What is a professional blogging coach? How do you find the right one?
“Blogging is dead.”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this, and yet the reality is that blogging is alive and well. And while making money blogging is a different game than it was 10 years ago, the truth is that blogging is an ultra powerful way to make a living.
At the same time – blogs fail every day.
And for every blog that shuts its doors, a dozen more are bleeding money every month, as the blogger scrambles to plug the holes. They take yet another course, write yet another affiliate post, and post all day on Instagram – all for the sake of what has become an expensive, exhausting hobby.
There is a way to get off that hamster wheel – or, for a brand new blogger, to never get on it in the first place.
What does a Professional Blogging Coach Do?
A blogging coach is different from a business coach or a marketing coach, in that they are experts specifically in what it takes to launch, grow, maintain, and earn income from a blog.
A traditional business coach is a professional mentor who supports, educates and motivates business owners. They provide recommendations for a company’s vision, growth and goals. Effective business coaches provide motivation but also implement and prioritize strategies to help businesses grow.
A good blogging coach is ALSO a business coach – because blogging is a business, and you need a coach who knows business and marketing. But because blogging is such a unique and technical type of business, you will benefit from the services of a professional coach who is familiar with all aspects of blogging as a business, and blogging to support a business.
They can help with:
- Technical setup help
- Mindset
- Figuring out your target audience, and getting to know your avatar
- Messaging
- Niche, and appropriate blog topics
- Growing an email list
- Writing for visibility and sales (getting blog traffic and page views, build a social following, making sure you’re building an online presence and not just writing arbitrarily)
- Making sure your blog stands out
- Marketing strategy: Social media, Branding, Graphics
- Ways of monetizing a blog and the best ways to monetize yours
- Product development and launching
- Scaling your income as you grow
- Time management
- Monthly goals and accountability
Already think you might benefit from a blogging coach? Go here.
Essential Steps of Working With a Coach
Discovery calls: Before working with someone, I highly recommend doing a discovery call. This is a connection call to make sure you as one of their prospective clients is a good fit for the coach, and that they’re a good fit for you. You’ll also suss out what their program looks like, and then how much it costs. It’s common for coaches not to list their pricing because they need to assess fit and build trust with you. On my discovery calls, I’m also testing to see if I believe in the prospects’ ideas and skills.
Business plans: Once you start working with a coch, you’ll probably develop a loose idea of a business plan. For me and my clients: I usually help them narrow in on the most easily accessible way to make money ASAP. Sometimes this involves monetizing outside of the blog while the blog is growing. Other times we find a new income stream on the existing blog, or just do what you’re already doing better and faster.
Coaching sessions: Make sure you have an understanding on how the coaching calls go. Are they 1:1? Or group? Is there course content? Do you have any support between coaching calls? These are good questions to ask on the discovery call.
Goal setting: your coach isn’t responsible for getting results, but they are responsible for understanding your goals and helping you build the roadmap to a successful blog. What does “success” mean to you? Do you want to be a full-time blogger? Build a side hustle? Or something else?
Personal values: Lastly, you should make sure to hire a coach that aligns with your values. For example, work-life balance is critical for me. I’d rather go a little slower than overwhelm my nervous system.
Technical implementation
New (and even seasoned) bloggers can easily get lost in the weeds of tech implementation. A blog coach knows what you need, what you don’t, and how to get it done so you can focus on what you do best.
Specialized monetization
Making money with a blog is a unique and specialized process – while it has a lot in common with other types of businesses, blogging is its own thing. A blogging coach knows the many, many ways to monetize a blog, and they can use their experience and expertise to help you create an individual approach that will work for you and your readers.
Figuring out what to sell and finding innovative ways to income stack is NOT easy.
You need to figure out how to stack your income without diverting from your purpose and your passion, and this is truly, truly challenging to do on your own, without guidance.
Standing out and getting ahead
Blogging is not only not dead – it’s a crowded field. A blogging coach can help you stand out from the crowd, bringing in traffic and revenue far more quickly and effectively than you would on your own. Getting established and making money from a blog doesn’t have to take forever – but bootstrapping everything on your own isn’t the most efficient route to success.
