Coach & Consultant Marketing: An Interview with John Agno

As a follow up to my post about using keywords to get organic search results from writing on the web, I want to show you an example of an independent professional who is getting great results from his content marketing, John Agno.

Nothing speaks louder than someone who "gets it." John has been using quality content to generate search results, get known, get found, and attract great clients on the Web.

I met John at a coach training event way back, oh, it must have been in 2000, I think. He consistently provides quality content and information that serves to build his credibility and expertise, and build relationships with readers and clients.

I interviewed John and share his words of wisdom here. Please take some time to check out his blogs and subscribe to his newsletter.

Q: John, tell us what your profession is, and who your typical clients are.

A: As a certified executive and business coach, my typical client is a 40+ year-old working through their mid-life career course correction to move from a competitive warrior frame of mind to a statesman leader mind set.

Q: What marketing tools do you use on the Web?

A: As an industry infomediary, I send out a weekly ezine to about 1,700 subscribers to the Coach to Coach Network and Assessment Industry Network. I also send out a leadership tip on a pressing business problem to about 6,000 subscribers each week.

I have two major blogs: The Leadership Blog at www.CoachingTip.com and Baby Boomer Life Tips at www.SoBabyBoomer.com

My website URLs are:
www.MENTORINGandCOACHING.com
www.CoachThee.com
www.SelfAssessmentCenter.com
www.LifeSignature.com
www.CoachedtoSuccess.com
www.TellBoss.com
www.LeadershipTip.com
www.SalesTip.info
www.WomanLeadership.com

Q: What kinds of content do you use to market your business?

A: The thread that flows through my executive and business coaching practice is “leadership”…..helping clients learn how to become effective leaders in their business, community and personal lives. Moving from the competitor/warrior stage to the leader/statesman stage is important and rewarding.

In today’s interdependent global economy, we can help our employees, neighbors and countrymen develop inclusion as a core leadership competency.

However, we must understand what leadership is and how to develop commitment within organizations and in a world of "free agents" and "volunteer" talent.

The content for the blogs tend to be ‘leadership tips’ while the website landing pages provide a string of short articles, links, quotes, etc. to help the visitor explore the subject in greater depth.

Q: What sources, besides your own, do you use to find content?

A: Authors send me their books to review in my blogs, I purchase content on leadership elements and condense content of interest from articles that appear in a variety of publications from The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek magazine to The New Yorker and Website magazines.

In the fashion of Andy Rooney of 60 minutes, I receive a lot of mail full of content that I sort out for relevance, condense and send out in my infomediary role to targeted audiences.

Q: How much of yourself, your personality, your own experiences do you include?

A: Everything that I gather and distribute is filtered through my perception of how the world could work and in line with what I deem important and relevant to my target audiences. This filtering process creates a global market presence for me and my coaching practice; by illustrating how I think and feel about these subjects of interest that are presented.

Creating these “loose connections” with readers around the world gives them an excellent picture of who I am and delivers some clues as to what I might bring to them through a coaching relationship. When they are ready, willing and able to select or refer someone they know to a coach or mentor, I have a good chance of being on their ‘short list.’

Today, I coach executives and business owners, who have found me or been referred to me, from Shanghai to Manhattan.

Q: What kinds of results do you see from your online content?

A: The process is people find me by doing a search on the Internet for a subject of mutual interest (where I am quoted or linked to or have placed an AdWords advertisement). They sign up for FREE or low-cost leadership coaching tips on one of my blogs or websites and the relationship begins. Since coaching is self selecting, they individually determine how close of a relationship they want or can afford to have with me. Whatever they decide works for me.

I might mention here that when the website visitor continues to look broader or deeper into the subject of interest they have read on one of my websites, there is a good chance they will click on an AdSense advertisement. Each time that happens, I get paid a few cents from Google that adds up over time to pay for all of my company’s Internet advertising expense.

Q: What advice would you give to others in your profession about using content for marketing?

A: Their market is no longer limited by geographical boundaries. The Internet has indeed changed everything. To surf the Internet wave, it is important to have an interactive blog (the new website) that allows anyone around the world to engage in a conversation with you regarding a subject of mutual interest.

When you create a distinct market presence for who you are and what you do, you begin to attract others of similar interest to you. The old saying that ‘birds of a feather stick together’ has never been more true.

Coaches and consultants: Get high quality content for your ezines and blogs. Go to Content for Coaches and Consultants to get professionally written articles for your publications.
www.ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com