marketing

Marketing and your Ideal Client 1

 in Guest Post  tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / Cindy Hillsey / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / ideal client / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / market niche / marketing / niche market / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / target market / Virtual Partnering

How to market your coaching is a often requested topic, in today’s guest post coach Cindy Hillsey shares her expertise and knowledge in:

Marketing and your Ideal Client

By Cindy Hillsey

Ideal Client. Target Market. Niche Market. They all mean the same thing, right? Wrong!

And this, I believe, is where the confusion sets in for many business owners. How many times have you read an article, attended a seminar, and/or just had a conversation with someone where all three of these terms are used interchangeably? I’ll bet by now you don’t even hear those words anymore. And if you do, do you really understand what they mean and how they apply to your business? Unless you are clear about what these terms mean for your business, you will more than likely struggle with marketing your business.

I have a number of clients who contact me with what they call ‘marketing problems’. They are having a difficult time filling their practice. During our conversations, I find they don’t really have a marketing problem so much as they have an Ideal Client problem. They are trying to be everything to everyone. When I ask them who their Ideal Client is I am usually given a broad, vague answer such as: women, or women in transition, or Coaches, etc.. While that sounds great, it doesn’t tell me who your Ideal Client is and why she’s ideal.

If you don’t know who you are doing what to, how can you do it? And therein lies the real problem: It’s not about marketing, but about knowing who you are marketing to and why at a deep core level.

Let’s talk a bit more about Target Market, Niche Market, and Ideal Client. These terms do not mean the same thing. Please don’t confuse them as they serve different functions.

Target Market – This is a grouping based on one or more common characteristics. For example, age, sex, location, occupation, product purchases, etc.

Niche – This is primarily an occupational grouping. For example, Sports Channels, Financial Planners, Coaches, CPAs, VAs, etc.

Ideal Client – This is the person (and yes I am going to refer to this as one person even though you will have several of the one person) who you connect with at your core. This is the person you know extremely well, so well, in fact, that you can list their problems as though they were your own problems. You understand their values, desires, beliefs, as well as you understand your own. It is because of this deep understanding that you are able to offer effective solutions and/or guidance to your Ideal Client.

Here’s a visual of the above:

Target market, Niche market and Ideal client by Cindy Hillsey

It is this concept around the Ideal Client that will allow you to address the problems of your Ideal Client, offer solutions to your Ideal Client, and create the content on your website that speaks to your Ideal Client. In turn, this will allow you to market more effectively and easily. Once you know who are doing what to the rest of your marketing becomes easier.

Let’s take a moment and review some essential elements of the Ideal Client:

  • It’s counter-intuitive in the sense that it is most effective when your Ideal Client is highly specific and narrow.
  • When you try to be everything to everybody, you end being nothing to anybody.
  • There is a common center of interest and/or lifestyle of your Ideal Client.
  • Your Ideal Client exists in a sufficient quantity.
  • Your Ideal Client has the ability to pay you.
  • (Hint) Your Ideal Client is really you on some level!

What does having an Ideal Client do for you and your business?

  • An Ideal Client provides you with a clear vision and an obvious focus.
  • It enhances your credibility and your reputation.
  • It increases the demand for your services because of the specialized market.
  • It greatly simplifies marketing and increases your return on investment (ROI).
  • It provides a firm base from which you can expand your business.

So, how do you go about determining who your Ideal Client is? One way I would suggest is for you to write a story about your Ideal Client. Give him/her a name, an education, a family life (single or not), a social life, a business, and write about the problems they have in their business that you can help them solve. Get very detailed. Let me repeat that…get very detailed. I want you to know this person like you know your family!

These questions should help you begin to craft your Ideal Client:

1. What are the basic characteristics of your Ideal Client? (demographics, age, gender, salary, education, location, etc.)

2. Who are your clients? Are they business executives, artists, small business owners, micro business owners?

3. What kind of values does your ideal client have? Do these values match yours?

4. What exactly do your Ideal Clients do? How do they need your help? (Be very specific in your answers to these two questions.)

5. How do your Ideal Clients treat you? Do they pay on time? Do they understand you are a business owner and treat you as such?

Whether you know exactly who your Ideal Client is or not, please take the time to answer the above questions so that the next time you are asked, “Who is your Ideal Client? You can answer them without hesitation!