Who needs a blogging coach?
The short answer is: bloggers. Bloggers need a blogging coach. But seriously, anyone who is intending to make money by blogging can greatly benefit from a blogging coach.
There are a few types of content creators that might want a coach to help them grow their blog (detailed below).
A more accurate answer regarding who needs a blogging coach is: content creators. Content creators make money by creating written, video or graphic content via blogging, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Clubhouse, or otherwise. And anyone who wants to monetize as a content creator may benefit from having a blogging coach.
That said, make sure you understand the specialty of the potential blog coaches you talk to.
Some bloggers use the word “blogging” to specifically refer to monetizing a WordPress blog with ads and affiliates alone. While others use the word “blog” to refer to their content marketing business.
Some blog coaches’ specialty is far too narrow to truly help you with business coaching. If you’re looking for a little help with a traditional blog, then that’s fine. But if you’re looking for business and monetization strategies as a whole, make sure you work with someone more experienced.
Who needs a blogging coach: The beginner who wants to fast track
Beginning bloggers don’t usually think of hiring a coach. However, having a blog coach early in your journey can be extremely helpful for expediting progress, removing barriers, and having a clear path to monetization EARLY in your blog journey (instead of waiting years.)
This differs from the track of typical beginner bloggers. They usually follow a predictable pattern, with some variations:
1. Bootstrapping
In this stage, new bloggers do absolutely everything themselves. It’s them, Google, and YouTube tutorials against the world. Depending on the blogger’s personality, this might work for a while, or they might get stuck very quickly.
2. Free groups and workshops
Free blogging groups, usually on Facebook, can be insanely helpful. The best groups have lots of free trainings and resources, and experienced members who don’t mind answering questions.
Free workshops and seminars also abound online, and some of them are more useful than others.
The downside is that in groups with no real leadership, misinformation and bad advice abound. It’s almost impossible for a new blogger to cut through the noise to get the pearls. Because of that, be careful to choose Facebook groups that are mindfully led by someone who knows their stuff.
3. Paid courses
If progress feels slow or stalled, bloggers might start to sign up for paid courses.
These range in price from very cheap to multiple 4 figures. Courses are great, and some bloggers have launched very successful businesses using them. It’s more common, though, to fall into a pattern of continuing to buy more and more courses to fill in gaps, address why growth isn’t happening, or even just to keep things fresh.
If that is happening without the income coming up to support it, a blogger is now dealing with a slow financial bleed.
The Better way – 1:1 blogging coaching or group coaching
Before they get to the point of hiring a coach, many bloggers just give up in despair. They start their blog from a place of passion and a desire to help people, but over time many bloggers just feel disheartened and invisible.
They write great posts, claim all their social media accounts, get a few clicks here and there, and maybe even an affiliate sale or two. But that’s about it.
Which, honestly, is really a shame, because by then, many bloggers have built a strong foundation and can start to earn amazing income – sometimes with just a few small tweaks, sometimes with a massive overhaul, but they now have the skills and groundwork in place to take off.
These are just some examples of why blogging coaching can have a huge impact for content creators.
These steps can end up taking years and costing thousands of dollars.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Hiring a coach for your bog or joining a group blogging coaching program sooner can fast track a blogger’s success.
This ultimately saves time AND money.
Who needs a blogging coach: Seasoned blogger who wants to up-level
Not everyone who hires a blogging coach does it because they are struggling.
In fact, bloggers who are already making $500 or more per month are great candidates for a business coach because they have existing momentum to work with, but usually lack clarity on how to leverage it.
Some bloggers enjoy great success, and are ready for the next step. Whether it’s trying a new income stream, hiring a team, refining their message, cranking up traffic, improving paid advertising – there are many ways that bloggers continue to grow and set new goals after they “make it.”
In fact, a blogger who isn’t growing is probably stagnating.
At this stage, bloggers are more used to being in business, and have learned the value of growth and in investing in themselves.
