Why sending people to LinkedIn instead of your coaching website is keeping your business stuck (and how to fix it)

Picture this. Someone asks, “Where can I learn more about your coaching?”

And instead of giving them your website, you send them to LinkedIn.

Not because LinkedIn is necessarily the best place for them to learn about working with you. But because your website either doesn’t exist yet, or you feel low-key embarrassed to share it.

Maybe you’ve caught yourself thinking:

I don’t want them looking at my website. It’s not professional enough yet.

Or this (said by an actual client!):

I feel completely lost with my website. I tried the DIY route and yeah you can tell 🤣

So you keep sending people to LinkedIn, and it kinda works but you’re left feeling frustrated, embarrassed, and stuck.

You hesitate when someone asks for your website. You hold back from pitching bigger opportunities or reaching out to ideal clients because you’re worried they’ll look you up. And when you’re selling a premium coaching service, you’re sending potential clients somewhere you have very little control over their experience or what they click on next.

But if getting your website figured out feels like A LOT, I get it.

You’re a coach, not a website designer, copywriter, or tech expert!

Your coaching certification probably didn’t include lessons on choosing between Squarespace and WordPress, connecting a domain, writing all the words for your website, setting up scheduling forms, or figuring out which pages your website actually needs.

No wonder LinkedIn feels easier! ;-)

But imagine the difference if, the next time someone asked where they could learn more about you, you thought “OMG I can’t wait for them to see it!” and you were truly, honestly EXCITED to send them to your website. 

You’d have a professional home for your coaching business that clearly explains who you help, what you offer, and what someone should do next. And you could use LinkedIn for what it actually does well → showcasing your professional background and maintaining your network of connections.

Wondering how to get there without turning “I need a website” into a six-month project? Amazing, I’d love to tell you! LOL!

You’ll start with these three strategies.

Strategy #1: Use LinkedIn to Focus on You & Use Your Website to Focus on THEM (Your Clients!)

LinkedIn is naturally built around you.

It has your one decent headshot (lol, I see you!), a snazzy headline (probably your last job title), your credentials and work history. Maybe some of your accomplishments, a few posts and your network of connections.

That’s all good stuff, I’m not gonna lie!

When someone wants to check your professional background to see what you’ve done, or get a sense of your expertise, LinkedIn gives them a tidy place to do that.

But when someone is seriously considering hiring you as a coach, the conversation eventually needs to shift.

Instead of only answering, “Who are you?” you need to help them answer questions like:

• Do you understand what I’m dealing with?

• Can you help me get where I want to go?

• What would working with you actually be like?

That’s where your website shines in a way your LinkedIn profile could nevahhhh! ha ha!

Your website makes your potential client the center of the conversation

Here’s how to do it.

Instead of opening your homepage with something like, “I’m Jane, a certified leadership coach with 20 years of corporate experience,” begin with what your client is experiencing:

“You worked hard to get into leadership. So why does managing your team suddenly feel like the hardest part of your job?”

Or:

“Tired of second-guessing every tough conversation with your team?”

You can start by talking about the problem your ideal client is experiencing right now, and describe what they want instead. You can tell stories of your own and from past clients that help them recognize themselves in your work.

Then you can introduce your coaching as the bridge between where they are and where they want to be.

Instead of presenting a resume and hoping visitors figure out how your experience applies to them, you can intentionally connect the dots.

You can say, in effect:

“Hey, I get it! I understand what you’re going through. Here’s what could be different, and here’s how I can help you get there.”

That creates a much more personal experience for someone who is trying to decide if they feel comfortable enough to reach out to you.

LinkedIn tells people who you are. Your website helps potential clients understand what working with you could mean for THEM.

That’s an important difference.

Inside Coach Liftoff, I write strategic, client-centered website copy for you. We make your potential client and the transformation they’re looking for into a central part of the story, while also establishing your expertise and credibility.

Oh and did I mention you don’t have to stare at a blank page wondering what to write?

Yep, we take care of that for you!

Strategy #2: Your Website Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated to Do Its Job

One reason we see coaches sending people to LinkedIn is that “I need a website” can quickly turn into a gigantic project in their heads. (Cue Julia Roberts here, saying “Big Mistake, Huge!” ha ha!)

