In the last few days I’ve had some super interesting conversations with clients about past experiences with coaches, and have also seen more than two “Instagram Coaches” promoting certain techniques as “Instagram Mistakes” which have made me shake my head:
Because while they may understand their own niche: other business owners, it reminded me that the fertility and women’s wellness niche is very, very different.
From someone who has marketed on both sides of the fence, I can tell you that the fertility and women’s wellness niche requires a very different marketing strategy.
… And this is why… you need to be really careful about who you spend your money on and the results you expect to get with someone who doesn’t truly understand the nuances of your niche.
If you don’t, you could end up not only not growing as fast as you’d like (but possibly even losing money).
The truth is that most of the ‘online coaches’ out there are folks who know how to market to other entrepreneurs and their strategies as a result are things that work there... And not necessarily for your niche if you’re someone who works as a health coach or a life coach for front-end consumers (i.e. everyday Jane).
Just this week I’ve seen two ‘Instagram Coaches” write that sharing any links within your caption is an ‘Instagram Mistake’ and… well… maybe if you’re a business coach, but one of the things I learned back in my earliest days in corporate land is that the average consumer doesn’t understand your jargon.
I’d suggest that about 30% of your ideal customers (if you work in women’s wellness and particularly if your ideal customer is 30 onwards) won’t understand terms like ‘link in bio’ or ‘DM me’ (even though it might sound completely obvious to you).
They probably don’t know that to read a long caption on Instagram they need to hold down the screen or any of the other tips and tricks that you (as an entrepreneur) use as second nature.
As someone with an audience of nearly 20k on Instagram, I’ve had MULTIPLE clients ask me in the comments when I haven’t shared a link (although just make sure it’s easy so they can remember it to type into their browser).
There’s also a trend (I say trend loosely as loss leaders is a marketing strategy that has been going around for a long time) that promotes selling a $27 product via Facebook Ad (and getting leads for free yaaaayyy).
What you’re not told though (regardless of what niche you’re in) is that these products are only designed to break even (not make money - unless you have another 3 or so products on the backend that you then sell to customers) but… everyone drinks the kool-aid and decides to create a mini product.
Here’s where that product won’t work for you if you’re a fertility coach who is just getting started: it relies on general interest targeting on Facebook… of which Facebook earlier this year removed ALL options. So unless you already have an email address and social media following that you can leverage to find people - you’re going to be completely taking a stab in the dark, and likely lose money.
And aside from the fact that it’s hard for a business-to-business coach to understand what it’s like to market within women’s wellness and understand terms like PCOS and TWW (i.e. the jargon your ideal audience DOES understand.. Just that your coach doesn’t), it’s also really important if you’re starting, growing or scaling your business, to work with a coach who understands (or can very quickly understand your ideal audience just as much as you do).
Because… what I’ve also seen happen within the industry is a call to always talk about a client’s dream state. For a business owner it’s easy: what does freedom or money or time look like to your ideal client? But for someone who is navigating infertility…. Seeing ads or promotions of people with babies and constantly spruiking ‘get pregnant,’, I’ve found can erode trust, feel triggering and actively repel your clients.
For a client with cancer, telling them they can reverse their cancer… or even just telling them that it’s going to be all fine - can be equally invalidating and… well… stanky.
It requires elegance and sensitivity that you’ll generally not see from someone unless they have an intimate knowledge of wellness marketing.
It is SO much easier working with someone who knows exactly what works and what doesn't for your business AND who has successfully done it... Rather than someone who just knows how to market to other businesses.
It's different. And it matters. And nope, not all strategy is the same.