How to Get Coaching Clients: 18 Strategies That Work Today (2024)

When looking for new coaching clients, the various marketing strategies available can be overwhelming.

We’ve gathered the most effective ways to get coaching clients below.

Most of these marketing tactics can be as time-intensive as you want them to be, so choose the ones that make the most sense for your coaching business and experiment with them.

How Do I Get My First Coaching Client?

The fastest way to get your first coaching client is to leverage your existing network by offering free or discounted sessions to friends or colleagues.

Share testimonials and results on your online channels and actively engage in relevant communities to showcase your expertise and attract potential clients.

If you want to explore more sustainable client acquisition strategies, start by defining what makes your services unique.

How to Get Coaching Clients by Being Authentically You

Let’s start at the beginning. Before you create a strategy to find paying clients, you need to refine your offer and know exactly who you’re serving and what they’re looking for.

Identify What Sets You and Your Life Coaching Business Apart

It’s really tough to market your work and attract coaching clients without a clearly defined niche.

If you say, “I help people find clarity in their lives,” it will be challenging to build a marketing strategy around that.

Why? Because everyone on the planet needs clarity. It’s hard to see who you are trying to help and what you are helping them achieve, and if you can’t see your ideal clients or their goals, how will you find them?

On the other hand, if you were to say, “I help baby boomers build wealth and confidence so that they can have a great retirement” (which, by the way, includes helping them find clarity in their lives), you’ve just made it clear who you serve.

Be Prepared to Flout the Rules

In her book Founders, Freelancers & Rebels, Helen Jane Campbell features inspiring founders who have questioned the convention and created their versions of doing business.

People like Rich Leigh, who runs his thriving PR business on a four-day workweek, or successful working mom and founder Fiona Chow, who takes her young son on overseas business trips.

Flying in the face of convention is an asset, not something to brush under the rug. If you go against the rule book, you’ll be much more likely to attract the coaching clients you deserve.

Take Time to Think Creatively

Create a vision for your business involving all your five senses. Think about how you might use sound, touch, taste, and smell in your work.

Whether you choose to take your coaching outdoors, appear as a podcast guest, or occasionally send your clients a thoughtful gift, use your senses to wake up your business and delight your ideal customer with your unique approach and messaging.

Embrace Your Diversity—and Your Clients’

The more authentic you are in attracting new clients, the more likely the right people will gravitate towards you. They will see you as honest, genuine, and trustworthy.

Dare to embrace your unique background and share your story so your clients can instantly connect with you.

Keep Your Squad Tight

Being authentically you might involve saying no to some offers that don’t align with your values or expertise. Focus on clients who resonate with your unique strengths and approach. This ensures a supportive, effective coaching relationship and fosters long-term success for you and your clients.

Start Small

When you choose to make your authenticity your USP, it’s not about sharing all your secrets and unresolved trauma on the page and expecting clients to come rolling in.

It doesn’t keep you safe or benefit your brand. Instead, it’s about gradually peeling away the layers until you are comfortable revealing your whole story.

It’s about letting people in, allowing them to wander around your world a bit, and opening up a conversation.

15 Ways to Find Coaching Clients Organically

Finding coaching clients organically means that you’re not directly paying for them. You’re not paying for an ad shown to potential clients on social media or Google but employing different online and offline strategies to attract new clients.

When done right, an organic marketing strategy builds your credibility as a coach, gets you in front of potential clients, and keeps bringing in leads—even when you stop working on it. It frees you from spending a fortune on advertising to generate income.

Sounds good? Here’s how to get started with it.

1. Optimize Your Site to Rank

There is a reason businesses, large and small, have blogs. To find coaching clients online, you will need a dedicated website for your brand.

Your website is your online real estate, and you can use it to market your signature offer, which is central to your business message. Writing blog articles is the perfect tool to showcase your expertise, give people a feel for your personality, and draw in new leads.

However, the latter can only happen when people find your coaching services on your website through search engines. That means you need to create content strategically.

You want to attract life coaching clients with blog posts that educate, inspire, and answer all the questions they’re typing into search engines. They should be updated often with fresh content, which Google loves.

Beyond posting articles on your website, you can pitch your top-performing posts to the media or turn them into video content for your various social media channels.

Show off your expertise and how it’s helped you build your coaching business. Repurpose existing content to get the most out of your work whenever you make new content.

Take the time to learn about SEO and content marketing to ensure your target audience finds your content on the first page of Google. Here are some excellent resources to look into:

• Backlinko’s Complete SEO Beginner’s Guide
• Beginner’s Guide to SEO from Moz
• Effective SEO Strategies to Optimize Your Coaching Business Blog

If you’re not blogging, today is the day to start. Content marketing doesn’t return results overnight. It takes a while for articles to rank well in Google, and usually, the newer the website, the longer it takes.

