The internet fitness sector will increase dramatically in the next ten years. According to Allied Market Research, the business, which was only valued at $14.9 billion in 2022, would soar to a staggering $250.7 billion valuation by 2032.
The need for virtual fitness solutions, as well as technological developments like AI software and the interest of health insurance companies in the market, all contribute to the demand for online fitness trainers.
A wonderful method to get more freedom, access a global clientele, cut costs, incorporate new technology, and improve work-life balance is to learn how to become an online fitness teacher.
This comprehensive guide to fitness coaching goes over everything you need to know to create a successful online training program, including strategy development and launch planning.
What does an online fitness coach do?
Using digital platforms such as a website or mobile app, an online fitness coach instructs clients in fitness. Coaches can use technology to communicate meal plans, monitor customers’ progress, provide feedback, and customize workout regimens.
What credentials are required to work as an online fitness coach?
Depending on your coaching style, different abilities and qualifications are required for online fitness coaching. A high school degree is usually the minimum need for coaches, while some clubs also require certification as a health coach or personal trainer.
But there are no legal requirements for working as a fitness coach. Thus, a degree or particular qualification is not required to work as an online health and fitness coach.
Still, developing a brand and promoting your company are major responsibilities of being an online fitness teacher. There is fierce competition in the fitness sector. Maintaining a high standard of performance and differentiating your firm from the competition can be achieved by obtaining certifications that attest to your knowledge and expertise.
How do virtual personal trainers get paid?
Online fitness coaches earn money from multiple sources. These income streams may include:
- One-on-one workouts
- Selling online fitness plans
- Social media sponsorships
- Marketing digital content
- Social media ad revenue
- Premium content
Let’s look at what each of these income opportunities are and how online fitness coaches can use them as an opportunity to earn money for their business.
- One-on-one workouts
Let’s begin with the evident. The majority of income for many virtual fitness coaches is derived from traditional one-on-one workout sessions.
A wide number of configurations are possible for virtual instruction. For instance, you could use a video conference to teach your customer as they exercise in their own home gym. You may also create personalized exercise schedules for your clients and use texts or phone calls to follow up on their progress. Everything is based on the unique tastes of both you and your client.
Virtual fitness coaching sessions are usually priced by hour or per package.
- Selling online fitness plans
The quickest route for fitness teachers to grow their businesses is through online fitness courses. Although a clever price plan and some marketing are necessary for a successful course launch, it’s not difficult to do—after all, you’re giving your own in-depth knowledge.
You can continue to market your course for as long as it remains relevant after you have created and developed it to lead your audience through a workout or set of exercises. You’ll be able to make continuous improvements to your fitness course as you add more students.
- Social media sponsorships
The days of needing hundreds of thousands of followers to monetize your social media accounts and establish yourself as a “influencer” are long gone. The importance of micro-influencers—people with 1,000–100,000 social media followers—is acknowledged in modern marketing.
Therefore, social media sponsorships are a fantastic way to make money, regardless of how big of a following you already have or how big you want to become as your business.
Use this pitch deck to haggle over costs if you already have brands in your inbox. Don’t panic if brands haven’t messaged you via direct messages yet. Make contact with those brands you’d like to collaborate with.
When deciding which businesses to connect with, search for those who have already collaborated with creators that are comparable to you in terms of following, number of followers, engagement rate, or topic. Influencer marketing is obviously welcomed by brands who collaborate with comparable producers, increasing the likelihood of a successful connection.
A brand shoutout on your account may be the only thing you receive in exchange for free goods or services in certain situations, but more complex collaborations generally include payment.
- Marketing digital content
Through the creation of worthwhile digital content, fitness instructors with a solid industry reputation and/or a sizable social media following can also make passive revenue. Digital content that can be monetized for online fitness coaches includes:
- Premium content, like Patreon and Instagram Subscriptions
- Ebooks
- Online courses
- Webinars and online workshops
- Nutrition plans
- Cookbooks
- Fitness templates
- Merchandise
- Personalized consultations
- Fitness retreats
Any of these ideas for digital content can be turned into a profitable business, but they can also be used as a free resource in a bigger marketing funnel that directs viewers, readers, or buyers to additional paid content.
These free resources are frequently referred to as lead magnets in marketing. Clients supply an email in exchange for access to a high-value item, such as a fitness plan or cookbook. Then, you can leverage your expertise in email marketing to direct prospective customers to more expensive offerings like online courses or one-on-one coaching sessions.
Digital content is a vital tool for any online fitness coach business, no matter how you choose to use it.
- Social media ad revenue
While social media sites like Instagram and TikTok are great for developing a brand and fan base, YouTube gives you the ability to grow your audience and monetize your video without charging viewers.
Your YouTube training programs and content can begin generating ad money for you after you complete the platform’s monetization requirements. Since there is no cap on what you may make on the site, your ability to build an audience and encourage engagement will determine how much passive income you can make.
Nine steps to becoming an online fitness coach
If you’re prepared to take the risk and start working as an online fitness coach, following these steps will help you position yourself for success. Instructions for creating, promoting, and offering a self-directed virtual training program are provided (however the majority of these suggestions are equally applicable to online personal training sessions one-on-one).
Step 1: Determine your specialty
The first step in becoming an online health and fitness coach is to focus on a certain area of expertise, such as:
- You excel in – Rather than trying to become something you’re not, focus on what makes you great. For example, if you have extraordinary results in helping clients lose weight, specialize in weight loss.
- Your target clients can benefit from – Your clients are ultimately why your business exists. This means helping them should be your number one priority. Set up a strong foundation by highlighting the needs of your client base in all of your content.
