40+ Best Health Coaching Resources & Tools
Through 12 years of freelancing and five years in the wellness business, I’ve tried a lot of different tools, taken many workshops and trainings, listened to hundreds (probably thousands!) of hours of podcasts, read lots of business books, and have done a ton of experimenting to find the tools that help me run my company smoothly.
Below are the tools, tech, and educational resources that I recommend to help make your life as a health coach easier so you can start scaling your business:
(Note: There are a few affiliate links throughout this blog. Signing up for these services through my link/code sends some money my way and allows me to continue sharing free resources like this one!)
Office & Website Tools
Squarespace or Wordpress
This website is hosted on Squarespace, while my coaching business site is hosted on Wordpress. They each have their perks. Squarespace is better for those who are not as tech-savvy. It’s fairly easy to use and you don’t need a lot of technical know-how.
Wordpress is less user-friendly, but if you have experience with HTML/CSS and don’t mind getting your hands dirty from time to time, there’s a lot more functionality available in the form of plug-ins and widgets.
Squarespace is a bit pricier, and they do make you upgrade for basic features like integrating your email provider with your website (probably because they offer their own email service). But is it worth it to not have to deal with the Wordpress learning curve? Up to you!
Siteground
You’ll need a host for your website, and I’ve had great experience with Siteground. Their customer service is super fast and supportive, and sometimes they even do things for you if you’re having trouble.
Siteground is more for Wordpress. Squarespace is its own web host, so if you sign up through them you don’t need to worry about this (part of what makes Squarespace a pricier option, it’s an all-in-one kind of service).
Calendly
While I do recommend a more robust client-management platform below, if all you need is a simple scheduler, Calendly is great. It’s a Black-owned business that offers automated scheduling so you can avoid all the annoying back-and-forth with clients trying to figure out when they’re available for a call. You can set up different appointment types, designate specific times for each, set limits so you’re not overbooking yourself, send reminders, take payments, etc.
Stripe
Stripe is a popular payment processor that has pretty comprehensive features for a mostly-free service. There are typical processing fees (standard across the board for all payment processors) but that’s really it for what you’ll typically need as a health coach. Stripe can manage one-off payments, invoices, subscriptions/memberships, and more. It is built more for developers, but you don’t have to be super experienced in the tech department to use it. Their Help section is very detailed, and customer service is very responsive (I use chat support regularly!).
Genius Scan
With everything online these days, fewer and fewer people actually own things like printers, let alone one with a scanner function. Genius Scan is a handy app that converts photos of documents into PDFs. This is great when you need a manual signature or another type of form filled out but don’t have a way to send it outside of snail mail.
Communication Tools
Sample Practice Better dashboard
Practice Better
Practice Better is THE platform for health coaches. It was designed BY a health coach, so there’s truly everything you need and it’s an incredibly robust tool for a very reasonable price.
It’s a portal that serves as a communication hub for your clients. They get their own client profile with a folder for their very own documents. They can book sessions and packages with you directly (and can connect your calendar for accurate availability), they can update their food and lifestyle journals, they can chat with you between sessions with the messenger function. You can even host evergreen programs on Practice Better!
That’s not even scratching the surface of the available features. There’s a supportive Facebook group if you need help, and they have a YouTube channel that goes super in-depth on all that you can do with the software. It’s HIPAA-compliant, too. I can’t say enough good things about them.
In November 2021, we co-hosted a free training together on How to Repurpose Your Workshops in Practice Better. Their Business Success Coach, Jen Miller, walked us through how you can take the valuable content you already have and repurpose it in multiple ways to build your business using Practice Better. You can catch the replay here.
Google Workspace
Formerly known as G Suite, this is Google’s collection of apps that can be connected to your work email account for $6/month. It includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive (document storage), Google Slides (presentation software), Google Sheets (spreadsheets), and Google Meet (meeting software).
Whatever web host you’re using typically offers their own email management service, but you’re really better off with Workspace. Not to be dramatic, but I would literally die without these tools. It’s all cloud-based, so you can access your documents from any device. This is SO helpful if your electronics go kaput, nothing is lost and it’s a damn lifesaver.
Flodesk
Most health coaches start out using Mailchimp as their email provider because it has a free tier. It’s a fine platform, but there are limitations (you can only do a single-email automation, for instance, not a whole nurture sequence). Its pricing structure also charges you more the more subscribers you have, which basically feels like you’re being punished for growing.
