Marketing for Coaches In the Spotlight: Blogging

As a blogger for more than 14 years now, I am passionate about this as a vehicle for those who like to write and want to be a content creator. Blogging can be a great first step to creating a more regular writing practice.

Blogging is often more informal than other writing approaches, and can be shorter in length, with many blog posts ranging from 300 – 500 worlds. Of course, posts can be longer than that, especially if you post less frequently.

In addition to written blogs, vlogs - or video blogs – have also become a popular vehicle. Vlogs weave together video in delivery the blog message.

From Wordpress, to blogs hosted on your own site, to the old school blogger platform, blogging is a powerful way to become a publisher.

If you are considering blogging as one of your marketing vehicles, reflect on these questions:

• What’s the purpose of the blog? Your blog can become another community or platform hub of your brand or identity. Beyond your website, what are the key themes or focus areas you want to provide information around or content? The beauty of a blog is that it creates what I term a “digital footprint”. That footprint can remain in place for much longer than the lifecyle of other items such as the 24-hour lifecycle of a story.
• How can your blog provide a focus on issues of importance to your audience? Consider your audience and what they find useful. Take some time when starting out, and at regular points, to make a list of what you might write about. Be listening for the questions you get asked, or the resources you are suggested. These can be valuable pointers to possible blog content. Be clear on who the audience is.

​Connect with others who can spread the word about your blog – There is a rich ecosystem of blogs in the blogosphere. In addition to publishing on your own blog, consider connecting with other bloggers in your community who might be interested in linking to your site and/or sharing your content. One of my favorite community vehicles I used to leverage (which still exist more than a decade later!) are blog Carnivals, where a group of bloggers come together to share content around a specific topic. This is a great way to connect in with new readers/followers and other community members in your niche.

If you have a copy of the Coaching Business Builder, or PlanDoTrack, check out the activities in the blogging part of section 3. There are five or six useful questions for you to consider as you go to focus on blogging.

What are the key steps you want to take this week around blogging? Writing and blogging are topics we are exploring at the Learning Lab and Design Studio this summer, and it’s exciting to hear about all the different areas people want to focus on.

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.