25 Creative Ways to Build Your Coaching and Healing Practice Without Relying on Social Media
Tired of the algorithms dividing you from your Ideal Clients? Long before social media, marketing your business took a different shape. Try these tried-and-true non-social media marketing tips to grow your business with Kellie Adkins of the Wisdom Method. Read more at www.KellieAdkins.com/blogs
Every business needs a way to reach potential customers.
Your marketing strategy needs to get your Coaching, Healing or Service-based Business in front of the people who want what you have—and who want it now.
Nowadays, most people think of social media as a viable way to market and grow their coaching, healing, or transformational service-based business.
But the truth is that relying on social media for clients isn’t tenable for most businesses because social media trends come and go.
Do you remember MySpace? Tumblr? Periscope? Google+? Yeah, me, too. But no one is using them now.
Social media platforms make their money by keeping people on the platform NOT by sending their users elsewhere (like your website services page).
There are creative and effective ways to market your coaching or healing practice that don’t require much social media.
While the market has shifted considerably in the direction of social proof for businesses, maintaining a strategy that works for you is key….but that doesn’t mean you have to jump on every trend bandwagon or go viral to get clients (and remember, there are other forms of social proof for your business. You’re getting testimonials, right?).
Your marketing strategy needs to get your business in front of the people who want what you have: and who want it now.
That doesn’t require a million followers on social media (or even 1,000). It does require some higher-order thinking, market research, and creativity. In other words: YOU GOT THIS, brilliant one!
When I first started a business in 2007, having a website was a novelty, and a social media presence wasn’t required.
But a business card? Absolutely.
Local networking events? You betcha.
Print advertising and PR: even better.
Back then I didn’t have the budget for glossy paid ads in the local style magazine.
I had to get creative!
Below are 25 things I did to market my Yoga Studio and Coaching Practice, that are as relevant now as they were back then. In fact, when I quit social media for a few years, I relied on these exact strategies to fill my calendar with long-term consulting gigs.
25 ways to attract clients without using social media:
Print business cards and give some to friends, family members, and colleagues. Ask them to keep a small stack in their car or purse and hand them out to people that might be a good fit for your services.
Host pop-up demonstrations or mini-classes in local parks, botanical gardens, downtown areas, or during large events (ask permission).
Collaborate with local partners, such as dance teachers or salons, to create joint events or performances.
Develop a signature workshop, training or course and deliver a free mini-course to local businesses or offices during lunch breaks. (P.S. this is exactly how I built my client base as a Yoga Therapist and Yoga Studio Owner in a super-small town in 2007/2008. I was the traveling lunch-n-learn Yoga Lady offering “Stretch + Breathe” chair yoga classes for local businesses during the lunch hours for 3 months. After that, my studio was packed every class, and we outgrew the space in 1 year).
Print glossy postcards or business-card size discount passes with your class schedule, website, and discount codes, and distribute them at local gyms, fitness centers, and coffee shops. (P.S. When a new student came to class, I asked for their mailing address and sent them a handwritten “Thank you for coming!” Postcard the next day —it also had a 15% coupon off a class pass. It was my most-effective marketing tool, and the repeat business after one-off, drop-ins skyrocketed).
Offer referral fees or commissions to local health professionals or complementary service providers for sending clients your way.
Pitch your training, course, or programs to local colleges, vocational centers, or educational institutions to secure contract gigs.
Send personalized emails to people in your network and ask for referrals or introductions to potential clients.
Host seasonal special events and open houses or sample classes at your studio and offer exclusive membership packages.
Add your Training, Workshops, Courses or classes to Google and share them on local networking and events websites or print publications.
Advertise at local farmers' markets, craft fairs, or events that attract your ideal clients.
Join your local Chamber of Commerce, municipal business association, or business networking groups and share your elevator pitch during their monthly events.
Offer complimentary mini-sessions or exclusive discounts to local service providers that also serve your ideal clients (stylists, estheticians, etc.) in exchange for referrals.
Collaborate and co-promote with other practitioners or businesses in your niche or local area for special events.
Send thank-you postcards or free class cards to clients, friends, and colleagues to express appreciation and encourage repeat business.
Print mini-cards or flyers with your business information and a QR code to a complimentary download (valuable content) and distribute them locally.
Organize a charitable fundraising event or sponsor a charitable event in your community.
Order custom promotional items, such as water bottles, yoga mats, tote bags, or T-shirts, with your business name and website. Give them to friends and clients. Use them as raffle items or gifts during events. Sell them on your website.
Offer special packages and customized classes to members of local churches, community organizations, or neighborhood associations.
