Consulting or Coaching

This is an excerpt from How to Make a Living with your Writing, out now in ebook, print and audiobook editions.

If you are regularly producing content on a topic that educates, inspires or entertains, you will attract people who want to pay for your expertise in person.

One of the easiest ways to make initial income online is to offer your services.

You don't need to write a book or learn video and audio skills. You can just put up a page with Hire me, or Book me, or Work with me and then include what you're offering and a button to buy now or directions to PayPal the money to you.

Here are some tips for coaching and consulting services based on my own experience:

Be clear what you're offering

On your sales page, go through what your session will include and how payment works.

Is this a one-off session or a series of sessions.
How long will each session last?
Is it recorded?
Are there extra components? What is the rate?

Here's an example of a coaching page from my friend Mark McGuinness: www.LateralAction.com/coaching

Include testimonials on your sales page

Work for free with your initial clients and get testimonials from happy customers as social proof that you know what you're talking about. If you offer super value, you'll also get word of mouth referrals over time.

If you're overwhelmed with too much work, put your rates up

I started out with consulting on self-publishing for quite a low hourly rate a few years ago but then it got too busy as my profile grew so I put my rates up over time. I no longer do consulting anymore but this principle is a good way to ensure that you get a high quality of client who is willing to put in the work.

Use a questionnaire and get the client to articulate what they want before the session

After payment, I used to send the client a questionnaire and use that to prep the session. It's important to find out what they want, what their expectations are, and how to provide value, although it's also good to question the assumptions within their request.

Don't be afraid to turn down a client if they don't fit your expertise. Recommend others in the niche who might serve them better instead.

Use Skype to record the call for a value-added experience

I used to do my consulting over video Skype. This brings a personal aspect to the call, and sometimes you need that body language view to really understand what's going on with people. You can also get a real rapport going.

I recommend using eCamm Call Recorder for Mac, which I still use for my podcast interviews, or you can use Pamela for PC to record the call. They are both reasonably priced and you can then send the client a recording of the call afterwards, as well as any extra notes.

What can you offer in terms of a coaching, consulting or other service?