Instagram can sometimes feel like a lot of effort for very little reward. 

You post consistently…

Pour time and effort into planning content…

Maybe even do some silly little dances? Hey, you’ll try anything to get your coaching off the ground.

But your views are low, you get followers slowly (if at all), or your audience grows, but nobody converts into paying students. 

You might think to yourself, “Instagram is NOT for coaches.”

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

As someone who’s helped hundreds of students grow their accounts and get consistent clients on Instagram, I know firsthand that it’s still one of the best platforms for coaches. 

In fact, it’s still the main marketing tool that I use. 

The problem isn’t Instagram. It’s that you don’t know the process to get coaching clients. 

In this article, I’ll go over my 2-part system for getting more followers and how to convert those followers into buyers (all with practical steps you can start using right away). 

(Part 1) 4 Proven Steps For Attracting Clients 

The first part is all about attracting potential clients. 

When it comes to coaching on Instagram, quality followers are more valuable than quantity. 

Attract the right types of people, and you’ll have a much easier time converting them into paying students later on. 

Step #1: Shrink Your Target Audience

Before you start posting, you need to answer this question:

Who exactly is my target audience? 

The more specific, the better. 

You aren’t just a fitness coach. You are something specific, like a fitness coach for women in their 30s. 

You aren’t just a life coach. You’re a life coach for people just entering the workforce. 

You aren’t just a business coach. You’re a business coach for freelancers trying to get higher-paying clients. 

You might think that shrinking your target audience will limit your opportunities. But it actually has the opposite effect. 

When you talk to a specific group of people:

• You can create more hard-hitting content for them
• They feel seen and heard, and are more likely to follow
• When the time comes, they’re far more likely to convert into paying clients because you talk directly to them. 

So ask yourself:

“What specific group of people can I help?” 

Once you know that, move on to the next step. 

Step #2: Find Out What Your People Are Watching

The good news is that you don’t have to guess what your target audience is watching. You can find out for yourself. 

Here’s how:

• Open Instagram search
• Type in a keyword related to your target audience, such as “home workouts,” “career advice,” or “how to start an online business.”
• Look for viral videos
• Take note of the hook, idea, and payoff of these viral reels

Continue doing this with other keywords, and you should have a bunch of viral ideas you can use. 

The great thing about this is that these ideas are proven to work. You’re not guessing. You know that, done right, you can go viral with these. 

Aside from that, also check the creators of these reels. 

Study how they’re building their audience, what reels they’re posting, and even how they push people to sign up for coaching. 

Step #3: Learn The Types of Content to Post

Stealing viral ideas is great. 

However, you’ll only get a handful of things to post. If you’re going to post every day (which you should), you’ll need more. 

Thankfully, there are several templates that do extremely well for coaches on Instagram. 

Take these templates, create your own version, and you should have a mountain of content to work with. 

Problem Aware Content 

Speak to your target audience’s pain points. Make them realize that you know what they’re dealing with, and you have a solution. 

This not only gets you likes and shares, but if you hit people’s pain points, they’re much more likely to follow you. 

Examples: 

• “If you’re exhausted after workouts, this might be why.”
• “Why your first job feels way harder than you expected”
• “If clients keep ghosting you after proposals, this is why.”

Belief Shifting Content

Say something controversial to stop people from scrolling. Then explain it well, show why the cliche is wrong, and what people should do instead. 

This sets you up as an authority in your niche, who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. You’re bringing in something fresh and new, which is great for getting followers. 

Examples: 

• “Why eating less is making fat loss slower.”
• “Confidence doesn’t come from experience. It comes from this.”
• “Being good at your skill doesn’t make you easy to hire.”

How-To Content

The most practical type of content. 

Done right, how-to content is super saveable and shareable. You can go viral and reach tons of your target audience with this content. 

So make it catchy, simple, and practical, so that people can start applying what they learned right away. 

Examples: 

• “How to train when you’re tired but still want results”
• “How to stop overthinking every email you send”
• “What to say on a sales call when price comes up”

Authority / Proof Content

Demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about. 

The better you do this, the more followers you’ll get.

When people see how knowledgeable you are, they’re also more likely to sign up for your coaching. 

• “What I changed to help my clients lose fat without burning out.”
• “The mindset shift that helped my clients stop feeling like frauds.”
• “What changed when I stopped teaching tactics and fixed positioning.”

Step #4: Mix In Your Coaching Services

Every once in a while, hard sell your coaching. 

Start with a strong hook, then dive into what exactly people can learn and get from your coaching services. 

Or, showcase success stories from your former students, and nudge people to sign up today. 

But don’t do this all the time. 

