guest post


Are you a coach, or someone who works with coaches, and love writing?

Then have you considered writing one of the Friday guest posts for this blog?

I’m always happy to hear from new potential guest posters and I’m currently scheduling 2014 guest post dates.

Below you’ll find some details about how the Friday guest post feature works.

Have a read and if it fits with what you are looking for use the form below to drop me an email.

2014

What would you actually be committing to?

  1. Providing a suitable guest post via email by the Wednesday date and time agreed (UK time)
  2. Providing a bio to be included on your guest post, again by the date agreed.

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Some information to answer FAQ’s

Topic/content/structure

I am very flexible about the topic of the Friday guest posts – I just ask that it is something that you think will be of interest to the blogs readers – coaches (See below for more detailed information)

I’ll also mention at this stage I don’t impose any word limit, I allow my posters as many words (or few) that you feel you need to say what you want.

One of the most common edits we often end up making is to look at the length of paragraphs, particularly those at the start of the post.

This is not usually because there is anything grammatically wrong – we do it just because most people find shorter paragraphs easier to read when using a computer/mobile phone screen compared to a blank piece of paper.

Some general information about the blogs readers

Readers come from a range of different coaching areas, attracting those who specialise in business, personal and various sports.

Geographically readers are located from all over the world with the UK and North America consistently being the two most common countries bringing visitors.

Readers have a range of coaching experience from those who are just learning to those with many years of practice. Some are using coaching in their employment and many others either have their own coaching business or are aiming to become self employed – normally as a solo-entrepreneur.

Date

The Friday guest post is posted on a Friday (normally around 6.30am UK time). So I ask that guest posters send me over their copy by noon Wednesday (UK time). This allows plenty of time to make any tweaks you want and generally schedule the post to go live.

If there is a particular Friday you’d prefer a post to run because it helps to promote an event you are running, etc I’ll do my best to accommodate that request. In the event I have two people wanting the same date I think the fairest thing to do is schedule them on a first come first served basis. 🙂 If that does happen I will make sure that I’ll communicate this with you and offer alternative available Fridays.

Very occasionally something will get in the way of a guest poster providing their guest post on their committed to date. In this instant it will be anyone who has already sent me their guest post early who will get first refusal at their post running at the earlier date. It is a rare occurrence (normally due to a technological breakdown!) but if you do ideally want your post to run earlier it is worth sending it over sooner rather than later.

Bio/Links

At the end of each guest post you may have noticed an “About the author” heading, this is where we put your bio. I think this gives the reader the opportunity to find out more about you and your background. I also like it to include ways (i.e. a link(s)) so that anyone who wants to find out about your work etc can easily find out more.

Please note that any site you want to link to that I consider not suitable will not be included. In reality what this means is that:

  • The link must be relevant and useful to an interested reader
  • The link must be working and not broken.
  • It’s also a way to prevent backlinks from sites that may damage the blogs reputation in the readers eyes. (The most common reason for this would be if your site prompts a warning from virus software.)

Both these reasons will potential also cause links to be removed after a post has been published.

I have noticed an increasing trend with guest posts that it is social media links that generate the most clicks. I don’t limit the number of links in a bio (within reason!) so if you want to include social media links as well, feel free.

Photo’s/images

I will happily include photo’s/images with either your post and/or your bio. I do ask that you check out the copyright situation first.

What if you’re not a coach or someone who works directly with coaches?

This doesn’t mean that you can’t be a guest poster if you have an idea for a post that you think will be suitable. I just ask that we have a quick conversation first about what you’d like to write a post about. This is there to save us both time in the long run without the need for any major rewrites because the post is not “pitched” at the right level for my readers.

Even if you are a “professional writer” I still ask that the post is suitable for my readers – the most common reason I reject posts is because the author has shown no understanding of the blogs audience and skipped talking to me about what they’d like to write about.

Twitter

If you are on twitter and you let me know your username then I can include that in any promo about your post as well as Follow Friday (#FF) messages.

