How To Convert Visitors Into Clients
To run an effective and profitable online coaching business you will need the right tools.
First you need a website that will convert your visitors into leads and then clients. This is not an easy thing to do and you need to use the right approach here. A nice looking website is only part of the story – it needs to work hard for you 24/7 generating leads for your business. You are not going to make the money that you want from your online coaching business if you do not have a steady stream of clients.
Once you have setup your website and are ready to go then finding clients is your number one priority.
Why A Website Is Essential
You may read online that you do not need a website for an online coaching business. This is bad advice as far as we are concerned. When you are in the online coaching game your reputation is everything and you need to do everything that you can to increase your credibility.
It is essential that you have a professional looking website. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on a web designer. It is pretty easy to create your own website for a small investment. Never be tempted to use a free website service such as Blogger or Weebly. This tells prospective clients that you are a cheapskate.
Here are some tips on how you can setup a professional website for just a few dollars.
- Get A Good Domain Name – You need to choose a domain name that reflects your online coaching business. Some people use their name and you can check to see if this is available. I recommend that you get a .com domain name if you can. A lot of these have gone but with a bit of creative thinking you can still find a good one. A domain name will cost around $10 a year.
- Get Web Hosting – You need a webhosting account for your website files so that it will be live on internet. There are many web hosting companies out there offering all kinds of plans. When you are starting out just get a shared hosting account.
It is going to cost you around $10 a month for your web hosting. When you are looking for a host make sure that they have a ‘one click’ WordPress installation feature as you will be using WordPress as the basis of your website. - Install WordPress – WordPress is a free blogging platform that is very flexible and has a lot of great features. There are millions of website using WordPress as it is easy to create a great looking website without knowing any web code.
There are thousand of WordPress themes available that you can choose from. the theme is the design of your website and the look and feel. You can look for free themes and there are premium themes that will cost you a few dollars. Search for ‘themes for online coaching’ using your favorite search engine.
A lot of plug ins are available for WordPress that will enhance your website. Again there are a lot of free ones and some premium ones too. It is really easy to add content to a WordPress website which is one of the main reasons why it is so popular. - Capture Leads – It is essential that your website looks professional and highlights your credibility as an online coach. You need to make your website work for you all of the time so create a valuable giveaway so that some of your visitors will provide their email address to you and join your email list.
It is very unlikely that a visitor to your website is going to become a coaching client the first time that they visit. So you need a way to follow yp with some of your visitors. Getting them on your email list is a great way to do this.
Different Types Of Online Coaching Business Services
There are different coaching services that you can provide to your clients which is great because you can use all of them to scale your online coaching business. Don’t get fixated with one of these services. Open your mind to alternative coaching methods that will make you more money and free up more of your time.
- One To One Live Coaching – A lot of people think about one to one live coaching when they are starting out. This is fine and it is definitely something that you can do. With this type of online coaching you can charge the highest prices. Clients will appreciate the personal attention that you provide to them and will pay what you ask.
It might not be that easy for you to get live coaching clients at first. You will probably need to build up your reputation to do this by offering other services first. Once you are established as an expert in your niche you can charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for your one to one coaching services.
The only disadvantage of one to one live coaching is that you are selling your time. You will need to prepare properly for your coaching sessions and this will take time too. But in the end you can make a serious amount of money for small time investment. - One To Many Live Coaching – Here you will coach a small number of students in the same coaching sessions. Some niches are more suitable to this approach then others. You need to manage these sessions properly to avoid several people talking at one etc. Keep the numbers low so that they will receive the maximum attention for you and it will be easier for you to control each coaching session.
Remember that you are selling your time here again and you will need to follow up with more than one person so make sure that you charge the right price for each client in the session. - Provide High Quality Training Courses – A lot of successful online coaches start with this. They identify the problems that people are experiencing in the niche and then they create training courses that solve these problems. They use platforms like Udemy.com to start with and make a small amount of money doing this. This is OK for getting the word out about who you are and what you can do.
A number of people who offer courses on sites like Udemy have ended up with one to one coaching clients where they can charge a premium. So do not dismiss these kinds of platforms because you will not make a lot of money from them.
Once you are established you can charge hundreds or thousands for your training. You can host the videos and everything yourself and offer commissions to affiliates to promote your courses. This is a great way to generate passive income from your knowledge. - Membership Site – Passive income should definitely be in your plan for your online coaching business. There is nothing better than making money when you are sleeping or on vacation. Recurring passive income is the very best and you can achieve this through a successful membership site.
You will need to put in some effort to create your membership site as there needs to be new content added on a regular basis. A good idea for this is a member’s only webinar that you run on a weekly basis.
Convert Visitors Through Your Website
Convert visitors through your website will not happen automatically, and you need to accept that you may not get this right the first time. I recommend that you use tools such as Google Analytics to see what your website visitors do when they visit your site. Do they stick around and explore other areas of your website? Or do they get out of there as quickly as possible? This is your bounce rate and a high bounce rate is not good.
- Copywriting – Your site needs to persuade your visitors to take action. So what actions do you want them to take? Well you are selling coaching services so the ultimate aim is that you want to convert your visitors into clients. It you are charging a high price for your services then it is pretty unlikely that they are going to click a payment button and send you money right away.
So you have a couple of choices here. You can encourage them to get in touch with you by using your contact form or you can persuade them to join you r email newsletter so that you can keep in touch with them. Good copywriting will help you to achieve both of these aims.
If you are not a good copywriter then find someone that can do this for you. Copywriting is a skill developed over time and it is a good thing to have in your armory so if you have the time and patience then learn it yourself. Otherwise find a good copywriter to ensure that all of your website pages work hard for you. - Engaging Content – The more that you engage with your website visitors, the more likely that they are to become clients. Make sure that all of your blog posts provide value and make use of different media such as related images, videos and infographics.
You always want to give your visitors a reason to return to your site. There is an old adage in the sales world that says it takes around 7 contacts to turn someone into a customer. So provide the most engaging content that you can to encourage people to return.
Think about how you can provide value to your visitors with out giving too much away. Show them how to solve problems that they are experiencing but always leave room for more help that they can get through your online coaching services.
Case studies are always a good way to hook visitors. When you are able to demonstrate that you have solved problems for others and helped them to achieve the results that they were looking for you will entice your visitors to find out more about you and what you can do to help them. - About Us Page – Most people overlook the importance of the “About” page on their website. Research has shown that this is the most popular page for visitors after the home page. People will always be interested in knowing more about you and what you stand for.
So put some effort into your “About” page. Tell your visitors that they are in the right place to solve their problems in the niche. Add your photograph to the page and a video where you explain who you are and how you help people.
Wrapping Up
Many people start online coaching businesses but only a small number are really successful and profitable. It is really easy to start an online coaching business so a lot of people tent to dive right in without thinking about what they really want from the business.
You are also not going to make the money that you want from your online coaching business if you don’t have a steady steam of clients. Once you have setup your website and are ready to go then finding clients is your number one priority. After finding your clients and have a steady steam of website visitors you need to convert them to paying clients. With the tips in this article you will be in the right path to success as an online coach.
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