Marketing for Coaches: 24 Great Strategies for 2024

What’s the best way to market your coaching business? 

Marketing for coaches doesn’t require you to hustle 24/7. With the right strategies, you can reach clients without burning out and get results like this:

In this guide, you’ll get the 24 most powerful strategies that actually work today—strategies that can help you build a steady stream of clients, even if you’re balancing a full-time job.

Let’s dive right in!

How do you market your coaching business? 

Marketing your coaching business is all about showing people who you are, what you offer, and why they should trust you. As a coach, you aren’t just selling a service—you’re selling your personal brand. Here’s why mastering marketing is essential:

• Higher profits: Reaching the right clients means better earnings.
• A more stable business: Reliable clients lead to a sustainable income.
• High-end clients: Position yourself as a go-to expert, and you’ll attract clients who value your expertise.

The foundation of good marketing is a clear, focused plan. Start with a couple of strategies that can get quick results. For example, connect with potential clients by networking or choose one social media platform where your audience spends time. Focusing on one or two methods lets you build expertise and see results faster.

Next, let’s dive into some specific steps you can use to create a successful marketing plan tailored for your coaching business. 

1. Offer a free coaching or consulting call 

The best way to sell your services fast? Show your value with a free coaching call.

Back when I first started my digital advertising consulting business, I made six figures in four months. How? 

Simple: I gave a ton of value.

And the way I gave value was by offering free coaching calls. 

Why did this strategy work so well? 

My calls immediately showed my clients how much value they would get during our time together.

The idea is this: 

You offer free 15-30-minute coaching calls. 

At the end of the call, you ask:

“How was this call?” And when they say, “Great!”, you ask if they want to continue talking about working together. 

How to set it up

To schedule your calls, sign up for a Calendly account.

You then send your Calendly link to people who want to book a call with you (or link to it from your emails, social media, or website).

And to hold your calls, set up a Zoom account.

Next up: 

Want people to remember you the minute they hear about your business or meet you? Here’s what you need to do.

2. Create a remarkable brand 

Let’s say I asked you to name a brand. Which brand comes to your mind? 

Maybe… 

Lululemon.

Netflix.

Or Nike.

Whatever business you’re now thinking about, that business has built a memorable brand.

And that’s what you want for your coaching business.

So when people think about your niche, they think about your brand. 

How do you create a brand that stands out as a coach? 

Use… 

The 5-step branding strategy 

Answer these questions:

1. How are YOU different?

It doesn’t have to be anything massive. For example, I love TV shows. And that’s something my clients love about me because they can relate and it makes me more human. 

2. What’s that ONE thing that makes your business special? 

What’s your “secret sauce”? For example, one of my clients helps people lose weight with herbs.

3. How are your values and beliefs different? 

Here’s an example: One of my clients, a career coach, believes that you can have a career without working 24/7. Another client believes that a job is more than a career, it’s a calling. See how they are distinctive brands in the same niche?

4. How is your audience different? 

Let’s take two health coaches as examples. One of them might serve busy professionals. Another helps baby boomers stay in shape. As you can tell, the markets are completely different and so the brands are very easy to distinguish from each other.

5. How is your product different?

This is something you need to be able to answer as a coach. How is YOUR approach different? Do you make it 10X easier to achieve results? Do you have a technique you’ve developed yourself that no one else is offering? Is your method the fastest way to get results?

Want to take a closer look at each step? I put together this short video to help you define your brand: 

3. Find your ideal clients in social media groups 

One of the fastest ways to grow your coaching business?

Social media groups like Reddit or Facebook groups.

Think about it:

By going to where your ideal coaching clients are already hanging out, you can quickly build relationships with them, your status as the go-to coach in your niche, and your business.

Find social media groups

Go to a platform like Facebook and search for keywords in your niche to find groups: 

Post the right content 

Now: There’s a right and a wrong way to do social media marketing, like Facebook marketing.

Use social media as your audience would use it. People go to social media to be entertained, have fun, and get insights. 

You can tap into this by posting a Q&A…

Or share an insight.

But that’s not all… Instead of just going into other people’s groups, you can create your own. Here’s how.

4. Create a social media group for your audience 

Here’s the thing:

To build your own audience, you need to own that audience. 

