ChatGPT can help you overcome writer’s block and generate endless ideas for your marketing campaigns, but only if you give it the right prompts.

In this guide, we’ll break down the secret to crafting effective ChatGPT prompts for your marketing strategy and lead you through 90 concrete examples, including:

• 90 best ChatGPT prompts for marketing your coaching business
• What are ChatGPT prompts?
• The benefits and downsides of using ChatGPT prompts for marketing your coaching business
• How to create effective ChatGPT marketing prompts

What Are ChatGPT Prompts?

ChatGPT prompts are specific instructions or input provided to the ChatGPT AI tool to generate responses for you. These prompts might be:

• Questions you’re seeking answers to
• Requests for pro-con lists to ease decision-making
• Generating a list of content ideas, channels, or an entire marketing strategy
• Getting outlines for copywriting and long-form writing
• Receiving inputs for planning your marketing campaigns

If you want your ChatGPT prompts to work, you must:

• Clearly communicate your intent
• Ask specific questions
• Provide as much context as possible 
• Detail your current marketing strategy if applicable

The more detailed and concrete your prompt is, the more tailored and relevant the generated output will be.

For instance, if you want ChatGPT to help you write a marketing email for your coaching services, your prompt might include: 

• Your target audience (and potentially, an entire avatar description) 
• Your coaching niche
• The tone of voice you want to speak in
• Examples of successful emails you’ve written before (or email swipes from other coaches)
• An email or copywriting framework (or template) to use
• All the specific details you want to highlight in your email

ChatGPT then generates a response based on your input and the data it was trained on.

So, how to use ChatGPT for marketing your coaching business? You can ask it to:

• Generate ideas for your marketing campaigns
• Craft draft emails for your coaching clients
• Get a list of subject line options for your email campaigns
• Come up with new names for your coaching packages
• Generate texts for a Facebook ad
• Create outlines for your blog articles
• Write social media captions for your social media marketing
• Come up with new taglines for your website
• Create a new structure for your website or digital marketing deck
• Get new suggestions for workshop ideas, webinar topics, or other content creation ideas
• Run research on topics that don’t require real-time data
• Seek advice on solving specific problems in your marketing strategy
• Generate new coaching questions to use in specific scenarios
• Develop coaching exercises to use with your clients
• Figure out how to price your coaching services

Pro tip: Want to save even more time running your coaching business? Try Paperbell for free to launch a beautiful coaching website, manage scheduling and payments, share your offers, and manage your clients from a single platform.

The Benefits of Using ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing Your Coaching Business

1. It Saves You Time (When Used Right)

Once you get the hang of it, ChatGPT can save you time by generating a long list of ideas or completing marketing tasks in seconds. It can also:

• Lay out the data and insights you need to make marketing decisions
• Get you started with your copywriting process or campaign planning
• Run a competitor analysis
• Help you get work done hands-free (via speech recognition)

It takes some time to learn how to use AI tools to automate marketing tasks, but by the time you get through this article, you’ll be armed with the know-how to do just that.

[ Read: How To Leverage AI for Coaches (Without Losing What Makes You Unique) ]

2. It Helps You Overcome Writer’s Block

There’s nothing worse than sitting in front of a blank page, not knowing where to start. A strong structure and outline for your posts and web pages can get you unstuck and make writing easier. 

ChatGPT can help you brainstorm that structure. Instead of creating content ideas or an article outline from scratch (which takes up a lot of brain space), you can ask your AI buddy to do it for you.

3. It’s a Free (or Low-Cost) Solution

ChatGPT has a free plan where you can get limited access to the most up-to-date model. As of October 2025, that is GPT-5. If you want extended usage as well as access to voice mode and the ability to create your own custom GPT (like to create an AI coach version of yourself), you’ll need to upgrade to the $20/month or $200/month plans:

The Downsides of Using ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing Your Coaching Business

1. It’s Not Error-Free

ChatGPT isn’t perfect. You still need to run the texts it generates through a tool like Grammarly to avoid spelling mistakes and other errors. 

You also need to fact-check what it suggests using reliable sources and make sure you cite proprietary concepts and ideas properly to avoid legal trouble. This is because, like other AI models, ChatGPT is known to “hallucinate” false events or facts.

ChatGPT also often warns its users about the fact that it doesn’t read real-time data. Every new model gets a knowledge update, but currently, even its most up-to-date model has a knowledge cutoff (at the time of writing this article) of October 2024.

So basically, not much help with timely content pieces.

2. It Doesn’t Think Like a Human

ChatGPT is great at churning out data but lacks contextual thinking and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for great marketing. 

If you don’t edit what it suggests and think through your campaigns critically, AI-generated content can seriously damage your brand image.

Here’s another way to think about it: OpenAI and other large language model (LLM) creators may call their products “AI”, but in reality, they are not a “true” artificial intelligence. The way they work is more closely related to a much more powerful version of the text predictor on your smartphone.

This means these models are incapable of producing unique ideas. And unique ideas are what will help you stand out from other coaches.

3. Low Ranking for Your SEO Campaigns

In the last few years, Google has become increasingly adamant about ranking content with the E-E-A-T factors in mind:

• Experience
• Expertise
• Authoritativeness
• Trustworthiness

In the article linked above, Google mentions that Trustworthiness is the most important factor. How trustworthy can an article be if it relies on a machine that has a knowledge cutoff in 2024 and is known to hallucinate false facts?

This is especially true for legal and medical content, where misinformation can create a lot of damage (business and health coaches beware). So, while we all wish ChatGPT could write articles like this for us while chilling on a beach, those margaritas have to wait.

How to Create Effective ChatGPT Marketing Prompts

Whereas, if you specify the topic you want to write about, your caption will be tailored accordingly.

1. Involve It in Your Thought Process

Thinking in a vacuum, without anyone to bounce ideas with, is tiring. Luckily, ChatGPT is always there to brainstorm with you. 

You can ask it to:

• Break down marketing processes for you
• Spill out new content ideas
• Evaluate the pros and cons of a particular marketing initiative
• Analyze a piece of copy that performed well and explain why it thinks it worked (and how you can apply that to your marketing)

You do need to take everything ChatGPT says with a pinch of salt, but it can give you an overview of things that will help you refine your marketing efforts.

Here’s an example of an output ChatGPT gave me once I used this prompt:

“You are an expert email marketing strategist. Analyze the following marketing email and tell me: 

1. What makes this email effective? 

2. Give me ideas to apply this email framework in an email to promote my coaching services

[insert the successful email here]”

Newer models such as GPT-5 go into a lot of detail with a prompt like the above. As you can see below, the model spits out several lines to break down the email and how to apply it:

2. Get Specific

One of the secret ingredients of engaging and impactful content is specificity. Generic and vague marketing messages are a turn-off for your target audience because they make it sound like you’re not speaking to them. 

The more specific your queries are, the better the ideas and texts will be in ChatGPT’s responses. For example, if you’re just asking for a generic post for your social media, it will be nothing short of blah.

Whereas if you specify the topic you want to write about, your caption will be tailored accordingly.

We’re still not winning a Pulitzer prize for this, but at least our caption stayed on the story, and we have a few more tricks up our sleeves to make it better. Keep reading.

3. Share All Relevant Details

The more ChatGPT knows about your campaign, the better it will be able to tailor its suggestions to it. You can let the AI model know about:

• Format: Define whether it’s a social media post, article outline, tagline, or email template you need.
• Length: How many words should your email be? How many title suggestions do you need?
• Other successful examples: The more ChatGPT can see what an ideal output looks like, the better YOUR output will be.
• Target audience: Who is your campaign addressing? What pain points does your product solve for them?
• Your brand and services: What’s your specialization as a coach and what services do you offer? What product does your current campaign revolve around?
• Your actual knowledge: Don’t get ChatGPT to come up with the actual expertise for you. Braindump what you know about the topic you want it to write about instead of asking it to do that work.

These details are worth laying out beforehand for your campaign anyway. If you do, it will help ChatGPT give you better responses.

In the past, you had to worry about ChatGPT running out of “context”. An LLM’s context window is how much data it can retain at once before beginning to “forget” the earliest parts of the conversation.

Today’s models have a much larger context window than the first models, which means you can insert a lot more input data into your prompts than before. Make the most of it.

4. Train it on Your Brand Voice

Tonality isn’t really relevant for generating ideas and getting some perspective for planning, but it is for your copy. In most cases, the problem isn’t with the factual information ChatGPT suggests but with the tone in which it communicates. 

You can give it inputs on your tone of voice to describe its characteristics:

• Is your brand voice humorous or serious?
• Is it formal or casual?
• Irreverent or respectful?
• Matter-of-fact or enthusiastic?

Tonality and personal writing style are the hardest for ChatGPT to learn, but the model is constantly improving. It’s always worth giving it instructions on how it should phrase things.

Besides describing your brand voice, you can also give ChatGPT examples of your previous writing (or your competitor’s) that best resemble what you’re looking for.

5. Revise

Working with ChatGPT is a lot about trial and error. While the below prompts will give you a huge head start, you probably still need to tweak them here and there to get the results you’re looking for.

The AI tool generates unique real-time responses, meaning it never gives the same answer to you or me. If you feel like its output is not quite it, you can:

1. Edit your prompt to be more specific about what you want.
2. Ask ChatGPT to regenerate its response, meaning have it say the same thing differently.
3. Type “continue” to ask for more details on the subject that hasn’t been shared before.

But you can also use the output as a starting point and revise yourself to really get it right.

90 Best ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing Your Coaching Business

How To Use These Prompts For Maximum Efficiency

The prompts below aren’t meant to be copy and pasted. Instead, use them as a starting point to help ChatGPT think like you do.

To get the most of them:

• Follow our above guidelines to create effective prompts: Don’t just use the single line as a prompt. Layer in all of your context to give it more info about you and your coaching business.
• Ask for variations: Today’s AI models are great at giving you options. Don’t settle for a single version of a marketing asset. Instead, ask for multiple options and choose the one you prefer.
• Turn ideas into systems: Rather than treating each prompt as a one-off, think in terms of frameworks. For example, use one content prompt to build a 30-day social media calendar or an entire email sequence, not just a single post.
• Refine iteratively: Don’t settle for the first draft. Give feedback, tighten, and build layered prompts that improve with each round.
• Layer in your personality: Even the most advanced AI can’t replace your unique story, experience, or voice. Once you generate the first draft, add your personal examples, favorite metaphors, or stories from real clients.

15 ChatGPT Prompts for Defining the Brand Identity of Your Coaching Business

1. Brand name: Generate a list of unique brand names for a coaching business focused on [specific niche].
2. Target audience persona: Describe the characteristics and interests of the typical target audience for my [niche] coaching business.
3. Mission statement: Give me suggestions for a mission statement that communicates [purpose and values] for my coaching business.
4. Tagline: Craft a memorable tagline that encapsulates the essence of my coaching business and its impact. [insert specialization and the types of services you offer]
5. Origin story: Develop a narrative from the following details that tell the story of how my coaching business came into existence and its journey so far.
6. Brand voice: Define the tone and style of communication that a coaching brand should use across all platforms.
7. Brand personality: Define the personality traits (e.g., friendly, professional, innovative) commonly associated with coaching brands.
8. Color palette: Suggest a brand color palette that reflects trust, growth, and positivity for my coaching brand.
9. Logo design: Describe a logo design that combines [symbol/element] with [symbol/element] to represent my coaching business.
10. Visual language: Suggest visual elements (icons, patterns, etc.) that can be used consistently across the branding materials of a coaching business.
11. Design elements: Recommend design ideas for business cards, letterheads, and other branding collateral.
12. Font styles: Recommend font styles for my coaching brand that convey [inset brand values].
13. Brand partnerships: Suggest potential brand partnerships or collaborations that align with [brand values] of my coaching brand.
14. Brand consistency: Outline a strategy for maintaining a consistent and engaging online presence for the coaching brand.
15. Brand evolution: Describe how the coaching brand could evolve its identity over time while maintaining core values.

15 Marketing Prompts for ChatGPT That Help Develop a Campaign for a Coaching Product

1. Campaign Objective: List possible campaign objectives to evaluate for [coaching product].
2. Marketing channels: What channels can I consider for selling a [coaching product]?
3. Marketing funnel: Describe a marketing funnel that converts free sign-ups into paying customers for [coaching product].
4. Timeline: What’s a reasonable timeline for a marketing campaign that involves [main campaign elements]?
5. Target Audience Definition: Describe the characteristics, interests, and pain points of the ideal audience for [coaching product].
6. Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Generate a compelling statement highlighting the unique benefits that set [coaching product] apart from similar products.
7. Content Strategy: Outline a content strategy for the campaign for [coaching product], including blog topics, social media posts, and video content.
8. Email Sequence: Create a storyboard for an email sequence selling [coaching product].
9. Landing Page Structure: Create the structure for a landing page that’s optimized for converting visitors into buyers for [coaching product].

10. Influencer Collaboration: Suggest potential influencers or thought leaders who could collaborate with the campaign to extend its reach.
11. Limited-Time Offer Copy: Write copy for a limited-time offer associated with the coaching product, creating a sense of urgency.
12. Interactive Campaign Element: Propose an interactive element, such as a quiz or poll, that engages the audience and encourages participation.
13. Ad campaign: Give me 10 short ad copy variations for a campaign selling [coaching product].
14. Free event ideas: Develop an idea for a webinar or workshop that can serve as a key component of the marketing campaign for [coaching product].
15. Analytics: Suggest KPIs and metrics to measure and analyze the effectiveness of my marketing campaign.

15 ChatGPT Prompts for Your Content Marketing Efforts

1. Social Media Hashtags: Create a list of relevant hashtags for social media posts related to [coaching brand/product].
2. Social Media Bio: Create a concise and engaging bio for the coaching business’s social media profiles.
3. LinkedIn content: Create a social media content plan for a [niche] coaching service on LinkedIn.
4. Video scripting: Craft an attention-grabbing script for a promotional video about personal development coaching.
5. X Content: Write a series of tweets to boost awareness of a [niche] coaching program.
6. Infographics: Develop an infographic on the benefits of hiring a business coach for entrepreneurs.
7. Email newsletters: Generate content for an email newsletter promoting a time management coaching workshop.
8. Podcast episodes: Write a podcast script discussing stress management tips for a mental health coaching business.
9. Instagram captions: Draft an Instagram caption for a motivational quote related to fitness coaching.
10. Webinars: Brainstorm ideas for a webinar promoting a leadership coaching program.
11. Pinterest: Craft a Pinterest description for an infographic on achieving work-life balance through coaching.
12. Facebook: Generate a Facebook post introducing a new coaching package for productivity improvement.
13. Ebooks: Develop an outline for a downloadable ebook on nutrition coaching tips for a healthier lifestyle.
14. Instagram stories: Craft a series of Instagram stories highlighting quick tips from a career coaching session.”
15. TikTok: Generate [X] content ideas for a TikTok video showcasing a day in the life of a fitness coaching client.