Teach a series class, signature workshop, or specialized training at a local church or community center and offer their members a special rate for private sessions.
Print neon flyers or posters with your business information and distribute them strategically in town and at events (ask permission).
Wear branded T-shirts or ask family and friends to do the same to raise awareness about your business.
Keep business cards handy for networking events or other opportunities to share your contact information or get one of these nifty cards.
Book a booth at local health, wellness, or education events in the area to showcase your business.
Order or make special swag that showcases your brand and advertises your business. Then hand out around town or at events. Examples: custom herbal tea sachets with handstamped tags, Wildflower seed paper business cards, Hand-stamped leather cards (upcycled leather, of course), logo-printed water bottles.
Ok, and because I can’t stop myself, here are 4 more ideas that do require social media, yet allow you to be more strategic in your use since content on these platforms performs well in driving traffic to your website and has a longer shelf life than Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
For a “stress less” approach to social media marketing:
Start a YouTube channel and create content optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to drive traffic to your website.
Start a Substack, Vimeo, or Patreon account to monetize your content, then share bits of paid content to your social media channels to increase your subscriber base (pre-schedule the posts for even less stress).
Write and publish a book, e-book, audio book or podcast, sell it on Amazon, Etsy or your website. Promote it everywhere you go.
Craft a public talk or presentation. Contact local organizations to invite you to speak at their events. Promote your book and / or services when you do!
I’d love to know—what are some non-social media ways you attract clients?
If you liked this post and you want to learn more about scaling your business for more influence and ease, join me every week for LIVE workshops to make growing your business more fun (and less stressful).
With gratitude,
~Kellie Adkins
Business Alignment Coach + Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT)
Founder | The Wisdom Method
P.S. If you missed KULA CONVERSATIONS today, join the Kula and catch the replay right here! I share my simple 3-step process for creating irresistible courses your clients want NOW, not later.
P.P.S. Want to Map our your non-social media marketing strategy together? Start here.
P.P.P.S. Want even more? Here are 20 more marketing ideas to grow your coaching, healing or helping practice that don’t rely on social media.
Grow your Healing or Coaching Business Beyond one-to-one Sessions
Through this device and its connection to the internet, you have access to millions of teachings that provide insight into better health, greater well-being, and more purposeful living.
Before the digital age, this type of learning was layered beneath circles of privilege and kept behind ivory towers.
It is a wonder to have access to this once-cloistered information—and all at your fingertips.
Digital courses democratize access (to an extent). Read more at www.KellieAdkins.com/new-blogs
An Epistle on Expansion
Or, making the case for growth even if you’re not maxed out on 1x1 services (yet)
Dear Reader:
As a fellow 1x1 service provider for most of my career (Yoga Therapist, Wellness Coach, and Business Coach), I humbly offer the following case for expanding your work beyond the bounds of 1-to-1 or premium services as early in your career as possible.
Indeed, this applies whether you’re building your private client practice or currently maxed out with private clients.
As you read this letter, consider the wonder of these words reaching through the ether to greet your eyes on the magical fantastical creation you now hold.
Through this device and its connection to the internet, you have access to millions of teachings that provide insight into better health, greater well-being, and more purposeful living.
Before the digital age, this type of learning was layered beneath circles of privilege and kept behind ivory towers.
It is a wonder to have access to this once-cloistered information—and all at your fingertips.
Digital courses democratize access (to an extent).
In time, it is my hope, that more healing, helping, and self-development teachings will be shared even more widely for more meaning, engagement, and well-being outside the circles of privilege of higher education, whiteness, able-bodiedness, and neurotypicality.
In my view, sharing the skillset you’ve carefully curated over the duration of your career is an act of social justice: widening and improving access to powerful healing and helping tools the world needs.
All humans need these tools, not only those who can afford to pay a premium rate for your one-to-one services. Even more so if you serve an underserved community that is hard to reach.
I know you don’t do the Work for fame, money, or bragging rights.
You do it for the mission
You do it because it changed your life
You share this Work for a healthier, happier, and kinder world
There are more people who need what you are sharing—and the world needs your insight.
This letter is an invitation, yes, and it’s also a rallying cry.
If you’re a healer, helper, or change-maker and you AREN’T on fire about lighting up (more of) the world with your gifts…maybe there’s a good reason.
But if that reason is that you don’t know where to begin…
Let’s start together, right now.
In your 1-to-1 services, you provide a safe container for clients to facilitate their own transformation. Your clients come to you with frustrations, pain, suffering, and problems…and your valuable work provides a solution.
There are so many “problems” your work solves.
Think of a few right now. Then:
Pick one and dig deep, and..
Think of the people who need that problem solved …right now.
