Life Coaching Marketing: 19 Strategies to Get Paying Clients (2024)

What are the top life coaching marketing strategies?

You’re in the right place! Today, you’ll learn how to market yourself as a coach.

Want to learn more? Read on!

Steps to market your life coaching business

1. Find your niche

2. Use the Taster Technique

3. Use social media (in the right way)

4. Pitch guest posts

5. Build a brand

6. Network

7. Pitch podcasts

8. Leverage testimonials

9. Ask for referrals

10. Grow your Instagram following

11. Build a TikTok brand

12. Build an audience on LinkedIn

13. Create a website

14. Use paid ads

15. Use email marketing

16. Build a blog

17. Use affiliate marketing

18. Market on YouTube

19. Get found on Pinterest

How do you market your life coaching services?

People often ask me, “Luisa, how were you able to grow your first coaching business to seven figures in one year?”

I focused on one strategy. In my case, that strategy was Facebook. This was a few years ago when Facebook was “the” social media, so for you, it could be something else.

The point is: Use this list to choose one or two marketing strategies. They ALL work but taking one step at a time is key to standing out in an increasingly crowded market.

(Life coaching is growing fast – the industry grew by 33% in just the last few years.)

Every life coaching marketing strategy on this list is marked with “beginner” or “advanced.”

Use the beginner strategies if you don’t have any clients and the advanced strategies if you have more than two to three coaching clients in your business.

And if you want my take on which strategy works best for YOU, take a look at this video:

Now, let’s dive into the life coach marketing plan.

1. Find your niche

*Beginner strategy*

The first step as a life coach is to figure out one thing:

Your target audience.

You see, few people will buy high-ticket “life coaching.”

Life coaching is just not specific enough. Instead, you need to decide on who your target audience is and what you offer them (your niche).

For example:

Target audience = New moms

Offer = Health coaching

Your niche is health coaching for new moms.

Or:

Target audience = Junior attorneys

Offer = Career coaching

Your niche is career coaching for junior attorneys.

For more on finding your life coaching niche, take a look at this short guide:

2. Use the “Taster Technique”

*Beginner strategy*

The “Taster Technique” is a term I coined a few years ago.

You see, when I first started my coaching business, no one knew who I was. So I had to build trust before anyone would be willing to invest money in working with me.

After a number of people telling me I was “too expensive,” I figured out a way to show the value of my services faster as a new coach.

I started offering free coaching calls.

So a free consultation that was about 15 to 20 minutes long. (A “taster” of your services.)

At the end of the call, I’d ask if they wanted to speak more about working together.

Free coaching shows the value of your services much faster than if you build that relationship through social media, email, or any other channel. And that’s why it works so well.

But how do you even offer your free coaching calls?

Let your network and social channels know about them. For example, here’s how one of my coaching clients offered her free sessions in a social media group:

*Beginner strategy*

What’s the secret to an effective social media strategy?

Social media marketing works. But there’s one thing you need to master…

Leading with value.

You see, if you go on these platforms with just selling on your mind, people won’t listen. But if you, instead, make it your priority to share value and build relationships – that’s when people start noticing you.

Back when I built my first online business, a digital advertising consulting business, I got my first coaching clients in a Facebook group. But I didn’t initially aim to “sell.” Instead, I wanted to connect with people and understand their needs so that I could develop my business.

I answered people’s questions. I shared my own posts. And slowly, but surely, people started noticing me…and that’s how I got my first client and, ultimately, learned to leverage social media.

Note! “Value” doesn’t mean dry posts full of facts and figures. People connect best when you share stories, tell fun facts, and, in general, entertain them.

This advice applies to any platform. My audience was in Facebook groups at the time, so that’s where I went. But you can build your social media presence on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn…look first and foremost where your audience is.

4. Get featured on top blogs

*Beginner strategy*

The next life coach marketing strategy is to write guest posts.

You see, there are plenty of websites out there with existing audiences. As a new life coach, getting in front of potential clients is key and you can do it by getting media exposure.

Guest posts build trust, too.

For example, a blog post I wrote for the website GrowthLab was (and continues to be) hugely popular:

To find these opportunities, look at blogs in your niche.

Which ones regularly feature guest writers?

Then, reach out with a benefits-driven message:

“Hi NAME OF EDITOR,

My name is (your name) and I am (include something relevant about yourself).

I’d love to submit a guest post to (name of publication). I researched topics that would do great on your site:

• Topic suggestion 1
• Topic suggestion 2
• Topic suggestion 3

I’ve previously written guest posts for (include a few sites if you’ve previously written guest posts):

• Link to example 1
• Link to example 2
• Link to example 3

Let me know if these look interesting to (name of publication)?