About the Author/Further Resources

Cindy Hillsey, CPC, ACC, is a Creative Small Business Coach and the owner of Virtual Partnering, based in Grand Rapids, MI. Cindy has an extensive background in small business, both online and offline. By combining her experience, business skills, and her coaching skills, she is able to offer her clients a unique perspective to help them achieve their business goals. She coaches women entrepreneurs who wish to express their creativity through their business by helping them put a solid business foundation in place step-by-step so that they can grow their business while fostering their creativity.

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Davenport University. She is a certified coach through the International Coach Academy. Along with being a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), she holds the Associate Certified Coach designation through the ICF. In addition, Cindy is currently working on obtaining her Certified Coach designation through the Creativity Coaching Association.

Cindy’s websites:

www.virtualpartnering.com

www.chatsondemand.com

Connect with me:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cindyhillsey

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cindyhillsey

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyhillsey

Niching Has Failed

 in Guest Post  tagged abilities / Angus MacLennan / business coach / business coaching / buying decisions / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / need / niche / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / skills assesment

Coach Angus MacLennan shares his thoughts and expertise in this week’s guest post as he explains his view that:

Niching Has Failed

by Angus MacLennan

After years of reading about the need to have a micro niche its time we admit that niching has failed! OK that is not the case in every instance but the times are changing and we need to adapt to the demands of a time poor but knowledge rich client base who are making slower buying decisions. Having a niche is no longer enough as clients are starting to demand a bespoke service. As service providers we need to give them what they want, when they want it and in the way they expect to receive it.

Clients are buying into the marketing hype that tells them they are all unique. Mix this with the ease with which they can research you, your products, your competitors and the detractors of your particular service and we have a situation where having a micro niche can count against you. Sure we are all a little different but lets face it – almost every conceivable problem has been faced by someone before.

Its easier to market to a micro niche but clients are demanding more and more now. They want a bespoke service – even if their problem is not actually unique. As a coach I have seen most problems, and there variants, and I can tell you that there are very few occasions now where I see something new. Its usually the same problem as the last client but with a particular twist.

While more and more clients feel that they have a unique problem, when you tell them its common they are happy to know they are not alone. However they still expect a bespoke solution. Its an interesting dilemma for service providers. Standard products are great and will always sell to some clients but more and more clients are expecting a service sculpted to their situation. They don’t want to hear about your niche. They want to know that you can fix their problem.

This shift is something my clients are seeing with their own clients. Their clients have taken on board the marketing that says we are all different. Interestingly, that marketing is designed to sell the same product to millions of “unique” people via mass media and mass production. People accept their “unique” shirt from Topshop is not actually unique but when they deal with smaller businesses they expect a bespoke service and my clients are finding that a narrowly defined niche can count against them.

Its time we looked to our transferable skills. What is it that we can do as professionals that can be applied to any situation. Those are the skills we need to market and those are the skills we need to highlight when selling our service. Have a niche to help your marketing but make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to help all those other people who could benefit from your skills but who don’t know what you can do because all they see is your niche.

Go back to basics and do a skills assessment to highlight your transferable skills and abilities. If you are crystal clear on your own broad range of skills you will start to notice more opportunities that you may have missed before. There are so many people out there who need your skills. Once I realised I needed to look up from niche marketing I saw so many more opportunities and my business has tripled in turnover in the last 8 months. Same clients but they are coming from so many new and different directions.

See a need, fill a need.

Have a great day.

Angus

About the Author/Further Resources

My name is Angus MacLennan and I am a Coach delivering practical Business Support to Business Owners and Transitions Support to people going through Change.

I enjoy writing articles about Business and Personal Growth & Development and I am lucky enough to be published in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia and to have my work incorporated into multiple training and support programmes. When I am not out enjoying the great outdoors with my kids or helping local charities I like to spend my time Coaching and delivering Workshops.

My mission is to deliver a quality service to help every client develop their business or career and enable them to have the work/life balance they want.

Over the past 7 years I have had hundreds of hours experience coaching across three continents.

I am a Master Practitioner of NLP, a Master Results Coach and have a Degree in Industrial/Organisational Psychology and a Post Grad Dip in Personnel Management.

5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking 4

 in Guest Post  tagged business cards / business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching business / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / communications coach / executive coach / Guildford's social media queen / language / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / networking / Nicky Kriel / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development

Today, coach Nicky Kriel discusses errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach.

5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking

By Nicky Kriel

You may not know this, but Life Coaches have a bad reputation on the networking circuit. Anyone can call themselves a life coach and start a business without any formal training or certifications. So many people feel that because they have undergone a crisis, it qualifies them to be a life coach. The reality is there are more people wanting to be a life coaches than there are people looking for life coaches.

(Using the Google Keyword tool to find out what people are searching for on the internet, shows that each month 368,000 people search for the phrase “How to be a life coach” vs. 2,900 searches for “How to find a life coach”.)

Now let’s assume that you are still reading this and you are serious about earning a living from helping others develop themselves. What can you do to come across more professionally at networking meetings? Well, here are some of the mistakes that give life coaches a bad name.

1. Not realising that you are running a business

You may feel that you have found your purpose in life through what you do, but if you don’t make any money from doing it, it is just a hobby. It is not enough to be a good coach. You also need to be good at marketing and selling your business otherwise you won’t have any clients. If you don’t have the business skill yet, then it is time to make the effort to learn. There are many people at networking meetings who can give you advice.

2. Bad Business Cards

You don’t have to spend a fortune on business cards, but handing out a cheap looking business card won’t do your business any good. Some of the worst business cards have been given to me by life coaches. Some indications that you don’t take your business seriously are:

  • Printed on a flimsy card,
  • obviously home-made,
  • blatant typos,
  • email addresses or numbers crossed out and corrected,
  • “free” business cards from companies such as Vistaprint
  • Email address is obviously a shared family addresses or a Hotmail or yahoo address

 

3. Saying you can help everyone

If someone doesn’t know what type of customers you are looking for, how can they help you? If you can’t be specific about what type of client you want to work with, how do you expect other people to know whether you are a good match for a friend or acquaintance that needs some help? You cannot help everyone with everything. If you are too general, you will end up with no business.

4. Assuming that everyone knows what life coaches do

Most coaches are good at talking in coach talk with other coaches, but most people in a networking meeting don’t know what life coaching is about. Be aware of any jargon you might be using and think about what other people might be interested in. Stop talking about you and start thinking about what your audience might need.

5. Coming across as though you need a life coach yourself

If you want people to trust their inner most feelings with you, don’t air your dirty laundry or share your latest crisis with people you have only just met. People need to be confident that their secrets are safe with you.

If you are passionate about what you do, you need to find a way to make a living from doing it. Be professional and learn the skills you need to grow your business.

About the Author/Further Resources

Nicky Kriel, Guildford’s Social Media Queen, is passionate about empowering small business owners to use Social Media to grow their business. Her background is in Marketing and Sales and she is a Master NLP Practitioner.

As a Communication Coach, she helps people remember the “Social” aspect of Social Networking: It is not all about tools and technology, but about people and human relations.

Aside from her private coaching clients, she runs Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook workshops for business owners and bespoke courses for SMEs. Nicky really enjoys helping business owners to level the playing field by harnessing the power of social media.

You are welcome to follow Nicky on Twitter or like her “social media for newbies” Facebook page

The 12 days of coaching resources – recap

 in Resource / site news  tagged adopt a word / business coach / business coaching / business plan / career coaching / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching content / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching session / coaching skills / coaching techniques / Effortless Success / Elizabeth Purvis / executive coach / Jim Horan / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / Maestro conference / marketing / Michael Bungay Stanier / Michael Neill / new managers / non-coach / performance coaching / personal development / resource / Sir John Whitmore / Stephen R Covey / Steve Chandler / timetrade

The festive season is often a busy time for many people so in case you missed any of the 12 posts here is a quick recap with links for each day.

A mix of different topics providing support and solutions for a range of problems and questions were deliberately selected. You’ll notice that there is a mix of books, audio and other products spaced throughout the 12 days. Some will be more appealing if you are new to coaching, whilst others will be more attractive if you have more experience.

I invite you to explore the following and decide which one is most useful for you.

