If you’re a coach, then you probably are pretty good at turning calls into clients. You know how to talk to your target market, build trust, and convince the right people to work with you.
But what about the step before that?
The step before the call?
The one where people are visiting your website or landing page to learn about who you are, what you do, and whether or not they should even get on a call with you?
For that stage… copywriting is required.
And in this guide, I’m going to give you some of the simplest (and most effective) things you can do when copywriting for coaches.
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1. Find The Big Domino
When a lot of copywriters sit down to write, they make a list of objections they need to deal with. For instance…
- Why you?
- Why now?
- Why this?
And then they try to make sure they’re addressing all of those objections on the page.
This can be a helpful exercise… but it can also be simplified.
All you REALLY need to do is to find the one “big domino” that will knock over all of the others — this is the one belief that if you can instill in your reader… all of the other objections and concerns topple over with it.
Let me show you an example.
I was working on a sales page for a product my wife sells called “The Prompt” — the target market is fiction writers and people who want to be fiction writers. My wife delivers daily writing prompts and tips, as well as a community, to support their journey.
I thought to myself: what’s the big domino?
Here’s what I came up with.
If I can convince people that their favorite fiction authors are JUST LIKE THEM… and that all they need is support and a consistent writing habit… then they’ll buy our product.
That was the big domino I needed to knock over.
Because our target market is avid readers who would like to write their own books. They put their favorite authors on a pedestal. What we needed to do was show them that their favorite authors are just like them and that what we provide will give them the consistency and support they need (just as their favorite authors needed) to succeed.
Fittingly, here’s the headline of the sales page…
That big domino guided all of the sales page copy.
We talk about the importance of being ordinary and unique (with everyone is) and then we talk about the importance of support and consistency (which are both things our product provides).
So what is your big domino?
Use all of your copy — the stories, the hook, and the CTA — to knock that over… and you’ll get far more conversions.
2. Hook With Curiosity
Of course, a sales page and its copy it’s much use if people don’t read it.
But how do you get them to read it?
By hooking your target market with curiosity.
Imagine, for instance, that I’m selling some stuff in the fitness industry. Is it more compelling if I say…
- Get a meal plan, fitness routine, & accountability!
Or if I say…
- Get as fit as you were in college in just 30 days… WITHOUT counting calories or spending hours at a gym.
The first one tells you what you’re going to get. But it’s boring and uninteresting. The market has heard that a thousand times from other advertisers.
The second one tells you the result you’ll get… and then tells you what it’s NOT going to require… but it doesn’t reveal the product or service details. And it’s more compelling because of that.
For hooking people with your copy, use curiosity. Here’s an example of an ad that was underperforming because of its lack of curiosity…
They changed the headline to the following and the results sky-rocketed.
One tells you exactly what you’re going to get (boring) and one tells you the results of what you’re going to get (compelling).
Heck — you can sell entire systems just with curiosity.
On this long landing page, Bryan Ward sells his “GET SHIT DONE System” without ever revealing what the system itself is. The entire page dives deep into what the system isn’t, the results others have achieved, and what you can expect to achieve by purchasing.
That product sells (really well, I might add) for a whopping $348. And technically speaking, people who buy have no idea what the product actually is. They only know…
- What it’s NOT.
- What it’s going to require of them.
- Whether it was made for them or not.
- The results they’ll get if they buy and participate.
Every product is different. And it’s up to you to determine whether or not you need to dive into the nitty-gritty details.
But always remember, curiosity & results sell better than systems and features.
Burn this graphic into your mind so you don’t forget…
3. Tell Your Story
Gary Halbert once asked, “do you know what is the most-often missing ingredient in a sales message?”
His answer?
“It’s the sales message that doesn’t tell an interesting story. Storytelling … good storytelling … is a vital component of a marketing campaign.”
The story is vital for good copywriting because, done right, it accomplishes a lot of important stuff all at once…
- It creates emotion
- It reveals the logic
- It proves the results of the product or service
- It shows who the product/service is for
- It addresses objections
- It allows people to have their own epiphanies
When I crafted the copy for my Freelance Writer’s Survival Kit, I wanted to tell a story that resonated with my dream customers.
