How to Get Book Coaching Clients: Part 5

This is part five in a series all about finding clients as a book coach. Catch up on the past blog posts by reading Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

If you make an amazing lead magnet to share with potential clients, you can’t keep it hidden on your website. You have to get it out there and share it consistently. Getting your lead magnet into your ideal reader’s hands is the KNOW part of the Know/Like/Trust formula that marketers talk about.  If no one knows who you are, they can’t come to like you or trust you or buy from you. This stage of marketing is called the “awareness” stage— and it’s where we see a lot of book coaches get stuck.

I get why marketing is hard for most book coaches. We tend to be introverts who work alone. We became book coaches because we wanted to help writers— which is quiet. It’s work where we are working with words and ideas, or we are in quiet conversation with writers one at a time. The whole idea of marketing our services probably feels uncomfortable and if we’re honest, we really just wish someone else would do that part for us.

This is no different from what many of our writers feel about writing. Many writers wish someone else would do the marketing for them so they can just write. 

But here’s the truth: It’s not happening for the writers and it’s not happening for the book coaches. We all have to embrace the fact that if we want people to buy the things we are offering, we have to market those things. We have to let people know they exist.

This doesn’t have to mean slimy, slick marketing or constant hustling. It can just mean consistent action — what marketing guru Pam Slim, author of The Widest Net, calls “Tiny Marketing Actions.” Small things you repeatedly do to get big results.

This is what Atomic Habits by James Clear is all about too — if you haven’t read it, I would do so.

The Optimist's Vision of Sharing What You Make

There is a powerful and beautiful network of good people out there who want what you are making, whether you are making books or book coaching businesses. The worst thing to do is to imagine a cold, hostile world where you are shouting into the void.

It’s not like that.

Readers and writers are your people. Imagine that they are waiting for you.  Imagine that they will welcome what you offer.

And then do what my friend Dan Blank teaches: think about connecting with one person at a time.

Think about making a human connection.

This is far more palatable for most book coaches than going on TikTok.

Here Are Some Ideas for Sharing What You Have Made

1. Tell the people who get your newsletter. Don’t just tell them once. Tell them every time you send a newsletter. And when you start to get testimonials from happy clients who have used the thing you made, share those, too. You can also offer a special incentive to people who follow you, any time you want. Give them something a little extra if they sign up for your offer – an extra bonus, a coupon code for a % off. These are your superfans! Treat them like that! 

2. Tell your writing friends about what you made. Send them emails if they are not on your mailing list. Let them know what you are doing and what you made and who it can help. Ask if they can share it in any groups they are part of where such sharing is allowed. Ask them to mention it to their writer friends. If they have a blog or a newsletter or a podcast or a YouTube channel or a webinar series, ask if you can speak directly to their followers about what you made and how it can help.

3. Tell your non-writer friends and family what you are up to. Send emails to all of them, too. Ask if they would be willing to share what you made with anyone they know who might be interested in what you do. Everyone knows someone who is writing a book, and some of those folks could be in need of exactly what you are offering.

4. Tell any online writing groups you are part of that allow such sharing. Many groups have special times and places where you can share things you made that are free or low cost. Just make sure you follow the group rules. And if you can’t share, be relentlessly helpful about your area of expertise. If you are generous and helpful, people will look you up — and when they look you up, they will find the thing you made because you will have put it front and center in your social media profiles.

5. Offer what you made to any local groups, organizations, or businesses that might be interested in it. Libraries can be a good option, or local writing groups, or book clubs. I was speaking to one of our book coaches the other day who is creating a lead magnet that has to do with taking a walk through the beautiful area where she lives — walking and talking about books. She knows that her local chamber of commerce is working to support local businesses, so her plan is to let them know about what she is up to. She also plans to connect with other local businesses — such as coffee shops — where she might end up with her clients while on these walks. 
   I also recently spoke at a writing retreat three of our coaches hosted in a small town in Maine. They had a swag bag with goodies from the local bookstore and other shops in town. The coach who lives there (Susanne Dunlap, who has a variety of awesome lead magnets on her site) was connecting herself to those places, letting them know what she does and that she lives and works among them. She could ask to leave a bookmark or business card announcing her offering— you never know who is going to see it.

6. Announce your offering on social media. Put it in the profile of every social media channel you are on. Share something about it every week — every week. Because while you may get tired of seeing it, most people only see a fraction of what you post. Try to be helpful in what you share — to be generous and helpful. If you are trying to serve people and you care about them, that will come across. Social media is not a stage where you have to perform; it’s just a place where people gather.
   Want inspiration? Coach Dani Abernathy is so good about showing up on Instagram as she is — messy hair, no makeup, sometimes crying. It’s beautiful — and it works. Because she is also generous and helpful and shows up for her ideal clients.Connect with other book coaches. This is what Author Accelerator's community of certified coaches is all about. Our coaches connect with each other to offer retreats and summits, to pitch panels at conferences and put on workshops. They share each others’ lead magnets, courses, and services. They introduce each other to ideal clients, because if we can all be working in our Zone of Genius, we can all be lifted up. 

You have to be certified with Author Accelerator to be part of our community. Having a high bar to entry is what makes the community so effective. Our community is filled with people who have MFAs, phDs, and law degrees, and with people who have worked for decades in magazines and at newspapers, and with people such as librarians and homeschooling moms who have worked around books their whole career.  This is a smart, ambitious group of book coaches, some of whom are running side gigs and others starting whole new careers. To learn more about our certification process, check out our videos at bookcoaches.com/abc (that free video series is one of MY lead magnets. If nothing else, go through it to see how it works, and how I invite people to take the next step.)

What Happens Next?

You don’t just do one of these marketing initiatives. You do as many of them as you can. You keep sharing. You share relentlessly.

And when someone takes you up on your lead magnet offer, or comes into your coaching universe, you serve them to the best of your ability.

 And then you ask if you can share about the work you did with them.

You ask if they would be willing to let their writer friends know about you and what you do.

Imagine what this looks like if you get 5 people taking you up on your lead magnet offer. Imagine what this looks like if you get 10 or 20 or 50.

Suddenly, you will have more clients than you can possibly serve. You will have to raise your prices. You might contemplate launching a group coaching program or a workshop.

You will have a thriving business.
It all starts with helping one person, because serving clients is the best way to get clients.