How To Start an Online Fitness Coaching Business
Starting an online fitness coaching business can be a bit overwhelming.
You have to figure out how to set up your website, how much it will cost, what the best marketing strategies are, and so on.
We’re going to walk you through each step of starting a profitable fitness business from scratch so that you can get started right away!
We’ll cover everything from setting up a website and social media accounts, finding clients and pricing packages as well as answering all other questions about creating an online fitness coaching business.
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Table of Contents
What is Fitness Coaching?
Fitness coaching is where you work with other people to help them reach their fitness goals.
You could be helping someone lose weight, build muscle, or improve their athletic skills.
If you’re looking for a business that gives you the freedom of working for yourself and helping others then this is the perfect opportunity for you!
How Can I Become A Fitness Coach Online?
Building your online fitness business is easier than you may think.
The most important thing you need is a website and an online presence.
You essentially get to make your own rules when it comes to running an online business.
Virtual fitness coaches are becoming more popular because people are looking for convenience, mobility, and flexibility.
Starting an online fitness coaching business has many benefits, but it does require some initial investments that you may not be ready for.
Although the overall costs can vary depending on how much you’re willing to invest, this guide will walk you through each step of starting a profitable fitness business online.
What are the Benefits?
There are many benefits to becoming a fitness coach online.
First, this is a great opportunity for someone who doesn’t want to work in an office or go into an actual gym.
It’s also great for people who can work full-time while still making money on the side because you get to make your own hours and set your own
Another benefit is that you get to help people reach their fitness goals.
You can also start this business with little to no money upfront!
Let’s take a look at what it takes to create your own profitable fitness coaching business!
Who is Your Ideal Client
One of the hardest parts about starting an online fitness coaching business is figuring out your target market.
Before you can even begin to think about what other people might want, you need to think about the qualities that make up your ideal client.
Some important questions to ask yourself are:
• What does this person look like? (What’s their current physical condition?)
• What does this person’s day-to-day life look like? (Are they a stay-at-home mom, a business executive?)
• What brought them to the point where they’re ready for a workout plan and a personal trainer?
• How much are they willing to spend on personal training each month?
• Do they have any specific goals or limitations?
Once you figure out what your ideal client looks like, you can start thinking about how to find them!

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How to Find Your Fitness Coaching Niche
Before you start to market your services, it’s a good idea to think about what kind of niche you want your coaching business to focus on.
Although the idea is to help as many people as possible, having a specific niche can help you target clients who have similar needs and concerns.
You’re going to want to pick a specific type of fitness that you’re passionate about and know the most about.
Some popular niches for online fitness coaches include:
• Weight Loss.
• Strength Training.
• Yoga and Pilates.
• Athletic Performance Enhancement.
These niches are very popular because they each have a different focus and appeal to a specific target market.
For example, athletic performance enhancement is often targeted towards pre-professional athletes who need help preparing for high school or college sports.
This is just one example of how having a specific niche can help you learn more about your target market and what they might need.
Where Should I Get Started?
The first thing that you need to do is set up your website.
This is the place where you’ll interact with clients so it’s important to have a professional-looking, easy-to-navigate site.
You also want this to be the central hub of information about your business.
This means that you should include information about yourself and your services, testimonials from previous clients, photos of yourself, any social media links, and other important contacts.
One of the best hosting plans you can use for your website is Bluehost.
They offer everything you need to build your website for only $2.95/mo!
All you have to do is choose a website theme, add your information and pictures, and publish!
If you need more information on how to start a website or blog, you can read this article for more information.

What is Your Offer?
Before you publish your website, you need to think about what you can offer them.
This is actually a key component because people don’t just want a personal trainer – they want guidance towards achieving their goals!
Think about all of the skills, tools, and information that you have to offer people.
Then start thinking about how these can be packaged or broken down into different offerings.
Some common products that fitness coaches market is things like:
Meal plans
Creating a meal plan involves breaking down the macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) of each meal based on what your client wants to achieve.
Often these plans are laid out in an easy-to-follow guide that includes information about grocery shopping tips and other relevant information.
Workout plans
Creating a detailed workout plan will involve breaking down sets and reps for each exercise.
This also includes planned rest times and links to any instructional videos you might include with the plan (if you’re not planning on making those yourself).
Personal training sessions
One of your most valuable offerings as a fitness coach is personal training sessions.
You will be creating custom workouts based on your client’s goals and abilities.
This can also include personalized training to help your clients with form, motivation, goal setting, etc.
Daily check-ins
Depending on the type of service you’re offering it can be helpful to include daily check-ins with your clients to make sure they’re on track.
This can be as simple as sending your clients an email each day with their workout for the day.
This will help motivate your clients and make sure they’re on track to meeting their goals.
Video tutorials
If you’re planning on creating your own fitness videos, then this can be another valuable offering.
These tutorials should be short, clear, and easy-to-follow so only include the most important information about each exercise.
It’s best to include these videos with your meal plan and workout guide.

