How Coaches Can Use Audio to Reach More Clients

You can't avoid it in conversation, on the news or on the web: there’s a recession, and while the federal government is trying to find ways to fix it quickly, smart business owners know that the solution isn't coming from the capitol...it's coming from us. It’s up to us to do what small and medium-sized business owners have always done...get smart about spending our money in order to expand the reach of our offerings.

Currently the industries that are seeing a normal amount of revenue are the recession-proof ones: auto mechanics, plumbers, liquor stores, crime-prevention, etc. The industries that are seeing growth are the ones to whom out-of-work people turn when they're looking to improve their skills, their image, or explore other options in employment. Life coaches, sales coaches, business coaches, and speech coaches are all in demand right now as the unemployment numbers rise and people look for ways to stand out and get hired or re-tool for the next career option.

At the same time, coaches are searching for ways to help more people without having to add more hours to their workday. That's where using audio teaching tools can be helpful to both the coaching community and to the unemployed, making for a win-win situation.

Re-purposing existing written materials makes adding audio teaching tools a quick solution. One idea is to take coaching articles and turn them into audio e-courses. Perhaps a coach wants to beef up a newsletter subscription list. If so, offer a series of weekly audio tips for job-hunters and send them out as a bonus in exchange for email addresses. This is a great way to build a newsletter subscription base and a loyal following of potential clients, and to remind them to re-visit the coaching site for more good information. Some coaches are even building secure log-in areas to their websites and offering online audio/PowerPoint training, with weekly or monthly telephone coaching in addition to the e-course. And coaches who've written books can quickly have audio books produced, meaning even more people can be exposed to their training and helpful information.

There are many methods that coaches can use to re-purpose existing tools, increase the number of clients they can service effectively, and increase their bottom line.

A few things to think about if you're a coach and are considering the addition of audio products to your offerings:

1. Hire a professional. One way to know if they know audio is to ask at what bit rate they’ll be recording and saving. Recording should be at 32 bits and saving should be at 160 kb per second. The lower the bit rate, the worse the audio will sound. For instructional audio, it's important that the quality of the audio doesn't distract the user from being able to learn the intended message. You want audio in mp3 format that sounds nearly as good as if the person was in the room with you, and a high bit rate is the way to accomplish that.

2. Use music in the opening and closing segments of each recording. It makes the presentation sound polished and gives the listener confidence that the coach is one of the top in the field.

3. Never offer any piece of audio that doesn't include a way for the listener to find you and your website. That should always be in the closing segment, and sometimes in the opening segment, as well. Your audio products should always contain your branding and contact information.

The above suggestions are just a few of the many ways coaches can take existing tools and monetize them while increasing the reach of their coaching business. If you go the audio route, good luck and get set to watch your revenue stream rise.