In 2019 I started working with Donna Finnie, a Pilates instructor who had started to build up her local business.
It quickly became clear that a bottleneck facing any fitness instructor is the number of clients that can be seen in person, so we set about creating an online brand that would allow Donna to reach and teach far more people than she could by training in person.
Phase 1: YouTube Channel
In order to gain experience of delivering training online we created the Pilates with Donna Finnie YouTube channel. This was a new experience for Donna, but a valuable one for the coming steps.
Creating a channel is free to do, see: How to start a YouTube channel in 2022
Approaching the channel in the same way as starting a business helped lay the groundwork for YouTube to help us find our audience.
Keep in mind fitness is a highly competitive market online; don’t expect to see results immediately.
In fact it wasn’t until January 2022 that the channel really started to gain traction and take off.
We recently calculated that in 2022 Donna had taught 577 days worth of Pilates via YouTube!
Phase 2: Online Zoom Classes
The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic forced in person classes to shut down, and sped up our timeline for opening an online version of the business. To continue to serve clients, and therefore not have to close the businesses, we implemented the GoTeamup.
This is a class scheduling and booking platform that handles everything, from online payments to Zoom integration. The booking platform can be used for both online or offline class management, and it’s now the core of the Pilates business.
The nice thing about this platform is the ability to take a booking form and embed it into your website. You can also run offers such as ‘first class free’, which we set up on this page should you want to try the entire system out and get a free class: https://pilatesmovesyou.co.uk/free-trial/
There are other platforms available, this one happens to be the one selected in this case, and it’s been very reliable and has a great range of features.
Zoom is the other element of the system, that’s how people join the live classes. Thanks to launching the YouTube channel, Donna made the transition to teaching via Zoom quickly and easily, having got over any concerns about speaking to a camera.
The big advantage of Zoom classes is you’re not restricted by the physical space of your studio. In fact the Zoom classes proved so popular they’re now offered as part of a hybrid class: some clients attend in person at a studio that can hold 10 people, others join via Zoom from the comfort of their own home.
This has allowed additional income to be made as the hybrid solution removes the physical limitation issue, she can teach double or triple the number of clients in the same space.
What are the Benefits of Taking a Personal Training Business Online?
Taking your personal training business online can help you grow your business online reach a wider audience and attract clients from all over the world. It allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and convenience for both you and your clients. Additionally, online platforms offer valuable tools for marketing and client communication.
Phase 3: Signature Solution
The history of fitness courses can be traced back to long before internet courses. If you could go back in time and look at videos, DVDs, then Blue-Ray discs, you’d see every technology has been used by fitness professionals to fitness training at home.
Online fitness courses started to become popular as a way for people to learn about exercise and nutrition from the comfort of their own home without having to rely on physical media.
These courses are often hosted by well-known trainers and experts in the fitness industry, and they offer a variety of different topics related to health and fitness.
They’ve become hugely popular, and there are now thousands of different courses available on various subjects related to health and fitness.
This popularity is likely due to the fact that online fitness courses offer a number of advantages over traditional in-person training sessions. For example, online fitness courses:
- Are convenient: You can access them from anywhere in the world at any time.
- Are affordable: They are often much cheaper than hiring a personal trainer or attending a gym.
- Are flexible: You can fit them into your schedule around your other commitments.
So our next planned phase is to create a signature solution high ticket course that will be marketed online.
Online fitness has seen a huge increase in interest in recent years, one that is expected to grow. Some quick stats:
- The Global Home Fitness Market Size accounted for USD 11.3 Billion in 2021 and is projected to achieve a market size of USD 17.3 Billion by 2030 (https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/home-fitness-market)
- 72% of consumers surveyed say that they prefer the flexibility of online fitness to be able to join a class whenever they want and get away from the normal “gym membership” method where they had to work around the gym’s hours and busiest times [2020] (https://runrepeat.com/uk/online-fitness-statistics)
- Consumers have increased spending in digital fitness has increased 30% to 35% in comparison to before the pandemic [2021] (https://runrepeat.com/uk/online-fitness-statistics)
- 63% of people who use live-streamed workouts and 53% who use on-demand workouts found them through the local studio’s own website or via social media [2020] (https://runrepeat.com/uk/online-fitness-statistics)
There is a growing demand for online fitness support, but that also means there are many competitors, which is why it’s important to create a signature solution.
Launching an online fitness course can be a great way to get more clients and make more money as a personal trainer. In order to do this, you’ll need to create a course that is both engaging and informative. You’ll also need to market your course effectively in order to reach your target audience.
If you’re considering launching a course here are 5 key tips:
- Do your research. Before you begin creating your online fitness course, it’s important to do some research and figure out what you want to include. What topics will be most relevant to your audience? What kind of content can you provide that is both informative and engaging?
- Plan out your course structure. Once you have a general idea of the content you want to cover, start planning out the structure of your course. Will it be organized by topic? Or will each lesson be standalone?
- Create a strong branding strategy. When people think of online fitness courses, you want them to think of yours first! Creating a strong branding strategy will help set you apart from the competition and increase awareness for your course.
- Choose the right platform. There are many different platforms available for hosting online courses, so it’s important to choose one that fits your needs and budget. Some popular options include Influencersoft, Teachable and Udemy.
- Create high-quality content. In order for potential students to even consider signing up for your course, they need to know that it’s worth their time and money! That means creating high-quality content that is both informative and engaging.
We’ll be using a new Growth Jetpack Blueprint I’ve developed, a 9-step process that helps personal trainers and entrepreneurs create a high ticket course in 14 days. Want to see the Blueprint?
If we’ve got a growing YouTube channel and established business, why go for a signature course?
- You can reach a larger audience with an online course than you could with in-person training.
- An online course has a lot of marketing potential, you can offer a high ticket course that includes personal coaching, a more afforable DIY video course, or a low ticket freebie. Each works with the other to help build trust with new clients and onboard them as a high ticket client.
- Selling an online course gives you the opportunity to make money even when you’re not training clients face-to-face.
- You’re not limited to clients in your local area, an online course can be accessed by people all over the world, giving you a larger audience than you would have if you only offered face-to-face training sessions.
Make no mistake: this requires a lot of hard work, but if you have skills that can help solve other people’s problems then online coaching and courses offer a fantastic opportunity to create a new revenue stream.
