When PR and Publicity coach Simone Sauter connected with me on LinkedIn, her message immediately got my attention as a possible answer to the question — how can I market my coaching business without social media?
Since she specializes in working with life, health and business coaches, she was the perfect source for my latest No Social Media Un-marketing Experiment!
You’re welcome to our conversation for all the juicy details, or jump to the highlights in the article below.
Here’s some of what we explored:
- 3 ways to entice a journalist to feature you
- Why a PR & Publicity strategy is perfect for coaches and gives you an advantage over big companies
- 2 mindset blocks that keep you from being visible and a simple way to overcome them
- What to do today to start attracting clients with a PR & Publicity strategy
- The perfect publicity platform for coaches who work with business coaches or moms
- 5 steps to rockstar PR
- How often to follow up about your pitch and who you should never email for PR
- Why Forbes and Entrepreneur may not be the best source of leads for your coaching business
- How to prep your website so that your media pitch is accepted
The Advantages of PR & Publicity For Coaches
People know that not everyone can get in the media because the media talks to experts. Simone says the power of third party endorsements is often underestimated. Your coverage in the media positions you as an authority, establishes credibility, and can increase sales simply by including the logos of outlets where you’ve been featured on your sales page.
As a solo-preneur coach, you have an advantage over larger corporations when it comes to getting featured by the media. Most of us became coaches because of a personal experience, and your inspiring origin story is for journalists.
Online features are particularly powerful because the content establishes lasting real estate in the search engines, unlike social media where it disappears in the feed or advertising where you pay for continued circulation. Authority websites rank high on Google, generating constant leads when linked back to your website or lead magnet in your author bio or resources box.
Simone’s 5 Steps to Rockstar PR For Coaches
#1 – Get your foundations in order.
You’ll need:
- A rockstar offer that’s proven to sell.
- A list of the media outfits where your ideal clients can be found.
- The individual email addresses of the correct journalist for each outlet.
Simone emphasizes that you must understand your ideal client first. You need to know the demographics (age, sex, career, relationship status) as well as psychographics (beliefs, hobbies, what they read) to determine which media outlets they’re using.
When considering a media outlet, consume their content first. Ask yourself, “Is this something my ideal client would be interested in?” If not, it won’t generate client leads for you. Many coaches dream of getting featured in Forbes or Entrepreneur, but if you serve a spiritual niche, your clients aren’t likely to be members of their audience.
All this is preparation before reaching out for media opportunities.
#2 – Craft an attention-getting media pitch.
You need to think like a journalist, some of whom need to write as many as 10 stories per day! If you hand them an amazing story on a silver platter, they’ll take it gratefully.
Journalists are looking for one of three things:
- A story that’s emotional, relatable to their audience, timely, memorable
- Your expertise as a coach. You share your knowledge, then they quote you and create content around it.
- A polarizing opinion. Take a strong stand for or against something that makes their audience members look twice. Simone’s examples: “Why Everyone Should Suffer From Heartache At Least Once” or “If You’re Sending Out Press Releases, Your PR Sucks.”
Build relationships with journalists over time and they’ll come to know you as a reliable source. The next time they need someone with your expertise, they’ll reach out to you.
#3 – Send your bullet proof pitch to the right person.
Email the journalist directly and pitch your story, making it short and sweet. If you don’t hear back, Simone recommends following up once or perhaps twice at most. Then move on and pitch again at another time.
#4 – When the journalist says yes, deliver the goods.
If you’re invited to be a contributor, write your guest post. If you’re a featured expert, the journalist will do an interview and build a story around it.
#5 – When it’s published, promote your feature.
This is the most important and often overlooked step, according to Simone. She teaches clients to leverage their publicity for “cash, clients and reputation.”
Share it on social media, with your email list, and utilize it on your website and sales page.
The PR Challenges of Coaches
The most common obstacles Simone sees for coaches who engage this strategy are due to mindset.
The belief, “I need to be an expert with a huge social media following to get publicity,” is simply not true. Rather, Simone explains that you create a reputation as an expert through your publicity.
Fears about visibility may also pop up. If the idea of getting a feature in Cosmopolitan or Entrepreneur magazine makes you weak in the knees, it’s helpful to reframe the situation.
You got into the coaching game to help people; you can either hide your gift or you allow yourself to be found and help the people. Simone finds that when her clients’ drive to create impact is higher than their fears, they do it anyway.
“People always judge you. You can’t make everyone happy and you shouldn’t. You’re there for your ideal client. People will judge you, whether you do what you want or if you don’t. Do what you want to do and be judged for it.”
Simone Sauter, PR & Publicity Coach
Where to Start With PR & Publicity For Your Coaching Business
Simone’s first recommendation is to get your website ready for media eyes.
Make sure you have 4-8 blog posts published around your area of expertise that explain what you teach and your offer. This allows journalists visiting your site to immediately see you positioned as an expert.
Create a media page containing your biography and photographs journalists can download easily.
Then, send your first pitch as a contributor, starting with smaller blogs or websites. Get some features under your belt first before working your way up to magazines and larger media outlets.
Publicity is a long-term strategy that builds over time, but creates a domino effect through the media relationships you build. Simone’s clients typically start seeing results after 5-6 media pieces are accepted.
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Meet Simone Sauter
Simone Sauter is a PR & Publicity Coach, bestselling author and tech nerd. She helps coaches to get more clients by getting free publicity so that they can rise above the noise online, skyrocket their income and make a bigger impact.
Simone has built her online coaching business in the relationship niche specialising in breakup coaching solely with PR and became Germany’s #1 Breakup Coach in less than two years.
Her website organically reached more than 1.000.000 people within two years, and she created an advertising value of more than 3 million euro. Simone has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Instyle, Closer, podcasts, radio shows and TV.
Her bestselling book with a well-known German publishing house and the first online coaching program for overcoming heartbreak helped hundreds of women.
Simone holds a university degree in journalism and public relations, is a certified PR Consultant from German Press Academy Berlin and is a certified NLP & Hypnosis Master Practitioner.
She’s worked as a PR & Social Media Manager for the world’s biggest online dating website and brings 8-years-experience as a freelancer at a radio station to the table.
Simone grew up in Germany, lived in Ireland and Australia, and was a digital nomad for three years before settling in The Netherlands in 2017. She’s married to a Dutchman and mother to a wonderful daughter.
Connect with Simone:
Website: www.Simonesauter.com
Info on the Publicity Rockstar program
*If you give my name, Stephanie Padovani, as your referrer and choose to purchase, I may receive a commission as an affiliate partner.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonesauter
