The 6 People You Need To Help You Launch Your Program
As a go-getter, building your health coaching business has probably been mostly a solo effort.
You’re a one woman shop and you wear all the hats.
You can and should pat yourself on the back for everything you’ve accomplished on your own!
That said, sometimes the best move for your business is to call in reinforcements. And by reinforcements, I mean with a few key people who can help you take things to the next level.
One of the best times to ask for help is when it comes to launching a program.
When you’re getting ready to promote a program, you want to reach as many people as possible.
You’ve poured your heart and soul into something that has the potential to help people live a better life.
Maybe you’ve created a program from scratch – or, you might have chosen to save yourself time and energy by using a done-for-you program, like our Ready-to-Launch Cleanse.
But here’s the thing… your audience only extends so far.
Bringing on partners at this key time in your business journey can help seriously amplify your reach.
Partnering up with people who already have the audience you want to get in front of will help you build your network exponentially faster than trying to reach them on your own.
I know this works, because I’ve seen it happen for our clients…
Jeannine Moran enrolled 17 people (right out of school) in part by hosting a webinar with a colleague.
Pam Yudko enrolled 54 people by promoting through a Juice Bar and Food Blogger.
Angie Byrd enrolled 26 in her first program, in large part by promoting through a Barre studio.
Bringing in people to help with your launch can do three key things for you:
- Provide a direct line to a larger network and audience
- Build trust with a new audience quickly — because someone else is vouching for you
- Give you support! Launching is hard work and experienced people can help walk you through it
Today I want to talk about 6 types of people you can partner with to boost your reach and support you when launching a health coaching program.
1. Your Past Clients
Clients that you’ve already worked with can be your biggest business ambassadors. You have a relationship with them and they’ve experienced the results of working with you first hand. These are the perfect people to promote your program!
Start by asking for testimonials from your past clients and include them on your sales page and in your email launch sequence. The social proof from these testimonials will help build trust with the new audience you’re attracting during your launch.
You can also ask your past/current clients to be an advocate for you by sharing your program with people they know. Make it easy for them to share your program by creating a swipe file of pre-written social media posts, email templates, and images and a document with all the pertinent dates and info for your program. Your audience can easily grab what they need and share it with their pals.
While swipe emails are helpful, be sure to encourage them to add something personal about their experience working with you. This will go a long way!
2. Referral Partners
One way to incentivize your audience to share is by creating a referral program. In this case, your client or referral partner would get a percentage of each sale they make for you.
Referral programs (also called affiliate programs) can help expand your reach quickly because your audience is eager to share a program they believe in and get a comission for it. You get more signups, they get a bit of cash in their pocket. Win-win!
There are a number of people you could tap on the shoulder to become a referral partner. This can include past clients and people in your own audience, but don’t stop there. You can build referral partner relationships with anyone!
Your ideal referral partner is someone who offers a complementary but non-competing service. For example:
- personal trainers
- pilates or yoga studio owners
- chiropractors
- acupuncturists
- therapists
- medical doctors
When creating a referral program, decide what percentage commission you’ll give for each sale (typically between 30-50%). Then create a swipe file to make it easy for your partners to promote you!
If you plan on creating a large affiliate program, I recommend signing up with a service like Sendowl or Ejunkie to make link tracking and payouts a breeze.
3. Health & Wellness Bloggers
Writing guest blog posts for health and wellness blogs is a great way to get in front of a new audience at any time, but can be a real list builder right before a launch.
Start by identifying websites and blogs that your clients read religiously and write them all down.
Do a bit of digging to find out name of the editor or owner, the email address for post submissions, and if they have any guest posting guidelines or requirements.
Next, brainstorm a list of potential topics that fit the content and style of the blog you’re pitching.
Your post topics should give new readers a glimpse into your program and spark their curiosity.
For example, if you’re launching a sugar detox, you could pitch topics like:
- 5 secret sugar culprits that you probably didn’t know about
- 21 signs that you might have a blood sugar imbalance
- The best trick I’ve learned for cutting sugar for good
- How I kicked my sugar habit and finally lost the last 5 pounds
Once you’ve got a list of places and topics, it’s time to start pitching!
When writing guest posts, include a bio with a link to a landing page where they can opt-in for a free gift that’s related to the program you’re launching – so you can grow your list and nurture new subscribers with free content.
4. Webinar Partners
Like guest posting, having a colleague host you on a webinar to their list is a great way to get in front of a new audience. In this case, your colleague will promote the event so you’re casting a wider net by getting in front of her audience.
In exchange, your webinar partner is able to share your valuable content with her audience. And, if you have a referral/affiliate program, your partner has the opportunity to make money. It’s another win-win tactic.
Your colleague will send people to a webinar registration/landing you create. This way, when people sign-up for the webinar, they’re added to your list. You can then promote your program through a series of emails you send out after the webinar.
In some cases, it works well to create an enticing bundle for webinar participants. You and your co-host both include one of your products or programs and split the sales. This works really well if your programs complement one another, like a 14 day detox & 14 days of unlimited yoga.
5. Accountability Buddy or Mentor
Running a business can be tough. You’re busy managing existing clients, bringing in new clients, and launching a new program.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do next or where to focus your energy.
This is where having a buddy or mentor comes in handy. Having someone on your side that has “been there and done that” can be just what you need to make sure all the effort you’re putting into your business will pay off.
An accountability buddy can help you map out what you need to do to launch your program, then check in with you regularly to make sure you’re staying on track and meeting your goals.
If they have a launch or two under their belt already, you can learn from their wins and their mistakes. Plus, it’s just nice to have someone on your side that has been there before- or is going through the same process as you.
6. Friends & Family
Launching a new program is hard work! This might mean late nights, early mornings, or extra time on the weekends pouring your expertise into your program, perfecting your copy and putting everything together.
You absolutely need a support system.
Your friends and family might not ‘get’ what you do, but when you’re in launch mode you need to give them a heads up.
They may not totally understand your business, but they should be made aware of your passions, your motivations, and your determination to make this work. When they understand that, they’ll be more supportive of your dreams.
Be sure to share that you are going to be BUSY for a while.
Let them know that you might have to turn down a brunch date or happy hour here and there, but that you’ll reunite with a celebration once your launch is over. They’ll be rooting for you and eager to give you a pat on the back when you’re done.
Even though your health coaching business might be a one-woman show, launching doesn’t have to be a solo effort. Take some time before you launch to build relationships with those who can help you reach more people … or just help walk you through the process and support you.
Now I’d love to hear from you!
Based on where you’re at right now with your business, which of these types of people do you think would be most helpful for you? If you’ve launched programs, who have you leaned on most for support?
