The Power of Surveys and Polls to Create Content Your Audience Craves

The Power of Surveys and Polls to Create Content Your Audience Craves

by | Aug 21, 2023

The Power of Surveys and Polls to Create Content Your Audience Craves

Surveys and polls can be a great way to find out what your audience is interested in the most, so you can create free content that builds connection, and paid content (your coaching programs) they’re excited about.   

It’s easy to follow an idea of something you think your audience might be interested in, but without doing a little research first, it’s a bit of a guessing game. It’s disappointing when you share content that you’ve been working on, and your audience doesn’t respond or show any interest. We’re sharing how you can avoid this happening.

In this episode you will discover:

  • The importance of surveying your audience before creating any new content for your health coaching clients, to ensure that your content aligns with their preferences
  • The easiest ways to get feedback and input from your audience
  • Why surveying your audience not only helps shape your free content but also leads your paid program creation by understanding your clients’ challenges, interests, and preferred program features

We are firm believers that before you should create any new content for your dream clients, whether that’s a free download or paid program content, you should first survey your audience to see what it is they really want.

Here’s how you can incorporate this strategy into your content creation process.

Your Audience

First, and most importantly, be sure that the audience you are surveying is one that is made up of your dream clients. Having anyone else give their opinion by voting just skews the results. The best audience you can have is either 1) your email list or 2) your own private Facebook group. These are the people that will share the most relevant information and are the warmest leads for you and your content.

Polling your following on social media is also a great option but remember, it has the potential to be a little more general depending on the type of information you share to attract your audience. This is still a great option though so be sure to take advantage of it.

Your Topic

Next up, it’s important to know what specific feedback you’re looking for, so your questions provide the best feedback. If you’re doing a poll in your Facebook group to find out what topics interest them the most for your next livestream, provide a few options, and also allow people to add their own suggestions. Oftentimes, you’ll get suggestions you hadn’t considered, so it can be really helpful to get other recommendations.

Your Survey Questions 

Here are examples for questions you can use in your surveys to get great insights about what they want to learn more about and what type of content they like to consume.   

  1. What health topics are you most interested in learning about or receiving guidance on when it comes to _____________(insert your area of expertise)? (e.g., sugar cravings, weight loss over 40, stress management, sleep, menopause, etc.)
  2. How do you prefer to consume health-related content? (e.g., articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, short social media posts)
  3. What are your biggest challenges or obstacles when it comes to dealing with _____________(insert your area of expertise)? (e.g., sugar cravings, weight loss over 40, stress management, sleep, menopause, etc.)
  4. Are you interested in receiving healthy recipes or meal planning tips? If yes, what type of recipes or meal plans would you like to see? (e.g., vegan, gluten-free, quick and easy, etc.)
  5. How frequently would you like to receive health coaching content from me? (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)
  6. Are there any specific areas of your health you would like more guidance on? (e.g., weight management, hormone balance, gut health)
  7. Do you have any preferred formats for interactive content, such as quizzes, challenges, or worksheets, resource guides, checklists, to support your health journey?
  8. Is there anything else you would like to share or suggest regarding the type of health coaching content you would find valuable?

The Power of Surveys and Polls to Create Content Your Audience Craves

Social Media Poll Questions

  1. Which health topics are you most interested in learning about related to __________ (insert your area of specialty)? a) Nutrition and meal planning b) Exercise and fitness routines c) Stress management and mindfulness d) Mental health and self-care e) Other (please specify)
  2. What type of content format do you prefer for health-related tips and guidance? a) Written articles or blog posts b) Informative videos c) Engaging infographics d) Interactive quizzes or polls
  3. How often would you like to see health coaching content from me on social media? a) Daily b) 2-3 times per week c) Weekly
  4. What length of content do you prefer on social media platforms? a) Short and concise (1-2 paragraphs) b) Medium length (3-5 paragraphs) c) Longer form (full articles or in-depth posts)
  5. How do you prefer to engage with my health coaching content on social media? a) Liking and commenting on posts b) Sharing with others c) Saving posts for future reference d) Participating in challenges or interactive activities e) Other (please specify)
  6. Would you like me to include success stories or testimonials from clients in my content? a) Yes, please share inspiring stories b) No, I don’t find that inspiring c) Occasionally is good with me
  7. Are there any specific health-related myths or misconceptions you would like me to address and debunk in my content?
  8. Is there anything else you would like to suggest or share regarding the type of health coaching content you would find valuable on social media