Early on in my business, I built my audience with my Facebook group, Entrepreneurial Leaders.

When it was still active, the group had over 20,000 members. But that wasn’t always the case.

Growing a group takes effort. If you know what you’re doing, you instantly make the process many times easier for yourself. 

My top tip for creating a social media group people WANT to join?

Name it something…

#1: Clear

With a clear name, people can find it when they search for groups.

And when the social media platform you use suggests groups to your audience, they immediately know what your group is all about.

#2: Intriguing

Instead of going for a creative name, choose a name people want and can identify with. 

For example: My name attracts my audience, so entrepreneurs who see themselves as leaders.

How does your audience like to define themselves? What do they want?

Those are things you can use to come up with a compelling group name so your audience can’t wait to join your group.

5. Ask your network 

Your next clients could be closer than you think… They could come from your network.

If you’re thinking, “I don’t want my friends to think I’m selling to them,” that’s not at all what this is about. 

For example, my students Emily and Anna got their first career coaching clients by posting on LinkedIn and letting their network know that they were starting a business. They eventually went on to build multi six-figure businesses.

It doesn’t have to be harder than that. Simply let your family and friends know about your business.

You can use this script:

“Hey NAME,

I’m starting a new business that helps people with…. 

If you know someone who would be interested in this, please let me know.

I’m happy to offer them a free coaching call so that they can get to know me and start getting some great results. If they’re interested, I’ll share more about how I can help them further, but if not, they’ll still get great value out of the free session.”

6. Market your coaching business at events 

Look:

Maybe you market your business at events.

You know, at events like Meetups or conferences in your area.

Great! Except… You want to do it the right way.

Here’s what I mean:

If you randomly attend events and mingle with anyone and everyone, you’re not marketing your business very effectively.

Instead, do this.

#1: Attend events where your clients hang out.

The #1 mistake I see people make when they market their businesses at events?

They go to events with fellow coaches. So maybe that’s an entrepreneur event (unless your clients are entrepreneurs). 

Instead, choose events where your clients are. If you’re a career coach, that could be a career fair. 

Or a health coach? Go to health-related events or fitness classes.

#2: Be targeted in your networking

The second mistake I see is this:

Coaches who aren’t targeted in their networking.

To talk to the right people (your clients), reach out to the event organizer.

Let them know who YOU are so that they can recommend people you should be speaking to.

And before you attend the event, take a look at the list of attendees.

Who do you want to meet? Why?

7. Speak at events and position yourself as the go-to expert

A great way to quickly position yourself as an expert?

Speak at events.

You build trust with the people there… And by telling them about your services at the end of your talk, you can pick up a client or two.

But how can you get these speaking opportunities?

Look up events in your area.

For example, on Meetup.com.

Who’s the event organizer?

This is the person you should reach out to.

Start by attending one of the events.

Then, send them a message like this:

“Hi [name of event organizer],

Thank you for last week’s event “Name of event”.

It was great to meet so many women in [your niche]. 

I noticed that a recurring question I got was “Insert a popular topic in your niche”. 

Would you like me to give a free workshop on this topic? It seems a lot of attendants would find it valuable.

Happy to give more details.

Best,

Your name”

8. Market your coaching business on Instagram (and get big wins)

Ever wondered: 

How does Instagram work?

After all, all you hear are success stories of brands that are growing quickly thanks to their Instagram audiences.

And you’re left thinking:

“How do they do it?”

Well, you certainly don’t need millions of followers to get clients from Instagram.

Instead, you need to be targeted about who you reach.

And the best way to engage people on Instagram is to use stories. Your audience tunes in every day, connects with you, and you stay top of mind for them. 

In my own stories, I often share the behind-the-scenes of running a business or how I play with my goofy puppy, Falco. 

You could also share things like interviews, AMAs, media features, or new YouTube videos or content you’ve posted. 

9. Get clients on TikTok

TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms. You can build an audience much faster than on most other platforms. 

But how do you stand out on TikTok? 

Create videos that are: 

• Short and to the point: TikTok videos deliver insights in short videos. 
• Headlines and text: Use headlines and text to get people interested in your video. 
• Hashtags: Use hashtags to reach more people on TikTok. 

