Speaking helps build credibility. When you speak to a group, organization, or audience— whether niche-marketed or general—you create credibility for what it is that you do.  You are using one of the most basic tools that we as human beings possess; and that is communication.  The power and gift of effective, engaging, compelling communication is not to be overlooked or underestimated.  It provides benefit for the listener in whatever it is that you’re sharing with them; it serves your need to promote your products or services; and on a very subtle level it builds community and connection, reminding us that we all have the same basic needs and that we can help one another to fulfill them.

By using the gift of speech to convey your message to a population of people who might otherwise not know of your group coaching program, you not only establish yourself as a presence in their mind, but you’re actually building your reputation and credibility as a business or entrepreneur that offers the world something of value.

Here are more ways to promote and grow your group coaching business by speaking:

Be Niche Specific
Have a specific area of expertise. Clients will not want to hear that you can cover any topic that they need. Being good at many things is not as impressive as being great at one thing. Find a need and fill it.

Target your Market
Your niche tells you who you are selling to. Think of your general market and consider what problems you can solve for them. The answers to this will give you content for the future and specify what you are currently working with.

Give Benefits not Features
Illustrate how your content can help your audience, not what is great about your ideas. People want to know what is in it for them. Take your objective and apply it to your potential client.

Give Away your Ideas
Draw traffic to your website with free downloads. If you don’t have an online presence, you can opt for a written document as a handout. However, hard-format allows audiences to put it to the side and forget it, plus you miss the internet browsers. Create definite action by collecting their leads before you give away a paper that contains detail of your work.

Be a person of action. Share with us how you have used or will use these tips to grow your group coaching business. If you want more information on how to speak and grow your business, check out my CD/DVD entitled "Speak to Grow Your Business: The Formula to Speak Your Way to Millions." How have you used the power of your voice to grow your business?

DeLores Pressley, Professional Speaking Expert

DeLores Pressley is an international keynote speaker, author, life coach and the Founder of the Born Successful Institute and DeLores Pressley Worldwide. DeLores has spoken to more than 107,000 people in over 65 major cities and countries. She has been interviewed on America’s top rated shows including, OPRAH and Entertainment Tonight. She produces Speak for Hire, an educational program teaching entrepreneurs, speakers and coaches how to speak and grow their business. More about DeLores

Ever found a dollar bill on the ground? Pretty exciting, huh?

Would you like to find a hundred dollar bill… or even a thousand dollar bill?

You don't have to loiter in the bank parking lot hoping someone will drop a large bill. Just go back and review your blog's comments over time. There is money scattered all over the comments section of your blog!

Here are five easy ways to profit from your blog's comments.

1. Notice when a blog post strikes a nerve
Example: A relationship coach writes an article about becoming the person you want to meet. She gets a dozen comments from people saying that they want to take her advice and are trying, but each commenter is struggling to achieve that. That coach could take the questions that are being asked in those comments and create a four-week coaching program with those commenters in mind as her ideal learners. The commenting system even makes it possible for her to reach them to follow-up and gently make sure that they know about the program!

2. Use your comments as a filter for topics
Are you writing about a range of topics? Suppose you are a life coach who writes about productivity, work-life balance and self-care. All wonderful topics but there is a strong likelihood that if you review your posts and comments over time, you'll notice trends that certain topics evoke more responses than others. If your productivity posts generate lively discussions and lots of "thank you" comments, use that as a cue that your audience wants more than just posts on that topic. You could host a quarterly productivity check-in call that could generate a low-stress stream of income for you - and probably inspire lots more blog post ideas, too!

3. Recognize what doesn't work
No matter how good a writer you are, some topics may never get any traction in the comments. Maybe the topic isn't consistent with your brand or you don't bring the same energy to it. If the blog audience doesn't love it, then you might struggle to find program customers, too.

4. Test a topic in your blog
Experimenting with topics in your blog is a great way to find out what resonates with your audience. Before investing a lot of time and resources into developing and marketing a class or product, try blogging about it for a while. Not only is it a great way to create content that you can later use in your program, but it will help you probe the interest of your readers.

5. Engage with your commenters
Comments are often quite short but tantalizing. Sometimes you can reply to a comment with something as simple as "I'd like to learn more from you about your idea" to foster a constructive conversation. It's always valuable to thank your commenters, too.

Your blog is a big part of your marketing effort as a coach. Try mining your comments as a way to painlessly convert that investment into a handsome return.

Laurie Foley, Blogging Expert

Laurie Foley has been helping people and organizations thrive online for more than 15 years. Resourceful and intuitive, she's an online business coach and dedicated guide for those who want to create meaningful work and amplify their message. Besides writing as Group Coaching Mastery's Blogging Expert, you can find Laurie at http://lauriefoley.com and on Twitter as @lauriefoley.

Anchovies?!?

Did that make your mouth water? Then you know what it feels like to want something that is a little outside the mainstream. People who like anchovies on their pizza crave the unusual flavor of those tiny, salty fish. Sure, they might order one without anchovies, but they're much more likely to enjoy their favorite pizza along with other people who enjoy anchovies.

And isn't that what we're after with a strong blog for your group coaching program - writing that makes people crave a focused, beneficial experience?

Any coach can offer a life purpose or a career improvement coaching group - but what about a life purpose group for atheists? Or a career development group for people who are retiring? These combinations might even sound a little contradictory, but I can guarantee you that there would be eager participants in both groups.

Your blog can reflect your "anchovy" by featuring articles that appeal to the special needs of your group. Do the atheists need resources for life purpose that don't have a religious tone? Perhaps, they need meditation techniques that are void of spiritual overtones. Do the soon-to-be-retired need information about careers that offer flexibility for travel during retirement? They may need ideas about how to combine caring for older parents with juggling work.

Here's the great news about appealing to a special group: the blog posts are MUCH easier to write! Your group's needs are obvious and specific when the anchovy is the priority. The first suggestion I give any blogger is to learn how to "write tight." That means you should make one strong point per post and make the intention of the post clear. It can be very difficult to do that when writing about broad topics. Writing about your anchovy helps you jump that first "write tight" hurdle with ease.

image credit: roland

What's your anchovy? What makes people crave your group coaching experience? How can you imagine "writing tight" about your anchovy?

Laurie Foley, Blogging Expert

Is your online presence energizing you or overwhelming you? Laurie Foley is an online presence coach who helps people and organizations thrive online. With more than 25 years of technology experience and 15 years as an entrepreneur, she is a resourceful and intuitive guide for creating a strong personal brand. Besides writing as Group Coaching Mastery's Blogging Expert, you can find Laurie at http://lauriefoley.com and on Twitter as @lauriefoley.