How to get started as an online personal trainer. One of the most common questions I get asked and see in online forums.
And it's no surprise. Becoming an online trainer is the gateway to passive and recurring income. An opportunity to help people from anywhere in the world via a lap top.
But getting started with your online personal training business can be paralysing. There's so much to do and choosing where to focus your time and money can leave you frustrated and confused.
In the blog post, I'm going to teach you how to take the first 3 steps, in the quickest way possible, in an attempt to help you build up some much needed momentum and get your online personal training business started and off the ground!
1. Your Buyer Persona
Buyer personas are fictional, generalised representations of your ideal clients. They help you understand your clients (and prospective clients) better, and make it easier for you to tailor content to the specific needs, behaviors, and concerns of different groups of people on their buyer journey.
It’s tempting to jump straight in and start an online training business with the software and marketing, so you feel like things are moving and you're making progress. But without a buyer persona, a lot of your business set up tasks will come to a stand still.
For example, your online business name depends on your buyer persona, your domain name depends on your business name and you can’t publish a website without a domain name.
How are online training clients different to face to face clients?
The first step in creating a strong buyer persona is to understand how an online training client is different to a face to face client.
A face to face client will need very different things than an online training client. For example, a face to face client needs accountability and exercise instruction. An appointment to turn up to and someone to check their form on more complex exercises. Things you can provide when you’re face to face with someone.
You can’t be face to face with an online training client so accountability and exercise instruction are difficult variables to control.
Instead, look for clients who are reasonably motivated and have some experience with exercise and provide them your expertise, knowledge and systems instead.
Now that you understand this principle, it will be much easier to find who you want to work with and create a buyer persona.
Still stuck? Download the Online Training Buyer Persona from our member resources section.
2. Business Set Up
This is the part that often leaves personal trainers perplexed. Usually because they try to set up their online training business before they figure out their buyer persona.
It can seem like there’s SO much to do and you can’t start on one thing until another is complete.
To get your business set up, there are a few tasks you need to complete.
Seven tasks. My advice if you want to succeed as an online personal trainer is this; don’t overthink it.
Nobody cares what your domain is. Just make sure it fits your business and buyer persona.
Selling online is harder than selling face to face. Get a website built by a professional who knows the online training business. Your website is the face of your business now, not you. So it HAS to look good!
Choosing an email software
Choose between Mailchimp and Aweber. They’re basically the same. Pick one and get it done.
It can seem like there’s SO much to do and you can’t start on one thing until another is complete.
To get your business set up, there are a few tasks you need to complete.
- By a domain name for your business
- Get a professional website, not a DIY one (I'm probably bias)
- Sign up to an email management system like Mailchimp or Aweber
- Sign up to an online personal training software like PT Distinction or Trainerize
- Organise and edit your business documents for online training
- Set up an account with a payment provider like Paypal or Stripe
- Get yourself online personal training insurance
Seven tasks. My advice if you want to succeed as an online personal trainer is this; don’t overthink it.
Nobody cares what your domain is. Just make sure it fits your business and buyer persona.
Selling online is harder than selling face to face. Get a website built by a professional who knows the online training business. Your website is the face of your business now, not you. So it HAS to look good!
Choosing an email software
Choose between Mailchimp and Aweber. They’re basically the same. Pick one and get it done.
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Choosing an online personal training sofware
Sign up to 2-3 free trials of software you think your clients will like, not the ones YOU like. Your clients will be the ones who need to be able to use it. Check out our list of personal trainer software reviews to speed up the process.
Getting business documents
You can make some minor changes to your existing business documents. You can also download a 14 part series of personal trainer documents from our member resources section.
Choosing a payment provider
Don’t overthink payments. Go with Paypal and Stripe because your clients trust them. Consider the fees you pay a trust fee to the payment provider for building a platform your clients are happy to purchase from.
Getting insured
Insurance is the only tricky one. Check with a lawyer in your country or state to be sure.
Again…
DON’T OVERTHINK IT!
3. Market Your Online Personal Trainer Business
The last step in this quick start guide to getting started as an online personal trainer is to start marketing your digital fitness business.
This is a HUGE topic and one that has a guide of it’s own (seriously, I wrote a whole lesson on it for the Online Trainer Course over at the Institute of Personal Trainers) so we’re only going to talk about how to get started.
Content…
Content is the digital marketers/online trainers best friend. Content is how you connect with people you don’t know, provide them with value and turn them from website visitors in to leads.
Content can come in many forms including blogs, videos, podcasts and Facebook Groups.
Whatever medium YOU are good at using, use it.
If you’re a great writer, write. if you like to be in front of the camera, create vids and if you have a radio voice, create a podcast.
Whatever you decide to do, you need to start creating content.
Next, promote that content.
For every 1 hour you spend on creating content, you’ll need to spend an additional 4 hours on promoting it. And promoting it regularly.
You can promote content by creating Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Instagram posts, search engine optimisation, Facebook ads, email and symbiotic relationships with other topically related companies
Download the content marketing funnel infographic to get a general idea of how your content can be promoted via your chosen marketing channels.
This is a HUGE topic and one that has a guide of it’s own (seriously, I wrote a whole lesson on it for the Online Trainer Course over at the Institute of Personal Trainers) so we’re only going to talk about how to get started.
Content…
Content is the digital marketers/online trainers best friend. Content is how you connect with people you don’t know, provide them with value and turn them from website visitors in to leads.
Content can come in many forms including blogs, videos, podcasts and Facebook Groups.
Whatever medium YOU are good at using, use it.
If you’re a great writer, write. if you like to be in front of the camera, create vids and if you have a radio voice, create a podcast.
Whatever you decide to do, you need to start creating content.
Next, promote that content.
For every 1 hour you spend on creating content, you’ll need to spend an additional 4 hours on promoting it. And promoting it regularly.
You can promote content by creating Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Instagram posts, search engine optimisation, Facebook ads, email and symbiotic relationships with other topically related companies
Download the content marketing funnel infographic to get a general idea of how your content can be promoted via your chosen marketing channels.
Final Thoughts
I can’t stress this enough. Don’t overthink it. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll have content, the sooner you’ll have readers, watchers and listeners and the sooner you’ll have an audience of people to turn in to clients.
You can’t make costly mistakes while you’re setting up (except for choosing a crappy website designer) so don’t get your knickers in a twist over tiny details.
If you’ve started an online training business or you’re about to, I’d love to hear about it. Connect with me personally on the contact page.
You can’t make costly mistakes while you’re setting up (except for choosing a crappy website designer) so don’t get your knickers in a twist over tiny details.
If you’ve started an online training business or you’re about to, I’d love to hear about it. Connect with me personally on the contact page.