Coaching Program Content Questions

  1. I’m thinking about creating a new program on the topic of ______________ and I’d love your input whether you would be interested in learning more about that with me as your coach. a) Yes, I would love a program on that topic. b) No, I’m not interested. c) Possibly, I would need more information to know for sure.
  2. How long have you been dealing with your _______________ symptoms and how frustrating are they for you on a daily basis? a) Super frustrating and I can’t wait to find a solution. b) Annoying but I’m managing things on my own. c) Not frustrating at all.
  3. If you’ve tried other programs in the past, what was your experience?
  4. If I decide to create this program in the future, what would it be worth to you to finally solve your ______________ challenges once and for all while being supported and guided by an experienced coach? a) $97 – $197 – a DIY program with no coaching services, b) $197 – $397 – a DIY program with live Q&A’s to get questions answered, c) $397 – $797 – a step by step program with live coaching calls, d) $797+ a step by step program with private coaching calls.

5) Recap info

Surveys and polls are a way to open up the lines of communication between you and your followers so you can dial in on exactly what they want to learn from you in your free content as well as your paid content. Take these questions and make them your own. Start by doing polls on social and then create a more robust survey using something like Google Forms. Each poll or survey you create gets you one step closer to knowing what your clients want to learn from you.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

3 Secrets to Running a Highly Profitable Online Health Coaching Program

3 Secrets to Running a Highly Profitable Online Health Coaching Program

by | Aug 14, 2023

3 Secrets to Running a Highly Profitable Online Health Coaching Program

If you want to run a highly profitable online health coaching program, there are a few key components you need to have in place. 

After running many online programs over the last 10 years, we’ve learned a few key lessons, and we’re sharing 3 of the most important ones on this episode. 

Here’s what you’ll discover:

  • The 3 secrets to know before you run your program
  • How to create a system you can easily rinse and repeat
  • Why having a specific niche is important to the success of your online program
  • Common mistakes to avoid and what to do instead

Tune in to find out what you want to make sure you have in place to ensure the best possible results for your online program.

When I was a health coach, I loved running online group programs because it allowed me to help more people at one time while working fewer hours. I also loved the energy and community of hosting a Facebook group for each cohort, and the participants loved it too because they felt connected and not so alone in their journey.  At the time, my kids were still pretty young, and I only had a few hours each week to see clients, so this format of coaching gave me a lot more schedule flexibility which was important. Whether you want to add another income stream, or you want to streamline your business more, this episode will be helpful.

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that my pre-made, 6-month health coaching program called Coach with Confidence is on sale right now. Today, through August 16th, it’s 30% off with code: AUG2023.  You get all the content and resources you need to run a successful health coaching program – both with your 1-on-1 clients and as an online program. One of the biggest hurdles to launching a coaching program is having all the content and systems you need, so the Coach with Confidence program solves that for you, so you can start coaching and helping people now instead of months from now. This program comes with 12 comprehensive health and wellness topics that can be customized to fit almost any niche.  One of the things coaches love about it is that it’s available in Canva too, so it’s super quick and easy to customize. 

Check it out and take advantage of the savings if it’s a good fit for you.

3 Secrets to Running a Highly Profitable Online Health Coaching Program

Let’s dive into the first secret.

1. Your program must be SIMPLE:  This applies to your tech approach and your program content.  As you get started, you don’t want to get bogged down with the tech, so the simplest way to deliver and run an online group coaching program is through a Facebook group. This can be a great way to go for your first couple of rounds that you run it, so you can test things and then decide what features or bells and whistles you want to have for the next time.  For example, you can use Practice Better to run your programs, or you can use something like Kajabi if you want it to be more like an online course.  Sometimes the biggest obstacle to getting started is the tech, so ask yourself what is the simplest way to deliver your program and do that. Taking action is always better than worrying about it being perfect.

As far as being simple for your clients, you want the action steps to be simple and easy to implement and not overwhelm people with too many things to do.  Less is more with our clients!  Each session should include no more than two action items at a time. An overwhelmed client is a frustrated client, and a frustrated client is likely to quit (and not refer people to you). 

