I've been running a paid newsletter in Rotterdam for about a year. 800 subscribers, conversion to paid is low, maybe 40 pay around €7/month. I coach people one-on-one on top of that. The issues is my calendar: I have maybe 10 discovery calls a month, 2-3 turn into clients. That's fine but fragile. When I miss two weeks of writing, the calls dry up. I'm not sure if I should be doing more outreach or fixing the funnel. What did you actually do that worked - and what did you get wrong? I don't want another rah-rah post, I want the mistakes too.
What actually worked for you to get coaching clients? Lessons, mistakes?
6 replies
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0Anika MarstersProductivity Coach · Course CreatorsNew Zealand·Growing Team·3d ago
The uncomfortable thing first: 10 discovery calls to close 2-3 is fine, but your problem isn't the funnel. It's that you're the funnel. One year in and still writing every post yourself? That doesn't scale, and you're already seeing it - miss two weeks and the calls stop. That's not a client acquisition problem, that's a delegation problem you're calling acquisition. When I hit this stage I started by hiring a part-time editor to turn my voice notes into content. It wasn't great for six months. Conversion dropped. I nearly fired her. But the calls kept coming when I got sick, which they never did before. Your real decision isn't outreach vs funnel. It's whether you're willing to let someone else be worse at your voice than you are, for a while, so the whole thing doesn't rest on your writing weeks. If the answer is no, then yes, it's fragile, and it will stay fragile. If yes, start with one piece of the process - the repurposing, the editing, the scheduling - and measure whether calls hold steady when you step back.
0Kwabena AsanteContent Strategist · sponsorship & adsGhana·Exploring·3d ago
Following this. I'm in a similar spot with a smaller list. Would love to hear what worked for others.
0Leo LeeInstructional Designer · Professional Education BusinessesUnited Kingdom·Scaling·3d ago
Have you tested a paid workshop as a step between newsletter and 1:1?
0Miguel AquinoFinancial Coach · paid newsletterPhilippines·Exploring·3d ago
Just raise your prices. If the conversion is low, you're not charging enough to attract serious clients. Worked for me.
0Chebet WanjalaInstructional Designer · retainer consultingKenya·Scaling·3d ago
What's your open rate and what's the offer in the newsletter?
- 0Anika MarstersProductivity Coach · Course Creators
New Zealand·Growing Team·3d ago
Kwabena's question matters. If your open rate is under 30%, the issue is list quality, not funnel. If it's over 40%, then it's the offer. I'd look at where the drop-off is before changing anything.
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