A few content ideas on TikTok include: 

• Tips 
• Testimonials and client stories 
• Contrarian opinions 
• Short sketches 
• “A day in the life of” 

I often share short tips and stories on my own TikTok account.

10. Use webinars to transform your business

You know…

Webinars are great. 

But webinars often get talked about as this ‘magic bullet’. 

The “secret” of webinars is to use them in the right way.

And that means using them in an automated way.

You see, automated webinars are the reason I can make sales every day without having to be there, selling.

And that frees up time in my business.

That’s what I do with my Employee to Entrepreneur program. I have an evergreen webinar and it sells my program 24/7. 

At the same time, the webinar is packed with value. I show webinar attendees my exact system for getting clients. 

That’s what you want for your webinar- a value-packed, automated webinar.

Want to see what that looks like? Here’s my webinar.

Now, my top tip for how marketing for coaches can be made easy? 

Paid ads.

11. Use paid ads to grow faster

Maybe you’re thinking:

“I want a system that quickly gets me clients without me having to constantly hustle for them.”

In that case, paid ads, like Facebook ads, could be the marketing strategy for you.

In fact: 

I used Facebook ads to quickly grow my own business. 

How?

For my first ever course, I needed to grow my audience fast (I wanted to go from 300 to 1000 subscribers to hit my sales goal). 

And with the help of Facebook ads, I was able to do just that… And add 500 people to my audience.

For my third launch, I had set a big goal:

To hit $1 million in sales.

But to do that, I couldn’t just rely on my existing audience.

So, once again, I decided to use paid advertising.

The result?

An $800K launch.

So yes, I’m a big believer in that Facebook ads can quickly grow your business.

(That said, Facebook ads are not that silver bullet you’re often led to believe. They take work, just like any marketing strategy.)

Another platform you can use?

Pinterest. And that’s what we’ll look at next.

12. Use Pinterest marketing to build your audience fast

Ever asked yourself:

“Can Pinterest really grow my business?”

The answer?

Yes! And while many think of Pinterest as a tool you use to save your favorite pins, it’s also a search engine.

So, people go to Pinterest to find information.

For example:

When someone searches for “6-figure coaching business”, they instantly see my pin: 

What does it mean? I get people to my site from those searches without having to constantly promote my content.

13. Use Reddit to reach thousands of ideal clients

One marketing strategy many coaches overlook?

Reddit.

Think about it:

Reddit has 1.2 billion global users.

There are forums, subreddits, about almost anything- from fitness and health to entrepreneurship and career advice. 

Now, you don’t just want to start adding your links to a subreddit. (You’ll likely get downvoted or even banned from that forum.)

Instead, find a subreddit in your niche.

Then, start interacting. Just like you would on Facebook- by helping people, adding value, and giving away some of your best tips.

And by building those relationships, you can then tell people about your coaching services and how you can help them achieve great results.

14. Get referrals and more business

Wait…

We’ve looked at many different marketing strategies. But one that might add clients to your coaching business without much effort on your part?

Referrals. 

Think about it:

Satisfied clients are more than happy to tell their friends about your business. 

And it doesn’t have to be harder than you sending them a message and saying:

“I’m glad to hear you got [insert the result they got from working with you].

If you have anyone in your network who could benefit from similar results, would you mind passing on my name?”

15. Land great guest post and podcast opportunities 

Listen:

If you’re thinking guest posting isn’t as “fresh” or effective as other strategies on this list, think again.

Guest posting and guest podcasting are GREAT ways to reach your audience.

Granted, not every guest post or podcast episode will result in hundreds of new subscribers. 

But if you keep going, you WILL get those opportunities that drive tons of subscribers and clients.

For example:

While some of my own guest posts didn’t drive many subscribers at all, the ones that did were well worth the effort.

And the same goes for podcast episodes I’ve been featured in.

My tip?

Write a list of 10 sites or podcasts you’d like to be featured on.

Not all of them should be the size of The New York Times. Instead, choose a number of niche sites in your industry.

