by
Phil Beene, co-founder / nudge
In this post we’ll discuss the challenges of setting up a group coaching program online, why the best online community platforms can help, and which one might be right for you.
So many coaches, consultants and creators we talk to each week - the people like you who want to share unique knowledge and guidance with the world - see the potential of sharing your expertise through group coaching programs, but are finding it hard to manage the online tools involved.
Depending on what you’re using to engage your audience, the workflows involved can get pretty complex, pretty quickly,
We talk to subject matter experts frustrated by the low completion rates of their online courses, coaches struggling to piece together solutions to work with clients remotely, consultants ripping their hair out trying to keep track of communications with clients from text messages, to email threads, to social media... the list goes on.
The point is, it’s not just you… It turns out it’s pretty complicated to share your knowledge, keep track of progress and communications, and foster relationships with clients, all while working remotely.
Short of having the money to hire developers and build your own coaching app, it’d been tough to create a coherent, cohesive coaching experience from scratch.
So if this intro speaks to a challenge you’re familiar with, I hope this post will help you start to narrow in on a group coaching model, and a growing category of community management platform that might just make life a little easier for you.
So let’s dig into some of the challenges and see if we can’t turn them into opportunities in your efforts to monetize your expertise.
How most online and group coaching programs are cobbled together today.
Many of the ‘online coaches’ I know feel like they’ve had to either hire tech talent or become technologists themselves to really make their businesses work online.
“Making it work” means integrating a web of systems such as Facebook Groups, email automation, online course platforms, and more to deliver online programs and engage clients… the list goes on.
Even if you’re lucky enough to have the money to hire someone to build this integrated delivery system for you, the resulting experience for clients often isn’t ideal.
Let’s explore a couple of the most common tools we see people using to cobble together group coaching programs online today, Facebook Groups and Online Courses...
Building an online coaching program around a Facebook Group
Let’s start with a common example:
We’ve seen A LOT of coaches weaving together a Facebook Group, with automated email sequences using tools like Zapier and email marketing tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc..
In general, it’s pretty cool when you can link all this together and make it work.
But what does it mean for you?
Managing your programs across multiple communication channels like this can lead to a lot of stress…
“Did I message that person in Facebook already? 😬”
“Crap, did I not send that email yet? 😬”
“Wait, are we sure this isn’t going to spam? 😬”
Meanwhile, the clients in your Facebook Group might be paying more attention to the onslaught of ads, messages, videos and other little distractions... Your group? Maybe not as much.
For better or worse, the greatest minds of my generation are paid buckets of money to write the algorithms that deliver ‘the right ads’ to steal away the attention of your clients when you hope they’re engaging in your group on Facebook.
To put it another way… if you are paying for ads, you are Facebook’s customer, and they are building primarily with you in mind.
And thus, if you are running a Group to engage people, you will always be a second-class citizen.
(If you’ve run a Facebook Group in the last couple of years you’ve probably noticed Facebook’s platform updates tend to be pretty frustrating - this is why)
I talked more about this with our friends Kathleen and Karen on the Wellness Business Podcast if you want to deep-dive on Facebook changes and online coaching.
This is all-to-say, Facebook is an incredible place to reach people and grow your audience. But if you want to deliver a high-value program, it might be time to look elsewhere.
Using online courses to deliver your coaching program.
Another way some coaches, consultants and creators have tried to monetize their programs is by simply building them into online courses with platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc.
These platforms are great at what they do. They let you build your videos into a traditional course.
But where they aren’t as strong is giving you the tools to engage those learners as they go to guide them through the experience and keep them on track.
In my experience, this is ACTUALLY what most people need.
They have the whole internet to find the knowledge they’re looking for. They need YOU to guide them through it and help them translate that information into action in their lives that brings them real value day-in and day-out.
So while you can make decent money slinging online courses if you have a big enough audience, it’s really tough to make it the foundation of a sustainable online business.
#1 - Online courses are typically one-time transactions. It takes selling A LOT of people that one course to build a business. Recurring revenue is the foundation of most sustainable coaching businesses (including group coaching programs).
#2 - The dirty little secret of online courses is that completion rates can be pretty low. Like single-digits as a percentage low. The reason is what I mentioned above. People need guidance and accountability. That ‘stickiness’ in most programs comes from the coaching relationship more than the content.
So in the end, online courses aren’t engaging enough for people who care about getting their clients results.
If what you’re doing feels more like a ‘course’ than a ‘coaching program’ then one trend I can really get behind is the shift to Cohort-Based Courses, i.e. running a group of learners through the course together in live sessions and engaging them as a community.
Tiago Forte, David Perell, and Jack Butcher are three hugely successful examples to imitate, and this is exactly how we run Program Builder Mastermind.
To me, these are basically Group Coaching Programs under a different name, but the point is they can be highly impactful, effective and engaging when done.
What group coaching online should look like.
Group coaching SHOULD be so valuable because it combines the personal accountability of a coaching relationship (the best way to help people reach goals) with exactly what the internet does best… Bringing people together into communities around their shared values and experiences.
The result is that you can now deliver programs, provide personal feedback, and create great client experiences at a far greater scale than ever before.
And you can do it effectively even at scale (especially with the right tools).
This is one of the reasons I believe online coaching will be the next wave in the fast growing creator economy that helps independent creators turn their knowledge into recurring revenue businesses… but I digress…
The rest of this post will briefly introduce you to a handful of tools that you may or may not already be familiar with.
