Marketing Ideas For Life Coaches That Work!

Do Marketing Ideas for Life Coaches Need to Be Expensive?

Marketing yourself as an expert life coach doesn’t have to be expensive!

Even if you don’t have a large budget, many of the 12 marketing ideas below can be effective with very little cost. Each one is designed to help make your practice and services more visible and appealing to potential clients.

I hope these ideas inspire you in. your marketing. Try a few and see which ones work best for you!

12 Marketing Ideas to Raise Your Coaching Profile

1. These networking tips will help you make valuable connections

Making new or reinforcing existing connections through networking, whether face to face or by social media, is one of the most effective marketing strategies you can use.

My pages  How to Network in Person and Social Media Networking for Life Coaches will give you lots of information and do's and don'ts on how to network effectively and how to build strong and beneficial relationships with colleagues and potential life coaching clients.

On both pages I'll guide you to choose the most useful networking groups to join for maximum benefit. I am sure you'll find also find value in my lists of do's and don'ts for both in person and social media networking. 

2. Why should you develop an attention getting Elevator Speech

The term "Elevator Speech" comes from the idea of being able to get your message across in the 30 to 60 seconds it takes to ride a few floors in an elevator.

As part of any marketing strategy, it's important to create a short yet powerful explanation that authentically conveys the benefits of your coaching and captures the interest of the person or group you're speaking to.

Do you ever get asked, “What do you do?”

An Elevator Speech can be invaluable in all kinds of networking conversations when you're inevitably asked that question. It can also be used in your promotional materials—such as your business card, website, or brochure and even for social media posts.

Getting your message across clearly and briefly can be a challenge. My article here will help you learn how to create your own concise and effective Elevator Speech. You will also get useful tips for using it for maximum effect.

3. How do you easily get testimonials from delighted clients?

Whatever you have to say about yourself, what really matters when attracting clients is what your clients say about you. Their testimonials showcase how others have benefited from your coaching, making genuine testimonials one of the most powerful messaging tools you can use.

Including testimonials on your brochure, website, or Facebook page is free—and they strongly endorse the value of your coaching.

However, asking clients for testimonials can sometimes be challenging for both the coach and the client.

Instead of struggling, discover my simple strategies for easily getting great endorsements from delighted clients when you read: How to easily get life coaching client testimonials that rock!

4. Establishing effective alliance or partnership for your coaching business

A fantastic way to enhance and build a coaching business is to form a mutually beneficial strategic partnership between you and another coach or therapist or another business.

Unfortunately, no matter how enthusiastically you start out, these  partnerships do not always turn out to be successful.

A well researched and set up partnership can result in:

• More quality referrals for you
• Trusted professionals to refer your clients on to when necessary
• Extra income from affiliate partnerships that compliment your coaching.
  

Read more about How to form strategic alliances and partnerships for your coaching business and how to set them up so they are successful and profitable.

5. How can I make my business card memorable and keepable?

Even in today’s world of online connections with potential clients, there’s still value in investing in a physical business card as part of your marketing strategy.

But how do you make sure your business card really gets your message across? And even more importantly, how can you ensure it’s kept for future reference—rather than ending up in the trash? Even worse, how can you avoid leaving the recipient wondering later, "Who was that?".

Check out these creative business card ideas and tips to make sure your card works for you—helping you stand out and be remembered by the people you meet at networking events, parties, or anywhere there's an opportunity for a “get-to-know-you” conversation.

6. Why should you write a book about your coaching?

Writing a book centred around your life coaching niche and expertise is a fantastic way of raising your profile and establishing yourself as an authority to attract clients.

Becoming an author is one of THE top proven marketing ideas for a coach that I know and have used. Your book, if it gives true value, will give you status and credibility, not to mention extra income. 

Back in the early 2000s I attracted many quality clients through my first book Ready Set Goal.  It is now rewritten specifically as a guide for coaches as Mastering the Art of Goals Coaching.

But for many coaches, the idea of putting a book together is overwhelming and it remains in the too hard basket. 

My eBook How to Easily Write and Publish A Book About Your Life Coaching will show you from my experience step by step, what it takes to get started as an author as well as the different ways you can be published. You can preview and get a good taster of the content here.

 7. Why is presenting to groups about your coaching so effective?

Speaking at conferences and networking events—whether in person or online—is a powerful way to grow your credibility as a coach and reap major rewards.

From my own experience, being a guest speaker is one of the most effective marketing strategies. It gives you the opportunity to speak freely about aspects of your coaching and show how it can solve real problems.