You can easily find them by googling:

“Your niche” + “contribute”

“Your niche” + “submit guest post”

“Your niche” + “submissions”

Or look at where people who’ve already made it big in your niche have published guest posts by googling:

“Name” + “guest post”

“Name” + “guest writer”

16. Use SEO to expand your reach

If you love reading valuable blog posts (like the one you’re reading right now!), you know that they get people to know, like, and trust you.

For example:

My client Emily was able to quickly build her reputation and expert status with her blog posts. 

But maybe you’re thinking:

“Sounds good, Luisa, but how do I make time to create a bunch of new blog posts? I’m stretched as it is.”

And I hear you. 

The best part is that you don’t have to create a gazillion new blog posts. Instead, create 1-2 blogs per month. 

You can tap into search engine optimization (SEO) and rank on search engines like Google (or AI agents like ChatGPT). And used together with Pinterest, you could drive a lot more traffic. 

17. Use LinkedIn to market your coaching business

Does your audience include professionals?

LinkedIn is your platform.

You can use several tools on the platform to reach your clients:

Groups, articles, posts, and direct messages.

One of my favorites?

Videos. Videos are extremely engaging and on a platform like LinkedIn, you can stand out with yours.

18. Set up joint ventures to tap into new audiences

What does marketing for coaches mean to you? Maybe you think of social media strategies and leave it at that…

…But there’s one more marketing strategy that you might be overlooking.

Join ventures.

You see, if you and someone with complementary services and with a similar audience work together, you both benefit. Win-win!

Here are a few joint venture ideas:

• Create a webinar together. 
• Offer your services to each other’s audiences. 
• Bundle your services and offer them for a special price.

And how do you find these joint ventures?

Simple. Go to Google, Instagram, LinkedIn or another platform and search for businesses in complimentary niches.

For example:

If you’re a coach who helps people eat right, you might look for a fitness coach.

And if you’re a marketing coach, you might look for a sales coach…

Their audiences should be about the same as yours.

Once you’ve found someone who looks like a good candidate, send them a brief message:

“Hi NAME,

I happened to come across your site. 

Great work! I like that… (personalize with something so they know you’re not just sending out a bunch of messages to everyone in your niche).

I also happened to see that we have similar audiences. 

Would you like to partner and share our offers to each other’s audiences? I have a few ideas in mind, like… (give 1-2 ideas). Let me know if you want me to send over more ideas?

Best,

Your name”

19. Use YouTube marketing for more engagement 

Think YouTube is for cat videos and viral sensations?

Not so much. YouTube is a great way to engage your audience.

For example, some of my own videos have some amazing engagement.

Like this one, which has 125,000 views:

And it’s ranking for my target keyword.

That’s ONE video I created and that my audience will now find over and over again on YouTube.

My top tip for your YouTube marketing?

Use keywords in your copy (title and descriptions).

Those words that your audience would use to find your video.

So for example, for my video, I used the keyword “coaching package.”

20. Write a book to show you’re an expert

What’s a fast-track way to becoming an expert in your niche?

Publishing a book.

You know, just like people like Malcolm Gladwell have become thought-leaders and experts in their fields thanks to publishing books.

Now, you don’t have to sell millions of copies to become an expert in your niche. 

And today, there are several ways to self-publish your book, so you don’t even need to go to a traditional publisher. For example, you can self-publish a Kindle book.

Of course, self-publishing does take a good amount of work.

You need to write the book AND promote it. 

Another great way to position you as an expert without publishing an entire book?

Write an extensive article, so an ultimate guide on your chosen topic.

I do it regularly.

For example, some of my guides include:

“How to Build a 6-Figure Coaching Business”

This guide shows my audience how to take your coaching business from 0 to fast growth.

“How to Become a Career Coach”

In this guide, I help a segment of my audience, career coaches, leave their 9-5 and start a career coaching business.

21. Use email marketing to build your own audience 

Email marketing is one of THE most powerful tools. For every $1 spent, marketers make $42. 

With an email list, you own your audience – something you don’t do with audiences built on social media platforms or platforms like Substack. 

Creating an email list comes down to: 

• Choosing an email marketing service like ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp
• Creating a lead magnet (a free PDF that people get as an incentive when they sign up) 

And writing your emails can be incredibly simple. I schedule 15 minutes every morning to write mine: 

For more on email marketing, take a look at my video here:

22. Create videos to build a lot of engagement 

Creating videos – whether YouTube videos, TikTok videos, Instagram reels or stories, or livestreams – can have a huge impact on your marketing. 92% of video marketers are happy with the ROI of their videos. 

