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A coaching website is an essential part of any business. It’s your online storefront, where your customers and clients can learn more about you, your products or services, and what you have to offer.
But not all websites for coaches are created equal. A good website can help you attract new clients and keep them coming back. It can also help you build a stronger relationship with current clients, fostering loyalty and boosting sales.
But you may already know that, and only thinking about building a website scares you and leaves you with an overwhelming task on your already too long to-do list of getting your business off the ground.
Why Social Media Only isn’t enough
Honestly, nowadays, it’s so easy only to have an online presence on Facebook or Instagram and build your business from there; at least, this is what everyone tells you.
But does this supports you in building a sustainable business that suits your life as an introverted mom entrepreneur? For example, how much time do you spend creating content? How much time do you engage with your audience? Do you enjoy it or think you need to do it because otherwise, you won’t have a business?
Are we talking limiting beliefs and fears of missing out here?! 😉
Business were made before social media and can still be built without, or at least with less effort as some gurus want us to believe.
Let’s check the numbers why a coaching website matters.
Did you know that 93% of people who go online to find a new product, company, or service (which is your category) start with a search on a search engine like Google or Bing?
This makes sense to me because people, me included, usually don’t know exactly what they want yet but have an idea and are using search engines to guide them.
What does this mean for you as a coach and service provider without a website? It means you won’t get found because Social Media Posts are not searchable via Search Engines like Google.
That means you’re only offering your services to 7% of your market, which means you are missing a huge pot of possibilities to get found while playing with your kids, coaching a client or recharging your social battery.
Well, for some a Social Media Presence only could work out; but think about the number of hours you pour into social media content creation and whether this really fits your life? Is that really you? Do you built a business that works for you, or do you work for a business you think you have to create a certain way?
Built your business, not a job
I once read that Leonie Dawson, a multi-passionate Entrepreneur who only works ten hours a week with a multi-million dollar business, poured 80% of her marketing hours into Social media. Still, only 20% of her business came from there.
That is something I would say isn’t well-invested money and time. And I bet that is why you want to build a business, to make money and do things the way that work for you. The thing is, you are a business owner and YOU can decide. And there isn’t only one way to do it!
By the way, Leonie Dawson left social media and focuses on other marketing streams only, which she kindly shares in a fun Workshop Marketing Without Social Media.
Mom Entrepreneurs are a special kind.
As an introvert mom juggling school holidays, a sick kid once in a while, and other unpredictable life events, I realized the hyperfocus on Social Media didn’t work for me. Not the time invested and the outcome. It burned me out, and was not fun (actually I really resented it at the end).
And I’m wondering, when you started your business did you started making business like people without a family and with gaining energy from being social? There might be stories about moms who have a toddler at home and find time to work.
But guess what, there a many other moms who don’t find a long stretch uninterrupted time during the day when kids are at home (and maybe they don’t want to) and still run successful businesses.
Moms live unpredictable lives and we need a business that supports the way we live, not breaking us and feeling guilty because we can’t keep up and don’t spend enough time with our kids or our business.
For me, I love to go the route to building a business that doesn’t need me as much as my family or clients do, and this starts with a website where 93% of people (potential clients) who are in the business for finding a solution for their question can find me, and yes social media as the cherry on top.
Why else do I need a coaching website?
So let’s be honest, a website is an integral part of any business. It’s the place where you can be found via search engine searches. It is the first impression that clients have of your business, it can convert website browsers into leads, and allows you to showcase your brand.
A good website can help you attract new clients and keep them coming back into your world, where you can nurture them into becoming clients.
But there I said it, GOOD Website, and there I bet a bit of website overwhelm is creeping in because you don’t need only to figure out any website; you need to figure out a coaching website that works.
But that is what I’m here for, so don’t leave yet, and let’s talk about strategic websites that helps to keep someone on your website and finally convert them into a lead (someone who is interested in buying your services).
What Makes a Good Website?
Several factors make a good, strategic website. The most important is that it is user-friendly and easy to navigate. In addition, your website should be designed and written for your target audience and include relevant information about your business.
