Embarking on the journey of becoming a coach and solopreneur is a significant step for everyone. It can be exciting, challenging, and, at times, tough, especially when it comes to marketing oneself. Putting yourself out there might feel vulnerable, right? Like exposing yourself in an open space. For many of us, becoming a public figure doesn't feel natural.
Nevertheless, it's something we can't avoid. The common advice on how to start marketing yourself as a coach is usually straightforward: just start showing up. Tell everyone you're a coach. Sounds great, right? Simple, reasonable, and easy. But does it work for you?
In my case, it didn't. I spent some time studying marketing strategies before launching my business. I had a general idea of what I needed to do to establish my online presence: create a simple website, set up social media profiles, and develop core messages to introduce myself and my offer. However, as I tried to put these elements together, I found myself overthinking just everything. I polished every sentence, scrolled the internet to observe how others did it, and engaged on social media without a clear focus. Often, I felt totally confused and incapable, overwhelmed by my public appearance.
But deep down, I knew it wasn't rocket science; many people do it, so why couldn't I? I started exploring why it was so challenging for me. I now understand that a lack of clarity, certainty, and confidence affected my communication.
Being a coach often feels like a personal mission. It manifests as transforming our struggles and passions into a coaching business. When we've overcome significant challenges independently, we feel compelled to share our experiences. We learn coaching to become skilled in teaching and assisting others, undergo certifications, equip ourselves with coaching tools and techniques, and everything becomes so exciting.
However, post certification, many find themselves in a vacuum, unsure of how to apply those shiny tools. Being deeply immersed in our work makes it challenging to describe what we actually want to do. We face the need to market ourselves without having the big picture or core concept of our coaching business in front of us. Clarity on some important aspects and setting up messaging around them is crucial. This not only provides us with stuff to talk about but also gives us the certainty to actually show up.
We need to be very specific about the problem we want to address and identify the people with that problem. We need to create a solution for that problem and connect it with people’s desires. And we need to clearly describe a pathway we take people from their current unwanted situation to a happy ending.
So what I did myself is I set aside marketing advice for a while and delved deeper. I sought clear answers to simple questions like, "How do I introduce myself?" "What is my offer?" "What am I best at, and what no-brainer results do I create for my customers?"
I realized that my business is not just an extension of me but a separate entity. Oh, it's my second baby! So, I decided how I wanted to name it, defined its mission, determined its appearance, and what it represents. I gave it a voice, crafting core messages that communicate who I am, how I help, and the results I can create for my clients. This process allowed me to start building a brand identity that resonated with my personality and values.
Brand identity doesn’t apply only to visuals such as logos or brand names. It involves much more, similar to how a living person’s identity doesn’t apply only to name and physical appearance. There are also values, principles and beliefs, guiding their activities. There’s a tone and style of communication, story of the personal and professional journey and more. These elements make your brand unique, genuine, and authentic, connecting you with your audience. We create them intuitively, but until we bring them into awareness and, better yet, create them strategically, we lack certainty, making us feel ungrounded in our communication.
I can say now it’s not an easy task, but it was so worth doing. This clarity provided me not only with inner certainty and confidence to start showing up but, most importantly, enabled me to communicate my value and connect with people in my audience at any time. Throughout the process I gained that inner certainty and the feeling of integrity with myself that finally allowed me to communicate with confidence.
I follow the same process when working with my clients, because I know from my own experience how overwhelming and time consuming this could be when trying to figure it out by yourself. It's not just about overcoming procrastination; it's about giving your business a distinct voice and a clear mission to thrive in the online world.
Messaging is a crucial part of your brand identity. When deliberately crafted and framed, it enables you to show up with confidence, integrity, and talk about your offer all day long without hesitation.
Want to dive deeper into showing up with confidence? Check out my miniseries for a sneak peek into the themes we'll explore together.
Let's discuss how you can implement those tools in building your coaching business! Book a discovery call with me. This is not a sales pitch– not a sales pitch, but an opportunity to understand your journey and explore how I can support you.
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