Not everyone loves to be on video (maybe that’s you?), but it comes down to practice.

I’m a huge introvert, but worked through my fears by consistently putting out video content.

And livestreams were one of the main reasons I was able to grow my business so fast. Video is one of the fastest ways to build a relationship with your audience and position yourself as an expert (after all, video feels much more like a face-to-face interaction than a text post).

23. Do this if you’re not getting the results you want

You know what?

Something that I see all too often is this:

Entrepreneurs who jump from one thing to the next.

You might know this as the shiny object syndrome.

Ever been there?

So, when a marketing strategy doesn’t get you immediate results, you jump to the next strategy.

If this is you, you’re sabotaging yourself.

Without giving a marketing strategy some time and testing it properly, you won’t see ANY results.

The thing is:

When something’s not working, take a look at WHY it’s not working.

Because if that marketing strategy is working for others in your industry, there’s no reason it shouldn’t work for you. 

For example:

Are your social media posts not getting any engagement?

Look at your copy. Or the groups you’re in. How can you change the thing that’s not producing any results? (Here are my top copywriting tips.)

Do you never get more than a handful of webinar attendants?

Are you marketing it enough? Is your topic something your audience really cares about?

24. Get repeat leads and clients 

I saved the BEST for last.

You see:

While marketing and sales will always be a top priority for you, you also want to make sure that your marketing is as automated as possible.

So that you’re not constantly chasing clients. Instead, you have predictable systems that drive repeat leads and clients to you.

Here’s how I did it when I first started out:

I focused on one platform, Facebook, where I knew my clients hung out.

But instead of randomly posting now and then, I followed a daily marketing plan.

So, I scheduled the exact times (3 times/day x 15 minutes) when I posted and engaged in Facebook groups.

I made sure to stick to this schedule- no exceptions allowed. 

And with my Facebook ads system, I had a solid, predictable marketing funnel in place.

The result? 

I hit six figures in my first few months and 7 figures in 11 months.

The thing is:

I couldn’t have done that without having a system in place.

Today, with a multi 7-figure business, my systems look different.

But you don’t need anything more complicated than scheduling your tasks if you’re in the beginning stages of your business.

FAQ: How to market your coaching business 

How do you market your coaching program? 

Start by defining your audience and niche. Choose one or two key strategies—like email marketing, social media, joint ventures, or speaking engagements. Focus on mastering those strategies and landing your first clients before moving on to anything else.

How do you market yourself as a coach? 

Building your personal brand is essential. Clarify who you are, what makes you unique, and why people should choose you. Then, share your message on one or two platforms where your audience spends time. Use content and videos to connect with potential clients.

How do you get high-paying coaching clients?

Design an offer that delivers clear, valuable results, and aim it at the right audience. Once you’ve worked with a few clients, gather testimonials to build credibility and attract more high-end clients.

How do you get coaching clients without social media?

You don’t have to rely on social media. Other strategies—like email marketing, SEO, public speaking, events, or paid ads—can bring in clients. Building up these channels creates a sustainable, profitable business without the constant hustle of social media.

Next: Grow your coaching business!

Marketing your coaching business doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. These 24 strategies are both simple and effective.

The trick is to choose one or two strategies and make them work for you before you start working on another marketing technique.

To build a profitable coaching business, though, you need three things: The right niche, audience, and offer.

But let’s be real—figuring this out on your own can be daunting. It took me years of trial and error to launch my first coaching business and grow it to six figures in just four months. And with a full-time job on top of it, building a business can feel even harder.

That’s why I created my program, Employee to Entrepreneur—to help people in corporate roles smoothly transition into a successful coaching business.

Want to get started? Grab my FREE PDF to learn the core steps to building a six-figure coaching business from scratch.

Read more: 

• What is a Marketing Coach?
• The Best Marketing Strategies for Introverts
• How to Build a Business Without Social Media
• How to Build a Business Without Ads 
• The Best Life Coaching Marketing Strategies