Online Personal Training is thriving and with many trainers aiming to reach the same audience it can seem daunting at first when you read all the advice on how to market your online training business to get new clients. Lead generation and conversion aren’t as difficult as they seem, however they require consistent investment, either time or money or both. With a little creativity and hard work, you can soon make your online fitness business a flourishing key player in the industry. Here are 7 slightly different ways to attract new clients to your online fitness venture.
#1. Master Your Welcome Email
Did you know that welcome emails generate a revenue 320% higher than promotional emails. Whether your readers download one of your lead magnets or they subscribe to your blog updates, they are more likely to open the welcome email they receive instantly after the transaction, then any future emails you may send them.
Focus on being extremely reader friendly in your wording, rather than using too many sales terms in your subject line and in the copy, but also introduce your business so they know what you do. The sender email address that appears on their email box and the timing of the email can also be crucial.
#2. Take Part in or Sponsor Community Events
Many businesses often overlook their own neighbours when generating leads. Your biggest supporters can be those who you know in your personal life. Your local community can be an excellent base to obtain your first online training clients.
To build your audience, you can start by volunteering to run a fitness class for the residents of the community. You can even sponsor free boot camps or yoga sessions once a month at the local park.
You can then use these opportunities to promote your online fitness services to the attendees. You can highlight the benefits of having a personal trainer in their corner to create their workouts and keep them accountable while they can be flexible with their training times and workout anywhere.
#3. Optimise Your Website for Search Engines
With the changing algorithm of many platforms like Facebook or Google, there are more reasons to optimise your fitness website for search engines than ever before. People who are already looking for your services can find you if you have this point nailed. You can hire a personal trainer marketing company to help your website rank high on Google if you have that kind of budget, or you can learn how to do it yourself.
SEO optimisation includes clever use of your niche specific keywords in all your personal trainer website content, from the headers, sub-headers, and the copy of the website, through URLs and metadata to hyperlinks and more. You can supplement your website marketing by using Google AdWords to create targeted, SEO-optimised paid ads to promote your business.
#4. Build Your Online Tribe on Social Media
There are over 2.6 billion social media users today and it’s estimated to grow rapidly in the next few years. This makes for an exceptionally large and highly-diverse customer base for your new online fitness business.
A great way to get prospect attention is to post engaging and entertaining posts on social media. Statistics show that 80% of brand audiences would prefer watching live-streamed videos than reading blogs. You could also share GIFs, links to blogs, info-graphics, and quizzes to interact with your prospects. Starting a Facebook group is also a great idea.
#5. Join the Speaker Line-Up at a University or Corporate Event
Depending on your niche, the millennial population could be the biggest market for your online fitness business. They are the ones who have the most hectic lives and start to realise they need to take better care of themselves and their fitness and health. Their busy work and family schedule may not allow fixed gym commitments but joining an online fitness community and working with an online personal trainer may be up their street more than of any other age groups.
To leverage this large market, you can consider hosting a talk on health and fitness at the local university or corporate offices. Lectures and one-on-one Q&A sessions will establish you as a thought leader and subject matter expert and will give you an opportunity to create a good first impression on prospects, build trust and encourage them to join your online community.
#6. Work with Industry Influencers
A great way to find a large client base for your business is to work with fitness influencers online. From posting interview videos to guest blogging for them (or asking them write for you), you can engage with them online in many ways.
Once you have an agreement from an influential fitness personality to work with you, feel free to use all avenues to put yourself in front of their audience. This can include mentioning or tagging them in relevant social media posts and blog articles. The key here is relevant and seek their approval in every instance because their image and reputation is on the line.
#7. Pay for a Press Release or a PR Campaign
If you have a big even coming up or a new service launch, it can be a good idea to issue a press release to make sure everybody who may be interested would see it.
Hiring a PR company to handle all public relations and work towards growing your brand awareness can save you a lot of time so you can focus on what you are best at. Designing killer training plans and helping your clients achieve their desired fitness goals.
