How to promote your life coaching business? [2023 Edition]

It is rightly said that if nobody knows about you there is a high probability that you may lose the business.

This thing provoked me to promote my coaching business.

I realized there would be so many coaches all around the world just like me. How can I stand out? What things do I need to work upon so that I do not get lost in this crowded marketplace?

What will work best in bringing clients and promoting my work?

The answer was simple: I had to find the right marketing method. I knew it was essential for a life coach to remain consistent. Thus, I kept on doing free coaching sessions and workshops to bring in more clients.

In my initial stage, I realized the importance of social media platforms. This was a huge platform to influence people and promote my coaching business.

I easily influenced people to follow my journey as a life coach and how beneficial my life coaching business was.

This marketing strategy was a great turning point in my career.

Thus, it is essential to give marketing high priority while considering each step you take in building your life coaching business.

Let me take you all on my marketing experience journey. Before that, if you are still trying to figure out a life coaching niche, you can choose from 15 niches that are in high demand.

Drawing from my experience, once you select your niche, it will be easy for you to market your business to the right audience. Remember, marketing a coaching business is very important in order to attract clients.

I will discuss how to promote your coaching business and also share a few life coach marketing formulas from the world’s most famous coaching leaders.

1. Begin with a warm audience

Isn’t it easy to let the people who love you know what you are up to?

One of my clients invited all his close ones with a message: “Hello everyone, I am excited to launch my new life coaching business. I specialize in dealing with all kinds of business issues related to startups. I have kept a free workshop of an hour on Sunday. If you are looking for any such session, I believe this would be a great opportunity for you. Kindly forward the emails to those who are interested. I am waiting to see you all.”

It worked, and many people attended the event. Though the number was not huge, it still made a huge difference.

Hence, the major task of bringing people into your free coaching session is simple.

According to Greg DeSimone, Catapult Advisory Group, it is important to help and connect with as many people as you can.

Talk to groups through webinars or workshops. Give anyone 15-20 minutes of your time to answer questions.

Drawing from my experience, the more you are helpful to people, the more you’ll be recognized as a valuable resource.

Once that is achieved, you can analyze who can become your paid client or what package will be best for them.

2. Attend the right type of events for networking

Jada Willis, the founder of Willis Professional Services, once said that your competitors do not have to be your enemies. You should connect with other coaches, and even join a local networking group.

Our team discovered that if you make the right connections, you may start referring clients to each other. Your strengths are their weaknesses, and what they loathe, you may like and love.

I got my first coaching client, who contacted me at one of the events. I had given a short presentation at the event. In this event, one young gentleman approached me.

He asked a few questions, and then I advised him to meet me personally. This is how my life coaching journey began.

This way of networking helped me get constant referrals. I learned how growing businesses through leverage techniques works.

Through trial and error, I discovered that this approach will give you high-quality leads. Don’t you feel this is an amazing way to promote your life coaching business? In my case, it gave great results.

3. Highlight your ‘sweet spot’ through effective branding

The famous leader Virginia Franco, Virginia Franco Resumes, said a targeted statement that delineates-

Who is your ideal client?

What can you do for them?

Who are the people for whom you are eager to become a hero or a lifesaver?

What is the topmost problem of others that you want to solve?

Also, you must have answers to these questions- “So what?” and “Why you?”

It will spell out loud and clear who will completely fall for your sweet spot.

Our team discovered that all your marketing collateral, website, LinkedIn, associated profiles, and social media platforms should have this message.

4. Leverage your experience

According to Evan Roth, the founder of Roth Consultancy International, as a coach, you should love to serve and believe that you can serve anyone.

Based on my first-hand experience, finding similarities in experiences is a way that has worked to gain clients. Corporate leaders seem to work with life coaches who have been corporate leaders as well.

I get many clients by sharing my experience at the events. Clients relate to it, and this is how my experience helps in building connections.

5. Partner with others to promote your life coaching business

I know you must be confused here as to why I am asking you to find a partner for your business.

Let me explain it to you. For example, If you have a life coach business, you can partner with a youth motivational blogger.

This way, your life coaching services get promoted on his page, which in turn can get you clients. Without a lot of expenditure, both can get clients.

Based on my first-hand experience, they are not competitors, but as you have the same target audience, it is a win-win situation for both.

These collaborations will go a long way toward building your life coaching empire.

6. Get referrals regularly

You might be thinking about how to get referrals regularly?

Many life coaches have found this a problem. They do not want to sound as if they are very pushy. So what is the solution?

Through my ten years of practice, I have learned to, first and foremost, keep my tone in such a way that it looks professional without sounding too pushy. You can ask in various ways, like: ‘Is there anyone else you know whom I can guide?’

‘Have you met anyone in recent times for whom my service can prove beneficial?’

‘Are there any friends in your circle who are eager to get my guidance?’