In my eBook, How to Use Speaking to Promote Your Coaching, I share high-quality tips on how to get started as a presenter or guest speaker. By clicking the link you can preview some of the content and tips. 

Each tip comes from my personal experience speaking to a wide range of audiences, both online and at in-person events.

You'll also find my best advice for overcoming speaker reluctance and confidently creating presentations that truly engage your audience—and leave them wanting more. Plus, I cover one of the most overlooked keys to a successful seminar: planning and fool proofing the logistics.

Even the best-prepared talk can be derailed by technical glitches or poor organization, so I’ll guide you through how to avoid those common pitfalls.

8.  Is the free introductory coaching session a good marketing idea?

Many coaches offer a free 'try before you buy' session as one of their marketing strategies. They sometimes call it a free introductory session.

The rational behind the free session concept is that people don’t always understand what life coaching is and so need to experience a sample and how the coach coaches, before they make a decision.

On the surface it's a good plan and it worked well for me, until it didn't! I changed to a well structured Discover Session process. 

However, there are two schools of thought about this and here, I cover the pros and cons of the introductory free life coaching session to help you make your choice.

9. How can you make sure your website "works" for you as a marketing tool?

Having a website that looks pretty and gives lots of information about what you do and how you coach is just the beginning.

Having a website that is:

• easily found by the search engines when people are looking for a coach
• simple to navigate
• and is written in such a way that it attracts and engages prospective life coaching clients...

is something else completely and what is needed to stand out from the crowd!

You'll find lots of helpful information about creating your coaching website plus tips on making sure it will do it's job in attracting clients and avoiding the traps on this page about Life Coaching Websites.

 10. Why is guest  blogging and commenting a good way to reach potential clients?

Being a guest blogger means writing articles for—or commenting on—someone else’s blog. It can be a creative and effective way to get known and recognized as a life coach with something valuable to say.

Guest posts typically allow you to include a link to your own website, which can bring in extra visitors—and even new clients.

However, there are (of course) some pitfalls to watch out for if you want your words of wisdom to enhance, rather than damage, your reputation. Your actions can also impact your standing with Google and other search engines.

Read my Guest Blogging Guidelines for both posting comments and accepting contributions to your own blog. These tips will help you make the most of this marketing idea—and get real results from your time and effort.

11. Is paid life coaching advertising an option?

Sometimes, it really does pay to advertise! There are many ways to do this, including social media, local newspapers, and creating flyers to post in shops and community centers.

The paid advertising method I used was Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords).

Google Ads allows you to promote a specific page on your website. When someone clicks your ad, they’re taken directly to your landing page. The goal is to encourage people to contact you for more information or take a specific action—such as signing up for an introductory or discovery session.

You pay only when someone clicks on your ad (pay-per-click). You can control how much you spend by setting a daily or campaign budget, which helps ensure your costs don’t get out of hand.

I found Google Ads to be the best advertising strategy for my coaching business once I moved to a rural area and was only coaching online or by phone. However I had to practice to get the keywords right.

The key to a successful campaign is using wording that ensures Google places your ad on the right pages to attract the kind of visitors and potential clients you're looking for. It took some experimenting, but it really worked for me. Google also offers plenty of resources to help you get started.

The same principles apply if you choose to advertise on other platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. While I haven’t personally used those for my coaching practice, they can also deliver good results when used strategically.

12. What if I want to outsource my marketing?

Just mention that you need help with marketing, and you’ll likely attract a crowd of self-appointed life coach marketing “gurus” promising to teach you their fail-safe magic bullet for getting lots of clients—often at a hefty price.

Unfortunately, many of these marketers have little to no understanding of how to market life coaching effectively. Coaching requires a unique kind of energy, authenticity, and engagement that generic marketing strategies often miss.

If you're thinking of outsourcing your marketing or hiring a consultant, make sure they’ve successfully worked with life coaches before. Don’t just take their word for it—ask for references.

Also, make sure the marketing method they recommend is something you enjoy—or at least find to be a manageable, rewarding challenge. A strategy that causes stress or feels inauthentic may not get you the results you're after. When it comes to marketing plans for life coaches, one size definitely doesn’t fit all.

Read about the research I recommend before hiring a marketing coach or consultant. It could save you a lot of stress—and money.

And don’t forget to check out my information on using coach provider services or agencies that connect coaches with individuals and businesses. These can be a surprisingly effective way to market your coaching practice.

Getting started

So there you have it. I hope you find that some of these coach marketing ideas appeal to you and help you get results. Of course, not all of the marketing strategies for a life coach will resonate with you.

You may have to experiment and bravely move out of your comfort zone to discover what  is your best fit to get results.

Good luck!