How To Start An Online Coaching Business
Make no mistake if you have any kind of expertise in any specialized area of knowledge, you can coach people online. You have to understand that we live in the modern world where specialization is extremely important. People simply tend to become one-dimensional as far as their personal expertise and knowledge are concerned.
We tend to develop tunnel vision. Maybe we’ve been working at a certain place doing certain things for an extended period. We start to get locked in to that type of thinking as well as we end up restricting our knowledge to a narrow band of information. This happens across the board.
Paradoxically enough, the more information we come across on the Internet, the more uncertain we become. We know that a lot of this information is correct. We know that a lot of the data we can pick up online are spot on.
The problem is we do not have the time to actually become experts in these because we’re too focused on becoming experts in another subject or in another area of our life. This is why there’s a big demand for online coaches. You only need to be good enough in one particular subject and people would pay you to coach them.
Of course, this depends on the niche. Some niches don’t really need much. You really don’t
need to show up on a webcam to coach people on a one-to-one basis. In many cases, people interested in certain types of information only need to go to blogs that specialize in that topic.
However, in certain types of niches like affiliate marketing, setting up successful businesses online, learning how to flip businesses, or learning how to master Photoshop or other specialized pieces of software, there is quite to demand for online coaches. It’s very easy for people to get excited about coaching. Believe me there is a tremendous amount of opportunity.
Unfortunately, if you go about trying to set up your own online coaching business the same way as everybody else, chances are you will probably fail. I know that sounds harsh. I know that’s the kind of thing you probably don’t want to hear. Believe me I’ve tried to say it as gently as possible.
However, let’s get real here. You need a wake-up call. If you set up your business the same way as other online coaches, chances are very high that you’re not going to get the results that you’re looking for, far from it.
If you want to truly succeed as an online coach, you need to build a solid brand. You have to give people a reason to seek you out. You have to establish why people should listen to you instead of the other self-proclaimed gurus and experts in your field. Why should they beat a path to your door when it seems that there are so many other experts talking about the same thing?
The most important way to do this is, of course, is to develop a brand. This is why you need to stand out as an online coach. If you can’t manage to do this, your dreams of building a successful online coaching business is pretty much dead in the water. You can pretty much kiss those plans goodbye.
Wrap your mind around the following tips so you can increase your chances of success as an online coach. Believe me there’s a tremendous amount of demand out there. People are clamoring for online coaches. However, let me tell you, people are not going to put dollars in your hands unless you can convince them that you are the right coach for them.
The first way you can stand out as an online coach is to demonstrate your expertise in clear unmistakable terms. One of the best ways as well as one of the easiest ways to do this is to simply publish a book. That’s right. You need to just publish your own book.
This doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to talk to literary agents. You don’t have to roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work to get in touch with publishers in New York. You can still publish and that’s good enough.
How come? Let’s put it this way. The vast majority of people out there are experts in at least one subject area. We can all agree on that.
The problem is the vast majority of people also haven’t gotten around to publishing their book. They’re either too busy. Maybe they’re insecure about their writing skills or they write very slowly among many other reasons. Who knows why they couldn’t quite get around to writing their book?
If you, on the other hand, put in the time, effort and focus to publish your own book, you stand out from the crowd. Even competing experts look inferior to you because you now have objective proof of your expertise. You have published something. This is especially true if you have a hardcopy version of your book.
It’s really important to make sure that your book talks about the right things. For example, if you’re trying to be an expert in cheese making, then make sure that all your books are tightly targeted to cheese making. It’s really that simple.
Also, the more books you have published in your field, the more credible you are. Again, using the cheese-making example, you can be the author of a general book on how to make cheese. That can establish some credibility but not enough.
However, if you are the author of a series of books that starts out with how to make mozzarella, proceeds to how to make cheddar then it moves on to how to make California Jack then ends with how to make Swiss cheese, people will take you more seriously. You obviously take cheese very seriously and your body of knowledge is very fine-tuned. You know your cheese backwards and forwards.
What do you think happens next? That’s right. A lot of people will get impressed by the fact that you are an expert in different subsections or subsegments of the cheese niche. People will seek you out because you have demonstrated beyond doubt that not only are you passionate about your area of expertise but you have drilled it down in terms of tried, proven and documented expertise.
You may know your stuff but until and unless other people who are recognized experts in your niche do not give you recognition, chances are you will continue to struggle. This happens all the time.
Take the case of yoga instructors. In any given American city, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of yoga instructors. Technically speaking, a lot of these people could be making a lot of money. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them struggle because they cannot charge the kind of rates they wish they could charge.
How come? A lot of them are not recognized by the community-acknowledged yoga experts in those cities and districts. If you want to be taken seriously, the top authorities in your niche should at least mention you. They should at least know that you exist, and they let their followers know this.
