We’ve been told to be visible and authentic on LinkedIn, and it’s occasionally suggested that demonstrating a bit of vulnerability is in order. So we post regularly, sharing our thoughts on the coaching process, talking about our journey, and often oversharing personal details in the name of authenticity. The engagement comes in – likes, comments, supportive messages from other coaches telling us we’re brave and that our vulnerability is inspiring. We feel like we’re doing the right thing, being visible just like everyone said we should be, but rather frustratingly, the clients don’t come. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.
Visibility Is Not Enough
The thing nobody tells us is that posting and marketing are not the same thing. We can post every single day, get hundreds of likes, have our comments section full of supportive messages, and still not attract a single paying client because we’re posting content that other coaches find interesting, not content that potential clients need to see.
When we post about the coaching process – the power of powerful questions, the importance of holding space, the transformative nature of coaching conversations – we’re speaking in a language that only other coaches understand, one that I call ‘coach-speak’. Our potential clients don’t know what holding space means, they don’t care about our coaching methodology, and they’re not looking for someone who can ask powerful questions. They’re looking for someone who understands their problem. More specifically, they need to understand what’s in it for them – why should they pay us a professional fee?
When we post deeply personal stories in the name of vulnerability – what I call bleeding all over LinkedIn – we might get engagement, but it’s uncomfortable engagement. Other coaches rally around us with supportive comments about how brave we are, but our potential clients are scrolling past thinking it’s all a bit much, if indeed they see the post at all. Vulnerability isn’t what builds client trust – understanding is.
What Marketing Actually Is
All effective marketing is focused, and if it isn’t focused, it’s not marketing – it’s simply posting. By focused, I mean aimed at one specific kind of client, which is called a niche or target audience (they’re the same thing). Focused marketing means demonstrating clearly to this target audience that we get it – that we understand and are very knowledgeable about the problem they have, and that have enormous empathy for the situation in which they find themselves.
If what we post on LinkedIn isn’t focused on a particular demographic group, it’s not marketing. It may be interesting to read if you’re a coach, but it isn’t client-attracting. Marketing speaks directly to our chosen audience about the problem they’re grappling with that coaching with us can help to resolve. When it’s done well, marketing has a positive impact on the world because it connects people who need help with people who can provide it.
Why We Feel Resistance
When coaches first hear they need to focus on a specific target audience, the first reaction is usually resistance. We feel like we’re losing out on lots of opportunities, that we’re closing doors that should remain open. The thing is that the opportunities we feel like we’re missing out on are usually hypothetical – they’re not real clients sitting there waiting to work with us if only we’d kept our marketing broad enough. They’re imaginary possibilities that are preventing us from connecting with actual people who actually need our help. Broad marketing doesn’t keep doors open, it makes us invisible to everyone (to be honest, if it’s broad, it’s not marketing anyway).
The Difference in Practice
Let me give you an example of the difference between posting and marketing.
Posting looks like this: “I’ve been reflecting on the power of coaching conversations. When we create a safe space for clients to explore their limiting beliefs, transformation happens. Coaching isn’t about advice-giving – it’s about helping people find their own answers. If you’re feeling stuck, coaching might be exactly what you need.”
That gets likes from other coaches. It might even get some encouraging comments. But it doesn’t attract clients because it’s not speaking to anyone specific about anything specific.
Marketing looks like this: “Mid-career lawyers often tell me they feel trapped in roles they’ve outgrown but terrified to make a move. The mortgage, the school fees, the ‘what will people think’ all conspire to keep them stuck in jobs that are slowly draining them. They know something needs to change, but they can’t see a way forward that doesn’t involve unacceptable risk.”
That speaks to specific people (lawyers) about a specific problem (they feel trapped). Someone reading that who fits that description thinks “they’re talking about me.” That’s what marketing does.
What Needs to Change?
If you’ve been posting regularly on LinkedIn and wondering why it’s not bringing clients, the answer is probably quite straightforward – you’re posting, not marketing. Stop trying to be visible to everyone and start being visible to someone specific. Stop talking about coaching and start talking about the problems your potential clients are facing. Stop bleeding all over LinkedIn in the name of authenticity and start demonstrating that you understand what your target audience is going through.
That requires you to choose a focus, to pick a specific target audience, and to understand their challenges deeply enough that you can describe those challenges in their own words. Most coaches resist this because they think it means giving up opportunities, but it doesn’t – it means creating actual opportunities instead of hypothetical ones.
The Challenge
The truth is that you can keep posting about coaching and vulnerability and your journey, getting likes from your coaching peers and wondering why the clients never come, or you can learn how to market properly and effectively in a way that connects you with people who need your help. Posting feels safe because other coaches validate it, and marketing feels risky because it requires specificity and focus, but only one of them builds a coaching business.
Stop posting. Start marketing. They’re not the same thing, and understanding the difference is what separates coaches who struggle from coaches who thrive.
An Opportunity
If you’d like the opportunity for a robust conversation about this – or to just flat-out tell me why I’m wrong – why not join my next free challenge, Nail Your Niche? We run it several times a year and there’s even an option to upgrade to a VIP version, which gives you 3 x 60-minute group mentoring sessions with me for just £99 (inc VAT) – that provides us with time for a lot of robust conversations!
Are you ready to choose a focus for your coaching business? Register for the challenge by clicking here.
Recent Comments