Group Coaching – The Ultimate Guide

Group coaching unlocks powerful dynamics: peer learning, accountability, and a sense of shared journey.
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But most coaches piece together a setup across tools like Zoom, email threads, WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities, Notion, or Slack.

That’s a recipe for burnout — not just for you, but for your clients too.
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They’re left juggling multiple logins and scattered systems that feel more like homework than transformation.

With upcoach, you bring it all together.
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You can host your entire group coaching experience — sessions, community, curriculum, tasks, notes — in one organized place.
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No tech chaos. Just clarity, connection, and real momentum.

Whether you’re leading a focused cohort, an ongoing mastermind, or a content-rich membership — group coaching thrives on three things:

✅ Clear structure
✅ Strong accountability
✅ A sense of connection

upcoach gives you all three — with the flexibility to coach your way.

Group coaching takes many shapes — and it all depends on how you want to show up as a coach.

Some programs are high-touch: live sessions, detailed follow-ups, active communities.
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Others are lower-touch: async check-ins, self-paced content, and light accountability.
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Both are valid. The right format is the one that matches your energy, your goals, and your clients’ needs.

Here are some common formats we see:

Step-by-step to launch your first group coaching program in upcoach.

You’ve seen the big picture — now let’s bring your program to life.

In the next few minutes, you’ll:

✅ Set up your group coaching space
✅ Add the core tools you’ll use with clients
✅ Create a version you can reuse again and again

This is where coaching with upcoach becomes real

Before inviting real clients, we recommend creating a test group — 3 to 4 sample clients you can use to simulate the full experience.

This allows you to assign tasks, schedule events, track habits, and interact in the Forum — exactly like your real clients would.

📧 Tip: Use placeholder emails like [email protected], [email protected], etc.
They don’t need to be real addresses unless you plan to test email notifications.

📹 Video: Watch how to create sample clients and manage them inside upcoach.

Let’s start with the container — your shared group coaching space.

Steps:

In the setup modal, select the following blocks:

✅ Tasks
✅ Habit Tracker
✅ Events
✅ Drive
✅ Forum ← (Great for async check-ins and peer conversations)

Optional: Toggle on Chat

💡 Some coaches prefer to keep chat off and centralize discussions in the Forum — it’s up to your coaching style.

Click Create

💡 Naming Tip:
Pick a name that clearly reflects the program’s goal, timeframe, or format — so members instantly know what they’re part of.

Examples:

💬 Should I Enable Chat?

It’s up to you.
Chat can be a powerful tool in group coaching — or it can add unnecessary noise. The key is how you want to run the conversation.

🧠 If You Do Enable Chat…

Set clear boundaries and expectations early on.

We recommend starting the chat with a welcome message like:

“Welcome, everyone! This chat is here to support our journey together.
Feel free to use it to check in, share wins, ask questions, or motivate each other.
I check messages every Mon & Thu — and I encourage you to cheer each other on!”

This helps define your house rules and avoid overwhelm — especially in larger groups.

If you prefer a more structured communication space, you can disable chat and use the Forum Block for all group discussion.

Program Invitation Links: (another good way of adding clients to your group program

Use Events, Agendas, and Notes to keep your group coaching calls focused, actionable, and documented.

Your live sessions are where momentum builds.
Whether you're facilitating breakthroughs, running hot seats, or guiding a curriculum — upcoach helps you host calls with structure, clarity, and follow-up in mind.

Here’s how to set up your core session tools:

Each live session should be added as an Event Block item in your program.

When you create a group event, clients will receive a calendar invite with all the details.

💡 Pro Tips:

If you're using the Forum Block, you can create a category called “Call Recordings” and upload your replays there.
This is a great way to keep everything organized — and accessible for those who missed the live call.

For every group event, upcoach offers Participant Management and Feedback Surveys.

After each call, participants can quickly rate the session or leave a short comment.

