We all know, growing your personal trainer business takes time and successful personal trainers achieve their status because they have concentrated on something that sets them apart from others who are in the fitness business. You need to find your niche & unless you can make yourself stand out from your competitors then you will never be able to charge higher rates for your PT services.

The main thing that all successful personal trainer marketing exercises rely on is a unique selling point, your own USP, something that makes you stand out from the competition. What most successful marketing relies upon is coming up with an idea that will alter the public perception of your business. Consider targeting weight loss for ladies, getting back into shape after pregnancy, motivation for the unmotivated etc etc

If you want to increase your revenue and income then you really do have to get tuned in to the marketing mindset. No matter how many certificates you have, how many awards you have won or how great you yourself look, unless you can find a way of marketing your services then you will never make a lot of money as a personal trainer. It’s why most PT’s give up; they become a fitness expert but forget about the marketing side of their business. Most small businesses stand or fall on how well and how consistently they are marketed by their owner. It is no good telling yourself that you are a personal trainer not a salesperson, if you don’t promote yourself and get into fitness marketing then nobody is going to do it for you.

Remember, that just as with any other service industry, you are getting paid for your time and if you are going to be successful then you want to be able to charge the highest possible rates for your time, it’s no good relying on giving away sessions or offering massive reductions, you need to make a living. It is not just your expertise that sets you apart from other personal training professionals, it is how you sell that expertise and the kind of market that you attract – that is why you need to develop a USP and target a niche. Ask yourself, What do I have to offer my potential clients that my competitors don’t?  When you are marketing yourself and your business you need to focus on the value (or perceived value) that you offer your clients as well as the overall benefits. Think about possible client desires, e.g. rekindle that lost spark in your marriage by getting back in shape, or how about… make her want you, get a 6 pack in 10 weeks! Give your niche, your USP and your marketing tactics a rethink today.

Consider these 5 things!

1. Add a slide up or pop up footer to your website with your email submittal form, this way it StAnDs OuT to your visitors.

2. Add a ‘No Spam’ policy to your form, this means your visitors will feel safe when providing their email address

3. Entice them with an offer to submit there email address, e.g. first session free, 10% off first 10 sessions etc

4. Consider using abandonment software like the one provided by VE Interactive for shopping carts

5. Place a quick contact / email form on every page of your website, the easier it is to find the more enquiries you’ll get.

I haven’t mentioned so far that I used to work full time in financial
services, I have always liked working with people and at the time I was a
sales manager for a financial advisor. This was a good job but ultimately
not what I wanted to do. The trouble was I had bills to pay and couldn’t
drop everything and become self employed. To work as a gym instructor was
not financially viable due to my current salary being pretty decent. In July
2009 I reached the end of my tether and decided that I had to pursue my
passion in fitness, I had been training friends and colleagues but it wasn’t
enough. I was getting to the point where I was starting to hate my job….

I then (by accident I might add) found Inspiring Fitness and after only 12
months being “officially” in the fitness industry I am already a successful
self employed personal trainer but I also now coach other trainers on
service, client relationship building and marketing. What Inspiring Fitness
did is help to get into the industry by providing client enquires, excellent
training and ongoing training. I also started on a part time basis which
allowed me to develop my business whilst maintaining a steady income. I am
so glad that I stumbled across this concept when I did.

The question is are you in a similar position to me? Are you working in a
gym paying rent and getting no support? Are you struggling to build a
personal training business? If these are questions you are asking yourself
on a daily basis then Inspiring Fitness could the answer as we provide:

*        Guaranteed Stream of Ongoing Client Enquiries
*        Unlimited Personal Training & Business Support
*        An Industry Leading Growth And Development Structure
*        The Opportunity To Run A Full Or Part Time Business

I will be quick to add that if you have recently qualified as a level three
instructor then we don’t require any prior experience to become a business
owner with Inspiring Fitness, just look at me! I wasn’t anything special, I
just had a passion and needed some support and guidance to turn that into a
successful business.

We are currently in the process of expanding in the UK and we need
passionate and hard working people to help us grow. If you believe that you
have what it takes to be an Inspiring Fitness trainer or if you need some
general advice about what to do next, drop me an e-mail at
john.hill@inspiring-fitness.co.uk and I would delighted to help you out!

Guest Post by John Hill from Inspiring Fitness
Personal Trainers looking to become a freelance trainer should contact John and discuss the Inspiring Fitness Personal Trainer Franchise.

