Copywriting for coaches is non-negotiable.
It’s an essential aspect of business development that can make or break your coaching practice. For this reason, you should – at the very least – familiarize yourself with copywriting principles to differentiate between good and bad copy.
But what are the frameworks, strategies, and tactics for writing more persuasive copy that sells? And, more importantly, how can you apply them to your coaching business? In this copywriting for coaches guide, we’re sharing all of that, plus some examples.
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Copywriting is using text to sell people on doing what you want them to do – whether that’s purchasing your coaching program or signing up for your email list.
Copywriting is used in emails, sales letters, web copy, social media ads, sales funnels, and any other marketing materials designed to motivate readers to take action.
That action can be to “learn more, add to cart, click here, or buy now.” In his groundbreaking classic, “The Adweek Copywriting Handbook,” the late legendary copywriter Joe Sugarman referred to copywriting as “salesmanship in print.”
Some of the benefits of good copy include:
As a result, it plays a significant role in conversions, retention rates, sales, and more. Whether it’s an email, a social media ad, a video sales letter, or website text, copywriting is essential to attracting, nurturing, and converting leads into paying customers.
There are many ways to develop this skill. You can enroll in courses, read books, attend virtual workshops, or even hire a mentor. Choose a method that works best for you, your schedule, and your budget.
There’s one simple question you need to ask yourself as a coach: who are you trying to reach?
Your target market will influence and direct your copy. Unless you know your ideal client and understand their hopes, goals, pains, fears, and frustrations, writing copy that can persuade them in any meaningful way will be challenging.
You need to do a few things to understand your ideal client better.
People buy things based on emotion and then use logic and reason to justify their purchase.
This means you must identify your target market’s pain points (negative emotions) and desires (positive emotions) to write copy that taps into those triggers. When our emotions are engaged, we become influenced to act. The reason for this is that we are all trying to do one of two things in life: move away from pain or move toward pleasure.
It’s called the Pain-Pleasure Principle.
Jane Macgregor, a Canadian health coach, is an excellent example of this.
Her web copy starts with the benefit-driven statement, “Reclaim your body, confidence, and health.” She understands that her target market struggles in these areas. So, she uses simple language to tap into those struggles and then offers relief through her coaching services.
What can you learn from this example?
By understanding your market’s deepest pain points and desires, you can draft copy that speaks to and engages those emotional hot buttons. You can then write copy that positions your coaching services as the solution to their problem.
The result? You become infinitely more persuasive in your communication. And this will inevitably lead to higher conversions and more sales.
A client persona is a framework for your marketing strategy.
It provides an overview of your ideal client and serves as a reference point for your copywriting. Think of it like a blueprint that helps construct your copy. A building doesn’t get erected without a blueprint to guide the building process. Your client persona serves the same purpose for copywriting.
Your client persona profile will include specifics, such as:
To give you an example of how copywriting can target your client persona, consider Aaron and Jocelyn Freeman, relationship coaches based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Their web copy explains who they help and what they help them with. The Freemans help couples struggling to communicate with each other to repair conflict and stay connected in their relationships.
It’s clear, it’s concise, and it gets their ideal client and unique selling proposition across.
What comes to mind when you think of the retail giant Amazon?
Probably words like reliable, convenient, and customer-centric. The company has built a reputation on the “push-button” ease associated with ordering from its site. But how did all these ideas flood your mind just by thinking about Amazon? It’s due to the power of branding.
However, branding goes far beyond mere mental images.
It also encompasses the words, phrases, and language you use to communicate with your audience. This is as true for retail giants as it is for coaches. Your brand voice is your differentiator.
It builds trust, conveys personality, and separates you from the competition.
Moreover, your voice is a part of your brand identity. Copywriting can help you convey your message and align it with your brand to create consistency (and, as a result, trust) with your market.
Your brand and your messaging should come together harmoniously.
The blend of these two elements is what makes you stand out, as it conveys your individuality. A perfect example of this would be Michal Eisikowitz. She’s a conversion-driven web copywriter and copywriting coach from New York.
Her uniqueness shines through as she infuses her personality into her copy.
Eisikowitz does this using cheeky and competitive language. And the most interesting part? She pulls this off without compromising her message of being a top-tier, professional copywriter who delivers tangible results for her clients.
So, what can you learn, as a coach, from Michal Eisikowitz?
Be yourself when determining your messaging and brand voice. Standing out in the coaching space is a matter of uncovering your unique brand voice and using it to connect with others to build that trust and authority.
Like anything else, success in creating your brand voice is a process.
It’s comprised of a series of steps that, if followed, can help you establish your own unique voice as a coach in the marketplace and among your clients. Consider the following guidelines for creating your brand voice:
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when writing your copy.
There are many tried-and-true methods that generate results. For this reason, all you need to do is take the time to learn a few copywriting principles and fundamentals.
The 4P framework is a copywriting system used to create intrigue and compel readers to take action. It focuses on benefit-driven results for the reader.
People are visual creatures.