Here’s how the page starts (after the headline)…
- On the outside, Mason kept it cool.
- But inside, he was panicking.
- He’d just lost his biggest client. One of three. The client that he’d been working with for years… and made up 75% of his income.
- And he had no idea how to find a new client who’d pay him that much.
- Doubts attacked his flank — am I even good enough to keep doing this?
- He fingered his pocket for his phone.
- Scrolled to the phone number for his old boss.
- He contemplated asking for his job back.
- He even typed out the text.
- A thousand emotions flooded his chest.
- He hit send.
It’s emotional, visceral, and relatable… and it’s entirely based on a true story.
After a quick introduction, I then tell the reader about my own story/struggle with freelance writing. Here’s a glimpse of what that looks like…
- Once upon a time….
- I would do everything the online freelance writing “gurus” told me to do to find clients.
- Join Facebook groups or Slack groups, list yourself on UpWork, get active on LinkedIn, stab yourself in the eye with a fork… blah blah blah.
- I spent hours every day sweating over UpWork applications that didn’t even get looked at.
- I wrote LinkedIn posts that didn’t get a wisp of engagement.
- I applied to jobs I found posted in Facebook groups and never got a response.
- It was so silent you couldn’t even hear any damn crickets.
- The lack of momentum made me nervous.
- What would I do if I lost my biggest client?
- Was I really just a few client losses away from the freelance writing dream coming to an end?
- As it turned out, yes… yes I was.
See how I’m crafting a traditional story arc?
I was struggling (with exactly the same thing as my target market is struggling with currently) and nothing was working… and then things got worse…
- I got the email that changed everything while I was sitting in a coffee shop, trying to get some work done.
- “Hey Mike, With the addition of a full-time copywriter and SEO guy we can’t justify keeping 2 of each when we can be pointing that budget elsewhere. This will be the last month we’ll need your help on the copy side of things. Thanks”
- This was the EXACT thing I feared… come stomping down the dark alleyway to consume me.
- It was one of my biggest clients.
- Not just that, but they were someone I’d worked with for over three years.
- I knew they might leave at some point… but I wasn’t expecting it to happen so suddenly.
- I couldn’t shake the emotions…
- Stress. Anxiety. And the unrelenting feeling of failure.
- What was I going to do?
- How was I going to really succeed as a freelance writer if I didn’t even know how to handle losing a single client??
I spend quite a bit more time on that page explaining the challenges I faced and how, because of that struggle, I ended up developing a system for finding freelance writing clients on demand… whenever I needed them.
And that’s the exact system I’m selling.
See how all of this connects? See how the story naturally leads into the product?
Logic — features, price, bonuses, etc. — comes after you’ve created emotion and crafted a compelling story (i.e. after you’ve made them want what you’re offering).
Think of a story you could tell on your own sales page — maybe it’s your story, maybe it’s a client or customer, or maybe it’s entirely fictional. Whatever it is, your story should resonate with your target market and drive them to take action.
4. Call Out The Antagonists
When you try to sell something to anyone, you sell it to no one.
This is because not everyone is the same — and to attract your target market, you need to make it clear that you’re speaking directly to them.
How do you do that?
By calling out what you’re NOT offering.
Here’s an example from Mike Tyson’s sales coaching funnel — notice the subheadline…
Right out of the gate, Tyson calls out “self-help books, entitled gurus, and wannabe life coaches preaching watered-down BS that gets you nowhere.”
Sting.
That’s super effective for his target market.
(i.e. people are sick of the normal coaching BS and want something different)
So…
Who is your antagonist?
A great way to define what you offer is by figuring out what you DON’T offer. Look at the trends in your industry that irritate you and show that you’re something different.
5. Create Your Attractive Character
The concept of the attractive character (<– check out our full guide at that link) is something that Russell Brunson introduced in his Secrets Trilogy.
Here’s how Russell Brunson explains it…
“An Attractive Character is not someone who is extraordinarily good looking, although they might be. What I’m talking about here is a persona that attracts clients or customers and helps you build your following to eventually make sales. An Attractive Character allows you to build a platform anywhere you want, whether on email, Facebook, or YouTube. It doesn’t matter where you show up; your AC will draw people to you.”
