21 February 2021|Latest Posts, Marketing, PR, Promotion, Psychology
By Jonny Cooper. Did you know that the average coaching revenue is less than $30K? That means that there are countless gifted and inspiring entrepreneurs out there earning this measly amount, in spite of all their talent and potential.
But it’s not as simple as saying “woe is them” and hoping for better. Unfortunately, some of the blame does lie with the coaches, therapists, trainers and consultants who just don’t know how to market their businesses effectively.
Offering top quality services isn’t enough these days. Unless you learn how to put yourself out there in front of the right people, your business will never get off the ground. To make the impact you and your clients deserve, you need to work smarter.
So, with the industry clearly in crisis, it’s time people started paying attention to one of the most important aspects of running a successful online business: their personal brand.
What is a personal brand?
The clue is kind of in the name with this one. Your personal brand is the unique way that you choose to market your business, combining your services, offers and skills with your personality, story and the way you communicate with your clients.
And make no mistake – if you’re online, you already have a personal brand.
Everyone who comes across you forms an instantaneous opinion of who you are, what you do, and whether or not you’re going to be of any use to them.
Your personal brand exists by default, whether or not you choose to manage it.
A core foundation of your personal brand is your USP – what truly makes you different and more valuable than others selling the same stuff. So you’ve got to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Otherwise, you’ll end up being just another schmuck peddling your services to an absent audience.
Whatever your personal brand is, whether it’s centred around offering solutions that you knowyour target audience needs or about being a marketer who really, really hates marketing, just make sure you’re consistent with it.
If you aren’t consistent, how can you expect people to recognise you on different social media platforms? Or trust you when your attitude changes at the drop of a hat?
Will a coherent personal brand actually improve my business?
The short answer to this question is a resounding yes.
The longer answer is that, without a coherent personal brand to help you reach the masses, you’ll end up stuck in a cycle of tweaking offers that are perfectly fine and spending money on advertising that doesn’t work. And then you’ll end up finishing another year of business in that $30K-a-year income bracket.
But you can do so much better.
Once you put your story, your values and your mission front and centre, you can be well on your way to supercharging your income and proving your all-important credibility.
It may sound too good to be true, but your brand is how you sell yourself. If you don’t pay attention to it, you’re going to lose out to competitors who might not be as good as you are, but are playing a much smarter game.
What does my personal brand have to do with my credibility?
If you’re wondering what exactly credibility has to do with all of this, then you’re out of the loop. The fact of the matter is that credibility has everything to do with branding. In fact, proving yourself to be trustworthy, approachable and genuinely capable of helping is kind of the whole point.
To put it bluntly, people really won’t be interested in doing business with you if you don’t prove yourself to them. So you have to find the best way to present yourself and your business.
It’s only once you are seen as credible in the eyes of your target audience that the clients and the cash will come rolling in.
How can I create a coherent personal brand?
If you’re having to start from scratch with working on your personal brand, then you’ll need to start asking yourself some questions, like:
· Who exactly is it I want to help?
· How do I plan on helping them?
· And why should they come to me over anyone else out there?
I know, I know – it sounds pretty rudimentary. But even if you think you have these things sorted in your head, take the time to dig a little deeper. It’ll be worth it. Once you have these three pillars figured out, it will become that much easier to decide on the right way to represent yourself online.
It’s also important that you look for the right places to reach the people you want to help – there are so many platforms to choose from these days.
Remember that different platforms cater to different tastes. There’s really no point in trying to corner the 50+ market on Instagram, or pin down millennials with mailing lists.
So do your research. Find out which corner of the internet your ideal audience is hiding out in, and pitch your tent there. Get on their level. Check out what they post and how they talk to each other. And then find a way to introduce your niche in a way they will respond well to.
You see, no matter where you choose to set up shop, you always need to remember that the way you conduct yourself and speak to your audience is as much a part of your personal brand as anything else.
Say, for example, that you are a coach with offers aimed at ambitious entrepreneurs. Talk down to these high-fliers and chances are you’ll get pushback. Adopt a lackadaisical approach to communicating with them, and they’re likely to lose interest, fast.
While the specifics of your own personal brand should be (surprise, surprise) personal and unique, you will always need to show yourself to be personable, knowledgeable and competent at what you do.
You already have a personal brand. Whether and how you choose to manage it will dictate 100% of your future success.
About the Author:
Jonny Cooper is a UK-based entrepreneur, business coach, former professional musician and international racing driver. One thing you should know about Jonny is that he REALLY HATES marketing, so much so, it inspired him to launch his business, Jonny Hates Marketing. Jonny Hates Marketing is a business coaching service for coaches, trainers and therapists who aren’t keen on traditional marketing strategies. Jonny shows them how they attract clients who will pay them what they are worth while still staying true to their core values. The driving force behind the business was the realisation that most coaches and therapists were struggling to make ends meet with very few earning a high enough income to consider themselves a financial success. Jonny recognised that while the coaches, therapists and trainers who came to him were experts at what they did, many of them lacked the business acumen and marketing knowhow to turn their passion into a thriving business. As well as running training sessions for his members, Jonny is also the voice behind the Jonny Hates Marketing Facebook group which has almost 5,000 members.