With my current list, I would be paying over $100/month for Mailchimp. With Flodesk, I pay $19 (which is 50% off. You can get 50% off your first year with my link or using code KRISTENC.)
And that’s forever! No tiers that keep you from accessing features. That’s the biggest perk for me since keeping operating expenses low is one of my goals.
What’s the catch? Flodesk is relatively new, freshly out of beta as of November 2021, which means there are kinks and some limitations. For me, the price outweighs any of that because it is such a dang good deal compared to the other providers. And since it’s in its early stages, your feedback is more important than it would be with the bigger companies and you can help shape Flodesk to better serve your needs.
Pros: Beautiful templates that are easy to customize, incredibly easy landing page creation, excellent workflow automation capability, low price, ability to influence the service while it’s in beta, women-owned.
Cons: Limited analytics, some font inconsistency in the templates.
Loom
Loom is a video messaging service that allows you to record quick videos for your clients. I like to use this to share my screen and go over the PDFs of health coaching recommendations or recipes that I’ve provided for them, rather than using an entire session to do that. It’s also great for recording quick video responses to client questions (or prospects from your email list) that feel more personal and fun.
Zoom
Zoom is the go-to video meeting tool these days. Practice Better does offer a video telehealth function if you want to use that for private sessions, but Zoom is great for running virtual workshops or group programs. There is a free version that allows you to have unlimited 1:1 meetings, but group meetings are limited to 40 minutes. Zoom Pro is just $15/month and you can cancel whenever. Some coaches just upgrade only for the month they’re doing a webinar and then cancel until they need it again. It’s flexible!
Meeter
If you are absolutely drowning in video calls (thank you, 2020), Meeter is an app for your computer that helps you keep track of all the meeting links. It pulls them from your calendar and your email so you don’t have to go searching for the links when it’s time to join the session.
Typeform
While there is a special place in my heart for Google’s tools, Forms doesn’t do it for me. My main issue is that they’re really just ugly. Functional, but boring.
Typeform is lovely! You can have 3 forms for free, and paid plans allow more functionality like conditional flows and the ability to accept payments. The user experience is really nice, one question elegantly flows to the next (you’ll see what I mean when you try it), and there are some attractive templates you can use as well.
Content Tools
Canva
The graphic design tool of your dreams. Canva has SO many great templates, so easy to drag and drop elements and customize colors, fonts, and more. I use this pretty much every single day (and used it for the featured image for this post). I’ve also never needed to pay for it aside from the occasional $1 premium photo until I started Health Coach Workshops and wanted the convenience of their branding features.
If you’re looking for free stock photos to use in your Canva graphics, check out Unsplash.
Creative Market
If you’re not impressed with the Canva templates, or are looking to fill other design needs for your website, you can purchase pre-made assets directly from designers on Creative Market. I have used this for Instagram templates, Powerpoint presentations, and even got my website template for Good Witch Kitchen from there.
Tailwind
I use Tailwind primarily as a Pinterest scheduling tool. At the height of my pinning activity (it ebbs and flows depending on how much content I’m putting out), Tailwind helped me reach 100K monthly viewers. It’s also an Instagram scheduler and has its own “link in bio” tool called SmartBio where you can link specific posts to the right URLs. See mine to preview how it can look.
Get $15 credit for Tailwind with this link.
Milkshake or LinkTree
These are alternative “link in bio” tools. Not sure what I’m even talking about? Instagram only allows you to have one link in your profile. But we want to send people so many places! This is basically a landing page for your IG profile that contains all the links you want to share with people. Ideally, you’ll want to put your lead magnet in here and a link to your “work with me” or contact page, at the very least.
Both Milkshake and LinkTree serve the same purpose. If you’re not equipped with a website just yet, however, Milkshake is the better option because it allows you to create mini pages where you can put an About section to provide your audience with some context.
Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is a Chrome extension that can help you brainstorm SEO-friendly content. This is more of an advanced-level tool but it can be super handy if you know how to use it.
How do I use it? I type in a search term for something I want to write about into Google. When I hit enter, on the right I’ll see “related keywords” and terms that “people also search for.” This helps me understand what people are actually looking for and the language that they’re using. That way, I can populate my article with those terms or phrases to help make my content more searchable for people who are looking for it.
Grammarly
Another Chrome extension. Grammarly edits your writing as you go and points out where you’ve made typos or grammar errors. As a Virgo with a writing background, I am a perfectionist and die a little inside when I find I’ve made a typo, so this keeps me alive and well.
