Hanna Hermanson is the founder and CEO of Done for You Copywriting for Coaches. As a life and business coach for years, Hanna gained deep insights and intuitive knowledge about what motivates people to take action. Hanna and her team of expert copywriters combine these insights with creative copy strategies to scale coaching businesses, and help transformational leaders get back into their zone of genius. Hanna's work can be found in Forbes, Thrive Global, and her book “Dream Life is Real Life” on Amazon.
Can you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you ended up where you are today?
To answer this question, it’s probably best that I share with you a defining moment and resulting “compelling story” (copywriter speak) that brought me to where I am today, helping coaches like you market their services to grow their income and impact, and get them back into their zone of genius!
My defining moment was more like a defining chapter. The “chapter” started with me suddenly jobless in a strange, costly city. I knew it was DO or die (or go back to the Midwest). I only had my passions and a bit of money saved. I invested my energy, savings, and credit limits in coaching certifications. I started my coaching career telling myself, “You got this.”
Until one day, in the middle of the night, I woke up in a pool of sweat, my heart racing. All I kept saying to myself is, “What have I done?! Why did I invest all my money in coaching certifications and online courses, but not in the actual making money part?”
Well, I’m a little woo-woo and a lot type A. Once I waded through the first wave of panic, I knew my mindset and approach to business needed to change.
I committed to immersing myself in absolutely everything that had to do with marketing. I read every book on sales. I booked my calendar with every networking event within 50 miles. I asked everyone I knew to send me referrals. I took messy action and started sharing my story and insights online.
Lo and behold, within less than 8 months, I had filled my private coaching practice. Through the growing process, I realized that I loved the marketing aspect of the business but wasn't feeling the masculine buy buy buy approach. I needed to figure out how to do it my way.
So I started throwing spaghetti at the wall and sharing some things online. My posts started getting traction, and soon enough, I got real clients! Soon, my coaching colleagues heard about my success and started saying things like:
“Hanna, how have you paid off all your debt, and figured out this whole business of coaching things? I never see you self-promote or post ads. yet you seem to have plenty of clients. What am I doing wrong?
Can you help me?”
I’d give them two or three things to do and said to call me in a few weeks to tell me how it went. Virtually every time, the coach called me back a few weeks later saying “Well that was easy! Whoo-hoo
I got a new client!”
I have since made a commitment to dedicate my career to helping other transformational leaders, and get more clients in record time through my marketing services, programs, masterminds, and consulting.
Fast forward to now and I’ve worked with 100s of private clients, spoken in front of countless groups, and have created The Done for You Copywriting System; a full-service team of copywriters and marketers that take the guessing and grunt work out of marketing for coaches. Because I know that when coaches are in their zone of genius (and not stressing about marketing), they change the world with every conversation they are able to have!
So, you had a successful coaching career, teaching coaches how to market themselves. Why switch to doing the marketing for them?
You know, it was a natural evolution, and it felt less like a “switch” and more like a response to customer needs.
In 2020, I was working with dozens of coaching clients and kept hearing the same thing repeatedly: “It’s getting so loud in the coaching industry. Everyone and their sister have decided to open up a coaching shop, and my messages just aren’t landing anymore”.
And to see excellent coaches (ones that have been honing their skills for decades) struggle to connect with people who need excellent coaching broke my heart.
At that time, I was answering so many questions about branding, marketing, sales, content creation, and copywriting and kept feeling like I was asking these coaches to cram a square peg in a round hole. Marketing jargon wasn’t clicking for them. These were coaches, not marketers.
So I asked them, “If I did your marketing and copywriting for you, what would that mean to you?”
I watched their eyes light up. Their shoulders squared like a load was gone. Something in them changed. I knew I was on to something. They didn’t want to burn out by coaching and figuring out all the marketing for their business. They wanted to interact with their audience, but they didn’t have the hours to come up with engaging content. After all, they wanted more personal freedom by starting a business–not to get suffocated by it!
You help coaches build their brands and online presence. Where did your interest in marketing come from?
