How to Become Fully Booked with Online Clients

Proven Email Marketing Strategies for Online Trainers

Email marketing has always been regarded as one of the most effective ways of building online relationships. As an online coach, you must be building an email list to ensure you are creating stronger relationships with your audience.

Email marketing has always been regarded as one of the most effective ways of building online relationships. As an online coach, you must be building an email list to ensure you are creating stronger relationships with your audience.

That’s what Masterclass member Jeremy wants to do, so that he can fill up his brand new online coaching program. So in this week's podcast episode, I show Jeremy how to build more 'know like and trust' with his existing email subscribers, so that they actually turn into raving fans and customers.

In this podcast episode, you'll learn:

  • How to build know, like and trust with your email subscribers
  • Why you must use the PAS formula before asking for the sale
  • The #1 question to ask your email subscribers before selling anything
  • How to create an irresistible offer that boosts click-through rates

It’s another great episode, so as always, enjoy the show!

    Can't listen right now? Then read the transcript below!

    Episode Highlights:

    2.42 - Meet Jeremy

    4.49 - The importance of niching down

    9.23 - The importance of an email list

    13.09 - Email marketing - the PAS formula

    17.45 - Legal aspects of an online fitness business​

    19.08 - Simple DIY software for professional looking websites

    21.53 - Choosing the right free give-away for your avatar​

    Links and Resources Mentioned:

    Want more strategies for reaching your online goals? 

    If you're a health and fitness pro who would like to learn more about creating a successful, meaningful online fitness business, check out The Exceed Masterclass

    The Exceed Masterclass is your essential resource for the training, advice and support you need to plan, create and grow an online fitness business.

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    email-marketing-for-online-trainers

    Transcription:

    Ru: Let's start off with where you are currently at.

    Jeremy: Currently I'm in Miami and I'm a mobile trainer, I have several places where I train people and I do some online stuff so I'm trying to reach people everywhere. I really need clients coming online for me to have an extra income.

    Ru: OK, so the goal is to create the online platform for more income and to reach more people. Where would you like to see that go? Would you like to do that full time?

    Jeremy: I'm originally from Europe, Switzerland, so my long-term vision is to go back over there and open a location with classes and personal training. The market over there is like steel, it's very good. In UK, it's a little bit more saturated. So, long-term I'd like to either go back to Europe and open something over there or have something valuable online and work from anywhere. That's why I signed up to the Masterclass when I saw what you are offering.

    My question to you is, what is the fastest way and more tangible to see results coming from an online fitness business?

    Ru: I think everyone wants a fast solution to make more money and get our online businesses up and running and there is a fast route to take. A lot of people get caught up in the little things like the name of their program, the software or social media and how to get more likes. If you can bypass all of that you can start reaching out to potential prospects with what you have on offer, and ask them if they want it or not. It is really that simple, but there's a few things that should happen here.

    One, you really need to be shit hot with your avatar in terms of who you want to work with, because if you want to solve everyone's problems it's not going to work. In offline personal training, we don't really niche down a lot. We're personal trainers that can help the client lose weight or build muscle. Online we really need to find a niche to make it work. Have you thought about the type of people you would like to work with online?

    Jeremy: Like you said I could work with any type of client but as I understand it now you really need to choose one type of person that you concentrate on. I do have like an existing email list that I would like to build. The existing list is anything between 600 to about a thousand of people and their main goal is to look good but more towards weight loss, some of them have tried different diets.

    I was thinking to offer something long-term like a membership, pictured in a way that it wouldn't be a specific diet but a membership where I can fix their problem. So, if people have followed a diet but it didn't work for them I will give them something different to try.

    I don't want to spend a bunch of money on campaigns that aren't going to convert or would reach the wrong people. I'm still going through all your videos inside the Masterclass and I haven't seen most of them yet so maybe my questions can be answered there. But is there any way to find a specific website that is more likely to reach people that will convert? Because when I meet people face to face or speak to them on the phone, I can convert them. So, I'm confident with that, but I want to know I'm spending money in the right areas.