The trick is to use the right words in your contact lists.

7. Use video to attract clients

Videos don’t need to be fancy, according to Elle Ingalls, the owner of Pressure-Free Living. Just quite authentic.

We are a screen-fixated society, and when you get featured yourself in a video, it can lend credibility to your practice.

For instance, you can create a short video that shows how your potential clients can benefit from your coaching.

At the end of the video, you can put a message such as: “Now that you’ve experienced my life coaching session, are you interested in joining my daily workshops? I have a 2-month package that can help you with your requirements.”

As per our findings, one such person, named John Dyan, got his first coaching client through a video series that he had published on Facebook.

He had announced the program, which had not yet been created. Next, the program was pre-sold and then the guy built the complete program while taking the people through it.

I believe video is an amazing medium of marketing for life coaches, as you can easily connect with the target audience.

8. Create a buzz to promote your life coaching business

To promote your life coaching business, you need to reach out to people. So how can you do that?

Our investigation demonstrated that there are many ways that I have tried in my initial phase of business promotion.

I posted free and valuable content that could grab attention. To read more content, I offered the option of the premium offer. This, in turn, increased viewership.

Later, I even started to provide a free offer on my website to increase the list of contacts whom I could approach. The queries flowed in.

People started realizing the benefits of my coaching practice. These initial strategies helped me become what I am today.

9. Turn the wrong ones away

In this practice of free seminars, many wrong people will approach you. How do I tell them they are not fit for your coaching?

Justin Sachs, Motivational Press, said that he notices that one of the best practices of builders is turning the wrong prospect away. It seems counter-intuitive, but all the time he used to tell a prospect they weren’t a fit for his coaching, three of the right people used to show up.’

This was important, as he didn’t want his life coaching business to get bad reviews. He instead referred them to other coaches.

This strategy helped him build great relationships with his clients and other coaches.

I always ask my clients a few questions to get clarity on their requirements. You can also use these 12 life coaching questions for your clients.

10. Become the coach which you may select

What kind of business coach will you select for coaching? Which qualities will you look for in a coach?

This is where you need to groom yourself.

Our investigation demonstrated that very famous leader Rey Castellanos, in Feed Your Wolf, said the best way to create clients is to show your core values to the world. This means practicing what you preach. It means living truly in line with your values at the highest level of integrity.

Unfortunately, these qualities are very rare today, and those who embody them truly stand out. To get the clients you want, you have to become the coach you would want to hire.

11. Know your brand and convey it

According to Wendi Weiner, The Writing Guru, attracting the right clients is all about knowing your brand and being able to convey it in the right way.

For instance, if your targeted clients are youth, your branding statement has to revolve around how you can help them achieve their everyday goals.

Our findings show that you should identify and differentiate your values so that your clients can recognize them very easily.

12. Spend time where your target audience often visit

I have found this to be the simplest way to promote any business. This works well in the case of promoting a life coaching business too.

How?

Some time back, I visited cafes too often and found many people discussing their career goals. I interacted with some of them. I realized my specialty.

I explained to them how, through my life coaching sessions, they could develop their careers.

Kendrick Shope said you should let people know why they need you. I applied this marketing strategy to promote my life coaching business.

This is one example, but you can try various other places, like organization meetups or seminars.

13. Differentiate – a useful tool to promote your life coaching business

It is often seen that you can do 10 times better than what your competitors are doing, or you can just set yourself apart.

If you choose the second one, you need to know how you can stand out?

For example, you can price the clients differently or give them some extra benefits.

Why is Apple different from other smartphones? It is constantly trying to do something new that its competitors have not tried yet. Apple also stands apart in price and distribution. That is what is required in today’s competitive world.

Do take the time to read this article 12 Strategies To Attract Clients To Your Coaching Practice. Our research suggests it is a very informative article on how to attract clients.

14. Write an ultimate guide

What does any person require from a life coach? The answer is that they need in-depth knowledge of personal goals.

Speaking from experience, to get the first few coaching clients, all you need to prepare is an ultimate guide.

You must be thinking about how it works?

It is very simple. This is what I did- I created an ultimate guide for my clients as per their goals and visions. This way, my clients were successful, and they promoted my brand to their network. This way, I have established a good client base.

Why has this proved helpful?

This is because I shared the concepts in depth, and clients started trusting me.

You can publish your content in magazines, newspapers, or blogs to grab more attention. It helps in building a successful life coaching business.

In case you are looking for the ultimate guide to becoming a life skill coach, don’t forget to read Becoming a life coach: A comprehensive guide.

15. Organize a coaching event

A coaching event is mainly to bring your current clients, prospective clients, and their friends together on one platform. This event will help you market your brand.

Offer them a meal or snacks. Have an interactive session on a coaching related topic.

Don’t you feel it is the right time to share valuable information? A larger number of people would witness live coaching by a successful life coach, which is you.

