Good things can come of bad copy. You’re about to prove that. Use this guide to weed out some of the cardinal copywriting sins from your coaching website copy.
Coach Copy Sin #1: Coach with me
Everyone and their mother is a coach. The word means nothing. Find some other way to describe what you do. Banish labels. Talk about what you do, not what you think you are. Tweet it.
Try this instead:
I wrote here about three ways to talk about what you do, but here’s one quick tip, think about results you’ve helped deliver. Think of instances when you helped someone. Make a list under the heading “Work with me.” These are possible results people get when working with you!
And, here’s some radical advice: Don’t use the word coach. You people sign on to “work” with you.
Coach Copy Sin #2: Find your purpose.
This won’t work because:
When we read this, we glaze over. We’ve seen this way too many times. This doesn’t work because this is a too-general eternal question of life. There’s even a Mark Twain quote about it.
Try this instead:
Write about WHY. Why do I want to find my purpose? Because of the way I imagine it will make me feel once I am there. If you were writing to me (you should be writing to one person in particular, it doesn’t have to be me, you might write something like this:)
Discover the things in life that give you a jolt of energy so powerful you want to Maria Von Trapp that shiz (i.e. sing from the hilltops)
You can see how that has a lot more personality than “Find your purpose” and if you really know your client (me, in this example, you might have an idea that I really love show tunes! Yes, you should know your client this well.)
Coach copy sin #3: Get out of your own way
This won’t work because:
We realize we’re in our own way, otherwise we wouldn’t be thinking about talking to a coach, thus ending up on your website. It’s annoying to hear this.
Try this instead:
Answer these questions: How are you going to help me get out of my own way? What are your methods? What tools do you have for me?
Coach copy sin #4: This is your time
This won’t work because:
I know! This is my time, and I don’t have a lot of it. So stop wasting my time with crappy copy. Just kidding. But, seriously, I know. I want to make the most of my time. So tell me how!
Try this instead:
If you think I connect with the idea that “this is my time” then that’s because I’ve reached the end of my rope and I can’t go another minute without enacting some kind of change. Tap into your understanding of that kind of desperation and write from there. Connect with the emotion of it all.
Coach copy sin #5: Gain clarity
Why this doesn’t work:
Clarity is word like coaching. It means nothing these days. Everyone is searching for clarity, just like everyone is searching for purpose. Blah, blah, blah.
Try this instead:
What happens when I “gain clarity?” What’s possible? What have you witnessed when someone in your sphere has gotten really clear on their mission? What have you experienced yourself? I know some words are coming to me right now…laser focus, drive, motivation, the no-one-can-tell-you-you’re-barking-up-the-wrong-tree kind of confidence.
Coach copy sin #6: …create the life/body/career you want
Why this doesn’t work:
So close, yet so far. We all know what to do to create the life/body/career we want, but we don’t do it. So telling me we are going to work to create it makes me want to give you the finger, or at least walk away and roll my eyes. (Sorry in advance.)
Try this instead:
Talk about how. Again, what do you have for me? Show me the way. Or at least show me that you can show me the way. Tell me about how we’ll work together so I can create the body I want.
Coach copy sin #7: Live your dream
Why this doesn’t work:
Barf
Try this instead:
How will living my dream make me feel? Tap into my inner-most desires by way of how I want to feel when I am living my dream and you’ve got me! I’ll be able to tell you really understand me, and that’s the kind of coach I want to work with!
The word coach doesn’t mean anything anymore. Neither does purpose. Neither does passion. Neither does fulfillment. But the feelings associated with achieving those things are money. Stop using the same words as everyone else to describe yourself and what you do.
Here’s the get out of copy jail clause: You can use these phrases, if and only if, you couple them with a personal story or some kind of emotionally engaging writing. Got it?
Change it up. Connect with emotion. Be specific and stop being a sinner.
