You need to find out what it is that your clients or future clients want, need, and desire.

Thousands of personal trainers are skipping this critical marketing step – and losing business as a result. Are you one of them?

Research: if the word sounds like a snooze-fest to you, you’re not alone. As a fitness trainer, you probably chose your profession because you’re passionate about health, about action, about client contact – not because you want to spend hours analyzing trends and Googling into oblivion.

But when it comes to developing a marketing plan, fitness market research is your front-row ticket to success. It reveals the most pertinent needs of your clients. It uncovers the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. It allows you to pinpoint the exact strategies you need for superior marketing.

Knowledge is power. Here’s how to gain it.

1. Investigate your niche market.

If you want to get anywhere as a fitness professional, you need to narrow your scope beyond the general population. Your niche market is your bull’s-eye – the specialized spot to aim your marketing arrows.

Whether you’re training senior citizens, pregnant women, college athletes, body builders, or another group entirely, a focused target allows for focused research. And focused research brings the precise information you need.

Read more…

Axe Cologne gets it. You’ve undoubtedly seen this company’s commercials on TV. They always feature scruffy young men who are immediately swarmed by model-level women once they spray on some Axe.

The commercials are silly. You might even consider them a bit offensive. But you can’t argue with one thing: The promotional folks at Axe know their target market. They know that young men don’t just think about sex, they think about it all the time. So Axe fills its commercials with skinny women in tight shorts and halter-tops.

Here is a classic Axe commercial.

Sex sells, to the right audience. And Axe knows it.

But what about you? Sex sells. Are you using it?

Read more…

Let’s face it: the job of a personal trainer isn’t glamorous. You probably see more spandex in a week than most people do in a lifetime. You put up with cranky clients, money-guzzling gym owners, and weightlifting newbies convinced they can build massive biceps with 2-pound dumbbells.

If you weren’t so passionate about your work, you’d probably go insane.

Fortunately, the fitness industry is booming. With over two-thirds of Americans currently overweight or obese, there’s never been a better time to help people get in shape. Millions are unhealthy, unhappy, and desperate for a way to regain control of their lives.

So why are you still struggling to find clients?

Why aren’t the referrals flooding in?

Why, in a world where your profession is more important than ever, are you making less money than some McDonalds employees?

The magic word is “marketing.”

In the field of health and fitness, skill alone isn’t enough to catapult you into the public eye. Too many fitness instructors think that simply being good at what they do – motivating, educating, encouraging, instructing – will earn them a cult following of clients and spark a wildfire of referrals.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

You’re in a field where thousands of fitness professionals are fighting tooth and claw just to make a living wage. You need to do more than be a good trainer; you also need to be a smart marketer.

In fact, you’d be shocked by the number of fitness professionals who don’t understand effective marketing. Instead, they take the “piñata approach” to gaining business – swinging blindly with a bat of fliers, postcards, ads, and referral requests, hoping they’ll eventually hit a client. Any client at all.

Take off the blindfold. Put down the bat. Step away from haphazard marketing scheme.

By following these tips, you can revamp your marketing strategy and start gaining the clients – and the income – you deserve.

Fitness Market Research

There’s no way around it: successful marketing starts with research.

Some fitness trainers dodge this step, plunging headfirst into a marketing plan before they’ve even tested the waters. These are the same people who spend their careers floundering, pouring money into ineffective strategies, grasping for clients, and careening towards an empty bank account.

Don’t underestimate the value of research. No matter who you are or what you have to offer, powerful marketing requires powerful knowledge. And to make true headway in the fitness industry, you’ll need to do two things:
Read more…

Take a tour around the Internet. It seems as if everyone is running a blog. But how many of these blogs are actually making money for their owners? If you guessed “nearly none of them,” you’re correct. But there are ways to blog for profit. And if you’re running your own personal-training blog, you should be aware of three tips on using a fitness blog to attract new clients.

New clients, after all, are the key to running any successful business. And any tool that can help you bring in these new clients is one that you can’t afford to ignore.