Casting a wide net and promoting themselves as only a “fitness coach” is a mistake that many inexperienced trainers make frequently. However, if you try to please everyone, you’ll probably end up pleasing nobody. Rather, define your niche by identifying the point where the needs of your target clientele and your areas of expertise overlap.
If you’re not sure what to do or your abilities are too varied, attempt to find a market gap and develop your specialization around it. For instance, you may provide running coaching to individuals getting ready for a particular, well-known marathon.
Step 2: Work on your skills
As we previously stated in this article, becoming an online fitness coach is theoretically possible without a license, degree, or certification. Even though this is the case, we nonetheless urge you to further your training.
Simply put, having credentials on your resume will increase your reputation, help you stand out from the competitors, and improve your coaching abilities.
The 34 certifications and specialties listed below can help you hone your skills and solidify your reputation as an online fitness coach.
- Licensed Personal Trainer
- Accredited Dietitian
- Accredited Instructor in Diabetes and Obesity Management
- Accredited Coach Specialized in DNA-Based Fitness
- Licensed Exercise Counselor
- Accredited Instructor of Life Coaching
- Licensed Personal Trainer
- Accredited Coach in Nutrition
- Accredited Coach in Sports Nutrition
- Licensed Wellbeing Advisor
- Coach for Bodybuilding and Physique
- Licensed Personal Trainer
- Certified Group Fitness Instructor
- Health Coach
- Specialist in Medical Exercise
- Licensed Instructor of Group Exercise
- Licensed Personal Trainer
- Accredited Exercise Physiologist
- Accredited Clinical Physiologist in Certification
- Accredited Specialist in Strength and Conditioning
- Accredited Specialist in Special Populations
- Facilitator of Tactical Strength and Conditioning
- Licensed Personal Trainer
- Accredited Sport and Performance Scientist
- A Professional Trainer in Fitness
- Licensed Yoga Instructor
- Accredited Specialist in Strength Training
- Licensed Instructor of Group Exercise
- Accredited Instructor of Indoor Cycling
- A Professional Trainer in Fitness
- Licensed Yoga Instructor
- Accredited Specialist in Strength Training
- Licensed Instructor of Group Exercise
- Accredited Instructor of Indoor Cycling
Step 3: Establish a structure for coaching
Decide how you want to organize your coaching program and individual sessions before you get your hands dirty and begin creating your online fitness course (we’re almost there, we swear!). You’ll save a ton of time by designing a framework that is simple to duplicate.
In addition to one-on-one coaching, you might choose to use group coaching. An excellent means of enabling this is by means of an online community or membership. It benefits everyone involved: you can charge a monthly fee for admission to the private community, and your students can network with like-minded individuals in your community.
Step 4: Build your brand
Your in-person clients are familiar with you personally. During their sessions with you, they get to enjoy your humor and charisma. You can’t divorce these aspects of yourself from your coaching practice, and it’s probably because of their likeability that customers pick you to work with.
Conversely, it’s possible that your prospective internet customers are unaware of your existence. Prepare how you will communicate your personality, humor, distinctiveness, and other distinguishing features before attempting to contact them via your internet services.
Learning how to promote your training packages and materials is an essential part of becoming an online health and fitness teacher. Personal branding can help with it.
Step 5: Set up your online fitness course
You have your brand and your coaching framework. It’s finally time to start creating and developing your online fitness program.
Choosing the correct tool is essential for success. Using a learning management system (LMS) such as Thinkific is the simplest way to run a paid fitness course online.
You may create and organize a completely personalized learning environment with Thinkific. You don’t need any prior expertise creating online courses or sophisticated technological abilities to use the platform because it is user-friendly and intuitive. Thinkific also offers every element you require for selling, marketing, and delivering your course.
This is how simple it is to use Thinkific to create an online course.
Step 6: Develop a pricing plan
It can be difficult to choose the ideal price for your virtual fitness package, particularly if you’ve never sold courses online before.
A low price point will undoubtedly have an impact on your prospective earnings and how consumers view the worth of your materials. A very high cost could prevent a significant portion of your target audience from enrolling in your course.
Step 7: Promote and introduce your virtual exercise program
So, your course is all setup, priced, and ready to go. Now, you have to make sure it gets on your potential client’s radar so you can start generating sales.
Marketing an online fitness course can be done in a lot of different ways. The most widely used tactics are:
- Promoting your course on your blog or YouTube channel
- Including a link to your course in your email signature
- Sending out a dedicated offer to your mailing list
- Hosting a live webinar or training session
- Speaking at relevant events, meetups, and conferences
- Running social media and Google search ads
- Leaving flyers and posters at local fitness centers
This is more than enough to get you going, but if you want to get really inventive in attracting clients to your fitness class
Step 8: Gather input
There is a lot of competition for online health and fitness coaches. You should regularly get client feedback to ensure that your training programs and courses are appealing to and relevant to your target audience.
Even if they are delighted with your services, not every one of your clients will innately want to provide you feedback. Here’s how to gently encourage them:
- Inquire. It may seem apparent, but when you have the opportunity to speak with a client in person, just find out how they feel about your services. Ask them to identify specific areas where you may improve and which parts of your training materials they felt were especially helpful or well-presented.
- Permit social media reviews. Certain social media sites, such as Facebook, come with built-in review features. Verify that this feature is active on your Facebook page.
- Distribute surveys. This is your best opportunity to get really detailed comments. Request that a client complete a survey after completing your online course. However, limit the number of questions you ask; you don’t want participants to give up midway through (a little input is better than none).
Step 9: Examine and enhance
Since nobody is perfect, some of the comments you receive may be unfavorable. Keep your stress levels down. Rather, view it as a chance to enhance your company and discover fresh details about your intended market. Make sure you turn unimpressive reviews into action items whenever you can. After that, carry out and proceed.