Back-to-School for Your Health Coaching Business

You know what time it is.  And so do your ideal clients!

No matter how old you get, September always feels like Back-to-School time.  Whether or not you’re busy shopping for school supplies, you feel the start to something new.

In many ways, this time of year is similar to New Year’s.  Like they do in January, your prospective clients are reflecting on where they are and where they want to be, in their lives, in their health, etc.

And, not coincidentally, you’re having the same thoughts except they include where you are and where you want to be in your health coaching business.

This makes for the perfect synergy to offer exactly what your ideal health coaching clients are looking for, and get exactly the results you’re looking for in your business!

There are lots of different ways to inject new energy into your business to attract new clients or build your list.  The key is to take action based on your specific business needs, and your personal style, and not just rush off to try what you think you should do, or what you see other health coaches doing.

Depending on where you are in your business growth, here are some ideas you could implement – or at least get started – quickly over the next couple of weeks.

Start Building or Boosting Your List

List building systems should be incorporated into your online presence to grow your leads consistently.

Additionally, you can commit to focusing on boosting your list for the next 30 days.  Whether your list is new, or you want to plump it up in advance of a product launch you have planned, now is a good time for it.

One of the easiest and best ways to build your list is to offer an incentive in exchange for an email address.  The incentive can be in the form of a gift, such as a free ebook, video or email series.  It can also be in the form of an event, such as a free teleseminar that requires RSVP with an email address.

The key to offering the right incentive to attract new health coaching prospects to your list, is to be clear who your Ideal Client is and what their top 3 challenges are.  Your incentive gift or event would be designed as a simple solution to one or all of those problems.

For example, if your Ideal Client is stuck on losing those last 10 pounds, your free gift could be “Seasonal Secrets to Losing the Last 10” in the form of an ebook with recipes or a live teleseminar promoted on Facebook and Twitter.

If your list is new, you’ll want to promote your free gift or event on social media, at networking events and speaking engagements.  If you have referral or joint venture partners, let them know about your free gift and ask if they’ll spread the word.

If you already have an active list, you can also promote your new offer or event to your tribe encouraging them to share it with friends.

Announce a Group Event

Cleanses do well before Summer, and around New Year’s, but did you know that the start of the Fall season is also an excellent time for a detox group?  Your tribe is feeling a little guilty about the extra beers, ice cream cones and grilled burgers they enjoyed this Summer, and will welcome your Cleanse/Detox offer now.

Consider putting a Back-to-School or Autumnal spin on it to make it extra timely, and begin marketing your group right away.  Offer a discount if they enroll early, but avoid using dates around Labor Day weekend as limiters, as most people won’t pay much attention until after the holiday.

You can plant the seed before Labor Day and followup with a post-holiday reminder with a limited time discount.  Set the startdate of your group enough weeks away to give you adequate time to market your group.

Groups are easiest to fill if you have a large active list and/or social media presence.  If your list is small and/or inactive, focus on a list-building strategy for now instead.

Offer a Discount on Services

Rather than creating something new, you could promote your current programs and products with a Back-to-School sale.  If you have a shopping cart system in place, create coupon codes with an expiration date and share those coupon codes with your list, on social media and offer them to your referral and joint venture partners.

A limited-time discount on your Health Coaching Program can be just the kickstart your prospective client needs to get herself into action.

Offer a link to your Breakthrough Session, which you can also offer free or at a discount, on all of your marketing platforms.

Another way to use the Back-to-School energy is to offer a special themed Breakthrough Session.  For example, your usual Healthy Life Breakthrough Session temporarily becomes the Back-to-SelfCare Session for Moms and you market it specifically to those moms on your list who suddenly have more time for self-care after school opens.

Consider also an End-of-Summer Sale, a Fall theme, seasonal eating tips, a No White after Labor Day teleseminar about eating colorful foods, etc.  There are lots of ways to play with this, so have fun with it and see what you come up with.

Commit to Blogging

Your blog is your very best SEO tool.  Keep it updated with fresh articles, use keywords, categories and tags, and be sure to share the link to your new posts in social media and your email marketing campaigns.  If you haven’t been posting consistently, you could challenge yourself to take it up a notch over the next few months.

Begin by posting at least twice each month, then increase to a weekly schedule and if it works for you, try posting more than once a week.

Don’t worry if you don’t like writing.  Your blog posts can be a combination of brief articles, audio recordings, video embeds, recipes, lists, how-to’s, links and photos.  And I’ve found, the more you write, the easier it gets.

If you’re in need of post topics, try this quick written exercise:

What are the top 10 questions clients or friends ask you about how to eat healthy [insert your specialty here]?  Don’t think about it too long, write the first 10 things that pop into your mind.

Depending on how specific or broad these questions are, you now have at least 10 blog post topics to use and most likely, far more than that, from just this list.  See how you could break up some of these questions into 2-3 blog posts.

Launch a New Website

If you’ve been working on a new website this Summer, now’s the time to prepare for a late September launch.  Start creating a buzz by planting seeds in your newsletters and on social media.  Plan a virtual Website Launch Party and offer a special discount or free gift as a party favor.

If you’re a Newbie ready for a health coaching business website of your own, you can have a semi-custom WordPress site launched in less than two weeks, or get to work this Fall on content for a new custom branded website.

 

To your awesome biz,
Heather