Building a strong coaching brand takes time, and quality time at that (after all, It’s no good spending 20 hours in the office working at 50% when you could have gone home, recharged, given yourself permission to relax, and returned to the office at 100%).
This is why, when you’re working on building your coaching brand, I urge you (as a holistic coach) to do so mindfully. So how do we do that when life is so hectic?
Today I want to show you the five pillars of building a brand as a coach.
1. Choose Your Niche
Being an expert in something specific is often a smart business move. If you’re sought after because you know the most about something, you become highly desirable and connections get made quickly.
Identify what it is specifically you can offer people makes it easier for you to market, hone your message, and build a powerful brand as an individual or a coach.It gives you a framework to work with when looking for ideas on how to build your brand. Ask yourself:
- What products or services can you offer?
- What are people looking for?
- What do your clients need?
Sit down and discuss this with them if you need to. Share what you have to offer people and provide them with real value. Doing that is easier if you narrow your offerings down. Know who you are – what you are offering people, and what your mission is.This is something that is of the highest value in my experience. I always compel people not to waste their time on a million different gigs. Rather, spend quality time and thought-out decision-making on fewer, more valuable things.
You’ll be first in mind when they need help with the thing that you’re best at.
2. Build a Strong Coaching Brand Holistically
As a holistic business coach, I mentor people in how to become the best version of themselves, not just in business but in life overall. And that process doesn’t just happen overnight. It took me a while to get here and even realise that I wanted to give back, rather than just work in the industry.
And what’s allowed me to be successful in what I do: I’ve identified who I serve best in my position.
What my experience has taught me, and what value and knowledge I have to impart and guide people, allows me to be in a very good position to help others through a similar path to the one I’ve been on. I know who I serve. And I’d urge you to think about who you best serve too.
Who do you benefit when you are working in a holistic way? Who do we serve? Who benefits most from my position here, and what can I offer?
I’ve talked before about how much I love a to-do list and the benefits of having one – it’s seriously underrated. Dump everything you know you have to do and what is worrying you into words so you can relax knowing it’s off your mind, and that you can return to it when you need to.
You’ll show up so much better in what you do if you’re not constantly feeling burned out.
What my experience has taught me, what value and knowledge I have to impart and guide people, allows me to be in a very good position to help others through a similar path to the one I’ve been on.
I know who I serve. And I’d urge you to think about who you best serve.
3. Choose Your Marketing Wisely
Having the best brand in the world can mean nothing if you’re not marketing right. And if you’re in the world of coaching, so much of that is online. As I’ll talk about in upcoming posts, digital marketing as a coach is ripe with opportunities online, particularly social media.
Platforms such as Instagram and even TikTok are a new space for people like mentors, teachers, therapists and holistic guides to produce really engaging digital content. So there are lots of new avenues to keep in mind. even if it’s just a blog – it doesn’t have to be any of the newer stuff.
If your brand is simple – keep it simple. if you’re a writer – write. If you want to make content and put yourself out there – do.
4. Structure Your Coaching Services
There are huge opportunities to create courses as a coach. If you’re a yoga teacher, trainer, guide or anything like it, very often, the work you do lends itself very well to structured courses.
They can be live courses and classes, or structured as a one-off payment people can go through themselves. But it’s a good opportunity, too, for you as a coach to structure your message and/or technical skills in a digestible and thought-out formula.
Think about your digital marketing plan for promoting your courses: what will your content look like over 3 months, 6 months, 1 month, a week? What courses are coming up or topics should you be talking about that are aligned with an upcoming event?
It’s wise to schedule content because you don’t want to be feeling like you’re on the clock 24 hours a day.
5. Ensure Brand Consistency
I’ve mentioned this before but I’m putting it here again to reinforce it. Be consistent. In your design, your content, your scheduling, your brand and logo etc. Even colour schemes that go well together or in line with your logo.
Keep it tied to you, and your brand as a coach.
For ideas, look at some other coaches with a big follower base and identify what their ‘brand’ looks like. What does it say about them? What does their content and style represent?
Now think about how your brand should represent you in a way that’s as unique and distinctive as you are.
So those are my 5 Pillars To Building A Powerful Coaching Brand. Have I missed anything? Did anything resonate with you? Let me know.