168: Smart Apps Your Coaching Business Needs

I bet you think I’m going to talk about apps for tracking your 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. Find the show notes at prosperouscoach.com/168.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:CanvaWhat 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 graphicsAmong 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 PhotoI 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. To read about the other 4 cost-worthy apps for coaching businesses, go here.