Not only has online personal training landed in the digital space, but it's also become an effective and chosen way to manage fitness businesses. The virtual fitness industry has evolved a lot in the past couple of years. If you want to grow your personal training (PT) business, going online is a fantastic way to do it.
In this comprehensive starter blog, we'll show you how to become an online personal trainer in no time. This guide will help you decide on everything from online personal training software and websites to payments and PT insurance in the UK and worldwide.
We've tested systems, marketing strategies, and online personal trainer software to help hundreds of trainers create their online fitness business.
Together with our 'The First 3 Steps to Becoming a Successful Online Trainer' post, this blog is all you need to start virtual training. Ready?
Deciding If You Should Become an Online Personal Trainer
Here's the deal. Before you jump headfirst into your transition to the online space, you need to really figure out if this is what you want. You need to be clear on why you want to become an online personal trainer.
Do you want to expand your offering? Would it be a better way to manage clients? Understand your goals and make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.
Do you want to expand your offering? Would it be a better way to manage clients? Understand your goals and make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.
Your foundation also needs to be strong before you convert to the online fitness world. There are countless fitness professionals working online. And the beginning of your journey may be difficult.
We've had many trainers come to us for help because their face-to-face business has either slowed or failed completely. They figured going online would be easier because "you can reach more people".
You can... But there's a catch.
If you're not doing so great with your in-person training, online PT will almost certainly look like the easiest way out. But that might not be the case.
The Challenges of Online Personal Training
- Online personal training is much more difficult to market than face-to-face PT. Establishing trust with a person you may never meet takes a lot of time and energy.
- Client uptake is much much slower. If you can get one new client a week in your face-to-face business, it could potentially be one per month as an online trainer.
- Online training does not take less time and effort than in-person training. All of the time you would ordinarily spend training a face-to-face client would be spent on marketing, support, retention, virtual program management, etc.
Essentially, while the amount of face-to-face time decreases, the amount of time spent on other tasks increases.
Requirements to Be a Successful Online Personal Trainer
With the above points in mind, I think you should only become an online trainer if:
But, wait. What if you don't fit the criteria above?
We suggest sorting out these elements before deciding to work online. However, even without these aspects, you can still follow the steps below for how to become an online personal trainer, Let them percolate in your mind while you prepare yourself to dive in.
- You have to have a niche. If you only train generic clients with no specific goal in mind, what's stopping them from going on Bodybuilding.com. There they can download one of hundreds of workouts for free?
Although it's not impossible to just start online, we do feel in-person training gives you essential experience handling personal training clients. - You have at least one year of experience in exercise programming with face-to-face clients. This is a must. If you can't train people when they're right in front of you, you may not have enough experience to train people online.
It doesn't matter what type of content it is: blogs, emails, Facebook posts, tweets, videos, or podcasts. You need a way to provide value and establish your online presence. - You have a website. It becomes your virtual home and base of operations. Before moving to other online training areas, you must make sure you set up a good personal trainer website.
A well-defined niche enables you to become an expert fitness professional, attract potential clients with your specialty, and possibly earn more. - You have some marketing experience. Unless you have a huge existing clientele or a generous marketing budget for ads, you'll need an effective marketing strategy to gain momentum. You'll need to master content creation, have an understanding of practices like search engine optimization (SEO), and more.
But, wait. What if you don't fit the criteria above?
We suggest sorting out these elements before deciding to work online. However, even without these aspects, you can still follow the steps below for how to become an online personal trainer, Let them percolate in your mind while you prepare yourself to dive in.
10 Steps For How to Become an Online Personal Trainer
Follow these steps for how to become a virtual personal trainer and you'll establish a viable online fitness coaching business.
1. Create Your Online Services & Niche
What distinguishes you as a fitness trainer? What can online clients get from you that other coaching programs cannot? Knowing your unique selling propositions (USPs) will help you sell yourself to your target audience.
Your USPs are what set you apart from your competition in the huge online fitness industry. Identify them and you'll know what your niche is.
Your USPs are what set you apart from your competition in the huge online fitness industry. Identify them and you'll know what your niche is.
To help you define your USPs and niche, make a list of the online services you wish to offer. Think about how you can make them unique to competitors' offerings. Also, consider factors like price and delivery. Affordability can be a unique factor and so can the channels you use for your online session.
When you have a niche identified, you can make it clear why clients should use your personal training services. You can persuade them and increase client attraction.
2. Qualify as an Online Personal Trainer
If you have no experience or qualifications for personal training, this is another thing to add to the top of your list. Potential clients want a fitness trainer they can trust with their fitness goals and lifestyle.
