Before you spend any time or money on paid advertising, there are some foundational marketing steps that every fitness studio owner and personal trainer must consider in order to develop an inspiring first impression for any potential customers that are attracted to your brand through your paid ads. There are also some powerful unpaid marketing methods that can connect you with your ideal target customers.
The checklist below will help every fitness professional with building their most successful brand and digital presence. It will also help with exhausting their unpaid marketing options, in order to get the best ‘bang for their buck’ return on their marketing investment of both time and money.
Do not let the length of the list stress you out. Read through the list and decide which tips are an appropriate priority for connecting your specific brand with your target customers. Then begin checking the most important ‘to dos’ off your list one at a time.
THE CHECKLIST
1. ESTABLISH YOUR LEADING MARKETING METHODS
2. POWERFULLY DIFFERENTIATE
3. CREATIVE WEBSITE DESIGN + SEO DEVELOPMENT
4. GROW YOUR SOCIAL PROOF + TESTIMONIALS
5. ASK FOR NEW CLIENT REFERRALS
6. NETWORK THROUGH FAVORITE CLIENTS’ WORKPLACES
7. STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT
8. OFFER FOR YOUR CLIENTS TO BRING A FRIEND
9. NETWORK THROUGH YOUR CURRENT HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS
10. ESTABLISH AN EMAIL LIST + A NEWSLETTER
11. BUILD AND DISTRIBUTE A PRESS PACKAGE
1. ESTABLISH YOUR LEADING MARKETING METHODS
Before running in any direction with your marketing, you MUST identify the leading marketing methods that your target client would use to locate your services. Would they use a Google search? Yelp search? NextDoor? Ask friends on Facebook? Once you can determine the leading 2-3 marketing methods for your ideal client, THEN you can develop an intelligent strategy for reaching your niche client using these specific marketing avenues.
HOW TO DO THIS…
Start by asking your current clients that you love, ‘If I moved away, what are the top ways you would go about finding my replacement?’ This will give you an excellent starting point for developing your list of marketing priorities.
Survey your clients for all social media platforms that they currently use including but not limited to:
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
NEXTDOOR
LINKEDIN
TIKTOK
I then recommend doing the same search that your client would do on these methods, in order to see where you stack up in the results and who your competitors are in order to better understand who you are up against.
2. POWERFULLY DIFFERENTIATE
If you have never worked through a differentiation exercise for your practice, YOU MUST DO THIS IMMEDIATELY! Properly defining and marketing with your DIFFERENTIATORS, is the ONLY way for potential customers to understand:
How you are UNIQUE from all of your competition
Why you are the LEADING OPTION IN YOUR MARKET
Why you are THE BEST FIT FOR YOUR TARGET CLIENT’S SPECIFIC NEEDS
HOW TO DO THIS…
Determine your most powerful set of differentiators by using the free access link below to our TBM coursework ’Differentiate in Four Steps to Sprint Ahead in Your Market.’
https://www.thebusinessmovement.com/4-essential-steps/welcome
Password: yougotthis
Once you determine your top 1-3 differentiators, you must UPDATE ALL OF YOUR MARKETING (website, social media, social proof sites, etc) with these in order to truly stand out as the best option for your client. This definitely includes UPDATING YOUR BIO AND SPECIALTIES LIST with your most powerful set of differentiators.
Defining your DIFFERENTIATORS is TOUGH, so schedule a meeting with Billy at any time if he can help you with some creative brainstorming work in order to determine your most powerful set!
3. CREATIVE WEBSITE DESIGN + SEO DEVELOPMENT
EVERY element of your marketing should send folks back to a clean, sharp, well DIFFERENTIATED website for your brand and practice. A well designed site will definitely set you apart as an organized fitness professional and will greatly boost your credibility and the confidence of a potential customer. Your website does not have to be a GIANT multi-page site. It can be a simple, well organized, single page just like our DIAKADI trainer pages (LINK to example).
HOW TO DO THIS…
Below is a free access link to our TBM coursework ‘Invigorate Your Website Homepage and SEO’. This course is an excellent first step for folks just building a site, as well as an ideal checklist for folks looking to get more traffic to their website.
Password: invigorate
ChatGPT is an incredibly helpful tool when it comes to researching and brainstorming the most powerful keywords for your website.
Once your website is up and running you MUST:
Claim your Google Business Profile
Connect to the Google Search Console
Billy is here to assist you in any way you need with website design, graphics, SEO, content review, etc. Do not hesitate to reach out to him with questions or requests for help.
