How Do Freelance Personal Trainers Get Clients

by | Marketing

If you’re just getting started as a personal trainer, chances are your fitness business isn’t generating much income yet and you are wondering how do freelance personal trainers get clients.

While you may have the desire and passion to help others achieve their health goals, it’s likely that they haven’t discovered you yet. Luckily, there are many ways in which you can increase your revenue as an independent freelancer.

You just need to know where to look for clients.

Personal training can be a rewarding field for anyone who loves working outside and being their own boss. However, with no formal training and no industry standard certification requirements, competition can be fierce for new trainers eager to build their client base and capitalise on their potential earnings potential.

Fortunately, with a little research and some strategic planning, you can start earning money faster than you think as well as diversify your income sources so that you never have to worry about having enough money again – even if external factors take a toll on your business.

Key Points On How Do Freelance Personal Trainers Get Clients:

 

  • Establish some form of online presence as soon as possible
  • Consider traditional methods of advertising such as print media
  • Reach out to relevant group leaders or influencers who serve your ideal client type 
  • Use your current network to advertise too 
  • Blog to demonstrate your expertise as a freelance personal trainer

Continue reading for the rest of the article to discover how do freelance personal trainers get clients;

Establish your brand presence online as a freelance Personal Trainer

First and foremost, you’ll need to start building a brand for yourself.

This may sound obvious and like a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many trainers don’t do this from the outset.

You’ll need a website where you can share your services as a freelance personal trainer, instructions and testimonials, and where you can also showcase your portfolio and testimonials.

You can use a service like Wix or Squarespace to create your site.

If you don’t have your own website, you’ll need to have a presence on sites like Facebook and Instagram, where you can create a page for your business and start building an online following.

You can also use tools like Facebook Ads or Google Adwords to advertise your services, and you can further extend your reach by creating lists of email addresses where you can send newsletters, mailshots and other marketing content.

 

Establish a presence in local print media as the go-to freelance personal trainer in your area

While you’re also on the lookout for opportunities in online publications, you can also look for local print media opportunities to help you get clients as a personal trainer.

There are a variety of publications that cover the fitness and health industry, from traditional news outlets to niche publications, and some of these publications may be more open to promoting freelancers personal trainers and their services. 

You can also target specific localities, cities and regions where you think your services may be relevant and start reaching out to editors and publishers based in these areas. 

It’s important that when reaching out to editors and specific publishers, offer them something in exchange for the opportunity to advertise with them. Building a solid working relationship is essential in business and approaching them with a giving hand instead of a taking one will help you get ahead of the competition. 

 

Reach out to relevant groups and influencers who can help you get clients as a personal trainer

An essential part of building your brand and freelance personal training business is developing relationships with relevant groups and influencers.

You can use tools like LinkedIn to find groups and contacts related to your industry and niche.

You can also use tools like Hootsuite or Facebook Groups to manage your relationships and communication with clients. When starting out, you can approach groups and influencers related to your industry and niche, and once you’re established in your business you can start reaching out to more broadly based groups and influencers.

If you’re into fitness, you can try reaching out to groups and influencers related to fitness like CrossFit gyms, swimming clubs, soccer clubs and so on.

Use your network for advertising and marketing your freelance personal training services

As you develop your client base, you’ll need to market yourself on a regular basis.

One good marketing strategy is to use your network to spread the word about your services, including through social media posts, email newsletters and networked emails.

You can also use content creation tools like Canva to create images and text-based content for your marketing efforts. You can also use networking sites like LinkedIn to market yourself to a professional audience.

Post about your services including relevant links and include images and other content for your marketing efforts.

Experts Tip 

  • Write a list of everyone you know, personally and professionally
  • Write a personalised letter to them promoting your services and to mention it to anyone who may be interested
  • Give the something to talk about, ie an exciting offer, unique proposal etc
  • Give them clear directions on how to contact you via email or mobile not to ‘dm’ you
  • Follow up with anyone who gets in touch

With this method you should easily be able to pick up 3-5 clients and from there referrals compound.

 

Create brand awareness through blogging and video for your freelance PT business

Another effective method of brand building is blogging.

Personal trainers are in the business of helping others achieve their fitness goals, so it makes sense that you’d want to help your own market by blogging about your services and experiences.

You can use tools like WordPress or Blogger to create your blog, and you can use your blog to post about your services, advertise your business and build your brand.

You can also create videos to further promote your brand.

You can create videos to help market your services, show your expertise and further promote your brand.

This method of creating brand awareness is important as your business grows as you will more than likely want to add additional services, such as nutrition coaching to your fitness and personal training business. For more information on how to do that, check out this free download.

 

Don’t forget the basics: google adverts and print adverts for personal training

Finally, don’t forget the basics: Google Adwords and print adverts. Google Adwords are paid advertisements that appear at the top of relevant search engine results pages.

You’ll need to sign up for a Google Adwords account and then bid on appropriate keywords.

You may want to start with the less competitive keywords and work your way up to more expensive keywords as you gain more experience with this method of advertising.

Print adverts are less expensive and time-consuming than online advertising, but they have the advantage of being seen by a broad, untargeted audience.

You can buy magazine and newspaper adverts, or you can go the more creative route and start creating your own content for print and online publications.

 

Final Thoughts on how to get clients as a freelance personal trainer

From reading the article you should have a better understanding on how do freelance personal trainers get clients. It is however important to remember that the freelance world can be challenging, and many people give up before they even have a chance at making it as a freelancer.

But freelance success doesn’t have to happen overnight.

With a little bit of effort, you can start building a thriving freelance business.

Freelance success doesn’t happen overnight, but it is something that can be achieved with a lot of hard work.

The first step is to make sure you’re ready to take on the challenges of being a freelance personal trainer.