How do you maintain and increase your visibility in a competitive market?
As new coaches qualify or pivot out of corporate, more practitioners come onto the wellbeing and professional and personal growth scene every day. With the popularity of membership schemes, courses and programmes on the rise, the dog-eat-dog nature of some marketing techniques may seem tempting even though they're out of place with the ethics and principles of the industry.
In this short read, I examine this disjoint and whether there's anything we can do to maintain integrity within an effective marketing strategy.
Writing killer copy that sells.
As a coach, healer or therapist, is this really what you want? I realise this is an unpopular opinion and not one you’re likely to read elsewhere but as someone who writes for clients in this sector day in and day out, I can assure you, you really don’t want to be writing killer copy that sells.
Why would I say such a thing?
Surely the term just means strong, effective, persuasive words that get results, you may say.
That’s a fair point but I would suggest that if you're an empathetic entrepreneur you might want to have a bit of a rethink about how this kind of copy works.
I’ll delve deeper into this further on but first, I’d like to unpick the wording.
Killer copy that sells
Let's take a few moments to reflect on the two key concepts.
Killer – what are you trying to kill? Someone’s boundaries, logic or decision-making capabilities? As someone who grew up in a religious cult, I know all about overcoming objections with brute force so if you think you need this kind of weapon in your arsenal then I encourage you to think again.
Sells – think about the nature of what you’re doing here. Realistically, we all need money to buy groceries and pay the electricity bill but if you’re in this business solely for the cash and not improving the lot of the world one person at a time then you might have made an erroneous career choice.
What’s the deal?
Whether you’re a secular mindset coach or a past life regression therapist you have a unique offering of gifts, talents, academic acuity, skillset and experience which you pass on to your clients. You may be at the very top of your game or brand new to the scene but here’s the truth: you are not one-size-fits-all and neither should you be. Your rare blend of professional and personal brilliance is just what your ideal client is looking for.
If you fall into the trap of writing one-size-fits-all copy, you may attract the wrong kind of client to you, which may lead to frustration on both sides. Worse still, those who really need you won’t find you and they may sign up with someone who won’t be able to help them.
Here’s another truth: you don’t need to take on every client out there to make a living. The most successful coaches are mindful about their messaging to make sure they only attract the people they’re best suited to working with.
The role of fear
If you’re hoping to elbow your way into someone’s wallet, chances are, you’re doing it from a position of fear:
Fear that you can’t make ends meet any other way.
Fear of failing at being a successful and respected coach.
Playing on and amplifying other people's fears, cornering them into accepting your solution as the only one.
The role of trust
I’d like to switch things up. Naturally, we all want buoyant bank accounts through the work we do but I’d like to propose we view our share of the market through the lens of:
Abundance: seeing scarcity as a myth will open wonderful opportunities to you, I promise.
Love: building the know/like/trust that keeps clients coming back and thriving under your tutelage relies on this powerful force.
Connection and alignment: grasping at clients isn’t fun for anyone so be brave and lean into what naturally feels good for you – because it’ll be what your ideal client innately enjoys too.
A new approach
I'd like to propose that we write intuitively attractive copy that connects.
What are some of the ways that we can do this?
Your mission and vision need to be front and centre on your website. Where you are going and the difference you want to make in the world are what capture readers in those all-important initial three seconds. They can then decide whether or not they want to read on to your impeccably well-written services and offerings.
Know that it can take several touchpoints until a client is ready to open a conversation with you. Throughout this time they may have lurked, observing but not necessarily interacting with your social media accounts until the time is right. Vulnerability or past experiences may have led them to hold back but as soon as they feel ready, they’ll come forward. Entice them to do so by being approachable and give them clear, open lines of communication.
Show up as yourself and you won’t have to bust your way past their defences if you’re the right person for them. They’ll naturally desire to trust you and this trust will serve as a firm basis for your working relationship.
Sweat the small stuff
This is all very well if you’re offering a lucrative programme over a period of time, you may contest but what if it’s a quick turn-around or low-ticket offer?
Surely you don’t need to invest quite as much time and effort into getting it to fly off the shelves?
My answer to this is every customer or client deserves the same level of respect from you. Whether you’re selling something for $3k or $30 does not matter – it still needs to be full of value, relevant and purposeful. Be 100% honest about what it is, what the client will get out of it and what you’ll get out of it (like an open gateway to making them further offers).
This is not a time to trick people in order to make a fast buck just because it’s low cost.
Whether someone has shelled out a month’s mortgage payment or the price of a coffee, knowingly selling them something they don’t want and can’t use is just plain shitty.
What changes can you make today?
Not everyone has a launch around the corner or a website refresh in the pipeline but there are things that you can do right now to give your message a little lift:
Think about your social media posts: are your captions written from a place of fear or love? Remember the value of these touchpoints.
Have faith in the uniqueness of what you do and allow this to shine. When you do this, you won’t need to bully people into buying from you: they’ll feel so aligned, they’ll want to.
Stop and think about what your mission and vision are – because these underpin everything.
Ethical doesn't mean weak
None of this means that your words should be wishy-washy or flim-flam. Keep making strong choices in the language you use:
Make sure you are heart-felt, responsible and ever-giving.
Welcome, embrace, inspire and excite your reader.
Be a springboard to other ideas or avenues of discovery.
Nurture growth.
Punch through cliche.
Champion breakthrough ideas.
Question the status quo if you need to.
There is nothing passive about this kind of marketing
Keep working with honest, hard intention: just don't think that you need to create puncture wounds in order to be successful. Think about it more as an osmosis of ideas. Be brave and hit your flow because nothing is more appealing than someone who is open to sharing, trustworthy and obviously in love with what they do.
The right clients will align with your vibe.
In contrast, Killer copy that sells just feels like firing sharp arrows out into the darkness, hoping that if they hit someone hard enough, they’ll hand you money to make the pain go away. I know this approach works for other industries and good luck to them but if you’re in the business of healing or helping people to grow in their lives, then please reconsider whether this is for you.
If you’d like help with clarifying your mission and vision along with your brand language and story-telling, then please book a call or a branding session. Let’s get to the bottom of what you do and articulate it so brilliantly that we can all dump killer selling for good.
And for more on ousting shitty selling tactics and how to answer the call of what feels happy and healing, check out my Green Pea Podcast with eco-warrior and fellow word nerd Emma Hewlett. New episodes popping all the time so check back regularly.