Still want to be a guest poster?

Drop me an email using the form below.

If there is a specific Friday you’d like to write for, then by all means mention that date at this stage.

[si-contact-form form=’4′]


How to Get More Clients by Speaking Their Language 2

In today’s guest post Latrisha Jacobs provides advice about:"How to Get More Clients by Speaking Their Language"  A guest post by Latrisha D. Jacobs

 

How to Get More Clients by Speaking Their Language

By Latrisha D. Jacobs

So, you want more clients? Cool, so does everyone. Everyone wants to know how to get more clients. But, there’s a reason why some people easily attract their ideal clients and never have to “need” a new client and why you may be struggling to get ideal paying clients on a consistent basis. The reason is simply because you’re trying to attract clients with what you think they need to hear from you instead of what they really want to hear.

In other words, you’re using marking jargon. This means you’re using words that people in your industry would use or words that you’ve made up in your head. But, this just doesn’t work. You have to be using words that your ideal clients know and relates to them.

You will find that when you start to use your ideal clients words you’ll get better results and you’ll almost immediately start pulling your ideal clients to you. Here are 3 really quick tips to help you get started attracting more clients by speaking their language.

Tip #1: Ask Them What They Want

The best way to get your ideal clients words and language is to ask them what they want. When you do this you’re getting it straight from them and then you don’t have to guess about what they want because they’re telling exactly what they want and need. More importantly they’re telling this in their own words and you can later use these to attract them to you. This is the best kind of target market research that you can ever do in your business.

Tip #2: Talk to Them and Not At Them

Your ideal clients want to be able to relate to everything that you have to say and they don’t want to feel like you’re talking at them. You want to make them feel like they’re having a conversation with you about their problems and how they think you can help them solve them. People buy from people that they know, like and trust. So, to build this relationship you have to be conversational and approachable for your ideal clients.

Tip #3: Use Their Words Exactly

One thing you don’t want to do is take the words and phrases that your ideal clients give you and turn it around into what you think it should be saying. The funny thing is that when it comes to this work you actually loose points for being creative. You want to use the exact words that your ideal clients give you. The reason is because they are giving you the exact words and phrases that describe their problem and that they can readily identify with these words. It hits their hot buttons because they gave you the words.

Your Assignment:

Go talk to 5-10 of your ideal clients and ask them what they want. Record it if you can and make sure to capture everything that they’re saying directly. Take note of exactly what they’re saying and where they show the most pain. These pain points will become your hot buttons that you’ll use in your marketing and sales copy.

 

About Latrisha Jacobs

Latrisha JacobsLatrisha Jacobs, The Niche Breakthrough Specialist, works with service based change agents who lead with their heart first and who want to build big businesses and make an even bigger difference but they struggle with getting people to get what they do and want to invest in working with them and who would like to get more clarity, clients, and cash in 60 days or less.

She uses her Discover Your Thing System and book From Start Up to Success to lead seminars, groups, workshops, and retreats to teach new entrepreneurs how to use their business to make a difference.

 

Connect with Latrisha on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/latrishajacobsfans) or Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/latrishajacobs).

 

Article Source: How to Get More Clients by Speaking Their Language


What does it take to be a guest poster?

What does it take to be a guest poster?

3 Years ago this week I ran the first in the weekly Friday guest post feature. Since then 77 different posters, covering many different coaching areas, have generously taken their time to share their thoughts, knowledge and expertise.

So I thought to mark the occasion I would share some of what I look for in a guest post. I can’t talk for other blog owners so if you also publish guest posts then I’d love to hear what you ask for in the comment section below.

The main thing I look for in a guest post is that it MUST be something that will be of interest to coaches. It’s important that a post is written with this blogs audience in mind and “pitched” accordingly – Even if I receive a superb post for a different audience, if it’s not suitable for this blogs readers I won’t publish it!

This does mean that the majority of our previous guest posters are either coaches themselves or work regularly with coaches as their clients.