What do they need to get that problem solved?
How can you provide a solution in the most effective, time-sensitive way—that isn’t 1-to-1?
People have pain that you know how to reduce, symptoms your support helps them in resolving or mental barriers your techniques breakthrough.
You can only reach so many as a 1x1 service provider because your time and energy are finite.
What if…
You create a resource, a guidebook, a mini-class, a workshop, an on-demand training they can access focused on that specific issue?
You don’t have to deliver a massive group course, create a clunky membership site, or become internet-famous to expand your work in a mindful way.
What if…
You deliver a single, targeted solution in a way that feels aligned with your goals and your values: that specific people will benefit from again and again.
a mini-book
an on-demand guide
a curated course
a private podcast
a signature talk
a protocol
a series class
a Retreatshop
Expanding a small portion of your work to a wider audience allows more people to benefit from your gifts while allowing you to honor your commitment to equity, inclusion, and access.
What, then?
Need more ideas? Join us in the Kula for my full idea brain dump today plus a special invitation to a new way to work with me (hint: DIY is soooo last year. DIT is where it’s at!).
Kula Conversations // WHY IT'S TIME TO CREATE YOUR COURSE ALREADY! The ins and outs of course creation, Kula Conversation-style, today at 1 pm Eastern (10 am Pacific).
You'll learn ...
Where to begin (it isn't where you'd expect)
How to structure for maximum results (and client rave reviews)
Why you want to do it now (and your first action to take!)
See y’all there!
xo,
Kellie Adkins, MS, C-IAYT
Business Alignment Coach + Yoga Therapist
Founder | the Wisdom Method
Conversations with Kellie Adkins | Holistic Business Coach + Performance Strategist
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Mindful business sermonettes for Leaders who want to scale without burning out or selling out.
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Use Intention to Fuel your Goal-Getting
If you’ve ever set a meaningful goal then failed to reach it, you’re in the majority (and welcome to the human condition!). Goals require change —change in behavior, thoughts, attitude or actions (or all of the above). And change is hard.
INTENTION + STRATEGY + ACTION = GOALS, CONQUERED.
Change your behavior
Humans crave change: novelty lights up different regions of the brain, change is challenging and shifts in perspective inspire new insights. So it’s natural that change is something to move toward —in business and in life. Setting goals is a function of change and is a worthy pursuit in business, especially as a conscious entrepreneur with big dreams, powerful work to share, and many passions.
Setting goals is a function of change and a worthy pursuit in business, especially if you have BIG dreams.
But setting goals and actually reaching your goals are very different things.
If you want to make big things happen, you have to commit to taking mindful action that both aligns with your intention and supports your long term vision.
If you want to make BIG things happen, you have to commit to taking mindful action
You can expand your goal-getting powers by using an intention to align your priorities and your daily actions. That (plus a little strategy) equals your business goals, conquered.
Consider the following examples...
EXAMPLE 1
Jane sets a goal to grow her massage therapy practice by 100 clients this year. She first sets an intention to expand, then takes mindful action each week to identify new clients, reach them with her message, and invite them into her practice.
EXAMPLE 2
Cathy sets a business goal of packaging her expertise into a training, product or program this year. Cathy sets the intention of reaching more people with her message, then carves out 2-5 hours a week to develop her program, host a beta offering and learns how to market your signature offer.
In each of the above examples, the goals are specific, realistic and time-sensitive. Each goal-getting plan includes a set of actions (goal-supportive actions and behaviors) that bring Jane and Cathy closer to their goal. Both Jane and Cathy set an intention and use that intention to fuel their commitment to achieving their goals. Finally, both Jane and Cathy are laser-focused.
First, Commit to focus
You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again:
You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.
What is the “anything” you will do —this year, this month or this week? That’s where focus is required. And as a result of this level of focus, you are better able to identify the supports required and to take the specific actions that will move you toward meaningful goals.
Next, identify the support required
What supports are necessary for you to reach your goal? For Jane and Cathy, those supports were a set of actions and behaviors needed to get different results in their business. Jane had to reach more people with her message —which required upleveling her marketing and being specific in her networking.
Cathy needed to learn about course development, the ins and outs of marketing her signature course, and the technology behind delivering her material. In your own goal-setting practice, the supports required become clear when you are able to articulate (and focus in on) the specific goal.
Next, develop your meaningful goals
Develop your meaningful goals by ensuring they are ….
specific (grow practice // package expertise)
measurable (by 100 clients // into a training, product or program) and
time-sensitive (within a year)
As in the examples above
specific (EXAMPLE 1: grow practice // EXAMPLE 2: package expertise)
measurable (EXAMPLE 1: by 100 clients // EXAMPLE 2: develop a training, product or program) and
time-sensitive (EXAMPLE 1 + 2: within a year)
Finally, take action!