2. Build Your Email List and Promote Your Offer

Building an email list makes getting clients easier for a life coach. As the saying goes, “The money is in the list.”

While you have no control over social media algorithms and how long the media features your story, your email list is yours.

Sure, you can use it to send newsletter updates to your subscribers, but it’s also a great channel to get your first paying coaching clients. After all, people who’ve given you their email address and have been following you for a while will be more likely to buy from you than those who have never heard about you.

Create an opt-in page on your website to collect leads and create a waiting list for your offers. If you don’t feel comfortable pushing your coaching services to your list, try setting up discovery calls instead. You can start by adding a quick call to action as a P.S.

For example, “Wondering how this advice can help you achieve X? Book a free consultation today to discuss how I can help you.”

Link that to a page where your subscribers can book a discovery call with you, and you’ve incorporated your offer elegantly. Later, you can send more offer-centric sales emails about your current coaching program.

You can also outsource your email marketing to an agency that will help you with strategy and write your emails.

3. Guest Post on Relevant Sites

An efficient way to reach your ideal coaching clients and attract them to your website is by guest posting on blogs that cater to that same audience. That could be another coaching website or a blog related to your services.

Are you a lifestyle coach? You could write a post for productivity and financial blogs.

Are you a fitness coach? You could pitch health and wellness publications. The more relevant the blogs you write for, the better.

If you’ve done a lot of guest posting already or you’re having trouble getting your guest posts accepted, you can approach websites outside of your niche by giving a little twist to your article ideas.

A health coach could pitch a travel blog a post on how to maintain your weight while traveling, while a personal finance coach could pitch the same site a post on how to successfully save for a big trip.

The great thing about guest blog writing is that they keep on giving. A post published yesterday can still send you clients five years from now.

You’ll have the best chances of getting clients from guest posts if you submit them to blogs that target your ideal audience. However, you may also want to write for bigger, less closely related blogs for link-building and increasing your website’s authority.

4. Appear on a Podcast or Host Your Own Show

If you prefer speaking over writing, getting interviewed on podcasts is a great way to get your name out there. Just like with guest blogging, you can start by targeting podcasts of other successful coaches and those in niches that are closely related to the services your business offers before casting your net a little wider.

While appearing on other podcasts puts you in front of different audiences, launching your podcast show has its benefits as well:

• It allows you to build your audience.
• It helps you establish yourself as an expert and showcase your coaching business.
• It allows you to invite and talk to big influencers in your niche, elevating your credibility and giving you access to their audience if they decide to promote the episode.
• It gives potential clients a feel for how you communicate.

Don’t forget to ask your host to link to your channels in their show notes and shout out during the show where they can find your online coaching business. Getting new followers this way is invaluable to growing your audience and attracting paying clients.

5. Establish Yourself as a Coach on Social Media

You don’t need to use every social media platform, but you want to secure your handles and fill out your profiles. If people find you there, they should be guided to your website or email list.

Share links on your social channels to free content or lead magnets you’ve created for your followers. Use your channels to create a poll or online survey and incentivize them to participate. Then, give them the educational resources they have requested in exchange for subscribing to your emails.

For example, if they want an influence-building cheat sheet, create one as an email opt-in. This will give them a glimpse at your knowledge on a particular topic and allow you to sell your products or services to an interested audience. Mindful content creation on social media will help you attract the potential clients you want.

You could also hold an educational webinar or Instagram live and share your expertise with participants to start building a relationship with them. Hold the webinar live so your audience can ask questions, and then make the replay available as an opt-in.

If you know your audience is on Facebook, you’ll want to experiment with posting updates and advice on a Facebook page and growing a following there. However, this has gotten harder over the last few years as Facebook has been limiting organic reach for pages.

An easier way to engage with your audience on Facebook is to provide value where they’re already hanging out.

6. Contribute to Facebook Groups

There are Facebook groups for just about every topic. Look for groups your customers are participating in, and set some time aside every day to answer questions with valuable tips. The idea is to get the conversation going and encourage people to contact you privately for more help.

Choose around three groups maximum to interact in. There will probably be more that seem interesting, but you’ll never be able to provide much value and get your day-to-day work done if you spread your time over ten different groups.

You can move on to another if a Facebook group doesn’t get you any returns. Just realize that it takes time to build a reputation.

Lastly, you can also start your own Facebook group. It will take more time and effort than engaging in other groups, but it could become a great place to get insights into your potential clients’ struggles and test new coaching packages.

7. Give X a Try

X (formerly Twitter) may not immediately come to mind as a platform for marketing coaching services, but if your ideal clients are entrepreneurs, techies, or journalists, it’s still a great place to be.