However, there have also been experts in other areas that have written superb posts because they considered how their knowledge and experience could be worded suitably to attract a coach’s interest and often provide useful information.

All have taken a simple brief – to provide a post that they think will be of interest to coaches and shared in their own unique voices and styles. Some have chosen to keep their post strictly knowledge based, others disclose their own personal story and experience and some write an opinion piece.

Sometimes I get asked my opinion about two different ideas for a guest post. Providing that those are both suitable my most common response is to pick the one that the guest poster is most compelled to write and they think will be the most enjoyable for them to craft. In my experience that generally produces a much more engaging post.

When I first had the idea to invite guest posters to share I loved the idea of a mix of different voices, styles and opinions – and we’ve had some great guest posters so far that have offered just that across such a broad range.

The way that I organize the guest post feature is that I assign Friday publishing dates on a first requested basis – which can mean that some guest posts have been committed to months in advance of them being published.

I found early in the process that things ran a lot smoother if I “touched base” a couple of weeks in advance of the publishing date just to give the opportunity to ask any questions and occasionally act as a catalyst for inspiration 🙂

Personally, I understand that unexpected events can occur and have back-up plans in place for situations when a guest poster can’t keep their original commitment to meet a guest post deadline.

Some, like a major power cut happen at short notice; others have a much longer lead in. The earlier I know about any potential issue the easier it is to find a solution.

I plan to continue guest posts each Friday and I am always happy to hear from new individuals who are considering being involved by writing a guest post. There are still Friday publishing dates for this year.

If you want to be one of Coaching Confidence, the coaching blog, guest posters drop me an email via this page and we can talk further about setting that up.

About the Author

Jen WallerJen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

She has created a free 7 day e-course about how to create your own unique coaching welcome pack that works for you and your clients. Get your copy here.


Leadership: Time to Revise the Sink or Swim Approach

In today’s guest post Fiona Rutherford shares on the topic of leadership as she proposes:

"Leadership: Time to Revise the Sink or Swim Approach" A guest post by Fiona Rutherford

Leadership: Time to Revise the Sink or Swim Approach

By Fiona Rutherford

‘The survival of the fittest’ is a phrase that gets thrown around quite a bit in conversations about great leadership, but do we understand its true meaning?

This cold, unsympathetic Darwinian concept is commonly applied to the workplace environment. For example, the ‘sink or swim’ approach is a method of leadership development used by several organisations. It involves throwing employees into the deep end as a way of differentiating between ‘The Sinkers’ (weaker employees who are unable to adapt to change) from ‘The Swimmers’ (stronger employees who are able to adapt and therefore are selected to be leaders).

There are also circumstances when the terms ‘the survival of the fittest’ and ‘every man for himself’ are used synonymously. Especially in our increasingly competitive society, both terms can be used as an excuse for selfish and brutal conduct within the workplace, between businesses and even in everyday life situations.

Although Charles Darwin is often credited with coining the phrase ‘the survival of the fittest’, it was actually coined by a Philosopher named Herbert Spencer. Its initial meaning had nothing to do with ‘sink or swim’ approaches and ‘every man for himself’ tactics. Quite the opposite, ‘survival of the fittest’ has everything to do with altruism, teamwork, cooperation, support and togetherness – the very last words typically associated with this phrase!

The word ‘fittest’ has created much confusion, since the modern use of the word ‘fit’ conjures up an image of a strong, agile and healthy individual. However, in evolutionary terms, it is more about being ‘fit’ for purpose.

Using the true meaning of ‘the survival of the fittest’ concept, below I’ve suggested 3 tips that could help expand your understanding of what makes a great leader.

1. Cooperation is everything!

Great leaders understand that everything in life is about cooperation. In basic biology, for example, we are taught that our organs must cooperate with one another and work together in order to function properly and survive. Darwin proposed that people tend to perform better as a group and consequently teamwork has spread throughout the population. With this idea in mind, in order to maximise group performance and success, a great leader will ensure that each team member has their own unique role, which is recognised, appreciated and valued.