Why it matters:

You have two tools to document what happens in your live calls. Use one or both:

Agendas are blocks you can add to your program — and they really shine in group coaching:

💡 Best Practice:

📹 Video: Watch how to design an attach

📹 Video: Watch how to attach, and run a session with an Agenda Block.

Use Tasks, Habits, and Smart Documents to keep the energy flowing between live sessions.

In group coaching, what happens between the calls is just as important as what happens during them.
Momentum builds when members complete prep work, follow through on action items, and arrive ready to share.

With upcoach, you can assign shared tasks, build habits, and guide reflection — while giving each client space to grow individually.

Tasks in upcoach are simple and effective — and you can assign them to everyone in the group at once with just a few clicks.

📹 Video: Watch how to create and assign group tasks inside your program.

💡 Common use cases:

🔒 Control Visibility
By default, task completion is visible to all group members.
If you'd prefer more privacy, simply toggle off:
​“Members can see each other’s tasks” inside the Tasks block settings.

You define the dynamic — from peer accountability to private reflection.

🧠 This same visibility setting also exists in:

Customize what’s shared — and what’s personal.

Habits help reinforce small, repeatable behaviors that lead to lasting change — and they work beautifully in a group setting.

📹 Video: Learn how to create habits, track different types of input, and review individual progress.

🧩 What members can track individually:

💡 Sample habit ideas:

🧠 Bonus: Clients can also create their own habits.
Encourage them to personalize the tracker if that’s part of your coaching culture.

Smart Documents in upcoach are interactive, reusable forms that help you gather insights, spark reflection, and guide action — even outside live calls.

They’re incredibly flexible — and especially useful in group coaching, where you want to support personal growth at scale.

💡 What can you include in a Smart Doc?

📚 Examples:

📹 Video: Watch the next to video to add and assign Smart Docs in your group program.
You’ll learn how to:

How to create and design:

How to assign:

🧩 Pro Tip: You only assign once — and each participant gets their own version to fill in.
No duplication needed. Just design once, and reuse forever.

💬 Coach Reviews = Personal Touch at Scale

After a client submits a Smart Doc, you can leave a private review as a coach — directly inside their document.

When you do, the client receives a notification.

💡 This is especially powerful for:

Even in larger groups, coaches often batch their reviews — spending 30–60 minutes reviewing all submissions for the week.

It creates a strong sense of being seen — without overwhelming your schedule.

✨ Bonus: Let Clients Create Their Own Docs
Want your clients to start journaling daily?
Or complete a recurring planning exercise?

Enable “Let client create a document from template” and they’ll be able to generate new entries themselves — based on your format.

Great for:

🧭 What’s Next?

You now have the three core tools to keep your group engaged and growing between sessions:

With these in place, you’ve already created the foundation for momentum.

➡️ Next, let’s move on to training — because great coaching often includes teaching, too.

Use Courses and Smart Docs to deliver structured learning — and support transformation beyond the call.

Many group programs include a teaching layer alongside coaching.

Sometimes it’s a concept to introduce.
Sometimes it’s a mindset shift.
Sometimes it’s: “Watch this, then let’s talk.”

Whatever your approach — curriculum, content drops, or self-paced training — upcoach gives you tools to teach in ways that feel natural, scalable, and aligned.

Courses in upcoach are more than just video playlists — they’re interactive, flexible, and designed to drive engagement.

Each lesson can include:

✅ So clients can watch, reflect, and take action — all within the same flow.

📹 Video: Watch how to build a course and add it to your group program.

How to build a course:

How to add a course to your program:

🧠 Pro Tips for Group Coaching Programs:

Courses in upcoach are searchable by keyword, which makes them great for building a learning library your group can access anytime.

You can create multiple Courses around core topics — and your clients can simply search for what they need in the moment.

Examples:

💡 Make sure to set these Courses to “All Available” in the drip settings — this allows your participants to browse and search freely without needing to unlock lessons in sequence.

Not every lesson needs a full course structure.
Smart Docs allow you to create compact, interactive learning experiences quickly.