Because of how the platform works, it’s also much easier to connect with someone one-on-one by replying to their post than in a Facebook group.

Figure out if your ideal clients are on there, and if they are, set some time aside every week to interact with them and share updates about your business.

8. Make LinkedIn Connections

LinkedIn is the place to leverage your network if you are a business coach. You can showcase your expertise by sharing updates and tips and sending connection requests directly to people who could make great business coaching clients.

Ask them what they’re working on, share helpful content, and inquire about their struggles. Once you’ve built a relationship, you can ask to hop on a call to discuss how you can help them.

When clients tell you they are happy with your services, ask them to introduce you to selected potential clients on LinkedIn and grow your network there.

Don’t forget to ask previous clients to write you a recommendation on Linkedin. This will give you social proof and help you generate referrals to attract potential clients.

9. Be Active on Quora

Quora can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never used it because people ask questions about anything there. However, with 400 million active monthly users, it’s a platform worth exploring.

The best way to determine whether your target customers use Quora is to follow the topics they are interested in, look at their profiles, and see what questions they ask.

If you offer productivity coaching for entrepreneurs, you’ll want to follow topics like “productivity” and “entrepreneurship.”

Once you’ve established that your potential clients are on Quora, make it a point to answer their questions as thoroughly as possible. If you’ve written a related blog post, add a link to it. You will build your Quora reputation and get people curious enough to check out your profile and potentially, reach out to you.

The two significant benefits of Quora are the following:

• Quora answers rank in Google, so people actively seeking out your services can find your answers through search.
• Like guest posts, Quora answers can be found and read years after they’ve been posted, so you never know when someone will reach out because they read your in-depth reply on the site.

10. Engage on Reddit

Reddit had 73 million daily users. Just like Quora has topics and spaces you can follow, Reddit has subreddits (like mini forums or topic categories) you can join.

The big difference with Quora is that self-promotion is frowned upon on Reddit. If you start sharing links with every question you answer, your answers will get downvoted, and you’ll get banned pretty fast.

Instead, genuinely provide value and start building relationships so you can tell people about your coaching business when the time is right.

11. Attend Networking Events

Networking events are often thought of as this sleazy way of rubbing shoulders to get things from people later, but really, you’re creating connections and finding your people. There is no better way to get to know your potential customers than by talking to them face-to-face.

Don’t make the mistake of staying in your bubble and only attending events for and by coaches. While these can lead to valuable relationships, you’ll meet more new people and get more business from going where your target audience is.

General networking groups can also be great as a new connection may not be an ideal coaching client, but someone they know could be.

People more quickly buy from those they know, like, and trust. So make sure you get your name out there positively, let your presence be noticed, and nourish the relationships you build.

Share your contact details with potential customers you meet at the event. A digital business card through a virtual card tool can help you do that without wasting paper.

12. Get on Stage (or Screen)

When we see someone speak on stage, we automatically assume they’re ahead of us. But here’s the thing: We all know something someone else doesn’t. To an aspiring life coach, a coach with two years of experience is an expert.

No matter where you are in your coaching journey, you have unique experiences and skills to pass on to others. Getting on stage is not about knowing all there is to know but about sharing what you do know about your niche.

Apply to be a guest speaker at recognized conferences, contact the organizers of virtual summits, and organize your own events.

You don’t need to do anything big. Start with a workshop at your local coworking space or collaborate with a local business to give a talk about something their customers might be interested in. Your local Chamber of Commerce is another good place to reach out to.

When you’ve built a solid reputation, speaking can even be one of the ways to get paid for your coaching expertise, alongside working directly with clients.

13. Ask Your Friends and Family

You’d be surprised how many people within your network could be interested in your services. Even when they’re not an exact fit as customers, they already know, like, and trust you, so they’re more likely to accept your help and become your biggest supporters.

If nobody in your existing network needs your services right now, you can tell them what kind of coaching you do and what kind of clients you’re looking for so they can drop your name and refer clients to you. You never know; they could become some of your first coaching clients.

Don’t just stick to friends and family, either. Make a list of all your acquaintances and connections from previous careers that you could reach out to.

14. Actively Ask Clients for Referrals

Aside from friends and family, another group of people will be happy to help you grow: your satisfied clients. If you’ve already worked with your first coaching clients, ask them to give you feedback.

It’s super easy to ask your existing client for a referral, yet so many coaches hesitate to use this tactic because they’re unsure how to do it.

Here are some good moments to ask existing clients whether they know someone who could also benefit from your coaching:

• When they’ve paid their invoice, send them an email to confirm receipt, thank them again for working with you, and pop the question.
• When they let you know they’ve achieved results.
• When you follow up with them after you’ve stopped working together to see how they’re doing.