While it may seem very basic to us, we have to remember that we are further along in our journey than our ideal clients are.  When you know where they are in the process, it makes it easier to share information that is relevant to them.  You just don’t want to assume they are further along, because most of them will not be.  Sometimes we feel like more is better, but in most instances, that is not the case at all, and that should be a relief for you.   

Secret #2

Your program should be SYSTEMATIZED: It’s important to have a program that you can use over and over again to save time and help more people. You need structure – a system that makes clients feel at ease and know they are in good hands. This will actually have you feeling more at ease too. A great way to do this is to have a signature program that will work with any ideal client.

When you look at the topics your clients need to know, and you map it out in a logical way, you are creating a path – a system they can follow. You can use this system with your 1-on-1 clients too.  This goes back to knowing your niche, who you help and how you help them. If you help everyone and you don’t have a set area of specialty, having a system is going to be very challenging because you’ll be covering 100 different topics, but when you focus on a specific problem and solution, creating a core foundational program becomes so much easier.

There are 12 popular health and wellness topics included in my Coach with
Confidence program and it gives you a system you can easily rinse and repeat. 

3 Secrets to Running a Highly Profitable Online Health Coaching Program
Secret #3 – this one is critical too if you want to enroll more new clients.

Your program must be SPECIFIC: The more specific you are about who you help and how, the more compelling and irresistible your program will be, and the easier it will be to attract your ideal clients.  It will also be much easier to convey the results they can get, which is what they want to know. If you don’t know the answer to this right now, it’s okay. The more people you help, the more clarity you’ll get on who you enjoy helping the most. 

It’s important to understand that people are searching for a solution to their specific problem, so if you say you’re a health coach who helps people eat healthy and have more energy, that’s too vague and isn’t going to be compelling enough to fill your programs because people want a specific outcome or result.

But…If you say you help women who have Type 2 Diabetes lower and manage their blood sugar through a delicious whole foods diet, you are being very clear and specific. Your goal is not to be a coach for everyone, but to be the clear and obvious choice to a few hundred people who will flock to you because you have a specific plan for them.  Choosing a niche will be incredibly helpful with your marketing efforts, so when your ideal clients see your offer, they will be much more likely to enroll because it’s clear and obvious who it’s for and how it will help them.

This is a topic we cover in depth in our Wellness Business Accelerator program, and it’s one of the lessons that makes the biggest difference for the coaches who go through it because one they figure out who they want to help and how they help them, everything else becomes easier and more effective – and they start enrolling more clients.  We’ll be opening the doors to the Wellness Business Accelerator in October, and you can get on the VIP wait list to be notified as soon as enrollment opens.

Let’s RECAP.

The 3 secrets to running a highly profitable online coaching program are that it must be:

  1. Simple – for you as the coach to implement and run, AND simple for your clients to implement.
  2. Systematized – so you can run the same program over and over again.
  3. Specific – so you can attract your ideal clients who want the solution to the problem you help them solve.

If you want to run an online coaching program but you aren’t sure how to put all the pieces into place, check out my Coach with Confidence program that gives you everything you need – you can either use it for a 6-month coaching program or you can break it up into smaller programs such as two 3-month programs.  Use code: AUG23 to save 30% through August 16th 2023. 

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

30% off Kathleen’s Coach with Confidence program
Use code: AUG2023 to save 30% through August 16, 2023

VIP waitlist for Wellness Business Accelerator

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

BEST OF: 10-Point Checklist for Your Website Homepage

BEST OF: 10-Point Checklist for Your Website Homepage

by | Aug 7, 2023

BEST OF: 10-Point Checklist for Your Website Homepage

Designing the home page for your website may feel a little confusing, but when you have a clear understanding of the purpose this page serves, you’ll find it’s probably a lot easier than you think. We prefer to think of it like our online home and the homepage is like the foyer where we greet a new guest. We invite them in and give them the lay of the land to help them feel more comfortable, cozy, and empowered to get around on their own.

