7 Ideas for Making More Money as a Personal Trainer

You’ve established your business. You’re attracting clients. Now, you need to know how to make more money as a personal trainer.

Running a fitness business can be difficult, especially if you’re a solo operator or small team. You face high industry competition, limited resources, and expertise, not to mention the constant challenge of keeping clients engaged.

The solution? Smart and innovative approaches that leverage your unique strengths and the community you’ve built.

You can enhance your services and income by avoiding common mistakes, embracing new ideas, and applying actionable tips.

Making such changes will not only benefit you financially but also enrich the experience you offer your clients, making your services more valuable and sought-after.

This article will guide you through all of the above. By the end, you’ll be ready to take action and increase your earnings.

Common Mistakes Personal Trainers Make When Trying to Make More Money

When trying to increase your personal training revenue, you might be tempted to rush the process, leading to mistakes and poor investments.

We’ve broken down some of the common pitfalls for personal trainers to show you some of the common missteps you can avoid:

Being Too Pushy.

Learning how to sell personal training is a fundamental art to master if you want to be successful. Many trainers try to aggressively sell their services without paying attention to essential details like how their training products are packaged or what their clients are trying to achieve. They may push the sale without adequately handling their clients’ objections or stalling tactics.

High pressure can make clients feel uncomfortable and push them away. It’s important to present yourself as friendly and helpful during the sales process, not forceful. You want to build trust, not scare people off.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sales Mastery Workshop

Spreading Marketing Too Thin.

Trainers often think they need to advertise everywhere at once to get more clients. This is often called the “spray and pray” method. But this can waste money because not all advertising works the same.

A better approach is to research where your best clients come from, and which marketing efforts and channels are most successful and profitable. Once you’ve established this, focus your marketing there. With the right focus, you get more return on your marketing investment.

Ignoring Current Clients.

Getting new clients is important, but don’t neglect the ones you already have. Keeping an existing client is less expensive than finding a new one and by a sizable margin.

Plus, happy clients are much more likely to buy additional sessions or more premium packages. They will also tell their friends about you, bringing in more business through warm referrals without extra cost. Effectively, they’re also doing your marketing for you, saving you valuable time and energy.

Not Using Social Media Well.

Social media is very important for fitness professionals. Sites like Instagram are full of fitness content. Do you know that over 510 million people follow the hashtag #fitness? You need to be there, too.

Your posts need to stand out and show why your services are worth it. Make posts personal by sharing tips, success stories, and workouts. Adding content can attract more people to your services. Make sure that the content you share is relevant and easy to understand for your potential clients (not just other fit pros) and aligns with your brand image to maximize your conversion opportunities.

7 Tips for How to Make More Money as a Personal Trainer

As a personal trainer, you always seek ways to grow your income. You want to help more people and build a stronger business.

Here are seven smart tips to help you earn more.

1. Take Your Services Online.

Taking your training online can open new doors. Here’s how you can do it:

Live-stream classes: You can teach live classes from anywhere. This way, people from different places can join. It’s like being in a gym but online.
Downloadable training videos: Make videos of your workouts and post links on your website. People can buy these and train at their convenience. It’s a great way to share your skills with more people.
Ebooks: Write an ebook about fitness or healthy living. Share your knowledge and sell it online. This can be a good way to reach people who like to read and learn.

Top Tip: All-in-one software solutions and apps like My PT Hub are designed specifically for personal trainers looking to deliver programs online and scale your business. Learn more.

2. Zero in on Your Niche.

Focusing on a special area of fitness can make you stand out.

Why? Because when you specialize, you become proficient at something specific. For example, if you love weightlifting, you can work to become a weight training expert. Or, if you know a lot about using nutrition to improve workout results, focus on that.

Being an expert in one area makes you exclusive and increases demand from people looking for that specific kind of training.

Also, experts can often charge more for their services. Finding your niche helps you become the go-to person for that type of training. When you’re known for being the best in your area, people are willing to pay extra.

3. Start a Referral Program.

Offer extras when your current clients help you find new clients by referring them to you. Here’s how it helps:

Establishes trust: People trust their friends and family. If a friend says you’re a great trainer, others will likely believe it. This trust can bring you new clients simply by word-of-mouth.
Rewards loyalty: You can offer exclusive rewards to clients who bring you new people—maybe a free session or a discount. This makes your loyal clients happy and helps you find new ones.

