There are several stages in any coaching business and there are appropriate marketing steps for each stage.
The keys to success are planning and taking action.
You cannot stay stuck in the planning phase and have a successful business so do not insist on perfection before you take action.
Take each business development phase one at a time, give it your best effort, evaluate and take the next action.
Launching Pad and Blast Off Stage The first stage is what I call the launching pad and blast off stage.
This is the stage where you design your business and get a clear vision of who you are, what you do, who you serve, what makes you different, and how you serve your clients.
During this stage, it is appropriate to work on marketing issues like name, location, basic internet presence, business structure and beginning client attraction.
It takes time, money, and a ton of work to become an internet empire so remember during the blast off phase your goal is to use the resources of the internet as a small part of your marketing strategy.
What should my site look like? Every coach I know thinks his or her business must have a website right away.
 Many go out and hire a web designer, at great expense, to design an elaborate coaching business website.
 Internet presence is important to any business today but a website is not always the best place to begin.
If you are working mainly in your local market then potential clients will look you up on the web to judge you legitimacy.
Now that presents a bit of a problem because what you want them to see is something professional but many times you have no idea how to go about getting a site or what elements to include.
Look at your individual situation The first step is to look at who your niche market is and where you will find them.
 Do not feel like you need to go out, hire a fancy web designer, and put up an expensive website.
Even some very successful internet marketers do not have fancy website and a website does not have to be flashy or slick to be effective.
Web design is not what you need to be doing at this point in your coaching business.
The emphasis should be on presentations, workshops, and networking during the launching period of your coaching business.
You need to focus on activities that bring in new clients, generate revenue, and give you a successful record of accomplishment and a full bank of testimonials.
Website or Blog, Keep it simple A simple form of either one will do in the beginning.
There is a huge likelihood that you will change your mind and content in a few months so this is not the time to make a large investment in either format.
Websites Websites are static and the information on them does not change very often.
They are great for sharing information about your business and your products.
You can set up a simple website with hosting through many vendors.
Blogs Blogs are more fluid and changing.
Many blogging platforms can look very much like a website.
The biggest difference between a blog and a website is that the information on a blog is updated regularly, in the form of blog posts.
 Most people update the blog posts or information on their blog several times a month even daily.
The advantage of this method is that it makes your blog up to date like a Newsletter.
These updates also bring the search engines around on a regular basis.
Blogs are far easier to set up and can be very adaptable.
They key to success is to plan your marketing strategy and use the marketing tools that are appropriate for the stage your coaching business is in.