16. Build your private pond

Now, what does this mean?

What do you do when you want to buy a car? You will go to the company you trust. Right?

The same trust you have to build for your life coaching business.

Build Facebook groups. Create your Instagram page. This is the best way to create brand awareness. You can personally connect with your prospective clients. They will know who you are as a coach and thus, identify your brand.

In my starting phase, I got regular clients through Instagram followers. I earned a good amount, which helped me invest more.

17. Most important – care about your clients

Think of people for whom you would like to work? Why do you want to work with them? Why do you care for them? How do you define them as your best clients?

For instance, I used to care for young professionals. I could understand their challenges and feel them as my own. This gave me a lot of interest in working on multiple projects. Even so, they connected well with me, and this gave me satisfaction.

Hence, to promote your life coaching business, you need to pick the right audience. You can connect easily with someone you care for.

18. E-Mail marketing

Do you think the idea of sending daily emails is quite hectic? No, it isn’t if you do it the right way.

I used to send mail once a day, and that was also at the same time every day. Some people ignored my emails. But they were the ones who were not my actual clients.

I just tried to understand how often my hyper-engaged active clients wanted to listen to me. For this, I applied different email strategies.

What content should you include in your everyday mail? What should be the word limit? Whether it should be in story form or motivational lessons.

Based on our observations, short motivational stories that can promote professional and personal growth are good for EMail marketing. There are no set of rules that you can follow. You need to use trial and error to see what works for your clients.

19. Webinars are simple to promote your life coaching business

Did you notice that reaching people across the world has become so easy? Do you want to promote your life coaching business around the globe?

Based on our observations, webinars are the best option for getting clients from other parts of the world. I found it easy to connect with people, as it is reasonable for your clients and also saves time.

It is wonderful to interact with people from different countries. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Then try it.

Webinars have massively helped me increase my business credibility.

20. Solution-oriented

Help people. Give them solutions. It works.

As discussed earlier, I used to provide free services. This helped build my reputation. I made it my prime objective to help my client first. It eventually helped turn my free clients into paid clients.

Solutions play a vital role in the journey to success. It creates a great bond with your clients. They feel secure as they get a mentor to guide them to find solutions.

If you are still in amidst problems and are not able to find strategies to grow your business, then have a look at 4 Steps for Growing Your Coaching Business

21. Invest in branding

Would you buy a car if it didn’t have the features you were looking for? You need to create a unique brand.

I share the real stories of my clients. Word of mouth is the best way to promote any business. I also update my website and social media platforms pages. Consistent updates always build a chain of clients and help you create your brand.

You need to answer the below questions to create the brand.

Who can I help? Who is your target market? What value do I provide?

What groups would most benefit from your coaching? What groups should you refer a colleague to?

After being part of your workshop, what should a client be able to do that he couldn’t do before?

How has his life, career, or health improved? How is my coaching style different from my rivals?

Our analysis revealed that, when you find answers to all the above questions, you will have a strong connection with your clients. This strong connection will help you grow and brand your life coaching business.

Don’t forget to incorporate the branding strategy on the website, social media, and all other places.

22. Find a mentor and get coached again

How did you upscale your life coaching business? You had teachers, right?

Now, find yourself a mentor who can teach you again. This time, you need to learn how to become the best coach.

Initially, I was stuck when developing my life coaching business. Hence, I approached a few mentors. Identified how they teach and promote their coaching skills. It made me understand my strengths and weaknesses.

For example, if your ideal coaching clients are sales executives, then connect with mentors who are best at mentoring sales executives.

As per my expertise, sometimes you have to unlearn and learn new things from your mentors. So, check it out if you need a mentor to upscale and promote your life coaching business.

23. Blogging and Vlogging

Create blogs on your website and write regular, high-quality content, as this is a great way to build your online presence.

Also, create a YouTube channel and create Vlogs. Link your Vlogs to your website.

I used to follow the 80/20 rule. In this case, you need to spend 20% of your time writing blogs and the other 80% on promoting your article via social media.

I even experimented with different media channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Also, I tested alternative content formats, including videos, texts, and podcasts, to find out what would work best.

Final Note

In conclusion, promoting your life coaching business requires a comprehensive and strategic approach. By utilizing various marketing techniques and staying proactive in building your professional network, you can establish a strong presence in the industry. It is essential to continuously improve your skills and knowledge, ensuring you offer high-quality services to clients. 

Building trust through testimonials and positive client experiences is crucial for attracting new clients. Remember that each individual’s journey is unique, so tailor your marketing efforts to reach your target audience effectively. With dedication, persistence, and a commitment to delivering value, you can successfully promote and grow your life coaching business. 

Now you have all the major points required to promote your life coaching business. Incorporate these marketing strategies and see your business grow.

You can create a huge client base with the help of effective strategies and the pointers that I have shared.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)