It’s a cheesy line I know but very true. I have learnt this lesson very
quickly in the fitness industry and how important it is in developing and
maintaining client relationships. This for me is the starting point for any
marketing strategy in personal training.

Firstly it is important to know what the product is, not the service, the
product. The answer is you are the product! In essence, a client is buying
into you and how you can help them, this to a certain extent is more
important that credentials or qualifications in the average clients eyes. If
you are a typical trainer, how many times do you get asked about
qualifications? I would guess very rarely, how often do you feel compelled
to discuss them? Quite often? I do see it a lot on trainer CV’s and
websites, which is ok, but if I wanted to lose weight and have fun doing it,
do they matter so much? I would assume not.

In my opinion the first port of call when starting a marketing strategy is
to look at your ability to sell yourself and the benefits of what you do.
For me, I used the fact that I lost weight as an angle which really spoke to
people, this was a genuine thing as I discovered through my weight loss
journey that I enjoyed the learning process and wanted to help others. This
doesn’t apply to everyone but I believe we have reasons for doing what we do
and if you can show the right level of passion and belief then people
normally respond to this.

The concept of good caring service is quite rare unfortunately in all
industries nowadays and if we think about what we do and how fragile people
are sometimes when they come to us, surely we have to be spot on with our
ability to build trust. We can build trust by demonstrating we have the
experience and knowledge to get results but how long will this continue if
we aren’t very likeable people?

For me, good service is delivering on promises and expectations first then
going from there. Being polite and punctual are great ways to start, this
shows the client you have integrity. Listening to the client and confirming
back key points shows that you are taking an active interest in the client’s
needs. Showing empathy makes the client feel that you can really help and
being honest with clients is very important as it shows that you aren’t just
going to take money and “see how it goes” These are basic skills but in my
experience so often over looked.

So the moral of this story is that I believe that we need to get the product
right first before going to market, once we are happy with our product, we
can then find the tools to let people know about the product and how it can
help them.

Do the basics brilliantly and everything else looks after itself!

Interested in writing a guest post for PTHub.com? We’ll link back to your website in return.
Your post must be original and about Personal Trainer Marketing.

Email me for more details

As most of you probably know, my main job is as an SEO Trainer and Consultant. I run SEOQualified.org and operate a Birmingham SEO agency. Going further back into my past i was a Personal Trainer, Health Club Manager and Private Gym Owner. So i’ve a passion for both fitness and SEO.

But this post isnt about me, its about YOU!

This blog ranks on Page 1 of Google.co.uk for Personal Trainer Marketing
& PTHub.co.uk ranks for literally hundreds of personal trainer keywords such as find a personal trainer and trainer search
and for the last few months ive been working on getting page 1 for Personal Trainer and Personal Training (both are currently at the top of Google.co.uk Page 2 and have popped onto Page 1 briefly over the last few days, this will become very stable very soon!) UPDATE Now on Page 1 of Google.co.uk for Personal Trainer!

So i said this blog post was about YOU!

Thats right
I am selling 3 copies of the methods & actual link information i used to get these listings!

This includes some very actionable stuff even a novice can implement straight away!

So whether you’re a personal trainer in Manchester, London, Essex, Glasgow or wherever, i’ll give you the tools and information to get to the top of the listings and help you dominate your area.

To back this up, if you let me use your business as a case study, i’ll throw in some free support, i’ll actually help you get your site optimised for the search engines!!!

OK, the cost!
I’m not doing it free sorry I’ve invested thousands into pthub.co.uk and want to develop it some more
So i want to raise some cash to spend on it. (instead of it constantly coming out of my pockets lol)

I’m offering this out to 3 people only on a first come (paid) first served basis!

Its going to operate on a sliding scale, so

1st person to take my offer gets it for £299 SOLD
2nd person to take my offer gets it for £399 SOLD
3rd (and final) personal to take my offer gets it for £499 SOLD

Update – 7th October – One place available for £299 email to claim

its worth far more than £499 anyway! so £299 is blatant theft but i’ll forgive you!
Its also all going into pthub.co.uk so you’ll benefit from that too.

So i know you’re interested, if you’re not you’re losing the plot!

email me now at chris @ pthub.co.uk
(remove the spaces)
I’ll email you a payment link (so please dont email me if you arent going to pay)

Then within 24 hours i’ll have you up and running and this will be the week you’ll make a massive difference to your business forever

look forward to working with you
Chris

The biggest factor is not onsite optimisation, but the structure of the links pointing to your website!

