Why Write Fitness Articles for Free?Dax Moy, a U.K.-based fitness pro, recently wrote a good post at PersonalTrainerSuccess.ning.com about article submission sites. Successful fitness pros like Dax know that writing health and fitness articles advances your fitness career by leaps and bounds. It really does.
But something about Dax’s post got me thinking.
It seems a lot of personal trainers are caught up in contributing solely to article submission sites. These sites don’t pay for articles. In fact, sometimes you have to pay them to take your articles. In return, you get your writing (and your bio and links to your sites) distributed far and wide across the web. It's a good online-marketing tactic.
I recognize that a huge online presence is not only useful but necessary for many fitness pros these days. What I don't understand, though, is why so many fitness pros ONLY write for free. There's revenue in writing articles, too.
Do that many fitness pros feel their articles aren't worth money?
Some people may lack the confidence to take their articles from the free domain to the paid domain. Fair enough. But the skills you use to write articles for free should translate to writing articles for websites, newspapers and magazines that pay you for your work.
If fitness pros feel their articles are only good enough as free content and not high enough quality to be paid for them, well, that scares me.
You have to wonder why anyone would put those kinds of articles out there in the first place. Any article - paid or not - should be of a certain quality so it reflects well on the person who wrote it.
Bottom line (and this is my way of cheerleading for all fitness pros who write articles): If you've got the skills to get yourself into article submission sites, why not use those same skills to write at least some articles that put more money in your bank account?
Here’s one of my articles on a high-traffic site. I got paid, and they published my headshot, my bio and links to my website and blog. Now that’s a good deal.
How to get your health/fitness articles published in magazines and newspapers.
How to create compelling health/fitness articles that get the results you want.
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6 comments:
Love it Amanda!
You are spot on with this.
I think the free stuff is great for back links etc and is great as part of the overall strategy but the real value from it comes from developing your writing voice.
Once you have a style that's your own you can and SHOULD seek reimbursement wherever possible.
I write for publications that pay me from $300 to $750 an article and speak directly to my target audience.
This should be the goal for us all.
Our knowledge, skills and abilitied are valuable once developed so yes, let's get them developed fast and get paid!
Good post!
Dax Moy
http://www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com
Great point Amanda
There are many different opinions about the use of "free" online right now.
As you know my topic at this year's FitComXpo was testing + tracking, and fit pro's should be checking their website stats weekly, to see where their traffic is coming in from.
This way, you can tell if your article marketing methods are paying off or not.
And it would appear there is far more value (+ traffic) writing for "individual sites" than the generic article submission sites everybody writes for (although you still need a presence there too).
NB backlinks are neglible - the focus should be on traffic generation.
So it's good marketing practise to seek your own sites out to contribute to and to stop undervaluing what we know (eg get paid like you suggest).
Afterall wellness is one of the top 3 profitable markets online.
Noel Lyons
http://www.personaltrainersonlne.org
I like your explanation of the importance of the author bio. A bio is a little advertisement for you and your business, and is an excellent way to get exposure. So think about who will be reading your bio and what might entice them to click through to your site. For anyone who needs help in how to write a bio, there are tips and templates at www.HowToWriteBio.com
I think Chris McCombs explained it very well on PTU.
The article submission sites are just one spoke on the wheel. And it all depends on the goal. Mike Geary makes 7 figures selling his Truth About Abs ebook. I don't think he's ever been paid for an article he's written. But he sure reaches a lot of people and makes a lot of loot doing it!
Jim Labadie
Thanks to everyone who has responded here!
Jim, your point is the same as mine - it's one spoke in the wheel.
What gets me is that many trainers write for free and stop there.
Realistically, how many fitness pros make a million bucks (or even six figures) marketing info products online?
Most trainers out there are in-the-field trainers, not full-time internet marketers. So every bit of extra revenue helps, especially with the economy as it is.
My intention is to help trainers consider how to best leverage their time and think beyond tossing out only free bits of writing. Why not do a bit of both?
Amanda
Amanda,
I want to write for different publications, but lack the confidence (although getting better) to do bona fide submissions. I think that when you write for free for different sites it helps to boost your confidence, and then you have to watch the numbers to see responses it brings in.
I think also too writing for different "free" sites can help as proof should an editor need evidence of your writing.
Otherwise, it proves difficult to break into a different level (other than "free") as editors tend to use the same sources (writers) over and over again because those writers have built their arsenal and gained trust and respect.
It just helps to have lots of proof that you can write, however, I'm in the trenches and need every dime I can get my hands on.
I think writing quite a bit helps to develop the voice too. I can appreciate the links and understand the big picture, but I would also like another source of lean protein besides tuna to eat.
Great information here, thanks everyone!
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