Fitness Marketing Strategies: Basic Steps

Most trainers don’t go into the personal-training business because they like marketing. They become personal trainers because they want to help people lose weight, build their strength and live healthy lives. But the truth is that promoting a business is every bit as important as is knowledge when it comes to gaining new clients and financial rewards.

Personal trainers won’t ever build their businesses without first mastering some basic fitness marketing strategies.

Without marketing, even the most knowledgeable and skilled personal trainers will be desperate for work. That’s because even the best trainers won’t attract clients if these potential customers don’t know they exist.

But can trainers market their businesses without spending a small fortune? Sure. It just requires some common-sense fitness marketing strategies.

For instance, personal trainers can approach their neighborhood’s coffee shops, bookstores, banks and grocery stores with flyers advertising their business. Most local business owners will gladly post these flyers in either their windows or on dedicated message boards. Business owners like to see their fellow entrepreneurs succeed. When a business district contains many successful shops and services all entrepreneurs in the area benefit.

Another free way for entrepreneurs to market their fitness business is for them to speak at local Rotary clubs, church groups and civic associations. Trainers can ask to hold a special session for these groups that focuses on safe weight loss, strength training or flexibility exercises. Trainers should be sure, of course, to bring plenty of business cards along.

Of course, not all marketing can be free. But much of it can be inexpensive. Personal trainers can place an ad in their local newspapers for rates that are usually reasonable. If they want to end up in the local paper for free, though, they can volunteer to write a guest column. Most local papers are constantly searching for free copy to fill their pages.

Trainers should make sure to provide real information – perhaps on the best way to rehabilitate a bad back or the best ways to maintain a steady weight loss – and not just an advertisement for their business. They should also include their business’ contact information and Web site or blog address at the end of their column.

Many municipalities feature their own public-access cable TV stations. Personal trainers can run shows on these channels, and they can usually do it at little to no charge. They will have to show, though, that their show provides a public benefit of some sort. This shouldn’t be difficult; Personal trainers can say that their show promotes healthy lifestyles, for instance.

Finally, personal trainers shouldn’t discount the value of positive word-of-mouth advertising. People are far more likely to believe the good things that their friends, family members and co-workers say about a business than they are the praises they read in a newspaper advertisement.

Trainers should constantly remind their current satisfied clients to spread the word about their services. This free marketing is sometimes the most powerful of them all.

Marketing is never fun. But trainers who follow these basic fitness marketing strategies will always attract new business. And that, of course, truly is fun.

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