Having a new babysitter while we leave the house doesn’t always go seamlessly.

One time, we had a new sitter for our three kids. She took one look at my son, the oldest, and immediately commented on Minecraft—the game he was playing.

She sized up our older daughter and said, “I love unicorns, do you?” That was all it took. She was in.

Lastly, she gently started playing with our 3-year-old’s stuffed animals, and before long, they were fully connected.

This all happened in about five minutes.

She had their full attention and they were all willing to have fun.

None of it felt forced. She wasn’t pushy. She just observed, found a way to connect, and showed that she was there if they wanted to play.

That is beautiful marketing.

Taking care of three humans isn’t exactly the same as finding new coaching clients, but there are some important lessons to learn from this skillful babysitter. She didn’t try to be everything to everyone. She didn’t force herself into their world.

But she did make it easy for them to say yes.

And that’s exactly what good marketing does.

So how do you make your coaching business feel like that kind of connection—simple, genuine, and effective?

Here are six key shifts that can make your marketing feel easier and more effective…

1. Curiosity is a superpower

You don’t have to know everything. You just need to be curious.

If you’re naturally drawn to learning more about coaching, you’re already doing the kind of thinking that makes marketing work. Marketing is just letting people know how powerful coaching is—especially your coaching.

When my 10-year-old son wanted to build an animatronic with servo motors, we didn’t know where to start. But we followed our curiosity. We asked questions. We researched. We tried stuff. That’s what you need to do with marketing, too.

You don’t need all the answers up front. Just be willing to figure things out.

2. Your unique way of learning matters

The way you learned to coach is what someone else needs to hear.

Maybe you learned coaching through a specific struggle or life experience. Maybe it took a while. Maybe it clicked fast. Whatever your story is, it’s valuable—and sharing that is marketing.

You don’t need to present some perfect, polished version of your journey. You just need to show people the real path you took—because it helps them believe they can walk it, too.

3. You don’t need permission to experiment

You don’t need to “be ready.” You just need to begin.

When I first thought about trying CrossFit, I had this idea in my head of what a CrossFit person should look like. Spoiler alert: it didn’t look like me. But I did it anyway. And I loved it.

Marketing is the same. You don’t wait until you feel like an amazing marketer to start promoting your coaching. You start promoting your coaching, and then you get good at marketing.

Try things. Adjust. Keep going.

4. Being bad at something isn’t a reason to quit

When I started glassblowing, I was terrible at it. But I stuck with it because I knew I wanted to get good.

Same with marketing. I wasn’t great when I first started. I just kept writing, posting, recording. Over time, I figured it out.

If you’re bad at marketing right now? Cool. Keep going.

5. Marketing is just another problem to solve

This one comes naturally to me as an engineer, but it’s true for anyone: marketing is just a puzzle. And there are tools and solutions out there that can make it easier.

You don’t have to do it all at once. Just start with what you’re already good at. Love talking? Record yourself. Love writing? Start a newsletter. Love teaching? Host a free training.

Marketing is just communicating. And you can build the rest around that.

6. The only real failure is not trying

If you want to get clients, people need to know about you.

There’s no shortcut around that. So the more you put yourself out there—yes, even before you feel “ready”—the more you’ll learn, improve, and attract people who want your help.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to start.