Growing your new health coaching business is all about building trust with your audience, potential clients, and collaborators. There’s no better way to build that trust than to share your unique personality and POV with the sound of your own voice.
Why Podcasting?
Podcasting isn’t going anywhere. It’s growing in popularity and outranking blog posts which can be oversaturated—there are around 800K podcasts but over 500 million blogs at this time. Google is working on making podcasts easier to discover in organic searches, and they are automatically transcribing podcast episodes in order to use that content in search results.
This is an exciting time to be a podcaster!
Let’s just be clear, however, that podcasting is another thing you’d have to do in your business. It takes a good chunk of time, typically every week, to conceptualize, record, edit, and promote each episode consistently.
But wouldn’t it be worth the time commitment if your show fostered the growth of your coaching business?
Another benefit of sharing your valuable perspective through a podcast is that it can help you get over some of your fears that stand in the way of growing your business.
For instance, you realize that you need to start selling yourself in order to generate income as a coach—but you really don’t like selling. You avoid it and just hope and pray people will come to you once your website is up and running.
Well…if you’re not making offers, you’re not making money.
Thankfully, podcasting is a great business strategy to help you overcome those fears so you can:
Start growing your email list
Confidently make offers
Let others get to know the real you
And you can do all of that without leaving the comfort of your own space—or showing your face in a video. It’s just you and the microphone (and hopefully thousands of listeners, one day, too).
So, without further ado, here are 17 ways to use your podcast to grow your health coaching business:
1. Offer Discovery Calls on Every Episode
At the beginning or end of each podcast episode, you should invite listeners to schedule a discovery call or consultation with you. This seems obvious, but many of us don’t do it often enough—or ever—probably because we have an aversion to self-promotion, or we’re too busy trying to be a great podcast host.
Here’s some important tips to keep in mind:
- Your podcast episodes will probably live on forever. This means the links and calls-to-action you share should be evergreen or attached to a deadline.
- One way to keep them evergreen is to designate a page on your website for consultations, and share that URL for the call to action. This way, the content on your consultation page can evolve with your business as you grow, but at least the link you’re sharing will always be relevant and active.
- A fail-safe alternative is to create a deadline for your offer, or say “X number of spots available,” instead.
2. Place a Call-to-Action Link in Episode Descriptions
This seems like another obvious one, but not enough podcasters are doing it. Place a call-to-action link right after the opening summary, in every episode description (AKA the show notes). The first couple of paragraphs in your description take up prime real estate that can be used for your discovery call link or a call-to-action. Use persuasive messaging to get visitors to click.
3. Share Your Triumphant Health Story
Odds are that you became a health coach because you faced some obstacles with your own health—and once you found solutions, you felt compelled to help others overcome those same obstacles. Even if that’s not the case for you, there must be a health/wellness obstacle that you overcame or learned from in the process.
Share your story on a dedicated podcast episode, letting listeners in on your before-and-after experience. Don’t be timid here. Be vulnerable and real, and share your earnest emotions. Your story of triumph will resonate with listeners who are dealing with the same health obstacles as you. At the end of your story, offer your services to anyone who is struggling with a similar experience.
4. Ask Your Listeners to Share
At the end of your podcast recordings, ask your listeners to share this episode with someone who will benefit from the information you shared (on this particular topic). People love sharing things and being helpful to others, but they also need to be prompted. If you don’t tell them to share it, it’s very likely they won’t.
Bonus Tip: Use this same call to action at the end of social media captions when you’re promoting the episode. You can even change the language to something like: “tag a friend who needs this episode.”
5. Share Client Success Stories
Sharing client stories (without revealing names or identities, of course) lets your listeners in on your unique coaching ability and style. Even if you don’t have a triumphant before-and-after story from one of your clients, you can share a particular lesson your client learned thanks to you. Or, you can talk about a strategy your client implemented with your guidance, and then explain why it worked.
6. Acknowledge the Newness of Health Coaching
Dedicate an entire episode to “What is Health Coaching?” or something like “Health Coach vs. Personal Trainer: Which do I Need?” Another option is to simply address common misconceptions about health coaching. These are great ways to narrow the gap between you and your potential clients, and you’ll help them get more familiar with the relevant services you offer.