Suddenly you think you need:

A new brand. A fancy logo. Professional brand photos. 20 pages. Long-tail SEO keyword research tools. Extensive email funnels with interactive quizzes. Complicated integrations. Animations. Scrolling banners. Special effects. And three weekends dedicated to figuring out how your domain works.

Before long, just updating your LinkedIn headline starts to sound PRETTY appealing.

But your website doesn’t need to be complicated to do its job. Really!

In fact, adding more bells and whistles can sometimes make it harder for visitors to focus on what actually matters.

I recently reviewed a coaching website that was absolutely stunning, but the oversized typography, sideways scrolling and fancy effects in the template she purchased actually made it harder to understand her expertise and where to go next.

For most coaches, the important question isn’t:

“How can I make my website look fancy and do everything?”

It’s:

“What does my website need to do to support the way I actually get clients?”

Focus on the jobs your coaching website actually needs to do

A focused coaching website should make it easy for the right person to understand:

• Who you help

• What you help them with

• What you offer

• Why they can trust you

• What they should do next

That’s the foundation.

And in practice, that doesn’t mean you need 20 pages that all say basically the same thing.

Every page on your website has a job to do. Lets take a look at the pages included in our Coach Liftoff service to illustrate how this works…

Your Homepage is the big-picture story. It should make it immediately clear what you do and who it’s for so the right person thinks, Yep, I’m in the right place. Or even better, “OMG she read my mind!” From there, it can show that you understand what they’re struggling with, introduce you as the person who can help, explain the solution or service you offer, build trust with social proof, and give them a clear next step to reach out.

Your About page gives them a chance to get to know the human behind the coaching. This is where you can share more of your story, perspective, experience, and what you’re all about so a potential client can start to feel connected to you, not just impressed by your credentials. Think about how you engage with a service website…do you go straight to the About Page right after you land on the site? Yeah, so do I, and so do most people. This is such a powerful page for creating a connection!

Your Services page goes deeper into the transformation you help create and the coaching services or programs you offer. Just like your homepage, it should take the reader through an intentional story from where they are now to where they want to be, and show them how working with you can help them get there. Not like a shopping cart, but like a high level view of how you help and the transformations you can create. Enough info to get them on a call, which is where the sales happen!

Each of those pages are doing something really important… They’re moving potential clients toward the critical next step…booking a discovery call (or reaching out through a contact form) to start the conversation.

There are other useful pages we include, too. Like a dedicated Testimonials page, a Blog, and even a bonus Sales Page template clients can use when they’re ready to promote a specific high-ticket offer. 

Plus, there are some behind-the-scenes essentials you probably haven’t thought of, like legal pages with policies you’re required to have by law, and other admin pages that can help you succeed.

(Side note: I send my clients to Termageddon* for their legal policies! One less thing to figure out yourself. 😉)

But you don’t have to figure out which pages you need, what each one should say, or how they all fit together.

Every Coach Liftoff website includes the same strategic set of pages, each with a clear purpose, and they all work together to guide the right potential client toward getting in touch.

You’re a coach. You shouldn’t have to become a copywriter, designer, and developer just to get your website out into the world. And you definitely don’t need to master every marketing tool you might someday use before you can have a website you’re proud to share today.

When you strip away everything your site could have and focus on what it actually needs, the project becomes much more manageable.

This is why Coach Liftoff is intentionally streamlined around what coaches actually need.

I handle the copywriting, design, and tech so you don’t have to turn yourself into a website expert first. Instead of piling on unnecessary complexity, we focus on creating a professional site that supports your coaching business and the way you sell.

Strategy #3: Give Interested People One Clear Path to Getting in Touch (& Becoming a Lead!)

Imagine someone finds you on LinkedIn.

They’re interested.

They click around your profile. 

Then they see one of your posts. Ooh, nice!

Then…

• A notification pops up.

• LinkedIn recommends another post. 

• They notice someone in the comments.

• They click that person’s profile…

And suddenly, your potential client is somewhere else entirely! Oh nooooo!

That doesn’t mean LinkedIn is bad LOL. It just means its doing exactly what it was designed to do, which is to keep people on LinkedIn, exploring and engaging.

Your website can do so much more. You can create an intentional path for the person who is already interested in what you do.

• They learn about you.

• They recognize the problem you help solve.

• They understand your coaching offer.

• They see evidence that helps them trust you.

• And then they know exactly what to do next.