2. Bonding with team members!

Having a close-knit team is crucial. A great leader will appreciate that within all groups, there will be conflicting ideas and opinions, therefore in order to achieve a common goal there needs to be a strong bond between all team members. For great leaders, bonding is also about connecting on a personal level, ensuring team members feel comfortable enough to express their thoughts and feelings.

Abraham Lincoln, thought to be one of the greatest leaders of all time, is a perfect example of this. He was known for surrounding himself with team members who would openly question his authority and who were unafraid of arguing with him. He would also make himself very available to his team members by holding regular office hours.

3. Altruism is fundamental!

Great leaders can be kind, caring and considerate, without being a pushover. It’s important to have a genuine care for each member of your team. Instead of leaving ‘The Sinkers’ to sink, it’s essential to encourage and assist them with developing any strengths and improving their weaknesses, as long as they’re willing to learn. Altruistic leaders can inspire team members to act in the same way, thereby creating an honest and pleasant working environment.

About Fiona Rutherford

Fiona holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology with Neuroscience and is embarking on a Masters Degree in Evolutionary Psychology. She is also working part time for Hubworking, contributing to their social media activity. (Find Hubworking on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter or connect with Fiona and the rest of the Hubworking team on Facebook)

Sources:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13671-evolution-myths-survival-of-the-fittest-justifies-everyone-for-themselves.html#.UgjRJ5Wghby

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10750-why-altruism-paid-off-for-our-ancestors.html#.UgjQoZWghbx


Call Yourself A Coach? 3

“How do you get clients?” is a question I see and hear asked a lot. In today’s guest post Judy Rees shares her experience and knowledge in:

"Call Yourself A Coach?" A guest post by Judy Rees

Call Yourself A Coach?

By Judy Rees

Do you call yourself a coach? A life coach, an executive coach, a wellbeing coach? Are you a mentor, advisor or counsellor? Or does your business card claim that you’re a “change agent” or even a “personal consultant”?

And does it matter? I think it probably matters quite a lot.

At one level, all the above titles could refer to the same role – someone who helps other people make lasting changes in their life or work.

But some of them sound a whole lot more appealing than others, don’t they? Which would you choose when you wanted help to make a lasting change? And more to the point, which would your potential clients choose?

It’s important to remember that people tend to define words like Humpty Dumpty in Alice – they use words to mean just what they choose them to mean, not necessarily what you expect them to mean.

I had a lovely example of this when I went to Jordan as a volunteer ‘mentor’ for young entrepreneurs, with a UK-based organisation called Mowgli.

I was worried, because I expected that mentoring must mean giving advice – and I wasn’t at all sure my experiences would be useful or relevant in this new cultural context.

Mentors advise. Coaches ask questions. Instructors, trainers and teachers provide instruction. Those were my definitions.

But that’s not what Mowgli meant by mentoring.

Their view was that mentors ask questions, perhaps tell stories, but aren’t expected to give advice. It’s coaches that teach people to do things – to fly planes, for example. For them, the exact work I think of as ‘coaching’ was called ‘mentoring’.

If your potential clients think a ‘coach’ is someone who offers training in a subject, it’s no wonder that people searching for ‘coaching’ look for a subject-area expert, rather than a process-driven generalist whose business card just says ‘coach’.

What words do your potential clients use to describe what you do? And how do these sit with your marketing?

About Judy Rees

My business card says “Judy Rees: X-Ray Listener”. At least it gets people to ask, “What’s that then?” 🙂 I tell them it means I help people to get un-stuck and make big changes in their lives by working with the metaphors which underpin their thinking and which drive their behaviour. For example, if they’re thinking of making “a big career jump” I help them decide if that’s the right jump, at the right time, for them, and help them build the fitness they need to make it. Hear more – and book a free sample session – at www.xraylistening.com


Why do we need friends?

In today’s guest post Jan Read shares some thoughts around something dear to her heart.