15 ChatGPT Prompts for Website and Blog Post Copy

1. Blog post ideas: Generate engaging blog post ideas for promoting a life coaching business.
2. Meta descriptions: Generate a catchy meta description for a life coaching website homepage.

3. Outlines: Create an outline for a blog post about the benefits of executive coaching for professionals.
4. Content generation: Write out the following section of this outline in an informal but matter-of-fact tone: [insert outline].
5. Blog post introduction: Write a short introduction for a blog post about the importance of stress management and how coaching can help you achieve it.
6. Revisions: Rewrite this excerpt from a blog post with more detail about [topic].
7. Expanding listicles: Suggest 10 more ways single moms can manage their time better for a listicle.
8. Reviews: Evaluate the pros and cons of using [software name].
9. Headlines: Give me 10 headline ideas for an article about the latest health and wellness trends that start with a number and are a maximum of 70 characters.
10. Website structure: Create an effective structure for a brand website of a health and wellness coach.
11. Hero section: Write three variations for the hero section on a website focusing on career coaching.
12. About page: Generate a narrative-style biography from the following resume [insert coaching resume].
13. Services section: Write short descriptions for the following career coaching services to be placed on a website: 1-on-1 coaching, group coaching, and 6-month intensive with accountability.
14. Website section copy: List 10 unique selling propositions for the website of a coaching program that focuses on self-love and confidence.
15. Testimonial template: Create a template for a concise but convincing testimonial I can share with past coaching clients to ask for recommendations.

15 ChatGPT Prompts for Email Communication & Email Marketing

1. Onboarding email: Write a short welcome email for a new client with a link where they can settle their payment and book their first session.
2. Follow-up email: Write a maximum 100-word follow-up email for a client who missed paying their coaching fees.
3. Session confirmation: Write a short email confirming the date and time of a coaching session booked with a client.
4. Firing a coaching client: Write a short email in a professional, matter-of-fact voice to fire a client who has been repeatedly breaking our contract terms.
5. Session outputs: Generate a maximum 300-word coaching session output that summarizes the following audio recording transcript: [insert transcript].
6. Session materials: Write a short email for a coaching client with a link where they can access the materials included in their coaching package.
7. Subject lines: Compose an engaging subject line for a coaching newsletter about setting and achieving goals.
8. Email funnel copy: Generate an opening paragraph for a welcome email to new subscribers of a life coaching blog.
9. Accountability emails: Write a follow-up email to a coaching client expressing encouragement and tracking progress.
10. Reminder email: Write a friendly reminder email to coaching clients about an upcoming group coaching session.
11. Sales email: Write an email reaching out to previous clients with a new coaching package.
12. Content promotion for an email list: Write a short email announcing a new blog post on productivity tips.
13. Email newsletters: Write an email to coaching clients sharing insights on overcoming common mindset challenges.
14. Signature ideas: Give me 10 friendly signature ideas I can use when sending emails to my health coaching clients.
15. Newsletter ideas: Generate 10 ideas for newsletters I can send to my email list about the abundance mindset.

15 ChatGPT Prompts for Public Relations

1. PR strategy: Share the pros and cons of common PR strategies coaches use.
2. Marketing events: Generate ideas for free events or webinars to promote my coaching brand and connect with my audience.
3. Elevator pitch: Create a PR pitch highlighting my unique coaching approach and success stories for media outreach based on the following bio: [insert coaching bio].
4. Press release: Draft a press release announcing the launch of a new coaching product and how it revolutionizes the market based on these points: [details in bullet points].
5. Media coverage: Suggest 10 long-standing coaching magazines that have featured interviews with coaches in the past.
6. Coaching bio: Create a concise and compelling bio for a relationship coach with 5 years of experience and a Level 2 ICF certification to be featured in an industry publication.

7. Case studies: Draft a social media announcement to share a recent client success story and its impact.
8. Awards announcement: Craft an announcement for winning an industry award or recognition as a business coach, focusing on gratitude and announcing new client intake.
9. Article submissions: Suggest ideas for article submissions I can pitch to leading coaching magazines.
10. Press outreach: Draft an email to connect with a journalist or reporter to establish an ongoing relationship for future coverage.
11. LinkedIn posts: Write a LinkedIn post showcasing my expertise in adoption coaching.
12. Partnerships: Compose an email pitch to invite a TikTok influencer to experience my coaching services free of charge.
13. Affiliate marketing: Write an email to a blog editor that proposes a potential collaboration to feature my coaching services in their newsletter.
14. Podcasting: Give me 10 ideas for new podcasts I can start as a spirituality coach in order to showcase my perspective and expertise.

Talking points: Generate talking points that I can use during a webinar interview about the impact of social media on children.

Automate Your Coaching Business with Paperbell

You’ve now got 90 powerful ChatGPT prompts to market your coaching business more efficiently. Why not take the next step and automate how you run your entire business?

Paperbell takes care of your contracts, scheduling, payments, and client onboarding so you can focus on coaching, not admin. Try Paperbell now for free to launch your beautiful, automated coaching website in minutes.

FAQs About ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing

What are the best ChatGPT prompts for marketing?

The best ChatGPT prompts for marketing are specific, detailed, and include context about your coaching niche, target audience, brand voice, and campaign goals. Effective prompts also share examples of successful content you’ve created before and clearly define the format and length you need. 

How to ask ChatGPT to create a marketing plan?

To ask ChatGPT to create a marketing plan, provide details about your coaching services, target audience pain points, current marketing channels, budget constraints, and timeline. Be specific about your goals and ask it to break down the plan into actionable steps with KPIs to measure success.

How to write AI prompts for marketing?

To write AI prompts for marketing, clearly communicate your intent, ask specific questions, and provide as much context as possible about your coaching business and target audience. Include details like tone of voice, successful examples, and relevant brand information.

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

Instagram (or IG) Reels are short, engaging videos that have taken social media by storm over the last several years. Imagine how you can use them to increase your visibility and brand awareness when posting on Facebook.

Want to discover a simple way to reach your coaching goals faster?

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide and tips to create content on Instagram Reels, including:

• Can you share a Reel on Facebook?
• Benefits of sharing Reels to Facebook
• How to share Reels on Facebook

Can You Share a Reel on Facebook?

As a life coach, you’re always seeking out ways to broaden your online presence and connect with more prospective clients. 

Nowadays, one of the most effective methods is by sharing engaging content on social media platforms like Facebook. This allows you to simultaneously publish your captivating coaching content across the platforms.

But can you share Instagram’s popular short-form video format, Reels, directly to Facebook? 

The answer is yes, and it’s easier than you think.

Once you master Reel sharing on Facebook, you’ll find it much simpler to leverage these popular social media tools to promote your life coaching business.

Pro tip: Successful coaches use Paperbell to share their coaching packages on socials, manage bookings and payments, and schedule clients, all in one place. Try it for free to launch your coaching website today.

Benefits of Sharing Reels to Facebook

Sharing Reels on Facebook can be a game-changer for life coaches because it greatly impacts the business when it comes to growing an online audience.

Here, you can showcase your expertise, share insights, and connect with interested clients.

The following are some key benefits of sharing Reels on Facebook:

• Increased visibility: Facebook is still the largest social media platform in 2025, with 3 billion monthly active users. Posting Reels on this platform increases the chances of reaching a wider audience.
• Better engagement: 60% of time spent on Facebook is spent on video, and according to Meta’s report, Reels are the primary reason for that. This means sharing Reels gives you a better chance at engagement on a platform that is otherwise low on engagement.
• Showcase personality: Reels allow you to present yourself authentically while giving potential clients a glimpse into your unique coaching style.
• Cross-platform promotion: Since Instagram also supports Reel sharing, cross-posting between platforms helps expand your reach even further just with the click of a button.

To optimize your success with this strategy, let’s explore how to share reels on Facebook effectively.

How to Share Reels on Facebook

Share your Instagram Reels on Facebook and expand your online visibility by following the simple steps listed below.

1. Create an Instagram Reel. If you haven’t already, start by creating a captivating Reel that showcases your coaching expertise. 
2. Edit settings and captions. Before sharing, make sure to optimize your Reel with relevant hashtags and captions. For example, you can add a call-to-action to tell people to comment a specific keyword if they want you to send them your Paperbell booking link.
3. Toggle Facebook sharing on. Once your caption is how you want it to be, scroll down to the Also Share On section and toggle on “Facebook.” You can choose to always share to Facebook by default or only share this one Reel.

4. Share an already published Reel. If you’ve already posted your Reel, navigate to it and click the Share button (the paper airplane symbol), then select Facebook.

Note: Make sure that your accounts are linked. If not yet connected, follow instructions from Facebook’s Help Center: “Linking Your Accounts.”

Now, watch as your engagement grows across platforms. If you find that some videos perform better than others and help you get coaching leads, consider running it as a Facebook ad to test if you can get a return on your investment.

Tips to Create Engaging Content In Your Reels

Do you find it difficult to create captivating content in your Reels? Need reliable strategies to come up with the best content ideas for your short videos?

Let’s tackle the best tips you can apply the next time you’re in content creation mode.

Create Engaging Content for Your Reels

When you’re a life coach, you have to create content that makes people want to listen. The more people listen and engage, the more likely you are to go viral on Facebook and get your video in front of even more potential clients.

Here are some tips for creating engaging Reels:

• Tell a story: Share personal experiences or client success stories that showcase your coaching skills and expertise.
• Educate and inform: Offer valuable insights, tips, or advice related to personal growth, mindset shifts, goal-setting strategies, etc. You can also share snippets from your coaching sessions as long as you have permission from your clients.
• Showcase testimonials: Feature happy clients sharing their positive experiences working with you. This helps build trust with potential clients who may be considering hiring a life coach.
• Add visuals: Use eye-catching images or animations to make your Reel stand out in users’ feeds. With tools like Canva, you can design visually appealing graphics without any design experience.

To get inspired by other successful life coaches on Instagram Reels, check out accounts like @melrobbins (Mel Robbins), @jayshetty (Jay Shetty), and @marieforleo (Marie Forleo).

You can even check out Paperbell’s Reels on Instagram.

Next, let’s talk about how to optimize your Reel by following the best practices of each platform.

Optimize Your Reel for Maximum Reach

It’s important to optimize your Reels so they reach the widest audience possible and make sure you’re not putting in the effort for nothing.

Here are some tips that will help you achieve maximum visibility and engagement on both your Instagram account and your Facebook profile:

• Choose relevant hashtags: Incorporate popular and niche-specific hashtags related to life coaching or personal development in your captions to make your content discoverable by potential clients.
• Create captivating captions: Write concise yet engaging captions that encourage viewers to take action, such as visiting your website or booking a session with you through Paperbell.
• Add a call-to-action (CTA): Include a clear CTA directing viewers toward the next step they should take after watching your Reel.
• Cross-promote on other platforms: Share snippets of your Reels on other social media channels like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), linking back to Instagram, where they can view the full video and follow you for more content.

Incorporating these optimization strategies into each of your Reels will not only boost their reach but also attract more prospective clients who resonate with what you have to offer as a coach. Views are great on the ego, but they won’t book you appointments with prospective clients.

Promote Your Reel Across Multiple Platforms

As discussed, promoting your Reel across various social media platforms is a low-effort way to expand your reach.  By doing so, you’ll increase the chances of reaching a wider audience and ultimately grow your online coaching business.

How to Promote Your Reels on Instagram

Since Instagram is where Reels originated, make sure to share your content on this platform as well. 

You can easily cross-post your Facebook Reel by selecting “Instagram” when publishing, then connecting to your IG account if that isn’t done already.

X (Formerly Twitter)

Use X to share a link to your Facebook Reel along with an engaging caption that entices users to click through and watch. 

Don’t forget to include relevant hashtags.

YouTube

Consider repurposing your Reel into a longer video format for YouTube. 

This will allow you to:

• Dive deeper into your topic
• Provide additional value for viewers who may be interested in learning more about what you have to offer as a life coach
• Reach a different audience (who prefer long-form content over shorter videos)

In addition, consider sharing links or embedding videos in blog posts or newsletters, giving readers even more reasons why they should work with you. 

Or, if your video is shorter than 3 minutes, you can repurpose it into a YouTube Short!Remember: consistency is key when promoting content across multiple channels. Keep up-to-date on current trends while staying true to your coaching brand.

Repurpose Your Reels For Facebook And More

Sharing Instagram reels on Facebook is a great marketing strategy to help you build your audience to gain new clients. However, to reach your goal, always remember that consistency is key when it comes to social media marketing.

So, keep experimenting with different types of content until you find what works best for you.

Wish you had more time to create amazing content and work with your dream clients? With Paperbell, you can launch your own gorgeous, social-friendly website with scheduling, payments, messaging, file sharing, and so much more, built right in. Claim your free account today.

FAQs on How to Share Reels to Facebook

Can I share someone else’s Instagram Reel on my Facebook page?

You can only share someone else’s public Reel if they’ve allowed others to reshare their content. If this is the case, simply click the “Share” button below their video and select “Facebook Page.”

Do I need a separate app or tool for sharing Reels on Facebook Pages?

No, you don’t need any additional tools or apps. Simply log into your business’s Facebook page through the app or website and follow the same steps as above when sharing an Instagram reel from your personal account.

Why should I consider using short videos like Reels instead of just posting regular photos or updates?

Because they offer higher engagement rates than traditional text-based posts. Short videos like Reels allow you to showcase more personality while giving followers quick and easy-to-digest content. They’re also more likely to be shared, which can help you reach a larger audience.

Can I schedule my reel posts on Facebook?

Yes, you can use Facebook’s built-in scheduler or third-party tools like Hootsuite, Social Champ, or Buffer to plan your content calendar ahead of time. There are also other social media management tools that go beyond scheduling.

How do I share someone’s Reel on Facebook?

To share someone’s Reel on Facebook, tap the share icon below their Reel, then select “Facebook” from the sharing options. Note that you can only share public Reels if the creator has enabled resharing in their settings.

Why can’t I share Reels on Facebook anymore?

If you can’t share Reels on Facebook, check that your Instagram and Facebook accounts are properly linked. If it’s not your Reel, make sure you’re using the latest version of the Instagram app and that the Reel’s creator has allowed resharing.

How do you share someone else’s Reel?

To share someone else’s Reel, tap the paper airplane icon under their video and choose where to share it. You can only reshare public reels if the original creator has enabled this feature in their privacy settings.

Can you share a Reel to a Facebook page?

Yes, you can share a Reel to your Facebook page. When sharing your Reel, toggle on “Facebook” under “Also post,” and if you manage a Facebook page, you’ll have the option to select which page to share it to during the posting process.

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

If you’re looking for ways to grow your audience and market your coaching business, Facebook is a powerful option, especially if you end up going viral. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore the key elements that contribute to content going viral and provide real-life examples of successful Facebook posts. Get ready to learn:

• How many views it takes to go viral on Facebook
• How to go viral on Facebook
• 5 viral Facebook posts by life coaches to boost your visibility

How Many Views Does It Take to Go Viral on Facebook?