4. GROW YOUR SOCIAL PROOF + TESTIMONIALS
Social proof is HANDS DOWN your most powerful tool in convincing potential customers to give your new services a try. Your clients’ experiences and results speak FAR LOUDER than any marketing content that you could ever write yourself. Check out these current statistics from the site Influencer Marketing Hub about the power of social proof :
98% of consumers read online reviews to learn about local businesses
72% of consumers consider customer reviews and testimonials more credible than when a brand talks about its own products
Your clients’ reviews, stories, and results should be spread widely throughout your content for your website, social media, and your client’s leading social proof websites. Currently, the three leading sites where customers are looking for reviews are Google, Yelp and Facebook.
HOW TO DO THIS…
Here is our top TBM blog for claiming your business on social proof websites (Yelp, Google, NextDoor, etc), growing your reviews and making the most of them.
I highly recommend having your clients review you on both your business social proof profiles (i.e. Your Yelp and Google profiles) as well as on your gym’s profile page. If your client writes a review and mentions your name as an amazing trainer on your gym’s profile page, then new clients at your gym will often ask for you directly.
Here is a LINK to a sample Review Request Email for you to send out to your clients asking for their help.
Add your reviews and client testimonials throughout your website and social media in order to boost the trust of new clients on your page.
Set a monthly reminder to consistently request reviews from any new clients or clients that have achieved new results.
5. ASK FOR NEW CLIENT REFERRALS
One of the quickest and best ways to connect with new clients that are ideal matches for your target customer is to find these new clients through your own current clients that you love working with! One of the biggest reasons that this works so well is that the new potential client is already warmed up to liking you because they know your current clients and their amazing results.
HOW TO DO THIS…
6. NETWORK THROUGH FAVORITE CLIENTS’ WORKPLACES
I recommend brainstorming with your favorite current clients about possible ways of educating their work colleagues through written content shares or small group workshops or ‘brown bags’. Just as it is with the referral program listed above, using your own current clients’ networks to help with spreading the word about your services is a speed track for gaining the trust of potential new clients.
HOW TO DO THIS…
Ask your current clients if their offices or departments have a monthly newsletter or publication where you can submit educational articles and content as an expert in your specific niche of the health and fitness industry. At the end of every article you submit, provide a few ‘action item’ options for how they can possibly learn more from you or hire you as a coach:
A FREE OPTION - Subscribe to your mailing list
AN INEXPENSIVE OPTION - Subscribe to your online workout library
A PRIVATE COACHING OPTION - Hire you as a private coach
Another excellent way of introducing yourself to your client’s work team or department is to offer complimentary brown bag lunches where you share valuable information with them about health questions or issues that they may be currently experiencing (i.e. Posture and pain clinics, efficient workout programming, etc). For everyone that attends your brown bag talk, offer them a special rate of 50% off your initial assessment session.
7. STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT
First off, look back at your marketing methods in order to guarantee that you are investing time and money ONLY into the social media platforms (a) where your clients are active and (b) where they would shop for your services. Once you have this list, then you can focus your time and efforts only on the leading platforms. DO NOT make the mistake of spending HOURS on Instagram or TikTok, just because every other trainer you know is on Instagram or TikTok. ALWAYS be strategic with your time, energy and resources based on your target clients and their shopping habits.
HOW TO DO THIS…
Currently, the leading social media platforms for listing/advertising your business are listed below. I recommend creating an account on any of these listed below that are used by your target audience. Then create a posting strategy that will well represent your differentiators and attract your ideal clients to reach out to you.
As you are ready to write your posts,. ChatGPT is the perfect tool for helping you brainstorm creative ideas around popular fitness and health topics, as well as helping you write the initial draft or bullets for your post. I always recommend the you fully personalize all content from ChatGPT in order to give it your own personal voice and style.
Reach out to me at billy@thebusinessmovement.com if I can assist you in any way with this work and planning.FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
LINKEDIN
NEXTDOOR
TIKTOK
TWITTER
YOUTUBE
8. OFFER FOR YOUR CLIENTS TO BRING A FRIEND
Another way to market through your current client population is by using the ‘bring a friend’ invitation. You can do this as a partner gym workout, or this often works well with creative, small group workouts. Spring, summer and fall are perfect times for getting your clients and their friends together for a FUN, outdoor conditioning workout on a weekend morning.
HOW TO DO THIS…
While considering your current clients and their workout needs, come up with a creative outdoor conditioning workout that will be inspiring for your current clients and an easy way for them to bring a friend to the workout with them. For every friend that attends, you send them a ‘Friends + Family’ offer for a discounted consultation session from you, or possibly a free or discounted assessment session in order to test run your 1:1 services.