Day 1 – “The Life Coaching Connection: How Coaching Changes Lives” by Steve Chandler

Day 2 – Get Clients in 30 Days by Elizabeth Purvis

Day 3 – Playing Cards For Happy Managers & Happier Employees

Day 4 – The One Page Business Plan: The fastest, easiest way to write a business plan by Jim Horan

Day 5 – “Effortless Success” by Michael Neill

Day 6 – “The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness” by Stephen R. Covey

Day 7 – Time Trade

Day 8 – “Coaching for performance” by Sir John Whitmore

Day 9 – Maestro Conference

Day 10 – “Get Unstuck & Get Going … on the stuff that matters” by Michael Bungay Stanier

Day 11 – From Non-Coach to Coach Discovery Session

Day 12 – Adopt A Word

There are many other coaching resources out there, like on this list, some are complimentary and others require an exchange of money. Coaches, if you were to add one extra coaching resource to this list what would you add and why?

Feel free to share you thoughts in the comments box.

12 Days of Coaching Resources – Day 2 1

 in Products and Kits / Resource  tagged business coach / business coaching / career coaching / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching content / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching session / coaching skills / coaching techniques / copy / Elizabeth Purvis / executive coach / Free resource / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / performance coaching / personal development / resource / scripts / The Marketing Goddess

One of the consistent requests from coaches is revolves around wanting to read more about marketing and how to get coaching clients. Today’s coaching resource addresses this request and is from Elizabeth Purvis, The Marketing Goddess who specilises in working with spirit rich coaches, consultants and healers.

It is a homestudy kit that can be applied regardless if you are just starting out or have more experience.

So you can get a taste of Elizabeth’s style let her explain in her own words a bit more about this resource.

Get Clients in 30 Days

Are you marketing like crazy and still aren’t getting the clients you need? If you’re doing, doing, doing and still not seeing results, I can practically guarantee you’re missing at least one of the steps in the shortest and most direct path possible to enrolling new clients.

In this homestudy course, I’ll will walk you through the 4 essential steps, plus you’ll get:

bullet point  Proven systems to quickly enroll new clients and fill your programs (these allowed me to create a multi-six-figure business while my tribe was still well under 1000 people)

bullet point  Simple ways to become irresistible to your peeps and design your offerings so that they instantly “get” what you do (without having to push, cajole or explain)

bullet point  Step-by-step instructions (plus tested and proven done-for-you marketing) to get your ideal clients raising their hand to have a conversation about working with you

bullet point  Detailed information on how to have rich and juicy invitation conversations that give value and serve your potential clients’ highest good – while leading them to take the next step

Plus time and money saving templates, scripts, and copy to support you in taking inspired, aligned action (instead of energy-draining “throw it up on the wall and see what sticks”)

Ready to stop “churning” and start serving? Get your copy today here: http://www.getclientsin30days.com

Missed yesterday’s coaching resource? Day 1 can be found here

Three ways personal development may be making you bad at marketing 1

 in Guest Post  tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / clean language / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / Judy Rees / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / limitless / marketing / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / positive / tranceforming communications / why / x-ray listening

In this week’s guest post Judy Rees shares her expertise and thoughts about what may be a reason you are struggling for clients.

Three ways personal development may be making you bad at marketing

By Judy Rees

I’m fed up with meeting “struggling coaches”! Every workshop, networking event or conference I go to (and I go to a lot), I seem to bump into dozens of coaches and therapists who are struggling to find paying clients.

I’d understand it if these guys weren’t so skilled. But the “strugglers” included people with fantastic skills as catalysts of transformation; people I’d even trust to coach me! And while they were unhappy and stuck, the people they might have helped were staying unhappy and stuck, too.

I got so fed up that I decided to do something about it, using Clean Language coaching blended with a little internet-marketing fairy dust.

I offered dozens of free “sweet spot sessions” to struggling coaches, helping them to find places where their unique skills, knowledge, experience and passion coincided with the needs of a hungry crowd, waving wads of fivers and keen to work with them.

We proved the crowds were there – one woman found that more than 13m people per month were searching for exactly the kind of service she could provide. And nobody else was serving those people. They were searching for help, and getting none.

And in the process, I realised that as coaches, we get in our own way. There are some lessons we’ve picked up in our personal development that are tripping almost everybody up.

Here are three ways personal development may be making you bad at marketing:

3. Deleting the word ‘why’. Particularly on NLP courses, we’re discouraged from asking ‘why?’ There are perfectly valid reasons for this – but over time, not asking why can become a habit. And that means you’ve accidentally deleted one of the most compelling ways of convincing someone to work with you.

Make sure you know why you offer great value; why people chose to work with you and not somebody else, why you structure your programmes as you do. And remember, once you get a potential client talking about their challenges, it’s legitimate to ask why their challenge is a problem for them. Then you can step in as the solution!