Online Courses
Online courses are a great way to teach your clients about fitness and help them achieve their goals.
These courses can include written materials, videos, additional guides, etc.
Examples of these might be:
Fitness assessments – this might involve creating a questionnaire that measures how well your client is performing certain exercises or whether they have any pain when they perform certain movements.
Exercise techniques – this might include breaking down each movement to the most important details so that your client is performing them correctly.
Motivation and goal setting – helping your clients set manageable goals for their health and fitness journey can be a great way to boost motivation.
Once you’ve got your list of offerings, it’s time to start marketing them to people in your target market!
Information to Get From Your Clients
Most coaches will want to get some optional information from their customers like:
Measurements:
This includes height, weight, waist size, and more. It’s helpful to track your client’s progress throughout their sessions!
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI) is a good indicator of overall health. Most online fitness coaches will want to know the measurements for this as well.
Medical Conditions:
If you’ll be working with any clients who have medical conditions, make sure to ask for this information as well.
Workout Priorities:
When you know your client’s workout priorities, it can help to tailor your sessions around that. It’ll also give you an idea of what areas need the most improvement!
Fitness History:
Knowing the fitness history of a client will help you make sure they stay safe during their workouts.
How long have they been working out? What exercises have they done in the past? These are all important questions to ask when interviewing your client.
Before Photos:
If your client is looking to lose weight, they’ll want to take photos before you begin working together.
This way, they can compare them to photos taken after their sessions!
This is also a great way to motivate them to continue working out and eating healthy.
After Photos:
Taking progress photos throughout the session will give the client extra motivation.
They’ll love seeing how much they’ve improved in just a short period of time!
It can also be helpful to track measurements using these photos.
You can also use these before and after photos for marketing purposes, especially if you plan on posting them to your website or social media sites.

Fitness Test Results:
If you’re a coach who uses the workouts from a book or app, it’s important to have your client take a fitness test before and after their sessions.
These results will allow them to see how much progress they’ve made!
Diet:
It’s important that you know what your client eats on a regular basis, especially if they’re trying to lose weight.
You can help them make healthier choices by pointing out the good and bad foods they consume!
What About Pricing?
Pricing is always the trickiest part about starting an online fitness coaching business because there are so many variables involved.
This includes not only how much you charge per individual offering but also how many offerings you’re planning to sell.
The best way to start is by setting up a monthly membership site where you offer all of your different products at once.
We love using Kartra because it has all of the features you need to start an online coaching business in one place.
It is an all-in-one solution that includes everything from email marketing tools to scheduling software, landing pages, video hosting, autoresponders, and more.
All of this is included in one monthly fee, which makes things much easier!
Once you have your monthly membership site set up, you can start offering different products at varying price points to attract people with various budgets.
Some prices you might consider include:
Monthly membership fee – the monthly fee for your online coaching service.
Exercise videos – you can offer various tutorials at different price points.
Some examples might be a series of 5 beginner-level videos for $10, a set of 10 intermediate-level videos for $25, and a masterclass package with all 20 videos for $75.
Of course, these prices can also vary so don’t feel locked into these exact numbers.
This allows you to offer something at every price point without giving too much away for free!
Private training sessions – these can be charged in a number of different ways depending on exactly what your goals are with them.
You could charge per session or offer packages that include 2-3 sessions at once, which would reduce the price per session.
Ebooks – these can be priced anywhere from $5-$100 depending on the length and what kind of information they contain.
Monthly membership sites are a great way to start an online fitness coaching business because you can offer all of your different products at once, which makes it much easier to market them!
It’s a good idea to price your products based on what your target market might be willing to pay.
Remember that there are always ways for you to scale by adding more services or changing your pricing model when you start to see success.
Once you’ve got a few different products to offer, it’s time to start marketing them!

