In business, leverage is everything. It’s the difference between 30-hour work weeks, or 60-hour work weeks. It’s the difference between a six-figure NET from your fitness business, or just a six-figure gross. It’s the difference between vacations in Hawaii, or no vacations for years. It’s the difference between working less and making more, or working more and making less.

Leverage is everything.

There are many points of leverage in your fitness business.

Certainly, how you package and price your services is a big one. Sean shows you how to achieve supreme fulfillment leverage with group training in the new ACCELERATOR program (which is just $67 until this Friday, May 8th – then the price goes up).

But what I want to talk to you about right now is marketing leverage.

Here’s a specific fitness marketing tactic that leverages three potent fitness marketing strategies in one:

1. Publicity
2. Strategic Alliances
3. Local Internet Marketing

Some fitness professionals find it difficult to get media coverage on a consistent basis (generally, the problem here is lack of relationship with the media and/or lack of great hooks in your pitch/release).

Some fitness professionals find it difficult to establish productive strategic alliances (generally, the problem here is lack of consistent follow-up, leadership and effective system/tools for implementation).

And some fitness professionals find it difficult to get their web site highly ranked in Google, Yahoo and MSN (there can be many issues here, but certainly one of the biggest is lack of incoming links from authority sites).

So, how about we solve all those problems with one fairly simple and straight forward fitness marketing tactic?

Sound good?

Great, then here you go…

1. Do a Google search for “(your town) blog” – also try “(your town) blogs”.

2. Go the web sites of the primary newspaper(s) in your area and see if they have a “blog” link in their navigation. If not, then search the term “blog” in their search box.

3. Also, get copies of every newspaper and magazine in your local area and look for information about the reporter/editor’s blogs. Oftentimes, they list their blog URL at the end of each of their columns.

4. Compile a list of all the local blogs in your area: media and just regular folks.

5. Start visiting each of these local blogs, reading their stuff and making comments where appropriate…using your web site URL. Be VERY sure you’re adding value by making good comments that contribute to the conversation. Don’t “spam” the blog.

6. Contact each blog owner and tell them what you do. Invite them to come try your services (be generous with your free offer) in exchange for a review. Be sure to tell the blogger you’re not looking for free advertising and you’re not compensating them with free services in exchange for a glowing review. Your only intention – the only thing you want – is a straight forward, no-holds-barred review.

NOTE: Offering products or services in exchange for blog reviews is a common practice. Businesses do it all the time.

Be sure to stroke their ego a little (in a genuine way) by commenting on some of their writing, or acknowledging they are a person of influence within the community. But temper that with your statement about wanting nothing more than a fair review based on their personal experience.

And you want that review to contain a link to your web site.

7. Do this with every blog in your area (unless you live in Armpit Arkansas, there are definitely multiple local bloggers in your area).

8. You will get a few takers.

9. Those who don’t take you up on your initial offer should be kept informed about the progress of those who did, and you should periodically re-invite them to take you up on your free offer.

10. Within six months or so, you can have reviews or stories about your fitness business from many of the major bloggers in your area…all with links back to your web site.

11. Unlike a printed news story, which is here today and gone tomorrow, an online review and link can last forever. And every link you get can funnel new leads to your web site day after day. Plus each incoming link from a strong blog is like an “endorsement” of you in the eyes of Google, Yahoo and MSN. The more “endorsements” you have from authority sites, the higher your site moves in the rankings (and the more secure it becomes in the dominant position).

NOTE: Be sure to ask the blogger to make the link to you an “anchor text link” including your business name or your primary keyword phrase (e.g. “Raleigh personal trainer”)

There you go.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Post them below!

No magic bullets, just smart fitness marketing,

Eric Ruth

P.S. Don’t forget, the price on GROUP TRAINING ACCELERATOR goes up this Friday, May 8th. Be sure to take a look now and take advantage of this opportunity to find everything you always needed to know about group fitness and nutrition training…but nobody ever told you.

If you appreciate leverage, then ACCELERATOR is for you.

And if you haven’t registered yet for the free group training teleseminar we’re doing tomorrow evening, you can do that here.

Here’s another health club marketing post you may enjoy.