The Coaching Website Dilemma

There is currently nothing that causes more uncertainty and angst among newer coaches than the issue of what to do about a website. You may be caught in that decision process yourself. To make it more confusing, the parameters of the problem are constantly evolving. Five or six years ago, many coaches did not have websites . Marketing was through other channels. Then there was a sudden realization in the coaching field that a website can be a powerful marketing tool.

The question became - do I need a website and how can I afford it? Coaches became in a rush to get a website so they would get more clients. Each coach wanted to explain to the world what coaching is and how exactly they work with clients. I was one of those people and I spent $1500 on a beautiful website with all the bells and whistles. It generated very few clients.

In the past five years, our understanding of internet marketing has progressed greatly - we have learned how to best design websites for different purposes, how people respond online, and how different features fit best into your specific coaching business.

With all this information available to you, you just need to ask yourself the right questions before you make the website decision. There are 3 basic questions.

1. What is my purpose in having this particular website?

2. Do I want a website or a blog?

3. What type of website or blog best matches my purpose and abilities?

There are many purposes to having a website. Some important ones for coaches are -

- Generating clients

- Building a list of potential clients

- Selling a product

- Providing information about the coach, coaching, and services offered

- Adding credibility to the business by having an internet presence

Some of these purposes are better met by one type of website than another.

Many new coaches are forgoing a website totally in favor of having a blog. Let's highlight a few of the differences here so you can decide which is best for you.

Blogs are essentially small, easily changed websites. The advantages of starting with a blog include that you can be up and running in very little time and at very low cost. You eliminate the cost of a web design er and the typical wait for the website to be constructed. The cost of a blog is wonderful for a beginning coach since the price is as low as $5-15 per month. The two main software programs for your blog, called platforms, are Type Pad and Word Press. They are both great - a quick difference is that Type Pad gives better support services and Word Press gives better functionality. Blogger is a free platform that is not as professional and is not a good choice for a serious business blog. A final advantage to a blog is that by using the platforms, you are able to update and change your own site regardless of your technical expertise. It is a simple matter of typing in your thoughts just like most word processing programs. There is also great information and training available to help you design and run your blog.

The disadvantages for using a blog are few, but important. One disadvantage is that websites are still more familiar for most of us on the internet although you can now set up a blog to be indistinguishable from a website. Secondly, a blog is more demanding of ongoing time and energy than a website because it is meant to be regularly updated. You would need to write and post your thoughts several times every week for your blog to be effective. The frequent updating of a blog makes it attractive to search engines and if your purpose is to generate traffic to your site, the higher search engine ranking will be helpful. Finally, blogs often do not have a way to capture the email addresses of visitors so that you can build a relationship with them.

There are two general types of websites to be familiar with - the online business brochure and the sales page. They function best for very different purposes. The online business brochure is the most common website for coaches. It contains all kinds of information about the coach, his/her services, what coaching is and more. There are often free reports and other resources for the visitor to explore. The purpose of the online brochure type of site is to help someone who is already familiar with you to get to know you better - to possibly move closer to becoming a customer. This type of site is totally ineffective in drawing in new prospects who know nothing about you. Most strangers arrive on these sites, spend very little time, sign up for nothing and never return. This type of site will help you give information to people who want to know more about you and establish your presence on the internet.

The second type of website is the sales page. This is the type of website you need for capturing the interest of brand new prospects. Internet marketers have learned that most people on the web do nothing when presented with several choices so the sales page is carefully designed to allow the visitor only one choice. The choice is usually "sign up for this free item" or it may be "buy this item". There is only one page of information available. You have probably seen many of these long sales pages for a variety of items and you may not like them. However, they are proven to work extremely well for the intended purpose.

Most coaches need to think long and hard before putting up an expensive online business brochure. A first website that is a sales page for an interesting free product in exchange for the visitor's email address is often the most economical way to have prospective clients start to get to know you. Once you have the contact info, you can send email or newsletters on items of interest related to your niche and develop a relationship with those people.

Whenever you are in the decision process about a new website, it is a good idea to consider each of the options for blogs and for websites. Make your decision based on the facts and what is a match for your current business needs. There's no right answer to the coaching website dilemma - there's just the answer that is right for you!