5 Key Elements of a Marketing Plan for your Coaching Business

There is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to creating a marketing strategy and marketing plan for your coaching business.

I get it. You see the success and ‘quick-wins’ from a competitor, influencer or expert in your industry and it’s easy to think, “if I copy their blueprint for success, I’ll see that same level of success with my business.” Unfortunately, this is very unlikely. There are just too many variables for there to be a “one-size-fits-all” marketing plan for every coaching business.

Just like no two people are alike, there are no two coaching businesses that are the same. Yes, you may have a similar target audience or provide similar services to another business but there are key differences between each of your businesses. What worked for your competitor may not (and most likely) won’t work for you if you are just trying to copy what they did.

A major difference is you. You are the brand and centre of your business, and your personality is as much a part of your brand as the services you offer. Your definition of success is also a key difference and you will have different goals for your business than any other coaching business.

Now, before you get disheartened by this news that there is no “quick-fix” formula or “plug-and-play” marketing plan, let me share with you 5 key elements to consider when figuring out the marketing plan for your coaching business. And this doesn’t mean that you can’t take ideas or concepts from those other marketing plans. Many of these plans have great ideas and you most likely will see success following those suggestions.

However, before you get too focused on using all the ideas in those marketing plans, I encourage you to work through these 5 key elements when creating your final marketing plan.

5 key elements to consider when creating a marketing plan for your coaching business:

1. Identify your Business Goals and Marketing Purpose

To be purposeful with the time you are investing in marketing your coaching business, you need to understand the purpose of marketing. It's important to create awareness of your products and services and to make sure your marketing is customized to fit your business goals.

Before you create a marketing strategy and plan to implement those strategies, make sure that you have identified your business goals: What are the goals of your business? What direction are you wanting to take your business in? Once you know the goals of your business, you can identify your marketing goals.

2. Understand your Target Audience

Your marketing won’t be successful if you have not taken the time to understand who your target audience is, as well as how and where they consume their information. When you better understand your target audience and where they spend their time, you will be more effective with your marketing because it is tailored to your target audience or ideal client. Those are who you want to attract and turn into leads and clients of your coaching business.

3. Know your Messaging

Another key element is to know your core messaging of your coaching business: What services do you provide? How do you help your clients? What problem do you solve? What big win do you promise to deliver with the products and services you offer? When you can clearly articulate your core messaging, you can ensure that the content of your marketing matches this messaging and that it is effectively tailored to your target audience.

4. Understand the purpose of Content Marketing

For many coaches and small business owners, the marketing of your business is not the focus of your joy. Those marketing activities are not in your zone of genius and excellence, yet we all know that marketing is a key component to growing and running a successful business. When you understand that the purpose of content marketing is to connect and engage with your target audience, and to build that Know, Like and Trust factor through creating informative and value-filled content, those marketing activities can become less overwhelming.

5. Determine a consistent Marketing Schedule

The fifth element to consider is determining what type of content marketing schedule you can be consistent with establishing. Marketing is a long-term investment that takes discipline and success to see success. How often can you create that main piece of cornerstone content – that blog post article or podcast episode – that is part of the foundation of your marketing plan? I would recommend at minimum one new article per month to not lose the attention of your target audience, but if you can fit in a new article every 2 weeks or even every week that would be great. The key here is what can you consistently stick with?

To summarize, the 5 key elements to consider when creating a marketing plan for your coaching business are:

1. Identify your Business Goals and Marketing Purpose
2. Understand your Target Audience
3. Know your Messaging
4. Understand the purpose of Content Marketing
5. Determine a consistent Marketing Schedule

If marketing does not fit in your zone of genius or excellence, maybe it’s time to let Tiel Virtual Solutions partner with you and your business.

Book a quick teatime chat with Natashia to learn how we can help create or fine-tune your marketing strategy and implement it into a clear outline marketing plan. Let us give you the gift of confidence for your message!

Not quite ready to invest in a team to help with your marketing? Grab this FREE guide and learn how you can start booking more clients every day with these 5 simple steps to growing your business online. With these 5 simple steps, you can grow your business online with a process that will help you be consistent and save you time ... all while filling your courses and programs!