Marketing an Online Fitness Coaching Business
Now that you have all of your different offerings ready, it’s time for the fun part: promoting them!
There are a lot of different ways to promote an online coaching business, so it’s really up to you how exactly you want to market them.
Some examples include:
Facebook ads – this is a great way to target people in your specific market with your individual offerings.
For example, if one particular product seems more popular than another, you can target people with that specific ebook to see if they buy.
YouTube ads – another great way to reach people in your target market!
It’s a good idea to do some keyword research first to make sure that the keywords you’re targeting are actually relevant and popular, as this will drastically improve your ad’s performance.
Yoga teachers might want to target keywords like “yoga for runners” or “beginner yoga videos.”
Posting on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are all great places to promote your business.
You can post photos of the different offerings you have available as well as advertise special deals that people can take advantage of if they sign up for your monthly membership site.
Dropping “hints” about new products or services on social media – This is a great way to get people excited and curious about what’s coming next!
Posting hints will increase engagement with your business’s social media accounts, which can then result in increased sales.
Your goal should be to reach as many people in your target market as possible while staying within your budget.
Successful online fitness coaching businesses usually have a variety of different offerings to appeal to anyone’s tastes, which helps them grow their audience and customers quickly!
Creating an Even Better Business Using Technology
No business can succeed without the right tools.
In fact, the more technology you can use to make your business run smoother, the more successful it will be.
There are plenty of different tools that you can use to help improve your online fitness coaching business.
Here are some examples:
Calendly – This is a great tool for setting up appointments with potential clients since it integrates directly with Gmail, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, and Outlook.
Google Drive – This is a great way to keep track of all your coaching records, client notes, etc.
Flodesk – You can create an amazing email marketing campaign with Flodesk, which will make keeping in touch with your customers incredibly easy!

Whether you’re welcoming them for the first time or thanking them again for their latest purchase, it’s important to stay connected.
You can also use technology to automate daily tasks like invoicing and responding to customer concerns on Facebook – which can be especially helpful if you’re just getting started.
By using the right tools, you’ll save so much time and money while helping your customers get more value out of their purchases!
There’s a lot of different ways to start an online fitness coaching business, so it’s important to stay flexible about how you do things early on.
Pros and Cons of Starting an Online Fitness Coaching Business
Becoming a fitness coach online can be incredibly rewarding!
But there are also some major cons that you’ll need to consider before trying to run your own business.
Pros:
The most obvious pro would be the potential for large amounts of income.
Depending on how many customers you acquire and how much help you get from your partners, it’s possible to make over $100,000 in your first year!
However, you will need to work hard and have a good marketing plan to earn that amount.
Another pro is being able to work from home and be your own boss.
Working from home — or wherever else — can also give you a lot more free time since you don’t have to travel anywhere or worry about dressing up every day.
You can also create amazing connections with people online!
This can be a great opportunity for personal growth, making new friends, and networking with other successful business owners.

Cons:
Starting an online fitness coaching business is not without its disadvantages either.
One of the biggest cons is that it takes a lot of time and energy to get started.
It can be difficult to earn more than you spend in your first year, which means it may take you some time before you’re making money.
Another major obstacle is that you have to deal with all the stress that comes with running an online business.
This includes marketing, customer service, product creation, invoicing, and more!
You also need to keep up with all the latest technology trends since your customers are using the internet.
If you don’t know how to use it yourself, you won’t be able to provide your services properly.
Another con is that there is no guarantee that people will purchase from you or leave you positive reviews.
There’s also the chance that your online marketing strategies won’t work, which can really hurt your business.
But if you know what you’re doing, sales will come much easier.
It’s important to keep in mind that starting an online fitness coaching business is not all fun and games!
You’ll face many challenges throughout the process, but you can overcome them if you have the right mindset.
It’s important to stay positive and passionate about your business at all times!
Legal Documents for Online Fitness Coaching Business
Before opening an online fitness coaching business, you’ll need to collect some important legal documents.
It’s especially important that you know your state laws since they vary depending on where you live!
For example, some states require coaches to be licensed while others don’t.
You’ll also need to know your company’s official name for marketing purposes, as well as the formation process if you’re using a business structure like an LLC or S-Corp.
Make sure that you have all of these documents before starting an online fitness coaching business!
You Do Not Need to Reinvent The Wheel!
When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to keep things simple.
Don’t worry about purchasing a ton of equipment or hiring a team of employees right away!
Start small and work your way up as you become more successful!
It can be helpful to look at online fitness coaching businesses for inspiration.
Here are a few successful online coaching businesses that we love:
Gym Hooky: is run by Ariel Belgrave, who will help you create eating and healthy habits in 28 days.
BodyMindLife Online: this site is founded by Yoga Extraordinaire couple Honza and Claudine. The online classes will help students transform their Body, Mind, and Life anywhere, anytime with the world’s best teachers.
Scott Laidler: founded by top fitness coach Scott Laidler, who has worked with celebrities and everyday folks to help them transform their bodies and take the guesswork out of health and fitness.
You can use these businesses as inspiration for your own website!

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What’s Next?
As you can see, becoming a fitness coach online is not as difficult or expensive as it may sound.
You’ll want to make sure to keep things simple at first and grow from there!
Don’t forget that inspiration never hurts either – take a look at some of these other successful online fitness coaches for guidance on how you might get started.
When you know what to expect and how to approach things, there’s no reason why you can’t create a successful online fitness coaching business!
What are your thoughts? Share in the comments below!
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