Nowadays everybody has a personal training website. The competition is stiff and you need to make sure that your website stands out to maximize the amount of leads and ultimately clients that come through from your website, into your business.
An aside before I get in to the meat of it...
It seems nowadays everyone is bonkers for Facebook ads (and don't get me wrong, they're great); but it's causing people to neglect the basics that have always, and will continue to always work...
Like having a well set up website, that is found through Google or social media and does it's job of being your brochure. Allowing the client to find out more about you.
Paid traffic to landing pages works great, but you ALWAYS have to pay for it. Your website will collect all of the people ALREADY LOOKING FOR OR INTERESTED IN YOUR SERVICE.
Anyway, let's talk about the key points to ensure your personal trainer website is optimized for sales:
It seems nowadays everyone is bonkers for Facebook ads (and don't get me wrong, they're great); but it's causing people to neglect the basics that have always, and will continue to always work...
Like having a well set up website, that is found through Google or social media and does it's job of being your brochure. Allowing the client to find out more about you.
Paid traffic to landing pages works great, but you ALWAYS have to pay for it. Your website will collect all of the people ALREADY LOOKING FOR OR INTERESTED IN YOUR SERVICE.
Anyway, let's talk about the key points to ensure your personal trainer website is optimized for sales:
Know Your 'Client Journey'
The 'client journey' is the journey that a new client goes on from first discovering your business, through to becoming a paying client.
The journey starts in one of two ways:
- They are looking for your services
- They stumble across your services
They Are Looking for Your Services
This means they are already actively interested in what you have to offer. They probably find you while searching Google, or by asking friends for recommendations. This is your hottest immediate prospects and the most likely to buy *now*. (Find out more about ranking on Google in your local area here)
They Stumble Across Your Services
These people are not actively looking for your services right now, but they are interested. They might want to buy, but not today. This is by far the biggest market, probably 95+% of your potential clients.
They will usually find you because you capture attention on a social network, when they're scrolling through Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Instagram and you appear in their feed either from a paid advert or because their friend is interacting with you.
These people are most interested in content. They will read your blog or watch your video, because it interested them. It doesn't mean they're about to hire you, but it does indicate they have some interest in what you do. It's the first seed in what, if managed correctly, will blossom in to a working relationship.
Grab Attention, Compel Them To Read
The first thing that must happen when someone finds your site, no matter where they have come from.
You need to capture attention by showing them that you are of interest to them and that you offer a benefit they want. There are a few piece to this puzzle:
- They need to know that you can solve THEIR problem
- What you do; "personal training" or some variation
- Where you are based
This will all come from the header, images, site title, headline of the page/post and whatever is immediately visible without having to scroll down the screen. This is called "above the fold" information. Everything a visitor sees before they scroll down.
If the viewer does not see something that communicates this is for them, they will likely click away.
How you prevent this from happening? Grab Attention!
- Say you do the thing that they want; "lose 2 dress sizes in 12 weeks"
- Show them you do what they want; before/after photos, images of clients training
- Use secondary/sub titles to give specifics such as how they achieve this and where you are based "Personal Training in Brighton"
Once you have their attention, you need to compel them to read. This also comes from the headlines, images, titles and introductory paragraph. People will always skim a page before they commit to reading it.
Whether it is your homepage, or a blog post, they are going to skim over it, pick out the headlines, images and any stand out pieces; and then make a decision whether they want to read. This is where it is essential to display the benefit they get from reading. Tell them what it is about and what will happen when they read in your first couple of lines (see the first paragraph of this post for an example).
Capture Details
| The internet is a big old place, and unless the viewer is looking to buy *right now* - probably less than 1% of your web traffic - they will soon click away and more than likely forget all about your site. It's nothing personal, that's just the reality. People are so busy and over-stimulated in our ever-connected online world that holding attention and gaining a place in memory is no easy feat. |  |
The 'trick' to it?
Capturing their details so you can keep in touch with them.
The way to do this is to have an offer for a freebie that is a 'no-brainer' for them to get. In exchange for giving them this piece of valuable content, you take their contact details and with it, the ability to communicate with them in the future.
To create this content you want to look at the biggest problems that your perfect client struggles with, and offer a simple solution to that problem.
It could be an e-book, cheat sheet or video series. Generally, short and simple offers work best; "5 tips to....", "3 day, 3-minute video series on..."