The more links pointing to you the better!
Heres an example…
Say you are a personal trainer and you live in Manchester

You want your links containing the keywords Personal Trainer Manchester|
Its not rocket science!

However building links is tough!

So i’ve built a link exchange network just for personal trainers
If you have a personal trainer website and want a link simply add my link – available here
Then drop me an email

Tell me where the link is and i’ll link to you, i’ll also pass your details onto my network of other trainers who may also like to swap links with you

Simples!

SargeFit showed incredible knowledge of fitness and physiology. I had
been attending a gym for 6 months prior to my session with SargeFit,
following the implementation of SargeFits training regime I felt like I
had had a tremendous workout, muscles were aching that I didn’t know
even exsisted. I have achieved more with a few weeks of SargeFits
training than I did with 6 months at the gym under a fitness trainer.
Hats off to the Sarge! Highly reccomend him.
Jason – Queensbury

I am a 42 year old male who was 3 stone overweight and who hadn’t
exercised for many years. I finally decided it was time to sort things
out, but like many people, I lack both the knowledge and motivation to
do it all myself. That is why I decided to find a personal trainer to
advise me. Having spoken to many in my local area I chose Mark at
Sargefit. We hit it off straight away at my initial assessment session.

I found Mark to be highly professional and extremely knowledgeable. He
put together a structured training programme targeting weight loss,
building strength and stamina and increasing my overall levels of
fitness. This programme was tailored to my own individual needs and
goals and I found it both realistic and easy to follow. Mark’s dietry
advise was invaluable and very educational. By being more aware of the
sort of foods that I should and shouldn’t eat and also altering when I
ate made big difference to my weight loss. Once we had agreed on my
specific targets we scheduled at least one training session per week.
Mark’s a great motivator and I really looked forward to these sessions
which were always varied and fun to do.

In between sessions Mark was always available either for advice,
support or encouragement. After 3 months we decided it was time for me
to go it alone and I’m well on my way to achieving my goals. I still see
Mark for the odd hour just to freshen up my training programme and to
prevent me from falling behind. Overall I would say that without Mark’s
knowledge, advice, motivation and support I wouldn’t have achieved all
that I have. I’ve lost most of the weight I wanted to lose and I feel
great. The experience has been enjoyable, educational and very
beneficial, and for me represents terrific value for money. As such I
wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Sargefit to anyone looking to lose weight
and improve their health and fitness, especially if like me they had
already tried and failed to do it alone.
Adrian – Bradford

Visit Sarge Fits website at http://www.sargefit.co.uk/ 
or phone 07525 139001.

Well you must be consistent in your marketing activity!
Their are plenty of people who make the effort for a few months then give up when all is not working as they would like. Well this is where the truly consistent marketer will win everytime. When all is looking like a waste of time, the consistent marketer succeeds by continuing their efforts.

Remember it will pay off! People will eventually start to associate you with your field, and as soon as this starts to happen, your efforts win through!

So….
Keep your Personal Trainer website upto date
Keep your email newsletters regular
Keep your blog posts interesting and bookmark them and email your database that you’ve updated your blog
Keep your advertising consistent and upto date
Always use your brand in all your marketing
Submit articles to local newspapers and post on forums as often as possible!
These are just a few things you should be doing!

So, How was January for you? Was it a busy start to the New Year? Did you get plenty of new clients and fresh enquiries? Did you get the enquiries who didnt take sessions with you, subscribed to your social network? Have you started building your email list? Have you made sure your business cards are actually working for you and helping you stand out from the crowd? Have you started  optimising your website for Google?  & are you making sure you arent missing out on easy revenue!

Remember to always check that you are doing the basics! Perhaps NOW is a good time to review my FREE Personal Trainer Marketing Plan! Over 100 Personal Trainers have now downloaded it!

Oh and remember to post in the Personal Trainer Forum

thanks to….

Personal Trainer Perth

Personal Trainer Cheltenham

2010 will of seen many of them make New Year Resolutions and whats the betting one of these is to get back in shape!

Do THREE Things

1) Drop them an email, text and / or phone call wishing them a Happy New Year.

2) Include a brief mention of your latest PT Offer. e.g. Oh, by the way, did you see on my website i have an offer just for ex PT clients offering 20% off a block of 12 Personal Training sessions if bought in January?

3) Ask them to subscribe to your social media network, Your Email Newsletter, Linked In, Facebook and Twitter at least. Get them in your Information Loop, They may not buy today, but there’s always tomorrow!