You may dream of going viral on Facebook to reach a wider audience and attract more coaching clients. But what does it take to achieve virality? 

There isn’t a specific number of views required for your Facebook content to be considered “viral”. It drastically varies depending on the context. 

However, achieving hundreds of thousands or millions of Facebook views within 24-48 hours can generally be classified as going viral. But don’t be discouraged if your posts aren’t hitting those numbers right away. 

Creating content that resonates with your target audience and inspires them to share it is key to achieving viral success. 

In fact, even a few thousand shares can significantly increase your visibility as a coach.

You can also consider that virality is a matter of perspective. For instance, a high-profile coach like Tony Robbins will consider 100 comments as a failure. But if you’re a brand new coach with few followers, getting 100 comments could be considered viral compared to your usual content!

Pro tip: Make sure to have a beautiful coaching website up and running before you try to go viral. Get your free Paperbell account to launch your site in minutes and start taking payments.

The importance of engagement

Instead of solely focusing on view counts, why not pay attention to the level of engagement your posts receive? 

No matter which social media platform you’re using to market your coaching services, consider looking at:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Watch time (on content such as Reels)

The above metrics are strong indicators that you’re connecting with your audience and providing valuable content they enjoy consuming.

You can also track how many conversations each post has generated. After all, likes don’t pay the bill. But DM conversations that lead to genuine relationships can lead to new coaching clients.

Achieving virality through relatability

To increase the chances of going viral on Facebook as a life coach, create content that speaks directly to the challenges and aspirations faced by your ideal clients. 

Share personal stories or insights from coaching sessions (with permission). Choose stories that showcase how you’ve helped others overcome obstacles in their lives.

These real-life examples will give potential clients a glimpse into the transformative power of coaching.

Examples:

• Jay Shetty: How To Find Your Purpose And Passion In Life
• Mel Robbins: The 5 Second Rule
• Brendon Burchard: How To Believe In Yourself When No One Else Does

For instance, Jay Shetty’s post about purpose and passion covers a topic nearly anyone can relate to:

After all, who doesn’t want to live a life filled with passion and purpose?

By creating relatable content that connects with your audience and encourages them to engage, you’ll increase the likelihood of going viral on Facebook, even if it doesn’t reach millions of views overnight.

Here’s a tip to know what your audience is struggling with: 

Ask them!

A post asking what would be most helpful to hear from you is not only a great research post, but can even turn into a viral post in and of itself.

How to Go Viral on Facebook

Going viral on Facebook as a life coach can be an incredible way to reach new clients and grow your coaching business. 

If you’re aiming to hit the viral jackpot, creating content that truly inspires a broad audience is crucial. 

Here are the steps you need to help you increase your chances of going viral.

1. Create shareable content

When it comes to increasing your chances of going viral, the key is to create content that really hits home with your target audience. It should get them excited to share it with their friends. 

It could be anything from inspiring quotes that lift their spirits to personal stories that they can relate to. Specifically, text-to-video AI tools can take these quotes and stories and turn them into captivating videos that are even more shareable.

You can also share helpful tips that make their lives easier. 

2. Use eye-catching visuals

Images and videos often outshine text-only posts when it comes to grabbing attention and generating engagement on social media. 

This is especially true, according to Meta themselves. They claim 60% of time spent on Facebook is spent consuming video content.

To increase the performance of your posts, use high-quality photos or graphics if you’re not posting a Reel. Make sure they’re relevant to the message you want to convey.

Try a variety of types of images to see what sticks! For instance, you can try:

• Selfies
• Behind-the-scenes photos of your work
• Quote images
• Relevant, eye-catching stock photography with text layered on top

Remember that there’s no winning recipe for a viral post, so don’t be afraid to experiment with new types of visuals.

3. Craft compelling headlines

A captivating headline is a game-changer when it comes to grabbing users’ attention as they scroll through their newsfeeds. 

Make sure your headlines are: 

• Clear
• Concise
• Intriguing enough to pique the interest of someone who knows nothing about your coaching services
• Serve as a pattern interrupt to someone’s scrolling session

For example, take a look at sales coach Natalie Bullen’s headline for this post:

Not only is it loud and clear, but it speaks to a huge pain point her audience struggles with. It also describes the cost of that pain point — in this case, $20,000 a month.

4. Leverage trending topics

Keep an eye out for popular trends related to life coaching or personal development to increase the views and shares of your content. 

Identify these popular topics more effectively by exploring Facebook Reels hashtags. This approach helps pinpoint what’s currently capturing the audience’s attention and enables you to tailor your content to these interests.

Joining these conversations early on can tap into the interest and engagement of users who are already intrigued by the topic.

5. Promote engagement

Engaging your followers and encouraging their participation is key to boosting likes, comments, and shares on your social media posts. 

You can:

• Ask questions
• Request feedback
• Invite your audience to actively participate and share their thoughts
• Encourage people to comment a specific keyword if they want to receive a specific resource from you

Responding promptly will show that you value their input while also boosting your visibility in others’ feeds. 

A great trick that I love from Facebook ad coach Laurel Portié is to comment again on an existing post to continue the conversation. I’ve seen Laurel comment on posts where people ask for a resource and she asks: “Did I get everyone?”

Or, in this more recent example, she keeps the body of her post short and sweet.  She then uses the comment section to provide more context:

But she wasn’t done. Later that week, when she completed the video people were asking for, she commented again. 

This means two things:

1. The post will get bumped back up to people’s feeds because of the recent activity, meaning more new people will see it.
2. Everyone who engaged with the post previously will now see this link and go see her new post.

6. Collaborate with other coaches

To give yourself a head start in reaching virality status, consider collaborating with other coaches or influencers within the industry. You can:

• Share each other’s content
• Tag one another
• Create joint posts or videos

Let’s go back to Laurel Portié for a second. This coach is well-established in her field. But coach Lacy Boggs, who’s in a different coaching niche (copywriting coaching and services), isn’t as established on Facebook.

However, she does have a bigger email list than Laurel. So when she opened up spots to promote other people on her email list and Laurel raised her hand, Lacy took that opportunity to let people on Facebook know:

You can find someone who isn’t a direct competitor, but who has a similar audience to you and do something like this as well.

7. Maintain consistency

Keep a regular posting schedule so users know when to expect new content from you. 

Consistently posting valuable content builds trust with your followers. It also encourages return visits and increases the likelihood of content being shared.

8. Boost your reach through ads

In addition to creating shareable content, you can also try paid advertising options like Facebook Ads. 

This allows you to target specific demographics and interests to increase the likelihood of reaching people who are interested in your coaching services.

Plus, if you’ve got a particularly good post that received great engagement (and even paid clients) organically, you can expand its reach without creating new content!

How to Prep Your Coaching Business Before You Go Viral

Going viral is exciting, but without the right systems in place, all those views and engagement won’t translate into paying coaching clients.

If someone discovers your content through a viral post and wants to work with you, what happens next? Can they easily book a discovery call? Do you have a professional way to share your services? Can they pay you on the spot when they’re ready to commit?

Without these essentials ready to go, you risk losing potential clients who are excited to work with you right now.

This is where having an all-in-one platform like Paperbell becomes crucial. Here’s how to use it to prepare your coaching business for viral success:

• Create clear coaching packages with pricing and session details so prospects who DM you can book immediately.
• Set up a free discovery call package to easily share when people express interest in learning more about working with you.
• Build your Paperbell coaching website to share when someone asks about your services broadly to give them a complete professional overview.
• Use automated scheduling so clients can book themselves without endless back-and-forth messaging during a viral spike.
• Prepare your contracts and intake forms so new clients can complete paperwork automatically when they book.
• Enable instant payments through Stripe or PayPal with flexible options like payment plans and pay-in-full discounts.

Having Paperbell set up before your content takes off ensures you’re ready to capitalize on every opportunity.

Ready to prep your coaching business for success? Get your free Paperbell account today and have everything in place before your next post goes viral.

5 Viral Facebook Posts by Life Coaches That Can Help Boost Your Visibility

Achieving viral status on Facebook can greatly improve your visibility as a life coach.

By analyzing some of the most successful viral posts from life coaches, you can learn valuable lessons to apply to your own content strategy. 

Let’s explore the following five examples of viral Facebook posts by life coaches that generated massive engagement.

The power of vulnerability

Brene Brown’s post about her struggle with vulnerability has touched thousands because it was raw, honest, and deeply personal. 

While the content is a TED Talk, several coaches share it on Facebook as well.

Sharing authentic stories helps build trust and connection with your audience. For instance, when was a time you experienced failure or did something wrong? And what have you learned from it?

Inspiring quotes

Motivational quotes often go viral due to their shareable nature. For example, Mel Robbins’ quote post, “You’re one decision away from a completely different life,” received over 6.1k likes and 1.5k shares:

Actionable tips

Providing practical advice is another way to create engaging content. Jay Shetty, a life coach who once had the most viewed Facebook post, offers tips for improving mental health during the COVID-19 quarantine.

This likely went viral because it addressed an immediate need for many people during the pandemic.

Live videos

Live videos are an effective way to engage with your audience in real-time. Below is another post from sales coach Natalie Bullen, who frequently goes live to dive deeper into topics her audience previously engaged with.

Remember that consistency is vital when it comes to content creation. Keep experimenting with different types of content until you discover what connects best with your audience.

Grow Your Coaching Business by Going Viral on Facebook

There’s no magic in achieving the number of views needed to go viral, but continuously refining your approach can increase your chances of achieving viral success.

With the right strategy and tools, you can expand your reach and make a bigger impact to scale your coaching business.

With that being said, make sure to have your coaching website ready to go and take payments and appointments before you go viral. Try Paperbell for free today to get your beautiful coaching site up and running in minutes.

FAQs About How to Go Viral on Facebook

What kind of posts go viral on Facebook?

Posts that go viral on Facebook include inspirational stories, quotes, funny memes, videos, educational infographics, trending news topics, and user-generated content like testimonials that resonate with audiences.

How important is timing when it comes to posting content?

Timing is important for increasing visibility and engagement. The best time to post depends on when your specific audience is most active on Facebook, which varies based on their location and habits.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when trying to go viral on Facebook?

Common mistakes include a lack of originality, posting irrelevant content, using poor visuals, failing to engage with your audience, not promoting posts, and inconsistent posting. Never steal content without permission and credit.

How do I make my post go viral on Facebook?

Create shareable, relatable content with eye-catching visuals and compelling headlines. Engage your audience, post consistently, leverage trending topics, and collaborate with other coaches to increase your reach and engagement.

How many views do you need to go viral on FB?

There’s no specific number, but hundreds of thousands to millions of views within 24-48 hours is typically considered viral. However, virality is relative to your audience size. Strong engagement matters more than raw view counts.

How to get a post to go viral?

Focus on creating authentic, valuable content that resonates emotionally with your audience. Use high-quality visuals, ask questions to boost engagement, post when your audience is active, and consider using Facebook Ads to expand reach.

What kind of content goes viral on Facebook?

Focus on creating authentic, valuable content that resonates emotionally with your audience. Use high-quality visuals, ask questions to boost engagement, post when your audience is active, and consider using Facebook Ads to expand reach.

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

Posting YouTube videos on TikTok can be an invaluable skill to help you expand your reach across multiple social media platforms at once.

So let’s explore the details of transferring a YouTube video to TikTok and if direct video uploads are possible. 

Our goal is to equip you with effective strategies and advice to leverage TikTok sharing and give your YouTube content new life.

Let’s explore the following sections to learn more:

• Can you post YouTube videos on TikTok?
• How to post YouTube on TikTok
• The other way around: can you post TikTok videos on YouTube?

Can You Post YouTube Videos on TikTok?

If you aim to broaden your influence and engage with new audiences, repurposing your YouTube content for TikTok is a highly effective marketing strategy. 

But can you directly upload YouTube videos to the popular short-form video platform? 

The answer is yes. However, there are specific factors to consider and actions to take during the transfer process.

Keep reading to learn more about the factors listed below.

Pro tip: Posting on TikTok won’t do your coaching business much help if you don’t have a way to share your coaching packages. Try Paperbell for free to launch your packages on a stunning coaching website in minutes..

Understanding TikTok’s Video Requirements

TikTok’s requirements for uploading videos differ from those of YouTube. To successfully share your content across both platforms, consider this:

• Video length: While YouTube allows long-form content, TikTok requires videos to be between a few seconds and 10 minutes.
• Captions: Unlike YouTube’s automatic captioning feature, adding captions manually in the editing process will make your content more accessible and easier to grow and succeed on TikTok.
• Aspect ratio: Vertical (9:16) or square (1:1) aspect ratios work best on TikTok. In contrast, horizontal (16:9) aspect ratios are more common on YouTube, unless it’s a YouTube short.

Here’s an example of a video with a 16:9 aspect ratio:

And here’s an example of a video from the same channel, but in a 9:16 format as a YouTube short video:

Edit your videos accordingly

Before uploading to the TikTok app, your existing YouTube content should meet the above-mentioned requirements. 

CapCut is free and designed specifically for TikTok videos. However, you can also use Instagram’s Edits app .

Both are free to use and user-friendly. They’re also designed to work well on your phone, unlike traditional video editing apps.

Create shorter clips from long-form content

Not sure how to edit your video? The best idea is to start by creating shorter clips or use YouTube Shorts to highlight key points or interesting moments if the original YouTube video exceeds TikTok’s time limit. 

This approach not only makes the content suitable for the platform but also allows you to share multiple snippets from a single piece. You can significantly increase engagement and reach without too much extra work.

Optimize aspect ratio

To optimize your videos for the vertical format preferred by TikTok, adjust the aspect ratio during the editing process. 

Crop or reframe shots to fit 9:16 dimensions without losing important visual information if the original footage was shot horizontally. You can also zoom in to focus on specific areas of your video, like your face.

Alternatively, you can upload your video as is, but it will look weird. I don’t recommend it. 

How do I know? Because that’s what I did for my very first video on TikTok:

Of course, you can avoid this by quickly editing your video instead.

Add captions manually

TikTok doesn’t automatically generate captions like YouTube does. It’s the creator’s job to include them.

Add them manually to make your content more accessible and engaging for viewers who rely on text-based communication. There’s no need to do this in a separate editing tool because TikTok has one; you just need to add them using the native tool.

Be mindful of copyright

Most YouTube videos are subject to copyright protection. 

When uploading someone else’s content from YouTube onto TikTok without permission, it may result in a violation of their rights. 

Always seek proper authorization before sharing copyrighted material or consider utilizing royalty-free sources such as music with a Creative Commons license, or sourcing from the public domain. 

Does your YouTube video contain copyrighted music? Consider removing it from the video entirely by adding a trending TikTok audio over it.

If you’re using TikTok to find more coaching clients, it’s better to use your own YouTube videos, anyway. Your viewers will come to love your content for you, and not for someone else.

Make sure your page is ready to receive clients

Once you start posting on TikTok, you’ll get more people looking at your profile, especially if you end up going viral.