For this reason, you need to paint the picture of how your coaching will improve their lives. You can do this by using descriptive and emotional language. This is not the stage for facts, figures, and statistics.
Yes, those factors have their place in persuasion.
However, at this stage, you want prospects to imagine what life could be like if they decided to work with you. This technique, also known as future pacing, should be used as early as possible to get prospects excited about your offer and hooked into reading the rest of your copy.
Every reader is asking one question when they stumble on your copy: What’s in it for me?
This is why you have to make them a benefit-driven promise – something that makes it worth their while to stick around and continue reading. This is your big claim. It’s how you gain and keep attention.
The best places to put your big claim are in the headline and the lead of your copy.
This promise gets prospects interested in reading your content. However, you can’t just make bold claims to hook people. You have to support your claims and promises with actual proof.
You now need to support your claims with proof.
This is where facts, figures, and statistics come into play. Your prospect is interested at this point (or, at the very least, curious). However, they more than likely still have a little voice in the back of their minds, feeding them reasons to back out.
“Maybe this coach is a scam.”
“Coaching probably won’t work for me.”
“How can I justify this purchase?”
These are what we call objections. While they may not be outright disagreements against what you’re saying or offering in your copy, you have to address them as if they are. Bypassing this stage requires you to present evidence to back your claims.
Examples of supportive evidence can include the following:
Push is the last step in the 4Ps and encompasses your offer.
You want to get creative when it comes to pushing prospects to that final CTA. It must be a persuasive reason for them to take action now. Additionally, you can also use this step to summarize your offer, further cementing the value you’re providing.
Lastly, if you have any guarantees, discounts, or free bonuses, this would be an appropriate place to post them.
One of the most popular and well-known copywriting frameworks is AIDA.
Its four stages are Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. This model provides structure to your content in the order of attracting attention to your coaching practice, generating interest in your services, arousing a genuine desire for them, and spurring readers to action to hire you.
Here are the steps in a little more detail:
The Before-After-Bridge (BAB) formula is a copywriting storytelling technique.
It uses a descriptive narrative to paint a picture of your client’s pain points in their current situation. However, it then transitions into showing clients their dream circumstances, using your coaching services as the bridge that connects the two timelines.
Here’s how you can use this technique in your copy:
This framework answers the question: what’s it in for me?
Remember, your copy must be reader-focused. People won’t pay attention to it unless there is some benefit they will gain from reading. The FAB formula is a proven tactic that will help you write compelling sales copy. However, the caveat is that you must first dial in your niche, client persona, and UVP (Unique Value Proposition).
Let’s explore each of the FAB elements in more detail.
Here’s a simple framework to use the FAB formula in your copy:
The PAPA formula follows a Problem, Agitate, Persuade, Ask framework.
As such, it shares a structure similar to that of the BAB system. It focuses on emphasizing your client’s problem, making them acutely aware of their struggles to capture attention long enough to present a solution.
Here is how the formula works and how to use it in your copy:
The PAS formula structures your copy to make it precise and persuasive. It does this by honing in on your client’s problem, agitating it, and then offering a solution.
Imagine you coach startup entrepreneurs on how to grow and scale their budding businesses. Here’s an example of what the PAS formula would look like with that particular segment of the market:
The PAS formula works because it acknowledges your market’s problem, intensifies it to trigger an emotional reaction, and provides a user-friendly solution.
StoryBrand is one of the best copywriting strategies for communicating your value proposition.
However, there’s a twist. The narrative is delivered with your client as the hero – the main character. They are the ones going through the storyline, facing difficulties, and searching for a solution. And that’s where your coaching arrives, serving as the saving grace that empowers the client to triumph and reach their goals.
Here’s how you can use the StoryBrand formula in your copy:
Direct response copy is a copywriting variation designed to prompt the reader to take immediate action. Some of its elements include an engaging headline, a sense of urgency, and a compelling call to action that encourages the reader to perform a specific action immediately.
A few of the most well-known direct response copywriters (past and present) include:
Tony Robbins, the world’s most successful and well-known life coach, uses his direct response copy exceptionally well on his Date With Destiny page.
The page starts with the power benefit-driven headline “Rewire your mind, redesign your life.”
It then flows with the same intensity down the page, keeping the reader’s attention. Moreover, everything about the copy is reader-centric. Not once does the text deviate from keeping the reader at the forefront. And then it ends with a strong CTA: “I’m ready to redesign my life now.”
Your headlines are the most important piece of your copy.
You could have the most persuasive copy in the world, but if your headline doesn’t draw people in, then all of it is for nothing. Luckily, there is a very simple framework that can help guide the process of drafting headlines.
It’s known as the four U’s.
Originally created by legendary copywriter and businessman Mark Ford, the four U’s are a powerful framework for drafting effective headlines. The best part? This framework applies to almost any headline copy, from an email subject line to a sales letter hook.
Let’s take a deep dive into the four U’s:
Effective copywriting uses various tactics and techniques to stir your reader’s emotions, compelling them to take the action you want them to take. As such, copywriting is one of the most powerful tools for growing your practice and landing more high-paying coaching clients.
