We've discussed the best personal trainer certifications to obtain, and even guided you through the process of starting your fitness business. You're now ready to help clients and even make a bit of money while doing it.
The question now is, what is the best way to get personal training clients?
The personal training industry is highly competitive, with over 1,130,145 trainers as of 2023.
Between then and 2033, the industry is expected to continue growing at a rate of 14% (especially in terms of job opportunities). This means that you are competing with many personal trainers who target the same clients as you.
You need to attract clients to stay competitive and succeed as a PT. So, let's show you how below.
52% of small business owners say their biggest competition is other small businesses. This rings true for any personal trainer since you are, after all, a small business owner.
Your competition is targeting your clients, and without a strong marketing strategy, you may lose out to them.
We want to ensure you don't, so let's explain these tried and tested strategies to attract and retain paying clients:
Almost everyone uses or is familiar with social media, 94.2% of internet users utilize various platforms. In terms of the current world population, that's about 5.31 billion people.
If you're looking for new clients, it makes sense to deploy social media as your first strategy.
However, you want to select the ideal platforms, especially depending on your personal training niche.
There are already several famous social media platforms you can target, but narrow your options to the specific demographic of clients you want to reach. Popular platforms among personal trainers include:
A good rule of thumb is to be on more than one platform. However, you want to understand the algorithms and what content performs best.
For instance, videos yield the best results across all platforms. 89% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
They enable you to post various types of marketing content, ranging from workout tips and form corrections to client transformations and behind-the-scenes content.
A career as a personal trainer requires building trust with clients, which is why we recommend hosting free workshops and offering complimentary trials before fully onboarding them.
This way, you'll be providing value first, showing them how you train and what it's like working with you, and then proposing a trainer-client relationship once they're confident in your abilities.
For free workshops, you can host them individually or join local or online health drives that target your ideal clients.
For instance, you can train busy professionals, partner with corporate wellness programs, or host sessions at co-working spaces.
If your niche is postpartum fitness, consider connecting with local birthing centers or mommy groups.
Additionally, offer free taster sessions to potential clients. It could be a complimentary 30-minute session, movement assessment, or goal-setting consultation to let prospects experience your training style and expertise firsthand.
If you have existing clients, you can incentivize them to refer their friends and family. If you don't, you can also use your friends and family for word-of-mouth marketing.
For 82% of small businesses, referrals are considered a primary source of new clients.
You can create a simple referral system with clear incentives: offer your referrer a free session for every successful referral, or provide both parties with a discount.
The key is making it specific and rewarding; more than 50% of people may give a referral if offered a direct incentive.
The good thing about referrals is they come pre-qualified. People trust recommendations from friends and family, so referred clients have a 30% higher conversion rate than leads from any other channel.
As a personal trainer, you need a professional website to establish credibility. Prospects want to see your qualifications, client testimonials, and services before booking sessions.
More importantly, your website needs to be found. As 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, ensure your fitness website loads quickly and looks great on phones.
Local SEO is also crucial for personal trainers, so be sure to include your location in page titles, claim your Google Business Profile, encourage client reviews, and mention local landmarks or neighborhoods you serve.
When you've designed your personal trainer website, use it to attract clients by targeting keywords they search for, like:
Create valuable content that answers common questions. Consider creating fitness-related blog posts to position your brand as an expert while improving your search rankings.
Personal trainers receive 19% of their new clients through networking, making local connections essential for sustainable growth.
You can partner with businesses that serve your ideal clients, like chiropractors, physiotherapists, nutritionists, wellness centers, or health food stores.
With these cross-promotional relationships, you'll complement each other's services, so when a physical therapist's patient needs ongoing fitness support, they'll refer you.
Networking to attract personal trainer clients requires genuine relationship-building; therefore, attend top fitness and wellness conferences, as well as local chamber of commerce events.
Additionally, create personalized business cards for your training business and distribute them during these events. Follow up with new connections within 24 hours.
Email marketing delivers the highest marketing ROI, with an expected return of $36 for every $1 spent. This is another effective way to attract personal training clients.
You can create an email list that becomes your most valuable business asset because you own it, unlike social media followers who can disappear overnight if platforms change.
Send valuable content regularly, especially weekly newsletters. You can share workout tips, client success stories, nutrition advice, and behind-the-scenes content that keeps you top of mind.
When someone is considering hiring a personal trainer, they want to know if you genuinely get results.
Since 92% of potential clients read online reviews before buying, you want to collect testimonials they can refer to.
So, ask your existing clients, friends, or family members to create positive but genuine testimonials.
Instead of generic praise, like "Great Trainer," ask for detailed reviews such as, "Lost 25 pounds in 4 months and can now keep up with my kids."
You can ask for testimonials right after clients hit major milestones when they're feeling most excited about their progress.
Pro tip: Video testimonials work even better because people can see genuine emotion and excitement about results.
You also want to consider continuous education as a PT, because it can affect your brand authority and earning potential.
In most cases, it's advisable to update your current certifications or add a new one every two years to stay current with any changes in the fitness industry.
Specialized certifications, such as nutrition coaching, corrective exercise, or senior fitness, enable you to charge premium rates and attract specific client demographics.
First aid and CPR certifications are essential for legal compliance and client safety.
Not sure where to start? We have reviewed CPD courses for you. Take a look and see which one you need.
PT Distinction is an all-in-one personal training software designed to help fitness professionals build, manage, and scale their businesses efficiently.
The platform combines client management, program delivery, payment processing, and marketing automation into a single system, allowing trainers to focus on what they do best, training clients, while the software handles the business operations.
With PTD, you can:
As we've seen, acquiring personal training clients requires combining multiple strategies, including social media, referrals, networking, and email marketing.
You can start with one or two strategies that align with your strengths, then gradually expand.
If you want faster results, PT Distinction can efficiently manage and automate many of these processes, allowing you to focus on training clients.
Ready to transform your personal training business? Get your free PT Distinction trial today.
We'll get you up and running in no time. Start with our zero-risk free trial and build your personal training empire today.
