If you are a Coach, Consultant or Counselor who needs some help getting to grips with all this Internet Marketing then we may be able to help each other! In return for your help with a beta test you will receive 12 months free insights into Internet Marketing for Coaches, Consultants and Counselors!

On 1st July 2008 I am launching a membership site at The Coach Today but before we launch I need some Beta Testers to assist with testing the site. This will involve trying out all the functionaility, reviewing the plethora of materials that will be available and giving me feedback. The Beta Testing will need to take place over approximately the period 1st June 2008 to 15th June 2008 and I would imagine will take a couple of hours - this will include completing a short questionnaire before you start testing and then another questionnaire once the testing has been concluded.

In return you will have the opportunity to have your feedback in the form of a testimonial (to include a picture) on the home page of the site at The Coach Today with a live link back to your own Coaching, Consultancy or Counseling website or blog. In addition you will also have the opportunity to continue your membership for 12 months at no cost - which will save you nearly $600 and give you a wealth of materials to help you with developing your Coach, Consultancy or Counselor busienss Internet presence!

If you are interested in participating (and numbers will be limited!) please email me at support @ thecoachtoday.com with the subject line “Beta Testing Opportunity” - please include your full name, your website address and how many years you have been internet marketing for.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Share This

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Getting your name and business in front of your potential clients on a regular basis can take a lot of time and effort can’t it? There is only so much you can do and so many hours in the day!

What if I told you there is a way of getting your name, brand and message in front of countless numbers of people without spending inordinate amounts of time, money and effort? No it isn’t some dubious method that you would not want to be associated with! It’s something I have talked about before as a “must have” tool in the Coach, Counselor and Consultant arsenal.

Twitter!

The way Twitter works is incredibly simplisitic and because of how quickly you are able to post updates that showcase your products, services or projects that you are working on, it’s easy to see why so many successful marketers have focused their attention on dominating this social community, while it’s still in its infancy.

Take a look at Twitter Explained to see what you can do with this great resource.

Popularity: 86% [?]

Share This

One of the things that you will notice about the internet when you get involved in internet based marketing is that their are fads which come and go. However, sometimes these things have a way of developing and gaining staying power! One of those that I predict is going to continue to develop is www.twitter.com which is incredibly easy to deal with when you are out and about with your mobile phone (cellphone).

So having had a quick look at it (you did didn’t you?) you may be wondering why you as a Coach, Counselor or Consultant should grab yourself a place on this tool which at first glance looks confusing!

According to the Twitter FAQ, “Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing.” There are an increasing number of people signing up to this method of keeping in touch and communicatiing with others in short 140 maximum character Tweets.

Twitter gives you the opportunity to participate in discussions with potential clients around the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! It’s like being at a networking conference that never ends. As you become more familiar with Twitter you will find yourself attracting followers who are interested in what you have to say - assuming that you are adding something of value and not just spamming with your links.

Your potential clients, business partners and friends will see you as a human being with something of interest to say. You will be able to present a positive image of your business and if people are interested in what you have to say then they will be more likely to remember you (because they see your name on a regular basis) when they are looking for coaching or other services!

So head over to www.twitter.com and then when you have signed up don’t forget to follow me at www.twitter.com/paulduxbury

Popularity: 91% [?]

Share This

A few days ago I spent some time with a group of Coaches which I found really enlightening. I was talking to them about the way more and more people are turning to the internet to find solutions to their problems. How interesting it is that so many people now see the internet as their first port of call when they want information, to find out about services available locally or to research the people they are going to work with.

They all agreed with me that it is phenomenal the opportunities that the internet provides. So at that point I asked them what use they were making of the internet and internet based marketing within their business. All of them quickly told me that they had a website which was great to hear and they were all keen to share their website with me! I must admit they all had attractively designed websites which, to a greater or lesser extent, conveyed something of their personality. However, as I looked at them it soon became obvious that they all had a massively underutilised resource. Sure their websites all looked great but were they drawing in clients and what else were they doing online to generate new or potential clients? It was fairly obvious looking at their websites that they had been designed to be attractive to the passing visitor who they hoped might then take a further step and contact them through the email address that was displayed, on the all too often difficult to find, contact page.

I didn’t want to be too hard on this group of Life Coaches, Career Coaches , Business Coaches, Counselors and Consultants! So I started with a simple enough question. How many new clients or potential future clients had their websites generated? The answers? They didn’t know or they thought the answer would be very few. They weren’t even tracking how many visitors their sites were getting! The common response was they simply “didn’t have time for all of that internet based marketing stuff” and needed to be generating new clients by talking to people! At that stage I didn’t think it was worthwhile asking them how well they ranked in the Search Engines for the keywords related to their particular area of expertise or even their locality. I think that was decision was probably re-enforced when one of the Coaches told me that anyone looking for them by name would be able to find their website and my question of “So if someone was looking for a Career Coach in your area would they find you?” was greeted with a “hmmmph well …….okay point taken!”

So instead it was at that point that I referred them back to the start of our conversation - where we had discussed the immense potential that they internet offers for professional services coaches, counselors and consultants to grow and develop their businesses.

I did explore a little further and ask them what they knew about some of the following:

Blogging - great way to generate interest in your business and what you have to offer.
Online Networking through services like Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Hubpages, Squidoo and many others.
Social Bookmarking to get people talking about your business
Email Newsletters - using autoresponders to generate a list of potential clients

The response to those questions was a stunning silence which with the expressions on their faces framed a collective “What???”

So there you have it from a small group it is obvious that so many Coaches, Consultants, Counselors and indeed others are missing out on a great opportunity! The reality is that throwing up a website isn’t internet based marketing! Turning round and saying “I haven’t got time for all of that online stuff” when you are talking about networking, generating new clients, building a reputation for excellence in your field leads me to ask the question posed in the title of this post - are you really serious about your Coaching Business?

Now, if you have got time or are prepared to take the time to really learn how to take advantage of the internet to develop your business - take a look at The Coach Today - and get a head start on your competition!

Popularity: 84% [?]

Share This

Although I have been a member of Linkedin and have also been using Twitter for some time I have always maintained a healthy cynicism about the more general social networking sites. I hadn’t really thought about them in terms of business networking online. I had seen how money focused Internet Marketers had rushed to see how they could “game” the sites and make a quick buck! In fact, if you follow any of my blogs, you will know that I hate the whole “money is everything” approach to Internet Marketing that many who have no appreciation of building a business and business networking engage in.

I groaned when I saw the mad rush to get the maximum number of “friends” on one of the sites by an Internet Marketer. It was like watching someone trying to play Moses and part the sea before them as the scramble to get to the other side ensued. I had this horrible feeling that the seas would come crashing in around their heads. As I saw my friends bemoaning the fact that unknowns from every corner of the world were sending them, their families and friends invitations to become their “Friends” I started to think that my worst fears were coming true all too quickly!

Then, to continue the theme I had a road to Damascus experience about social networking sites and business networking online. I came across someone who has kept me enthralled with the quality of their work and someone who has a passion for business networking online done properly! What do I mean by “done properly” you might be wondering? Well Mari Smith has shown me how you can engage in social and business networking through the online networks in a professional manner - which can enhance both your social and business network.

If you know me, then you will know that I very rarely rave about a course or product! But with Mari Smith’s programme I am stepping up to the mark and saying if you are serious about harnessing the power of the internet to take your business networking online to a new level then you need to take a look at Business Networking Online now!

Popularity: 85% [?]

Share This