Here are some of the techniques you must infuse into your copy:
Humans are compelled by stories.
We can’t help but become engrossed in an engaging narrative as stories captivate our attention and emotions. For this reason, storytelling is a powerful persuasion tactic that can help you create parallels in your readers’ minds that can inspire them to take action.
Here is an example of storytelling by copywriting coach Ian Stanley via email. His story details how a married couple purchased his copywriting and marketing mastermind group.
And subsequently made over $400,000 in a day.
He details their work ethic (acknowledging that his tactics don’t work unless you do), their belief in the process, and their ability to take and apply constructive feedback to get results! At the end of the email, he then throws in a strong CTA to encourage readers to join the group themselves.
Social proof is one of the most powerful forms of persuasion.
Most people naturally have a herd-like mentality. As such, they feel safer knowing others have had positive experiences with a seller of services. There are many things that can act as social proof. Some of these include:
Here is an example from Chris Williamson’s (a popular YouTuber and Podcaster) Instagram post with Sam Harris.
The caption teases the conversation topics covered in his podcast with American neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. Harris is a prominent public figure due to his critical views on faith and religion. Williamson promotes his podcast using Sam Harris as social proof to encourage people to tune in to its release.
Reframes are a powerful yet under-discussed copywriting tactic.
To use a reframe in your copy, repeat the same information in a different way. For example, if you’re a financial coach who helps young people save for retirement, you could discuss the gains of certain investment options.
“This mutual fund averages 12% annual returns. That means your $50,000 nest egg will grow by $6,000 in one year, and then your $56,000 nest egg will grow by $6720 the next year, and so on! And you didn’t do a single thing except put your cash in the investment.”
That is a reframe.
You’re just putting a new spin on old information. This tactic makes your offer feel more realistic and persuasive. It creates a sense of tangibility for the reader that stirs their emotions, making them more likely to take action on your claim.
And it works on web copy, sales emails, social media posts, or any other medium.
Here is an example of Elliot Hulse (a men’s strength and conditioning coach) using the reframe technique for a sales letter on his website.
At the bottom of the page, he mentions how men have been using sandbags since the time of the Egyptians. He then exclaims, “That’s over 4,000 years!” using the reframe to give his copy life and dimension.
Vulnerability is a superpower in sales copy.
Why? Because all of us have shortcomings, flaws, and faults. When you are vulnerable in expressing yourself, you create rapport with the reader. You can become more relatable and, as a result, more “human.” This then establishes a connection and a deeper trust level because the reader feels understood since you’ve “been in their shoes.”
Bedros Keuilian is a serial entrepreneur and business coach from California. In his sales copy, he demonstrates vulnerability by admitting he never had any real models growing up.
While it may feel uncomfortable to share sensitive aspects of yourself, it can be a powerful way to establish a connection with your readers.
Moreover, it’s an important element in creating the know, like, and trust factor for prospects. To use vulnerability effectively in your copy, share personal experiences that have impacted and influenced your life. Delve deep into the emotions you felt and the lessons you learned.
This is how you create meaningful connections with readers, almost to the point where they feel like they “know you.”
While it’s important to learn the basics of copywriting as a coach, there will come a time when you’ll want to outsource this responsibility as your business grows. So, the question becomes: When does it make sense to hire a copywriter for your coaching business?
And the answer is… it depends.
If you’re a brand-new coach with no marketing budget, learn the skill of copywriting yourself and do the best you can on your own. It’s never worth going into debt to hire a copywriter, especially if you’re just starting out. Now, if you’re a little more established, with, say, five to ten (or more) coaching clients and a marketing budget, that’s when it makes more sense to hire a copywriter to help refine your messaging.
But until then, do it on your own. There are plenty of resources that can help you learn this skill. Here is a small list of books to get you started:
Now, you may be wondering how you can find a copywriter for coaches. There are a few ways: You can post ads on job boards, announce that you’re looking for copywriters on LinkedIn or other social media platforms, network by attending events such as conferences or virtual summits, or even tap into your current network by asking associates, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Here are a few useful tips for vetting copywriters for your coaching business:
Another aspect of the hiring process to consider is red flags. If you aren’t paying attention, it becomes very easy to overlook glaring warning signs that could spell disaster for your business.
Here are a few red flags that you should steer clear of:
Writing copy is not a set-it-and-forget-it activity. It should be tweaked and optimized over time. As such, it’s important to monitor your copy’s performance and consider ways to enhance it. Here are a few simple tips to start that process.
A/B testing (also called split testing) is the process of showing two or more versions of copy to different segments of your email list or site visitors. Your aim is to see which version produces the best improvements in business metrics. Here is how you can conduct your own A/B tests:
Copywriting is a skill you should invest in. Moreover, as a coach, you understand the necessity of investing in your business. This is how you expand your practice. And we at Entrepreneurs HQ are here to help with that process.
Be sure to sign up for our 6-Step proven checklist to generate more leads and ideal clients from a virtual summit.
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