How to become an Online Personal Trainer [7 Websites]

COVID has definitely done it’s best to put personal trainers out of business. Thank goodness we have the internet and online personal training. I have managed to move more than 50% of my personal training to online and me and my clients couldn’t be happier! Just like I stated in my blog about personal training certifications “I wish I would have started with these steps“ the process of building my online platform would have been a breeze!

7 Websites

Here is how I built my online personal training business.

There are obviously many more websites that will help you grow and be successful these are just the ones that have helped me the most. I would say these are the strongest platforms of them all! Side note, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR BUSINESS NAME IS THE EXACT SAME ON ALL PLATFORMS. If you have different names for all it will only confuse the system. Pick a name that is simple and describes your business perfectly. It will make it easier for potential clients and clients to find you online.

When creating your profiles remember ‘Dress to Impress’ This advise isn’t just useful for an in person job interview it’s also useful while creating your profiles. Dress your profile! 99% of clients when asked why they hired me said that it was because my profile was so impressive and stuck out from all the rest. I stood out and I wasn’t even on the first page yet! Here are some simple tips on dressing your profile.

Keep it simple! Don’t overwhelm your profile with unnecessary content it’ll look too busy and most times people won’t even look at it.
Pictures! Having pictures of yourself gives potential clients an idea of who they are signing up with and having pictures of your clients progress shows proof that your program and your methods actually work.
Fill out all the content it helps you rank online
Make it very clear what type of training you can provide so that you don’t get inquiries that don’t fit your profile. Some of these websites(Thumbtack) charge a small price for inquiries so you want to make sure they almost already know what they are inquiring about.
Don’t hide your pricing. Reputation, rapport, good reviews! It’s all so important as an online trainer and there are many fitness platforms that have a terrible reputation because they aren’t upfront about their pricing. For example I’m sure you’ve seen those Ads on social media that say something like FREE 6 week challenge but when you sign up for a consultation and go in they say actually it’s $500 but you’ll have a chance to get it back(90% off people don’t).

For example, If you take a look at my website you will see that all of the content is simple, easy to follow, and the pricing is very apparent. First impressions matter especially online so make sure it’s always a good one. Being straight forward with your profile and pricing will also allow you to avoid cheap people and help you target people who won’t devalue you or your services.

Your Website

Having your own website is important for so many reasons one simply being that you get to say “Have you had the chance to look at my website?” You sound so professional and it makes you look great! Your website should also be the base for all of your other online platforms. It is a great place for them to direct your potential clients.

There are plenty of website builders to chose from but here is the one I chose GoDaddy. This site will give you a break down of how everything works and you’ll be able to pick out your website template. This part of the process was so fun for me because I got to chose my own style! Once you pick out your template and get everything set up you can use WordPress to truly edit and design your website exactly the way you want it!(Color, writing, pictures, videos, etc.)

Getting your website to Rank on the first page of Google will be the most important thing for your online personal training business. The best way to rank is through writing blogs that are related to your business. The more blogs you write and publish on your website(which you can do through wordpress) the more Google will understand what your business is about and that will help it become easier for potential clients to find you. If you’re anything like me you’ll have a hard time blogging which means building some discipline/habits will be important. In order to rank you will probably need 5-10 blog posts so the best way, in my opinion, would be to have a set schedule of 1-2 hours a day or every other day to sit down and write 500-800 words until you get those 5-10 posts. Trust me! This is the most important task to gain more personal training clients online. Here check out this step by step process to get you started, it honestly saved my life.

Google my Business

This! This is the one thing I wish I would have gotten on board with years ago when I first started personal training. I would have became successful a lot sooner. The world revolves around Google.

“Honey where do you want to go to eat?” I don’t know Google some places!

“Is this a good brand?” Google the reviews!

“Where can I find a personal trainer or online personal trainer?” Google it!

You guys get the point! After creating your own website establishing a spot on the first page of Google should be your main priority. Create a profile on Google my Business, dress your profile, and get it up and running. Do not forget to link your website on there!

