5 Mistakes to Avoid on Your Coaching Website
(AND IDEAS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO INSTEAD)
You’ve worked hard on your website. Not to mention the emotional effort of putting yourself “out there.” You definitely don’t want your visitors leaving before they get a chance to get to know you and your work.
Below are some of the most common “mistakes” I see on coaching websites. And by mistakes, I mean anything that can get in the way of your visitor connecting with you and learning more about your work.
1. NO CLEAR CORE MESSAGE
Your work is transformative for your clients, but it’s hard to explain. As a coach myself, I totally get that. But as a copywriting guide and website designer, I also know that you have approximately 8 seconds to capture your website visitors' attention before they click out of your site.
In an online world flooded with content, we have to be crystal clear about what we do from the get-go so our visitors can quickly determine if we offer something they’re looking for. This means having a well-defined core message.
So what exactly is a core message?
Let’s look at the following example:
“I help people create a compelling vision and reach their goals so they can thrive in life.”
Sounds pretty good, right? I mean, who wouldn’t want to create a compelling vision and reach their goals so they can thrive in life?
The problem is, it’s so broad no one can “see” themselves reflected back. No one’s going to say, “Oh, that’s me!”
The clear and immediate recognition that has people saying, “Oh, that’s me!” is exactly what you want your ideal clients to say when they read YOUR copy.
Now, let’s look at the following 2 examples:
1 “I’m a money mindset coach who helps new coaches overcome their limiting money beliefs, so they can start charging full price for their services and finally leave their uninspiring office job to coach full-time.”
Or
2 “I’m a sleep coach who helps menopausal women with insomnia get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night, so they can feel fully energized and restored the next day”
Did you feel the difference?
Ideally, you want to address a specific person, with a specific problem, who wants a specific solution that will give them a certain result.
Coaching can be transformative work, but for people to experience the transformation, they need to see themselves reflected in your offerings first.
Once you craft a clear and specific core message, you’ll immediately capture your site visitors' attention AND the rest of your website copy will flow from there.
I know it can be hard to get so specific. If you’re still figuring out your niche, start by getting specific about one piece of your core message.
If you need help writing your core message, I’ve created a template that walks you through the process. You can download it here (and I’ll link it at the end, too). Email your final version to hello@martaregalado.com and I’ll send you personalized feedback!
2. NOT HAVING ANY PICTURES OF YOURSELF ON YOUR SITE
Coaching is so personal. Your clients are hiring YOU.
Including a photo (or preferably various photos of yourself) creates trust—people see that there’s a human on the other side.
I personally feel disappointed when I visit a website, especially that of a service provider like a coach, and see lots of stock images of people that are NOT the person I’m going to work with, in an office space that’s NOT where I’m going to be working with them. (An exception is your blog—use any stock images that visually represent the content and emotion of your post).
TIP: WHAT STOCK IMAGES TO INCLUDE AND WHAT STOCK IMAGES TO AVOID ON YOUR SITE.
AVOID nondescript stock images that don’t convey your personality or what it’s like to work with you or where you’ll actually be meeting with clients.
INCLUDE stock images that show details of what your office space might actually look like and images of things your drawn to or are part of your work. Include anything that helps convey your personality, your values, and what it’s like to work with you.
If you don’t already have pictures of yourself, here are two things you can do:
1. Hire a photographer to do a professional photoshoot.
2. Ask a friend, colleague, or family member (ideally, one who enjoys taking photos, which helps ensure they know how to compose a good photo) to take some pictures of you. It can even be with their phone.
For my website, my daughter, sister-in-law, and a good friend took photos of me on different occasions using their phones.
I recently worked with a client who went out with her son and spent a beautiful morning together taking photos for her website.
AI GENERATED HEADSHOTS…
After reading Jennie Lakenan’s blog post, I was curious to try out an AI headshot generator myself. Could it be an option for my clients? I tried StudioShot. I uploaded 12 selfies, paid $39, and received 40 headshots in return. Would I use them on my website? Personally, I wouldn’t, but it’s an interesting option nonetheless…
3. LARGE BLOCKS OF TEXT
Approximately 80% of visitors don’t read your website copy; they skim headings and look at images instead.
It can feel overwhelming to look at a huge block of text—we’re short on time and easily distracted.
Break up your paragraphs. Create different sections that include headings, subheadings, and images that help convey your message.
Test it out. Only read your headings, subheadings, and pull quotes. Can you determine the jist of what you do? If so, you’re good.
4. NO TESTIMONIALS
People want social proof. Think about the last time you bought an online service, you probably read through the testimonials to get a sense of what it’s like to work with that service provider and the type of success past clients have had with them.
Sprinkle testimonials (or case studies) throughout your website, especially on your homepage and services page.
Bonus points for including a photo of the person who wrote the testimonial!
5. NO WEBSITE STRATEGY
If you’re not sure what the main goal of your website is, you probably don’t have a solid website strategy.
It’s important to determine 1-2 main goals for your website.
✓ Do you want your visitors to book a discovery call?
✓ Do you want them to sign up for your email list?
✓ Do you want them to buy a course?
Once you’ve determined your site goals, you can lead your visitors to where they need to go to get to know you and your services.
How do you lead them on this journey?
✓ Use buttons or CTAs (calls-to-action) on your website.
✓ Create a compelling newsletter sign up.
✓ Offer an interesting opt-in or freebie.
You have a lot to offer as a coach. Make the website journey you take your visitors on clear and welcoming, so they’ll be more likely to stay on your page and get to know you and your work 🌸✨
HARNESS THE POWER OF CLARITY:
Download my Core Message Template where your fictional copy guide Camila will help you create a clear and compelling core message for your coaching business. Email your final version to hello@martaregalado.com and I’ll send you personalized feedback!
⬇ DOWNLOAD HERE
