In one of the recent conversations with fellow coaches, a familiar topic came up – I’ll put it here in other terms, but you get the idea: “How do I monetize my content?” Oh yes, it’s a question I hear often, and on the surface, folks are making it sound like it’s a problem with their “marketing”. I have to be blunt here: most of the time, it isn’t marketing, this goes deeper – waaayyyy deeper.
The people in these conversations aren’t inactive, quite the opposite really. They are regularly posting in LinkedIn, Facebook, updating their blogs on their website, the one or the other writes books that they self-publish. And still, they are getting very little traction. Albeit “likes” and “thumbs up” and even a comment or two-three…
And yet… very little traction. Aside from the few likes (mostly from people they already know), I also see a growing sense of frustration.
Where It Starts to Go Off Track
What I noticed, and this is something I’ve seen many times over the years, is a misunderstanding of what marketing actually is. For most of these folks, marketing has become almost synonymous with social media posting. They’re following the mantra: Post consistently. Show up online. Stay visible. Blah blah blah. What they are really doing is closer to advertising than to marketing … (and not even that, but that is a totally different topic, so we’ll save that conversation for another time…) And so, that’s where their effort ends. And I preach about this: posting is not marketing. And visibility alone is not what creates clients.
The Deeper Issue
There’s another layer to this and it goes much deeper: into the messaging.
Here’s the issue: Many coaches position themselves as being able to help with almost everything. They mix coaching with therapy. They try to be broadly helpful. And in doing so, they become unclear. There is no clear sense of who they are there for; what specific shift they help to create;
When there is no clear sense of:
- who this is for
- what specific shift they help create
- why someone would choose them
then even the best content struggles to land.
Not because it isn’t thoughtful. But because it isn’t anchored.
The Question Beneath the Question
So when someone asks, “How do I monetize my content?” What I hear is something else entirely:
👉 “Do I really know who I am in this work?”
👉 “Do I understand my own story and what shaped me?”
👉 “Can I clearly express the value I bring?”
Because without that clarity, content becomes noise. Even when it’s well written. And with that clarity, even simple content can resonate deeply.
What Actually Creates Clients
Clients don’t come from content alone. They come from connection. From conversations. From moments where someone feels seen, understood, and supported.
Content can open the door. But it doesn’t replace the relationship.
And this is where I often see a gap.
People are working hard to be visible… but staying hidden at the same time.
A Simple, But Not Always Easy Shift
If you’re creating content and not seeing results, here’s one shift that can make a real difference:
Step away from the keyboard and start talking to people.
Not to pitch. Not to convince. But to connect. To listen.To understand what people are actually struggling with. Because marketing, at its core, is not about broadcasting. It’s about understanding and responding.
Final Thought
Content has its place. It can support your work, amplify your voice, and create visibility. But it cannot replace clarity. And it cannot replace connection. So before asking,“How do I monetize this?” it may be worth asking:
👉 “Am I clear enough that someone would want to work with me?”
Because that’s where everything begins.
#MarketingForCoaches #ClientAttraction #PersonalBrand #CoachingBusiness #AuthenticMarketing #DestinySculpting #GrowBoldly #ActWisely #ImpactDeeply