If you keep forgetting to ask for referrals, make it a part of your offboarding process or set a calendar reminder for yourself. Don’t underestimate the power of generating referrals.

15. Have a Clear Brand Positioning

If you offer life coaching for high-level executives, your messaging should be different than when you’re targeting new moms, and it should be consistent across all your channels.

Get clear about who you’re targeting and what you have to offer them so potential coaching clients learn to recognize what you stand for no matter where they find you.

+4 Paid Marketing Strategies to Attract Life Coaching Clients

16. Launch an Affiliate Program

Running an affiliate program is a soft way of doing paid marketing. You’re not paying anything upfront; instead, you pay a commission to those who send you new coaching clients.

It’s a strategy that works particularly well if you have a program people can sign up for directly on your website, as there is no doubt whether a lead has turned into a client.

While the people promoting your coaching business as affiliates will likely be the same people you can write blog content for, they’ll be more motivated to promote your services when they know they’ll get compensated for sending you coaching clients.

17. PPC

With PPC or pay-per-click advertising, you run ads for your coaching business based on a target audience and keyword, and you only pay when someone clicks the ad.

One clear example is the ads you often see at the top of Google’s search results. If you know your clients are searching for your services, but your site isn’t quite strong enough yet to rank on the first page of Google, paying for an ad like that may be a good solution.

Not only does it create visibility for your brand, but you can also design the ad so that only the right type of clients will click it.

You can also use Google Adwords to run PPC ads to appear on websites where your next coaching client may be hanging out, or you can go directly through an ad network such as Mediavine or Raptive.

18. Facebook Ads

If you know your audience is on Facebook, running social media ads might be more effective than PPC ads.

Facebook gives you very specific targeting options for your ads and makes it possible to create lookalike audiences based on your email list. On top of that, you can retarget people who’ve already visited your website (and thus know about you) on Facebook.

The types of ads you can run on Facebook are:

• Poll ads
• Lead ads
• Story ads
• Video ads
• Image ads
• Carousel ads
• Playable ads
• Dynamic ads
• Collection ads
• Video poll ads
• Slideshow ads
• Messenger ads
• Instant experience ads

You can also set up various goals for your campaigns and improve their performance with some testing and tweaking.

19. Use PR Strategies

Start small by creating a list of your top media outlets. Take the time to identify who you want to pitch to, and go after the press that you want to have for your brand. Ignore anything that is not relevant and focus on the media outlets your ideal customers are reading.

When you have a newsworthy milestone in your coaching business, send out a press release. Press releases are great for search engine optimization, and you can use them to promote new content on your website and social media channels.

[ Read: Here’s Exactly How to Launch a Coaching Program (Even If You’ve Never Done it Before) ]

A Word of Caution About Paid Strategies

While paid forms of promotion can work well to get your first coaching clients, they can also be a huge money suck. If you’re not experienced in running Facebook ads or promoting a blog post, it’s easy to get burned.

On top of that, plenty of agencies will gladly take your money without delivering much of a result.

So, use paid social media options with caution. If you decide to do your own paid marketing for your coaching practice, thoroughly research the best ways to go about it before reaching for your credit card.

If you opt to outsource your paid marketing, try to find someone recommended by people you trust with a proven track record. Ensure they can clearly explain what they’ll be doing, how they’ll be tracking results, and what their pricing structure looks like.

It’s also good to research how paid marketing has worked for other coaches or businesses within your industry, so you know the success rate you can expect.

Lastly, be clear about the action you want people to take once they’ve clicked your ad, whether to sign up for your email list, book a discovery call, or buy your new course.

Nurture Your Current Coaching Clients

There are many ways to acquire new clients, but it’s always easier to maintain current clients than to acquire new ones.

The excitement of a new coaching client can be thrilling, but if you’re in this business for the right reasons, genuine excitement will come from helping your clients achieve the results they’re looking for.

Always give them your best, overdeliver when necessary, and never let your search for new clients interfere with nurturing your current ones.

Test and Be Consistent

There is no need to try all marketing strategies to get clients. Figure out where your strengths lie and start with one or two tactics that fit you and your coaching business well. Be consistent with them, track your results, and change what isn’t working.

If you’re analytical, dive into SEO and content marketing. If you already have an extensive list, try to improve your email marketing. And if you’re great at giving quick tips, engage in social media groups and forums.

It will take some trial and error, but when done right, you’ll have a process that will continue to bring in clients in the long run.

It’s a numbers game. You need to market and sell to a large number of people to get some of them to say yes.

So don’t give up. Instead, reflect on what’s been working. What’s not working? Where do you have more to learn? How will you learn it?

Every successful coach started with zero clients and then got more over time. So give yourself time; it will happen.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2023 and has since been updated for accuracy.