You can even make the group workouts a social event like a Friday night ‘Happy Hour’ where you offer 30 minutes of conditioning followed by a walk to a nearby outdoor bar for wine or beers. Get creative and learn as you go about what works well for your current clients and what works well for inspiring potential clients to come as well.
9. NETWORK THROUGH YOUR CURRENT HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS
Brainstorm all of the health care practitioners that you have in your life who would possibly have clients/patients that would benefit from your services. Possible examples include:
Primary care doctors
Physical therapists
Mental therapists and counselors
Massage therapists
Chiropractors
Acupuncturists
Nutritionists and Registered Dietitians
Holistic therapists
Pilates or yoga instructors
HOW TO DO THIS…
Do not be shy about contacting these individuals and discussing the possibility of forming a referral partnership with them. Offer to give them a hefty referral fee for anyone that they send your way (i.e. You pay each referring practitioner the equivalent of 25% of the new client’s first package rate).
IMPORTANT NOTE: BEFORE you try this marketing method, YOU MUST have an incredibly impressive digital marketing presence (i.e. website, social media, social proof) where you can direct these practitioners and their potential clients. Without this ‘landing page’, it will be a waste of time to set up this referral process.
10. ESTABLISH AN EMAIL LIST + A NEWSLETTER
Ideally, you have kept the contact information for EVERY client you have ever worked with and every potential client that has reached out to you. This mailing list is your golden ticket to staying on each of these individual’s radar when it comes to personal training and improving their health. A newsletter is an excellent way to stay in contact with this mailing list and remain a resource for them in case they would ever need your services in the future.
HOW TO DO THIS…
If you are going to send out a newsletter, you MUST do it using a software that has an ‘unsubscribe’ option. Not only does this look professional, but it also protects you from annoying people with SPAM that they cannot opt out of.
You can choose to send monthly, bimonthly or even quarterly newsletters based on your bandwidth and time available. These newsletters can be short and to the point, remembering that less is always more powerful! Consider the following topics:
Links to articles, research, or advanced fitness knowledge from your most recent cont education course
Local health tips for events, restaurants, etc
Holistic lifestyle resources for improving nutrition, sleep and stress
Your current availability for taking on new clients
I highly recommend using ChatGPT to assist you with brainstorming newsletter topics, creating first drafts of text content, and assisting with manipulating your content to make it shorter, more inspiring and even more playful.
Ideally, throughout your newsletter, send people to your website for details, blogs, and additional content in order to boost your SEO.
At the end of EVERY newsletter, offer three unique options of ways that clients can work with you more, learn from your knowledge and take advantage of your services:
A FREE OPTION - Subscribe to your mailing list
AN INEXPENSIVE OPTION - Subscribe to your online workout library
A PRIVATE COACHING OPTION - Hire you as a private coach
11. BUILD AND DISTRIBUTE A PRESS PACKAGE
There are basically two reasons for trying to get press coverage for you and your brand:
To share your content and expertise in a publication that your target audience would be reading (often a local publication)
To establish your role as the expert, go-to person for knowledge on a specific subject in a LARGER, highly reputable publication (think GQ, Wall Street Journal, etc) that you can then use in your resume as ‘social proof’ of your role as an industry leader
Both of these are excellent reasons for pursuing press coverage and they both start with the following steps:
Build a press kit (*You can always ask ChatGPT ‘How do I build a press kit for my fitness business?’ if you need help with this step.)
Survey your clients for publications, newspapers, blogs, etc that they read
Create a list of both large and small publications that you would like to be featured in with the contacts you would reach out to (ie Fitness and health editors)
Prioritize this list based on your needs and schedule weekly time to submit content, articles, blogs, and/or pitches to your top listings
HOW TO DO THIS…
Here is a LINK to a podcast interview that I did with my good friend James Patrick, an expert in assisting fitness professionals with getting published. In this podcast, James gives you all the tools and steps that you need to take in order to build your press kit and start your outreach.
WRAP UP AND NEXT STEPS
As with all marketing, you must consistently assess if each of the items above is giving you the return on your investment that you expected. Make adjustments and reprioritize your marketing methods as needed, in order to avoid wasting your time or money on marketing channels that are not boosting your new client acquisition.
If I can ever assist in any way with reviewing your marketing strategy or developing specific channels, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at any time.
You got this!
Billy
billy@thebusinessmovement.com