And you don’t want that to happen until you’ve got a way to direct interested leads to the right place – your coaching website, packages, and booking links.

How to Post a YouTube Video on TikTok: Step-by-Step Guide

Now it’s time to walk through the exact steps to take to share a TikTok video from your YouTube channel. 

Worried about how well-received repurposed content might be on TikTok? Don’t worry. Users care more about whether or not your video is interesting and valuable. 

Plus, with its short-form format, it can be easier than ever before for viewers to digest valuable tips from life coaches like yourself. 

1. Download your YouTube video

Here’s how to download your YouTube video:

1. Open YouTube on your iPhone, Android, or other mobile device.
2. Navigate to Your Videos.
3. Find the video you want to post to TikTok and click the 3 dots on the top right corner.
4. Tap “Save to device”.

You now have your video straight on your device.

2. Edit or trim if necessary 

Keep in mind that TikTok requires videos to be between 1 second and 10 minutes. If needed, edit or trim down your original footage.

You can also change the aspect ratio of your video. For example, CapCut already has a TikTok option in its aspect ratio menu:

Once you’ve changed the aspect ratio, CapCut also allows you to zoom in and out of your video by pinching your screen. Play around with your video until you’re happy with the way it looks, and then export it to your device.

3. Select TikTok as the sharing platform 

Open up the TikTok app and tap on the “+” at the bottom center of the screen; then click “Upload.” Select “Video” and choose the video you want to upload from your device.

4. Create captions (subtitles)

Adding captions (also called subtitles) to your videos can greatly enhance the viewing experience for those who watch without sound or have hearing impairments. 

And now that TikTok’s caption tool creates visually engaging subtitles natively, there’s really no excuse to include them. Just select the Captions tool in the right-hand menu while editing your TikTok video.

5. Add a description (caption), hashtags, and mentions

Write an engaging caption that describes what your video is about. Here, I’m talking about the description text that goes below the video, not the captions describing what you’re saying in your video.

Don’t forget to include relevant hashtags (like #lifecoach or #personaldevelopment) and mention any collaborators or brands featured in the content. This will help increase your visibility on TikTok’s search function.

Currently, TikTok limits hashtag usage to 5 per video.

6. Post your YouTube video on TikTok 

Once everything looks good, tap “Post.”  Voila! Your YouTube video is now uploaded to TikTok for all to see.

The Other Way Around: Can You Post TikTok Videos on YouTube?

If you’re wondering whether it’s possible to post TikTok videos on YouTube to get a stronger presence there too, the answer is YES. 

In fact, many creators are now using their short-form TikTok content for YouTube Shorts, which has gained popularity as a TikTok competitor. 

By using both TikTok and YouTube videos, you can reach and connect with new audiences that might not have found your coaching services otherwise. This is especially true, considering that YouTube shares your content around the world, unlike TikTok, which tends to share around your local area first.

In return, they will contribute to the growth of your coaching business.

Step-by-Step Guide

To help you maximize this cross-platform opportunity, here’s an in-depth step-by-step guide for uploading your TikTok videos to YouTube:

1. Save the video from TikTok.

Open the desired video in your TikTok app. Tap the share button (the arrow icon) and select “Save Video.” 

This will download the video directly onto your device.

2. Create a new account or sign in to YouTube.

If you don’t already have one, create an account with Google. Otherwise, sign in using your existing credentials.

4. Select ‘Create’ and then ‘Upload Videos’ 

Click on the camera icon at the top right corner of your screen and choose “Upload Videos.” 

If you’re on mobile, you’ll have the option between a Short and a regular video, but Shorts can only be up to 3 minutes long, unlike TikTok videos, which can be up to 10 minutes.

5. Add details about your video 

Fill out information such as title, description, tags (keywords), and other relevant details to help your video get discovered on YouTube. 

Don’t forget to include relevant keywords like “life coaching” or “personal development.”

6. Choose a thumbnail

Select an eye-catching image that accurately represents the content of your video.

7. Publish and share

Once you’ve completed all the steps, click “Publish” to make your video live on YouTube. Share it across other social media platforms for maximum exposure.

FAQs About How To Post YouTube Videos on TikTok

Can you post a YouTube video on TikTok?

Yes, you can share a YouTube video on TikTok, as long as you’re doing so on a mobile device. Download the video to your device and upload it to TikTok in the same way you would upload any video.

How do I add YouTube to my TikTok?

Simply download your YouTube video to your mobile device, then upload the same video to TikTok. If your video is horizontal, use CapCut to edit the aspect ratio to 9:16 first (TikTok’s ratio).

Can you convert YouTube videos to TikTok?

Yes, when you download a YouTube video and upload it to TikTok, it’ll get converted to a TikTok video. However, use an editing tool like CapCut to convert the aspect ratio to 9:16 if your video is horizontal.

Grow Your Coaching Business by Boosting Your Online Presence

Now that you know how beneficial it is to post YouTube videos on TikTok, you can apply this effective strategy to your coaching business!  

Embrace this cross-platform opportunity to work smarter, not harder, to access a wider audience using the amazing content you’ve already created.

Want an even simpler way to work smarter, not harder as a coach? Try Paperbell for free to get your own coaching website and run your entire business from a single platform.

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

I’ve been working with online content for over a decade, including stock photography downloaded from various websites. In this guide, you’ll find the best stock photo sites based on a few clearly defined factors.

None of these image banks sponsored this article; this is simply an honest review of their features and the photography they offer — particularly through the lens of a coaching business.

Scroll on if you want to find out more about:

• The different image licenses stock photo websites use
• How to choose the one that fits your needs best
• What keywords to use to ease your photo search
• And whether generative AI can beat photographers

How Stock Photography Licenses Work

Before you post a photo online, consider how it’s licensed — even if you have downloaded it for free. Photography licenses are an agreement between you and the image provider (a photographer or an agency), and they determine how you’re allowed to use the images.

Here are the most common licenses you’ll come across on stock photo sites online.

Creative Commons (CC) Licenses

Stock photo sites like Unsplash typically offer images under a Creative Commons license.

You can download, modify, and use these photos for free. You don’t have to attribute the creator; you can use the images for your blog, marketing materials, or other purposes.

Royalty-Free (RF) Licenses

Royalty-free stock photos cost a one-time fee; you can use them as often as you like. These images are non-exclusive, which means you may come across other people using them on their websites and social media.

Stock photo sites like Shutterstock offer royalty-free images as individual downloads or as a part of a subscription.

Editorial and Commercial Licenses

Editorial and Commercial licenses restrict how you can use their photography.

A photo with an editorial license can be used in blog posts that are informative and in educational contexts, like your workshop materials. They often include recognizable people.

Photography under a commercial license can be used for promotional purposes. You can include them in your marketing materials or on your brand website.

Stock photo sites like Getty Images sell photography under these licenses and indicate their permitted use.

Exclusive Licenses

If you purchase an exclusive license for a photo, it grants you exclusive rights to use the image during a particular license period. It prevents other users from using the image, so you won’t see it on other sites. However, it comes with a higher price tag than non-exclusive licenses.

Alamy is a stock photo site that offers exclusive licenses for a set period. This can be beneficial if you want to build a unique visual brand identity for your coaching business. 

However, with such a wide selection of high-quality images accessible online, you’re unlikely to see the photos you find on other sites. Even if you do, it probably won’t affect the credibility of your brand.

Pro Tip: Speaking of building your visual brand – Paperbell gives you a ready-to-go coaching website where you can showcase your brand images beautifully. Upload your logo, choose your colors, and add those perfectly-licensed photos to your package pages.

How to Choose from the Best Stock Image Websites

Restrictions to Use

Stock image sites offer different licensing agreements. Consider whether you’re looking for stock photography for your course material or commercial purposes, i.e., for your marketing campaign. If you’re unsure, a Creative Commons or Royalty-Free photo will be your safest bet.

Your Budget

If stock photography isn’t something you want to budget for right now, you can try out one of these free stock image websites first:

• Unsplash
• Pixabay
• Pexels
• 123RF
• Flickr 

If you’re looking for a better selection of coaching-related photography, opt for a paid plan with a stock image site like Shutterstock or iStock. 

Subscriptions are the best investment if you need new photography regularly. You can get a better deal with annual plans, plus some of these packages include additional features like editing tools and other media types.

If you’re not really sure about the number of images you’ll use in the upcoming months, or you just want a few high-res shots for your brand website, you can go for a pay-per-download plan for a one-time fee.

[ Read: We Found All The Ways To Stand Out As A Coach In 2025 ]

Image Quality

If you compare a free stock image site that relies on user contributions versus a paid one, you’ll immediately notice a difference.

Websites that list images from a photographer community often have a bigger diversity of image styles. Some of them are more candid and genuine than highly edited images, but others have a visibly lower quality.

[ Read: Build an Epic Coaching Brand: Top 10 Branding Tools for Coaches ]

On the other hand, Premium image banks work with professional photographers and models and use better lighting and a set that’s designed intentionally. They do quite a bit of editing work on their photography, too, to enhance its quality.

Image resolution can also be a concern depending on what medium you need visuals for. Image banks like Shutterstock let you download images in various sizes. You can save on storage space with smaller files used for social media or get extra high-res shots for your offline promotion display.

Image Variety

You might find limited options on a free stock image website if you’re going for a particular niche like health and wellness or spirituality coaching. Large photo banks that upload thousands of new images daily will likely have a wider range of themed images you can use for your content.

Sites like iStock also have collections that specifically list photography related to coaching or mentoring. They also have exclusive content you won’t encounter on other websites. Before you sign up for a subscription plan, it’s worth doing a test run on your shortlisted stock photo sites.

The Best Stock Photography Sites for Coaches

Here are the best stock photo sites at a glance that you can use for your marketing materials and curriculum.

Now, look at the top five stock photography websites in more detail.

The Best Stock Photo Site for Free Images: Unsplash

Unsplash is a great resource that offers unlimited downloads of free, high-quality imagery. It has an extensive library of over a million images for any purpose and a great selection of coaching-related photography.

The images are contributed by talented photographers covering various topics that make great social media posts and marketing collaterals.

The Best Free Stock Photo Site for Images and Illustrations: Pixabay

Pixabay is the ultimate resource for free stock images and illustrations. It’s ideal if you’re on a budget and need great illustrations and photography without a subscription. Sites like Pixabay use a Creative Commons license, which allows you to use and modify their visuals for free and use them for marketing purposes.

Though not curated, Pixabay lists images from a community of photographers, so you can find a diverse range of styles and subjects on their site. It offers unlimited downloads of images, vectors, music, GIFs, and sound effects.

The Best Stock Photo Site for High-Quality Photos: Shutterstock

Shutterstock has set the standard high when it comes to high-quality stock photos. It has a great collection of premium, high-resolution photos, illustrations, and vectors in the coaching niche and beyond.

Shutterstock subscriptions are $29-499 a month, depending on the number of downloads you need. They have 200,000 high-res photos added daily and aren’t cringy anymore like stock photos used to be. Shutterstock also offers a cinematic 4K stock video subscription and has a library of stock music perfect for podcast production.

The Best Stock Photo Site with a Wide Selection of Coaching-Related Imagery: iStock

iStock by Getty Images has a dedicated section for coaching and mentoring. Their specialized collections on life coaching, business coaching, wellness, and personal development are easy to navigate.

iStock offers both subscriptions starting at $29 a month and credit packs. If you want more, it also has a combined plan with videos, music, and Premium imagery.

The Best Design App with a High-Quality Stock Photo Bank: Canva

Canva is a comprehensive design platform with a high-quality stock photo bank, not just a design app. If you use Canva for your content visuals, you don’t need a separate stock photography subscription. You can search for relevant imagery while creating and simply drag and drop stunning photos on your design.

Canva has a free plan and a Premium subscription for $14.99 with a wider selection of photography and other design features. They also have thousands of templates for coaching materials that you can easily customize for your post or campaign. For those looking for different features or pricing options, exploring Canva alternatives might provide additional flexibility and unique tools to meet your design needs.

[ Read: 6 Essential Pinterest Templates & Tools to Attract Coaching Clients ]

How to Find the Best Stock Images for Coaching

If you don’t want to waste your time and photography credits browsing around, try these coaching-specific keywords.

Stock Photos Related to Business Coaching and Consulting

• Business coaching
• Career coaching
• Executive coaching
• Business consulting
• Management consulting
• Strategy consulting
• Financial consulting
• Leadership consulting

• Teamwork
• Growth
• Professional development
• Meeting room
• Workshop
• Mentorship
• Business professionals
• Client meeting
• Team collaboration
• Coaching session
• Multicultural team
• Diverse professionals
• Inclusive workplace
• Group coaching

Stock Photos Related to Health Coaching and Spiritual Coaching

• Healthy living
• Nutrition and diet
• Wellness coaching
• Fitness coaching
• Holistic well-being
• Physical wellness
• Healthy lifestyle
• Mindfulness meditation
• Wellness journey
• Physical fitness
• Mental well-being

• Spiritual growth
• Mindful living
• Inner peace
• Meditation practice
• Spiritual journey

Stock Photos Related to Relationship Coaching

• Couple coaching
• Love and connection
• Healthy relationships
• Couples therapy
• Relationship communication
• Emotional intimacy
• Trust
• Marriage guidance
• Communication skills
• Relationship goals
• Relationship dynamics
• Relationship harmony
• Intimacy coaching
• Conflict resolution

Stock Photo Sites VS AI-Generated Images

With generative AI, you can type in a specific description of a visual into an app and generate the image you’re looking for. Apps like Midjourney are getting increasingly sophisticated in understanding queries and refining images based on your inputs.

However, generative AI is still far from producing photography that can compete with camera shots. It’s fun to play around with it. However, AI images still resemble gaming graphics rather than real-life situations so for the foreseeable future, AI image generators remain one-trick ponies.

It’s also time-consuming to rewrite detailed queries to generate images that may or may not resemble what you’re looking for. It’s much faster to just head to one of the best stock photo sites and download exactly what you need in a few clicks.

Plus, let’s not forget the ethical and copyright concerns surrounding generative AI. We’re all curious about what the machine will learn in the upcoming years, but till then, you’re better off downloading human-made photography for your coaching campaigns.

Automate Your Coaching Business With Paperbell

While looking for the perfect photo for your next post or website, save time by automating your client management workflow.

Paperbell is an all-in-one client management tool that takes care of your contracts, scheduling, payments, and other admin tasks. It also…

• Turns your onboarding flow into a payment-first process;
• Helps you create stunning landing pages for your coaching packages;
• And keeps all your client information in one neat place.

Try Paperbell for free with your first client.

You must run ads! If you run ads, you’ll fail! You need video! Don’t rely on video!

It’s enough to make you want to burn it all down and give up. But what if I told you sales funnels don’t have to be confusing or conflicting?

In this post, I will walk you through every step you need to create your own sales funnel that fits your personality and goals – not the other way around. 

