Writing a fitness blog or newsletter for your personal training business is a trending communication method right now. What’s more is they’re a great way to stay connected to your clientele (actual and potential).
The problem is, who has time to write when there’s barely enough minutes to spare between getting to training appointments and handling day-to-day life? Besides, where will all the topics come from?
Fortunately, there are some fast, effective, and fun ways to create content!
Figure out what you want to write about before you sit down.
I find that blog topics come to me while I log a few miles on the local trail. Or when I’m working on webpage content or writing a proposal. In other words, topics come to me when I’m doing something entirely different. If I clear my schedule and go sit at my desk waiting for that lightning strike of inspiration (and I have tried this), I waste time staring around the room and accomplish little.
If you fear the Blank Page, having a general idea of your topic lets you put down a sentence or two and immediately destroy the enemy the moment you sit down to write.
As a professional fitness trainer, you already have an arsenal of information to share. What do you wish clients knew about fitness? How can clients get the most out of their workouts? What typically trips them up on their journey to a healthier lifestyle?
Use questions like those as a springboard to creating topics.
The key is that you must always leave your mind open to possible topics. While you do other stuff, of course.
Unless you’re turning in an academic thesis, don’t worry about perfect grammar!
I can’t say this enough! While subject/verb agreement is important, as is the properly placed comma for clarity, don’t hesitate to write in a conversational way. Or start a sentence with “or.” Too many sentences that transition with the old crutch “however” renders content stiff and dull.
Don’t let the grammar police show up and arrest your thought process! Write in a relatable and entertaining way. It makes writing (and reading) more enjoyable. Your audience will appreciate it.
Write in bursts.
You don’t have to write an entire post in one sitting. Say you’ve got three points to make, but you haven’t fleshed them out. Go ahead and start your first bullet point. Fill it in as much as you can. Start your second bullet point and repeat.
You can always go back and add information. Go on and add that highly-opinionated sentence you aren’t sure about keeping. Drafting is about freedom and honesty. You can go back and edit it out if you must. No one will see a thing until you publish.
Now let’s talk specifically about newsletters.
There is a recipe for a simple and fast newsletter, but first let’s clear up some misconceptions about what makes a newsletter:
- Newsletters don’t have to be multi-page productions with high-scale graphics and fancy fonts.
- Newsletters don’t have to cover four different topics.
- Newsletters don’t have to come out every week.
Here’s what newsletters should be.
- Consistent. Don’t have five pages this month and a paragraph for the next. Your audience should come to know exactly what to expect when they open a newsletter from You Inc.
- Scheduled. Monthly works fine. I’ve even subscribed to some quarterly newsletters before. I will say that frequency matters. Don’t inundate your mailing list with content, but quarterly might not be enough visibility for your business. Choose a realistic schedule for yourself. Stick to it.
Now for the recipe!
This makes it so simple! Grab yourself a template from an email marketing service like Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, Vertical Response and the rest. Be sure to scout out the free services!
For your content, use a Question of the Month format. Take a question a client asked you, and let the answer be an edition of the newsletter.
You can even solicit questions. Now you’ve got a whole backlog of topics! For instance:
Q: I’d like to write a fitness blog/newsletter to establish myself even more as an expert. I’m short on time. How can I make creating content a faster process?
A: (You just read it! Happy writing!)
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Tanisha Rule has a BA in English and is a former Mad Dogg-certified Spinning instructor. She taught indoor cycle and boot camp and has now combined her passions as a full-time writer for the health and fitness industries, check out her site at www.ruleboutiquewritingservices.com. If she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found happily training for an endurance event, likely after having said, “This is my last one for a while,” because there is no finish line; there is only progress.
