by Bonnie Jo Davis
Filling a coaching practice is becoming more difficult as competition grows and the economy shrinks. Many coaches and other small business owners are uncomfortable using common marketing methods such as cold calling, networking or speaking at local events.
These types of "push" marketing techniques can work but not if you dread doing them. Instead of "pushing" yourself on people who may not be a good fit for your practice, try using "pull" marketing techniques that establish you as an expert in your field.
My favorite "pull" marketing technique is article marketing. Not only can you build your practice using article marketing but you can also define your niche, address the problems of your audience and attract and prequalify your ideal clients.
Article marketing will work if you do it right. To do it right, I suggest you create a marketing plan that focuses solely on article marketing. This will keep you on track and ensure that you produce and submit quality articles on a regular basis.
Write out an article marketing plan that includes the following basics:
- A list of goals that you plan on achieving with article marketing.
- A description of your ideal coaching client.
- A schedule that includes how often you will write and submit articles.
- A list of topics, including the specific problems of your ideal client and how you can solve them.
- Several resource boxes (also known as a bio or byline) including a link to your site that can be paired with each client problem you will be writing about.
- A method for capturing the contact information of your readers.
- A list of potential submission sites that attract your ideal client.
- A list of the 10 most popular article directories that accept articles on your topics.
- A list of highly-ranked keywords you have researched that you will use in your article titles, body and resource boxes.
- A list of the social networking sites you use that can be updated every time you publish a new article.
Print out your article marketing plan so you can refer to it often. Schedule your article writing and submission tasks in your day planner and stick to your schedule. If you find writing to be too difficult you can hire a ghostwriter who will work from an outline you supply. If you enjoy doing your own writing, be sure to work with a proofreader who can polish your articles so that they get the attention they deserve!
Bonnie Jo Davis is an author and virtual marketing assistant who helps clients build their business using online techniques that work. You can learn more about her at http://www.your-marketing-assistant.com.
