What Has Your Blog Done for You Lately?

When it comes to writing magazine articles, I'm pretty motivated to get the job done - there are deadlines, editors' expectations, readers' expectations and, yes, a paycheck waiting in the wings.

When it comes to blogging, however, motivation is sometimes harder to come by. There are no deadlines (unless self-imposed), no expectations from editors and no paycheck.

But there are expectations from readers, and that's a huge incentive. When you receive comments, Facebook likes and interaction on a post you've written, doesn't it spur you on to blog more? And when you pick up a client or career opp from your blog, it's a nice confirmation that, hey, this blogging thing might be working out.    

Trouble is, it takes time to get on a roll. I've been posting to FitnessWriter.blogspot.com for years, but I've also launched a newer blog called FitnessTestDrive.com, where I try out and blog about fitness equipment, gear, DVDs and apps.

Fitness Test Drive reminds me what it's like to be the new kid on the blogosphere block.

It's tough out there, folks - you've got to build up a readership, outright ask people to tweet your post and push for comments. I get why blogging newbies lose motivation quickly, and I won't deny that my interest has waned on occasion, too.

During one of those times, the strangest thing happened.

One day, I pondered about how to boost my blogging motivation. The next day, I got news that Fitness Test Drive was a finalist in the Best Health Magazine Blog Awards. (Want to vote? Fitness Test Drive is under the "Get Healthy" category.)

Bam! I was back in the game.

I realize that an award nomination is not the most typical way to muster motivation. But it does reinforce what I've always said about blogging: You've got to have a blog to benefit from it. And, most importantly, your readers will benefit from it.

Blogging does open the door to a myriad of opportunities and connections for you and your readers - do you agree? Has it happened to you?

In closing....I'm not going to beg or anything, but would you please, please, please vote in the Best Health Blog Awards (and preferably for my blog). You'll find my blog Fitness Test Drive in the "Get Healthy" category on the voting page.   

Have You Ever Hesitated to "Like" on Facebook?

I like that Facebook is all about "liking." 

And it's clearly on purpose that there's no "dislike" button, although sometimes I think a word other than "like" might be more appropriate. For example, someone posts bad news ("Wow, my fave trainer just got fired for indecent exposure"), and others respond with a "like" when what they really mean is, "Hey, man, I feel your pain." 

I like "liking" because it's a mini show of support or a virtual smile/laugh. It's Facebook's version of two thumbs up. 

But I always pause before tapping the "like" button - do you?

If you've ever Facebook-liked, you know that it means an inevitable onslaught of off-the-cuff comments and inside jokes from friends of friends about whatever you've liked. 

And I don't like it. I prefer to "like" and be done with it. 

Then again... 

I'll be the first to admit that I beam a little on the inside when I notice the "likes" and comments tallying up on a post I've dropped into Facebook. It's nice to be recognized, even if it's just a fleeting, virtual nod. 

And that's what Facebook is so good at: Shamelessly exposing that we all like to be liked. 

So when I'm at a party listening as non-Facebookers wave away the social network for being a waste of time, I nod with as much understanding as I can muster. You know what, it's not for everyone... 

But I log onto Facebook as part of my job. It gives me instant access to a network where I can cheer on a colleague or friend, encourage professional recognition and motivate fitness participants to exercise - all with that ubiquitous "like" link.

And if I can make someone feel appreciated with a little "like" here and there, my time has been well spent. (Even with the thread of Facebook messages that's sure to follow.)  

What's the motivating force behind why you "like" stuff on Facebook and around the web? Or do you dislike "liking"?

Fitness Blogger Boot Camp

Between baking sugar cookies for my kid's kindergarten class, slapping together tonight's dinner (tuna sandwiches) and finishing off a client's bio, I blog. 

Honestly, right now I'd rather be flaked out on the couch like that guy in the photo above. 

But I'm blogging because I said I would. 

It was one of the last things I talked about in my session on fitness blogging at the Can-Fit-Pro conference in Vancouver. 

I said something like, hey, let's all sign up for a blog or post to our existing ones THIS WEEK! It'll help set the stage for a lifetime of happy, healthy fitness blogging.

So here I am. And, yes, this post does have a point. 

My "let's all blog!" declaration reminded me how much it helps productivity to have someone relying on you for something specific. That's how I get my fitness articles written - I've got editors expecting them from me by a certain date. 

If you're really stuck at the point of perpetually intending to blog without ever doing it, try this: Tell your most valued fitness clients that you're about to blog on X topic and you'd love their opinions on whatever you write about. 