Each Smart Doc can include:

📚 Great for:

✨ Smart Docs are reusable, flexible, and perfect for layering lightweight learning into your coaching — without the overhead of building a full course.

✨ Why it works:
Micro-learning = less friction for you, more digestible for your members.
And like Courses, Smart Docs are reusable across any program.

🔒 Send a Smart Doc to Just One Person Privately.

Want to assign a specific exercise to a single participant (e.g., someone who needs more support)?
You can assign any Smart Doc directly from their CRM Profile — even outside the group program.

This doc stays private to that client.
Perfect for 1-on-1 nudges, custom challenges, or extra resources.

⚠️ Note: This requires Homepage to be enabled for your organization.

Use the Program Editor to organize how your group experiences your content, tools, and sessions.

Whether your group coaching program is cohort-based, evergreen, or hybrid — a well-structured layout helps everyone stay focused and engaged.

📹 Video: Watch how to customize your program layout using the Editor.

Pages appear in the left-hand menu — and they define how your participants navigate your program.

In group coaching, it's common to separate content into thematic pages, such as:

You can add, delete, rename, or reorder pages at any time by clicking “Manage Pages” in the editor.

🧠 Tip: If you’re running a cohort, your page layout might evolve over time.
For example, start with a Welcome page, then later rename it to “Weekly Resources” or “Community Hub”.

Each page is made up of blocks — these bring in specific functionality like tasks, files, courses, or text.

Tips:

🎨 Global brand settings can be applied from:
​Admin Panel > Organization Settings

When you add a Forum Block, upcoach automatically creates a page named Community.
This page acts as the central hub for discussions and interaction.

This is great for:

🧠 Best Practice: Plan Your Structure Before Inviting Clients
Take 10 minutes to reflect:

The clearer the layout, the smoother the experience — especially in a group format.

💡 Planning to reuse this setup for future cohorts?
Polish it now — and save time later by duplicating the program.

Make every group member feel welcomed and guided — without lifting a finger.

First impressions matter.
But repeating the same onboarding steps for every new participant? That’s energy better spent on coaching.

With upcoach, you can create a warm, structured start once — and let the platform take it from there.

In each group program, you can pre-configure:

📹 Video: Watch how to set up onboarding automation and apply it to your group coaching program.

✨ Example Onboarding Tasks:

These simple tasks set the tone for clarity, connection, and momentum from day one.

If your program includes an Event Block, upcoach automatically sends calendar invites to all new members for upcoming sessions.

Here’s how it works:

💡 This saves you from having to individually share every session date — especially helpful when running large cohorts or ongoing group calls.

✨ You just built a coaching journey starter — on autopilot.
It’s personalized. It’s repeatable. And it’s totally hands-free.

Stay on top of engagement, participation, and individual growth — all in one place.

In group coaching, it’s not just about individual transformation — it’s also about how the group engages, shows up, and moves forward together.
With upcoach, you can track both personal and collective momentum.

Each client still has their own CRM page, where you can view:

📍To access: Admin Panel > Clients > Click on a client’s name

🧠 Use this during:

Every program includes a built-in Last Seen Report, which helps you understand who’s showing up and who might need a nudge.
You’ll see members grouped into 4 categories:

💡 Ideal for large groups or cohort programs where participation matters.

If you're using Participant Feedback Surveys after sessions, upcoach will show you:

🎯 This data rolls up into your organization-wide dashboard — so you always know how your events are landing.

Every course you assign generates a Progress Report showing:

💡 Pro Tip: This is especially useful when running drip-based learning or weekly modules.

Inside your upcoach dashboard, you’ll also find:

🔍 You can filter by engagement, program, or time period — so you can focus your energy where it matters most.

🧠 Why This Matters When clients see their own progress reflected back — with data — it builds:

And for coaches? It’s a system that scales with you — even in large group environments.

💬 Want to use these insights during a group review? Try asking:

Let the data spark reflection — not just reporting.

