Passive income for personal trainers is a great way to boost personal revenue, with technology and other trends driving the opportunity.
It used to be that trainers were generally limited in what they could earn by, well, training people – generally in person, individually, and with the earning power of the mere 24 hours allotted to everyone each day.
Not anymore.
Now, trainers can free up their schedules and boost their earnings with various ways of earning passive income. Let’s look at some of the passive income secrets for personal trainers who want to work smarter and put time on their side.
First, are you familiar with that phrase, “passive income” yet? If not, you should be. It could be the door to extra money, exposure, and networking.
“That money you earn with little to no effort is known as passive income, and it puts you on the fast track to financial independence,” says The Motley Fool.
But don’t get too excited too fast. That doesn’t mean you just sit there and watch your Venmo light up without doing anything to earn it.
You must invest time and money on the front end to create passive income for personal trainers that will flow with little or no effort later.
“The first step to accessing passive income is buying, creating, or contributing to assets that produce cash flow,” the Motley Fool continues. “If all goes as planned, your reward for that initial investment is an ongoing stream of income you can enjoy over time.”
An easy-to-understand example of this is royalties an author makes from a book’s sales years after she has finished writing it, or residuals actors receive from TV and movie roles.
Or think about property owners – they first buy, say, a condominium, and then they profit regularly from renting it out over time.
Passive income for trainers is a different approach to generating revenue for anyone willing to learn about it and put in the initial effort to create new ways to make money from their expertise.
With that understood, here are a few ideas to get you thinking about passive income for personal trainers. If you want to make more money than you can earn from your hourly rate (also known as active income), then dive in.
Online Course or Membership Site
Personal trainers can create an online course or membership site where they provide things such as:
· In-depth workout plans
· Meal plans
· Instructional videos
· Progress trackers
· Workout journals, and other resources
Members pay a monthly fee to access these materials or buy them individually.
Once the site is set up, it can bring in passive income for personal trainers as new members register and then don’t require ongoing supervision.
You can also do this with your own app, which is a super-smart idea since so many people look for information and buy goods and services on their phones instead of laptops. Make sure everything you post online automatically adjusts for proper display and formatting on all devices.
You’ll want to focus on a niche, or several niches, and then create programs that appeal at people within your field of focus.
For example, you might create a workout plan for young women who want to lose weight after having a baby – and another for executive, middle-aged men who have little time to devote to the gym.
You’ll want to be clear about the purpose of everything, along with how much time is needed, how intense the work will be, etc.
And you should make it easy to use, providing step-by-step instructions on how to use everything. Provide information about refunds and customer service.
Bundle goods and services, providing a discount the more people purchase at the same time – like insurance companies do if you get home and auto coverage together.
Do plenty of research to find gaps in the market and establish what kind of formats work best. Test your programs rigorously before making them as widely available as you can.
Provide some information about your background, qualifications, and purpose – but don’t turn it into a shrine of yourself.
E-books and Other Digital Products
Have you ever thought about writing a book? Well, e-books and similar digital products could be an opportunity to do so, and to create passive income for personal trainers.
The key here is to stay focused about your subject and about your marketing. Be very clear about the point of your e-book or other product so that shoppers can find what they’re looking for or know right away if it’s for them.
For example, you could make it about:
· Principles of weight loss
· Secret hacks to improve performance
· Training tips for triathletes
· General nutritional guidance
For your first book, at least, keep the subject limited to one topic. Resist the temptation to write a fitness encyclopedia. Also, resist the urge to write your autobiography. Keep your eyes on helping others: What’s their problem, and how can you help them solve it?
People are less likely to search for, and buy, an “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Fitness” from someone they don’t know.
It’s easy to set up online sales but be careful you don’t over-price or under-price your book. Look at what similar authors are charging and start in the middle, realizing you might want to raise or lower it later.
Also, realize the marketing power of giving away free books to clients or at speaking engagements. That’s right – give them away, with the idea that your books will generate interest in you that will pay off later.
Some fitness entrepreneurs also write subscription-based e-newsletters with advertising, but you’ll need a substantial following to make that appealing to sponsors. You can also try micro-priced Substack, a platform that lets your charge tiny fees for your content that add up.
Remember, one stream of passive income isn’t meant to change your life. A few over time can add up to substantial extra money.
Affiliate Marketing
As a personal trainer, you can partner as an affiliate with companies that sell fitness equipment, supplements, or other related products and services.
You can promote these products to your clients and followers through your website, social media channels, or email newsletters. It generally works out that, whenever someone makes a purchase through your unique affiliate link, you earn a commission.
This brings in passive income for personal trainers without having to create, manage or deliver products yourself. So, think about:
· Do you recommend a certain brand of supplements?
· Do you swear by this or that maker of athleisure?
· Have you found the best workout accessory you wish you could tell everyone about?
Great! These are ways to get thinking about things you’d like to promote.
You can learn more from probably the biggest program for affiliate marketing, which (no surprise) is Amazon, here.
You can also reach out to retailers or service providers you like and see if they have their own referral programs.
Be careful, though. You don’t want to risk associating your own brand with one you don’t trust or has been involved in controversy. Check them out. If you wouldn’t recommend it to your mother or best friend, proceed slowly, if at all.
Ask about their setup, policies, and how you get paid – through clicks, referrals, or sales, etc. And learn about how you can maximize your impact on your end through marketing assets the company might provide.
In conclusion, passive income for personal trainers can be a smart way to bring in extra income, grow your brand, and even network within the industry and relate fields.
It’s probably not going to bring in a fast fortune, so don’t go in it with dollar signs in your eyes.
Think of it as one more smart thing trainers can do for themselves and their brand.
And if you’re a gym owner, then be sure to learn more about recruiting and keeping the best talent out there. Get “12 Places to Hire Your Next Star Trainer” here.