In this episode we walk you through our 10-point website homepage checklist so you can create a new page or improve on the one you already have.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

  • The overall purpose of your website homepage so you can maximize your visitor’s overall experience, (and keep him/her on your website longer)
  • Our 10-point homepage checklist and how to apply it to your website for better results
  • Why going through this exercise will be an eye-opening experience for you so you’ll be able to improve your website marketing message to attract more dream clients

Today we’re bringing back a popular episode of the podcast that will walk you through our 10-point website homepage checklist. The good news is that you can design your website in phases; you don’t have to do it all at once. Since each page has its own unique purpose, it’s easy to start and stop one page at a time. Since your homepage will get the most visitors and it can also help you build your email list, that’s where we are starting.

Alright, let’s dive into our 10-point checklist.

#1: Navigation Bar

The navigation bar should be located at the top of your website homepage. At a minimum, it should include a tab for the about me page, paid programs/services and a contact me form.

#2: Search Icon

The search icon should also be located at the top of your website. It gives your website visitors the ability to search for keyword and topics within your side that interest them.

#3: Marketing Statement

Your marketing statement is a simple one sentence structure that shares who you help, how you help, and the outcome or transformation that you offer. It’s structured like this –

I help ______________ get ______________ result using ___________ method.

A great example from one of our Wellness Business Accelerator clients Karen Finn is:

Helping women lose weight and tackle menopausal symptoms with intermittent fasting and self-care strategies.

#4: Your Picture

It’s important to include your picture at the top of your website because as a personal brand you are truly selling yourself as much as you are selling the transformation that you offer. Your dream clients want to get to know you and by showing up at the top of your homepage you’ll start building a relationship and the know, like trust factor with them immediately.

#5: List Building Freebie

It’s important to add your list building freebie title near the top of your homepage as well. It should be visible on a desktop computer without needing to scroll down to find it, (which is called above the fold). You will capture the most emails from your website visitors in this location.

#6: Opt-In Box

The box for someone to add their email address should also be located above the fold. I recommend either just one box to capture their email address or two boxes, one for their first name and one for their email. The more boxes you add beyond that will discourage your website visitors from downloading your freebie.

#7: Direction/Guidance Buttons

Direction and/or guidance buttons should be located near the middle of your homepage. Think of these like shortcuts to the places on your site you most want to take your visitor. Just create three or four graphics and then hyperlink that graphic to the desired page or location.

#8: Testimonials

Since it’s likely that your website visitor will scan your homepage quickly it’s nice to include two or three brief testimonials from past clients.

#9: Latest Blogs

If you are someone that publishes a blog through your website it’s a good idea to add a summary of the last three blogs on your homepage. The idea is that when your website visitor scans the page a few of your recent blogs will capture their attention and then they’ll stick around to read them.

#10: Social Media Links

One of the easiest ways to get new social media followers is to include links from your website homepage to your main social media profile and business pages. We recommend that you link only to the social media platforms that you are active on. If you aren’t posting consistently don’t link to that platform.

Your website is your online home, and your homepage is the place where your website visitor can window shop the most important aspects of your site. In essence, you are building a mini customer journey just for your website homepage visitors.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Download your free copy of Karen Pattock’s Home Page Checklist

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

Best Of: How to Plan Out 30 Days of Your Social Media Content in One Hour or Less

Best Of: How to Plan Out 30 Days of Your Social Media Content in One Hour or Less

by | Jul 24, 2023

Best Of: How to Plan Out 30 Days of Your Social Media Content in One Hour or Less

We hear it all the time – “I know I should show up consistently on social media, but I don’t know what to post” or “I want to share helpful content on social media but it takes too much time.”

We totally get it, and if you’re nodding your head in agreement with either of those sentiments, you’re going to love this episode we’re bringing back about How to Plan Out 30 Days of Your Social Media Content in One Hour or Less.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

  • Why it’s important to have a variety of posts on social media
  • The 3 different categories of posts you should include
  • 5 examples of types of posts you can put on rotation every month
  • How to come up with 30 days or more worth of posts each and every month

If you want to be more consistent on social media, but it has just felt too time consuming to come up with ideas for posts and videos, tune in to find out how to simplify the process.

BTW…I have a free guide that covers what we’re going to talk about in more detail and it’s called Social Media Planning Made Easy. This is a handy guide you can refer back to over and over again with a ton of ideas for coming up with social media posts, including 16 ideas for posts that you can put on rotation each month to build awareness, grow your email list AND convert followers to clients.