Remember at this stage your viewer has only just 'met' you and doesn't want to invest hours of their time reading your 300,000 word thesis on life. You want to build trust with a short, simple and immediately useful offer.
Capturing their details so you can keep in touch with them.
The way to do this is to have an offer for a freebie that is a 'no-brainer' for them to get. In exchange for giving them this piece of valuable content, you take their contact details and with it, the ability to communicate with them in the future.
To create this content you want to look at the biggest problems that your perfect client struggles with, and offer a simple solution to that problem.
It could be an e-book, cheat sheet or video series. Generally, short and simple offers work best; "5 tips to....", "3 day, 3-minute video series on..."
Remember at this stage your viewer has only just 'met' you and doesn't want to invest hours of their time reading your 300,000 word thesis on life. You want to build trust with a short, simple and immediately useful offer.
Put them In a 'Value Cycle'
After they've given you their contact details, you can build a relationship by keeping in touch with them regularly.
The best thing to do, is have a content rich website and keep sending them back to it. Write blogs, create videos, podcasts or whatever media channel you prefer, then email it out to your list of subscribers.
Every piece of content is building the relationship, showing them that you are an expert, that you care about them and know how to help them.
This will be an ongoing process and people can stay in the cycle for months or even years before they hire you - but that's ok. It doesn't cost you anything, and they are always going to be your hottest leads when you have an offer to make.
Every time they are directed back to your website to consume a piece of content they have the ability to check out your services and explore the site.
The best thing to do, is have a content rich website and keep sending them back to it. Write blogs, create videos, podcasts or whatever media channel you prefer, then email it out to your list of subscribers.
Every piece of content is building the relationship, showing them that you are an expert, that you care about them and know how to help them.
This will be an ongoing process and people can stay in the cycle for months or even years before they hire you - but that's ok. It doesn't cost you anything, and they are always going to be your hottest leads when you have an offer to make.
Every time they are directed back to your website to consume a piece of content they have the ability to check out your services and explore the site.
Present Your Offer
Throughout the process of sending content and building value, you will always be making offers. The two things work synergistically together.
As trust grows and the original reason they were interested in your content - the problem they want to solve - becomes a stronger desire, they will eventually be ready to buy.
You need to be making offers for them to work with you. Part of this will be a well written page on your website displaying your packages/services.
Every time they return to your site to consume content it is another opportunity for them to click through to that page and take you up on it.
As trust grows and the original reason they were interested in your content - the problem they want to solve - becomes a stronger desire, they will eventually be ready to buy.
You need to be making offers for them to work with you. Part of this will be a well written page on your website displaying your packages/services.
Every time they return to your site to consume content it is another opportunity for them to click through to that page and take you up on it.
Personal Trainer Websites That Sell
The journey pretty much dictates the pages that your website needs to have on it.
The homepage displays, succinctly, what you do and offers them the opportunity to get further content by opting in.
The blog and other content based pages act as both a landing page and content delivery. Displaying your content for the viewer to consume, and also having the opportunity to opt-in for further communication.
The static pages then display your offer/packages, and contains the background information and trust building pages (about page, testimonials, case studies).
These are the requirements for a personal trainer website that sells. Understanding the journey the client typically takes allows you to optimize the site for that purpose.
The biggest mistake that I see most PT's make on their website, is only having it set up for the people who want to buy right now, which is a small fraction of the viewers.
They are losing dozens of client's because they are not capturing any of the the people who are interested but are not going to buy right away.
If you want to see some example PT sites that I have built for clients, that are converting viewers in to clients, click here.
The homepage displays, succinctly, what you do and offers them the opportunity to get further content by opting in.
The blog and other content based pages act as both a landing page and content delivery. Displaying your content for the viewer to consume, and also having the opportunity to opt-in for further communication.
The static pages then display your offer/packages, and contains the background information and trust building pages (about page, testimonials, case studies).
These are the requirements for a personal trainer website that sells. Understanding the journey the client typically takes allows you to optimize the site for that purpose.
The biggest mistake that I see most PT's make on their website, is only having it set up for the people who want to buy right now, which is a small fraction of the viewers.
They are losing dozens of client's because they are not capturing any of the the people who are interested but are not going to buy right away.
If you want to see some example PT sites that I have built for clients, that are converting viewers in to clients, click here.