"Why do we need friends?" A guest post by Jan Read

Why do we need friends?

By Jan Read

How many of you are aware that Sunday 4th August is National Friendship Day?

If our friends & friendships are important to us – why don’t we recognise this special day in the UK?

National Friendship Day is widely celebrated in other parts of the World – Singapore, Malaysia, South America & India – where friendship bracelets originated and are exchanged as a sign of friendship.

So I’m going to ask two questions to help you think about friendship this special weekend

  1. What is friendship and why do we need friends?
  2. How can friendship be incorporated into your coaching?

Why do we need friends? A guest post  By Jan Read, laughter photo

What is friendship?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a friend as ‘A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations’

Friendship is something we probably all take for granted and probably don’t realise how important it is?

The health benefits are well researched and the Mayo clinic lists these as:

  • Increasing your sense of belonging and purpose
  • Boosting your happiness
  • Reducing stress
  • Improving your self-worth
  • Helping you cope with traumas, such as divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one
  • Encouraging you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as excessive drink or lack of exercise

How many of these are issues that you are dealing with in your coaching work on a regular basis – could friendship be a solution?

Why do we need friends? A guest post  By Jan Read, linked hands photo

At various stages in our lives we need different kinds of friends for different reasons and we all have a variety of friends that can loosely be classified into three groups:

Best friends – who you would tell everything to

Social friends – who you would go somewhere or do something with

Acquaintances – Facebook friends/work friends

Is it better to have two or three close friends or a list of three hundred on a social networking site? Humans are generally regarded as ‘social’ animals and look for social interactions as part of their lifestyle. Some people are happy to share their time with just one or two people while others like the buzz of a group of friends around them.

We are all different and what matters is personal to each individual.

As a child there is an innocence & naivety to making friends – ‘Hello, what’s your name?’ – is usually enough in a playground to have a friend for an hour, a day or sometimes even a lifetime.

As we get older it becomes more difficult to make friends, our time is taken up with relationships, families and work and the definition of friendship takes on a new meaning.

With mobile phones, laptops and an ever increasing use of the Internet, we are also seeing new types of friendships evolving. With the advent of Facebook ‘friends’ and the popping up of past colleagues through Friends Re-united, LinkedIn etc, the scope of our friendships is widening and these social interactions shouldn’t be dismissed as not being ‘friendships’ too.

For many people a quick interaction through Facebook with someone they might only see once a year is a great way to keep in touch and be part of that person’s life.

Why do we need friends? A guest post  By Jan Read, word friends made from blocks photo

How can friendship be incorporated into your coaching?

Many clients will seek support from a coach when they are questioning how they can make changes to improve their life?

Finding new friends or developing existing friendships can be a solution to a variety of issues outlined below:

  • Life changing circumstances which may involve the loss of friends – leaving work, moving house to a different area, empty nesting, bereavement or divorce.
  • Loneliness is one of the major social problems facing the UK today. According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2012 it was estimated that 29% of all households consist of just one person. You can have a wide range of social friends but still be lonely if you live on your own.
  • A lack of self-confidence to join a club or go somewhere on your own when you’re used to having someone else go along with you.
  • ‘Toxic friends’ who may be causing significant problems but the thought of how to replace that friend may be just as overwhelming.
  • Unfulfilled dreams or ambitions – having a ‘Bucket List’ which becomes unachievable through the lack of having someone to go along with or share the experience.

Think more about how friendship could be brought into your coaching – it’s something we take for granted and yet to many people it could be the key to unlock the door into their future.

On National Friendship Day on Sunday please think of your friends and tell them how special they are to you. Arrange a get-together with a group of them or meet up with your special ‘bestie’ and give them a friendship token – let’s start to make National Friendship Day special.

About Jan Read

close up resizedMy own experience of wanting to find new friends came about following treatment for breast cancer 18 months ago. My individual life changing moment was when I realised that I was fed up of not being able to do the things I wanted – when I wanted because often I had no-one to go with.