    There are a few coaches out there especially in the US that promise they're going to deliver all that, documents telling you what to do, but they want lots of money for that. I'm new to the online side of things, that's why I decided on the smaller investment in form of the Masterclass, which has provided me with a lot of information already. That's why I also purchased the program templates because I believe in compensating people that work hard, such as yourself.

    Anyway, I believe in my product and my experience and I have studied such a long time and I really want to do it the right way. It doesn't matter if it's going to happen in one month and in one year I just want to see it going somewhere and not just spending money around in the wrong places and then lose faith and not do it.

    Ru: Yeah, I know exactly how you're feeling and where you are with this. So, what I want to give you then in the next 10 minutes is a solution to that problem. Based on what you've told me you want to see some return ASAP. Now, at this point I sometimes say, this isn't going to work.

    However, you said you already have an existing email list, which makes you ahead of the curve. I lot of trainers I work with have nothing and don't know what an email service provider is. So, you are significantly ahead of the curve.

    Jeremy: My email list is not big, but it can grow.

    Ru: It doesn’t need to be big, it can still get you some online clients. So, I recommend you put together a small campaign where you're going to promote to your email list. Have you been regularly contacting them or have you been a little bit quiet?

    Jeremy: Not so much. But some of my subscribers are new because I get the referrals all the time but they don't know me. So, I do have this e-mail list but I just need to start marketing to them. But I wouldn't know what is a good e-mail to send. What do you send in the first e-mail, the second email and so on. I understand the structure, that you want to put out a problem and then solve it. but how do I go from them not knowing anything about me, to then trusting and buying from me.

    It's like with you and the Masterclass. I didn't know you, I just went onto your website and workshop, you had a bunch of stuff to offer, so I thought why not. You also offer the money back guarantee, so I had nothing to lose. I'm not there yet, I don't have my membership site or anything to offer people so they feel they have everything to lose.

    Ru: What's going to be valuable for your clients right now is your support, guidance and accountability, that's what you can offer as opposed to stuff. People see stuff and resources as value like you did with the Masterclass and people also see a lot of value in personal help and support, like this call. You're getting support, guidance and accountability here. So that's what we need to try and do for you with this email list that you've got and here's how we can do it.

    First up, you're going to have to wake your email list up and maybe blow off a few cobwebs. First thing to do then is to send them something of value. You've got a bunch of resources inside the Masterclass that you could use, that could be a perfect way to reintroduce yourself to your email list. Get a quick resource put together, write them up and email and say 'hey sorry I've been quiet for a little while, I've got a brand-new resource for you to help you with X Y and Z. Then link to it and let them download it. Some people are going to think 'who the heck is this guy' because you haven't contacted them, and they might unsubscribe. But those who open the email and get the download they're going say 'oh I'm glad I'm on his e-mail list and getting this information'.

    From there then you're going to want to map out a few weeks of the email campaigns, because nothing is going to happen overnight. But the download would be the first point of contact, which would provide the upfront value into your e-mail list.

    There's training on this inside the Masterclass, so I'll just touch on it right now and then I'll guide you to the detailed training. Essentially you will need to set up a campaign to run over the next couple of weeks. You will need to simply write out three long form emails, not short but not too long at the same time. With those you will try to further build that 'know, like and trust' with the subscribers, but ultimately as well help them get to know you through a couple of stories in the emails.

    For example, if you're going to highlight some problems with their diet or training you could say 'I've had these problems as well and I've got over them'. You'll also want to highlight the key problems that those subscribers would be having. This is where that classic problem, agitate, solution type formula comes in, where you find out their biggest problems. You then agitate them a little bit and finally present your solution, which will be your new program that you're offering.