Strategy #1: Use a variety of posts.

Sharing a variety of posts on social media helps keep your feed interesting and more importantly, it keeps your audience engaged and coming back for more. Think about the people you follow and why you follow them. We get bored if we see the same types of posts on a feed over and over again, so you want to keep it interesting.

Let’s talk a little bit about your social media strategy before we go into specific ideas for your posts.

In addition to having a variety of posts, you want to keep the customer journey in mind with your content. We talk about the customer journey a lot on this podcast because it’s so important. Think of the customer journey as a sales funnel where people go from just finding out about you all the way to eventually becoming a paying client. On social media, this means incorporating posts that will turn some of your followers into clients, rather than just posting for the sake of posting. Likes and comments are great but being intentional about what you’re posting will make a huge difference in your results.

Some posts should create awareness about you and your services, some should lead people to the next step with you by either joining your Facebook group, reading a blog post, downloading a free resource to get on your email list, or scheduling a discovery call, and some should directly lead to sales. The more touch points people have with you, the more they get to know you and trust you, and these are the people who are much more likely to enroll in your programs.

Needless to say, including video (live or recorded) as part of your content strategy is critical if you want to stand out and dramatically expedite the customer journey.

Strategy #2: There are 3 main categories of posts you want to include as part of your social media strategy

  • Awareness & Nurture – This is where people become aware of who you are and get to know, like and trust you. These posts can be informational or inspirational. These can also be posts that are humorous and relatable in some way.
  • Lead generation – Turning followers into subscribers by sharing your lead magnets (free offers).
  • Sales – Inviting people to enroll in your paid programs. This will either be with a free discovery call or strategy session for 1-on-1 coaching or directly to your group online program if you have one. 

So, Awareness & Nurture, lead generation and sales are your categories. Use a mix of these posts throughout the month, and notice which posts get the most engagement, responses and results and do more of those. 

Here are 5 examples of types of posts you can put on rotation to get you started and I include a total of 16 examples in my free guide:

  1. Quote graphics – these are great because they tend to get a lot of shares which can get you in front of new people. (Awareness/nurture category)
  2. Behind the scenes with you – what are you working on or what is your latest find that you love. People also love sneak peeks of things. You can share that you are working on a new program a webinar, or a challenge, for example. (Awareness/nurture category)
  3. Share a success story about you or a client – this makes what you do come to life when you share stories about how your life changed or the life of your client. (Awareness/nurture category)
  4. Promote your freebies to grow your email list  – remember that social media is where people find you and you want to connect off of social to build trust and invite people to work with you. (Lead generation)
  5. Book a call with you – the #1 way you are going to get clients will be through free calls, so the more you do, the more clients you will have. (Sales)

The Difference Between Your Free and Paid Content

Strategy #3: Come up with 8-12 core pillars of content

Make a list of 8-12 topics that are related to your services or coaching program. The key here is to use topics that tie into how you help your clients, so the more specific, the better. Using a Google Sheet for this is helpful, so you have it one place to refer to and you can continue to add more ideas as they come to you.

Once you have your 8-12 core pillars, break those up into smaller topics until you have at least 5 for each pillar (8 pillars x 5 smaller topics will give you 40 different topics. If you have 12 pillars with 5 topics, you have 60). 

Here’s an example of what this could look like: If your niche is helping moms who have food sensitivities transition to a gluten free diet, what 8-12 main topics would you cover with your audience that tie into your offers and coaching programs?  Consider some of the common questions you get since these can be good topics too.

Here are 8 examples of pillars of content for this niche that you can break down into smaller topics:

  1. Hidden sources of gluten
  2. Meal planning when you’re the only one in your family who is GF
  3. How to avoid cross contamination in the kitchen
  4. How to shop GF on a budget
  5. Eating out while traveling
  6. Gluten free baking tips
  7. How to eat healthy while GF (some GF food is junk food)
  8. What to do if you consumed gluten by mistake
      1.  

When you start using the pillar content strategy, coming up with content for social media will be so much easier and you can do this in one hour or less each month.

