60 - 70% of consumers find services through online search engines (according to a study by Yahoo! and OMD). If you’re not online then you’re invisible to more than ½ the population! And really, it’s not that difficult to start having an online presence – and this series of articles will show you how.

Having a blog helps you become more visible to those that research their services online. Setting-up a blog is easy to do, free to use, and great for promoting your coaching business. Plus, it gives your business a personal voice that can’t be heard through traditional marketing methods such as brochures and advertisements. With a blog, you have the ability to create loyal clients before they even have their first coaching call. How? It’s about what you write: the advice you give, the people you serve, and the passion you have for coaching. People buy from people, and a blog is a great way for your business to have that personal touch.

That’s Great, but I’ve Never Written Before! Don’t worry, many bloggers are not professional writers, and that’s what makes it interesting! Think of it as writing a personal letter to a distant friend – you have a personal tone, you’re not too intimate about your life, but the reader feels connected to you. Your articles don’t have to be long, just a couple of paragraphs would be enough, and you can always spice it up with photos and even video! Just make sure your basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation is correct and you’re good to go!

I’m So Busy – There’s No Way I Can Write a Blog! This is the main complaint from coach bloggers that I work with – they’re just so busy! First, you have to stop thinking of blogging as busy work: the blog is a customer service tool and marketing piece all in one. You are connecting to current clients and future ones – giving them advice, letting them know about upcoming Teleseminars, workshops as well as new products or books you are developing – and it’s a lot cheaper and faster than sending out postcards or having an advertisement. Here’s a way you can get a year’s worth of article subjects in a few minutes: (This would be a great break point on the eNewsletter)

1. Get out a piece of paper and pen (or use the computer)
2. Write down all the Frequently Asked Questions you receive about coaching and your particular coaching practice (just the questions, not the answer)
3. Write down particular niches you work with
4. Write down the reasons someone would need coaching
5. Write all the books you’ve read recently that relates to your coaching practice

I’m sure by now you have well over 52 article subjects – just plop them into your calendar. Also remember that you can also blog about things that come into your life – a vacation you had, a funny story that happened to you, how you dealt with a difficult situation, etc. These blog articles aren’t really ‘scheduled', yet are necessary as it allows your personality to shine through.

How Do People Find My Blog? There are several ways:

1. Have it on your email signature
2. You use good keywords that your potential clients would use to search for a coach like you! Search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo! love blogs. If you use good keywords and you post regularly you’ll be easily found.
3. Have your blog on your invoices and receipts!
4. Let people know of an article on your blog that they would find interesting.
5. Post your blog to blog directories, such as www.technorati.com (Technorati currently states it is tracking over 112.8 million blogs).
6. Interact with other blogs that relate to your niche – or other coaching blogs: leave comments, or email the blog author and let them know about your coaching practice – they may just blog about you!
7. Have links from your Website and your eNewsletter.
8. Have it on all your printed materials: postcards, business cards, advertisements, brochures, etc.
9. Use www.feedburner.com to add RSS Feeds (allow visitors to subscribe to your blog) and track how many visitors/subscribers you have.

What Should I do First?

1. Go to www.Google.com and search for a keyword that relates to your coaching practice + blog. For instance, if your coaching practice is working with Entrepreneurs then you would Google “entrepreneur coach blog” as well as “entrepreneur blog” (and also take note of all the blogs out there – you don’t want to miss this opportunity!). Then read a couple to get an idea about blogs that relate to your industry.
2. Open a Gmail account: www.gmail.com and choose a username and password. It will take you about 2 minutes.
3. Open a Blogger account: www.blogger.com and use the username and password you created with Gmail – both Blogger and Gmail are Google products. (Although there are other blogging softwares out there, like www.typepad.com or www.wordpress.org – I believe www.blogger.com is the easiest to set-up and start using)
4. Go to http://tinyurl.com/4qgpcd and click the video to learn how to set-up your blog!

Happy Blogging!

Rachel Pradhan

Rachel is a web designer and internet marketing specialist working with life, business and corporate coaches on creating online possibilities. For more information about developing custom websites, blogs, eNewsletters, podcasts and online video go to her website: www.IndraMarketing.com. She also teaches free Internet Marketing teleclasses, which you can register for at www.HelpingHandsforCoaches.com.