But only if you create a website that’s really useful to the people you’re trying to reach.
So what makes a useful personal trainer website?
First, let’s talk about design.
I’ve got good news and bad news.
Bad news: design counts. People will judge you by whether or not your website design is clean and professional.
You don’t want to have a solid grey wall. And you don’t want one of those 1990s websites with bad music on autoplay, a starry black background, hot pink headlines and a few falling kittens.
Yes, I’ve seen both extremes.
Good news: getting a nice, clean, professional design is actually pretty easy and cheap. Any well-designed WordPress template will do.
If you’re not sure how to set up a WordPress site (or any website, period) then check out this tutorial.
Just pick one that is “responsive” or “mobile-friendly” because you want people to be able to find you on their smartphones.
If you have some extra money to spare then purchasing a unique, branded WordPress theme for your site is not a bad investment.
Next, let’s talk about your content plan.
Of course, you’ve probably heard that content is king. In fact, these days if you don’t have much content then nobody will ever find you, because the search engines will bury you under a mountain of other sites.
But content is important to more than Google. It’s really important to your customers too. As such, it must achieve a couple of ends.
First, it must give potential clients important information about the services you offer, where you offer them and how to get in touch with you. Second, it must educate the client. In fact, that’s what having a personal trainer blog is all about. Educating potential clients and building their trust.
It’s really no more mysterious than that. And it’s not really hard to do. I’m going to break your website down into the most common sections and give you some insight into what should be placed in each section.
Home
Start with a compelling headline that entices people to read on. This has to be something that speaks directly to them, such as: “Are you tired of exercise programs that just don’t work?” or “Will you ever fit into those size 10 jeans again?”
Then talk a little bit about your services. Add contact information and information on your service area. And yes, discuss your pricing, too.
If you charge $300 an hour then say so. Don’t play games with people. Yes, your phone will ring less. That’s because there won’t be as many time-wasters calling. You’ll only hear from the people who can afford your fees in the first place and people who feel those fees are reasonable.
About Me
This is the section that trips most people up. Writing about yourself is not that much fun.
Some people get all uncomfortable and write in really stilted language that makes them sound like a corporate drone from the 1950s. That doesn’t do much to earn trust.
Some people swing in the other direction and write a bunch of stuff that people don’t care about. Your pets and hobbies will not sell your services.
Instead, use this space to discuss your training philosophy. How do you approach the art of personal training? What do you do that’s different from what everyone else does?
Blog
This is where you’re going to spend the bulk of your time. Ideally you’ll update this space at least once a week.
Your blog is an incredible resource for educating your potential clients and earning their trust. However, you do have to provide them with information they care about.
Surface information won’t cut it. Nobody is going to read your “What is a personal trainer” post.
However, they might read your in-depth explanation of why the exercise program they started on their own just isn’t helping them lose weight. They might read your analysis of Hulu’s new “Daily Burn” program. They might read about the 5 minute work-out you think everyone should be doing before they go to work in the morning.
Blogging is surprisingly easy when you put yourself in another person’s shoes and ask yourself what they might really need or want to know. Then you provide that information to the very best of your ability. Easy, no?
Stay tuned.
If you’ve done everything on this list then you’ve made a great start for yourself. But, of course, you haven’t done everything you can do to market your personal trainer business, and you haven’t even done everything that you can do to make your personal trainer website truly great.
Over the course of the next several weeks I will walk you through other ways to tighten up your internet marketing so that it all performs just like a well-oiled machine.
Your turn.
What about your website? Have you added any features that your customers absolutely love or which you know, for a fact, brought you leads? Share that information in the comments below!