Are you curious to learn how to start a coaching business online? If your answer is yes, then this guide is exclusively for you.
According to verified market research, the market size of online coaching platforms was about 2 billion in 2020. The market size is further expected to increase to $4.5 billion by 2028.
This statistic proves that online coaching is one of the thriving businesses which isn’t going to fade anytime soon.
So, if you’re interested to know how to start an online coaching business, this definitive guide is for you. Let’s start!
What is Online Coaching Business? (A Brief Overview)
An online coaching business is where a coach guides his clients virtually to achieve specific skills, knowledge, and other goals.
Unlike in-person coaching, online coaching has a greater degree of flexibility. It’s because a coach can mentor clients from all over the world at the same time.
Further, the clients can also quench their thirst for learning on any subject matter from the convenience of home. That too, from the well-experienced coach of their choice.
That’s precisely why the online coaching business is flourishing rapidly these days.
Types of Online Coaching
There are two major types of online coaching that you can choose from. So, let’s discuss them briefly.
1. Private Coaching
Private coaching is a one-on-one service where only a coach and an individual client are present. Here, the client can get your full focus and attention.
This type of coaching service is suitable if you have clients willing to pay you a good amount for your dedication and time.
However, it may not be the best option if you don’t want to spend many hours coaching one individual at a time.
2. Group Coaching
In this type of coaching, you guide a group of clients rather than coaching one-on-one. Here, you can help more clients at a time.
Thus, Group Coaching is an excellent option for anyone who doesn’t want to dedicate more of their hours to one-on-one coaching.
Not to mention you can also choose the different coaching niches within Private and Group Coaching types as follows:
- Life Coaching
- Career Coaching
- Wellness Coaching
- Business Coaching
- Fitness Coaching
Why Start a Coaching Business Online?
Before you know how to start a coaching business online, you should understand why to start online coaching in the first place.
So, here are the good reasons why you should run coaching programs online.
- High-Demand: There’s a high demand for online teaching and coaching due to the convenience of learning anything from anywhere and anywhere.
- Coach Clients Globally: Online coaching business enables you to reach out to your potential clients worldwide and not just your local clients.
- Good Source of Passive Income: Coaching online can be your part-time job for generating passive income. You can also record your impactful coaching programs and sell them at a reasonable cost.
- Time-Saving: You don’t need to commute anywhere to run coaching programs online. Thus, it saves your precious time which you can utilize for other important things.
- Scalable: Online coaching is a more scalable business than in-person coaching. It’s because you can coach a large number of clients from all around the world at the same time.
That being said, it’s time to know the best platforms for setting up an online coaching business. So, let’s find out.
Best Platforms to Set Up Your Coaching Business Online
Before setting up your online coaching business, you must choose the best platform to nurture your clients in the long run. It should help you create engaging coaching programs and sell them without hassle.
So, let’s explore some of the best platforms for setting up an online coaching business.
I. Masteriyo
If you want to set up an online coaching website without any hassle, Masteriyo is the best choice.
It’s a revolutionary WordPress Learning Management System (LMS) plugin built with powerful features. Hence, it enables you to create impactful courses and sell them.
Most importantly, there isn’t any steep learning curve to using Masteriyo. So, even beginners can use this plugin to create well-structured content and interactive quizzes.
Again, React JS powers Masteriyo. Thus, your clients will surely get a smooth and fast experience like never before.
But it’s important to note that Masteriyo can’t function independently. It requires the installation of WordPress – a popular Content Management System.
But you don’t need to worry; you can easily set up a WordPress website by choosing ideal hosting companies like Bluehost, SiteGround, Kinsta, etc.
Pricing:
Masteriyo is a freemium WordPress LMS plugin. That means you can easily download the plugin from the WordPress plugin repository and install it on your WordPress site.
And if you like what Masteriyo offers, you can purchase its premium version starting at an affordable price of $79.5/year.
II. LearnDash
LearnDash is a premium WordPress LMS solution. It lets you create and edit courses with its intuitive drag-and-drop course builder.
It’s also possible to create free, paid, or time-limited courses with LearnDash. And you can accept payments via PayPal, Stripe, and 2Checkout.
Besides, it provides a detailed report on student enrollments, their performance, and course progression.
However, it also requires the setting up of a WordPress website to work.
Pricing:
LearnDash is a premium WordPress LMS plugin offering three different pricing options. The cheapest plan starts at $199/year.
III. Teachable
Teachable is an independent SaaS (Software as a Service) platform for teaching online. You can easily access its service on a web browser with a simple internet connection.
Thus, it’s ideal for anyone who isn’t interested in setting up a WordPress website to run their coaching business online.
