She Means Fitness Business Debra Atkinson

Have you ever thought about hiring an intern or getting free labor? Through an intern from a community college or university? If you've never thought about it, but now you're wondering should I think about it or if you Yes, I've thought about it but wondered, are you in the right position? Are you ready to hire an intern? This is your episode tune in.
Ready to Grow Your Expertise as a Menopause Fitness Specialist? We’re open for enrollment. Learn more about it in this free webinar replay you can watch: 
The Exercise Mistakes Keeping Women Fat, Sick and Aging Faster. Just click here. 
This episode is all about interns! We reverse engineer from hiring interns, attracting them, writing a description and how you know if you really are ready and what ideal mindset you'll have before hiring your internship. So we do this twofold and we do this very informally. My intern for the summer of 2024 started yesterday as we recorded this podcast episode. And so I asked her, let's do this. Let's just be transparent. What did you want? How does it work when you're picking an internship? What about the description appealed to you? And then I talked about what I was looking for in an intern. What I wanted, what I was hoping, what I hope at the end of this happens and I hope most of all that it will help you.
Resources: 
Health Coaching Scorecard: https://www.flippingfifty.com/scorecard 
Marketing to Women  Copywriting Course: https://www.flippingfifty.com/copywriting-course 
Other Episodes You Might Like: 
Hiring Help Like a Pro: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/hiring-help/
10 Ways to Operate Like a Team without Hiring a Team: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/hiring-a-team/
Hiring Wrong? The First Person to Hire: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/important-position-fitness-business-youre-hiring-wrong/
 

Hold your hat, here come 3 quick ways to boost engagement! 
If it feels like you’re posting all the time but crickets all the time in response, this is for you. 
These are quick and dirty ways to get more engagement, therefore grow your reach on social media and that potentially means grow your email list.
When you grow your email list, you have a better chance of launching more successful programs every time. 
If you’re not already growing your list every single day, with a juicy lead magnet - you know - the opt in they’ll trade their best email for then grab my Ultimate Freebie Guide. 
Yes, how meta is that? The freebie guide to freebie guides. But it’s easier now than ever with Chat gpt. If you know how to prompt and ask questions! 
Let’s dive into this short but effective list of 3 ways to boost engagement now.
Use stories. 
If you continue to post reels and carousel posts and live videos or image posts and you know the post is good and helpful and hits on a topic your audience cares about and is looking for a solution to (and if not see my ultimate freebie!), then stories could be all you need. 
Post about a life experience related to health, wellness or fitness that you’re going through. 
It could be mine- last week I had a tooth extracted. I chose a holistic dentist. So I talked about why and the difference. I talked about the trek to LA to have it done. I talked about the worry I did ahead of time and the outcome of the whole thing, from hours in the chair, the pain, what I was able to do after, how I prepared for healing and inactivity so I wouldn’t lose muscle. 
Honor celebrated days, weeks and months or events
Make them personal. Last women’s history month, we’ve been blessed to see Caitlin Clark from the University of Iowa excel in basketball and change the game forever. She’s become a celebrated athlete, not just a women's basketball athlete, and all-time athlete. Because of that we’ve seen more female athletes and coaches highlighted that in the past take a backseat to men’s events. 
Resources: 
Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 
Menopause Fitness Framework: https://www.flippingfifty.com/specialist 
Other Episodes You Might Like: 
Affiliate Partnerships: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/promote-affiliate-partners/
Social Media Marketing Strategy: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/social-media-marketing-strategy/