2. Presenting yourself as limitless. Most coaching skills are very generic: you probably can help pretty much anyone achieve pretty much anything. But people’s problems are very special – and when you have a special problem, you seek out a specialist solution. If you had a serious illness, who would you prefer to ask for help?

“I can do anything for anybody” marketing also makes people suspicious of your claims, and makes it difficult to present supporting evidence.

I’m violently opposed to the idea of “finding your niche” as a coach. I haven’t come all this way just to be pigeonholed! However, I do favour starting the journey with a single step, and focussing on one specific kind of problem (perhaps one where you have some success stories to tell) is a great way to begin.

1. Staying positive. I love ‘solution focussed’ coaching. I love being able to work with clients to figure out what’s gone right; what’s working; and what they would like to have happen.

And that can be a problem, particularly when I’m talking to a potential client. Because its people who have problems who buy solutions. It’s people who are experiencing pain who spend money to change things.

If you’re busy spreading sweetness and light, while everyone around seems ‘negative’ and obsessed with problems, you’re failing to pace your potential clients’ experience. You may be making yourself forget your troubles. But by sabotaging your own marketing efforts, you’ll also be prolonging them.

About the Author/Further Resources

Judy Rees is an author, mentor and information marketer, and an expert in Clean Language and metaphor. Her blog is at www.xraylistening.com

If you’d like to find out more about the sweet spot sessions and perhaps book a session of your own, go to www.tranceformingcommunications.com

How To Get High-End Clients When You DON’T Have A Big List (Yet!)

 in Guest Post  tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / Elizabeth Purvis / entrepreneurs / executive coach / high end clients / ideal clients / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / list / marketing / mentoring / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / Platinum clients / Platinum programs / The Marketing Goddess

As a bonus today – we have an extra guest post where “The Marketing Goddess”, Elizabeth Purvis shares her expertise and advice about finding high-end clients, even if you haven’t got a big list.

How To Get High-End Clients When You DON’T Have A Big List (Yet!)

By Elizabeth Purvis

One of the biggest questions I hear about Platinum is this: “Can I offer Platinum Programs even if I don’t have a list?”

The answer is… yes! 😀

Whether you’re new in business, or just never got around to building a list in any systematic fashion (and if that’s you, no worries, you’re definitely NOT alone), you can still offer Platinum programs.

Indeed, Platinum Programs are perhaps THE best way to create significant income WITHOUT a big list, or even a list at all.

Why? Because all you need to get new Platinum clients is:

a. A well-designed, irresistible Platinum-style program

b. The willingness to be in conversation with a potential client

That’s it!

No matter what business you’re in or where you are in your business right now, you have a tremendous opportunity to create a high-end offer your ideal clients will love.

And while you may be skeptical, it’s well-known in marketing circles that a certain percentage of the clients in every business – sometimes up to 20% – want a high-end or premium level of service.

(Even pizza parlors and dry cleaners have pulled this off. So can YOU.)

So what do you do when you don’t have a list?

Well, my clients will tell you that I’m a huge fan of hand-inviting – that is, reaching out to people already in your circle and making a personal, heartfelt invitation.

(Indeed, this is the “low hanging fruit” lead generation strategy I start everyone with, whether they have a list or not. I also give them specific scripts so they know exactly what to say.)

And rather than coming across as “pushy” (which is what so many heart-centered entrepreneurs fear, which keeps them stopped in their tracks), you will be amazed at how much your clients will appreciate that you thought of them, and cared enough about them to let them know.

So my coach’s request for you for this tip is to think of the people in your circle right now. Who really needs your help to step into their greatness? Who would you LOVE to work with in a deeper, richer way?

If you can’t think of anyone, don’t let that take you out. Get support from a buddy on the brainstorming, because I promise you, they’re there.

At this point, I’ve mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and I have YET to find a single one who did NOT have ideal clients in their sphere already – even people who live in the proverbial “middle of nowhere.” That’s why I’m so confident about this one.

So do this simple exercise and see what pops for you, ok? You’re going to get some ideas on how to be of service – and that’s always a good thing. 🙂

About the Author/Further Resources

Elizabeth Purvis, “The Marketing Goddess,” mentors extraordinary spiritual women entrepreneurs to 6-figures and beyond.

