Ok, so I've been sharing a little about how to get your personal training services and website found on Google and I've told you about the most powerful form of client attraction you can use to both attract and keep clients on your site.
Of course, I'm talking about writing!
It's such an obvious marketing vehicle that demonstrates your expertise that I'm stunned that more personal trainers don't write more but, well, it's true, they don't!
Now, there are a multitude of rationalisations, reasons and justifications that are used to explain the reluctance to write but by far the most common is this...
"I don't know HOW to write"
Maybe that's what even you believe?
But that's not the case. Not at all!
You see, writing is simple as simple can be.
It's merely the action of taking the thoughts that are buzzing around in your head and putting them on paper (or into a Word document).
But then, I guess what people mean is that they can't write well, right?
Believe it or not, writing well, writing to attract prospects and keep them interested andwriting to keep them interested enough to get to know you, like you and trust you is far, far simpler than most writing-phobics would ever believe.
It's all about structure.
Nothing more, nothing less.
You see, what differentiates a good article from a not-so-good one is not the words or the message, it's how the message is presented.
I gues you could say it's the packaging that the message is wrapped in.
And that's the structure.
Ok, so assuming you accept that fact, what's the best structure for fitness articles?
Well, again, this is so simple and obvious that you'll kick yourself when you read it but, well, here goes...
1. Present a problem - Presenting a problem is without a doubt the best way to capture the attention of your ideal prospect.
Why?
Because the very reason that they're on the internet looking around is for information to solve their problem, of course!
"Have you ever noticed how long it seems to get back into shape after having a baby?"
"Have you ever noticed how many diet books there are in the bookshops these days?"
"Have you ever noticed how hard it is to shift those last 10lbs?"
Present a problem and straight away you're speaking the same language as your prospect... and they're automatically set up to listen!
2. Describe the scope of the problem - Yep, lay out the size and scope of the problem with statistics or anecdotes to support your problem description....
"It seems that just about every new mum you meet..."
"A trip to my local bookstore showed over 300 popular diets..."
"Research by Harvard med school students revealed that 67% of all women...."
See, people want to know that they're not 'the freak', they want to know that the problem isn't with them and them alone and they want to know that YOU are aware of this too. If you are, that automatically starts to shift you to expert status in their eyes. An excellent place to be!
3. Describe the cost - It might be financial, it might be health, it might be emotional but whatever it is, describe it and do so in such a way as to PROVE that you know what you're talking about.
"... will tell you just how hard it is to lose 'baby fat' and get back to pre-pregnancy shape and that their inability to do so results in stress, frustration, depression and self-loathing..."
"...diets that are range from high carb to low carb, high fat to low fat and everything in between, leading to confusion, frustration and feelings of helplessness and even ambivalence to the whole diet 'thing'...
"...are spending in excess of $100,000,000 a year on weight loss supplements, meal replacement powders and fat burners..."
Once you tell me this, I'm now convinced that you know your stuff, after all, you've done your research, you know my problem, you know how many people suffer from it and you also know how having the problem affects me.
You're definitely moving into expert status in my eyes!
4. Present a solution - But not YOUR solution... yet!
Tell me that there IS a solution to the problem.
Tell me that there are diets, workouts, motivational strategies that I can adopt and that can and do work to bring about great results for people with this problem.
In other words, give me some good news.
But not YOUR good news.
Why?
Because I'll switch off and have a 'I knew it, they're trying to sell me' moment.
Instead, tell me about how easy it is to solve this problem...
"...you know, shifting baby weight isn't as difficult as most people think. All it takes is..."
"... the truth is, diets are anywhere near as complex as most authors and experts would have you believe. It all comes down to..."
"... You know, shifting that last 10lbs is so much simpler than the experts would hav you believe. It's not rocket science..."
5. NOW present YOUR solution! - But don't sell me...
Articles are not the place to sell. They're the place to inform, educate and stimulate.
They're the place to get me to know, like and trust you.
So tell me about the system you use by all means, but don't ram it down my throat.
"What we've found is that the fastest, most effective way to guarantee that new mum's losefat in the fastest, safest way possible is to.... and.... and.... and.... BECAUSE..."
6. Now give me some examples - But NOT testimonials!
People want to hear success stories for sure, but testimonials (despite what you may have been told) have no place in your fitness articles.
Quotes are ok but the strongest support from your expertise are stories.
Stories work!
One of my mentor students recently emailed me to tell me that since he's started telling stories in his blog and his newsletters that both his online and offline sales have increased by over 300%. Not bad huh? Especially when you think that his content is almost identical in factual content and it's just the inclusion of stories that have accounted for the traffic.
What kind of stories?
Stories that bring home the focus of your expertise!
Tell your reader how you got a new mum back into shape in just 6 weeks.
Tell 'em how you created the perfect diet that's been downloaded over 20,000 times, is free to download and works every time.
Tell 'em how you use interval training and resistance work to get rid of that last 10lbs and what achieving this has done for your clients' self confidence.
Entertain them, intrigue them, tantalise them.
But don't sell them.
No free consultations, no website addresses, no 'call now' stuff.
Just the 'meat' of the article.
Finally...
7. Wrap up - Create a concise summary of the article, about how there is a problem but that there's also a number of solutions that people can try and that there's hope.
Remind them that the simplest, fastest and most successful solution is yours because you've covered all the bases for people 'just like them' and then spur them into taking action.
Empower them.
Make them feel positive about doing something to solve their problem.
See, it's not difficult is it?
In fact, it's pretty easy when you think about it. It just requires that you truly understand the problems faced by your prospects and that you genuinely care enough about them to give them the answers they need to advance them in the direction of the solution.
In fact, the truest test of whether or not you've created an article that will be of benefit is to ask this question:
"If this person ONLY ever read my article and didn't call me to work with them one on one, would they still get benefit from what I've written?"
If the answer is 'yes' then publish it. If, on the other hand, when you read it you find that you've held back on 'the good stuff' in the hope that they'll call you to find out more, then don't publish at all, you'll only end up looking greedy and uncaring.
Now it's over to you!
You could spend a few more months thinking about writing something or you could simply go ahead and do it.
Do it today!
Use this template and you'll be stunned at the response!
Truth, joy and love
Dax
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com
P.S - Read back through this article and compare it to the template. You'll find it fits almost exactly.... aren't I good? : )
P.P.S - I'll incentivise your article writing... Send me an article in this format in the next 2 weeks and I'll put it in front of 20,000 subscribers on my client list (not personal trainers)
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