9 Ways to Keep Building your Fitness Career During the Coronavirus Pandemic
I can’t help but notice that Coronavirus is impacting absolutely everything. From Coachella, to the Boston Marathon, to studios temporarily closing left and right, I’m sure you’re as worried as I am. The reality is for the time being, and as this continues, the fitness scene is going to change. People are still going to value fitness but will shift to more at home workouts, and more solo runs - rather than group studio classes. If you’re a fellow group fitness instructor (without PTO, health insurance etc), you know how nerve wracking things are right now. You depend on teaching (full) fitness classes to make a living. If you’re a fellow private instructor teaching an at risk population (60+, comprised immune system etc), I can also relate. As cases grow and available hospital beds decrease, I can’t help but wonder when private sessions will have to go completely remote.
Now, if your studio or private sessions are temporarily shut down, you probably have a lot of free time. Which we never have. So I call this a blessing in disguise. Here are 9 valuable things that will keep you busy and further your career as a fitness instructor and/or fitness entrepreneur.
(All credits for the idea behind this to my friend/biz whiz Regan (@venturetravelist), who inspired this post with her post “12 Ways Influencers Can Work on Their Business Despite the Coronavirus Slowdown”) Go read her article also!
Dreams & Schemes that are IRL
Plan long term and dream
Running from place to place, it’s hard to sit down and just take a few days to dream about where we want our careers to go long term. Where are you going to be? Who are you with? Who are you? How are you spending your term? Create a long term vision for yourself and your business - and create a plan to get there. Do you want to start a studio? an app? an online platform? be a full time mom? a health coach? be a manager at your studio? I particularly like these articles to help me get there. (1) (2) (3) If you want to get especially crafty - go create a vision board! And if you’re not so crafty like me, here’s how to create a digital one using a site like Canva.
Network/connect with other instructors
Do you know that list of people you have in your head you’ve been admiring on Instagram or have been meaning to connect with? It’s the perfect time to reach out to people in the industry to either get coffee in person, or have a FT chat to connect. If you don’t have that list, make one! Go through social media or your studio’s list of instructors and make a list of 5-10 people who you are interested in meeting and connecting with. From there, reach out (either via DM or email). It’s a lonely time so, more connection can never hurt. Networking is an investment in yourself and your business.
Personally check in with clients/students
Now is a great time to privately text, DM, or email all your private and group class students and check in. I’d love to do this every day and ask every single student how they felt, and if I can answer any questions. I don’t normally just due to the sheer volume of people. Now, with a slow down in number of students, consider reaching out to everyone individually. Ask them how they are doing. Connect. See if you can do anything to help.
Create other streams of income
Think about other streams of income you can develop. As a fitness professional, it’s hard to depend on just one studio or just one style of teaching to support us financially. What are different ways you can make money - passively or actively? Is there another skill or strength you have that you can focus and make a plan around right now?
Some ideas: If you’re a group class instructor, have you thought about privates? If you do both, have you thought about corporate? events? outdoor classes? getting into managing a studio or marketing/admin? growing your online presence to do brand deals? creating an online streaming platform or app? working with a specific population - schools, care center etc? There are so many options and opportunities here. Get creative and brainstorm interesting streams of income for yourself.
Dreams & Schemes that are online
Start and create your website and/or blog
If you don’t have a website yet - make one. If you don’t have a blog yet - make one. In my opinion, if you don’t have either yet, you’re behind the times. At a bare minimum, you need to be findable on Google to create a business. Even if teaching is just your “side gig”, you should create a website for yourself as a place for all your current, past, and future students to learn more about you, check in with your schedule, and find out other places where they can follow and find you.
In my opinion, the blog is essential for you to be perceived as a thought leader in your industry. Brainstorm and work on publishing valuable content (what would your ideal student, your friend or fitness colleagues want to see and get value from?) rather than just what other people are posting. As a jumping off point, I often write posts about commonly asked questions from students.
Gather testimonials
Reach out to past and present clients for testimonials and reviews about your teaching. Not only is this valuable to put onto your site and other social media but, it gives you a chance to connect with clients who may have moved etc.
Create online videos
The same goes here. If you’re a teacher of any kind, you hopefully have some video content available online - whether it’s on Youtube, IGTV, Tik Tok etc. Start creating videos of yourself teaching others or teaching to the camera that students can follow along with. In my opinion, the more ways you have for students to connect with you, the more retention you have as an instructor. Example… If you have a group class student that follows you on Instagram, does your online workouts, and comments on your blog - s/he will be much more likely to come back to your classes and tell their friends about you.
Some ideas: no equipment body weight workout routines, what I eat in a day, your nutrition philosophy, your favorite workout gear, everything you need to build a home gym, your favorite pre/post workout meals or snacks
Amp up your social media game by creating a content calendar
Now, for all the reasons I’ve mentioned already, now is also a great time to amp up your social media game. It increases client retention and gets you in front of potential new clientele. For most of us, we just put up content ad hoc. Every few days, I’ll edit a picture I have saved or a new one I took that day and throw it up with a cute and/or helpful caption. Now, to get more organized and to have more consistent social media, it’d be helpful to create a content calendar for yourself. There are plenty of planning tools out there (I like Planoly) that you can use to help.
The first questions I ask are…
How many times do I want to post a week? When are the best times to post (analytics)?
What is my “brand” comprised of? Find 3-5 subjects that your audience resonate with that are genuinely you. From here, you can rotate evenly between all topics, making sure you capture all segments of your audience. Mine is the first line in my bio - Pilates, Marathoner, Vegan
What type of content do I want to post? I suggest content being as helpful as possible - whether it’s barre choreography inspiration, outfit inspiration, business tips or more. Take a moment to think about whether you want to use IGTV/video versus photos
Who is my audience? Take a look at your analytics and make sure to remember who you’re speaking to as you create and post content.
After I’ve answered these questions, I go into a program and plan out my content for the month, making sure to try to post consistently. If you can, now is a great time to batch content (filming videos and taking photos) for the next few weeks.
Build an email list + newsletter
Now is a vital time to build an email list and to create a regular newsletter. The reality is no one “owns” anything online - except a newsletter. Once you have someone’s email contact you have a reliable way to get in touch with them. On Instagram, are you going to group DM accounts? The likelihood is no. Spend some time researching how to build an email list, and add that option on to your site. A great way to capture emails is to provide a “freebie” in exchange for an email (a free workout plan etc). Once you’ve captured emails, start nurturing that list and increasing engagement by sending out regular (ahem valuable) emails. Then, when a time comes like this one, you’ll be prepared and be able to be in touch with all of your clients and followers.
Well wow! That’s a lot of things to do. Hopefully you’ve felt inspired and not discouraged by this list of ways to continue to build your career as a fitness instructor. We might not be teaching as much right now but, we’re able to do so so much more!
As a related but side note, I know this is a scary time and a lot of us are losing a lot of money due to the current climate. There’s a lot that we’re all already doing - washing our hands, not touching our faces, wiping down frequently used surfaces like doorknobs and our phones. But, also, try staying connected with your fellow fitness instructors and clients. Reach out and call friends/family. Workout. Nourish your body. Sleep. Meditate. Read. Pursue the hobbies you’ve been “meaning to” forever now.
Let me know what your thoughts are below!