Generally speaking, only around 10-20% of your content should be hard sells, while the remaining 80-90% is focused on value. 

That’s roughly one hard sell post a week (if you’re posting every day). 

You can also pin your best-performing hard sell to your profile, so new followers can easily find what exactly you’re offering. 

This ensures that people know about your coaching services without overdoing it and pushing them away. 

It’s the first step towards the second part of this guide: converting clients. 

(Part 2) 4 Proven Tips For Converting Clients

You’ve got the content, the views, and the followers…now it’s time to convert those people into paying clients. 

Because the truth is, having followers does NOT automatically mean having students. 

To change that, you’ll want to do these 4 things. 

Step #1: Optimize Your Profile

When someone lands on your profile, they should instantly know who you help, what problem you solve, and how to work with you. 

Take a look at this profile, for instance.

Notice the:

1. Name – don’t just add your name. Add a tagline about who exactly you help. 
2. Picture – clear, professional photo of your face. 
3. Bio – hyper-specific. Don’t just say “I’m a women’s fitness coach,” be specific like “Helping women in their 30s lose fat and build strength without extreme dieting or burnout.”
4. Link – add a link where people can sign up for your coaching. If you have multiple links, using something like Linktree can help keep things organized. 

When you see the profile above, you already know almost everything there is to know about it. 

And if you’re a student already convinced about her coaching, the link is right there. 

Step #2: Offer a Freebie

People go to Instagram for free content. 

That’s why follower-to-buyer rates are usually pretty low. 

However, there is a way you can warm up your audience even more, and get better conversion rates: offer a freebie! 

If you’re selling high-ticket coaching ($3,000+), this is absolutely essential. 

Instead of selling your coaching on your Instagram, offer a free ebook or a quick course instead. 

Not only will this further warm your audience for your actual product, but it’ll also save you a lot of time hopping on sales calls with people who won’t buy. 

With this strategy, you’ll get a much higher conversion rate.

If your coaching isn’t that expensive, you can also offer free group calls or a quick 15-20 minute strategy call. 

There, you can demonstrate to people how helpful it is to have a 1:1 coach, and nudge them to get your services. They’re far more likely to sign up if they’ve already got a glimpse of how helpful you can be for them.

So many people miss this step. 

They grow their accounts, but get frustrated when nobody buys from them. 

So take one more step before selling. 

Offer that freebie, get people on a quick free session, and you’ll find it much easier to convert from there. 

Step #3: Sell Through Stories

This might surprise you, but Instagram stories are one of the best places to sell coaching services. 

Reels are best for reaching new people, while stories are best for getting in front of people who already follow you. 

So post:

• Client wins (even small ones)
• Day-in-the-life clips
• Voice notes explaining concepts
• And soft sells (“I’m opening spots this week”)

Mix and match these ideas, and come up with your own unique ideas too (stories don’t have to be perfect). 

Post at least three stories every day, so that people will see you repeatedly, start feeling like they “know” you, and also get to see proof and behind-the-scenes content of you at work. 

This all builds even more trust. 

And when the time comes that they’re ready to invest in themselves?

They’ll naturally go to the person who keeps showing up (you.) 

Step #4: Get a ChatBot

One of the best tools to have as a coach on Instagram is a ChatBot. 

Yes, you can get clients without this. You don’t have to pay for one if you don’t want to. 

However, ChatBots are so helpful with getting students and growing your account, a huge advantage if you consider getting one. 

Do you ever wonder how those coaching captions on Instagram work that say, “Comment ‘fitness’ and I’ll send you my program”? 

Those are chatbots, and they automatically DM people a link to sign up for coaching when they comment a specific word. 

Chatbots can also answer frequently asked questions. This is super important, especially if you’re selling something. People are more likely to buy if you can answer their questions/concerns right away. 

Finally, chatbots boost your account. Because when people comment and answer the chatbots’ DMs, that’s signalling to Instagram that people interact with your account. This should give your account a good boost in the algorithm. 

I use ManyChat, and can personally say it’s helped me convert a lot of my 2,000+ students. But there are several chatbots for Instagram out there that you can choose from. 

Ready to Get Coaching Clients on Instagram?

Getting paid coaching clients on Instagram isn’t a walk in the park. 

You can pour all your efforts into growing an account, but still end up with zero students, because all you got were followers, not people ready to buy. 

However, with this two-part formula, you have a repeatable process to attract the right followers, prime them with your content, stories, and freebies, and close the deal when the time is right. 

But what if you don’t want to wait… what if you want clients as fast as possible?

The easiest way to get this is by using a secret weapon: AI. 
To get started, check out my AI content generator.