The other great thing is that it also helps you focus on topics that are centered around not just your zone of genius, but also topics that relate to your niche and the programs you offer.

If you open up a Google sheet, you can add your 8-12 pillars of content across the top, and then list your topics down each column and add to them as you go. Another option is to create a new tab in your Google sheet for each pillar.  You can also use Trello or Evernote if you prefer. You just want to keep a running list, so you can continue to add to it as ideas strike, so whatever tech works for you is fine. 

Remember to repurpose your content. For example, one topic can be used for a story, a video or livestream and a static post.

If you have 8 pillars and you have at least 5 topics in each one, you are set for more than 40 days because you likely don’t post 7 days a week. Maybe you post 5 days a week, so 40 posts would be 8 weeks of content.  You can add or change pillars as you go.  If you can only think of 3-5, start there. 

You want to include the 3 categories we mentioned too:  Awareness & Nurture, Lead and Sales.  So, when you add in posts for those, you’re going to have so much content ready to go.

You have to write out the posts or video outline, but that’s usually the easy part – keep it short, sweet and helpful and imagine your post is only for your ideal client – it’s not for everyone. Imagine you are writing to one person.

Are you feeling a bit more enthused about this now? We hope so.

Recap

Let’s recap what we covered about how to plan out 30 days of your social media content in one hour or less each month.

Strategy #1: Use a variety of posts.

Strategy #2: There are 3 main categories of posts you want to include as part of your social media strategy:  Attract & Nurture, Lead generation and sales.

Strategy #3: Come up with 8-12 core pillars of content.

BONUS TIP:  You can schedule your posts ahead of time with a scheduling app like Planoly which works with Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, or MeetEdgar for FB and IG. You can also google “social media scheduling apps” and look at more options.

Be sure to download your free copy of my guide, Social Media Planning Made Easy. It’s going to save you so much time and help you come up with better content that moves your ideal client along on their customer journey.  You’ll also learn the #1 secret to getting engagement on your posts. 

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Kathleen’s Free Guide: Social Media Planning Made Easy

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

Best Of: The Difference Between Your Free and Paid Content

Best Of: The Difference Between Your Free and Paid Content

by | Jul 17, 2023

Best Of: The Difference Between Your Free and Paid Content

When it comes to creating and sharing content for your business, there are two types; Free and paid. 

But how to you determine what should be included in your free content such as your freebies, blog posts and videos, and what should be saved for content for your paid programs? 

If this question has been on your mind, this episode will be a huge help.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

  • The purpose of your free content and how it plays an important role in your marketing and client attraction strategy
  • 8 popular types of free content you can use to attract your ideal clients
  • What to avoid doing with your free content
  • Examples of free content you can start sharing today

Tune in or read the post below to learn how to use both forms of content in your business to get the best results. 

I received a great question about how coaches should distinguish between their free and paid content; what should be offered as part of content such as freebies, blog posts and livestreams, and what should be saved for content for paying clients. 

Alma asked this question and then went on to say “I feel like if I just touch on the subjects of healthy nutrition or exercise tips without getting into the “nitty-gritty” in the materials available for free, people would sense that there isn’t much value in them.”

This is such a great question, and it may be something you are wondering too, so we wanted to cover this on the podcast.

Purpose of Free Content

Let’s talk about the purpose of your free content, we’ll share a few different examples, and then we’ll talk about your paid content (your coaching programs and courses) and how to set that apart, as well as how to use your free content to lead to your paid programs. 

It’s important to first point out that your free content is actually part of your marketing strategy because it’s an important piece of the awareness and attraction phase where people get to learn more about you and determine if they can learn something valuable from you. This is called content marketing. 

According to the Content Marketing Institute: “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

So, content marketing – your free content – is a client attraction strategy and it’s a key part of how you will bring people into your world.  Think about the people you follow on social media – you probably follow many of them because you learn from them on a regular basis.  You learn bits and pieces of information, but you don’t learn an entire process from A-Z, right? Your free content builds trust and rapport and is oftentimes the first step in the customer journey or sales funnel. Here’s one example: People read one of your blog posts, they see your social media icons, and they follow you on Instagram. Once they check out your IG bio, they see you have a free offer or a Facebook group, and they request to join your group or they opt-in for your freebie.