Best,

YOUR NAME”

5. Create a stand out brand

*Beginner strategy*

Just like your niche, a clear brand identity helps you stand out in the crowded coaching industry.

So that people decide to work with YOU versus all the other coaching businesses out there.

There are five questions to answer to build a remarkable brand:

• How are you different?
• How is your “secret sauce” different?
• How are your values and beliefs different?
• How is your audience different?
• How is your product different?

In this video, I talk more about branding your life coaching business:

6. Tap your network

*Beginner strategy*

One of the easiest ways to market your business is to your network.

That’s how I got my first few clients when I started my first coaching business, a career coaching business.

I reached out to a few coworkers who had previously asked for my career advice. A couple of them said yes to working with me, and that’s how I got started.

And my students Anna and Emily, both of them career coaches, posted short messages on LinkedIn, letting their networks know about their newly founded businesses.

You can use a message like this one to let your network know about your new business:

“Hey NAME,

I’m starting a new business that helps people with___.

If you know someone who would be interested in this, please let me know.

I’m happy to offer them a free coaching call so that they can get to know me and start getting some great results. If they’re interested, I’ll share more about how I can help them further, but if not, they’ll still get great value out of the free session.”

7. Get featured on podcasts

*Beginner strategy*

Podcasts are another way to reach other people’s audiences. And a great way to get high-quality leads.

Think about it: If you reach your prospective clients on podcasts, you build trust very fast.

To find relevant podcasts, search for these search phrases on Google:

“Podcast” + “keyword”

“Top podcasts (year)” + “keyword”

Then, use this script to reach out to the podcast host:

“Hi NAME OF PODCASTER,

My name is (your name) and I am (include something relevant about yourself so the podcaster understands why YOU are the right person to feature on their show).

I’d love to set up an interview for (name of the podcast). Here are a few topics that I think your audience would love:

• Podcast topic suggestion 1
• Podcast topic suggestion 2
• Podcast topic suggestion 3

Let me know if these would be interesting to (name of the podcast) listeners?

Best,

YOUR NAME”

I’ve personally been featured on plenty of podcasts, such as Hello Seven:

8. Leverage your testimonials

*Beginner strategy*

Once you’ve worked with a few clients, you can ask for testimonials from past clients.

You see, social proof can make all the difference for your coaching business.

In the beginning, you’ll have a harder time getting prospective clients to trust you because you haven’t earned your stripes yet.

But once you’ve had a few happy clients, other potential customers see the value you can bring. And so they’re more likely to say yes.

In fact, 49% of people trust online testimonials as much as personal recommendations.

I reveal how to ask for testimonials here:

9. Ask for referrals

*Beginner strategy*

You might even notice that some people you’ve worked with start referring clients to you.

But that’s not always the case – people don’t always realize they can refer you to others. Instead of waiting for them to do it, reach out and ask for referrals.

You can send them a simple email like this:

“Hey! I’m thrilled I was able to help you__. Would you happen to know anyone else who’s looking for my services? I’d be grateful if you would share my information with them.”

I’m happy to offer them a free coaching call so that they can get to know me and start getting some great results. If they’re interested, I’ll share more about how I can help them further, but if not, they’ll still get great value out of the free session.”

Offer them a referral commission as thanks for their effort (10% of your rate is fair).

10. Grow your Instagram following

*Beginner strategy*

Are your target clients on Instagram?

54% of Instagram users have made a purchase after having seen a product or service on the platform. I’ve personally used it to sell my own four and five-figure offers.

But you need to stand out on the platform and build engagement. (Instagram isn’t about the number of followers…but rather, how engaged they are.)

Create quick and impactful content that helps people make a reframe. (What I call QI content.)

That could be a quote, five steps, helpful tips, a recipe, a formula…you get the drill.

Especially if you use video, you’ll create a ton of engagement.

For more, check out this video where I share my best Instagram marketing tips:

11. Build a TikTok brand

*Beginner strategy*

I personally don’t use TikTok to market my business.

That’s because I walk my talk and focus on a few core platforms instead of trying to master them all.

But if your audience is on TikTok, it’s a great social media marketing strategy for coaches.

There are 1+ billion TikTok users and they love discovering new things (like your coaching program).

TikTok is a snappy social media platform where you share creative and fun content. Your content can be pretty similar to the content you’d post on Instagram with quick reframes.

Here’s a good 101 on TikTok marketing.