Known for blending proven Internet marketing strategy and spiritual principles, Elizabeth teaches her clients how to use the path of spiritual entrepreneurship to manifest their mission and live their true calling. She is passionate about empowering spirit-led, purpose-driven women with the 6-figure mindset, energetic tools AND practical authentic marketing strategies to create their dream lifestyle while changing the world.

Elizabeth is the creator of Get Clients In 30 Days! How To Add 10 Clients To Your Business Practically Overnight – Even If You’re Starting From Scratch and The Abundant Business System, a step-by-step marketing and business-building system especially for spiritual women entrepreneurs. A professional fiction writer, Elizabeth has worked with such publishers as Llewellyn Worldwide, Desperado Publishing and Image Comics.

A life-long “Northeastern girl” (including 16 years in New York City), Elizabeth switched coasts and now lives blissfully in Portland, Oregon, with her husband. www.marketinggoddess.com.

Elizabeth is about to teach how to create deeply transformational, highly profitable high-end programs. Act now by clicking www.6figuregoddess.com to learn more.

What to include in your email newsletter 3

 in Guest Post  tagged building a customer base / business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / Djanira Cortesão / email / executive coach / experience / ideal clients / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / newsletter / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal / personal coach / personal development / topic

In this week’s Friday guest post Djanira Cortesão shares her expertise and gives practical advice to coaches about what to include in your email newsletter.

What to include in your email newsletter

By Djanira Cortesão

I strongly believe a newsletter is one of the best tools coaches can use to build a solid customer base and grow a sense of community around their business.

In my experience working coaches, I’ve seen the positive results that come from sending a quality newsletter filled with useful information and tips.

Once you get the hang of it, sending a newsletter is simple. And the return on investment for the time and effort you put into preparing a newsletter will pay off.

However, many brilliant and talented people just like you have fears and anxieties associated with trying something new. When it comes to marketing, a lot of coaches are apprehensive about what to say. If this is how you feel, you are not alone.

At the most basic level, you might be asking yourself what kind of information to include in your newsletter.

The short truth is your newsletter can be super-simple and straight forward. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. In fact, it’s best if it isn’t fancy or complicated. I suggest writing a simple one-page resource of news, advice and your latest offers each month.

But although it truly is that simple, to get the best results, I recommend that you think strategically about what to include in your newsletter.

Here are some points to think about:

Make it Friendly With a Personal Touch

While you obviously do not want to divulge the sordid details of your personal life (please don’t), share a short personal note that reveals a bit of your personality.

Keep it brief – just long enough for your readers to glimpse a side of you that is not strictly business. Let your subscribers see you are a genuine person they can get to know, like, and trust.

Keep the language fairly casual and personable. Strive to convey that you are a knowledgeable professional who is easily approachable. You want them to approach you, so they can hire you, not revere you from a distance. In other words, avoid sounding stuffy.

Cover Relevant Topics

The information you share should be information your subscribers can actually use. Include a featured article or a list of tips that addresses a common problem for your customer base.

If you write content that gets results for your readers, you will also begin to experience results for your own business.

To determine what is relevant, look around your industry. Look at what other coaches are writing about, participate in social media and message boards, or even survey your clients and subscribers to find out directly what they want you to cover. Your newsletter should speak specifically to their wants and needs.

Make sure the topics are relevant to your business goals as well. If you have an upcoming offering, gear your content toward that offering. Also, list your recent blog posts, articles, or press releases, and announce upcoming appearances and events.

Additional Tips

Simple newsletters often perform very well, but if you have your heart set on a more elaborate publication, there are a number of popular elements you can include.

You may choose to feature a direct offer of one of your services or products, spotlight a client, vendor, or one of your readers, add audio or video clips, recommended products or services that you use, include polls or surveys, or run a contest.

Remember, the idea behind sending a newsletter is to keep people interested in you as a service provider. Your newsletter is a marketing technique that builds your reputation and establishes you within a community of people who can benefit from your services and expertise. Keep this in mind, and the content will practically write itself.

About the Author/Further Resources

DJ8Djanira Cortesão helps extraordinary service providers reach their ideal clients, unlock hidden revenue streams and grow their businesses organically. She offers group marketing workshops and 1-on-1 marketing mentoring, as well as insightful marketing newsletters and articles. Design a life of abundance with Djanira — online at: DjaniraCortesao.com and @djaniracortesao.