What is Online Fitness Coaching? 

An online fitness coach uses the internet as a medium to provide virtual fitness training services and classes. It is like any other gym, the only difference is that online fitness training offers the luxury and flexibility of working in our own space, at our own pace. Since the classes are conducted via the Internet, any format of training can be used such as recorded videos, live sessions, and downloadable content which can be print or video. 

How to Become an Online Fitness Trainer?

Finding your Crowd:

If you want to become an online fitness coach, the first thing you must work on is to decide what kind of training you are going to specialize in, it will be done individually or in a group, and fix a specific routine for the same. You must be clear on what type of workout or specific you are providing such as weight loss, strength training, muscle building, etc. 

It is essential to figure out your niche very early on in your career as a virtual fitness coach because it can be instrumental in upskilling yourself and building your strengths as a trainer, developing branding strategies to market your courses, and finding the suitable space to sell them. 

Get Qualified: 

Although certification is not generally required for anybody to become an online fitness coach, as a matter of fact having one can help your business a great deal. Being a certified professional you can boost your skills, it can also be helpful when you create course content, and you will seem more trustworthy while setting up a consistent client base. 

Identify your clients: 

Once you made up your mind about what kind of workout and fitness routines you would be focusing on, the ideal next step is to find out who needs your services in particular, you may find a wide range of people in various seeking out different workout options, some are into this for a specific purpose, and others, just to stay fit, who want to make fitness a part of their life. Also, your clients can be your marketing strategy, if they are satisfied with the services you provide, there's a 90% chance they will recommend you to their friends and family, and eventually, you can expand your clientele and generate more revenue. 

Take the Digital Route:

When you have zeroed in on what kind of online fitness training business you are looking at, and identified your clientele on the same, it is time to go digital and build yourself an online presence. For this purpose, you can make use of various internet marketing services to run your business, that suits both you and your clients. 

Here are a few things you can try in the digital space,

Website: 

Having your own website is a great way to let prospective clients know about you and the services you provide as an online fitness coach; a website is also considered a very cost-effective marketing and branding tool. You can upload course content and also provide in-depth details and plans of your training program, such as duration, pricing, diet, who is it for, etc... You can also process payments through the website as well, making it a multipurpose tool for all your business needs. 

Social Media: 

Today, more than half of the world is present on social media, platforms like Facebook and Instagram have more than a billion users, hence advertising on social media can guarantee you more reach and be helpful in identifying prospective customers and generating more leads. Clients too, can find you and get to know about your course as well. Social Media can supplement your branding and marketing a great deal. 

Live Classes: 

You can make use of platforms like Zoom and Google Meet to conduct live classes for your clients, if they are happy and satisfied with your training, you might gain more clients through referrals and word of mouth. 

Email Marketing: 

When you have an account with an email marketing platform can be also instrumental in the success of your business, with it you can regularly keep in touch with your clients, generate new leads, and send out content and newsletters that are related to your area of expertise. 

Create Content: 

This is the most important part of your business, creating content. No matter how many marketing and branding techniques you employ, it is your content that does the talking at the end of the day. So, as an online fitness trainer always make sure you have adequate space and equipment to create quality content. If your content meets the needs of your clients, it can boost customer engagement and generate more leads, which will eventually result in more revenue.  

You can create content in two ways: 

Live Stream: 

In this setup, you can stream, and conduct classes live, by using any video calling tool, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Instagram Live. The trainer and clients should be available online at the same time, hence, they should pick a time slot that is comfortable and convenient for both parties. In Live Streaming, the content will be put out live, but the trainer must be well prepared with a routine in advance so there won't be any kind of errors, technically or otherwise. 

Recorded Videos: 

You can record videos with tools you have at your disposal, and plan and fix a shooting schedule that is suitable for you. Shoot your workouts and send them to your clients through email, social media, private YouTube videos, or any other online payment system. 

Pricing: 

The one strategy that would attract customers to any kind of business is its pricing, and finding the right price is not an easy task, especially when you are trying to sell courses online. A few things should be taken into consideration, it should not cost a great deal of money for prospective clients, but lowering your price can affect your revenue because clients may underestimate the value of your content and your caliber as a trainer.

In other words, high pricing may make your content inaccessible to clients and low pricing will make them question its quality, Therefore, your course content must be priced competitively to stay ahead of the game, it should be able to create an impact and generate demand in the market as well. 

Conclusion:

Being an Online Fitness Coach is a pretty lucrative career option, but you must be well-versed in what you are providing and be consistent as well. It requires a certain amount of discipline, patience, and hard work to earn a position as a trustworthy fitness trainer.