Because the truth is, the best sales funnel for you is the one you’re willing to build and use. 

Keep reading to discover:

• What is a sales funnel for coaches?
• Types of sales funnels for coaches
• How to create your sales funnels

What Is a Sales Funnel for Coaches?

A sales funnel is a process that guides potential clients through a series of steps toward making a purchase. It helps you nurture leads, build relationships, and ultimately convert interested prospects into paying coaching clients.

Here’s how each stage works:

• Top of the funnel: Cast a wide net to capture attention through social media, email campaigns, or content creation. The goal is to attract potential clients to your funnel and raise awareness about your coaching services.
• Middle of the funnel: Prospects now know who you are and recognize they have a problem to solve. You nurture them with conversations or content that helps them see your coaching program as the obvious solution.
• Bottom of the funnel: This is where the actual sale happens. You present your offer in a compelling way, address any objections or concerns, and emphasize the value they’ll receive by investing in your coaching services.

Pro tip: Paperbell makes your bottom-of-the-funnel conversion seamless. When prospects are ready to buy, they can pay for your coaching package, sign contracts, and book their first session all in one smooth process – no back-and-forth emails needed.

Types of Sales Funnels for Coaches

There are probably hundreds of different sales funnel variations available for coaches. I’m going to cover the three most common types you’ll find for online coaching.

1. Lead magnet funnel (or email funnel)

The lead magnet funnel is one of the most common and popular sales funnels for businesses online, let alone coaching businesses.

This funnel focuses on offering a free resource or lead magnet in exchange for contact information, such as: 

• Video trainings such as webinars, masterclasses, or workshops
• Live events such as challenges or virtual summits
• PDF resources such as eBooks, checklists, or templates/scripts
• Free discovery sessions
• Quizzes
• Short video sales letters (VSL)
• And so much more!

The purpose of the lead magnet is to provide value upfront and capture the interest of your target audience. By offering something of value for free, you can attract potential clients and start building a relationship with them.

Once you have their contact details, you can nurture the relationship through email marketing.

 By sending regular emails with valuable content, tips, and insights, you can stay top-of-mind and position yourself as a trusted advisor. 

Over time, you can introduce your coaching services and make personalized offers to those who have shown interest in your lead magnet. This type of funnel allows you to build a list of qualified leads and convert them into paying clients through consistent email communication.

This funnel is structured as follows:

• Top of funnel: free resource/lead magnet
• Middle of funnel: consistent emails
• Bottom of funnel: free discovery call or sales page

For example, Karel from Anchored Awakening offers this free self-love guide to welcome people to her email list:

This type of sales funnel is effective for people who enjoy emailing frequently. As an email marketing coach and provider, this one’s my favorite. 

But it’s not the only way to keep in touch with your audience. Let’s look at a few other funnel types.

2. Video funnel

A video funnel differs from a lead magnet funnel in one way:

Instead of capturing contact information, you capture attention.

Video funnels typically rely on paid ads to retarget users based on what they’ve watched. Here’s how it can work as an example:

• You launch a series of videos to spread awareness about a problem you help solve
• Using paid ads (such as Facebook ads), you retarget everyone who watched a specific portion of those videos with a second series of videos diving deeper into the topic
• You retarget everyone who watched a portion of Series 1 and Series 2 with a final video that encourages people to book a discovery call with you

The advantage of this model is how simple it can be to run. No crazy tech needed – just something to record your videos, the ad platform, and a calendar page to book a call.

The disadvantage is that you need an advertising budget to be able to retarget video viewers. But even as little as $2 a day per retargeting video can help you gain traction!

3. Social selling funnel

Finally, you have your social selling funnel. This type of sales funnel relies on the relationship you build with your social media followers instead of relying on retargeting ads or email marketing.

Like video funnels, this is incredibly low-tech and can make it easy for coaches to start building an audience. It can be as simple as this type of funnel on Instagram: 

• Top of funnel: Reels and carousel posts that attract 
• Middle of funnel: Daily Stories that encourage people to DM you
• Bottom of funnel: DM conversations where you send qualified leads a link to book a call or purchase a low-ticket offer 

Let’s go through an example with Dark Grove Press. Melissa is a book editor, but she’s also a coach and course creator who helps authors plan, write, and edit their first novels for self-publication. Here’s what one of her recent Reels looks like:

It helps authors with a common problem: the unique premise of their book. New and aspiring authors may come across this reel and start following Melissa for more helpful advice.

In her Stories, she reposts some of that content… but she also expands on it for her Middle of Funnel followers.

Sometimes, she’ll invite people to DM her for more info about her one-on-one services. But in other cases, she’ll direct people to her course instead, which is another path for people to make it to the bottom of the funnel.

Now, while social media funnels can be simple and effective, they do come with one big risk: 

You don’t own the platform and your audience.

That’s why I encourage coaches to grow their email list as soon as possible. But you can still pair list-building with a social selling strategy if that’s how you show up best!

How To Create Your Sales Funnels

So, how do you go about creating a coaching sales funnel? The truth is, there are a million ways to approach the process. 

And there isn’t one specific way that works best for everyone.

This is why the next section is set up to be funnel-agnostic – meaning, you can follow along and build a custom coaching funnel that works for you, regardless of how you like promoting your coaching business!

Let’s get into it.

1. Identify your target audience and transformation

Before creating a sales funnel, it’s crucial to know who you’re targeting as your ideal client. Define your ideal coaching client and understand their pain points, desires, and motivations.

Take the time to conduct thorough market research and gather insights about your target audience. Understand their demographics, interests, and challenges they face. This information will help you tailor your sales funnel to their specific needs and preferences.

2. Map out your coaching funnel

Before you create a single step of your sales funnel, it’s important to map out the entire journey first. That’s because each step will give context for where your leads have been, what they know, and what they need at any given moment.

We’re going to map out your funnel starting from the bottom, then the top, and finally with the middle. That way, you can reverse-engineer the entire journey because you know where your leads need to end up!

A. Start with your bottom-of-funnel in mind (BOFU)

The “bottom of the funnel” is the step where people are ready to buy. For many coaches, this means booking a free discovery session, while for others, it means reading a long-form sales page or watching a video sales letter.

As a general rule of thumb, if you’re selling high-ticket coaching, you should aim to get people on a discovery call first. While it’s definitely possible to automate your coaching business with sales pages and other AI sales software, you do need to know a lot about your clients and have a dialed-in offer in place for that to work.

On the other hand, if you offer lower-ticket items, your BOFU may look different. Some examples of low-ticket coaching products may include:

• One-off coaching sessions priced at $200 or less
• Voxer coaching VIP days priced at $200 or less
• Courses or group coaching programs priced at $500 or less
• Digital products
• Monthly memberships priced at under $100 per month

For these types of coaching offers, your BOFU can be:

• A text sales page
• A video sales letter
• A conversation in the DMs 
• An email sales sequence leading to a simple checkout page

For example, Evelyn Weiss hosted a mini-coaching program that lasted 7 days for $97. She promoted it via email and linked the sales page in the emails.

B. Choose your top-of-funnel channel (TOFU)

Your top-of-funnel content is what leads people to first raise their hand about being potentially interested in your coaching.

At this point, they’re not yet ready to book a call, let alone buy from you. They’re only just dipping their toes in your world and finally accepting the call to dive deeper.

For example, let’s say they’re reading your coaching blog. If you’re running a lead magnet funnel, they may get a pop-up asking them for their email address. In this case, the TOFU content is the lead magnet, and what got them to this content was your blog!

Your TOFU lead magnet can be discovered in a variety of ways, such as:

• Via your organic social media content
• Using paid ads
• When visiting your website
• On search engine platforms (Google, Youtube, Pinterest) with SEO optimization

For instance, Feminine Sales Academy is using ads to advertise a paid lead magnet as their TOFU:

If you’re running a video funnel, the first series of videos is your TOFU content – it essentially takes the place of your lead magnet. 

And if you’re running a social media sales funnel, any of your discoverable content is your TOFU content. This could be short-form videos, feed posts, or other types of content, depending on your social platform of choice.

C. Determine your middle-of-funnel strategy (MOFU)

In the middle of the funnel, people begin to consider you as a potential solution to their problem. This step starts to get them ready to take action on your BOFU action.

The way you structure your MOFU depends on where you want people to end up in BOFU, but it also depends on where people came from. For instance, if you want people to book a call, what needs to happen for people to take that action?

Your lead needs to believe that booking a call will be helpful to them. And for that to be true, they also need to believe:

• You’re an expert in the niche they need help with
• You’re trustworthy and credible
• There’s a good chance you can help them

At this point, they don’t have to be 100% convinced that you can help them. But that’s what your free discovery session is for. 

So, how can you help shift their beliefs to help them trust you and see you as the true expert you are? It depends on your method of capture from TOFU. 

For instance, if you’ve chosen a lead magnet, your MOFU content will likely be emails. The goal of your emails will be to funnel people into taking action toward your BOFU, such as booking a call or checking out a sales page.

But if you’re running a video funnel, your MOFU will simply be more videos showcasing your coaching expertise.

If you’re running a 100% social media-based sales funnel, your MOFU content can be something like Stories on Instagram.

No matter your medium, you can use your MOFU content to:

• Share stories that show your expertise
• Explain common mistakes people make about your coaching niche
• Inspire your leads to take action
• Shift your leads’ perspective
• Build rapport with your leads

For example, Scott Perry from Creative on Purpose uses his Instagram Stories to entice his audience to message him for more info about his free training.

Once people message him, he can not only share the training but also have a DM conversation with these people and move them to BOFU if it makes sense!

3. Build a minimum viable sales funnel first

Once you’ve mapped out every step of your sales funnel, it’s time to build it out. But before you get the temptation to sink hundreds of hours (and potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars) into your sales funnel, pause for a moment.

There’s no use investing tons of time and money into a coaching funnel if you haven’t proven it can work yet. This is why I advise you to build a minimum viable funnel first.

A minimum viable funnel is exactly what it sounds like: the minimum possible setup required for your coaching sales funnel to work.

For example, let’s say you’ve mapped out the following funnel:

• PDF resource as a lead magnet
• Nurturing email sequence
• Discovery session

Before you design a fancy PDF and set up 10+ emails that lead to your free discovery session, you should first see if people are interested in this specific lead magnet.

For example, you can create a rough version in a simple Google Doc before you get it designed. 

If you’re creating a video coaching funnel, consider going live on your organic social channels with several video topics to see what gets the most engagement. 

And if you’re leading people to your email list, don’t create a long, automated email sequence right away! Instead, you can set it up to have a single welcome email that leads to your regular coaching newsletter.

At this point, you can send emails at the frequency you’ve decided on. You’ll get to experiment to see what types of emails resonate with your audience. 

Once you find your groove, you can add the winning emails to an automated sequence!

Additionally, consider keeping your tech stack simple in your minimum viable funnel stage. For instance, you can use Paperbell to:

• Create your landing pages for your free or paid digital offers
• Set up your free discovery sessions and paid coaching packages
• Host your digital resources

You can do all of the above without setting up a website or fancy funnel! A simple sales funnel can do the trick and validate your messaging much more quickly.

4. Expand your proven sales funnel

You’ve set up your minimum viable funnel and started getting traction? People are opting in for your lead magnet, engaging with your content, and booking calls on your calendar.

At this point, you’ve got two options:

• Leave your sales funnel as is, or;
• Expand your proven sales funnel.

I want to clarify that leaving your coaching funnel as is can be a good option. Why fix what’s not broken? 

However, expanding your funnel can help you leverage what’s working and start reducing the manual labor involved in your sales process. 

For instance, if you create a long email sequence to nurture your leads, you won’t have to rely on sending frequent emails anymore. And if you invest some time or money to design a winning lead magnet, you can boost your coaching brand.

Here are some ways you can expand your sales funnel:

• Create a longer email sequence
• Design a sales page instead of directing people to a checkout page
• If running ads, try new hooks, angles, and creatives
• Turn your first lead magnet draft into a more polished version

Keep changes minimal with each iteration. If something breaks and you’ve changed multiple things at once, it’ll be difficult to pinpoint what broke!

5. Scale the reach of your funnel

Once you have a proven sales funnel for your coaching business, you’re only limited by how many people that funnel can reach!

At this point, you can keep doing what you’re doing. Or, you can scale what you’re doing to reach more people with your funnel.

Option 1: Ramp up your organic content creation

If you’re currently getting leads for your coaching funnel via organic methods and want more leads the organic way, there’s not much else to do but ramp up your organic content creation.

You can also leverage additional platforms by reusing your content. For instance, if you’re currently making it big on TikTok, why not share your TikTok videos as Instagram Reels?

Optionally, you may also decide to hire an assistant to help you with content creation.

Option 2: Use paid ads

If you’re fully tapped out on the organic side of things, consider adding paid ads to the equation.

Paid ads are nothing more than organic content with money on them. You can take a winning message that’s already proven to convert and set up ads to help it reach more people.

Option 3: Get other people to promote your sales funnel

If you don’t have the bandwidth to scale your organic reach and don’t want to sink money into ads, consider trying affiliate marketing instead.

With affiliate marketing, you can either pay your affiliates for every new client or pay them for each new lead in your sales funnel.

But affiliate marketing isn’t the only way to get other people to promote your sales funnel. You can also use PR strategies to borrow other people’s audiences, such as appearing as a guest on someone’s podcast or publishing a guest post on someone else’s blog. 

There’s no greater example of the power of guest podcasting than fellow email marketing coach Liz Wilcox. Over the last two years, Liz has appeared on over 100 podcasts to speak about email marketing.

The result? She now has nearly 10,000 members in her $9/month email marketing membership. And she never paid a penny in ads.

That’s because several podcast hosts allow Liz to share a link to her sales funnel. The more podcasts she can appear on, the bigger her audience becomes for her funnel!

Launch Your Coaching Sales Funnel to Grow Your Business

There you have it – you now have everything you need to build your own coaching sales funnel that makes sense for you and your business! No need to squeeze yourself into someone’s strict definition of what the right sales funnel for coaches should look like. 

By continuously refining and optimizing your sales funnels, you’ll be able to attract more dream clients, increase your coaching revenue, and make a greater impact on the lives of those you coach.

And the easiest way to get started with a simple yet effective sales funnel is with Paperbell! Not only does Paperbell automatically create landing pages for your coaching packages, but it also handles payment processing, calendar bookings, automated emails, and so much more. Give it a try by claiming your free account!

This post was originally published in October 2023 and has since been updated for accuracy.

It’s no coincidence – advertising techniques are what drive people to take action. These are powerful tools marketers use to pull us in and make us take action. 

If you’re a coach looking to grow your business, mastering these techniques could help you speed up your success.

That’s why we’ve put together some of the best advertising techniques specifically for coaches! Keep reading to discover:

• What are advertising techniques?
• 8 Advertising techniques to try for your coaching business

What Are Advertising Techniques?

If you’re an online coach, the right advertising techniques can be your game-changer. They are the methods and strategies used to promote your coaching services to prospective clients using paid advertising.