This is extremely important for the coaching industry because YOU are the product.
There are four common types of attractive characters. We’ll take a look at each. Then you need to decide which to embrace.
This will help you write better copy.
The Leader
Leaders are attractive characters who lead their audience confidently and unapologetically from point A to point B.
They know how to inspire their followers and they tell compelling stories that influence their followers to take action.
The leader has a similar backstory to their followers (which makes them relatable) and so they also understand the pitfalls and challenges that their audience will face along the way.
But the leader has already achieved the result that the audience wants to achieve.
They provide the guidance, empathy, and clarity needed to help their followers do the same.
One example of this is how Gary Vee uses his platforms to help entrepreneurs achieve the success they crave.
The Adventurer or Crusader
The adventurer or crusader persona is much more scrappy than the leader.
They don’t have all the answers… and they don’t pretend to.
But their journey — and their determination to get the answers — is compelling to people who want the results this attractive character is trying to achieve.
This persona gives his audience a lot of attention and provides new valuable information and insights as he comes by it.
Rachel Pedersen is a wonderful example of this.
She’s constantly trying new things in the marketing world and creating free and paid resources for other marketers and entrepreneurs based on her own success.
It’s sort of like a “Look what I did! Here’s how I did it!” type of attractive character strategy.
The Reporter or Evangelist
If you can’t think of someone to be your attractive character who can provide your audience with the answers and stories they need, then the reporter or evangelist is a great option.
This persona puts on the hat of a reporter or researcher and sets out to find the answers they don’t already have.
Maybe they interview hundreds of people. Maybe they write a book. Or maybe they document their research via a newsletter.
Whatever the case, as they’re growing and learning, they’re taking their audience along with them.
Russell writes, “Becoming a reporter is a great way to start a business in a niche you don’t know much about.”
One example of this would be Joe Rogan. He knows he doesn’t know a lot… but he tries to get to the bottom of serious and fascinating problems by publicly interviewing expert guests.
The Reluctant Hero
This is the person that Russell Brunson has selected and maintained in his role as the attractive character for ClickFunnels.
As he defines it, “This is the humble hero who doesn’t really want the spotlight or any fuss made over his discoveries. But he knows the information or the secrets he has are so important that he must overcome his shyness and share them with the world.”
You can see this in the way Russell talks and presents himself. He’s just a normal guy who’s discovered some amazing secrets. And he feels compelled to share those secrets with his audience.
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6. Be Divisive
I got on a call recently that was meant to help men set goals and better themselves for the new year (which was just around the corner).
It was a small crew and it was fun because we got to ask questions and share feedback during the webinar.
At the end, as with all webinars, there was a pitch.
But while the rest of the call was great, the pitch felt… flat.
It wasn’t particularly inspiring, I didn’t feel the need to convert — in fact, it just sort of got awkward and everyone trickled out of the call.
I thought about what had gone wrong for them.
And I realized it was because they hadn’t been divisive enough. I don’t think any of us knew exactly WHO they were trying to serve.
Sure, men.
But what type of men?
Are they going to help me grow my business? Or get fit? Or find a beautiful woman? Or something else?
Without a clear niche and target market, you can’t press on clear pain points… paint a clear picture of what success looks like… or determine what the big domino is… all things that are required for great copywriting.
So be divisive.
Who do you serve and, just as importantly, who DON’T you serve?
7. Create Urgency & Need
A great copywriter once told me something that forever made me a better copywriter.
He said, “When the rubber hits the road, most people don’t buy because they’re looking forward to the result you promised them… they buy because they’re afraid of the repercussions of not buying.”
That is, they’re afraid of what will happen if they don’t take action.
Fear, after all, is a much more powerful motivator than growth or success.
And if you make this small adjustment in your copy — to spend some time reminding them of the bad things that will happen if they don’t take action right now — you’ll get far more conversions.
Here’s an example of what this looks like in action…
Final Thoughts
You’re a coach, not a copywriter.
But if you’re going to succeed as a coach, then you need to have some idea of how to get people past the page and onto a phone call with you.
You can use the above tips to do that.
These are the exact strategies I use when I’m writing for coaches. And if that’s not enough, get our free plug ‘n play copywriting templates below!