Diversify with 7 revenue streams for stability and growth in the fitness coaching industry, particularly for those focusing on midlife women.
1 Online Courses and Workshops 
- Description: Creating and selling online courses that address specific aspects of fitness and wellness for midlife women, such as bone health, hormone balance, and managing menopause symptoms through exercise and nutrition.
- Actionable Tip: Use platforms like Teachable or Thinkific to host your courses; start with a pilot course to gauge interest.
One event or one series of events.
Biggest mistake here is underpricing. 
If you start with a problem, and you believe someone will pay for the solution you have, underpricing is usually the biggest risk. It sets a precedent. You aren’t going to be excited about it. 
Second biggest mistake is not having a goal for enrollment. What’s the minimum profitable number of registrations? If you don’t want to profit or set that as a goal, you won’t. You may have a hobby. Consider your time. Time delivering, time preparing, time commuting, what it removes you from doing that could earn more. The biggest cost to a low price offer though is the mental connection with you and your services. Cheap is not well-perceived as “worth it.” 
2 Virtual Fitness Coaching 
- Description: Offering personalized coaching sessions via video calls, catering to clients who prefer the convenience of working out at home.
- Actionable Tip: Leverage tools like Zoom or Skype for personal training sessions; consider group sessions for a more community-centric approach.
Private or Group
3 Wellness Retreats 
- Description: Organizing retreats focused on fitness, nutrition, and overall wellness for midlife women, offering a holistic health experience.
- Actionable Tip: Partner with a retreat center and start small—a weekend getaway focused on a specific theme like "Reset and Renew."
Live or Virtual- where would you love to go? These are the most fun revenue streams for coaches because you’ve figured out a way to do what you love and get paid for it! 
I’m hosting retreats in Colorado and in the Grand Canyon this year. I am taking the cohort on trails I love and know, getting to teach life-changing content to attendees while they’re there, bringing together a community of women interested in the same things. But you can also and I have done this virtually in a 3-day retreat. At $97 for the event and with over 40 in attendance. It was a blast! For a few hours on Saturday and Sunday each. 
Workshop style - partner with someone 
Grassroots - Register and pay either coach, enrolling coach takes 5-10% more which is a sales commission essentially, and then coaches settle up after. (Don’t make an attendee register two places)! 
4 More Revenue Streams for Fitness Coaches
4 Membership Programs 
- Description: Creating a membership platform providing exclusive content, community support, and regular live Q&A sessions. Often includes discount rates for additional services, a regular content exclusive to the membership, access to you that no one else has or only VIP clients have, but members get at a fraction of the price of private coaching. 
- Actionable Tip: Utilize platforms like Patreon or MemberPress to build and manage your membership community, Memberium
5 Affiliate Marketing
- Description:Earning commissions by recommending fitness and wellness products that align with the needs of midlife women.
- Actionable Tip:Choose products you genuinely endorse; transparency builds trust with your audience.
Coach partnerships
Program partnerships
Equipment: desk bikes, weights, Power Plate, skin care, supplements
6 Corporate Wellness Programs
 Description: Designing and implementing fitness and wellness programs for employees at corporations, focusing on midlife health.
- Actionable Tip: Start by offering free lunchtime talks or workshops to introduce your services to local businesses.
Create pro

“I wasn’t marketed to anymore.” 
My guest today points out a glaring still-existing dilemma in our fitness industry. Even in this age where menopause and longevity being buzzwords of the year, images and marketing terms are centered around young, youthfulness, and anti-aging. Images of young, fit individuals in bra tops still prevail.
If you want to reach over 50 clients, you have to know what to say and what not to say. Jay Croft creates original content for trainers, gyms and studios. Everywhere you write, speak, or create video, you are a copywriter. I rounded up a professional writer to help you with content to reach over 50 clients.
Be sure you stay til the end for some help on how you can use AI to generate content to reach over 50 clients better, faster and create a relationship. 
My Guest:
Jay Croft created Prime Fit Content to help gym owners reach more people over 50 after 30 years in mass media and corporate communications. A veteran writer, editor, and content creator, Jay creates premium, original material best used in email newsletters, social media, and blogs. He also consults with businesses about this vast, underserved segment and how best to communicate with them effectively.

Questions We Answer in This Episode:
What is your background and how & why you got into this? 
What are some of the challenges trainers online or off  have in communicating with the over-50 market?
What are a few key pieces of advice in improving your game on this?
Why isn't the fitness industry doing more to help people over 50?
What role can content and communications play?
What works and what doesn't?

