Coach Tip: Get OUT on the WEB (Free Blog Planner)

Are you a beachbody coach looking to build your business online? Ready to start reaching your ideal customers and cold market? If your friends and family aren't interested in what your doing then you need to really put yourself out there in order to be successful. I knew when I started my business I was going to need to think outside the box. I had a hundred friends on facebook (all legit people I know in real life) and none of them wanted anything to do with Beachbody programs, products, or the coaching opportunity. So I decided to put myself out there on social media via blogger, facebook, and Pinterest. BUT blogger was really the start of it all, so today I want to take the time to share with you the VALUE of having a personal website for the long-term benefit of your business. (This post was all about getting your blogger blog set up initially as a coach, but anyone could use this advise to get started)

So what are some of the LONG term benefits?

You'll attract NEW clients who are genuinely interested in the programs, products, and opportunity
You'll have Valuable SHAREABLE CONTENT
You'll BECOME searchable online
You'll have CREATED a space where people can see who you are, what you are all about, and RELATE to you.
You'll be able to link all of your social networks in one place (creating your business HUB).
It's something you have complete control of.

There are lots of posts and articles about why staring your own blog is a great idea — and the technical side of things: customer retention, lead generation, and rankings in the search engines. But if you’re a new coach or just someone wanting to start a blog, the thought of launching a blog may be a bit intimidating. You may not think you're a writer, or a techie but I am here to tell you that you don't have to be either. Setting up your FIRST blog is a simple, painless, FREE process you can begin taking advantage of today... (I started my first one as a weight loss journal!)

Ready to get started....

Follow the steps below and see blog setup checklist and planner at the bottom.

1. STALK other successful BLOGGERS
I'm not talking about getting all crazy and literally stalking them, but following other successful bloggers just happens to be a great way for you to find your own personal blog style. Get out there and start searching to see what other people are doing, see how they use their blog personally and to promote their business/themselves. This is a GREAT way to get ideas, inspiration, and motivation for creating content and designing your own blog.

2. Think about what you want to be known for
Just like facebook and other parts of your business you want to think of how you can add value. What do your ideal customers want to see, what do they what to know about, what are their interests.

CONSIDER: Who’s your audience and their wants, needs, and interests? That is what will determine the general direction for you to take on your blog. But to know that, you need to know who they are. Who is your ideal customer?? Are they male or female? What age group do they fall into? Where are they located? How Web savvy are they? Are they comfortable with blogs and engaging or are you going to have to show them the ropes? What kind of language do they naturally use? Do they have kids? What are their interests? You want to not only pinpoint the type of information they’re interested in, but how they want it delivered. Are they more visual than text-based? Will they want long, informative How To’s or are they coming for debate? The clearer the image you can paint of your audience and ideal customer, the better the better you’ll be able to target content that will get you results. Once you know your ideal customer pick 5 topics you want your blog to initially focus on. See a few examples below.

Nutrition & Fitness
Fashion
Beauty
Family
Food (recipes)
DIY projects
Faith
Outdoors
Animals
Kids
How to's
etc.

3. BUILD excitementFrom the moment you decide you’ll be starting a blog, you want to work on creating buzz around it. Start talking about it on Twitter, facebook, instagram and pinterest. Put teasers in your customer emails and on Facebook. Everyone should know that a blog is coming and they should be excitedly awaiting your arrival.

It doesn't matter how your blog looks, it's the effort you put into the content and your passion for it. When people see you are excited about something it makes them excited too. Getting on the web for the first time is a BIG deal be PROUD of it!

4. SET Up your FREE Blog {but keep it private}
You can use www.Blogger.com to get a free account started but there are also other sites you can use such as wix, wordpress & many others. It honestly just depends on finding a platform you can work with best. I just have a love for blogger (formerly blog spot) for a few reasons:

Easy to initially set up: You can create a SIMPLE functional blog in minutes. There are several great templates you can choose from that will get you up and running. If your not super technical this is perfect for you. I'm also going to be putting up a few customized templates (for coaches) so stay tuned.

Easy to use: It's easy to see your stats, post new content, and change your layout all from the comfort of your blogger dashboard!