Ad campaigns, when done correctly, help you stand out against your competitors. They make you top of mind for people who may struggle with the problems you help solve.

And while it’s possible to launch some ad campaigns without specific techniques, there’s a good chance they won’t convert. 

Advertising techniques, on the other hand, are tried and tested strategies that other advertisers – including coaches – have already validated. Instead of starting from scratch, you get to build off the shoulders of giants who have already figured some things out. 

However, I’d like to highlight the difference between an advertising strategy and an advertising technique:

Your strategy is the overall way you’re going to approach a paid advertising campaign. On the other hand, techniques are what you’ll do on a micro level. They may dictate what type of videos you use or how you write your ads, while the strategy will decide on the entire ecosystem of your ads.

Pro Tip: When people click on your ads and want to book with you, make sure you don’t lose them in a complicated sign-up process. Paperbell handles everything from scheduling to payments to contracts in one smooth flow, so you can focus on perfecting your advertising techniques instead of juggling admin tasks.

8 Advertising Techniques to Try for Your Coaching Business

Now that you understand what advertising techniques are and why they’re important, let’s go over some of the best advertising technique examples for coaches!

1. Social Proof

Social proof is an incredibly powerful tool to build credibility, especially when targeting cold traffic with your paid ads. It’s no wonder it has become one of the most common advertising techniques for coaches.

By showcasing testimonials and reviews from satisfied clients, you demonstrate the effectiveness of your services and tap into a fundamental aspect of human psychology. 

Here are some tips to help you make the most of social proof in your advertising campaigns:

• Try to collect testimonials from a wide range of clients to showcase the versatility and adaptability of your coaching services
• Encourage willing clients to share their experiences on camera – real, heartfelt messages from satisfied clients can be incredibly persuasive!
• Showcase the journey of your clients – where they started, the challenges they faced, and how your coaching helped them overcome these obstacles
• If clients mention or tag you on their social media, with their permission, use these mentions as informal testimonials

By strategically leveraging social proof, you can improve your online coaching’s perceived value and trustworthiness!

2. Going ‘Behind the Scenes’ 

The “behind the scenes” approach involves giving potential clients a glimpse into the inner workings of your coaching process. This creates a sense of trust and intrigue. You get to show the human and relatable side of your business!

You can leverage the “behind the scenes” of your business in several ways, but let’s talk about the three main ways you can do this in paid ads: video, images, and/or text.

Let’s say you want to use video. This could include: 

• Preparing for coaching sessions
• Brainstorming ideas for client growth
• Snippets of your day-to-day work life

For example, Laurel Portié breaks down her multi-platform advertising funnel in a video ad on Facebook:

Video is great for behind-the-scenes content because it shows you doing your thing behind the scenes. But if you prefer using text and images, you can do that, too.

Instead of relying on video, you can showcase one image of your “behind-the-scenes” scenario and use copywriting to describe the situation. Just tie it back to what you’re offering in your ad.

For example, you can write something like:

“This is what you’ll get when you book a free strategy call.”

This transitional sentence helps you go from your behind-the-scenes content to your desired call-to-action in a way that ties everything together!

3. Emotional Appeal

Using emotional appeal as an advertising strategy involves creating ads that resonate with your potential clients on a deeper, more personal level. You tap into the emotions that drive their desires for change, improvement, or personal growth – the core reasons they might seek coaching in the first place!

This is yet another one of the most common advertising techniques for coaches.

So, what can emotional appeals look like in ads promoting your coaching business? 

• Develop a narrative-based video ad: Create a short, compelling video that tells a story. This could be the journey of a client who overcame significant challenges with the help of your coaching. The narrative should focus on the emotional aspects – the struggles, the breakthrough moments, and the eventual triumph 🙂 
• Use strong, relatable imagery: Design image ads that feature relatable, emotionally charged visuals. For instance, an image showing someone standing at a crossroads can symbolize the decision to change one’s life, a concept many seeking coaching can relate to. Pair these images with impactful, dynamic copy that speaks directly to the viewer’s aspirations or pain points.
• Incorporate client testimonials focused on emotional transformation: Yup, we’ve talked about this one! Use testimonials that emphasize the emotional journey of your clients. Rather than just focusing on outcomes, highlight the emotional transformation they experienced – how they felt before and after the coaching.
• Leverage music in audio and video ads: Music can significantly amplify the emotional impact of your ads. Choose tracks that align with the mood and tone of your message – uplifting, inspiring, or even contemplative. This can improve the emotional depth of your video or audio content.
• Highlight the emotional benefits of coaching in your copy: In your ad copy, focus on the emotional rewards of what your coaching program will bring – the sense of empowerment, confidence, peace, or fulfillment it can bring. Use language that evokes these feelings and vividly depicts the emotional journey.

It’s important to take the time to research your audience to understand what will help you appeal to their emotions. But you’ll also need to test a few ad variations to see what resonates with them best!

4. The Bandwagon effect

The Bandwagon effect advertising technique is similar to using social proof, but it’s a bit bigger than that. This technique plays on people’s desire to belong. It shows prospects that others benefit from your services and encourages them to join in, too. 

No one likes being left out.

This advertising technique is especially effective if you have a group coaching program. You can rapid-fire testimonial clips from several clients, one after another, to show just how many people have benefited from your help. 

An alternative way to use bandwagon advertising is to try user-generated content. Instead of having some of your clients create testimonials, you could have them speak about other parts of their experience that aren’t directly tied to their end result. 

They could speak about:

• What one of the specific coaching calls was like
• An interaction they had with other members of the group (if this is group coaching)
• A specific exercise or lesson they did and what that was like

In short, your goal will be to show that real people are going through your coaching program. Too many coaches focus solely on marketing their business and getting new clients, not so much on making their program amazing. 

The bandwagon effect can prove that you prioritize client experience above all else.

5. Storytelling

Using storytelling in your advertising campaigns is a powerful advertising technique, as it allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper, more emotional level. It helps you craft a narrative that resonates with your audience’s experiences, aspirations, or challenges.

Start by identifying a common challenge or aspiration that your target audience faces. This could range from achieving work-life balance to overcoming specific career obstacles. 

Your story should then revolve around a character or real person representing your target audience, detailing their journey from facing the challenge to finding a solution through your coaching program.

Make your narrative relatable and authentic. This will allow potential clients to see themselves in the story. 

Remember that great visual advertising technique is crucial in storytelling and visual content alone might not convey the full story or emotional appeal essential in advertisements. Use videos or images that complement your narrative to make the story more engaging and memorable. For example, you can add voiceover to Adobe Premiere videos for compelling ad narratives that seamlessly blend visuals and sound for greater impact. You can show pictures or video clips if it applies to the situation.

Additionally, use storytelling to convey your unique approach or philosophy. Instead of just listing your methods, illustrate how these methods have impacted someone’s life. This approach informs your audience about your coaching process and demonstrates its effectiveness in a real-world context.

Finally, always include a clear call to action in your story. Guide your audience on what to do next if inspired or moved by your narrative. The call to action is crucial in turning emotional engagement into tangible action.

You don’t have to go too deep in your stories to make them effective. Let’s look at some ads from Mike Shreeve at Peaceful Profits.

Most of his ads start with the beginning of a story. Then, they segue into the offer he’s making.

Here’s an example:

A while back, I replaced just about all my marketing efforts with just one piece of content.

Course sales soared, and I was able to rapidly add 700+ students to my premium coaching program without using any high-pressure sales tactics to do it.​

What did I use?​

A book that took me just a couple of days to write and the method to sell it you can learn here:

I like how he starts his storytelling ads because they don’t feel like ads. It just feels like a conversation.

Here is another of his ad openers:

Play around with storytelling and see what works for your audience!

6. Motion Graphics & animation

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an animation? That’s priceless. Animated videos simplify complex topics while keeping audiences engaged — perfect for explaining intricate coaching methods.

But if you don’t want to use intense animation in your visual advertising, you can also sprinkle in motion graphics and emojis to add movement to the screen.

Here’s an example of a coach who uses dynamic text to grab attention:

Like with everything else on this list, play around with this visual advertising technique to see what works. You won’t know what type of visual marketing your ideal clients respond to until you’ve tried it.

7. Leveraging stats and figures 

People trust numbers. Including impressive statistics about your coaching success rates as an advertising method can make your ads more convincing.

But if you don’t have your own statistics, consider other sources of stats and figures. For example, as an email marketing coach, I consistently use the following statistics to convince people of the importance of using email and sending emails frequently:

• 99% of email users check their inbox every day
• 78% of marketers say subscriber segmentation is the most effective strategy to increase ROI
• 79% of B2B marketers find email to be the most successful channel for content distribution

But you can apply this technique to your own coaching niche, too!

8. Incentives

Why should people who come across your paid ads take action now?

One of the most popular digital advertising techniques is to offer some type of incentive for people to take action now. In the context of coaching, the incentive will depend on several factors, such as:

• Your coaching business model
• The types of offers you sell
• What the ad is for (free call, low-cost digital product, lead magnet, etc.)

A great incentive will typically counter an objection that prospective clients may have to take action. For example, let’s say you want them to book a free call with you. One objection may be:

“Ugh, this will be just another sales call!”

To counter this objection, you could incentivize people to book the call by letting them know they’ll walk away with a roadmap of what to do next, regardless of whether they decide to work with you or not. You could also offer a free resource to anyone who books the call. 

Try These Paid Advertising Techniques To Land More Coaching Clients

The right advertising techniques can help you stand out online and attract more clients. You’ve got plenty of strategies to choose from – behind-the-scenes peeks, emotional appeals, bandwagon effects, storytelling… The list goes on. When launching these advertising methods, pick what resonates with your brand and audience most.

Remember that good ads don’t just sell coaching… they tell stories.

They evoke emotions. They persuade people through logic or statistics and by appealing to their hearts. So make sure your ad does that, too.

You’ve learned how methods like storytelling and emotional appeal draw in potential clients.Need help streamlining the admin side of your coaching business so you have more time to fine-tune your advertising? With Paperbell, running a coaching business online has never been easier! Try it for yourself by claiming your free account.

But if you’re fed up with spending all day on social media, what can you do?

While social media is a useful tool, it can get overwhelming quickly. Luckily, there are other ways to build an audience and meet potential coaching clients.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this post:

• Can you get coaching clients without social media?
• What you need in place to get clients without social media
• 9 marketing strategies to land clients without social media 

Is it Possible to Get Coaching Clients Without Social Media?

Short answer? Yes!

Social media marketing works well for coaches. But it does have several flaws.

For one, you don’t own your social media followers. If Instagram goes down tomorrow, or if TikTok decides to ban your account, you lose everything overnight.

Social media also opens you up to trolls and haters, which can be detrimental to your mental health. 

Yet, coaching has been around for way longer than social media! And coaches have been getting clients without social media for ages.

So if social media isn’t your jam, don’t sweat it.

Pro tip: No matter where you’re promoting your coaching business, Paperbell makes it easier to sell and run everything from one seamless platform. Claim your free account and launch a beautiful coaching website in minutes.

What You Need in Place to Get Clients Without Social Media

Whether you want to leverage social media or not, there are a few elements you should have in place before you start marketing:

• Get clear on what coaching packages people can purchase from you (this should be clear for your potential clients, too)
• Make sure your coaching packages clearly communicate the transformation you’ll help your clients achieve (if that’s not clear, potential clients may not see the benefit of hiring you)
• Have a few coaching automations in place to make it simple for potential clients to book you

That’s exactly why we created Paperbell.

With Paperbell, you can create a beautiful coaching website that not only hosts all of your coaching offers in one place, but also automates the entire back-end of your business.

That means no more:

• Chasing after clients for unpaid invoices
• Sending manual appointment reminders
• Keeping track of how many appointments remain in a client’s package
• Remembering to send digital downloads and other resources at the right time for each client

Inside Paperbell, everything is run from your coaching packages. You can choose from existing templates to get started faster, or pick a pricing model and customize from there.

To each package, you can add:

• Dripped out content delivery (or content that’s available to clients upon purchase)
• Automated emails for every step of the coaching process
• Surveys and intake forms
• Custom availabilities that differ from your global availability
• Group coaching sessions
• Individual coaching sessions of varying length (any combination you’d like)

Once you have at least one coaching package, Paperbell will automatically generate your coaching website and display it. From there, you can:

• Customize branding elements (description, images, logos, colors, etc.)
• Import testimonials from previous happy and satisfied clients
• Add elements such as Frequently Asked Questions, opt-in forms, and links to your social media profiles

Think of Paperbell landing pages as your online coaching business cards, where your prospects can learn everything they need to know about every package you offer.

Once your Paperbell platform is set up (which can take only a few minutes), your clients can:

• Land on your coaching website
• Choose a package that interests them
• Read testimonials from existing clients
• Proceed to checkout
• Pay you in full
• Book their first session on your calendar
• Receive automated email notifications and confirmations so they don’t miss their appointments 
• Receive intake forms automatically so they can prepare for their first session
• Access contracts, digital resources, and more either immediately or upon a schedule you set up

Alternatively, they can follow a similar process for your free discovery session. And they can do all of that without you having to lift a finger!

Without these processes in place, you can still get coaching clients. However, you’ll have to manage the back-and-forth conversations via email. And you’ll also need to create an invoice manually, send a separate payment link, make sure your client remembers to show up to their appointment, and so much more. 

All of these manual tasks will take time away from your schedule and potentially create chaos in your booking process, which can be harmful for client retention. 

But when you free yourself from these tasks, you can wow your clients and spend more time on revenue-generating work instead, like all the marketing strategies we cover below.

Click here to try Paperbell for free and get your coaching site set up before you begin your no-social-media marketing campaigns.

9 Marketing Strategies to Land Coaching Clients Without Social Media

Here are nine ways to get coaching clients without social media. Almost all of these don’t require any investment to get started, which makes them ideal for brand-new coaches.

1. Guest posting

Some of your ideal clients are out there reading other people’s blogs. And posting an article as a guest can be a great way to get seen by those potential clients.

You can find guest posting opportunities by searching for the name of your niche + “guest posting” or the name of a blog + “guest posting.” Here’s an example:

When you submit a guest post, remember to follow the blog owner’s guidelines for the letter. Some bloggers will want to see a full post, whereas others will only want to see suggested topics.

2. Guest podcasting

584.1 million people across the world listen to podcasts. At least a few of them are bound to be your ideal clients.

As such, appearing on other people’s podcasts can be a highly effective, no-spend way to get coaching clients.

Just like guest blogging, guest podcasting allows you to take advantage of someone else’s audience to share your message.

But because your audience gets to hear your voice next to a well-respected host, guest podcasting can lend you even more credibility than guest posting.

3. Starting your own podcast

In addition to appearing as a guest on other people’s podcasts, you can start your own podcast.

You don’t need high production value to start a coaching podcast. For example, marketing coach Luke Charlton started by publishing a short episode of The 15 Minute Client Podcast almost every day — and sometimes records straight from his phone. Nowadays, he posts less frequently because he’s already gotten the traction he needs to remain fully booked.