Now here is where the reputation, rapport, and good reviews come into play you’ll need to start building those in order to rank on Google! Man if I would have started with this information I would have so many more reviews on Google! The ranking process takes time and dedication but it is definitely worth the effort.

Thumbtack

Thumbtack is the website that started it all for me! I wish I would have taken a better route but non the less I am thankful because Thumbtack gave me many long term clients. This is the easiest platform to set up because it gives you a step by step as you are signing up for the app and provides you with very thorough instructions on what to do to create the perfect profile.

Here are some things you need to know about this platform

Thumbtack charges you a small amount for each inquiry you get from their app. With that being said be very thorough on your profile with what type of clients you want so that you are getting the best bang for your buck

If you are using this app for online and in person clients make sure that you put in your bio/description that potential clients need to view your location before sending you a message. Why? Because most potential clients don’t know exactly how thumbtack works so when they are filling out the questionnaire they will put that they are open to online training but they are actually looking for someone in person. Thumbtack will send them trainers from all over the world. Ex) I live in Maui Hawaii, potential client lived in San Diego, when I linked up with them they had no idea I was in Maui and they were not interested in online training. I lost $23…This happened 6-8 times. So it is very important that you have that information on your profile so you don’t waste money.
Don’t forget to set your budget limit on how much money Thumbtack can charge you per week and when you’ve reached enough clients don’t forget to set your budget to zero or turn off your profile.
Reviews are important and in order for a client to say that they hired you Thumbtack makes them leave a review. So that’s awesome! The reviews will help you rank on the first page of this platform.
After a few sessions with your new clients always remember to tell them to go back and say they hired you on Thumbtack because that will help you move up on the rankings. The more hires the more your profile will show up to potential clients. They also give you badges that pop up on your profile making you more appealing than other profiles. I am going on my second year as an in high demand trainer and a top pro which keeps me on the first page and sometimes the number one search.

Even though Thumbtack is one of the only platforms that charge you per client you get it honestly pays off. They charge me a one time charge of $12 for one potential and If that client signs up with me that’s a consistent $200-$600 a month for me. Worth it!

Yelp

Honestly depending on the area you live in yelp is probably as popular if not more popular than Google my Business. Yelp is a tricky one and is definitely a bit harder to get ranked on though. It has the same set up as all the other platforms where you will create your profile, dress it up, and build reviews/rapport/reputation.

Yelp pro/cons

PRO- Most popular platform to get ranked on which means clients on clients on clients!
CON- They filter your reviews. This means if you have clients that don’t have a yelp profile and a history of leaving reviews their review will get filtered and won’t show up on your profile.
PRO- There is no question if you are on the first page of yelp you are getting clients
CON- Make sure your information is dead set and all accurate because if you need to edit something on your profile they will put it under review and it won’t change or update for days/weeks.(This happens on Google my Business as well) Ex)If you change your phone number it will take days/weeks for them to update on your profile
PRO- It’s free!

Haro

Haro is used to help get your website get ranked on the first page of Google. Again I can not explain how much easier your life will be being with your website being on the first page of a google search “personal trainer in your area” or “online personal trainer”.

Here is how it works!

Go to the Haro website and set up your profile. When you are setting up your profile they are going to ask you what type of emails you would like to receive, if you are a personal trainer/online trainer, you’ll pick the Lifestyle & Fitness Queries
You’ll receive 2-3 emails a day from them. The emails are a list of articles that writers want help with and so they are reaching out for other professionals opinions, in our case personal trainers
When you choose to respond to one the writer will most likely ask specific questions to be answered so make sure you pick an article that is more tailored to you and your profession. If they like your response they will feature you in their article
When responding to these writers the first thing you should do is include your website so that they can include that in their article when they feature you. It will create a link on their page that their readers and followers can click on and it will lead them directly to your website
Sometimes the article requests come from VERY popular magazines, journals, websites, etc. Like EatThis or Bustle (two really good ones to be featured in)

I’ve been featured in Bustle twice and in doing so it bumped my website up quite a lot! Here is a quick example of what type of article requests you’ll get. Example) Bustle was writing an article on the best type of glute exercises and was asking 9 or 10 personal trainers to provide the best ones. They asked for the name of the exercise, how to perform it, and the reps you should perform.

