Five No-Spend (or Low-Spend) Ways to Get Coaching Clients, Fast

If you are just getting your business started, you likely do not have a healthy marketing budget, so you need some low-cost client attraction strategies.

Once you have your first clients, you can then invest in some larger marketing campaigns, to really grow your brand.

We talk a lot about getting clients around here – see our ultimate guide to getting more coaching clients, or follow our 5-step plan.

As a coach, you should always be generating leads and building your profile, even if you already have plenty of work. Building valuable relationships with prospects takes time, and you never know when someone will be ready to buy your services.

How to Get Your First Client with a Signature Offer

The first thing you should do to get clients, is create your signature offer. You want to stand out from the very beginning and attract your target audience. Creating a signature offer allows you to outline your experience and help you develop a more unique and memorable brand image.

Showcase your signature offer at an industry event or as a podcast guest. When you share your expertise with your ideal audience, you have started a relationship by giving them something of value. Encourage them to follow you online or connect on LinkedIn.

How to Get Coaching Clients Fast Without a Website

Once you have your first client, your job is to make sure they succeed. You want them to make progress and get results. When you have a happy client, they will tell others about your services, and your coaching business will grow.

The best business comes from referrals, and you should always be asking for them proactively. Make referrals a part of your business system from the very beginning. Ask for testimonials as clients are getting results, so you can turn them into case studies to use in your marketing.

If you are working with multiple clients, focus on one client that has put in the effort and has become a success because of your signature process. That person is your ideal client, and you want to showcase their success, so you can capture other ideal clients that want to get the same results.

When a client tells you they are happy with your services, ask them to introduce you to selected potential clients on LinkedIn and grow your network.

[ Read : How to Get Coaching Clients: 18 Strategies That Work Today ]

How to Attract Coaching Clients with Blogging

If you want to find coaching clients online, you will need a dedicated website for your brand. Your website is your Internet real estate, and you can use it to market your signature offer, that is central to your business message.

Your website should have a blog that is updated often, so you can get found online. Google loves fresh content! Do not just post your articles to your own website. Take your top performing posts, turn them into longer articles, and pitch them to the media.

Create a guest blogging strategy to help you reach a new audience with your expertise. Reach out to blogs in your niche with your pitch and get published on other websites to drive traffic. These publications will get a free piece of high-quality content and you will get exposure to their audience. Approach guest blogging strategically, writing with your key brand messages in mind, and publishing on a regular basis to high-traffic websites.

How to Attract Coaching Clients with Publicity

When you are first getting started with a publicity strategy, start small by creating a list of your top 12 media outlets, and do not worry about creating a massive list. Take the time to identify who you want to pitch to, and go after the press that you really want to have for your brand. Ignore anything that is not relevant, and focus on the media outlets your ideal customers are reading.

When you have a newsworthy milestone in your business, send out a press release. Press releases are great for search engine optimization, and you can use the press release for new content on your website and social media channels.

[ Read : Here’s Exactly How to Launch a Coaching Program (Even If You’ve Never Done it Before) ]

How to Attract Coaching Clients with Educational Resources

You should have an opt-in page on your website, so you can collect leads and create a waiting list for your offers. Your audience is unique, and if you want to attract quality leads, you need to know what your customers want from you.

The simplest way to do this, is to ask your social media followers. Create a poll or online survey, and provide an incentive for them to participate. Then, give them the educational resources they have asked for, in exchange for being on your email list.

For example, if they want an influence building cheat sheet, create one for them as an email opt-in. Or you could host a free publicity challenge to engage them and help them make progress. This will give them a glimpse at your knowledge on a particular topic and allow you to sell your products or services to an interested audience.

You could also hold an educational webinar to help you share your expertise with participants and start building a relationship with them. Hold the webinar live so you can give your audience the opportunity to ask questions and then make the replay available as an opt-in.

If you want to engage your social media followers, get into the habit of posting content regularly. Post content from your website, so you can drive traffic and create a consistent brand image. Do not sell directly from your social media channels, unless you use paid advertising that is going to generate leads for your email list.

If people are interested in what you are offering, they will ask you. Your goal with social media is to be visible and to grow your list of prospects. It also forms an integral part of your branding strategy, so make sure that all your platforms have a similar look and feel.

Participate in social media groups and network online, so you can meet potential clients. Your social media profiles should also clearly state what you do and how your audience can get in touch with you.

Use your social media platforms as an opportunity to search for potential clients. You can search for terms that your ideal customer might include in their posts through hashtags. Then engage with them on their posts to get the conversation started.

Remember, success does not happen overnight. You need to continually market your services, so that you can create a consistent, credible brand image. What is the biggest difference between coaches that have clients knocking at their doors and coaches that cannot get anyone to buy? They do not take the time to make themselves visible.

Inside the Public Relations Academy, you will get media leads, so you can pitch your brand and get media attention. You will get the support you need to stay laser focused on building your influence. You will learn how to pitch the media, write content with a unique angle, and create a visible brand image that will drive sales for your coaching business.