I have a great group of friends and socialise often but not everyone likes my ‘weird’ taste in music or wants to climb a mountain, most have family commitments and aren’t always free when I am.

My solution was to set up a website which offers people the opportunity to find the friends they want. It doesn’t matter whether it’s to share an interest, a one-off trip or a regular outing somewhere – it’s important to find be able to find the friends be with.

www.lotsincommon.com is free to join and gives people the opportunity to link up with like minded people

Log on – Link up – Live life

Twitter: @LotsInCommon

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LotsInCommon

 


Recapping January – March 2012 guest posts 1

Over the next few days I’m going to briefly recap the last years worth of guest posts that appear here each Friday.

Today we start by looking at the first three months of this year.

Image showing first January on a diary with pen on isolated color background with fine clipping path.

January

In the first post of 2012 Amber Fogarty shared how she is in the “habit change business” discussing something she talks about a lot with clients in “Developing Better Habits”.

Coach and trainer Lorraine Hurst then followed with a post that could be of use to both yourself and your clients. “Blue Monday – what colour will yours be?” was published just prior to the third Monday of the year – read the post to see the significance of that date!

Coach and author of “Secrets of Successful Coaches”, Karen Williams, shared her expertise and knowledge in the third guest post of the year: “How does your mindset affect your business?” Read how Karen believes mindset, marketing and business knowledge will affect a successful coaching business.

The final post in January saw Karen Wise sharing a personal experience in the post “Relationship drama.” How familiar is this incident in either your own life or with what your clients tell you?

Image showing 14th February a Valentine day with heart symbol & message.

February

As we started the second month of the year, coach Marie Yates turned her attention to the action taken to the goals and plans made at the start of the New Year. This post contains a series of questions to assist you to make progress. Read “The warm up is complete… It is time for the main event.” 11 months since this was first published – what would your answers to these questions be today?

Liz Scott loves bringing coaches together to share experiences and knowledge. Her post focused upon “Parallel conversations and coaching”, using her personal experience as a lesson to be used in coaching sessions.

Lenny Deverill-West shared how he has been practically incorporating other teachings into his own work with clients. Read more about what he is doing in “The Coaching Aha!”

Social Media coach Nicky Kriel discussed errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach. Are you making any of the blunders featured in “5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking”?

March

March

Coach Richard Nugent invited you to “Explore Some Half Truths Of Coaching” with the aim of getting you to think about your own professional beliefs that could help you be more successful.

A coaching website is on many new coaches to do list, in the second guest post in March Mei Qi Tan shared her expertise and knowledge about what to focus upon. Read her post “Websites: It’s not just about content – it’s about users.”

Coach Angus MacLennan, who delivers practical Business Support to Business Owners, turned his attention to the subject that can have many new coaching business owners scratching their heads in the post “Niching Has Failed”

How to market your coaching is an often requested topic, in our next guest post coach Cindy Hillsey shared her expertise and knowledge in “Marketing and your Ideal Client”

In the final guest post in March Coach Toni Knights discussed what she considers to decide if it is necessary to refer clients for additional help, in her post “Identifying When Clients Need Counselling”

Visit tomorrow

Come back tomorrow for a post recapping April – June, or if you can’t wait, clicking here will bring a list of every post that has been published on this site labelled as a guest post.

January & Febuary image © Indianeye | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
Visit tomorrow image © Renata2k | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos


I’ve been guest posting elsewhere!

I was recently invited to write a guest post sharing my thoughts and personal experiences about leadership and being a leader. Within that post I shared a quote that is one of the quotes pinned above my desk:

“Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it for themselves.”

(Stephen R Covey, The 8th habit)

You can read the full text of my post to see how that fits with how I work and two questions I invite you to answer about your own work by visiting the SOS Leadership blog.

About the Author

Jen WallerJen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

She has created a free 7 day e-course about how to create your own unique coaching welcome pack that works for you and your clients. Get your copy here.