And what should they do next? You get to decide! Here’s how…

Choose one primary action

One of the biggest advantages of having your own website is deciding what you want an interested visitor to do. You don’t need ten competing calls to action. All you need is ONE action…

Book a discovery call 

Once you know that, your website can be designed around guiding the right people (your ideal coaching clients) directly to that step. This happens with a combination of design and copywriting (the words!)

Use your copywriting to answer the questions they need answered in order to feel comfortable enough to book a call.

Things like:

• Is this actually for someone like me?

• Does this person understand what I’m dealing with?

• What would working together look like?

• Can I trust them to help me?

• And what happens when I reach out?

The more of those questions your website answers along the way, the easier it is for the right person to feel comfortable taking that next step.

Your pages build trust as they move through the site. Your calls to action consistently point them toward scheduling a conversation.

And when they’re ready, booking that call should be easy-peasy!

Coach Liftoff websites are built around that goal.

We don’t build a site that looks pretty but leaves visitors wondering what to do. Instead, we use messaging, design, and scheduling to guide visitors directly to booking a discovery call. It’s built right in!

“Can’t I Just Keep Using LinkedIn Until I Really Need a Website?”

You can absolutely continue using LinkedIn. In fact, I think you should! I’ve been on there for years. Heck we might have met already on LinkedIn ;-)

It can be a valuable place to build connections, demonstrate your expertise, get visible, and start conversations.

The problem is when “I’ll just use LinkedIn for now” turns into a foreverrrrrr situation. Then it becomes the thing that’s keeping you from creating a professional home for your business.

If you’re actively networking, getting referrals, talking to prospective clients, pitching yourself for podcasts, attending conferences, or reaching out to bigger opportunities, people already have reasons to want to learn more about you.

You don’t want to suddenly realize you need a professional website after the opportunity shows up. 

And if we look at this from a practical perspective, it’s kind awkward trying to recite your LinkedIn profile URL (I always forget what mine is!) when you get asked “how can we learn more about you” in a podcast, onstage, or while networking at a conference.

Wouldn’t you rather share a simple website address that takes them directly into an experience you created especially for potential clients? Yeah you would!! 😀

(P.S. If you do need a “last minute” website, we happen to build websites in a week inside of Coach Liftoff! Let’s get you scheduled into our next slot! ;-)

Your Website Gives Your Coaching Business a Home of Its Own

LinkedIn can still be part of your marketing. I love it, and it will always be a part of mine. But it doesn’t have to carry the whole load.

Instead, think about the different jobs these two platforms can do for your business.

LinkedIn is for your professional background, experience, and network of connections, but your website takes the conversation WAYYYYY further, by…

• Making your potential client the center of your messaging instead of building another résumé about yourself.

• Keeping the scope of your website focused instead of getting trapped in an endless list of things you think it “should” include.

• And giving interested people one clear path toward becoming a lead instead of surrounding them with distractions and competing next steps.

Most importantly, imagine how it will feel the next time someone says:

“Do you have a website?”

❌ No hesitations or explanations.

❌ No “Well, it’s technically live, but I wouldn’t really look at it…”

❌ No redirecting them somewhere else.

You simply send them the link! 

And you do it with ENTHUSIASM because you’re so dang proud of what they’re about to see.

That’s exactly what happened with our client Jenn. Before we worked together, she said her website accurately explained what she did, but it felt “corporate” and “impersonal”, the opposite of how she wanted to come across.

After we created a site that felt more authentic and personal to her, she told us, “I’m excited for people to see my website, and I’ve received multiple compliments on it (which I hadn’t received on my old site!).”

YES. That’s the feeling I want for you, too. 🙌

It’s a very different feeling from sending them your LinkedIn profile, temporarily 😉

Ready to Stop Sending Potential Coaching Clients to LinkedIn?

If you’re tired of sending potential clients to LinkedIn because you don’t have a website you feel good about sharing, we’re here to help!

Coach Liftoff is our done-for-you website service created specifically for coaches.

We (my team and I) handle the strategic copywriting, design, and tech to create a professional Squarespace website (built specifically for coaches) that’s designed to turn interested visitors into discovery calls.

You get a website you’re proud to send people to, without having to figure out how to write, design, and build the whole thing yourself.

And because Coach Liftoff is a Website in a Week service, you don’t have to spend the next six months trying to get your website off your to-do list.

Book a free discovery call with the button below so we can chat and see if Coach Liftoff is the right fit for you. Can’t wait to meet ya!

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