It should also be mobile responsive (because our smartphones are our lifeline) and aesthetically pleasing so that website browsers are drawn in and want to stay on your site.
Let’s think about colors for a minute. Even though your favorite color is deep red, that doesn’t mean it connects to your business, brand, or ideal client. Your website should be designed with your audience in mind, not only based on your own tastes (i.g. black and red don’t work well for women but a majorly male audience).
A website showcasing your personality is good, but it should also be professional (that doesn’t necessarily mean boring) and transports your message. Your site is the first impression customers have of your business. You want them to remember it as an enjoyable experience. Otherwise, they are more likely to move on and find something else.
How to Create the perfect Coaching Website?!
Here’s the truth: you can’t create a perfect website unless you understand your niche, business messaging, ideal audience, and brand.
Most web designers would say now you need to get clear on those things before you can design your website or hire a website designer to create one for you. Otherwise, you’ll be on the constant hamster wheel of wanting to re-do your website repeatedly, but wait, I don’t entirely agree with this.
In my option, a business changes and grows, especially in the beginning A LOT. You need time and practice to figure out your niche, your massaging and audience, your brand, and how to coach and run a business.
Business is a trial and error, failing, making mistakes, and learning from them. No one built the perfect business from the very beginning. And that is the same for websites. It’s a living thing, it grows with you.
Don’t aim for the perfect website but a good enough one.
You don’t need to have everything figured out but have a sense of what you want when you start out and be willing to make it better on the go. Websites don’t need to be scary monsters anymore, because it doesn’t need to be perfect and tech isn’t that complicated anymore.
A good enough website does the job, too, because it allows you to hang your open sign at your door and do business!
And, that is why I usually advise against hiring a web designer in the beginning because you will want to re-design your coaching website soon which means you need to pay them again, and again.
You will gain more clarity while walking in a business owner’s shoes, and hiring someone who gets you and your business can be so damn costly (which can be totally worth it when you have the money for it).
I’m a fan of starting before you are ready because, as a perfectionist, I’m kind of never ready. So, define your niche, messaging, and audience, and settle for some colors, fonts, and emotions you like to evoke as well as you can. But, don’t stay stuck in perfect.
There is a middle ground.
Building a website can be intimidating, especially when you think back at the “old times” when Website meant coding and therefore hiring a web designer was super costly (and still is).
However, there is a third option. Get a website template with an already planned strategic flow and plug your content in with a course guiding you setting the website up and learn to maintain it yourself.
This is empowering, because you don’t need to figure out everything by yourself, it takes away the fear of that scary big website topic and it helps you maintain and re-design your website yourself until you feel settled.
Don’t waste time developing the design and mapping your site pages from scratch because you will be busy figuring out your content and pictures while running your family and getting clients to coach.
You don’t need a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel to start out. Likewise, you don’t need a fancy sales page for a course you haven’t made yet. Just you, your services, a way to book a call with you and maybe as an cherry on top an opt-in funnel. That’s it for the beginning and then tweak on the go.
If niching, messaging, ideal target audience and how to infuse it in your social media and website doesn’t make sense, yet, I recommend checking out the NURTURE TO CONVERT SOCIETY. It brings clarity and gives you the right push to build a business that needs you less and makes you money. I hang out there, too and if you need personalized help, my 1:1 coaching follows the NTCSystem.
What else do you need for your Coaching website?
You’ll also need to purchase a domain name and set up your website hosting, depending on where you want to have your website. People often recommend WordPress for all the possibilities and freedom, and it doesn’t cost something (on the first view). However, I found it adds a hundredfold to website overwhelm because it’s too much and hinders you from launching your website soon.
I only built coaching websites on Squarespace and recommend it, especially for new business owners. It comes with a monthly fee, but for me, it’s a good investment in my business, and I find it immensely easy to navigate, build and maintain (which saves you money and is empowering).
And yes, you can blog on Squarespace and rank on No 1 in Google searches, too; in case you heard, you can only blog on WordPress.