Personal Trainer Marketing: How to Grow Your PT Business

An effective marketing strategy can be the difference between an underperforming personal training business and one that is thriving. This article will delve into our top marketing tips and strategies that personal trainers can employ to elevate their business to new heights.

What We'll Cover

• Understand Your Target Audience
• Build a Strong Personal Brand
• Use Digital Marketing Strategies
• Offline Marketing Tactics for PTs
• Continuous Professional and Marketing Development
• Measure Success and Adjust Strategies
  

Recognising who you're training is the bedrock of effective marketing. If you don't understand your target audience, you won't be able to personalise your messaging and address their pain points whether that's on social media, on your website or offline.

Start by identifying key demographics of your target audience such as age, gender, and income level. Understanding your client's fitness goals, be it weight loss, muscle gain, or sports-specific performance training is also vital.

An under-appreciated and crucial aspect is knowing exactly what motivates your clients, this allows for tailored and more impactful marketing strategies.

Your brand is your promise to your client. To build a strong personal brand, first you must pinpoint your niche and what sets you apart. You are one of countless personal trainers, so it’s your niche and passion that differentiates you. This is a fundamental step to address when creating a personal trainer business plan.

We recommend sharing your journey and personal experiences to forge a deeper connection with potential clients. People buy from people, so make sure your personality is reflected in your brand. And remember, professionalism and consistency are paramount. Ensure your branding is cohesive across all platforms on and offline, reflecting your core values and services.

Creating a PT Website

A professional website is an essential marketing tool for personal trainers. It's where you can showcase your services and success stories, and provides a place for clients to find you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Focus on user experience, share your best client testimonials and transformation photos, and engage your audience with regular informative blog articles.

Want to get started with this one straightaway? Check out our step by step guide to building a personal trainer website.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a dynamic tool for personal trainers. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are ideal for sharing engaging content such as workout videos, client success stories, and nutrition tips.

These platforms help you reach a broader audience and interact with potential clients. Just keep in mind, your followers don’t always want to be sold to. Provide them with value around your niche and ensure you try to deliver the content in an interesting and exciting way.

Top tip to creating easy and compelling content for you audience:

When you get enquiries through your website or other channels, ask your client what issues and pain points they are currently facing. Use this information and answer it in your posts or provide ways to navigate this issue. Trust us, they won’t be the only one facing that problem.

This allows you to make value-rich content and become a leader in your niche.

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Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful way to connect with your audience and provide high value, education-dense content. Through newsletters and targeted promotions, you can nurture old client relationships and warm new ones.

Developing an email list allows for direct communication and personalisation of your marketing efforts. It is also an extremely useful tool when a client leaves you for whatever reason, as you can go out to your nurture list to reignite an old client.

Our recommendation is to stay laser focused on your niche topic. The better you define and serve your niche, the more engagement you will get from your audience.

Don’t be afraid to put content out either. In fact, you should be more afraid of what you’ll miss out on by not posting anything at all. Once you learn the type of content that hits, go deep into that topic instead of going broad. This will position you as an expert on something your customers care about.

People will be more likely to open an email if they think they can actually learn something from the content. It conditions customers to expect more than just sell, sell, sell.
We’d recommend you rotate between four core content types:

Promotional

This could include new service offerings and promotions to drive sales. For example: “Use this sign-up link to book 10 PT sessions and get 1 free!”

Seasonal and topical interests

Tie your posts into the current trends and seasons to stay relevant. For example, you could share a list of top tips for keeping on top of your fitness goals over the Christmas holiday season.  

Opinion pieces

Look for "hot takes" to put your spin on trends in the health and fitness world. This could be trends on social media or articles published online related to your niche, which you can share your opinion on.

Newsletter articles

If you publish informative articles on your website, consider a monthly newsletter style email roundup to distribute your blog posts and drive non-sale traffic to your site.

All emails should be built from the same core group of components or templates to make production time quick and simple. The content is key, not the design of it so don’t get too caught up in trying to make them look perfect.

Networking with other health professionals is another excellent way to find new clients as a PT, as it naturally leads to referrals and partnerships. We see this happen on a daily basis within our community here at UNTIL.

To learn more about networking opportunities, read our in-depth guide: Personal Trainer Networking: How to Grow Your Network

Opportunities for local advertising through community magazines and bulletin boards are also valuable. Consider hosting workshops or classes to directly engage with the local community and showcase your expertise. For example if you work with crossfitters, host a crossfit workshop! This personal touch can be a significant differentiator.

To stay competitive in this industry, you must evolve both as a personal trainer and as a marketer. Keep abreast of the latest fitness trends and integrate them into your marketing.

Establish yourself as an industry expert in your niche by contributing to publications, attending events, and participating in interviews or podcasts.

Conducting a personal trainer SWOT analysis is a great way to analyse your own performance and look for ways to improve - both as a personal trainer and in your marketing activities.  

Measuring success is essential, as it will show you what is working and what isn’t. For example, you can use digital analytics tools to track the performance of your website and social media activity. This will help you to understand which types of content works for your audience and what you need to more of.

Not all channels will work since, depending on your niche, it will be viewed and digested in very different ways. Using analytics tools to measure success will show you which channels work best.

Finally, listen to your client feedback and use it to refine your offerings. Set clear business goals and regularly review your strategies to ensure they align with your objectives.

Join the UNTIL Community

If you’re looking to grow a PT business in London then come and talk to us! We not only provide flexible access to the very best gym space for PTs in London, helping you deliver a better client experience and earn more money, we also have a community of London’s best health and wellness professionals.

We even provide support to help you market yourself and grow your business.

Apply to join now.