How Coaches Grow

Your website is bollocks, your ads suck, and your clients… well, where the bleep are they? Either you’ve hired the wrong copywriter or you’ve DIY’d it so now you’re stuck wading through endless online directories and forums searching for the perfect person to solve all your web content needs. Sigh. Groan. Time for more coffee…

So who do you call? The Contentbusters? Hmm, maybe not… You hire a web content expert with a solid understanding of personal development who’s not afraid to call themselves a “Content Expert For Coaches”. Creating web content that speak to people who are online searching for a life coach is a specialised field. Every single one of your clients has unique and very specific requirements, and that means you must too.

What you need is a content expert who knows your area of expertise enough to support you. But how do you know what to expect from them? The following 8 tips will give you a good understanding of what to look for.

1. Knowledge and Passion for Personal Development

Perhaps the most valuable quality in a web content expert is an interest in what you do. While sharing your passion is important, it’s just as vital that they have a solid background in the industry. If your content expert shares an interest in what you do, you’ll spend far less time explaining the benefits of your product or service to them. You won’t have to inspire them to feel passionate and inspired about your work, because they will already walk that same path. The last thing you want is to espouse keenly about a new relaxation technique to your content expert, only to see their eyes glaze over. More importantly, you don’t want that to happen when your potential clients read your copy!

2. Experience Writing for the Personal Development Field

Good writing bridge knowledge gaps. This means they must understand their subject and be able to talk about it in the layperson’s language. A writer with writing experience in the personal development industry is will have enough understanding of what you do to hit the ground running. They’ll appreciate the benefits of your product or service so you won’t have to spend days explaining your vision.

3. Ability to Write for Online Mediums

Naturally, you will need to make sure your content writer can write persuasive and compelling copy. The last thing you want is dry copy that reads like an instruction manual. Take a look at their samples and testimonials before making a decision. The other important consideration is to make sure they have experience writing for an online medium. Readers online have different requirements and objectives to readers of printed materials. Plus, reading conditions are very different. To be sure, ask them to recommend a maximum word count per page. The correct answer should include a comment about weighing up the problem of scrolling against obtaining a high keyword count for SEO. Ask them whether they prefer long sentences or short. The answer should be “short”.

4. Online Marketing Expertise

Look for a writer with experience in online marketing, or someone who runs a copy and design business with a heavy marketing focus. Online marketing experience brings with it a broader understanding of strategic online marketing and the realities of working with a broad range of people from all corners of the globe and evolving technology, products and services.

5. Online Branding Experience

Online branding goes far beyond its traditional meaning of corporate logos, mission statements and colour themes. Effective online branding is all about revealing to your clients who you are, what you do and how you do it. To be able to communicate a positive identity online, your content expert must be able to convert “you offline” to “you online”. Not only must they understand what you want to say, but they must also identify with your business vision… and I mean that literally. People look before they read. They scan what they see, noticing images and headers first. If your content expert also has web design experience then you’ve hit the jackpot because they will understand the relationship between words and images and how graphics should support rather than detract from your copy.

6. Understanding of Benefits

Your customers aren’t interested in what you do; they’re interested in what you can do for them. What benefits can you provide them? How can you make their day easier, less stressful or more profitable? Identifying benefits is one of the hardest tasks in any marketing project. This is where a good web writer comes in handy. When your writer has life coaching experience then they know how to draw out of you the most compelling benefits your products and services can provide your clients.

7. Can Contribute Value Beyond The Writing Basics

A good web content expert should bring value to your marketing that goes far beyond the written word. Good writing for the Web is more than grammar and punctuation. The online world is a competitive space so you must put forward your best to draw the attention of your ideal customer. If your writer is simply taking notes and saying “Yes” to everything you ask, then they aren’t doing their job. Expert advice and drawing your attention to other solutions are what you should expect from them, as well as integrating strategy, tactics, imagery, contacts, anecdotes, and corporate identity into their service. If they’re not delivering those things, they’re not serving your best interests.

8. The Business End

Of course, your content expert must be able to satisfy all the normal requirements. Ask for an agreement, a time estimate, and a document outlining the objectives of your web content project.

To recap:

Make sure your content provider uses a blend of powerful, motivating and persuasive words and images that not only put your message across to your target audiences, but also bring desired results. Good web content must grab attention, stimulate interest, hold attention, convey useful product information and generate more sales. When hiring your content expert, take the time to ask the right questions and do your own research and you will make an informed choice.

TIPS TO FINDING A SUITABLE CONTENT EXPERT

• Hire a PROFESSIONAL content provider: There are plenty of writers and designers out there willing to write your copy, design you a website and take your money. But if you want professional results, you want someone with the skill and attention your project deserves.
• Decide what you need: Come up with a short “job description” for your ideal content expert. The closer you can match your needs with the talent and experience of the expert, the better your chances of finding the right one.
• Collect information: Do your research so you make an intelligent, informed decision. Ask for a brochure or information kit that includes specific facts about their background, services offered, fees, client list, samples, copies of articles, and so on. Most top content providers will have this information on their Web site.
• Forget geography: It’s nice to work with local talent, but you shouldn’t allow that to affect your decision. There are lots of content experts, but only a handful of true professionals. And they’re scattered all over the world.
• Trust your instincts: Use your brain to evaluate the information and facts you collect, but pay attention to your intuition, too. It’s important to find someone you can work with comfortably. That means having a writing and design style and personality that you like.
• Think long-term: Once you find someone you can work with, be sure to develop and maintain a good long-term relationship.
• Think of them as an investment: A good content provider is an asset. They not only help you’re your products and services, but they also make your marketing projects (and your life) a lot easier. So take the time to find the right person. It’s worth it.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE

Are you a Life Coach, Business Consultant or Trainer who needs a website, web content and/or information products? Is your website too hard to update or is it costing you too much? Maybe you need copy and design on your website, blog or social media pages. Or perhaps you need an ebook, audio/video script or coaching tools created from your notes. Whatever your needs, we ensure you (a) connect with prospective clients and (b) provide quality resources for your existing clients.

Contact us for quotes, questions and advice

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