With Teachable, you can curate and personalize your content with its powerful customization tools. Plus, support for multimedia further enables you to create engaging courses that learners will enjoy.
Teachable also permits you to build a sales page with full eCommerce capabilities to help you get paid faster.
Pricing:
You can sign up for Teachable for free! But if you feel it’s limiting, then you can always opt into its premium plans. The Basic Plan starts at $29/month.
IV. Canvas LMS
Canva LMS is a robust digital foundation for your online coaching business. It’s a modern cloud-based platform for dynamic teaching and learning experiences.
With Canvas LMS, you can grab your learners’ attention with video and audio-enriched lessons.
Further, there aren’t any file size limitations. So, you can add as much audio, visuals, and video to enhance the interactivity of your course curriculum.
On top of everything, it integrates with robust tools like Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Adobe, etc.
All in all, the platform is devoted to delivering one centralized learning hub for your convenience.
Pricing:
You can use Canvas LMS at absolutely no cost by creating your account. However, if you want more advanced features, you can contact sales for a suitable plan.
How to Start a Coaching Business Online? (7 Steps)
And now, it’s time to learn how to start a coaching business online. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
1. Select a Profitable Niche
One can find thousands of niches to start an online coaching business. But it’s not a good idea to go with random niches and expect your coaching business to flourish.
That’s because choosing the right niche is the first and most crucial step in determining the overall growth of your coaching business.
Building an online coaching business that is successful requires you to put some effort into selecting the right profitable niche.
Thus, take your time and ask yourself these questions:
- What is the subject matter that the majority of the people need help with?
- What are my expertise and unique specializations?
- What am I interested in?
- Can I deliver my clients the best solutions and answers in these fields?
Then, write down the answers to identify the opportunities. It’ll help you to define the most relevant niche suitable for you to start your coaching business online.
Remember, if you can help your clients achieve what they need, that niche can only prove profitable for you. Hence, decide wisely.
2. Know Your Target Audience
If you fail to engage your potential clients, there’s no chance your business will survive in this world of competition. So, it’s equally crucial to know your target audience.
Your potential audience may vary depending on your chosen coaching niche. They can be people of specific age groups, gender, education level, occupation, location, etc.
So, first, you must be clear on who you want to reach and why.
You can make informed decisions when you have a comprehensive understanding of your ideal audience.
It means you can set up a practical framework for your coaching programs that take you one step closer to a successful online coaching business.
In a nutshell, knowing the target audience is beneficial to make every plan and strategy for your coaching business.
3. Analyze Your Competitors and Research
Analyzing your competitors and performing in-depth market research further help you to shape your online coaching business.
Knowing your competitors and their services helps you identify the areas you can work on.
Most importantly, it gives an insight into what unique and better you can offer to satisfy and appeal to your target market.
When you provide what your competitors aren’t offering, it’s like hitting the bull’s eye. That’s because you can convince your target market to opt-in and pay for your service.
If you don’t know where to start your research and analyze your competitors, keyword research tools may be useful.
Semrush, Ahrefs, Google Trends, etc., are some popular tools you may use.
Simply enter your keyword of interest for a specific coaching niche. The tools will display several relevant keyword phrases that most people search for on the internet.
Besides, research tools like Semrush and Google Trends also assist you with competitor research for developing strong business strategies.
4. Create a Framework for Your Coaching Program
In the previous steps, you decided on the profitable niche for your coaching business, identified your target audience, and analyzed your competitors.
So, the next step in how to start a coaching business online is to create a framework for your coaching program considering all the above factors.
Building a well-structured framework for your program improves the efficiency of your coaching business. So, it makes it easy to deliver the best results to the target audience.
Thus, while structuring your online coaching program, ensure it’s interactive, engaging, and interesting for your audience.
Apart from that, you can also decide which coaching type will be suitable for your framework. Depending on your need, you can go with a one-on-one (Private) or one-to-many (Group) coaching service.
5. Set Up Your Online Coaching Business with Masteriyo
The next step is to set up your coaching business online so visitors can see, identify, and join you. We’ll show you how to set up your online coaching business with Masteriyo.
As discussed previously, Masteriyo is not a standalone platform for setting up your online learning site.
So, before anything else, you need to set up a WordPress website first. You can easily create a WordPress site by buying a hosting and domain.
However, we recommend using Bluehost as it’s affordable and offers a free domain for a year.
After that, you must install a suitable WordPress theme for your online coaching site.
For this, we recommend the eLearning theme as Masteriyo powers it. Thus, it seamlessly integrates with the Masteriyo plugin to further enhance its flexibility.
Apart from eLearning, you can use powerful WordPress themes like Zakra and Online Education.