Easy (if you are willing to learn) to customize: If you are looking for that AMAZING page you LOVE... there are tons of AMAZING templates you can find for free or low LOW cost. You'll need to learn how to change and link navigation, edit certain images within the code, and link your social icons. Google can teach you everything you want to know. There are tutorials, forums, and how to's all over the web... I knew nothing when I started. It will take time and patients but it's totally worth learning. ESPECIALLY if you are a coach! As a coach you can create a few stock templates for your coaches to use which makes a GREAT incentive for emerald rank advancement! You can find some pretty amazing templates at Btemplates

It's "google based" (think search rankings!!): I personally feel that being google based gives blogger the slight advantage in both search ranking and image searches, which makes it a LOT easier for the right people to find you!

Don't get stuck on the design: Let's face it, we all want a site that is flawlessly beautiful. But the hard truth is... you're not going to be getting many visitors initially. BUT... you are putting yourself out there. Just get set up initially and worry about the design aspect later. I started with a basic blogger template which is a great way to get set up fast. You can always go in at a later date and give your blog a BIG grand "makeover" which can be a great way to build excitement again after you have been up and running for awhile!

Once you create your blog go into settings in the blogger control panel and make sure the readers are set to private. YOU want to be the ONLY reader until you can get your house in order!

5. "Seed content"
What they heck does that mean, RIGHT? Well seeded content are the posts you will create and publish on your blog before you go live (public, remember YOU are the only reader right now). You will want NO less than 3 posts published, but ideally you should have at-least 10-20 before you flip the switch to public. You need to have quality and engaging content up when you first announce your blog – something that tells people who you are, sets the tone for future content, and engages their interest enough that they’ll want to subscribe or follow you. The goal is to keep them coming back for more. So as a NEW coach where should you start?

About Me- This is hands down one of the most important pages on your blog. Take time to share your story, details about your life, your WHY (why you became a coach, why your doing all this), your goals, and plans for the future. Who are you and WHO do you want to be? Just don't be generic. You don't want to have a "copy paste" about me section that is just like a hundred other coaches. This post may be the hardest to write (it usually is for me!) but it let you be REAL about who you are!

Join My Team- You'll want people to be able to easily join your team! Write a post about the team you are building, your goals, and what you are willing to offer to your clients and coaches. It doesn't matter if you have 100 coaches/customers or 2... if your not excited about your team and what you are doing why would anyone want to sign up with you?! Make sure at the end of your post you create links to "sign up free", become a coach, and contact you (always set these to open in a new page, you don't want people to leave your blog!)

CLEAN eating, EATING healthy, nutrition, etc.- As a coach this is DEFINITELY a have to have post for your blog. If you are still learning about nutrition yourself use this as an opportunity to do some research and SHARE with people what you are learning. You are going to have a LOT of people asking you about nutrition and what you are doing so having this post is a great way to share that information. It gives you a link you can easily share without having to type out each time exactly what you are doing. If you are using 21 day fix you can incorporate it into the post! Share the basics of eating healthy, how to do it, and how to get started, along with exactly what you are doing or what you are learning about!

Working out - Why you should be working out- kind of a no brain-er right?! Sometimes people just need to hear why it's important to get a workout it. Think about the benefits, workout options, and tips you could give people about getting started with a fitness routine. You want to make sure this post gives free options (walking, biking, swimming, etc.), you don't want to come off like your pitching workout programs but be sure to include reviews of programs you have personally used!

Goal SETTING- This is a great place to share with people why and how they can set goals that will change their life. You can show them how to set a fitness goal, a family goal, or even a personal goal. If your not great with goal setting this is a great way for you to research, practice it, and share with your audience how they can start doing it with you!

NOW think of your TOPICS you want to be know for and create one post for each. Remember #2 up above! Remember to USE high quality images in your posts (this will keep you looking cohesive and professional! I use GIMP)

6. Create a BLOG plan
I think it’s really important for a new blogger to have content laid out for the first month, even two months of the blog. Doing so takes away the panic of having to come up with great content on the fly and allows you to control what you’re publishing, how often you’re publishing, and what audiences you’re going after. You don't have to be posting everyday but as a new blogger you will want to be adding 1-3+ new posts per week. This will keep your blog active and attract new visitors. See Blog planner below.

7. GO public
Once you have completed your blog checklist below, published your seeded content, and have created your blog plan it's time to take your blog public. So into the blogger dashboard and click settings and change your blog readers from private to public!

CONGRATS... You're a blogger!