Holiday Guide for Online Coaching: 6 Do's and Don't's [2023]

More and more coaches are saturating the online sphere.

As recently as 2019 there were an estimated 71,000 coach practitioners in the market (and the number has likely only grown since then).

Whether you’re a business coach, a health coach, a life coach, a financial coach, or anything in between…

How do you stand out—especially during the holidays, when everyone’s amping up their efforts to cash in on holiday marketing opportunities?

In this day and age in which anyone can claim to be a coach, it’s more important than ever to have a strong marketing strategy. You need to present yourself in such a way that draws people to you so that they can take advantage of your services.

Here are some tips to help your coaching business stand out this holiday season…

Tip Number 1: Use SMS

There’s one marketing channel that for some reason, no one in the online coaching industry seems to be talking about…

SMS.

With read rates as high as 98%, SMS is a secret weapon many coaches use to drive prospective clients to their webinars, workshops, and coaching calls.

(In some cases, using SMS can help increase show-up rates by up to 2x, or even more.)

So here are some tips on how to use SMS for your own coaching business.

How Coaches Can Use SMS During the Holidays

1. SMS Reminders

“

Reminder: '3 Steps to Getting 3x More Sales This December Using AI Marketing' starts in 5 minutes. See you there! [Link]

You can use SMS to notify your registrants and prospects before your online event (i.e. your webinar or workshop or coaching call).

Sending this notification to your registrants' phones with a link to your event can drastically increase the show-up rate.

2. SMS Follow-Ups

“

Thanks for attending the “All I Want for Christmas Is Financial Freedom” webinar! As our Christmas gift to you, get a free course subscription of your choice with any purchase using the promo code WEBINARFREE. Offer expires on Dec. 26th! Click here to claim: [link]

You can send a follow-up SMS after your webinar or call is over to remind people to follow through on your call-to-action (whether that’s partnering with you, purchasing a course, downloading an ebook, or whatever other action you’d like them to do).

These prompts on their phone are almost certain to actually be seen – unlike emails or social media posts.

3. Checking In with Clients

“

Hi Marissa! It’s Alyson. Just wanted to do a quick check-in to see how things were going with your holiday product launch? Anything I can do to help?

In addition to using SMS for webinars, events, and coaching calls, you can use SMS to check in with your clients individually for whatever they might be needing during the holidays.

Providing that extra touch of customer service will help your clients succeed, and will help foster loyalty to your business.

6 Do’s and Don’t’s for Coaches During the Holidays

In addition to SMS, there are several other do’s and don’t’s coaches should follow during the holidays (and the rest of the year too!).

Do…

• Do outsource or delegate what you’re not good at—The holidays have so much potential for powerful sales for your business, but if you’re trying to do everything, you’ll probably end up spreading yourself too thin and not being as productive as you could be.
• Do get organized—There’s a lot to do during the holidays, but if there’s anything that makes you think, “There’s gotta be a better way to do this” – that means there probably is a better way to do it.
• Do provide real value in your marketing—Give your clients and prospects something that can really help them this holiday season; they’ll be more open to what you sell when they see the value you can provide.

Don’t…

• Don’t neglect copy—Copywriting AI can do some of the work for you, but it can’t replace a real, live human; take your marketing copy seriously, especially since the holidays provide a lot of opportunities for connecting with your clients through copy.
• Don’t make it all about you—Instead, in the spirit of the season put the focus of everything on your clients and what they need or want.
• Don’t be aloof—Make yourself available, even in the busyness of the holidays – respond to questions live during your webinars, respond personally to emails and text messages, follow up and ask your clients/prospects questions individually.

Final Tip: Remember That You Yourself Are Your Brand

Online coaching is unlike many other business models in that you yourself are your brand. Your personality and the way you present yourself must connect with the people you’re trying to reach.

Keep this in mind as you go about your holiday marketing and always be on the lookout for how you can better connect with your audience.

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Interested in driving up attendance to your webinars? Try a free SMS platform account today.