Another marketing vehicle many coaches may want to explore is that of article writing. Articles can come in all shapes and sizes – from 500 - 700 words to much longer. Articles can be posted on your own website, on collaborative article sites such as EzineArticles.com. You might also consider becoming a contributor to a larger publication. What can you repurpose? Part of marketing success is repurposing and when approaching article writing you may not have to start from scratch. What is the content you already have that may be leveraged? Have you done a recent speaking engagement? Is there anything from that, that can be used? Could you weave together a series of shorter blog posts into a longer article? Who is the audience? Writing with the audience in mind is key for positioning and angling your message. What is it that you want to communicate? What will they find interesting around this topic? What’s the message? What are the key points of the message? Writing from an initial outline helps to keep an article focused. What are the three to five main points you want to communicate in your article? How clearly are these laid out? What is your call to action? After reading the article, what do you want people to do? What action steps? What research or dialogue do you want them to undertake? What are the things people are searching for? Consider key words: It’s one thing to write an article, another thing for it to be found. In creating a title for your article, consider what terms people may be looking for. Are there key words. Is this a How to…. article or a Ways to …. article. Consider what terms people are searching for. What’s the appropriate length? What’s the best length of article for the audience and publication? Do some research and/or review the submission guidelines. While you won’t submit the same article in different locations, it’s likely you can repurpose some and change the slant of the topic. What do you want to spotlight in your bio? Articles usually are followed by a short bio. What do you want to highlight in that? What are the items you want to spotlight? Article writing can be a valuable approach for marketing. As with any of the other marketing vehicles we have been exploring, consider what is going to be a strategic use of your time and energy. As it relates to article writing, check out section 3 of the Coaching Business Builder for more questions and exercises to gain clarity around your core messaging. Best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.
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As we continue in our journey around marketing, another vehicle to consider is that of networking. Building relationships is an important part of our work as service providers, particularly as coaches. I often say that coaching is a much deeper conversation than usual. In coaching, we are asking for people to be vulnerable, and to go into the exciting, and sometimes scary, areas of dreams and fears. As such, strong relationships, trust and connection are critical. Networking can be an important activity to undertaken regularly, as long as there is a focus and it doesn’t become all consuming. Questions to help with focused networking are:
Enjoy the conversations! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. The rate of podcast growth is astronomical. With the advent of Alexa and Google Home devices, audio can go anywhere. From the kitchen, to the car, to our walks. Whether you are hosting your own podcast, or showing up as a guest on others, podcasting is another important potential vehicle for getting the word out about what you do and what you have to offer. Given that coaching is a verbal modality, it’s also a great way to introduce yourself and let others get to know you. Some of the questions you might want to consider when exploring podcasting as a possible vehicle are:
There really is a range of possible podcasting options available. One great starting point to see what’s out there, and who is looking for guests, is to check out the PodcastGuest.com site. If you host a podcast, let us know what it is, so we can follow. If you need guests, let us know what type so guest you are looking for. I would be more than pleased to drop in for a conversation as well, to talk about leadership, teamwork or business development issues from a coaching or virtual lens. Enjoy! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. This month we start shifting our attention to marketing. It will take us through most of the summer. Section 3 of the Coaching Business Builder explores nine different marketing vehicles coaches may incorporate in terms of building relationships, and letting the world know about what they have to offer. While a lot of new business owners think that marketing is only something, they will do during their first few years in business, think again! Most businesses continue to move through growth plateaus as they mature. More importantly, as coaches, marketing goes hand in hand with relationships. A key part of marketing is about fostering support and services for your client (or prospective client) base. Coaching is a high touch service, and most people will want to get to know us (and like and trust us) before deciding to invest in coaching services. Over the next couple of months, we’ll take a look at some of the many different strategies coaches can consider utilizing in building relationships and marketing. As we get started with this topic, a number of things to keep in mind: What’s important for your clients? What do they want, need and prefer? For more than a decade I’ve shared what I term the Marketing Sweet Spot exercise with coaches who go through the Group Coaching Essentials program. You can read about it (and other marketing tips at the Digital chapter on Marketing Group and Team Coaching from my 2013 From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching Book. Click here to download and use code 4411 when prompted). What’s going to add value? Going hand in hand with what’s important for your clients (or prospective clients) is considering the question of “what’s going to add value?”. As you consider this question you might also explore:
What do you want to do, consistently? An old marketing adage is the 7 – 11 rule, which asserts that it may take 7 – 11 touch points before something registers and people even start to hear/notice something you are offering. Consistency can be as important as anything else, and many coaches stop at 2 - 3 messages about what they are offering. What can you do to seed your message in different ways? Maybe you do a newsletter announcement, a Facebook live, a tweet or speak about it. Many messages take time to take root. What do you want to do consistently over time? What’s going to leverage your strengths? What are the strategies you want to incorporate? Keeping in mind what your clients want, and what you want to do consistently, what are the strategies you want to incorporate? Starting next week we’ll explore 9 different promotional vehicles you might want to consider leveraging in your own marketing, messaging and relationship building. I include these nine strategies, along with further examples and questions for you to consider, in Section 3 of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner. Over the next couple of months, we are going to explore nine different promotional vehicles I explore in the Coaching Business Builder – from speaking and blogging, to lunch and learns and partnering with associations. Stay tuned as we move through these areas in July and August. Best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. Want to offer this to your clients? Consider joining us for the PlanDoTrack/Coaching Business Builder Facilitator Training which starts virtually on July 9th. In both the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack, I include four business philosophies which are critical to all types of virtual and remote professionals, and business owners today – Focus, Experimentation, Momentum and Reflective Pause. In my work with teams, and individuals, over the last fifteen years in my business I’ve seen that these make the difference between good and exceptional. With this in mind, over the next few weeks I’ll be taking a deeper dive into the realm of these four areas looking at:
A reminder that if you like these topics you may want to check out my weekly Facebook Live, where I put into voice quick planning ideas and activities. You will find it over at the PlanDoTrack Facebook page. Let’s turn our attention to the first topic of FOCUS. We live and operate today in what is often considered an era of distraction. Our ability to focus and keep our eye on what is important to us, and to our work, is key. Did you know that:
Focused work and attention are critical, and essential in order to create foundations, and grow a business. How To- Creating Focus:
Refer To - Focus When: The Science of Perfect Timing – Daniel Pink Atomic Habits – James Clear Outer Order and Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin Deep Work and Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport Check out my April 3, 2019 Facebook Live Wishing you all the best, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. This week it’s launch time! You’ve done it! Over the last four weeks (or more) you have been working on your free offer or giveaway. This is key in terms of letting others know what you do and offering them something of value. Doing this regularly can help further develop your reputation and let people know what you have to offer. This week as you go to launch, consider the varying ways you are going to continually let people know about this offering. Some possible ways might include:
Have a great day! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. Over the last few weeks you have been busy working on your free giveaway. It’s now been drafted, and you have figured out where it’s going to go. It’s not quite ready yet! Take some time this week to-do a last review and perhaps get some feedback. Maybe you have a routine of passing materials off to your loved ones for a quick second set of eyes. Maybe you have a community that supports you on this. Who can give the project a review? This week you will also want to focus in on how and where you are going to promote this. Don’t forget the 7 to 11 times rule. The landscape of free offerings is super-saturated at times. You will want to make sure you are regularly talking about this and letting people know that it exists. If you haven’t done so, make a list of WHERE, WHEN and HOW you are going to let people know about it (Here’s a challenge - make sure you have at least 11 different touchpoints!). Share with us what you have been working on – you can share it here in the comments, or over on the Effective Group Coaching Facebook page. Best, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. For the last few weeks we have been working on your giveaway or “free item”. In a coaching business these might include an audio or video, a checklist, an article or podcast. The item is designed to provide you with an opportunity to get the word out about what you have to offer as well as build relationships with prospective clients. During week 1 of this series you were encouraged to consider what it was that you wanted to offer. You did some research and looked around. Last week you drafted things out a bit more. This week, take a look at what you have created and:
Consider things like:
What else is going to move this project forward? Best, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. For many years in my former life and work within the global sector as a Program Manager, I was involved in recruitment and hiring people for projects large and small. At one point in my career I realized that I had undertaken several hundred interviews to fill roles on projects in one year alone! A key part of finding good people for project and work, goes back to being clear on what the role is, and being excellent in communicating that. In building your team, getting better at defining roles and even writing position descriptions is imperative. This holds true for project roles, sub-contracting roles, as well as full time roles. Questions to consider as you go about creating position descriptions are:
Note that job description/position descriptions may vary from location to location and can have different legal requirements. Be sure to reach out to your local Small Business Centers for more information on local level realities. Best wishes, Jennifer PS – A reminder that this month’s 30 days focus in the 1BizStepaDay series is around Relationships. Download a copy of the 1BizStepaDay series here. What are the daily actions you are taking to build your relationships during this month of February? Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Looking for regular support around growing your coaching business? Join me and a small group of other coaches twice a month at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab. We meet on Fridays from 3-4 pm ET (weeks 1 and 3 of the month) to explore topics related to growing your coaching business. February's focus is on Collaboration and Building Community. Coaches take part in 2 group coaching calls each month and have access to a growing resource library of month articles, templates and recordings related to your business. As we step into the month of February, our focus is going to shift to the realm of relationships. Collaboration in all its forms is essential to a thriving coaching business. On the client level, we are always partnering, and developing deep relationships with our clients. In fact, this partnership is the foundation for successful coaching. If trust and connection is not present, it’s unlikely that a client will be open to discussing their ideas. While prospective clients may first find us on social media, the next step is usually a call to check for “fit” and that we are the best support for their needs. Consider what you are doing to build trust and connection with your clients, and prospective clients. We may also be partnering with others in our industry – with other coaches who we might work with in a variety of ways. This might entail designing and co-leading programs together or bringing others on board through a sub-contracting relationship. Consider how you are partnering with others in our industry, or related industries this year. Make a list of this. If we are a solopreneur coach, enlisting others to help us round out our skill set helps us accomplish tasks me may not have skills in – from accounting to graphic design. Who are the service professionals you’d like to build relationships with to help you with your business? As a solopreneur, relationships are critical for success. Consider these ways we may be working with, and through others:
Enjoy! Jennifer PS – A reminder that this month’s 30 days focus in the 1BizStepaDay series is around Relationships. Download a copy of the 1BizStepaDay series here. What are the daily actions you are taking to build your relationships during this month of February? Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Looking for daily prompts to support you with your work? Join me over on Instagram for daily questions to get you thinking about, and taking action on, your work and business. Check out the @CoachingBizBuilder feed here. Check out the November 2018 CBB Book Club Call entitled "2019 Planning. Already?". You can view it here. |
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Mentor Coaching Group for ACC/PCC -Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET: June 7 - mid-September - Reserve your spot. ACC and PCC for ICF Credentialing Program Design Hack - 45 minutes - $97 - Sketch Out Your Next Program in this Facilitated Process! - Click here to Register Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) - Next group will start Tuesdays on July 6th. Fridays 10 - 1135am ET: June 4, 11, 18, 25 (4 weeks) Virtual Facilitation Essentials (8.5 CCEs) - Join us for an upcoming one day program! Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - starts - Tuesdays July 6th (5 weeks) (10 CCEs): Focused on providing you with virtual practice and feedback around your group coaching skills. Team Coaching Essentials for the Virtual, Remote and Hybrid World. Kicks off Monday June 14th 60 Day CBB Accelerator - Now as an On-demand Program.Bonus! This month's 1BizStepADayAuthorCoach Jennifer Britton has worked with entrepreneurs across a variety of sectors since the late 1990s, even before she was in business herself. From supporting micro-entreprise and eco-tourism businesses to working with service based entrepreneurs and coaches, her PRACTICAL and TACTICAL approach to business coaching is ACTION focused, with emphasis on AWARENESS as well. Jenn is the author of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and planner, and 3 others books related to group and team coaching and virtual conversations. She also hosts the Coaching BIzGrowth Lab, an open-enrollment group coaching program for coaches. Jenn founded her business - Potentials Realized - in April 2004. Archives
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