The truth is, I’ve always been fascinated by storytelling and strategy. When I was in kindergarten, I had a home office. That’s right. I had my own desk, wore fake glasses, and used filing cabinets. And when I got home from school, I didn’t come home to play in the sandbox or jump rope. No no no. I came home to organize my “VIPs” - Very Important Papers.
I loved playing “boss.” And with a pen behind my ear, I would brainstorm master plans with mini Venn diagrams and bar graphs...diligently copying words out of books onto my notepad.
I’m a born strategist. And people’s stories are what interested me. As I pushed myself to learn from the best marketers, I found storytelling was one of the most effective marketing techniques out there.
I loved writing. I loved people’s stories. And I had the opportunity to use these passions to help coaches who were making a difference in the world? Sign me up!
To me, it really doesn’t feel like marketing. Some people have this view of marketing where it’s a greasy, sneaky, deceiving practice to grab money. Good marketing is none of that. It’s about sharing stories and creating connections with people.
You offer “Done For You copywriting and funnels” for coaches now. Can you tell us more about how your marketing genius is helping coaches scale their businesses?
We research, strategize and create marketing content for coaches’ social media, emails, and website copy. From there, we ensure that our clients don’t just have a copy that works, but a copy that they know how to work. Meaning, that we set them up with lead generation strategies and a funnel that moves prospects into paying customers without any bait and switch tactics. Our “Feminine Funnels” get built into our client’s life and business so that they can get back into their zone of genius: coaching!
This is the kind of sales funnel that is about:
- Building relationships and connections
- Demo-ing your stellar coaching skills and juicy personality
- Magnetizing your audience to you
- Creating stepping-stones of trust
- Showing up with joy and gratitude
This “energetic approach” is way more impactful. And it just feels way stinkin’ better! And as coaches, when we feel better, we do better.
So, my team and I do the marketing part for coaches, so they can focus on something other than hustling to figure out where their next client is coming from. With this abundance of energy and inspiration back on their side, our clients produce more income. When clients delegate to us, they can do other things.
Here’s what some of our clients have done with their extra time after hiring us:
Speak at more summits - Mel
Host a retreat (finally!) - Sara
Get on more podcasts - Kiera
Launch a new program - Mackenzie
Land more publicity and media features - Danielle
Nap - Brenda
Our marketing content doesn’t just “convert.” It gives coaches a magnetic brand they don’t have to stress about. Plus more time and opportunities for other stuff! (priceless)
You are the host of your own podcast called “The Dream Life Is Real Life Podcast”, can you tell us a little more about the podcast? Who is this podcast for?
I’ve been told I’m a “dreamer”, but I’m not the only one. As someone who has taken a lot of “risks” to get where I am today, I know firsthand how crazy it can feel to do things like start a business and move to Mexico! So, every week I connect with other go-getters to share their stories and strategies for moving into their dream life.
Naturally, along the way, we learn a lot about business development, marketing, and mindset tools. That being said, the show is really for folks who are looking to build more abundance in their lives and crave both the inspiration and concrete tactics to make their dream life their real
life.
Being featured on platforms like Forbes, Business Innovators, Thrive Global and now Brainz Magazine is proof that you’re doing a great job. But do you have any future goals for your business? What is the next step?
The next goal on my journey to getting good coaches’ voices out into the world is sharing templates for the copywriting and funnels I’ve been doing for clients. Over the last several years, we’ve honed a “secret sauce” for building websites and marketing assets that convert. And I don’t want it to be secret anymore.
My team and I are working to make our “genius” more accessible by building our online Copy Shop for coaches.
And last but not least, a tip for our readers: How do you identify the right Marketing Channel for your brand?
Look inward before looking outward. I could drop a bunch of statistics and market research approaches to help people choose where to market their business. But the truth is, “the right” channel is the one you are aligned with.
Meaning, first ask yourself, “Where do I feel inspired to show up consistently”? Then ask yourself, “Where would my ideal clients be hanging out?” From there, you can make strategic decisions about whether or not social media, live events, or your website is the right channel to focus on.
At the end of the day, if you loathe something, you won’t do it. And marketing is a living, breathing, everyday experiment that needs to be nurtured. That’s where we come in.
Read more from Hanna!