A referral program is a smart way to grow your client list.

4. Experiment with Paid Ads.

Paid ads are a way to promote your training services to more people. They put you right in front of those looking for fitness help. That way, you don’t have to wait for them to find you.

The two most popular options for paid online advertising are:

PPC ads: PPC stands for “pay-per-click.” You only pay when someone clicks on your ad. It’s cost-effective because you’re paying for potential customers who have displayed an interest in your services. Google Ads is an example.

Social media ads: Ads on social media can reach many people. You can choose your audience based on certain criteria, like people interested in fitness in your area.

However, there are things to consider:

You need to spend money on ads. Make sure you have a budget for this.
It takes time to learn what works. You might need to try different ads to see what gets the best results.

Paid ads can be a great tool, but you need to use them wisely. Start small, see what works, and adjust your plan as data comes in.

5. Partner with Related Businesses in Your Community.

Working with related businesses like dietitians or physiotherapists can be mutually beneficial. You can tell your clients about their services, and they can do the same for you.

Partnerships can help you both get more clients. People who go to a dietitian might also want a personal trainer, and vice versa.

You help each other grow by sharing clients.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Top 5 Personal Trainer Networking Tips

6. Offer Group Fitness Classes.

Group classes can make more money than one-on-one sessions for the same amount of work.

Consider this: if one person pays £100 for an hour, that’s good. But if 10 people pay £20 each for the same hour, you make £200. You’ve doubled your earnings.

Many people like group classes, too. They can meet friends and have fun while working out.

Group classes can be a win-win. You earn more, and your clients are motivated by working out with friends.

7. Raise Your Prices.

Sometimes, the simplest way to make more money is to charge more for your services. Here are two things to consider before committing to a new pricing structure:

Compare rates: Personal trainers usually charge between £30 and £150 per hour. Where does your rate fall? If it’s lower, you might be able to ask for more.
For new clients only: You could start by raising prices just for new clients. This way, you can test if people are willing to pay more without upsetting current clients.

RELATED ARTICLE: How Much to Charge as a Personal Trainer

There are pros and cons to raising prices.

Here are the pros:

Higher income: Charging more means you make more money for the same amount of work.
Value perception: Higher prices sometimes make people think your service is better or more exclusive.

And here are the cons:

Poor client reaction: Some clients might not be happy about a price increase if they don’t see added value. They might look for another trainer.
Market competition: If other trainers charge less, finding new clients willing to pay more might be harder.

Raising your prices can be a good move, but tread carefully. Think about what you offer and how much people are willing to pay for that.

You can also brainstorm ways to add more value to compensate for the extra cost.

How You Can Start Making More Money as a Personal Trainer Right Now

Want to earn more as a personal trainer? Here are four steps you can take right away:

1. Film Workout Videos.

Create workout videos and put them on your website. You can charge a small fee for people to access them.

A video library is a great way to share your training with more people, even when you’re not there in person.

Personal training software allows you to easily create and share your workouts with your clients. The best options should have an extensive library of pre-made workout templates and exercise videos to help your clients achieve the correct form, even when you’re not physically present.

2. Improve Your Social Media Approach.

Make your social media stand out by adding short videos. Videos grab people’s attention and help place you higher in the algorithm.

Stay up to date with what’s popular. There are plenty of online resources for learning how to create social media video and getting to know the latest trends.

3. Develop a Marketing Strategy.

Plan how you will get the word out about your services. Your plan should include:

Who you want to reach: What are your audience’s demographics? What are they interested in?
How you will reach them: What platforms and methods will you use?
Your message: What are your unique selling points? How can you craft messaging that differentiates you?
How you will keep them interested: Once you capture them as a lead, how will you convert them? For example, you might offer a free 30-minute session or a virtual consultation.

RELATED RESOURCE: Marketing Masterclass Video-Series

4. Gather and Share Client Reviews.

Ask clients who like your training methods to write reviews. You might also request their permission to share their before-and-after pictures and success stories online.

This shows potential clients what you can do. It’s called “social proof,” and it’s extremely powerful, especially when you consider that 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.