    I suggest you survey your email list as well. Put together a quick survey using survey monkey, ask your subscribers what their number one single biggest struggle with their diet or training is. A few people will hopefully fill it in and you will know what to write about in those e-mail sequences. Then over the course of a week you would put out those long form e-mails to your subscribers and they're going to reconnect with you by reading your stories. They're also going to see the problems highlighted and then in that final e-mail you're going to say, 'I've got a big solution for all of this problems that I've talked about this week, it's happening next week, I'm opening up my new program'.

    The following week after that you can present your coaching program to them that will solve x y and z, which would be their biggest problem is that they've told you about in the survey. And then the quickest way to sell the onto the program is like you said getting them on the phone. Your goal will be to set up a short application form and link to it in your e-mails for the promo around the new program. Get people to book a call in with you, chat with them, give them some time, more value and then tell them about your program and ask them to join it. That's how you are going to get your first online clients using what you've just told me.

    Jeremy: That sounds good. Another question I have is about the legal aspect of an online fitness business. How do you cover yourself legally?

    Ru: That's something that you would probably depend on your location and where you are operating from. What I do think you probably need is some form of public liability insurance for giving information and advice. But I would recommend you go and seek some professional advice on that. But don't let that be a big stumbling block.

    Jeremy: Another thing is the software, you mentioned different kind of software for different things. What is the best thing to use for website creation? I was looking at WordPress and I think it's really complicated. I know you mention Webbly which is like the one I have now, Wix. Is there a middle ground builder that is not too complicated? I don't really want to spend money on a designer that would build a website for me through WordPress.

    Ru: WordPress is just a host, it's somewhere that you would install Thrive Themes, which I really recommend. You will still need to use the WordPress interface but I've got a full course on that in the Masterclass. But I think that is a learning curve that you must take, because it will help you create that long-term sustainable online business. So, you're going to have to spend the day watching those videos and getting used to WordPress, it's as simple as that.

    You can pay for lead pages and click funnels and all this stuff that cuts out maybe a little bit of work here in there. But ultimately, in my opinion, we should put in a little bit more work in and learn this stuff. I don't spend much time in WordPress even though I have a WordPress site, because I'm using the Thrive Theme's software that runs over it. So I'm not designing pages or anything like that within the WordPress platform and I'd recommend you check it out.

    Jeremy: Ok, and once I get to the last email and then they schedule a phone call through the application, what would that page look like? What is the easiest way to do it?

    Ru: We've got the training inside the Masterclass for that as well. I've mapped that out in one of the modules, so I can send that to you. Based on what we've chatted about I recommend you go and study the Launch Course, because that's where I feel you are with your existing audience. Use the template we've mapped out, follow that system that I've laid out there and you'll be good to go. Plus, the extra training on the application form that I will send you.

    Jeremy: What kind of resource would you send out? Is there any specific template that you suggest giving away for free that is better than others? I'm going to probably have like a return of maybe one to five percent, which means five people are going to open the email and hopefully they will keep opening the emails. So, I'd like to give away something that will get people interested quickly.

    Ru: Ideally the giveaway solves their number one biggest problem that your avatar is currently struggling with. You know if you're a muscle building coach maybe a recipe download isn't really going to solve the problem of your muscle building clients. Maybe it should be something to do with training, like a program or some hints and tips around gaining weight.

    Again, it's coming down to who you really want to work with, finding out the key problem they have and then trying to just cover those touch points, helping them move closer to the final goal.

    Jeremy: Sure.

    Ru: Ok, let's wrap it up here. I will send you an MP3 of this call so you can listen back to this. But use the Masterclass, get your own thread set up there and let me know how you're getting on with the launch course. Fire over any questions you have and we can keep working on this.

    Jeremy: All right, thank so much.

    Ru: Not a problem, thank you and speak to you soon.

    Let's build your online fitness business together

    If you're a health and fitness pro who would like to learn more about creating a successful, meaningful online fitness business, check out The Exceed Masterclass

    The Exceed Masterclass is your essential resource for the training, advice and support you need on how to become an online personal trainer.

    You'll receive proven, practical training to help you reach more people and create more impact online.

    How to start an online personal training business

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