Connect with Jay:
https://primefitcontent.com
 
On Social:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaycroft
Threads: https://twitter.com/JayCroft
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primefitcontent/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/croftjay/
 
Other Episodes You Might Like:
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/podcasts
 
Resources:
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course 

Developing relationships with medical professionals was going to be easy once Exercise is Medicine™ was announced! Trainers and gyms thought it was going to be great. Imagine it raining clients told by their physicians to exercise and start working with a trainer. 
No one came. 
"Exercise is Medicine was established in 2007 by the American College of Sports Medicine to inform and educate physicians and other health care providers about exercise as well as bridge the widening gap between health care and health fitness."(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7444006)
It's Up To YOU. 
You want an endorsement from a physician. They want to know their patients get a safe referral and their credibility is supported.
Make it clear what’s in it for them.  Make it easy for them.  Make the relationship with you public by inviting them to over.  Host events and invite them(let them see you in action)
Host events and feature them(live or your podcasts or virtual video show)
Offer to do a lunch & learn for their office (if local or possibly virtually)
Contact them with a professional letter/email
Follow up - emails and letters get lost
Call the office 
Follow up - messages get lost 
Offer to train them
Mistakes when Trying to Develop Relationships with Medical Professionals 
No follow up
Confidentiality breach
Lack of specific CTA 
Lack of specific way they win 
Are you a specialist? In what? Does that serve a lot of their patients? 
Because very few are doing this well right now, you have a huge opportunity. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I’ve witnessed physicians actually become part-time fitness instructors. Chiropractors and physical therapists were gymnasts and fitness instructors before they were practicing. Learn more about physicians. Try taking an interest in them and begin creating a relationship the same way you’d create a friendship. The more you’re interested in them and how you can help them the more likely you are to get attention. 
Other Episodes You Might Like:
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/podcast
Resources:
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 
https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course 
https://www.flippingfifty.com/wwwexercise
 
 

If you’re hoping to create a retreat or simply to deepen relationships and loyalty among your clients and members, (as we all should), then you’ll love this. From hosting retreats for more than a decade I learn something new every time. My retreats look very different from the first I hosted over a decade ago. And I’ve learned the most from my attendees after the retreat. 
Having quiet time to journal on a trail and cooking together were two things suggested and requested. 
Among the most fun activities we did during a recent 4 ½ day retreat was charades. We also held a team best shot putting competition. Though I also included a midnight trail ride through the desert, it was the charades and putting that they all talked about on the last day. 


My Guest:

Joe Huff and his business partner Bridget Hilton are obsessed with experiences. As keynote speakers, co-authors of the book Experiential Billionaire and Treasure Maps card game, and self-proclaimed experiential guinea pigs, they are passionate about inspiring people to live intentional, regret-free lives by going after audacious goals. They’ve trained to be samurais, danced with the northern lights, tracked silverback gorillas in a hail storm, stood face-to-face with a hungry lion on safari, visited 50+ countries and all 50 states, absorbed life lessons from Maasai Mara tribesmen, built schools for kids in need, and explored the experiential riches life has to offer.


Questions we answer in this episode:

How can fitness & health coaches help clients find a way to experience the world in a way they wouldn’t have been able to do and in doing so build a new revenue stream? What kind of retreat would you create if you were doing it – having had the experience as a personal trainer yourself?  What would you leave out of a retreat?  What kinds of activities would you include?  Getting clients is one thing. Keeping them another. Relationships and loyalty building will be the reason for success in 2023 and beyond.

Connect with Bridget and Joe: 


Website: https://www.experientialbillionaire.com/
On Social:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/experiential-billionaire/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgethilton/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-huff-20bb026/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/experientialbillionaire/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetlhilton/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joehuff/


Other Episodes You Might Like: 


How to Host a Wellness Retreat, and Why https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/how-to-host-a-wellness-retreat/
How to Host a Successful Fitness Retreat https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/successful-fitness-retreat/


Resources: 


Book:  New book titled “Experiential Billionaire” released September 12th, 2023 available on Amazon! https://geni.us/deapB
Free Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/business-scorecard/ – Don’t forget to grab our free guide that complements this episode, providing you with additional insights and resources to get your first midlife coaching client.
Marketing to Women Copywriting Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course
Power Plate: https://www.flippingfifty.com/powerplate