I’ve helped plenty of bloggers go from $0 for years, to finally making money. And I LOVE it. I can see the lightbulbs go off when someone realizes how to make money for the first time.
But most of the crazy testimonials (as high as a $200,000 month) come from bloggers who ALREADY were making money, but just felt stuck. This particular client went from about $5,000 per month to $200,000 (then consistent $30,000) in just 60 days.
Usually: bloggers with an existing audience or income base will be able to able faster than someone getting sales for the first time.
Who needs a blogging coach: Frustrated blogger who wants to get unstuck
Bloggers can get stuck anytime in the blogging journey.
Sometimes you run into a problem you can’t solve. Sometimes, you can’t even put your finger on what the problem is. You just feel stuck in a hamster wheel of cranking out content, taking courses, and never reaching your goals, and you just aren’t sure where the best place to put your energy really is.
A coach can help cut through the confusion, identifying some quick wins and plotting a path to a successful long term strategy.
How a blogging coach is different than taking courses
When bloggers start to struggle, or don’t know what to do next, they often start looking for a course to help them move forward.
Courses can be a good investment for someone who is highly self-directed and is able to figure out how to fill in gaps in information. They are especially good for learning how to do a particular skill.
On the other hand, if you need accountability to follow through, or you want to fast track your success and are comfortable with a higher investment, a coach might be better for you.
Courses
Courses are typically self directed and low-touch. You purchase and work through the material at your own pace. There is usually some method to ask questions, whether through the course platform or in a Facebook group, but for the most part, you are on your own. This is why they come at a lower price point than coaching.
The lower cost appeals, and carries less financial risk.
But, partly because of the lower investment, course students often don’t finish or adequately implement what they are learning.
Coaching
Coaching is far more high-touch than a course. Instead of having a preformulated course of study, your 1:1 coaching experience is tailored around you and your particular needs. That’s one reason that 1:1 clients tend to make very rapid progress.
Your coach has direct access to your business. Unlike a course, they can help you troubleshoot your business at a high level. Also, they can help work out thorny, complex lower level problems (think sorting out issues with sales funnels, ads, or other frustrating issues).
That progress, though, does come with the risk of a greater financial investment; this is a critical part of the decision between course and coach. There is a choice between higher risk for the potential of faster and better progress, or lower risk for slower progress.
How do you know if hiring a business coach for your blog is right for you?
How do you make a decision on whether or not to hire a business coach for your blog?
Deciding if business coaching is right for you can be one of the most intimidating, difficult decisions you make when starting your blog. Hiring a coach is intimidating!
And hiring a coach will require you to change, and to take action. No more excuses, right?
So how do you know if it’s the right time to invest in hiring a coach? Here are some signs that business coaching is for you.
- You need accountability and direction with taking action on your blogging goals
- You make plans but never act on them because of the lack of accountability
- You are making money with your blog, but feel stuck in increasing its income
- You are new to blogging, but want a hands on and high-touch approach for starting
- If the investment feels like a bit of a stretch for you
A quick note on number five: investments in your business like coaching or programs should challenge you, but not devastate you.
Leveling up and growing in your business is always a mix of both mindset and practical action. And that’s why having a coach can be so helpful for your next level.
If you answer yes to any of these, it’s time to take action and level up with your blog!
Hiring a Blogging Coach
If you are new to blogging, Hiring a Blogging Coach is probably not on your radar. If it is – congratulations! You are already ahead of the curve. Hiring a blogger coach will be one of the most rewarding decisions that you make.
The best way to get started in hiring a coach is to determine your goals, and remember that any investment you make should challenge you.
One great reason for hiring a coach instead if buying a course is because or he likelihood that you’ll take action. The accountability and removal of blocks are just two reasons blogging coaching can be so helpful.
How to find a coach for your blogging business
A blogging coach should be highly experienced with blogging – from startup to advanced methods and monetization. This process is a lot like finding a business coach:
Need more support?
If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a comment below.
And, if you are interested in working with me as your blogging coach, book a chat with me at: https://AlisonReeves.Co/strategy-call