Remain intentional in your daily actions and avoid any behaviors, habits or attitudes that distract your from your focus. Keep taking tiny steps forward every day and if you get stuck —reach out for support.
If you are stuck turning your intention into meaningful goals, take some time for self-reflection. Rather than being distracted by the "you've got mail" sound and the impossible-not-to-click headlines floating through your social feed, visualize laser-focus on your most fulfilling projects, dreams or life goals.
Get out your journal and answer these questions…
What do I want to more of —in life or in business?
What do I want to create?
How do I want to show up in the world?
What is my grandest vision for my business / life / sacred work?
Bottom line: if you want to turn your goals into reality, stay mindful and apply focus to align your intentions and your actions.
If you struggle to develop, set or reach your goals, accountability could be the missing link. Loads of loving accountability (and hand holding) available right here.
From Vision to Execution: How to Stoke Your Motivational Fires
While those around us are indulging in holiday-season nostalgia, we heart-centered entrepreneurs tend to look forward instead of back. And while I encourage all business owners to make the most of the current year before it ends, I also know that we’re neck-deep in prime planning time.
While those around us are indulging in holiday-season nostalgia, we heart-centered entrepreneurs tend to look forward instead of back. And while I encourage all business owners to make the most of the current year before it ends, I also know that we’re neck-deep in prime planning time. The year is ending! SOON! And very few of us are so organized that we can sail through December without pausing to formulate a few key strategies for January and beyond.
But it can be overwhelming to contemplate those strategies without guidance and structure. So today I wanted to share a simple but effective checklist that can help you sort through your priorities and begin taking action on them!
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Create a vision
If action is the finish line, vision is the starting line. And you can’t have one without the other, so begin by letting your creative juices flow however they flow best. Whether you use an art journal, a vision board, or good old-fashioned pen and paper, creating a vision for your business is essential for crafting your plan.
Before goals, before action, before anything else, you need a vision for your business.
Think about how you want your work to impact your own life, your community, and the world. Think about what you love doing, and how you can do more of it while still making a profit. Think about what you’re best at, and which aspects of your business naturally thrive. Think about who you want to help and why. Think about the standard of living you’d like to maintain or achieve. Think about the things you do that make you feel proud and accomplished and just plain good about your work. Do your best to incorporate as many of these things - plus anything else that rises to the surface as you ruminate - into your vision.
Want help?
Have a plan
After the vision, comes the plan. You need to outline the steps you’ll take to bring your dreams into fruition, and refine any steps you’re currently taking that aren’t proving productive. You need to create something that makes many holistic entrepreneurs tremble in their shoes: A business plan. (Dun dun duunnnnnn!) I PROMISE that crafting a business plan doesn’t need to be traumatic or dull or overwhelming. It can be an enlightening, invigorating, even enjoyable process, if you let it! And if you just feel ill-equipped to tackle the task on your own, there are several free tools available around the web to guide you, including my own free resources and the Holistic Business Blueprint. Take your time, and imbue your work with the care and love it deserves. A business plan is an organic, living and breathing thing. You are free to change things as needed and your plan should allow you to be responsive—rather than reactive—in business.
Want help?
Turn amorphous dreams into time-sensitive goals
The jump from plan to action can feel like a giant one. Tackling action a bit at a time by setting small-to-medium, concrete, time-sensitive goals will make the transition feel more seamless. But be aware: as humans, we often underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year and overestimate what we can accomplish in a day. Narrow down your focus to your annual achievables then begin dividing those into quarters, months, weeks, then, finally, days. (You’ll be amazed how manageable your business plan suddenly feels!)
As humans, we often underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year and overestimate what we can accomplish in a day.
And remember that what you focus on expands: focus is practical magic. What do you truly want to create in your business in the coming year? You can do anything you want, but you can’t do it all at once. Prioritize your business dreams, decide when you’ll do what, and carefully select your focus for the coming months.
Use time-chunking to tame your to-do list
Still feel like you’ve got more to do than time to do it? There are many, many secrets to crafting productive work-weeks, but time-chunking is one of my all-time favorites. If you tend to overload your to-do list and find the weeks flying by with little progress toward your long-term goals, consider using this strategy yourself.
Time-chunking is using the same timeslot each week for the same task. So blocking off 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Tuesday to create your digital content, allotting two hours every Friday to populate your social media scheduler, scheduling a weekly payroll review on Monday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. This only works if you actually block off the time in your calendar! Don’t just make a mental note, create a repeating event in your calendar of choice. With reminders.