Your free content can come in many forms, including: 

  1. Blog posts
  2. Social Media (posts, stories, Reels, YouTube, Clubhouse, etc.)
  3. Webinars
  4. Free PDF downloads
  5. Video series
  6. Podcasts
  7. Livestreams
  8. Podcast

Where it can get confusing, as Alma mentioned, is how much information do you offer for free, where you make it valuable enough and what should be part of your paid programs.

With the list of 8 options above for free content, each one of those should play a part in creating awareness and desire for your paid programs and let people get to know YOU as a person and your brand.  This is a process that takes time, and it takes multiple touch points over time.

Your free content should be part of the customer journey where you get to educate and inspire your audience about topics that you cover in your programs and how your program helps your clients achieve their goals. 

Here’s the big distinguisher between your free and paid content:

Your free content shares small pieces of helpful information on a specific topic but it does not give a system or a roadmap for a transformation or desired outcome. Your paid program provides the entire solution.   

Your free content is only small chunks of the solutions you offer. You aren’t taking people from point A to point B and beyond – you are making them aware of what you do, who you help and how you help them, and you provide helpful tips

and inspiration along the way.

Think about the people you follow on social media – let’s take someone who is an Instagram expert, like Jasmine Star (we had her on the podcast back on episode 117 about How to Easily Navigate the Changes on Instagram).  She is one of my favorite people to learn from when it comes to IG. She shares fun and helpful tips and strategies, but if you want to learn her whole system and you want more access to her, you need to enroll in her paid program, Social Curator, which is her monthly subscription where you get a complete monthly IG strategy, IG posts, captions, and images for IG.

You can take some information from your paid program, but just share a small part each time, and make it specific to your niche, so you are attracting more of your ideal clients and building trust with them.  People will still learn something of value, but it’s not going to solve an entire problem.

It will be the same for a freebie you offer. It should be about one specific topic, so your ideal clients can get a small win. Your free offer shouldn’t be a 30-page eguide. A big mistake we see is overwhelming people with too much information.  A great free offer is more about what they can take action on vs making it too long for them to consume and never put anything into place. When you get very specific about who your freebie is for and the quick mini win it will get your ideal client, it makes it easier to come up with ideas.

Say your niche is helping moms who have just been diagnosed with celiac disease. You know from experience, that one of their top struggles is likely how to pack food and snacks when they travel.  Maybe your freebie is a list of 20 gluten-free, celiac-friendly foods that are perfect for traveling.

The list will give them a quick win, but there is so much more they need to learn and implement in order to implement a gluten-free lifestyle, from how to avoid cross contamination in their home, how to cook for the whole family when you are the only one who has to be GF, how to eat out when you have celiac, and so much more.  There is a lot they have to learn, and your free guide gives them one small part of what they need to know. They can now start to see that you are a trusted resource, and they may want to learn more about how you can help them by working with you.

Take this podcast as another example.  We now have over 300 episodes full of free and helpful content. We also have a paid program called the Wellness Business Accelerator which is our 12-week course for wellness business owners who want to fill their practice.  In this program, we take our students through a very detailed, and step-by-step process to dramatically accelerate their business growth, so they can start getting clients in as little as 60 days.  People can get free content on the show to get small wins, which we love hearing about, and for those who want more support and a proven blueprint and process to follow, they can enroll in our paid program – the full solution. 

Recap

The goal with your free content is to draw people in to learn something short and sweet and leave them wanting more, then direct them to the next step such as sign up for your freebie, join your Facebook group, read a blog post, watch a video or something else. Your free content should ultimately lead people to your paid programs, and that’s how content marketing works. 

Speaking of content, you can save yourself a lot of time by repurposing your hard work, and we covered how to do this on episode 144 where we talked about 5 Simple Ways to Repurpose Your Content to Reach More People.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Episode 117 – How to Navigate the Changes on Instagram

Episode 144 – 5 Simple Ways to Repurpose Your Content to Reach More People

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid Making with Discovery Calls so You Can Enroll More Clients

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid Making with Discovery Calls so You Can Enroll More Clients

by | Jul 10, 2023

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid Making with Discovery Calls so You Can Enroll More Clients

A question I’ve had come up quite a bit recently has to do with discovery calls. After doing some digging around and asking more questions, two of the coaches realized they weren’t asking for the sale at the end of the call.  I know what it’s like because I made this mistake when I was a new health coach too. You think you’re telling your potential clients all the right things, so they should ask you – but that’s not usually how it works.  They are relying on YOU to lead the call and let them know if you are able to help them with the goal they want to achieve or the problem they are looking to solve.