Want a quick pulse check on a participant’s engagement?

Just click on their Client Profile Card — and you’ll see:

💡 Use this when checking in on individuals, preparing for 1-on-1 moments inside a group program, or deciding who might need a nudge.

Keep clients informed, nudged, and engaged — without overwhelming them.

Good coaching communication is timely, clear, and purposeful.
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With upcoach, your clients receive just the right nudges to stay on track — and they’re always in control of what they receive.

Here’s how notifications work:

By default, clients receive email alerts when:

💡 These emails are short, actionable, and branded with your name and details.

Digest emails in upcoach deliver personalized summaries tailored to your clients' upcoming activities — helping them stay focused without being overwhelmed.

Here’s how it works:

🧭 Where to manage it:

Admin Panel > Settings > Digest
Here, you can choose what’s included and how often it's sent.

🧠 Tip: Many clients find digests incredibly helpful — especially in coaching setups with weekly accountability tasks or regular document check-ins.

📸 A sample digest email 👇

When your client logs into upcoach, they’ll see:

The experience is clean, minimal, and designed to keep them focused.

With the upcoming client mobile app, push notifications will support:

Perfect for real-time accountability — especially in high-frequency coaching formats.

Clients can customize their own notification settings, including:

And as a coach, you also control what actions trigger notifications —
through your organization-level settings in the Admin Panel.

In group coaching, it’s not always easy to keep up with everything that’s happening — especially when you’re managing 10+ participants.

That’s why upcoach lets you get notified when key events happen, like:

By default, these notifications are enabled for both email and in-app — but you can toggle them off or on anytime based on your preferences.

💡 For busy group programs, these alerts help you stay responsive without having to check every single profile manually.

Be confident that your coaching experience is secure, private, and fully under your control.

Trust is the foundation of every coaching relationship — and that includes how you handle your clients’ personal data and progress.
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upcoach is built with privacy at its core, giving you complete control over what clients see, what gets shared, and how information is stored.

Only you, assigned coaches, and admins can access full client data across programs.

In 1-on-1 programs:

In group programs:

💡 Coach Control:

You can turn off this visibility for each block (Tasks, Habits, Smart Docs, and Drive).
If you disable visibility, each client’s entries become private to them and the coach — even inside a group program.

This allows you to decide whether you want to foster a collaborative dynamic or maintain individual privacy.
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Everything is permission-based — no accidental exposure.

🧠 Tip:
Use visibility strategically.

As a coach, you have full control over client access and data.

You can:

When a client is deleted:

No surprises. No loopholes. You’re always in control.

💡 Want to double-check the experience before inviting clients?
Use the Login as Client feature to explore your program exactly as your clients will.

Before inviting real participants, walk through the experience yourself — just like a group member would.

Here’s how:

Try:

💡 You’ll see exactly what a group participant sees — minus coach/admin tools.

🧠 Bonus:
You can use the “Login as Client” feature at any time to experience your program from their point of view.

Create a seamless enrollment flow with upcoach Offers — and onboard your group participants automatically.

Coaches often ask:

“How do I sell a group program and onboard people without managing every detail manually?”

That’s exactly what Offers are for.

An Offer is a sales & enrollment page that lets someone:

You can bundle multiple programs too — like:

Steps:

Click Publish — and your branded checkout flow is live.

You wake up to:

✅ A new participant onboarded
✅ Welcome flow and first-week materials ready
✅ Your cohort building itself — hands-free

🧲 Pro Ideas: Use Offers for…

You’ve now learned how to:

✅ Design and structure your group program
✅ Create a repeatable onboarding experience
✅ Equip your participants with accountability tools
✅ Run live sessions and support async progress
✅ Sell and scale — all in one place

Now it’s time to:

→ Invite your first group
→ Upload or refine your learning materials
→ Host your first live session
→ Let your program do the heavy lifting

💬 Need feedback or have a question?
Hit the 💬 blue chat bubble in your admin panel — we’re here to help.