Then, install the Masteriyo LMS plugin on your site. Once you install and activate the plugin, configure the Masteriyo setup.
After that, you can add unlimited courses, lessons, and quizzes to your coaching programs.
Not to mention you can also add self-hosted videos or upload video content from platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.
Additionally, the inbuilt order system lets you easily sell your course contents without depending on third-party tools.
For a detailed guide, you can refer to our article on how to create an LMS website in WordPress.
Thus, creating, publishing, and selling course curriculums for your online coaching business is a breeze with the Masteriyo plugin.
But before you can sell your programs, you should determine their pricing. So, this is exactly what we’ll cover in the next section.
6. Determine the Pricing for Your Coaching Program
You must charge for your coaching program unless you provide a free service. So, the major question is how to determine the pricing for your coaching programs.
Both overpricing and underpricing coaching services can hamper your business. You should price your coaching program such that it’s profitable to you and affordable for your target audience.
You can also research how your competitors from similar niches have allocated their pricing to determine the legitimate rate for charging.
Remember, this is solely for the rough idea for determining the price and not for comparing prices with other coaches.
That’s because your skills and expertise, coaching package inclusion, and your coaching program’s value can greatly vary.
Hence, before you set the coaching price, it’s also important to determine what’s in your coaching packages and the value of coaching to your ideal clients.
7. Promote Your Online Coaching Business
To get more clients for your coaching business, you must first reach out to them and attract them to your service.
But what’s the best way of doing so without intimidating them? The answer is as simple as marketing your coaching service to promote your business.
So, here’s what you can do to promote your online coaching business.
i. Create Social Media Accounts
As per Statista, more than 4.26 billion people were using social media worldwide in 2021. This number is further expected to increase to 6 billion by 2027.
So, you can understand how important your social media presence is for running a successful business.
Thus, creating social media accounts on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., can be beneficial.
Once you create social media accounts, you can leverage the best WordPress social media plugins and social media icon widget plugins.
They will not only help you to reach out to new potential clients but also helps you to retain the old ones.
ii. Perform Email Marketing
As we can guess from the name, email marketing is a process of sending emails to the clients on your email list to promote your products and services.
It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to make your potential customers aware of your products/services and turn them into leads.
WordPress has several email marketing plugins to help you with email marketing services.
Everest Forms, Mailchimp for WordPress, Newsletter, etc., are some of the best WordPress email marketing plugins, to name a few.
iii. Launch PPC (Pay-per-Click) Ads
Launching pay-per-click advertisements can work wonders if you want to kick-start your online coaching business on the fly.
It’s a type of marketing where you have to pay for each click on your advertisements.
Though PPC ad remains on the costly side, it’s very effective to provide instant traffic. Hence, it can be very beneficial to grow your online coaching business.
So, this is how you start an online coaching business. Now, let’s look at some useful tips to increase customers for a successful online coaching business.
Some Useful Tips to Increase Customers for Your Coaching Business Online
a. Optimize Your Online Coaching Site for the Best SEO
Search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., are the major traffic source for any site. So, you must optimize your site to allow these search engines to crawl your content.
Following the best SEO practices to optimize your site can rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Hence, a higher ranking means greater site visibility and better traffic.
The best SEO practices include choosing web hosting carefully and selecting great themes and plugins for your site.
Further, it includes activities like keyword research, planning site content, and focusing on quality content.
b. Utilize the Power of Your Social Media Marketing
As discussed previously, you can also utilize the power of social media marketing to get more clients.
You can post interactive content and respond to their comments, shares, likes, etc. Further, you can also follow back and engage with your followers to build a community.
Thus, social media platforms are the best place to connect and familiarize oneself with more customers.
c. Take Advantage of Your Personal Networks
You often don’t have to go far to seek your potential customers. That’s because your personal networks can also be an excellent source to find clients to start up your business.
Your personal networks can be anyone, including your family, friends, your former classmates, colleagues, etc.
So, you can also get support/assistance from your personal networks to increase the number of clients. Hence, advancing your online coaching business.
Summing It Up!
That marks the end of our article on how to start a coaching business online.
Hopefully, now you know how to start an online coaching business after reading this article.
Building an online coaching business might not be as easy as it seems. It might require you to undergo certain trials and errors before your business prospers.
However, with the right approach that we’ve covered above, you’ll be able to make your coaching business successful very soon.
If you think this article was helpful enough to start your coaching business online, don’t forget to share it with your friends.
Also, visit our blog page for articles on the best WordPress LMS themes and LMS plugins.
Lastly, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to remain updated on our latest WordPress articles.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post may be affiliate links. So if you purchase anything using the link, we will earn affiliate commission.