The common denominator is that these dedicated community platforms can help you more easily set up and manage a group coaching program yourself. Especially, the online community component.
I’ve also added a brief bonus discussion of the pros and cons of creating your own private community with a dedicated platform like these at the end of the post if you’re still considering which direction to go…
Best online community platforms to consider for your group coaching program.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of community platforms (here’s a good one if you want a longer list), but it is curated to include the best tools available to fit the needs of online coaches, consultants and creators who want to build connections, and create community in one place.
And we’ll start with the one we obviously love (and yes, we are biased here)...
Nudge Coach
Nudge Coach is more coaching app than community platform at heart. But when you sign up to customize a coaching app for your clients using the Nudge Coach platform, creating a private Community for group coaching clients is as simple as flipping a switch.
And if you do work hands-on with clients in your programs to help them build habits, stay on track and reach goals, then Nudge Coach is your ideal choice.
The content of your program can also be ‘built-in’ to deliver to clients in automated sequences, and can be adjusted dynamically to create unique experiences for different clients with different needs.
Best choice if any of the following are also crucial parts of your programs...
Personal coaching
Delivering dynamic content for each client
Habit-building
Ongoing accountability
If on-the-go access to a coach is a priority
If you’re just running an online community and group coaching isn’t really your concern, you may find another platform a better fit, but if you do work hands-on with any clients, this is the way to go.
Launching a custom-branded “white label” version of the Nudge apps is also an option if you’re ready to take brand exposure to the next level and scale.
Memberful
Memberful makes it pretty easy to set up a web-based community to monetize membership offerings and manage your audience in one place.
If you want to manage paid communities and your membership plan offerings, collect payments, and engage community members in one place, and a web-based experience is what you’re looking for, then it’s really worth giving Memberful a look.
Best choice if your top priorities include…
a web-based membership community experience
setting up and managing subscription membership plans from scratch in one place (especially if you already use Stripe)
collecting payments and managing the member experience and community in one place, online
bonus: if monetizing a podcast is a priority
Their integration with Stripe to accept payments and manage membership subscription tiers is a nice balance of simple and flexible, and I’d expect their monetization experience to remain a focus because Memberful has been owned by Patreon - a major player that’s led the charge in monetizing content in the creator economy - since late 2018.
Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks beautifully weaves together a website and private online community of your own. And much like Nudge Coach, you can upgrade into a fully branded experience when you’re ready to scale.
If you are just looking to create a great, private online community experience without all the noise of social networks, Mighty Networks is a great option.
They also boast additional tools like the ability to collect payments for traditional online courses, and with the platform integrated right into a landing page builder, you can really create a hub for your online community and learning.
Best choice if you want to include the following...
A simple website/landing page that has the community built right in
A way to sell and deliver traditional online course content
A really nice ‘community-first” social experience for members
It’s a really powerful platform, but there is a lot to have built into one place. That always sounds nice, but it can feel like “too much” and be overwhelming for a lot of people, particularly if you aren’t necessarily in need of all these pieces of functionality.
Tribe.so
The Tribe Platform is basically an embeddable social forum that you can configure how you want and plug directly into a website.
If you like your website and want to ‘bolt-on’ a member login and simple community forum that feels a lot like your own little web-based version of Facebook, this might be what you’re looking for.
Tribe is a great fit if you prefer...
A primarily web-based experience bolted onto your existing website (instead of a free-standing mobile app for example)
Forum-style social features that feel a bit like a Quora meets a Facebook Group
Something highly configurable with just a bit of tech know-how (like installing a widget or code-block)
If you’re still considering whether one of these dedicated community platforms is right for your group coaching structure, here’s a bonus summary of the pros and cons as we see it…
Bonus summary: The pros and cons of your own dedicated community platform.
Again, we’re focused here on the pros and cons of creating your own private or ‘gated’ online com
space feels more exclusive, and thus more valuable. It gives your program that ‘white glove’ feel.
The companies behind the platforms are building FOR YOU. You are their customer so they want to please you. Facebook and other platforms have ad revenues driving their development decisions.
No dealing with ads, noise, and competing for your clients attention. This also connects with data privacy concerns clients may have about larger platforms.
You can really make it your own. Depending on the platform you use, there are typically lots of complementary tools to help you create a truly unique client experience.
While most of the time I think it’s clear this is the right direction to go to build a great online coaching program, there are always trade-offs. Here are a few potential weaknesses and threats you’ll want to plan around...
Potential Cons of dedicated community platforms
There is less exposure on your own dedicated platform and thus it may be harder to grow. That’s the real value Facebook and others bring to the table.
Because you have to find your audience elsewhere and bring them to your platform, it’s more work to onboard and activate new clients
In sum, new client discovery, and onboarding and activation need to become key areas of focus as you get up and running on your own community platform.
When you’re ready for this chapter, my esteemed co-founder Mac Gambill and I give a pretty good primer on onboarding and client activation in this video.
Final thoughts.
Whether you’re a coach, creator, consultant, or just a weirdo expert who wants to share your weirdo expertise with the world online, group coaching might just be the best way to do it.
Done right, group coaching models let you build a sustainable online business with recurring revenue, engaged clients, and hopefully plenty of success stories.
Whether you agree or disagree at this point, I freakin’ love ya for reading this whole post :)
If you have any thoughts or questions share them below.
