Online personal training has become a very popular way for trainers to reach more clients and potentially increase their income significantly; however, with so much competition out there, what will you do to set yourself aside from the other millions of trainers offering similar online training programs? There are many different ways to “wow” your clients, attract more clients, and maintain current clients; however, the main thing people look for is proven results!

What is a key ingredient to ensuring your clients get results from your online training program? Most important is keeping them motivated to reach their fitness goals by staying on track each day in the gym and the kitchen.  If you have proven results and figure out the best way to communicate with clients when not actually getting to see them face to face or train with them in the gym, you will have the foundation to a stellar and profitable online training business.

Many trainers know that it is hard to keep up and check in with all of our clients on a daily basis, as we normally have a lot of clients to worry about.  If you try to do this you will run yourself into the ground due to stress and lack of sleep!

I had to learn this the hard way, but setting up a weekly communication system that works best for your schedule and keeps all your clients taken care of will allow for better results and improved quality of life for you!

Here are 5 tips that will help keep your online training clients motivated without having to check in with them on a daily basis:

1. Set long and short term goals

Most clients will email you stating their main long term goal, for example, “I want to lose the 40lbs of baby weight I put on while I was pregnant”.  That is a great goal, but in order to keep this client motivated to get to that 40lbs weight loss, it will be your job to help them set some short term goals to maintain motivation along the way.  Use the good old “SMART” goal-setting system to set them up for success and try to set goals not related to weight loss also, such as running a 5k, completing a certain number of push-ups, plank for a length of time, drink 2 liters of water every day, etc.

2. Provide them with fitness challenges/goals and reward their success

Try setting up small challenges amongst all your online training clients, for example, logging their food every day for 2 weeks straight, hitting every workout scheduled in their calendar, or even a max push up competition to have them compete against others.  In my experience competition and prizes are a great way to motivate clients.

3. Provide them and all of your online or current one on one/group fitness clients with an online forum to motivate each other

Offer a Q & A once per week or month to answer any questions clients have had during the week and allow them to check-in and chat amongst each other throughout their fitness journey.

4. Remind them of where they started

If you find a client is getting discouraged, take a minute to make a Skype date or send them a sincere message on Trainerize pointing out how far they have come, show them you care, and remind them you are on their team! Perhaps offer some suggestions of ways they can switch up their workouts, try a new fitness class, or offer some new healthy meal ideas.

5. Have clients follow you on social media for a daily dose of motivation

This means you should be active on these social media channels every day offering daily tips, motivational quotes, or examples of what you did that day to reach your own fitness goals (healthy meals or workouts).

This does not have to be time-consuming and you can even pre-schedule posts for your Facebook and Twitter pages for days when you don’t think you will have much time for social media posts.

Social media is also a great way to give your clients praise for accomplishing their goals so they can then share these posts with family, friends, and colleagues, which in my experience provides a huge boost of motivation. And for the clients you’re training on Trainerize, have them link their Trainerize account to their own social accounts. As they work out, they can share their accomplishments so their friends can cheer them as they get closer to their fitness goals.