This is why it’s really a good idea to do outreach. It doesn’t really matter what kind of area of expertise you’re trying to specialize in. You need to do outreach. You may think that you are in a very esoteric or traditional brick-and-mortar type of niche.
Think again. Chances are a lot of the experts in your field at least have some sort of social media account. Approach them on social media platforms. Introduce yourself to them. Let them know what you are about.
If you followed my first advice above and you have invested the time, effort and energy to create a series of books, online experts in your niche are more likely to give you the time of day. Since you can prove that you are truly serious, passionate and knowledgeable in your area of expertise by listing your books, these people will have to take you seriously.
In fact, in many cases, a lot of them don’t even have even one book to their name. You start looking like a rock star. The more you get them to mention you and the more you get them to interact with you on social media, the more credible you become. The people who follow them online also start to notice you.
Think about it this way. If a person you trust and respect starts talking about another person, chances are you would sit up and pay attention. At the very least, you’d like to figure out what’s going on.
If you have demonstrated your expertise in a particular body of knowledge and other experts recognize that, don’t be surprised if a lot of their followers end up becoming your followers as well. This can translate to a lot more online coaching business opportunities, and it can translate into a lot more cash. Do not be afraid to reach out to existing online experts in your niche.
If you become a bestselling author in your niche, you are definitely going to break away from the pack. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a big enough deal that you were able to get around to writing about your niche. Remember there are lots of experts in your niche who for whatever reason could not write a book. You did. This makes you stand out.
What if your book actually became a bestseller? This is another feather in your cap because this puts even more distance between you and other potential coaches in your niche. Crank out a lot of books. Try to get as many of them to become bestsellers so you can keep increasing your level of expertise.
An alternative way to do this is to become a top-selling Udemy course teacher in your niche. The more students you got at Udemy, the higher the likelihood that you will become more visible on that platform and this in turn can lead to you attracting more students.
Udemy is a great platform to showcase your expertise. If you become a respected figure there, then this can help you become more authoritative an online coach. This establishes you as somebody who is a cut above the rest.
Keep the tips above in mind if you are serious about standing out as an online coach. Make no mistake the industry you’re in can get quite competitive. There is no shortage of online coaches out there. The good news is by following the tips above, you can go a long way in looking distinctive and important enough for you to actually charge a premium for your coaching services.
To become an online coach, you have to answer one basic question. Seriously. You need to just take care of this question and you will be well on your way to success. What question should you answer? It’s very simple: Do you know what you’re talking about?
You may be thinking that this is a pretty straightforward question. There are so many ways to answer it. You can say that you spent four years in college and three years in an accreditation program. You can say that you spent two years in a master’s program and several years doing graduate work. You can say that you have been affiliated with all sorts of organizations and you’ve worked for several companies, so you know what you’re talking about.
There’s a problem here. Anybody can make those claims. Anybody can say that they’ve worked for certain companies. People can say that they have all sorts of degrees. However, what will really drive home the point is when you stop focusing on your credentials and experiences and start demonstrating your expertise based on results.
Believe me anybody can talk big. Anybody can make a big deal of the fact that they have fancy degrees from fancy schools. However, the moment you show people that you can deliver the solutions that they’re looking for, they sit up and pay attention. You become real all of a sudden.
If you keep beating your credentials like a dead horse, you’re not really doing anything different from what other experts are doing. If you show results paired with books that you have published, you make it abundantly clear that you are on a completely different level. You can actually deliver outcomes.
People who hire you for coaching services are guaranteed that you’re not going to drop a lot of theory on them. Instead, you’re going to enable them to achieve results. This puts you on a whole other level. You are a cut above your competition. If you pair this with publications, you look like a rock star.
It’s really important to make sure though that your case studies are not flat and boring. The best way to present case studies is through video testimonials. These are flesh-and-blood people who have actually implemented the information you shared with them during your coaching sessions. These are real people with real lives and real problems.
When they talk about how you help them, you can then show charts and other proof of progress and results. If you’re able to do this right and make it look professional, you will blow away most of your competition.
Get Interviewed by the Authority Websites in your Niche
It doesn’t really matter what kind of niche you’re in. Maybe you are in a lesser known niche. Perhaps your niche is quite insular or esoteric. None of that matters because regardless of your niche, there is sure to be at least one authority website that specializes in your niche.
If you were to get interviewed by such authority sites, your stock in your industry goes up. More importantly, people online are more likely to pay attention to you. How come?
If they can see that these authority websites are the true movers and shakers in your industry and these same sites think that you are important enough to interview, people looking for coaching services are more likely to respect you. They’re more likely to be convinced that you are a big deal and that you are worth doing business with.
