriving because of the diversity of services and products they offer. What do you do best? Do you excel as a writer? Create a freebie guide to grow your email list. Don\u2019t like Facebook Live videos? Don\u2019t do them. There are unlimited ways to promote your business, choose a few that you enjoy and be consistent!<\/p>\n
Collaboration can be a win-win if you partner with someone who complements your skill sets and business model. Your business bestie can introduce you to their network (and vice versa), bring a wealth of knowledge, share the risk and celebrate success (champagne optional).<\/p>\n
It is hard to shout about your own successes, but that\u2019s all the more reason to do it\u2014to remind yourself of the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone. Have you considered applying for an award? (Or maybe you have someone in your network who would be willing to nominate you?) For example, I self-nominated for a \u201c40 Under 40\u201d award. Not only did I gain exposure as a thought leader, they gave me headshots, and I was invited to a VIP networking event. I also parlayed the opportunity into media coverage for my business. As Andy Warhol predicted, we all get our 15 minutes of fame, but few of us are willing to take them, leaving \u00a0more opportunities for those willing to take the risk.<\/p>\n
Are you waiting to be discovered or willing to do what it takes to shine the light on your expertise? People are waiting to learn more; you are exactly what someone needs. And you alone are responsible for your success. If needed, consider this your permission to shine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a coach, your success is proportionate to how you do what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Using DIY Marketing in Your Coaching Business","_seopress_titles_desc":"Empower your coaching business with DIY marketing strategies that attract clients without breaking the bank. Learn practical tips in the blog.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"audience-type":[118,121,124,120,125,117,113,114],"display-option":[],"post-type":[128],"topic":[64],"_person-tax":[2152],"class_list":{"0":"post-29163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"audience-type-experienced-coaches","8":"audience-type-external-coaches","9":"audience-type-icf-chapter-leaders","10":"audience-type-internal-coaches","11":"audience-type-mentor-coaches","12":"audience-type-new-coaches","13":"audience-type-professional-coaches","14":"audience-type-team-and-group-coaches","15":"post-type-blog","16":"topic-business-development","17":"_person-tax-2152","18":"not-partnership-post","29":"_person-tax-28066","30":"has-featured-image"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"audience-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience-type?post=29163"},{"taxonomy":"display-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display-option?post=29163"},{"taxonomy":"post-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-type?post=29163"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=29163"},{"taxonomy":"_person-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_person-tax?post=29163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}