I bet you think I’m going to talk about apps for tracking your coaching clients here. No! You don’t need that. I’m talking about reasonably priced apps that help you run your business rather than give you more tasks to do.
Every couple of years I announce my favorite apps. But, you know what? My favorites don’t change much because these are the best I’ve found.
I keep my systems and processes for my business ultra simple and think you should too. That means using some old fashioned methods like Excel spreadsheets instead of Trello and emailboxes for clients and more spreadsheets to keep track of clients. Why? Because they work, are free and don’t add a lot of labor.
When I do spend money on my business I’m strategic about it. Check out episode 111 called Smart and Not So Smart Coaching Business Expenses.
If you are just starting out as a coach you’re probably tempted by dozens of apps and systems that target coaches. Many are expensive in the long run and may not seem like it if it’s $10 – 20 month. It adds up. That means less profit for you. You want to guard your profit! Be strategic in all choices for your business.
Some of these apps I’m about to share with you have a free version, which is all you need. Some are paid monthly, some are paid yearly. I pay yearly whenever I can because it’s easier to budget and usually a savings.
Let’s start with a free service:
Canva
What a great app! I remember trying to create graphics in Photoshop. Forget-about-it! The free version helps you create great looking:
- social media memes and banners
- lead magnets
- brochures
- postcards
- letterheads
- info graphics
Among other things, I use it to create my podcast episode art. I have templates for the different sizes needed for different social channels stored in Canva that I just copy, replace the title of my episode and the image. In a few minutes I’m done.
Yes, you can get the paid version but it’s an unnecessary cost. Rather than use the images offered in Canva, I upload my own which cost 1/10th of the monthly price of Canva Pro. I get my images from Deposit Photos.
Deposit Photo
I recommend that all coaches have a content strategy such as a blog, YouTube videos or a podcast (my personal favorite). You put out valuable bite-sized content like clockwork each week that is highly relevant to your target audience. It’s called generosity marketing.
Not sure how to do that yet? Listen to Episode 75 about how to produce content that gets engagement.
Your weekly content should also relate to your Signature Program as much as possible so you pre-sell ideal coaching clients on that program in a subtle non-salesy way. And, each weekly offering needs a graphic or photo that shares the title so you can post your content on social media channels and other places.
Deposit Photo is a low cost source of excellent royalty free photos, videos, vector images and illustrations. Sure there are free images out there. But honestly, I can tell who is using the free stuff. The quality just isn’t there. Royalty free isn’t completely free. You just don’t have to pay for repeated usage.
Every year Deposit Photo has a Black Friday special where you can get 50 images for $29 through AppSumo. That’s a great deal. But lately, I’ve seen monthly deals offered directly by Deposit Photo too.
Aweber
An Email Campaign Company is a service that helps you manage email addresses of subscribers and get your messages out to people who have trusted you by opting in on your website for your free offer, also called a lead magnet.
You email leads list is your community for your coaching business. You’ll want to build a community on social media too but when people visit your site it’s a good idea to have a lead magnet there so you can get them on a list that you control.
This type of service helps you:
- manage email addresses of people who have opted in for your free offer
- automates everything so you save time
- build trusting relationships with followers
- review statistics that help you improve
- and get your emails delivered in a way that meets regulations – yes there are laws about emailing
There are dozens of these services. No doubt you’ve heard of Mail Chimp and Constant Contact. Some get more technical and costly up the scale, which you do not need at startup.
For a startup coach I suggest a relatively inexpensive and easy to use service that has services you can grow into. My hands down favorite is Aweber (affiliate link).
It’s been around a lot longer than most Email Marketing Services. Here’s why I LOVE them:
- Customer Service
- Customer Service
- Customer Service
I’m the kind of person who wants a person I can talk to in real time if I need help. Most tech companies don’t share their phone number or at best only have an online chat. If they do let you speak with someone you reach an overseas call center. And your problem takes 3x longer to fix than it should.
Whenever you call Aweber you get to a highly trained person within a minute or two who will help you right now in one phone call.
They’ll patiently teach you how to use their systems so it’s easy peasy. And no one says anything like: “I understand your needs, Miss Rhonda.”
The other reasons I like Aweber is:
- They are highly respected by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) so emails from them get priority delivery.
- They constantly improve their systems in a user friendly way. There’s never that feeling of disconnect between the way their online tool works and the way you think it should work.
- Aweber is comparable in price to Constant Contact.
- And, Aweber integrates extremely well with WordPress.
Aweber does have a free service BUT it does not include customer service so I recommend the lowest paid version.
LastPass
I don’t know how people do without a password app like LastPass. I probably have over 200 passwords for my business and home life. And security is critical in the current hacking environment online.
So this app creates and stores secure passwords and makes it super easy to get into everyplace online both on your laptop and phone with one master password that allows you to access all other passwords. I could not live without this app!
TimeTrade
There are places to spend the big bucks (your website) and places not to. When you find a tool that does an excellent job serving your needs and keeps your overhead low, that’s a place to save.
I came across TimeTrade over a decade ago and I continuously sing its praises. Why do I love it so?
- Customer Service – They quickly solve challenges with local, positive and knowledgeable support.
- It integrates with Google or iCal calendars so you’ll never double book.
- It’s exactly what I need, no more or less.
Bonus Apps for Coaches Who Want to Podcast
If you’re thinking about starting a podcast or have one consider having your podcast host be Buzzsprout, (affiliate link) I have genuine affection for the people who run this fun company. Libsyn is the most well known. But sometime most well known means they slack on their customer service and more.
The other is Headliner for creating short audiograms that have a snippet of your episode and the episode art presented as a video with a transcript traveling across as it’s played. I use the free version.
By the way, I have an episode for you if you’re questioning whether to start a podcast. Find it at prosperouscoach.com/145.
Okay, those are the services that all coaches need!