[freetimefitness]

I'm currently trying to establish a client base, just wondering how long it took you all and what tactics you employed.

[Christina]

Still working on mine. (When is it ever enough really?) One thing that I have learned is you cannot get complacent. You need to be out there marketing yourself constantly even if you have a lot of clients. People drop out for all kinds of reasons without much notice.

Christina

[freetimefitness]

What marketing do you do? what works? I don't work in a gym at the moment I'm mobile so I need some marketing that works!!

[Christina]

Tom,

Joe Cannon (one of our forum members) has had success with Craig's List (as John pointed out) so give it a try. Is Craig's List in the UK?

I get most of my clients from my website. If you do not have a website, get one! If you DO have a website make sure you have a basic understanding of search engine optimization. If you need help with any of this let me know and I will point you in the right direction.

Christina

[freetimefitness]

i don't think we do have craig'slist here, I might try yellow pages but its expensive.

I do have a website I still have more to add to it but it is online. As for search engine optimization I have no clue!!!

I am on NRPT, and REPS but haven't had anything from them apart from people trying to sell m advertising space in magazines and on doctors appointment cards.

T

[Christina]

Tom,

You DO have Craig's List. I do not know how popular it is over there but here it is very popular. Check it out. Find your city in the UK:
http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/gb

PM me a link to your website if you do not want to post it publicly and I will give you some pointers on SEO.

[freetimefitness]

Ok my website is kind of draft but pointers would be great! its www.freetimefitness.co.uk you won't find it on a search engine you have to type it in the address bar.

I'll check out craigs list now!


Tom

[Christina]

Tom,

First thing I see: Remove the Flash intro. Search engines do not like Flash. I know it may look cool, but unfortunately "looking cool" will not bring you clients.

Second thing: The title on your index page... A good title is one of the most important things you can have as far as search engine optimization is concerned. The title is what appears at the top of the web browser. Your potential clients are not going to be searching for "Freetimefitness personal training - Home" (the title you have now). Potential clients are going to be searching for "personal trainer in Sutton Coldfield and surrounding areas." (By the way, list out the surrounding areas in your title!) You want your title to reflect what someone is going to be typing into Google. Keep the title simple and to the point. Make sure on your page somewhere there is wording that reflects the title. For example, "Tom is a personal trainer located in Sutton Coldfield."

Start with this and we'll go from there. By the way, it takes a while (sometimes weeks/months) to move up once your site is optimized so you will need to have patience. I recommend you pick up a book such as SEO for Dummies. You'll learn a lot. There are a ton of resources on the internet as well, but personally, I like books.

Christina

[kettlebell king]

Id definately agree don't get complacent- I did this about a year ago and asumed I had enough clients and did no further marketing- suddenly I lost 5 clients and was forced to going back to work security in night clubs- keep recruiting all the time

[freetimefitness]

I'm going to be a marketing machine after this I'm going to keep recruiting all the time it would be awesome to have a waiting list!

Ok so I've taken off the flash and re-named the site "Personal trainer in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands."

I've found a place that sells some site optimizing books and I'm going to get a copy today. Is there anything else you can spot?

T

[Christina]

Hi Tom,

This is a start, but only a start. There's a TON more you can do. As you begin studying SEO you may decide to tweak your title. (For example, that title may be too broad. You will learn how to do research to get a better idea of what people are searching for in your area. You may decide that there are not as many personal trainers in Sutton Coldfield as there are in Birmingham so you may be better off trying to get a higher placement for Sutton Coldfield searches.) You will also learn about keyword density, anchor text, importance (or unimportance) of meta tags, content, backlinks, etc. You have only scratched the surface!

Christina

[megfit]

Hi Tom,

First to website marketing:

Who is your target market on your site? With the colors and graphics, I assume women? From your previous posts, it sounds like that is correct, but wanted to check.

Also, what is your ideal clients' greatest need/pain? This is what should be indicated on your main headline on your home page.

