WHY GETTING PUBLICITY AS A COACH ISN’T OPTIONAL

by Simone Sauter

If you’re a coach, you might wonder why you need PR. Why do you need to reach out to media outlets? What’s the point of getting publicity for your business?

“Maybe it’s just not for me.”

But, as an experienced PR + Publicity Strategist and Coach, I can tell you: getting publicity as a coach isn’t optional. It’s mandatory.

If you want to rise above the noise online, build your coaching business, and establish yourself as the ‘go-to’ expert, you need to get publicity.

So, why is that exactly?

Today I’m going to share four reasons that show exactly why getting publicity for your business isn’t optional as a coach. These reasons are not based on guesswork, but from my years of experience as a PR coach.

Click on play and listen to this episode:

REASON #1 – PUBLICITY IS A COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ADVERTISING

One reason why getting publicity isn’t optional for coaches is that your only other option for reaching a wider audience is advertising. Now, advertising has many benefits, but ultimately it can be very expensive, and this is only set to rise.

The amount of people using the internet and social media is increasing. As of 2020, there are 4.57 billion internet users. It is projected that by 2025, 4.41 billion people will be using social media alone. The more people online, the more advertising will respond in kind, creating more and more campaigns.

Advertising services, like Google AdWords charge fees for certain keywords, and depending on the industry and the popularity of the keyword, the prices can become very expensive. This makes it very difficult for a smaller coaching business to get seen.

If you’re a one man show, and you don’t have a large budget, you’re not going to be able to compete with financially established coaches who have more cash flow for advertising campaigns.

So, advertising is very expensive, but getting publicity for your business is free if you learn how to do it yourself.

Many people believe it’s very time consuming to run a successful PR campaign. In truth, it does take time to build up a PR campaign, but you can easily fit it into your current work routines.

If you’re a coach, you’re probably already well-versed in writing blog articles or recording podcasts – why not write a guest post for a popular blog in your niche? Or take part in a well-known podcast?

Ultimately, time spent on a coaching business PR campaign is time well spent. This is something I know from personal experience as a PR coach, as well as from working with my clients.

REASON #2 – GETTING PUBLICITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS BUILDS TRUST WITH IDEAL CLIENTS

Ideal clients need a guarantee that you can do exactly what you say you can.

Ultimately, advertising is only what you say about yourself. You’re very skilled and have years of experience under your belt, but your ideal clients don’t know that yet.

That doesn’t mean your message isn’t worth listening to, but essentially, you can say anything about yourself. As the consumers, we know advertisements are created by a company to promote their business, and, as long as they adhere to certain guidelines, they can present themselves however they want.

PR is completely different.

Advertising is what you say about yourself, PR is what others say about you. If someone else recommends your coaching business, that’s an unbiased third-party endorsement.

Now, if the person who recommends you also happens to run a leading blog in your niche with, say, over 20 million followers – that’s not just an endorsement, that’s an expert endorsement.

With PR, your reputation is built by endorsements from people who are already established, and that creates trust and credibility around your coaching business instantly.

REASON #3 – THE COACHING BUSINESS MARKET IS FLOODED

On Facebook, Twitter, Google Ads, adverts for coaches are everywhere. The market is flooded, and this will only continue.

Anybody can call themselves a coach, but not every coach can get results. Not everybody is good at coaching, and not everyone is qualified. This means that some clients will be sceptical about coaches.

In a swamped market with mixed results, you need to stand out from the crowd and prove to your ideal client that you are an expert. You need to show that, out of all the other coaches, you are the one who can help them.

If you really want to set yourself apart from the competition, then you need to get featured in the media.

If you go to the website of a coach, and you see they were featured in Forbes, and all these other huge media outlets – what does this say to you, subconsciously, about what they can do?

You might find yourself thinking, “Wow, that’s an expert coach.” “That person really must know what they’re talking about.”

This is the power of the media. 

REASON #4 – ALL LEADING COACHES HAVE MEDIA PUBLICITY

If you sell premium coaching packages, getting publicity for your business isn’t optional. It’s mandatory.

How many leading, successful coaches have not been featured in the media? Look into any leading coach, and you will no doubt find a strong media PR campaign behind them.

Coaches who write best-selling books, who sell out their most expensive programs, who hold TEDx talks, the one thing they all have in common is that they’ve been featured in the media. PR stands you out from the crowd.

Here’s an example of how this works. Imagine there is a savvy woman who is looking for a partner. She wants a relationship coach to help her. She’s searching online, doing her research. She finds three coaches. All three have amazing websites, all three have amazing testimonials, but only one has amazing coverage in huge media outlets.

Who will she choose? Which coach will she feel is most likely to help her?

Will she choose the coach with the trusted third-party endorsement? Or the coaches with no endorsements?

It’s clear who the stand-out candidate is.

“But don’t testimonials do the same thing as media endorsements?” I hear you ask.

Well, testimonials are great, but unfortunately, lots of people fake them.

Consumers are now becoming doubtful of testimonials, so if you rely on testimonials alone, this fosters a sense of doubt around your business.

“Is this true? Is it not true?”

Trust is of immense importance to consumers, so it’s important to avoid raising doubt in your ideal clients. The best way to prove your credibility is through a recognised endorsement.

Publicity is more than a testimonial, it’s an endorsement from someone who is also endorsed. Chances are your ideal client is very familiar with the popular magazine, TV show or blog where you will be featured. They will be more likely to trust you, because they trust the outlet.

When coaches can show on their website exactly where they have been featured, they build a valuable sense of trust with their ideal clients about the success of their business.

So, media features really help you to stand out, build your expert reputation and become the go-to expert in your niche.

So, how do YOU build your own coaching PR campaign?

Want to learn more about doing your own PR for your coaching business? Why not learn from the PR coach to the coaches?

Download my free “3 Million Euro Case Study”, where I share with you my publicity rockstar method to get featured in the media.

As a PR coach, this is the method my clients and I use to get featured in media outlets, such as Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Mindbodygreen, and many more. Get in touch to book a discovery call today!