How to make money as a personal trainer | Steppen
Want to make money as a personal trainer? We’re walking you through how to do just that in this article.
Are you an online fitness creator with dreams to grow your career?
If you’ve been posting free social media content for a while now, it’s time to start monetising it.
Especially if you work as a PT or fitness coach, your content (and time) is valuable, so why not put a price on it?
Imagine getting paid for all the free content you work so hard to create in your spare time. This could easily become your reality.
We’re going to explore the best ways to monetise your PT business because we believe that fitness creators deserve to make the most out of their following.
Are you ready to change your lifestyle and mindset?
If you’ve been dreaming of changing your restrictive lifestyle and want to ditch clients having such a hold on your life, then monetising your online presence will unlock a life of freedom and opportunity.
We’ll be honest, monetising your personal training business is a total lifestyle and mindset shift, but in all the best ways.
Right now, you’re probably using your free time to make fitness content. It’s rewarding because you know you’re helping others, but sometimes, that’s not enough.
You can make money off training clients in person, but this has its own restrictions. You need to work around other people’s hours, and you’re limited to a clientele that lives within driving distance. As much as you want to grow, without expanding your business in new directions, you’ll be stuck right where you are.
If you learn how to make money as a personal trainer online, you’ll notice a massive shift. The content that you’ve spent hours creating and editing is now being paid for. You’ll have more free time in your day to work on yourself and your brand. And, you’ll see a dramatic increase in your income.
But how?
Well, it’s quite simple.
Running more aspects of your business online will allow you to reach people all around the world. Pre filming content or creating downloadable programs will also open you up to unlimited clients, allowing you to increase your earnings without increasing your workload.
Monetising your online presence means you’ll be constantly growing your business. So if you’re ready to start this journey, check out our tips for getting the most out of your online fitness career.
How to make money as an online personal trainer
So you’re creating great fitness content, training clients in real life and building your community in your free time.
Here’s how to take it up a notch and make more money as a personal trainer online.
It all starts with building an engaged online community
Once you’ve mastered your online presence (if you need help doing this, check out this blog post), you’ll open yourself up to new ways of monetising your personal brand.
This starts with creating a close-knit community with your followers.
Building a community takes a lot of work, but once you start, it’s very rewarding. A loyal follower base will regularly interact with your content, enhance your engagement metrics and refer you to their friends. These same followers are also likely to purchase your merch or buy your programs because they trust you.
To nurture bonds with your followers, make sure you’re posting engaging content regularly. It’s also important to interact with your community. Remember, your audience are real people, and people love to chat. Take on the role of a big sibling or a best friend, and reply to as many comments as you can.
There are many ways to engage with your audience, including:
- Asking questions in your captions
- Creating interactive stories
- Replying to people’s comments and questions in a video format
- Hosting Q & A live streams
- Creating a Facebook group
Once you have established strong bonds with your followers, you’ll be able to take your business to the next level.
Taking your services online
Whether you work as a PT or a fitness coach, a great way to increase your earnings is by taking these services online.
Becoming an online PT or coach will allow you to:
- Increase your client base
- Improve your work/life balance
- Make more money
- Dedicate more time to your craft
- Decrease your workload, as you don’t have to personally deliver pre-written PT programs or coaching content
We have full blog posts dedicated to becoming an online PT or fitness coach, so be sure to check these out.
Selling merchandise
Selling merchandise is a simple way to make money as a PT and fitness creator.
You could create your own merch and sell it, but if that’s not for you, then you could also join an affiliate program to promote your favourite fitness brands.
If you already love fitness products, becoming an affiliate is great, because you’ll be paid to promote the products you already use. For creators who already have a larger following, this is a super-easy way to monetise your fitness presence.
Selling your fitness programs
If you already post free fitness programs, or are planning on creating some, why not monetise them?
If you’re yet to create a program, we’d recommend releasing it for free at first. This will allow your followers to try before they buy, whilst also showing off how great your programs are. You may even choose to post a poll to see whether your followers would be interested in purchasing a program, as this will let you know whether you should be devoting time towards creating one.
When it comes to marketing your programs, take advantage of your social media channels. Post stories, sneak peaks, reels and Tiktoks to build excitement. Make sure your followers know about your programs, as the more awareness you get, the greater chance you have of being successful.
Selling fitness programs is a great way to make money online, and after you’ve created them, these programs become a source of passive income.
Stream your classes online (for a fee, of course)
If you’ve ever held a fitness class in person, you’d know that only a certain number of people can fit inside a sweaty studio. Running an online class can remedy this, as you can fit an unlimited number of people into your class, therefore increasing your earnings.
Create a buzz by posting about your classes across your social media accounts, and set a countdown timer to instil a sense of excitement. You may not get a huge turn out at first, but if a few people show up and love it, then they’re likely to recommend it to their friends.
Once you’ve finished teaching your class, you can also upload class recordings to your online fitness studio (which we’ll be discussing next). Repurposing your classes as fitness content allows you to kill two birds with one stone. This is a great example of how shifting your services online allows you to decrease your workload.
Create an online fitness studio
If you’re already creating fitness content that people can access for free, why not monetise it. Especially if you already post fitness classes online, moving these videos to a paid platform will allow you to make money off your hard work.
Online fitness studios can be the home to all of your content. They act as your personal website where you can post all of your:
- Exercise videos
- Workout plans
- Downloadable PDFs
- Weekly challenges
- Merch
- Pre-recorded classes
Before you shift your content to an online studio, it’s a good idea to keep some free content available on your social media platforms (a few workout videos and a free program) so people can get a taste for what you have to offer. Don’t worry about disappointing followers who’ve been accessing your work for free. If people love your workouts, they’ll pay the price. Your followers already know how hard you work, so they’ll understand this shift in format.
If you choose to monetise your content, it’s important to ensure that your followers are getting value from it. You should put a lot of time and effort into your content, because people will be more likely to part with their cash for quality content.
But how do I make money off an online fitness studio?
You can choose to serve your content in a subscription model. The general public will still be able to browse your studio, but only subscribers will be able to access all of your material.
As you can tell, there are many benefits to creating an online fitness studio. Not only does it keep all of your content in one place, but it allows you to increase your audience and earnings without increasing your workload. So, if you want to get the most out of your following, look into creating an online studio. If you already have close bonds with your audience, your studio is likely to be a huge success.
Use a platform like Steppen
Signing up as a creator on the Steppen app is another great way to monetise your personal training business.
Steppen will also help you grow your following, which will contribute to your success when it comes to launching classes, programs and products.
Monetising your fitness business online presents a lot of opportunities. If you already have experience creating content, whether this is on TikTok, Youtube or Instagram, you’re in a great position to start monetising your services.
The digital age has shifted the way we work and earn today, and you can also participate in the benefits it has to offer.
So, if you’re ready to open yourself up to unlimited opportunities for growth, start monetising your presence online.
Not sure where to start? Sign up to become a Steppen Creator and begin making sales online.