Online personal training certifications and experience prove your legitimacy and give you a leg to stand on.
Ideal clients can feel like they can place their trust in you. So first, you should acquire your personal trainer certifications. Get qualified and learn how to provide great workout programs and customer service.
Online personal training certifications and experience prove your legitimacy and give you a leg to stand on.
Ideal clients can feel like they can place their trust in you. So first, you should acquire your personal trainer certifications. Get qualified and learn how to provide great workout programs and customer service.
Next, you want to gain experience and learn how to work with clients hands-on. Sure, you can start online training the moment you get your PT qualification, but it may not be an effective place to begin. You won't know much about the day-to-day of working out with clients or running a business.
Instead, consider setting up as a personal trainer. Provide face-to-face training for a while. It's a tad easier to market to in-person clients and use physical workout sessions to gain a step into the industry.
You can also leverage existing clients to prove your legitimacy and show potential coaching clients that you know what you're doing. An in-person program will also help you get some cash flow and transition slowly. You can create a steady cash flow to invest in your online training business, so you can hire professionals for tasks like marketing.
3. Domain & Hosting
Don't get me wrong, it's certainly possible to become a successful online personal trainer without a personal trainer website but let's face it, having when someone is interested in working with you, they're going to look for your site.
There’s no website without a domain and a hosting account. So pay attention, because it’s a vital step if you want to learn how to set up an online pt site. Your domain name is the address people will use to find your online training website (Ex. www.youronlinePTwebsite.com).
There’s no website without a domain and a hosting account. So pay attention, because it’s a vital step if you want to learn how to set up an online pt site. Your domain name is the address people will use to find your online training website (Ex. www.youronlinePTwebsite.com).
Don't overthink naming you website too much. If you have a business name, use that. If you don't use your personal name. (e.g. yourname.com). This step can be paralysing but honestly, nobody is going to be bothered unless it sounds really dumb or offensive. Besides, you can always change it later and they cost only $5-$15 per year!
Once you have some ideas lined up you can proceed to a tool like 1and1 and Godaddy to find out what’s available. Click the logos below to check out some of the most popular services.
LEARN MORE: HOW TO CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME
Once you have some ideas lined up you can proceed to a tool like 1and1 and Godaddy to find out what’s available. Click the logos below to check out some of the most popular services.
LEARN MORE: HOW TO CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME
4. A Fitness Website
Next, create a personal training website that leads can refer to. If you already have a personal trainer website, work on optimizing it to attract clients. Once you have a good site in place, adding an online training service can often be enough to get things moving to the virtual space. This is especially true if you intend to target some of your existing clients.
Setting up a website is easy enough if you can use WordPress. However, just having a website isn't enough. As an online trainer, it's your main marketing asset so it needs to establish trust and invite visitors to learn more about you. It should also demonstrate your competency and gently nudge the visitor to become a lead. Include details like your training certificate, reviews, testimonials, and more to prove customers can trust you.
Remember, online training is HARDER to sell, so your website needs to be tip-top and trustworthy.
5. Member Portal/Software
There are two ways to provide your online training clients with the tools they need to get results. An online training software like PT Distinction, Trainerize and Total Coaching or a member portal on your website. Or both.
A member portal is cheap but takes a significant amount of time to build. You'll need at least 90 days' worth of content in there before you can even start selling. Content might include workouts, cheat sheets, PDF guides, feedback forms, etc.
Personal training software is much more "get set and go". You can have most software set up in a matter of hours and take on clients pretty much straight away. You just need to pick the right software for your needs. To do this, you need to know your goals. What do you want to get out of the system? What kinds of services do you want to offer when using it?
A member portal is cheap but takes a significant amount of time to build. You'll need at least 90 days' worth of content in there before you can even start selling. Content might include workouts, cheat sheets, PDF guides, feedback forms, etc.
Personal training software is much more "get set and go". You can have most software set up in a matter of hours and take on clients pretty much straight away. You just need to pick the right software for your needs. To do this, you need to know your goals. What do you want to get out of the system? What kinds of services do you want to offer when using it?
Once you know your goals, you can pick features and solutions that can work for your goals. Learn more about how to select personal training software here. We've also got an article on the best online tools you can use for marketing, workout planning, etc.
Just a note if you're thinking of developing an online personal trainer platform yourself. There are already dozens of options out there, so save time and money by picking one that's already around.
Just a note if you're thinking of developing an online personal trainer platform yourself. There are already dozens of options out there, so save time and money by picking one that's already around.