What’s important about podcasting for coaches is having something of value to say. Whether you want to share your personal story or explain the process you use to help your clients, we’re sure it’s worth listening to.

4. Launching a blog

Not a speaker? Starting a coaching blog is a great alternative to podcasting.

You may see others saying, “blogging is dead”. But you’re reading this, aren’t you? The fact that you’re here proves that generating traffic to your website by blogging still works!

Remember to optimize your website and blog for SEO to increase your traffic. End each post with a call to action to book a free discovery session with you!

5. Leveraging Pinterest

Whether you have a blog or a podcast, you can increase your traffic by adding Pinterest to your marketing strategy!

Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social media platform. You can create pins for every blog post and share other people’s pins when they’re relevant to your coaching niche.

This platform will allow you to generate traffic a bit faster than search engine optimization. 

However, keep in mind that it still takes consistent effort to get the ball rolling on Pinterest. Your effort will compound over time as long as you’re consistent.

6. Starting an email newsletter

All of the above strategies can help you generate traffic to your website. But once people are on your website, not all of them will book a free discovery session with you right away.

In the meantime, you can add them to your email list instead.

Email marketing is a fantastic way to generate leads for coaches. You can:

• Add email forms and pop-ups on your website to capture email addresses in exchange for a lead magnet (this takes just a few minutes in Paperbell)
• Create an automated email flow to move new leads through your sales funnel
• Send an email newsletter every week or several times a week to nurture your leads and gain their trust

When subscribers are ready to buy, you’ll be top of mind for them, making you the obvious person to hire.

7. Collaborating with other coaches

Other online coaching businesses have audiences, big or small. And if you have an existing audience or something of value to share, you can collaborate with other coaches to tap into their audiences.

Here are some popular ways to exchange audiences with other coaches:

• Virtual summits: Several coaches, consultants, and/or experts come together to give various talks all around the same theme!
• Digital product bundles: Every participating coach provides one or more paid products to add to a bundle, which clients can purchase for one low price.
• List swaps: You email your list about a coach, and that coach emails their list about you! 

These strategies work especially well with coaches who aren’t direct competitors with you but who serve the same audience. 

Let’s say you’re a health coach specializing in helping people with menopause. Maybe a career coach who works with high-achieving women would share a similar audience. 

But because you don’t help them with the same problems, you don’t cannibalize each other’s audiences.

Not sure where to find other coaches who share your audience? Try Coach Compare and create a profile for yourself if you haven’t already!

8. Starting paid ads

Want to reach your target audience faster than the other methods allow? If you have the budget, consider only using social media to run ads — like Facebook ads.

And if you want to avoid social media entirely, you can run ads on YouTube or Google as well.

You can use ads to advertise your freebie or lead magnet. 

While you can run ads directly to a calendar page to entice people to book a call, this is a relatively expensive strategy that requires lots of tweaking. In short, it’s not the best for beginning coaches trying to get paying clients. 

You can also use ads to test content ideas. If you’re not sure what would resonate with your audience, try running a simple image with a headline to see if people engage and click. 

Running ads will require you to hone your marketing skills, but those skills will carry over to organic methods as well.

9. Trying in-person networking

So far, we’ve covered effective online methods to attract clients fast. But you can find potential paying coaching clients offline, too.

Look up networking events in your area. They don’t have to be specifically branded as “networking events” — any event that allows you to meet people who fit your niche will work.

For example, if you’re a business coach, any type of event tailored to small business owners would work great.

You may not always land clients directly from such events. However, you can start asking people for referrals once you build a relationship with them. 

They may even take you up on that offer themselves if they need it.

Plus, if you have an existing network, don’t forget to tap into it first. You may get your first coaching clients from this alone.

Grow Your Coaching Business Even if You Don’t Like Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for coaches to attract coaching clients, but you can certainly thrive without it! As long as you’re able to reach people and start building relationships with them, you have what it takes to scale a coaching business without wasting time posting on social media.

Need help streamlining the admin side of your coaching business? With Paperbell, running a coaching business online has never been easier! Try it for yourself by claiming your free account.

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

But what exactly is a CRM, and how do you know if a specific CRM is well-suited for coaches? Keep reading to discover:

• What is a CRM for coaches
• What to consider before choosing a CRM for coaches
• Best CRM for coaches who want to keep things simple
• Best CRM for coaches with scaling teams

What Is a CRM for Coaches?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. As such, a CRM for coaches is a tool that allows you to manage your clients throughout the entire customer journey.

Not only do CRMs for coaches make it easier to keep track of every client, but they also help you manage your time. For example, most CRMs allow you to send automated follow-up emails to help you spend less time in your inbox.

You’ll also spend much less time sifting through client notes when they’re all neatly organized in your CRM.

Keep in mind that CRMs exist in nearly every industry. For example, Investor Relations (IR) professionals use IR CRM systems to manage relationships with investors. A CRM for coaches should be focused on:

• Managing free discovery sessions
• Keeping clients organized
• Creating (and sharing) coaching packages
• Keeping track of which client purchased what
• Organizing your calendar
• Helping you support your coaching clients

Not all CRMs have these capabilities. On the other end of the spectrum, some CRMs are so packed with features that they’ll overwhelm most coaches.

Pro tip: Paperbell is the best CRM designed specifically for coaches! Launch a stunning coaching website and start selling and managing all your coaching from a single platform by claiming your free account.

What to Consider Before Choosing Your Coaching CRM

There’s no one-size-fits-all CRM software for every single coach. Consider the following 4 points before you make a choice.

1. Your coaching business model

Not all coaches have the same coaching business models, which means your needs can vary drastically.

For example, some coaches offer one-on-one coaching, while others prefer group coaching. Many more will do a mix of both.

Other coaches offer digital products, either as standalone offers or as part of their coaching packages.

But if your CRM doesn’t support your business model, you’ll need a separate tool to keep your business running smoothly.

For instance, Dubsado can help you manage incoming coaching leads and automate processes like emails and contracts. But it doesn’t have any features to manage coaching groups, which makes it less than ideal if group coaching is part of your business model.

2. Your marketing strategy

Several CRM platforms for coaches also come fully loaded with marketing tools.

For example, coaches who rely on advanced email marketing strategies may prefer ActiveCampaign for its marketing automation features.

But coaches who prefer strategies such as podcast guesting or blogging won’t need everything ActiveCampaign offers.

And this is exactly why you should take your marketing strategy into account before you choose your CRM. The correct platform will empower you to execute the strategy that makes sense for you, while the wrong platform will hold you back and overcomplicate your life.

3. The size of your team

How many coaches are on your team?

If you’re going solo, your needs will differ vastly from someone who’s running a team of over a dozen coaches. And if you choose a tool that’s designed for large teams, like HubSpot, you may get overwhelmed with all the fancy features you don’t even need. 

However, if you have a large team, then big CRM shines with its extensive features and integrations, making it easy to make calls directly from HubSpot and consolidate various tasks within a single platform.

4. Coaching-specific needs

Some CRMs are industry-agnostic, which means they can be adapted for pretty much any type of business.  But these tools have several shortcomings for coaches because they fail to understand the reality of a coaching business.

And that’s okay. These tools weren’t designed with coaches in mind! 

However, be on the lookout for such coaching-specific needs and features when shopping for a CRM. 

For example, let’s consider Honeybook, which is a popular CRM for service providers. Even though coaches are a type of service provider, this platform was clearly designed for other types of service providers, such as photographers.

You can’t tie a coaching session to a client project, which means it’s impossible to automatically keep track of how many sessions a client has left. Honeybook also assumes each client will go through a custom sales pipeline, which means you need to create each project from scratch.

This is the case for Honeybook, but almost every non-coaching CRM software will have similar pitfalls. 

Consider your own specific needs as a coach. For example, do you use Zoom to run your coaching sessions? If you do, you may need a Zoom integration, which isn’t available in all CRMs.

Whether you’re using advanced email marketing or content creation, a CRM tailored to your needs can support your outreach efforts.

Best CRM for Coaches

1. Paperbell

Paperbell is by far the easiest way for coaches to manage their clients and get paid! And because it was designed for coaches, by coaches, it comes fully loaded with coaching-specific features other CRMs are missing.

Yet it’s simple enough for tech-hating coaches to feel at ease! You won’t get buried in superfluous features coaches don’t need. 

Here’s an overview of what you can do with Paperbell as a CRM software for coaches:

• Let clients self-schedule into your calendar: Fully customize your availability so clients can book your free discovery sessions or paid packages. 
• Get paid upfront: Never chase clients for payments again. In Paperbell, you can choose whether clients pay before or after booking a spot in your calendar for a paid session. But regardless of your choice, they’ll access the checkout page in the same flow.
• Stop no-shows: Since you can automate reminder emails, you won’t ever have to remember to remind people about their upcoming appointments with you.
• Eradicate invoicing nightmares: Instead of sending manual invoices for every coaching client, you can create your coaching packages and send a link directly to your booking page! 
• Sliding scale “pay what you want”: If you’re flexible with your coaching rates, Paperbell lets you offer multiple investment options for the same package.
• Custom intake forms for every package: Collect all the information you need, no matter the situation.
• Group coaching: Whether you offer one-on-one or group coaching, Paperbell allows you to sell (and manage) those offers.
• Branded website and landing pages: Every coaching package gets its own custom branded landing page, but you can also get a complete website that lists your packages, testimonials, FAQs, and even an email opt-in form.
• Digital downloads: You decide when clients get access to their digital downloads, and you can sell them as standalone offers, too!
• Integration with Zoom: Your clients won’t ever have to scramble for that Zoom link again!
• Autobilling subscriptions: Booked an ongoing package with a client or want to start a membership? Paperbell allows you to turn on “subscription” payments for any package.
• Client portal: Your coaching clients can log in to book new appointments, buy more sessions, access their resources, and more.

Here’s an example of coach Carmen Low offering appointment booking followed by the checkout process in Paperbell:

But the best part? You get access to a handy client management dashboard specifically catered to coaches. This means you can track:

• Complete appointment histories for each client
• Intake survey answers
• Your private coaching notes
• Upcoming appointments in your calendar (or for each client)
• How many appointments each client has left in their package
• Purchase history and spend for each package (and each client)
• Signed contracts

It’s powerful enough to automate your coaching business, but it focuses only on the tools a coach or consultant needs. 

That means you don’t get overwhelmed by fancy tools you don’t need, especially if you’re running your coaching business solo.

Real User Reviews For Paperbell

1. Automate the entire coaching workflow

When you run your own coaching business, you’ll waste a lot of time in your inbox keeping up with client communication, sending invoices, or managing your calendar.

Paperbell allows coaches to automate the admin side of their business so that they can focus on what they actually love doing — coaching.

Professional coach Molly M. has this to say:

Paperbell is making my life easier. It gives me peace of mind to know that clients are being prompted and reminded, reducing my no-shows and completely removing me from the hassle of rescheduling.

2. All-in-one solution specifically for coaches

Many coaches start out juggling multiple platforms to run their business:

• One for scheduling
• Another for payments
• Yet another for contracts
• And sometimes more!

Paperbell eliminates this complexity by combining everything into a single intuitive system.

Rae T., a professional coach, shared her experience about this:

Paperbell understands the importance of combining the number of sessions included to packages, and more. Paperbell recently released the option to add discounts on pay-in-full packages and I can’t think of any other app that does this!

2. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a full-fledged marketing automation platform that handles email marketing and CRM.

So if you’re growing your email list and building a sales team, there’s virtually nothing you can’t do with this tool.

Here are some of the things you can do inside ActiveCampaign:

• Sales pipeline management: Create pipelines to track deals, automatically notify team members, and predict win/loss probability
• AI-powered lead segmentation: Segment leads based on behaviors and conditions with AI-suggested segments you might have missed
• Cross-channel marketing automation: Automate email campaigns, SMS marketing, and WhatsApp messaging with AI-generated content
• AI campaign creation: Generate optimized email campaigns from simple prompts and create forms/landing pages and even sales funnels with AI assistance
• Predictive engagement: Send messages when contacts are most likely to engage and analyze sentiment across all touchpoints
• Multi-language support: Translate messages across languages while preserving your brand tone and personality

However, ActiveCampaign doesn’t handle checkouts, appointment scheduling, group coaching management, or digital product delivery. 

If these features are important to you as a growing coaching business, consider using ActiveCampaign and Paperbell together.

For example, using Zapier, you can update your lead data in ActiveCampaign when someone purchases in Paperbell:

Zapier lets you trigger actions from Paperbell to ActiveCampaign when it detects the following in Paperbell:

• New Appointment
• New Purchase
• New Client

This makes it easy to make both apps work seamlessly together without having to manually update your data. 

While ActiveCampaign can manage your marketing and sales process, you can use Paperbell to manage your paying coaching clients.

Real User Reviews For ActiveCampaign

In general, many small business owners love how robust ActiveCampaign is, but don’t enjoy how clunky it can feel at times:

Other users feel that despite how much time it can take to learn, it’s well worth it:

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is a comprehensive, AI-powered customer platform that brings together marketing, sales, and customer service in one unified system. 

For coaching businesses looking to scale with advanced automation and extensive integrations, HubSpot offers enterprise-level features, including AI-powered agents, advanced reporting, and multichannel communication tools. 

While it may be overwhelming for solo coaches, it’s ideal for larger coaching teams that need robust pipeline management and sophisticated marketing automation.

Key features

• Smart CRM: AI-powered contact management with custom properties and unified customer data
• Marketing automation: Advanced email marketing, lead nurturing, and campaign management
• Sales pipeline management: Deal tracking, forecasting, and sales workspace tools
• AI-powered agents: Breeze agents for customer support, prospecting, and content creation

Real User Reviews For Hubspot

One Reddit user praised HubSpot’s simplicity and scalability, noting how it can replace multiple tools while keeping all client data in one place.

4. Bonsai

Bonsai is a unified platform designed specifically for service businesses, offering an all-in-one solution that consolidates client management, project delivery, and financial operations. 

For coaches who want to streamline their entire business workflow beyond just client relationships, Bonsai provides comprehensive tools for proposals, contracts, project management, time tracking, and automated billing. 

It’s particularly well-suited for coaches who manage complex projects or work with corporate clients requiring detailed proposals and project oversight.

Key features

• Client workflow automation: CRM with deals pipeline, proposals, contracts, and client portal
• Project management: Task management, time tracking, budgets, and Gantt charts for project delivery
• Financial management: Automated invoicing, payments, expense tracking, and detailed financial reporting
• Proposal and contract tools: Professional estimates, proposals, and agreement management

Real User Reviews For Bonsai

Some reviewers claim Bonsai is too clunky and not usable enough for the price point:

Yet, other customers love the customer support and find Bonsai easy to use:

5. Simply.Coach

Simply.Coach is a comprehensive digital coaching platform designed specifically for coaches, therapists, consultors, and trainers who want to digitize all aspects of their practice. 