Pretty simple questions and it only takes about 10 minutes to fill it out. Trust me it’s worth the time besides who doesn’t love saying they’ve been featured in a popular magazine, website, journal, etc. ?

Fiverr

Online personal training isn’t huge on Fiverr…Yet! Which is why right now is the perfect time to get on there. It doesn’t cost anything to create a profile here but when you do get clients they do take a one time small percentage per client. I use Fiverr as a side hustle for now but I assume just like anything else fitness will become bigger on there and eventually it will make me more money!

Fiverr is simple and like most of the platforms I’ve listed it has a step by step explanation for the process making it that much easier. Here are a few tips

I don’t just offer online personal training on Fiverr. I offer workout programs that don’t require live sessions, 30 day challenges, I offer to do promotional videos for workout gear, fitness videos, kickboxing, and boxing videos. Again online personal training isn’t big on there yet so I’ve actually been hired for workout programs and fitness videos more than online training. Which honestly has been great! It doesn’t take up too much time to deliver and it makes for great side cash and believe me it starts to add up!
Many people who try to hire you on Fiverr will attempt to get a free session or offer to pay you outside of Fiverr but you should always get the first payment off Fiverr. It will show you how serious the client is and prevent you from being ripped off or persuaded into a free session. Besides it will help your profile grow and become more attractive to potential clients

Fiverr and Thumbtack are great for getting your foot in the door with online clients! They may cost a small amount but look at it this way you’ll spend around $10-$25 per client but gain $200-$700 per client and if you are really good at what you do you’ll gain that $200-$700 long term!

TrueCoach

TrueCoach is AMAZING! I have been using this website for about a month now and OH MY GOODNESS! Here are my famous words everyone, I wish I would have used this from the beginning! TrueCoach is a website/app that you and your clients can use.

TrueCoach is the best website/app for you and your clients and it is super easy to use so your clients won’t get confused.

You

TrueCoach allows you to create profiles for all of your clients. All you have to do is enter their name and email and it will send them an invite to be apart of the app where your clients will be able to enter in all their info like weight, fitness goals, before/after pics, and even food logs
There is a calendar for each of your clients where you will be able to create and post their workouts for the day/week/month. While you are creating workout programs for your clients TrueCoach has video explanation of exercise movements that you are able to attach to the workouts so your clients may view them if they don’t know how to perform the movement or need a refresher. I loved that feature because almost all of my clients like to go back and re-do some of the workouts to improve on their own
It’s honestly just a great way to stay organized especially when your online coaching starts to pick up

Your clients

They will be able to log their progress which not only keeps everything organized for you but it also creates accountability and discipline for your clients
If they are doing live sessions with you this app with give them access to all the workouts that you guys do if they are wanting to do that workout again. It will also allow them to see the workouts before the actual session giving them time to prep for whatever you have programmed. If you are just creating programs for your clients they will be able to access the workouts as well and be able to communicate with you through the app which might be great if you are trying to organize your live session clients from your non live session clients
I haven’t used this feature yet but I believe you are also able to create full programs, 30 day challenges, etc. on TrueCoach and it will keep them ready for whenever you need to access them or get one of your clients started on one of them which in my opinion is so much more professional than emailing a word document.

TrueCoach is like a membership where you have to pay monthly to keep it. The amount you pay depends on how many clients you have. That’s probably why I was so hesitant to sign up but I can assure you this is also one of those things that are worth it and will pay off in the long run.

Why?

I chose these online websites for my blog because 1. Most of them are free to use, take advantage of that, 2. The websites that do cost money are very low pricing and definitely pay off in the long run, and 3. because when I started to apply all of these to my career I started to blow up and become successful. I spent the first year of my personal training/online personal training career struggling because I didn’t have the information I’m giving you now! This process will create an easier path to success.