12. Build an audience on LinkedIn

*Beginner strategy*

Use LinkedIn to reach a professional audience. For instance, my student Emily, a career coach, used LinkedIn to attract more clients.

It’s a platform that works well whether you’re just looking for your first clients or if you’re looking for your next few clients and are regularly posting on the platform.

LinkedIn can be a good fit for:

• Career coaches
• Mindset coaches
• Executive coaches
• Health coaches
• Financial coaches

Optimize your profile for LinkedIn’s search function by using relevant keywords. Then, get out there and start connecting with other users and sharing your content.

This guide shows you how to use LinkedIn.

13. Create an appealing website

*Advanced strategy*

Unconventional advice: You DON’T need a life coaching website as a new coach.

Before you have any clients, building a website is a waste of time. After all, your time could be spent finding those first clients – and they’re not going to come from your website.

So wait until you have a few clients in your business. I personally built my website when I had made five figures. And honestly, my website wasn’t the prettiest thing when I eventually did create it…

If people asked to see my website before I had one, I simply sent them a link to my LinkedIn profile.

But if you want to build your website right away, build a simple one-page site with a website builder like WordPress.

14. Use paid advertising (without throwing away money)

*Advanced strategy*

Next up: Digital advertising.

This life coach marketing strategy is all about reaching coaching clients at scale.

But…paid advertising can be a great way to spend money if you don’t know what you’re doing. So if you’re new to coaching, stop wasting money and get started with one of the beginner strategies.

Once you have a few clients, you can turn to advertising.

Paid advertising was one of the reasons I was able to grow my business to seven figures in a year. So, yes, you can have a lot of ideal clients find your website faster with ads.

Here, I outline when and how this is a good strategy for you to use:

And if you want to learn the details of getting life coaching clients with ads, take a look at my Facebook ads marketing guide here.

15. 10X your email marketing

*Advanced strategy*

Email marketing is THE reason I’ve been able to consistently grow my business with dream clients and seven figure sales.

Yes, email works. In fact, email can have a 4,200% return on investment!

Email helps you develop relationships and nurture them at scale. I have thousands of people on my email list and thanks to email, I can build relationships with them.

That said, it takes time to build your email list. So I don’t recommend that you use this as your first strategy.

But once you’re ready to build your list, take a look at my tutorial here:

16. Attract clients from Google

*Advanced strategy*

Organic traffic is THE best way to get clients consistently.

It’s what’s known as “inbound marketing” – attracting clients to your business versus actively seeking them.

The best way to build your traffic is to build a blog and optimize it for search engines (like Google).

Because the traffic is “organic,” you don’t pay for it (like you do when you promote with ads), and so this traffic is much more profitable.

In this short video, I share my top SEO tips for life coaches:

17. Use affiliate marketing

*Advanced strategy*

One of the more unused marketing ideas for life coaches?

Affiliate marketing – AKA someone else promotes your life coach business and you pay a commission to them every time they make a sale. The commission depends on your services, but typically for a service business, 10% is a pretty good commission.

Obviously, affiliate marketing has a lot of perks for you as you make “passive” sales. However, it does require that:

a) You have an appealing coaching program

b) You find trustworthy affiliates (you don’t want just anyone promoting your business).

18. Build a YouTube channel

*Advanced strategy*

I don’t spread myself thin with my marketing efforts. But YouTube is one of those strategies I use to grow my business and reach prospective clients. And I’ve quickly grown it to a multiple six-figure income channel.

Why is YouTube an “advanced” strategy, though?

Because it honestly takes longer time to master than other social media channels. You need the right gear to create, edit, and light your videos. And you need to figure out HOW to create your videos.

But once you have those things, YouTube works really well.

Want to learn how to use YouTube? Here’s my guide.

19. Get found on Pinterest

*Advanced strategy*

Are your potential clients on Pinterest?

Possibly, especially if you offer your services to individuals.

Especially if you blog and use SEO, Pinterest can be a good complement to promoting your blog posts.

The main thing on Pinterest is to create pins that stand out. You also need to optimize them for Pinterest’s search function, so that people can find them on evergreen. By learning SEO first, you’ll have a far easier time figuring out Pinterest.

Here’s what my pins look like:

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know what the best life coaching marketing strategies are.

These marketing ideas work extremely well for life coaches – and by getting started with one of them, you’ll soon have your first paying client.

What strategy will you focus on first?

Let me know in the comments below!

Learn more:

The Legal Requirements for Life Coaches: Definitive Guide

The Best Life Coaching Certifications Online