6. Business Documents
Business documents include feedback forms, PARQ's and Online Training Informed Consent forms. A lot of the forms you'd use in your face to face fitness business will work fine, you may just need to tweak a few of them.
You can download all of your personal trainer documents for free on our sister site where you'll find personal trainer resources for beginners as well as other tools and helpful guides: The Institute of Personal Trainers.
DOWNLOAD: PERSONAL TRAINER DOCUMENTS
7. Taking Payments
One of the most important tools you'll utilize if you go online is a payment portal. An online payment platform enables you to take payments from clients securely from anywhere in the world. The right one can also help you manage billing processes and support your clients through diverse payment options.
Choosing one does not need to be a chore. Don't get yourself obsessed over small percentages and payment fees. Just go for the trusted providers like Paypal or Stripe.
Choosing one does not need to be a chore. Don't get yourself obsessed over small percentages and payment fees. Just go for the trusted providers like Paypal or Stripe.
The personal training software you choose may already have a viable payment processing system available. It's more than okay to use that if it works for you. You could also use accessible and trusted systems like PayPal and Stripe. You'll just have to pay minor fees and they're convenient and easy to manage.
8. Slowly Grow Your Online Presence
Cultivating an online identity and working as an online trainer is not just about offering services. If you boost your visibility and online presence, you can increase brand awareness, recall, and trust. This can lead to increased interest in your business and online fitness services from potential clients.
There are many ways to enhance your digital visibility. Some of the best ones you should try as you build yourself as an online fitness professional include:
There are many ways to enhance your digital visibility. Some of the best ones you should try as you build yourself as an online fitness professional include:
- Blogs
- Social media
- Video platforms
- A Google My Business Profile
It’s important to not just create and set up these spaces but to use them effectively. Find SEO keywords and use them in all your content, including your Google My Business (GMB) profile information. This will help you rank higher in search engine results.
Optimize your social media by finding relevant keywords and hashtags to use to boost your discoverability. Having optimized digital platforms gives you a higher chance of appearing on potential clients' screens.
Optimize your social media by finding relevant keywords and hashtags to use to boost your discoverability. Having optimized digital platforms gives you a higher chance of appearing on potential clients' screens.
9. Use Paid Ads
Paid ads are another way to increase your visibility online. Utilize paid ads on search engines and social media platforms to help you with lead generation and brand awareness. You can make paid ads for targeted audiences which is more effective than just advertising to random people.
Paid methods include:
Paid methods include:
- Facebook ads
- Google ads
- Off-site SEO
Paid methods are great if you have a bit of spare cash to invest. It's an easy way to get more eyes on your business as soon as possible. If you don't have any spare money lying around to invest in paid ads, there are plenty of free marketing methods. These include:
- Creating valuable content on your blog
- Publishing content across social media
- Offering online courses via platforms like YouTube
- Sending clients weekly updates
- Networking
Most PTs start off with free marketing methods because they have more time than money at the beginning. However, if you start your online personal training business off the back of your face-to-face training, you'll likely have an existing audience to market to.
You may even have some money to invest and work on both paid and free marketing strategies. Consider offering a free online session to your existing clients to bring them into this space.
10. Getting Insured
Insurance is a scary topic and one that you should take seriously. Unfortunately, information about insurance for online trainers is pretty scarce right now. Even some multi-million dollar companies that provide fitness services online operate without online personal training insurance.
If you can, however, try and get insurance in case of injuries, accidents, and incidents.
If you can't, you should at least have a privacy policy and terms of service on your website. These terms of service should explicitly say that anybody who works with you or consumes your material waives all liability.
If you can, however, try and get insurance in case of injuries, accidents, and incidents.
If you can't, you should at least have a privacy policy and terms of service on your website. These terms of service should explicitly say that anybody who works with you or consumes your material waives all liability.
To sign up for your training they need to check a box saying they agree to it. Checking a box is a legally binding action from your clients.
Furthermore, consider adding another form that requests users to agree to you using their name and images on your website as marketing materials. Although I've literally never seen a personal trainer get sued, I imagine most disputes would be over the use of images on a website.
To make the best decision on your personal trainer insurance, consult with a lawyer. They can advise you expertly and suggest plans within your budget.
Summing Up
If you want to get started as an online trainer, download our Getting Started Checklist to start taking action TODAY. Tick off the relevant steps as you complete them and don't waste another second on paralyzing decisions. Contact us for any other online coaching needs and we'll help you become a respected online fitness coach.