Time-chunking is an effective method to schedule business growth tasks that propel you toward success in the coming year.
Turn vision into action through discipline, dedication, devotion and determination.
If you’re a yogi, you’ll recognize that those are the four D’s of Ashtanga yoga. What works on the mat works in business, too. The most admirable vision and carefully crafted business plan in the world will fall flat if you don’t adjust your mindset. Set tasks and stick to them. Constantly recommit to your goals and vision. Pause every day to remember why you do this world-changing work. And never, ever, EVER give up on yourself, your dreams, or your ability to help people live more fulfilling lives.
Want help?
How to Make the Most of the Year Before it Ends
There’s a shiny new year on the horizon. So exciting, right?! And so tempting to train your eyes on that not-so-distant future, brush aside what remains of this year, and pin high hopes for better times on January 1. (Especially if this year has been a frustrating one, and you’re eager to leave it behind and make a fresh start.)
There’s a shiny new year on the horizon. So exciting, right?! And so tempting to train your eyes on that not-so-distant future, brush aside what remains of this year, and pin high hopes for better times on January 1. (Especially if this year has been a frustrating one, and you’re eager to leave it behind and make a fresh start.)
The cliches about being doomed to repeat history and learning from our mistakes are cliches because they contain a hard grain of truth.
Reflection is essential to growth, so I’d like to invite you to take a conscious pause and cultivate mindful awareness of the things in your business that are going right. Now is the perfect time to get centered in the right head- and heart-space for a great new year. Let go of the reactive and illusory "next year will be better" attitude, and access gratitude for your wins, lessons, and achievements in the year that is coming to a close!
Focus on gratitude as an inner action
Speaking of cliches, I know you might be up to your ears in gratitude-themed musings … but this is one of those rare times I’m gonna let myself be an unabashed bandwagon-jumper. Because cultivating gratitude during a time when everyone around you is also focusing their energies on gratitude practices amplifies everyone’s intentions. The gratitude mindset is all around you, resonant and supportive. Take advantage of that, and take time out for introspection.
… Then project thankfulness outward
On the flip side, business is all about relationships, and this time of year affords a wonderful opportunity to strengthen those relationships through the practice of gratitude. Do your utmost to express gratitude for every person your business has touched this year. And I mean every one of them—from members of your email list to people in your tribe to clients and colleagues—has encouraged more positive affect. Recognizing and appreciating their support grounds and centers you for the next few steps.
Count your business blessings
Since you’re an entrepreneur, you probably have mile-long lists of To-do’s and To-achieves. Ambitious goals are your forte, and that’s fabulous! But even if you didn’t meet this year’s stated goals, you likely had some big business wins. What were they? Count your business blessings and hand out gold stars where appropriate. Because wherever you are in business, there’s always a “next step,” always a new set of far-reaching, comfort-zone-pushing goals to tackle. But remembering to stop and appreciate how far you’ve come is one of the ways you keep your inspiration tank full and your passion for your business alive.
Take stock of what went right this year
Did you have offers, services, or products that really nailed it this year?
Did your promotional campaign blow your expectations out of the water?
Did that new VA you hired work out better than expected?
Cataloging and celebrating what went right for you in business this year is a great way to keep yourself focused for next year.
… And what went wrong
True, some endeavors in your business this year may have fallen flat. The retreat didn’t fill, the workshop didn’t go as planned, the group course wasn’t a success. Or maybe life got in the way and derailed your best-laid plans. But as any teacher will tell you, not all “failures” are bad things. Most failures are lessons in disguise. So, what did you learn? How did you show up in the situations you consider to be “failures”? How did you handle the business ventures that didn’t go as planned? What valuable lessons will you carry forward into the new year?
Failures aren’t fun, but they can be lessons.
Ground and center
It’s always the right time to ground, center, and re-vision. But before you whip out your vision boards, calendars, and rainbow of colored highlighters, take a moment to truly center in and listen to your intuition. Ground into your body with a yoga practice, a meditation practice, or a long walk in the woods to tune into your inner monologue.
Explore the edges of your vision for your business and note what you see there. Does your gut tell you that you’re still aligned and on track for your 5-year or 10-year vision? Is intuition pointing you in a different direction? Listen to yourself, take notes, and make adjustments as needed.
Because the amazing thing about a time of transition—like the limbo of a calendar year in its twilight weeks—is it brims with flexibility and possibility.
As you take stock of the year that’s passed and embrace gratitude practices, you will also gather insights for your business strategies for the year to come.
Gently and mindfully.
Want support? I’m here for you.