Kind Suggestions
One or two very kind people have recently suggested I think about becoming an Internet Marketing coach. Wow – I'm flattered.
So I thought for about two minutes…. what would be involved?
Preparing videos, training materials, sales materials…. my head hurts already and, as a part-timer, I'm barely keeping up with blogging! How would I ever find time to add a coaching offering into my already over-crowded life?
It's not that I'm lazy, I'm not – but I really feel I can point people in better directions. It comes down to what I was saying in my last post: I cannot recommend something I do myself if I genuinely believe someone else will do a better job.
Yes, I have accumulated a decent level of skills and experience in my years online, and I enjoy sharing them here, and hope people learn from them. However when I compare the areas I am good at to the areas that are still “Work In Progress” for me, I would not be comfortable charging people for regular Internet Marketing coaching sessions, because….
You Will Learn More From The Internet Marketing College
Internet Marketing Training College (affiliate link) is a long established Internet Marketing college including one with a recognised diploma where you can find courses on:
- PodCast Mastery
- Internet Marketing Diploma
- YouTube Channel Marketing
- Amazon Best-seller Author Course
- SEO Masterclass
- Webinar Mastery Training Course
- Instagram Tutorials
- Funnels Mastery Google Adwords Masterclass
- How to Become an Expert In Your Niche
- and more to come….
Free Coaching
However, in recognition that I have a level of expertise in starting an online business that I will readily pass on, I offer a free coaching session to any of my subscribers who are looking to start a part-time online business, and you can learn more about what I offer on my Contact Me page.
On reflection, the term coaching isn't strictly correct – because coaching implies an ongoing relation.
To be more accurate, we would have an exploratory chat, after which it might be that both parties feel there's no common ground, and we would part as friends.
Our chat would probably be more along the lines of “What is the best type of online business for YOU to start” – because everyone has different aspirations, experiences, resources, time and budget availability.
After taking a business college qualification followed by 30+ years of self-employment, running a small business online and / or offline, is something I do feel qualified to chat about.
Coaching or Mentoring?
Going back to the main theme of Internet Coaching, let's explore a couple of definitions.
I start from my own preconception that an Internet Marketing Coach will be someone who can demonstrate, and pass on, skills in a wide range of topics, while encouraging and motivating their client along the journey.
But that doesn't match with the Coaching Academy's definition of coaching (motivational support with general goals or overall development, rather than possessing specific expertise). Their “become a coach” training course specifically warns against passing on your own expertise. The idea is that the client will find their OWN answers rather than taking on board the coach's. Answers you find yourself tend to be more highly valued.
So while YOU and I might expect your Internet Marketing Coach to have a high level of expertise, that expectation is probably closer to “mentorship” where:
Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger, but have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn Ref: Wikipedia
Yes, it's probably splitting hairs, but – taking a strict definition of coaching – your Internet Marketing coach could arguably NOT have as high a level of expertise as you might have hoped.
Caveat Emptor!
If you are expecting mentorship from a coach, i.e. the passing on of skills, rather than the stricter definition of coaching as “motivational and empowering from someone who doesn't necessarily possess the skills themselves”, you need to explore exactly how much success your coach has had in the area(s) you want to specialise in.
These could be:
- Product creation
- Affiliate marketing
- Network marketing
- Becoming an Internet Marketing coach yourself
- Marketing a conventional High Street product /service based business
- Blogging (a pre-requisite for any of the above, in my opinion)
I paid a lot of money for a coaching program several years ago – but, although I did learn things from it, knowing what I know now – it wasn't the right program for me at that time. I didn't choose wisely – because I didn't fully know what end result I was hoping to attain. The whole “earn money online” topic was far wider than I had imagined.
Before you choose a program, think very clearly about what your goals and intentions are and check whether they fit in with what your coach is offering.
So with that warning out of the way, I will make some recommendations of coaching programs / mentors.
Where To Get Coaching / Mentoring
I have a very good relationship with one or two Internet Marketing Coaches and I'll happily put you in touch with one of them. But first you and I have to have a chat and see which is the best fit for you.
So please contact me to arrange a free no-obligation coaching session.
Good and bad news…. as my Christmas visitors are firmly entrenched here, leaving me with little time to work until I'm “back to my normal routine” and I put more hours into studying it properly.
My Coaching Experience
Getting back to the main topic of the post, although the coaching academy definition would let me call myself an Internet Marketing coach, I'll come straight out now and say that becoming an Internet Marketing Coach (or mentor) is not in my plans, because I still have so much to learn myself.
Funnily enough one reason I could theoretically call myself an Internet Marketing Coach – now I come to think of it – is that I do have a long-forgotten qualification as a coach with the Coaching Academy mentioned above.
This was as an add-on module to the nutrition consultancy business that led me into Internet Marketing all those years ago, when the original idea of nutrition coaching morphed into coaching “one-person nutrition businesses” who were having difficulty with the transformation from being employed to self-employed.
I was doing this with my partner, also a qualified coach, but he became too ill to work, then sadly died. During his long illness we just didn't want to see clients, and it was about that time I started blogging more about Internet Marketing than nutrition and coaching.
Funny, the twists and turns of fate, but I am happier in the Internet Marketing sector 🙂
