How to start an online coaching business

Posted On May 13, 2022 by Anca Iusan
Blog

You have what it takes to be a good listener and people often tell you what good advice you give. Following that narrative, you start listening to some podcasts and taking some courses, and in a short time, you identify your motivation. Certain you want to help others do the same, you decide it’s time to give this passion of yours a name: coaching.

After a while, this passion transforms into something that allows you to live, and make money out of it. So why not set it up as a business.

With today’s uncertainty when it comes to face-to-face meetings, an online business coaching others is the best way to start.

But how to start an online coaching business?

We’re here to tell you what our plan is, step by step, and be your partner throughout this journey.

Step 1 – Set your short-time and long-time goal

This seems like the easier step of all, but it’s not. Not only do you need to find your niche and discover what exactly it is you want to be, but you also need to set your goals. 

The short-time goal can be linked to getting your business out there, while your long-time expectation can be about growing your business.

It’s up to you to define those goals so that you’ll know what to do next.

Step 2 – Define your audience

After you’ve outlined your niche, for example, a life coach or a business coach, you’ll know who your audience is.

If you are a life coach then you must address a broader audience made of regular people. But if you approach the business sector, your target will change and the message will change accordingly.

Step 3 – Define your UPS – Unique Selling Proposition

What is the main factor that differentiates you from all the other coaches out there?

Is it your experience, your unique approach, perhaps the studies you have or courses you’ve taken? Whatever that is, make sure to identify it and create a message that will be delivered on your website for those who seek you.

This step is both for you and your audience. You need to be confident in yourself so you’ll be able to sell your skills better.

Step 4 – Create the website

This step is the hardest one. After you’ve established your position on the market, you need to be able to reach your audience. 

For a successful online coaching business model, you’ll need a presentation website. 

The website has to have two important attributes:

  • act as an attractive business card, that defines who you are, how the audience can contact you, and what you can do for them
  • offer your target all the reasons they should pick you instead of your competition

This is the place where the question: „how to start a coaching business online?” is answered.

And what better team to help you create an amazing platform than Ecomitize. We’ve done it for several of our clients and we know what you need in terms of UX and UI to make it work. See here our skills.

This website needs to be clean and attractive in terms of design, have great content that will keep the attention of the user, and offer just enough information so they will want to get in touch with you.

The website needs to reflect who you are as a person, as a professional, and what you can offer.

Step 5 – Create your program

We said that there are many types of coaches: life coach, business coach, wellness coach, personal coach, spiritual coach, and relationship coach. 

Depending on your journey, you’ll need to create a program that has integrated that UPS we talked about in the beginning. What is it about you that people in need should listen to?

This program needs to be simple enough for the audience to want to participate. 

When conceiving this online business coaching course you’ll need to ask yourself some questions:

  • Who is benefiting from this course?
  • What can I do to help them?
  • What do they stand to gain from it?
  • What is the time I need to put into this?
  • What is the time they need to put into this?

After you have the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to grasp the way you want your program to be structured.

Get the program online with an integrated platform either like a course for sale or like an ongoing training in online meetings with you. 

No matter what you choose to do with this training program, be sure we can help. See here what our services are and contact us for more details.

Step 6 – Sell your coaching services

You have defined the audience, you have created the program, you know just what services you are selling and you know your worth. The website is up and running, but how do you get said audience to come in and take a look?

Well, here comes the whole advertising package.

When you addressed that important question regarding the online business, wheater it was:

„How to start an online fitness coaching business?” or „How to start an online health coaching business?” you’ll have to know that the answers are almost the same. 

The ultimate goal is to make sure your knowledge is getting to those in need. Those entities need to be defined before proceeding with the message. When you start creating the website and the content you keep in mind your target audience. 

You need a channel to deliver that message and online several platforms can help you with that. Live streaming your sessions to your clients is the actual service, but advertising is what grows your business.

How can you pitch your services?

There are several methods of simple, yet effective advertising:

Creating business pages on social media platforms

Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok are very popular for a reason. They bring people together in a somewhat safe space and if you have good enough content you can generate sales.

They are, also, the cheapest way of making sure your business is known.

Newsletters and emails campaign

Along with your domain and hosting, comes the email. It’s both a way of communicating with your clients and a way of reaching more clients. You can send study cases, information, and interesting materials to generate leads. In time, those will drive sales.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Optimized content for your website will attract new customers as well as keep the attention on your brand on the search engines. 

SEO goes well with paid advertising on the search engines as long as the marketing team knows what they are doing.

For this chapter of your business Ecomitize can help with a professional team that handled a lot of campaigns. See what we offer in terms of digital marketing.

There are many ways in which you can sell your services, but all those ways depend on the business strategy you have and what your goal is. Working towards that goal is what sets the path in terms of advertising and marketing.

Step 7 – Deliver what you promised

This last step is a tricky one. Many businesses and entrepreneurs rely on the fact that it’s enough to know what you are doing, have a website and do advertising to attract clients. In part is true, but there are some nuances here. 

If you are a true professional and the best in your field, try to deliver what you promise. Customer experience is crucial in getting new clients. If the website you created is magnificent and its content promises you are someone who will change lives, then, make sure you do. Otherwise, there are just empty words.

Advertising can hold you until one point. It’s up to you to make sure whatever is written on that website is accurate and defines your brand.

Customers can recommend you, therefore gaining new clients, or can criticize you, by that losing credibility. 

Coaching, in whatever form you’re practicing it, is a calling in a sense. Continuous training and learning are what differentiate good coaches from extraordinary ones. 

So, no matter how well you sell yourself, remember to deliver what you promise.

Conclusion

When thinking about opening an online coaching business, follow the step-by-step presentation and add your input. Every business plan has that original spark of knowledge and insight from the founder. It can be the thing that makes the difference in the end.

For many of those steps, Ecomitize can be there to support, guide, and help you with expertise and experience. Contact us before thinking about starting your business and let us join you on this journey.

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