Remember the key thing is that, as far as possible, you do what comes comfortably to you, and move in circles where you are likely to succeed easily. If you are someone who has a strong counselling and therapy background, then you are making things more difficult for yourself if you try to promote yourself in the business world.

Some people, for example, will rave about BNI (Business Network International) and how they come back with armful of clients - for others, the idea fills them with horror. There really is no right way to market yourself - just the ways that work for you and reflect who you are. I'd suggest that a large element of marketing your practice has to do with you being who you are, and not having to try too hard to be someone or something that you are not.

Furthermore, although business cards and websites are important, and glossy brochures and leaflets can be useful, you can put a lot of energy into these things, which could be better used elsewhere. Producing high-quality websites, etc., can give a lot of gloss, but as a coach, you are your own best brochure - ie the work that you do on yourself , and the person you are becoming, will often count for much more than the finest leaflet.

A lot of people are daunted by the idea of "selling themselves". Thomas Leonard, who created CoachU, used to say how much he hated networking and selling himself, and was indeed very shy. And yet, he created an enormous network, through using the internet.

It is possible to market your practice without having to do any selling. In many ways, coaching is easy to market - you can "market" coaching by being yourself. The more you walk the talk, the more attractive you will become, and the more people will want to know about you and what you do.
Now having set the "mood" there are some some practical ideas of things that you might like to try.

1. Offer to coach a local journalist free of charge in return for an article about coaching. Most journalists and media are interested in coaching. Read through your local paper, and decide which journalists look most likely to be interested in coaching. Or, find a specialist publication that might appeal to people who have had a similar experience in their personal or business lives to your own. It is worth bearing in mind that coaching, although still quite new, has had quite a bit of press coverage, so if you can find an interesting angle for your approach to the journalist, that will make you more attractive to them.
2. Call the local radio stations and offer to talk about coaching on air - you could link this to a topic of general interest. For example, you could talk about debts, or stress, or relationships, and then bring in the coaching element.
3. Offer to talk to your local chamber of commerce - choose a topic that interests you, and that you know a bit or a lot about.
4. Write an e-mail newsletter, or daily top tip. These are very easy to produce, and you can build up a large network surprisingly quickly and are a way to get your ideas across to a wide range of people. It's also a good forum to develop your offer, and become identified with a topic or a theme - a bit like a branding exercise.
5. Develop a website - having your own website is not as difficult as it seems. It's a good thing to be able to show people who want to know more about you and what you do, and can easily be updated as you evolve (a definite advantage over printed brochures), or develop new ideas and services.
6. Find a subject that you are confident and/or passionate about and lead a teleclass - there is a lot of information about teleclasses at http://www.teleclass.com, and you can rent free telephone bridges at http://www.teleconnection.com.
7. Distribute your leaflets to places where there might be an interest - libraries are good, so are natural health centres and wholefood shops.
8. Create a workshop or seminar on something that you have enthusiasm for as a way of getting in front of people and showing what you do and who you are in a coaching type context.
9. Write letters to news-papers or magazines in response to articles you read, and bring in your perspective or speciality - that way you'll start to build relationships with the press, and become known by them.

Remember that some ideas will work for you, and others won't - it's a question of "trying them on for size", rather than having to identify the "right" ones, or to be good at all of them.

The above are just suggestions to get you thinking - see it as an exercise in exploration and experimentation rather than a list of "shoulds".

By being comfortable, you are less likely to be under pressure, and more likely to be authentic and attractive, and of course that's the key to the whole thing - the more you can see marketing as being and "showing up" as who you are, the more easily it will come to you, and the more likely it is to be successful.