Then, on every page, whether it's about your services, or even the contact page, you want to address that topic from your reader's point of view. HOW does training services help them with their problems? Even your about you page (which I address below) will come from the perspective of helping them with THEIR issues.

Still another two ways to draw traffic to your site is to write articles and submit to article submission sites and to create a blog. One example of where you can send articles to is www.amazines.com. To create a blog, you can literally set one up on Wordpress.com and you're up and running. Then link that blog to your website.

So, we could go on all day long about marketing strategies, but I think some resources might be the most helpful to you right now:

First of all, Wordpress offers some free search features, then they offer VERY affordable options for going further in SEO. Here is my affiliate link to them. Before I hired out my sites, I did them all myself and had spent HOURS learning this stuff (like Christina): http://www.meg-enterprises.com/component/option,com_weblinks/task,view/catid,23/id,25/

Without spending much/any money, you can literally do a Google search on SEO and get tons and tons and tons of information.

As mentioned in a few other posts, today, you want to create a contact list of potential clients. People need to get to know you a bit before they're willing to hire you. Especially women hiring a man for training, Tom. So, I see two things that are missing on your site; a newsletter subscription option and an 'about Tom' page.

A great option for an autoresponder is Aweber. Grin; here's another affiliate link: http://www.aweber.com/?215581
I LOVE Aweber, but because I also now have a shopping cart, I had to change to 1shoppingcart.com. They're fine, too, but Aweber has excellent customer support. Then you can put a web form on your site (not that hard) and people can sign up for any contact information you wish to send them. It's time consuming to write a newsletter, but it can be VERY simple at first, and it's essential to create that ongoing contact. I literally have had people subscribe to my newsletter for years, and when they're ready for coaching, they know more about me than I could have imagined! These people are VERY 'qualified' clients!

Then you have to create an about you page, Tom. Today this is what many, many people want to check out before contacting you. Even if your potential client lives next door.

Something else to consider is my ebook, "Websites Made Easy, Quick and Affordable" at http://www.websitesmade-easy.com/. What makes this ebook unlike others is it not only explains how to set up your own site (which you have), and helps readers create search/decision criteria when they are ready to hire someone, but it also walks you through how to write your text for your home page and about you page (which is CRITICAL!).

Now for the marketing in general:

You have to get out there. People have to see you. Until it fits into your budget, don't spend money on an ad in the paper, unless you can find a great deal. However, since the average number of times a person has to see an ad before they'll respond to it is VERY high, it's not the best ROI (return on investment). Literally, when I was still training and ran an ad in the paper of my target area, I had people (MORE than just a few) call me and say, 'I've had your ad on my refrigerator for a year, now, and after seeing it in the paper today, decided it was time to call.'

A better approach would be to see if you can either write a weekly column in your local paper or find a local reporter who you can create a relationship with, so YOU can be the go-to person for topics related to health. Being interviewed in a local paper will definitely lead to your phone ringing! Works every time.

Join local professional groups; chamber, Toastmasters (as we discussed before), etc. Get involved in these groups and develop those relationships (again). Become the person everyone thinks of when they think of fitness and personal training. Be the fitness professional, NOT just the local personal trainer.

OK, as usual, I can go on, but time to get back to finance school work!

Oh, and one more self-promotional thing: My book definitely can help address many of these marketing issues. PLUS, I am currently taking registration for the first 10-month teleclass series that walks people through the entire process of building their business from 'ho hum' (or just the dreaming stage) to really earning an income they can be proud of BY June, 2009. To read more about the teleclass, go to this link: http://californiabasedpublishing.com/content/view/17/31/

Margie

[freetimefitness]

Hey thanks Margie,

Blimey!!! that tons of info right give me a chance to work my way through all that and I'll let you know how I get on.

cheers

Tom

[megfit]

Well, of all timing, there was a great discussion on SEO on my coaching listserv. And, although I haven't checked it out, myself, someone recommended this FREE online class: http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/seo-optimization.htm.

How cool is that??

Margie