This is why it’s important to start and maintain a fitness blog. If done right, a blog can help you grow your business.

#1 – Deliver Valuable Content Consistently
The first step to running a successful blog is to fill it with interesting and informative content.
Read more…

There are many personal trainers out there that stick to word-of mouth publicity and advertisements around town in order to get their business. Today, there is a lot more competition than you may believe, so it is hard to make those small tactics work. Personal training marketing will require you to use a number of different techniques in order to be successful. There are many professionals out there that are looking for marketing avenues, so you need to make sure you are as creative as you can be. As I write this article, I am going to talk about marketing strategies for personal trainers.

First of all, you need to come up with a marketing plan.

That plan needs to be systematic and action-oriented. In order to take advantage of that marketing approach, you will need to have a steady flow of potential clients.

Those clients will need to have an interest in both you and your abilities. You need those clients to come to you, instead of you chasing them down. You obviously need a tactic that is easy to do. Read more…

There are plenty of marketing tips for Personal Trainers to help promote their business, but there are three that can give your Personal Training Business a quick, solid reputation.

First, develop your testimonials.

Take before and after photos of your clients. Type up their brief story: their goal, how you helped them achieve it and how long it took. Create a display in your location to feature their accomplishments. If you are doing any newspaper advertising, testimonials like this make great ads. Of course, ask permission from your client before plastering their success story on your wall or in your local newspaper. Most clients will be flattered to be featured and will even write a testimony for you. In addition to boosting your business, you are giving them well-deserved recognition!

Write a column

Speaking of newspapers, ask your hometown paper if you could write a weekly or monthly column for publication. In lieu of pay, offer to write for a byline and small photo to accompany your article. This will get your name and face in front of the public for free. The newspaper will benefit by offering a service to its readers and you will be developing yourself as an expert.

Read more…

It’s no secret that a major key to success as a Personal Trainer Business Owner is learning how to market yourself.But if you think that you need a bachelor’s degree in business in order to market your personal training business successfully, think again.

Some of the best business leaders out there today don’t have a degree in “marketing”; instead, they’ve learned that self-confidence is the greatest secret weapon towards attracting top clients and striking important deals for your business. Not sure if you’ve got the stuff? Here are a few tips that’ll have you standing tall and your business seeing more green:

Stand Up Straight.No, your mother didn’t make me write that.Body language experts have long known that good posture – straight back, chest out, head up – conveys a direct message to your audience: what you have to say is important.If your body exudes confidence, your clients and business peers are guaranteed to sit up and listen.

Read more…

Do you realize how powerful your smile is?

“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
Your smile is a messenger of your good will. Your
smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone
who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their
faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through
the clouds. Especially when that someone is under
pressure from his bosses, his customers, his teachers, or
parents or children, a smile can help him realize that all
is not hopeless – that there is joy in the world.”

- Dale Carnegie

Think of the impact you have on your clients.

Read more…

Today I would like to help you Market yourself as a Personal Trainer.

When it comes to running a successful business, it is essential to find opportunities to market yourself that are inexpensive and will maximize your income.

Even if you are working with a shoestring marketing budget, you can use these simple ways to attract clients and see your business flourish.  All it takes is time and some careful planning.

First and foremost, your natural charm, friendly demeanor and winning attitude are your greatest assets. These qualities go a long way toward getting your foot in the door. You want to come across as friendly and trustworthy.

If someone doesn’t feel comfortable around you, the odds of them training with you on a regular basis are very slim. A great way to meet new clients is to put yourself out there.

Spend time in the gym chatting with members; hit the tennis courts or even the golf courses. Of course talking only goes so far. You always want to have business cards on you to hand out to people you meet. A killer business card gives you the opportunity to show that you are professional. Printing out cards on your printer at home won’t cut it. Spend the couple extra dollars for quality cards.

Have you ever wondered why most Real Estate Agents have their picture on their card?

Read more…