7. Read Client Testimonials on the Air
This is a powerful one! You’ll notice all of the leading podcasters do it because it works. When your listeners hear about someone’s success, in their own words, they’ll hear themselves in the example and feel compelled to work with you. The most valuable testimonials will explain the struggle and emotions experienced before your client’s breakthrough, and then it will end with a clear picture of how things are different now.
8. Coach Someone on the Air
Here’s the idea: record a coaching session—with your client’s permission—and select a few portions to share on your show.
You can keep your client’s name and identity anonymous, of course, but sharing the audio from a real coaching session will be so enlightening for your listeners! They’ll become more familiar with health coaching and be more inclined to work with you.
9. Offer an Exclusive Bonus or Discount to Your Listeners
This idea came from podcaster Hailey Rowe, a business and marketing coach for health coaches. She says, “In order to boost your clientele, you have to increase your Discovery Calls!” That’s why Hailey suggests that you announce a bonus or discount code, on air, that’s exclusively for your podcast listeners. Exclusivity is a proven conversion tactic.
10. Advertise Your Events, Challenges, and Launches
Your podcast is the perfect place to promote your upcoming events, free challenges, and product launches of any kind. You should announce events in the intro/closing statements, or you can make podcast “commercials” for yourself to insert into any episode. Be sure to include the date and year so listeners know that it’s time-sensitive.
11. Answer Social Media Questions on the Air
Run a poll or Q&A session inside your Facebook group, on Facebook Lives, or in your Instagram Stories. These will help you identify which pain points or topics your audience wants guidance on.
Next step is to address those pain points and answer their questions on your podcast. At the end of the show, you can invite listeners to schedule a call with you if they’re looking for more guidance on those topics, too.
12. Invite Listeners to Ask Questions While You’re Recording
This is something of a clever workaround for the old “listener calls” you would take during a live radio show. Here’s how you do it using Instagram or Facebook stories:
First, you’ll create one story announcing the episode topic and the time that you will start recording today or tomorrow (include the time zone). Next, you’ll create a story with a question sticker that says something like “Questions about X topic?” On that same story, or a new one, you’ll tell them to submit their questions before you record so you can answer their questions on this upcoming episode.
Tip: Be sure to give enough advanced notice whenever you announce the topic and time of your recording. This is to ensure that people have adequate time to view your story and submit questions.
13. Share Recordings of Your Presentations
If you’re teaching any workshops or webinars, or have an upcoming presentation, be sure to capture recordings so you can share the audio on a future episode.
This is a smart way to convert your warm leads, or interested followers who may have hesitated to buy after a past presentation or offer. It’s also a good strategy to increase your exposure for that presentation you worked so hard on. Include a call-to-action link attached to a deadline, so those interested prospects will be urged to act now.
14. Engage With Your Peers’ Audiences
This is the best indirect way to grow your business. Book some guest interviews on your show with local business owners and professionals in a complimentary industry. Examples include gym owners, personal trainers, nutritionists, dietitians, doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc…
Once the guest is on your show, you’ll strengthen a relationship with them, and, hopefully, open up doors for future collaborations. Are they interested in offering your health coaching services to their clientele? Either way, you’ll attract new podcast listeners because your guest will share the episode with their existing subscribers and social media followers.
15. Announce Your Lead Magnet
Every new health coach should seek to grow an email subscriber list filled with ideal client prospects and dedicated followers. The best way for beginners to do that is to create a killer lead magnet or freebie—one that your followers won’t believe is free! This can be an e-book, checklist, video series, tutorial, guide, etc., as long as it speaks to the needs of your ideal client.
Once you have a freebie to offer, you can share the landing page with your podcast listeners. Do this on every episode and watch how your list continues to grow.
16. Grow Your Facebook Group or Social Media Account
Your podcast is a great way to help grow your primary social media account or to get members inside your Facebook group! Make an announcement on every episode, and in the show notes, that you’re inviting them to join you where you’re sharing more exclusive content.
17. Build a Library to Gain Authority in Your Niche
Your podcast episodes and topics help you gain authority in your niche and grow a valuable content library. By creating weekly episodes, and building a library of content that’s cohesive with your niche, you can quickly gain traction and get noticed by your potential clients and complimentary businesses.
Expert Tip: by repurposing this content into written blog posts and social media graphics or videos, you will leverage Google’s SEO and build your new client base even more quickly.
Podcast or no podcast, you can apply these ideas to an IGTV channel, YouTube, Facebook Lives, and more. Go with the platform you’re most motivated to use, and start growing your new coaching practice now.