There are a few common mistakes that are easy to make, and I’ve made all of them when I was starting out, so if you’re making any of these, you are not alone, but it’s easy to fix them and start getting more clients signing up to work with you.

Once I found a good flow for my discovery calls and I asked better questions, I had a much better conversion rate – it was quite a while ago, but I think it was around 90% which is amazing.

Download my your FREEE Discovery Call Guide that comes with a complete script you can customize, along with 6 other awesome client resources in The Ultimate Health Coach Toolkit here. 

Let’s dive into the 4 common mistakes to avoid with discovery calls.

Mistake #1 – The first common mistake made with discovery calls is not being clear about who the call is for and what the calls are about.  The problem with this is that you will likely not get enough of the right people booking calls with you. Be up front about who the call is for; It is women who want help losing postpartum weight? Is it men who need help balancing their blood sugar, menopausal women who want to balance their hormones and lose who weight?  Who do you serve?  This goes back to knowing your niche, and it’s important because this will help weed out people who are not a good fit for working with you, and it will increase the number of more qualified leads you get. 

You can do include these details in your emails and in your social media posts, so you are calling out who the call is for. 

An example of a social media post could be something like this (make sure you know your ideal client’s pain points, so you can include that in the post, so they see you are talking to them).  “If you’re a woman over 50, and you’ve found that weight has seemed to sneak up overnight, especially around your middle and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to shed the extra pounds, I invite you to schedule a FREE discovery call with me to see if my Hormone Rescue program is right for you.  During this complimentary 30-minute call, I’ll find out your top struggles and goals, and see if we might be a good fit to work together.  There is no obligation and absolutely no pressure to join.

Click here to find a time that works for you and let’s chat- “ 

So, you’re letting folks know who it’s for and what to expect – a 30-minute call to find out their top struggles and see if you are a good fit to help them. This will also help weed out people who just want to pick your brain or ask for free advice.

Mistake #2 – Not making it quick and easy for people to book a call. The easier you make it for people to schedule a call, the more discovery calls you’ll do. Use an online scheduler like calendly or acuity. Calendly has a free version that is very easy to use.  You want people to only have to take one easy step to book a call. Instead of the back and forth with email or messaging, take the time to set up an online calendar, and you will have more people booking discovery calls. 

Mistake #3 – Not sharing enough of the benefits of your program and how it can help them. People don’t care so much about the stuff they get (these are the features – such as how many sessions and resources and how they access the program, etc.) and you can share a bit more of that info later after they say they are interested. How can your program get them from point A to point B? Point A is where they are now, and Point B is where they want to go.  That’s what they want to know before they can make a decision.

Benefits are the outcome, results and feelings they will experience, and this will be different depending on your niche.   

If your niche is helping people balance their blood sugar through a whole foods approach, benefits could include:

  • Improved blood sugar control
  • Weight management
  • Better mood
  • Increased energy
  • Improved digestion

These are all about the results clients can expect, which is the reason they will invest in your help. 

Mistake #4 – Not inviting your prospect to work with you.  On your discovery call, are you letting people know how they can work with you?  Think of it as inviting, rather than selling. If they scheduled a call with you, they are looking for a solution to a problem they have. Ask them if they would like to learn more about how you can work together. That’s easy, right?  Towards the end of the call, recap what they said about what they want and why, and what they find challenging about figuring it out on their own and let them know that is something you help your clients with, and would they like to hear about how you can work together. 

The more practice you get, the easier this gets and the more clients you will have signing up to work with you. You’ll get better every time you do a call.

For a complete Discovery Call Outline and Script to make this super easy, download my Free Ultimate Health Coach Toolkit which has 7 client resources including a discovery call script.  You’ll get a step-by-step outline, so you know exactly what to say, so you’ll feel more confident, and you’ll enroll more clients.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Kathleen’s Ultimate Health Coach Toolkit

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!