Why Coaches Need a Personal Profile

If you are a coach with any kind of web presence - even if it is just one web page with your contact details - you need a personal profile.

When people find information on you on the web, they want to find out more about you and what you can do to help them and a personal profile can help you communicate this as well as make a more powerful connection with readers.

You may already have an About Us page on your website - and it is also worth considering how much of a sense of you as a coach and as a person is communicated by this page. After all, when people invest in coaching they are investing their trust in you as person and as professional and are looking to make a personal connection.

At first writing about yourself can feel a little egotistical and many people avoid talking about themselves as they fear that this may be viewed as bragging.

But do not let this put you off - your aim is simply to give visitors enough information to get a sense of whether they are open to working with you. Although not everyone wants to know more about you, why disappoint those who do?

Some ways to make your profile more compelling

• Include your photo - this really puts a human face on your service. Most people feel more comfortable seeing the person or people they are thinking about contacting and working with and using your logo instead of a photo can seem impersonal or mysterious, and certainly sends a corporate rather than a personal message.
• Be true to your personality and values in the way you write - the words you use and the things you choose to share - many personal profiles are simply very dry and dull
• Keep what you say short and direct and aim to answer what you think are your readers burning questions.

If you are not sure what to include, why not follow this simple structure?

Your background and interests

Here you could say something about your experience before you were a coach, particularly highlighting experiences relevant to your client group, you can talk about your passions, interests and achievements.

Who you work with

Here you could describe the type of client you tend to work with, what they come to you for and the kind of outcomes they have achieved. You can even include some client testimonials. If you do include testimonials, a photo of the person, and their name, position, and website (if they have one) can give the testimonials more impact.

How you work

Here you could say where you work and how - face-to-face, telephone or by email. You can also let people know how to get in touch with you and how to find out more about you and what you do.

Some people prefer to phone, some prefer email, some even like to visit or write, and some like to do some research online before getting in touch. So, offering a range of options of finding out more about you and how you work will appeal to most people. You can have all these options on your website and a link from you profile to your website.

Finally....

Do not forget to include that all important photo and encourage people to get in contact with you!