Workshops
Workshops can be a major income stream for me. In fact, they were 50% of my salary in 2020.
They’re a fabulous marketing tool that gives prospective clients a low-stakes way to get to know you.
You can get paid to host a workshop by corporate clients, where you can get in front of lots of different audiences. Or you can offer them for free to the public to build your list and build familiarity and trust with your audience. Whichever route you go, you’re providing lots of value and developing important relationships that could convert into private clients.
Productivity & Project Management
Trello
Trello is a project management tool where you can keep all your to-dos. You can categorize tasks with different lists, and within each list you can add “cards” that serve as your post-it note of sorts for a task.
For example, say I have a list for Instagram (see above). My tasks include updating my profile, responding to DMs, and doing a Monday Motivation post. I create a card for each of those tasks and place them on that Instagram list and organize it visually according to priority. If I have any notes associated with each task, for instance if I have a checklist on what I need to do to update my profile, or if I want to attach a photo that I’m going to use for the Monday Motivation post, I can add that to each card so everything is neatly organized.
I mainly use Trello to organize content for my launches. It’s where I keep track of the blog posts I need to write, social media I need to schedule, and emails I’m sending to my list.
Notion
Since originally writing this blog post in 2020, I’ve discovered an even better productivity tool than Trello, one that has completely transformed my work process! Notion is a free productivity app that functions as an all-in-one workspace where I organize my client notes, finances, content creation, research, inspiration, launch timelines, and so much more.
You know how we have external hard drives for all the stuff we can't fit on our computers? I look at Notion as an external memory for all the things I can't fit in my brain. It's like Google Docs ascended to another dimension that catered to every little thing you could need (with the board functionality of Trello too!)
I’ve become such a Notion fan that I created a 2-hour training on how you can use it in your business as well, complete with templates that you can copy into your own account. The templates include a coaching dashboard to organize your client notes, a corporate wellness dashboard to keep track of your speaking business, a content planner to help you post with purpose, a workshop planner to support you through creation and execution, and a 5-day challenge planner to help you build your mailing list. Check out the training here.
Google Calendar
I know, Google again. But what I’m really here to talk about is time-blocking. This is an immensely helpful productivity hack that keeps you focused and on task. At the beginning of each week, I take a look at my to-do list and prioritize accordingly. Then, I manually schedule in every single thing I need to do into my calendar, including answering emails and going grocery shopping.
Managing my time this way lets my brain rest a little bit, because I don’t have to worry when something will get done. I’ve scheduled a specific time for it to happen, so no need to worry about it until then. You also want to schedule a minimum of 2-3 hours for focused work, whether it’s content creation, recipe development, setting up your client portal, whatever. Allowing yourself a container to work within keeps you on task and also gives you the space to do what you need to.
Focus Keeper
Focus Keeper is an app that uses the Pomodoro method for productivity. If time-blocking isn’t you’re thing, maybe this will be. You work for 25 minutes, then the timer dings and you take a break for 5, and do that 3 times. The 4th time around, you take a longer break of 25 minutes instead of 5. Rinse and repeat until the day is over and you’ve gotten a ton of stuff done!
Podcasts
These resources have been immensely helpful in my business. There’s LOTS to binge on and they’re worth every minute:
Education
These are my recommendations for more in-depth training on nutrition and business:
Academy of Culinary Nutrition: You can see my full review of the program here.
Functional Nutrition Certification Program: Highly recommended for learning the mechanisms of nutrition science and to be able to dive deeper with clients.
Healthy Profit University: A highly valuable, structured program for health coaches who need guidance developing their business, especially with marketing.
Books
Profit First: For getting organized with your business finances and making sure you prioritize your financial wellbeing.
Deep Work: More on the virtues of time-blocking and giving yourself the time and space to get more done in less time.
The Art of Gathering: For those who put on events and want them to be more meaningful and enriching.
The Coaching Habit: A great primer for new coaches, especially on the language to use with clients that help them go deep.
Big Magic: You know you’re creative, right? Elizabeth Gilbert is endlessly inspiring and encourages you to let go of your fear and perfectionism and just put yourself out there!
Where in the Om Am I?: If you’re in a full-time job that doesn’t make you happy, this was the book that gave me the confidence to quit and pursue my wellness-industry dreams.
What resources do you have to share? Feel free to post your favorites in the comments below.
Last updated: December 2021.