With strong security credentials including SOC2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance, SimplyCoach focuses on simplifying administrative tasks so coaches can concentrate on delivering results to their clients. 

The platform excels at managing both one-on-one and team engagements with robust client management and business automation features.

Key features

• Client management: Goal and development planning, session management, shared resources, and detailed reporting
• Business automation: Invoicing, contracts, subscriptions, session packages, and showcase pages
• Security compliance: SOC2, HIPAA, and GDPR-compliant for handling confidential client data
• Team engagements: Tools for managing group coaching and team development programs

Real User Reviews For SimplyCoach

Users of SimplyCoach enjoy how the platform stays up to date and keeps adding new features, although there appears to be some disappointment with the pricing plans:

Other reviewers, while enjoying the customer support team, feel that too many features are missing to make this a solid CRM for coaches:

6. HoneyBook

HoneyBook is a business management platform designed for creative professionals and service providers who need to streamline their client workflow from inquiry to payment. 

While popular among photographers, event planners, and other creative professionals, HoneyBook offers comprehensive tools for managing proposals, contracts, invoicing, and project delivery. 

For coaches who want professional-looking client experiences with automated workflows, HoneyBook provides an elegant solution, though it lacks some coaching-specific features.

Key features

• Professional proposals: All-in-one proposals combining invoices, contracts, and payments in one document
• Contract management: Digital signatures with smart highlighting and instant notifications
• Payment processing: Secure online payments with scheduling and automated reminders
• Workflow automation: Custom sequences for emails, tasks, and client communications

Real User Reviews For HoneyBook

Some skeptical users end up loving HoneyBook thanks to its templated file creation and robust automations:

Some users still love the platform, but find the price increases unfairly steep:

7. Satori

Satori is an all-in-one coaching platform specifically designed to streamline the entire coaching business workflow from discovery to client expansion. 

Built exclusively for coaches who want to escape administrative overwhelm, Satori focuses on creating seamless client experiences while providing powerful backend automation. 

The platform excels at converting discovery calls, managing multi-session packages, and tracking client progress throughout their coaching journey with personalized touches that enhance the coaching relationship.

Key features

• Discovery conversion tools: Qualifying questionnaires, session reminders, and personalized conversation setup
• Client engagement automation: Single-link onboarding, custom booking pages, and automated coaching agreements
• Progress tracking: Multi-session packages with intake forms, check-ins, and session notes sharing
• Business growth tools: Actionable metrics, automated billing, and flexible payment plans

Real User Reviews For Satori

Satori is generally well-loved among its user base! Customers typically adore the appointment booking tools and the ability to chat with customers:

Some users, although they love the tool, do find there is room for improvement in speed and UI:

8. Dubsado

Dubsado is a comprehensive business management platform designed for creative service businesses, including coaches, that helps streamline operations from lead capture to project completion. 

With a focus on creating repeatable processes and delivering polished client experiences, Dubsado excels at automating workflows, managing contracts, and organizing client communications. 

While it’s particularly strong for project-based work, coaches can leverage its professional proposal system and client portal features to enhance their business operations.

Key features

• Lead capture and conversion: Professional branded forms, proposals, and automated workflows for consistent client processes
• Contract management: Legally binding agreements with e-signatures, templates, and smart field auto-population
• Invoice and payment processing: Branded invoices with automatic reminders, recurring billing, and multiple payment options
• Project tracking: Automated tasks, project dashboards, and goal setting with business metrics

Real User Reviews For Dubsado

No one can claim Dubsado doesn’t have enough features. That’s what people love about it. What most reviewers claim is that these features are often overkill for their needs:

Yes, Dubsado has all the tools you need, but in most cases, the learning curve is steep:

FAQs About CRM for Coaches

What is the best CRM for coaches?

The best CRM depends on your specific needs. For solo coaches who want simplicity, Paperbell is ideal as it’s designed specifically for coaches with features like client scheduling, payment processing, automation, and even a complete coaching website.

What is CRM in coaching?

CRM in coaching stands for Customer Relationship Management. It’s software that helps coaches manage their entire client journey. It includes features like scheduling discovery sessions, organizing client info, automating follow-up emails, and managing payments to streamline your coaching business.

What are the four types of CRM systems?

The four types are operational (daily interactions), analytical (data insights), collaborative (team communication), and strategic (long-term relationships). Coaches typically benefit most from operational CRMs.

What software do coaches use?

Most coaches use multiple tools for scheduling, payments, and client management. Paperbell simplifies this by combining all essential coaching features – scheduling, payments, client portals, and session tracking – in one platform.

Get a Handle on Your Coaching Business with Your Coaching CRM

Now you have a better idea of what to look for if you’re a coach who needs a CRM. You can choose the software that fits your needs, or use a combination of several platforms using Zapier.

Before you make a final decision about the best CRM software for you, remember to consider your:

• Coaching business model
• Marketing strategy
• Team size

If you’re a solo coach who wants to simplify the process of running your business, Paperbell is the best CRM for you.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. You can grab your free account and try it out yourself!

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

Let’s explore the possibilities these new technological advancements provide and how they may revolutionize the coaching field. Read on to learn how you can leverage AI without compromising your unique connection with your clients.

In this guide on AI for coaches, we will explore:

• How to use AI for coaching
• Top AI tools for coaches
• Is AI coaching a threat to your business?
• Mastering AI: How to stay ahead

How to Use AI for Coaching 

As a life coach, you’re always looking for ways to level up your game and help your clients achieve their goals. 

One way to do that is through using artificial Intelligence in your practice. 

But what exactly are AI coaching tools, and how can they benefit both you and your clients? Let’s dive in.

The Benefits of Using AI in Coaching

AI-powered tools can enhance the effectiveness of life coaches through:

• Data-driven insights: Analyzing client data like personality traits, habits, or past experiences helps coaches tailor their approach based on individual needs.
• Saving time: Automating repetitive tasks such as scheduling appointments or sending email reminders allows coaches to focus more on helping clients.
• Maintaining engagement: Providing personalized insights or recommendations keeps clients motivated throughout their journey.

Practical Examples of Incorporating AI into Your Coaching Practice

So, how will you leverage this innovation in your coaching practice?

To make the most out of these cutting-edge technologies, consider integrating some popular AI applications into your daily routine:

1. Chatbots: Create an interactive chatbot or use existing chatbot software that provides instant support and guidance for common questions from potential or existing clients. This saves time and improves client satisfaction.
2. Virtual assistants: A virtual assistant like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or more advanced versions such as Motion can streamline administrative tasks such as managing schedules, setting reminders, and even tracking progress towards goals. For coaches looking to streamline administrative tasks while providing high-quality client support, considering the integration of AI personal assistants could be a breakthrough. With capabilities to manage schedules, set reminders, and track goals efficiently, these tools allow you to focus more on what truly matters—client interaction and tailor-made coaching strategies.
3. Content personalization: Use machine learning algorithms to curate tailored resources based on clients’ unique interests, preferences, and needs. For example, recommend articles, podcasts, AI presentations, or videos that align with their goals and challenges.
4. Emotion recognition: Leverage AI-powered emotion recognition tools to analyze clients’ facial expressions or voice tones during video calls. This can help you better understand their emotional state during the coaching process and adjust your approach accordingly.

Remember, the key is balancing AI’s capabilities and maintaining the human touch that makes life coaching so valuable. 

By incorporating AI into your practice, you can deliver more individualized assistance to clients while streamlining your operations.

Pro tip: You can always rely on traditional automations, especially around onboarding your clients, if you use a coaching tool like Paperbell. You only set up the automation once, and it just works!

Ready to take advantage of AI in your coaching business? Check out these top AI tools for coaches designed specifically for you.

AI for Coaches: Top Tools

Based on new research, AI is expected to generate trillions of dollars by 2030 across various industries. So, embracing the power of AI coaching tools can provide you with a competitive edge in the future. 

These innovative tools will assist you in various aspects of your practice, from personalized client support to efficient administrative tasks. 

Let’s explore some of the AI tools that can revolutionize your coaching practice.

1. Image generators

Struggling to create high-quality images for your social media posts or blog articles?

You can now find dozens of image-generating tools to help you out! These tools work by taking a text input and generating a custom image. For instance, here is an image created from the prompt:

“Corporate art-style female life coach sitting at a desk”

Some examples of image-generating tools include:

• DALL-E2
• Hotpot
• Midjourney
• Envato’s ImageGen

Even ChatGPT is now generating high-quality images that you can use as YouTube thumbnails and blog featured images. Play around with these tools and the prompts you give them to see what’s possible. Usually, it takes a few prompts to refine an image to the one you’re looking for. You can also explore free tools like Freepik AI image generator first to give it a try without spending extra resources.

[ Read: ChatGPT as a Life Coach & Its Impact On Your Coaching Business ]

2. BigVu

If you want to speed up your video content production for TikTok or YouTube, check out BigVu.

It’s a teleprompter app allowing you to read your script from your phone while recording your video. Plus, it also comes with AI tools. 

For example, it can:

• Record your voice and generate scripts from it that you can later edit
• Automatically generate subtitles based on your audio
• Trim your videos by selecting which words to start and end within your script

If you use AI-generated scripts, make sure to edit them first to the tone of voice that matches your personality. Instead of relying on AI to create content, use it to generate ideas and drafts to speed up your process.

3. Fathom

Put yourself in the shoes of your coaching client for a moment. You’re in an engaging coaching session, immersed in the process. Your head is buzzing with ideas days later, and you wish you could look back on the session to remember all the insights that came to you.

If only someone could take notes for you while you’re focused on your transformation…

That’s where Fathom comes in handy.

Fathom automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes your Zoom sessions so that you and your client can be fully present in the moment. 

Offering this type of bonus to your clients can definitely increase the value of your coaching packages. 

4. AI writers

Don’t have time to come up with new content? You can use AI writing tools to kickstart the process.

The most popular AI writing tool is ChatGPT. It has a free version that can generate ideas, email templates, or even coaching questions. You can also use it to create drafts for your:

• Social media posts
• Articles
• Landing page copy
• Headlines
• Blog outlines
• And blog post ideas

Other paid tools use the same language model and offer more features to make your content specific. For instance, Jasper can generate content and copy with fewer instructions than ChatGPT. Make sure to edit the AI output before publishing them.

Creative Ways to Use AI for Your Coaching Business

Artificial intelligence tools are extremely versatile. Besides writing, you can also use them to create new coaching tools, enhance your sessions, or develop curriculums for your educational materials. Here are a few examples of how you can do that.

• Create session summaries: Use AI tools to summarize your session transcripts so clients can review them later and deepen their insights.
• Craft self-awareness exercises: Develop a set of coaching tools and journaling prompts designed to reflect on the dominant area you’re working on with your client.
• Design new meditations: Use AI tools to create a guided meditation script tailored to the specific challenges your client is facing.
• Create assessments: Develop an assessment to help clients identify their strengths and areas for improvement related to a particular area in their lives and incorporate it into your coaching process.
• Gamify learning: Use AI to brainstorm coaching approaches with gamification elements, making the learning process more engaging and enjoyable for clients.
• Write workshop outlines: Generate a structured outline for a comprehensive workshop combining different exercises, writing prompts, and group discussions.
• Create a course structure: Develop a step-by-step curriculum for a new online course that you can record and sell to supplement your coaching income.
• Develop new coaching programs: Brainstorm ideas for new coaching packages and products that you can include in your offers.
• Create a list of content recommendations: Use AI tools to to deliver personalization at scale, offering tailored resources to clients based on their preferences, learning styles, and challenges. This could include articles, videos, or exercises complementing your coaching process.
• Analyze client information: Leverage natural language processing to analyze client feedback and session transcripts. This can help identify recurring themes, measure progress, and tailor future coaching sessions accordingly.
• Incorporate wellness monitoring: Integrate AI-driven wellness monitoring apps into your process to measure sleep quality, stress levels, and physical activity. This holistic approach can contribute to enhancing their well-being goals.

Is AI Coaching a Threat to Your Business?

It’s natural to wonder about how AI tools might impact your livelihood. Although AI does bring efficiency and faster data processing to the table, there are several reasons why human coaches are not going anywhere. 

Here’s why your unique skills and personality will continue to be in high demand despite the rise of AI.

The Human Touch

No matter how sophisticated technology gets, nothing can replace a genuine human-to-human connection. 

Clients seek out life coaches because they need someone who can empathize with their struggles and provide personalized guidance based on their unique experiences. 

The value of a skilled life coach lies in their ability to build trust and rapport with clients – a skill that AI cannot replicate.

Nuanced Understanding

While AI algorithms can analyze data quickly, they cannot understand complex emotions or interpret subtle cues from clients’ body language or tone of voice.

Human coaches have an innate capacity for empathy and intuition, allowing them to pick up on these nuances and respond accordingly.

Creativity and Adaptability

Life coaching requires creative problem-solving skills and the flexibility to adapt strategies when circumstances change unexpectedly. 

Coaches must also tailor their approach depending on each client’s personality type, learning style, and preferences – tasks that are difficult for even the most sophisticated AI systems.

Mastering AI: How to Stay Ahead

AI can provide a lot of value for coaches, but it can’t create the real connection and personalized guidance that a human professional can. 

Instead of being scared of technology as a competition, you can simply embrace it as a helpful business tool.

By doing so, you can flourish in this ever-evolving world of life coaching and offer even better support to your clients.

Here’s how AI and coaching work hand in hand to provide unique support to your clients:

• Leverage technology: Rather than viewing tech advancements as threats, embrace them by integrating useful tools into your workflow (e.g., scheduling software or communication platforms).
• Increase specialization: Focus on developing expertise in a specific niche or area of coaching, which can help you stand out from AI-based solutions that offer more generalized support.
• Emphasize personal connection: Highlight the importance of human interaction and empathy in your marketing materials to remind potential clients why they should choose a human life coach over an AI coach.

You can also use AI tools to increase your productivity, allowing you to serve your clients on a deeper level.

Level Up Your Coaching Business with AI for Coaches

AI can take your coaching business to the next level by streamlining your operations and speeding up your content production flow. To make sure the admin side of your business runs smoothly as well, try Paperbell. It’s an all-in-one client management tool designed for coaches to handle your payments, contracts, schedule, and more. Grab your free account to explore all features.

FAQs about AI for Coaches

Will using AI make my coaching less authentic or personal?

Not at all! AI is your behind-the-scenes assistant, not your replacement. You still build relationships and provide human insight. AI just handles time-consuming tasks like creating call summaries so you can focus on coaching.

Is it ethical to use AI in my coaching practice?

Yes, when used transparently and responsibly. Use AI for ideation, content creation, and admin tasks – not for coaching decisions or handling sensitive client information. Many coaches openly share when they use AI tools.

Do I need to tell my clients I’m using AI tools?

Use your judgment. Mention it when AI directly impacts their experience (like AI transcription tools). You don’t need to announce every behind-the-scenes use. Err on the side of transparency for client-facing content.

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