Getting started with online coaching can be an exciting but also intimidating adventure. One of the key steps in the development of an online activity is the definition of a strong and coherent brand, which notably involves branding.
However, before investing in creating your branding, it is important to know the mistakes to avoid in order to optimize the use of your resources, both in terms of time and money.
In this article, I propose to guide you through the essential steps that will help you define your visual identity and optimize its use.
Define your customer avatar
Before even thinking about creating a brand identity or a website, it is imperative to define your customer avatar. Your customer avatar is a detailed representation of your ideal customer. Understanding who your ideal customer is will allow you to better target your marketing efforts, both in terms of verbal and visual communication and of course, to create offers that truly meet their needs.
The aim of precisely defining your ideal customer is to ensure that prospects who see your publications say “it looks like he/she is talking about me”.
To achieve this, I will spare you the “classic” method with the socio-demographic definition of a customer avatar.
And, at the risk of disappointing you, you are not going to define your customer avatar in a few hours. On the contrary, I recommend that you define it broadly based on your current knowledge of your market.
Then, it is through contact with your first prospects and customers that you will really be able to refine your customer avatar since they will give you information that you will not find anywhere else.
So, as you will have understood, knowing your customer avatar is a fundamental step in launching your online coaching activity but also in defining your branding.
And, even if you dream of creating branding that suits you, it is in your best interest to validate this first step before moving on to defining your visual identity.
Create your branding: do it yourself or delegate
You are finally there! You now have a precise knowledge of your ideal client and you can finally think about creating a professional visual identity.
The question now is who will take care of it.
Entrust the creation of your visual identity to a graphic designer
Using a graphic designer to define your branding seems to be the simplest and most effective solution.
Indeed, defining a visual identity goes through several stages to best reflect the company's message.
After discussing your expectations with you, the graphic designer will be able to define your branding.
By working with a professional, you have the assurance of a job well done and complete. However, this comes at a cost and you must be prepared to bear it.
Define your own visual identity
Today, thanks to intuitive and accessible tools such as Canva, you can easily create your own visual identity yourself. It is true that by going through Canva and its pre-designed templates, it is not impossible that you come across other people who have chosen fairly similar templates or color palettes. However, this solution is a good compromise if you do not yet have the finances to delegate or if you prefer to make other investments as a priority.
The main steps to creating your visual identity
Whether you go through a professional or decide to create your visual identity on your own, the first thing to do is to think about the message you want to convey through it. To do this, you will refer to the company's values and the expectations of your target customer.
Then comes the moonboard stage which will allow you to define one or more styles of inspiration.
When you have validated the moonboard that suits you, the graphic designer or yourself will be able to define the elements of your visual identity: color palette, logo, typographies.
Generally, these elements are grouped together on a brandboard which constitutes the support for using your visual identity on a daily basis, whether on the visuals used in your communication on social networks, your website or even the media that you will create (PDF, flyers…)
How to integrate your branding into your clients' member area?
When you are a coach and you begin to offer support combining coaching and online training, the question arises of choosing a platform to offer your clients a member space.
As an online coach, you probably want to use a tool that meets your needs and is easy to use.
I tested several training platforms at different stages of development of my business and, after 7 years of entrepreneurship and despite my geek side, something became obvious: I don't want to waste time configuring a platform.
The platform has well understood this need of many entrepreneurs who wish to remain available to practice their profession as a coach and not to play apprentice web designer.
THE Advantages of MyKlub.Online
1. Simplicity and Efficiency: An intuitive and refined user interface that makes it easier to manage your daily activity.
2. Integrated features: Client management, coaching session scheduling, e-learning training area and international online payments, all in one place.
3. Support and support: A dedicated team to help you at each stage of your journey, with adapted resources.
4. Scalability: A platform that grows with you, allowing you to add features as your business grows.
Why Choose MyKlub as your online coaching platform?
– Time saving : By centralizing all your activities on a single platform, you save valuable time that you can devote to your customers.
– Savings: No more need to multiply subscriptions to different tools, MyKlub offers you a complete solution, dedicated to online coaches, at an affordable cost.
– Focus on the Essential: You can focus on what you do best, coaching, while MyKlub takes care of the rest.
Conclusion
Getting started with online coaching requires a strategic approach.
And even if you think it is important to have your own branding to professionalize your business and gain credibility, it is essential to do things in order, as we have seen in this article.
The first customers that you will support will allow you to validate the avatar that you have defined globally. This way, you can validate this first orientation or modify it. Only after these trials and errors can you move on to the stage of defining your branding.
As an online coach, it is also in your interest to optimize the use of your time and money resources by using a platform designed for you which will allow you to develop your online coaching activity.
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The Uselessness of Multiplying Tools
When you start an online coaching business and realize the multitude of tasks to be carried out, it can be tempting to want to use all these tools that promise to save time. However, at this stage of your business development, this can quickly become counterproductive and, in the end, you end up wasting more time (and money in the process).
Which tools to favor?
Being an entrepreneur (and geek) for several years, I have tested a lot of tools, sometimes because I really needed them, sometimes, just for the pleasure of testing. So, I can give you my list of essential tools:
- An ideal Gmail account to centralize everything: the calendar, Google office tools or even Google Meet for meetings.
- Canva to easily create your visuals
- An auto-responder to record your prospects' emails and send them newsletters. Mailerlite is the one I have used for several years and which suits me very well.
- An online coaching and training platform to offer your clients a personalized space where they will find all the content of their support.
The MyKlub.Online platform
For beginner online coaches, finding a platform that meets all their needs without increasing their spending budget can be a real challenge; This is where MyKlub.Online comes into play.
MyKlub is a platform dedicated to online coaches which supports them from the start of their activity until its development thanks to its adapted functionalities. It offers a full range of services to help you launch and grow your online coaching business without the hassle of managing multiple tools.
