How to Build a Successful Online Coaching Business in 2020
Table of Content
- Introduction
- Why Consider Online Coaching in the First Place?
- Creating an Online Coaching Business Model
- How to Build a Successful Online Coaching Business in 2020?
- Conclusion
If you started your coaching business to replace a 9-to-5 job, or gain financial freedom, you are not the only one. And in the efforts to achieve that, you have experimented with and tried pretty much everything coaching gurus have suggested.
We understand that building a 6-figure online coaching business does not come easy, but at the same time, we would like to indicate that it is not impossible either.
One of the top coaching industry trends of 2020 is virtual coaching. Online coaching has paved the way for coaches to expand their reach, get more clients, and economically brand their services.
And now it is time for you to leverage online coaching and build a successful coaching business online!
This definitive guide will walk you through every process and method you can utilize you gain exposure and find new coaching clients. So, let’s dive right in.
Why Consider Online Coaching in the First Place?
Like any other industry, technology has had a positive impact on the coaching industry as well. Within the last five years, the coaching industry has utilized online means to conduct sessions one-on-one and in groups using various virtual tools.
But besides convenience, online coaching comes with several other benefits as well.
1. Increased Reach
When marketing your coaching services online, you can go beyond your city, states, and country. Online coaching has helped coaches find potential clients in other countries, without the need to travel. Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, and Instagram, you can connect with professionals looking for your coaching services all over the world.
2. Saves Time for More Productivity
Coaching when done virtually helps in saving your time as a coach. When coaching online, you are conducting sessions without having to travel to locations during rush hours. For all the time you save, you can utilize it to continue being productive.
3. Builds Credibility Faster
As coaching moved online, coaches understood the need for websites, and engagement on social media platforms. With continuous efforts online, coaches have found it easy to highlight reviews and testimonials from past clients. Listing these reviews online helps new clients find your coaching services more credible.
Creating an Online Coaching Business Model
If there is anything we can say with confidence, it is that your online coaching business will only be as good as your business model. Having an online coaching business model is essential, and yes, there are various business models you can implement.
Before starting, however, here are a few essential questions to ask yourself.
- Should I specialize in a niche?
- Would I be able to commit to multiple sessions in a day?
- Should I do one-on-one or group coaching sessions?
- Should I offer discounts?
- How much should I charge per session?
A good practice is to list down about 10 to 15 such questions. Upon answering all of them, you will have more clarity about how you want to run your online coaching business.
There are five online business models that you can work with, and tailor them to your needs. Let’s briefly look at each.
1. One-on-One Online Coaching
One-on-one coaching or private coaching as the name suggests is conducting coaching sessions per client at a time. One-on-one coaching is also where most coaches tend to begin.
As private coaching helps you to exert all your attention towards one client’s issues, it is also on the high-end on the pay scale. More so, with private coaching, you can put experimentation in the works and utilize successful methods in other sessions from the start.
2. Group Coaching
On the flip, there is group coaching. Like anyone else, you only have 24 hours in a day, and you can only conduct so many sessions in that timeframe. With group coaching, you can scale your services easily, and have multiple clients in on a session at the same time, without must change your charges.
3. Selling Products
Coaches generally have more to offer than what they talk about in a session. Several coaches go from conducting sessions to writing books and selling them using the brand they have built around themselves.
Although, selling products is not easy as several factors are at play, but it is a great addition to your business model.
All the above, are business models for your coaching services, however, if done right, you can incorporate all-in-one down the line. Coaching is certainly a scalable business, and your traditional business models can be used for online coaching as well.
How to Build a Successful Online Coaching Business in 2020?
With the basics out of the way, it is now time for us to focus on you and your coaching services. How do you build a successful online coaching business in 2020? Well, let’s take it step by step.
Establish Your Core Values and USP
Before starting any business, establishing strong core values and mission is essential. Both values and mission help you understand the future of your business, and how you will conduct it in the market.
Coaching in its basic essence is to help clients reach their true potential.
Your core values further help you in shaping your business and help develop an identity. Some examples of core values are:
- Honesty: Intending to conduct your business with honesty, with the best interest of your clients at heart.
- Quality: Instead of focusing on the number of clients, you can work more towards getting high-paying quality clients instead.
- Fun: As a business, you enjoy the process, through ups and downs.
- Boldness: You are not afraid to be rejected, and you are also not afraid to lift yourself back up. You confide in what you do and will proceed accordingly.
USP is the abbreviation of Unique Selling Point. While your values themselves can be your USP, other factors can be a USP as well. For instance, if you are a multi-lingual coach, that is certainly a USP. More so, you can explore other USPs like certifications, and experience.
A great practice to developing a USP would be to list down all your potential USPs and rank them by effectiveness.
Online Coaching Roadmap
A coaching roadmap is in this context is a start to success journey map. Think about it! When you venture into the online coaching industry, you are simply starting. However, on the way, there are multiple hurdles, and achievements to conquer before reaching a 6-figure coaching business.
Some of the achievements that can be a part of your online coaching roadmap can be:
- Complete coaching certification
- Find the first client
- Get ten clients
- Start a podcast
- Multiple client sign ups
- Run a successful online coaching business
This is only an example; however, you can change your roadmap based on your own set of achievements, and goals.
Launch Your Coaching Website
Courtesy: Jena Viviano
When you are running traditional businesses, you are likely to have storefronts or offices. But when it comes to online coaching, you have a website.
A website is like your storefront; potential clients can visit your website and learn about your businesses. More so, they can browse through all the products and services available.
There are two ways to create a website: you either build it yourself using easy-to-use platforms like WordPress or Wix, or you hire someone to build it for you.
One of the most important components of launching an effective website is the design and the content you post on it. Have you ever visited a website that looks outdated, and you immediately lose trust in it? More so, have you ever read content on a website where you are unable to figure out what it is about?
Have a clean and concise website is essential.
We recommend spending extra time learning about the best practices.
Leverage Online Marketing
Having a good website is less effective compared to when you have a good website and an effective marketing strategy. We have covered online marketing strategies extensively in our marketing strategies for coaches blog.
But what are the areas to concentrate on when it comes to marketing your online coaching business?
Social Media
Social media is a great tool for coaches. As of 2019, it was estimated that 2.95 billion people use social media all over the world. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have proven to be great tools for marketing coaches if done right.
If you search for Life Coaches on Instagram or Coaches on LinkedIn, you will receive great examples of how you can use social media to market your coaching business.
Facebook: Creating a Facebook page for your audience which they can follow and gain insights from is going to help you get the word out. Facebook also is one of the best social media platforms to advertise on and several coaches have converted their online coaching business into a 6-figure business simply by effectively using Facebook pages, and groups.
Instagram: Although it is owned by Facebook, it is a completely different profile. Instagram pages are generally more interactive and as a coach, you are likely to get higher reaches. Given you publish high-quality images and stay persistent with creating content.
Courtesy: Instagram/CallieAmmons
LinkedIn: We love LinkedIn. If you are a career or a business coach, you are missing out big time. LinkedIn is designed as a social network for professionals. Posting valuable content can help you generate some high-quality leads which will in turn pay you more for your services. The key to LinkedIn, however, is to have a professional-looking website. So, before jumping onto the bandwagon, be sure that you are not leaving anything behind.
Content Marketing
Over the past few years, content marketing has become one of the most searched key terms. Content marketing is a marketing approach that focuses on producing valuable content to help generate leads in the long-term.
Content marketing takes different shapes and forms; however, two common types are blogs, and videos.
As a coach, creating valuable blogs and videos should come naturally to you, it is only a matter of which one you can do persistently. Although videos have a higher engagement rate, blogs help you rank on search engines.
Creating long-form valuable content helps clients understand the knowledge you have, which leads them to learn more about you and your services resulting in paid sessions.
Introduce Paid Products
As mentioned earlier, paid products are one of the business models you can have for your coaching services. However; given your goal to establish a successful online coaching business, it also adds passive income to your life.
Your products could be e-books, motivational merchandise, or online courses. However, all three have their own set of challenges. Primarily, products are a result of your ability, working capacity, and knowledge. Picking wisely can help you generate a significant passive income adding to your goal.
Find Online Coaching Platforms
If you have been associated with the coaching industry for even a few years, by now, you would know that online coaching platforms are becoming a useful tool for coaches to find quality leads consistently.
Koachee is one such platform focusing on all niches within coaching. We help coaches connect with potential clients and conduct coaching sessions in-app. Sign up for coaches is free – you can check it out here.
Provide Good Customer Service
In some cases, coaches may feel that upon the completion of their session, their job is done. Unfortunately, that is not one of the best practices. Good customer service is as important for online coaching as it is for any other business.
Customer service is one of the primary pillars of your former clients referring you to others and leaving good reviews online.
Conclusion
Having a successful online coaching business is certainly a great goal to achieve, however, it is only achievable when the above steps are correctly taken. Leverage social media and having a great website are some key elements to finding online clients who pay.
However, all achievements come with steady movements and improvements. Be sure to remain persistent and not lose hope.
Keep refining your abilities and knowledge.
Best of luck!