There. Now you have a reason to blog. 

A deadline. 

And a pre-established audience. 

That should whip you into blogging shape.   

Point made. Can I go lie around now? 

P.S. Kudos to Mia Sutherland and Josh Neumann (both in my Can-Fit-Pro fitness blogging session) for following through so fast on that "blog this week" pact. Inspiring! If you blogged in the past week, let me know with a comment here and I'll comment back on your blog.

That's Not a Blog Post!

The photo above cracks me up. I imagine a bunch of people without a lot of exercise experience saying, "Hey everyone, let's take some fun fitness-y shots now!" And what we get are silly pink mini-weights (the kind known to set me off on a rant), leg warmers (and are those wrist warmers?) and fake fitness poses that don't resemble actual exercises.  

But whatever. At least they make fitness look oh-so-carefree.

The "fake fitness" photo reminds me of how fitness pros might view blogging at the onset.

With the benefits and popularity of social media, a lot of marketing experts and fitness pros insist that you've got to have a blog. But that kind of advice tends to drive me crazy because the result is fitness pros--and, yes, major fitness companies--rattling around online with a blog that, frankly, doesn't feel or look very "blogg-y" at all. Its posts are as "fake" as the cheesy poses in that photo above.

Take the several fitness companies I can think of off the top of my head whose idea of a blog is to drop previously published articles into a post and call it blogging. ("Hey everyone, we've got a blog up and running! That wasn't so hard.")

Is it so wrong of them?

Maybe not. But when the article is written in boring academic language and appears as one 1,500-word block of text, then, yeah, it's veering away from the essence of blogging.

I can't authoritatively say all that a blog is, but I know what it probably shouldn't be: impersonal, dry, a copy/paste job from another publication, longer than my Master's thesis...

That's why when someone suggests that people who don't get around to blogging are just plain lazy (as did a commenter in my previous post), I get to thinking about blogging as an exercise in being thoughtful and informed, not just prolific. 

Without considering the craft involved, blogging becomes about as effective as flailing around a couple of one-pound hand-weights and calling it a workout.  

Don't you think?   

FOR MORE ON FITNESS BLOGGING AND HOW TO DO IT: Come to my session, Sunday, November 21, at canfitpro Vancouver, Session 3211 (10:30am-12:00pm), Blog Your Way to Fitness Business Success.

Fitness Blogging: Time Well Spent

Why You Do Have Time for a Fitness Blog

When it comes to fitness blogging, I hear a lot of excuses from fitness pros about why they don't do it.

The primary reason?

"I'm too busy. I don't have time to blog."

I heard it back in September at the BCFIT '10 conference in my session on fitness marketing with social media.

I'll probably hear it again in November, when I present on fitness blogging at canfitpro's Vancouver conference.

It's just an excuse, though, and here's how I know: I have the same problem. I don't blog every week (or even every month sometimes--oops).

And why not? Uh, I don't have time? 

Meaning: When I'm not on deadline with an article or writing/editing project, I manage to find other things to do instead.  

Like Facebooking. Or chatting with a colleague on the phone. Or catching a movie (last night it was Canada's own FUBAR II). 

Isn't it the same excuse people use for not exercising?

No time. Meaning: They don't feel like using the spare time they do have for working out.    

As for blogging, here's why it makes sense to at least set up a blog so it's there when you can get to it.

Blogging and other online pursuits (Facebook!) are part of the new way to market fitness. The old way is setting up a brochure-style website then ignoring your online presence.

If you're a fitness pro, what do you tell clients about how to carve out time for exercise? Could any or all of those strategies work for your own blogging pursuits? Whether you blog or not, share your tips and ideas here! 

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to Facebook.

For more on jump-starting your fitness blog, come see me on Sunday, November 21, at canfitpro Vancouver, Session 3211 (10:30am-12:00pm), Blog Your Way to Fitness Business Success.

Writing Web Exclusive Articles for Popular Magazines (Part 1 of 3)

Web Exclusives: A New Gig for Freelance Magazine Writers

With the web being where people go first for information--and talk in the magazine industry about how it will survive in the coming years--the opportunity for freelance magazine writing has expanded to include web-only articles. 

Magazines used to throw whatever content was in print onto their corresponding website (offering writers a small or no fee for additional online rights). They still do that, but now there's more opportunity online.

Web editors are also hiring freelancers to hammer out web exclusives--short, SEO-minded articles that only appear online, not in print. 

I've been writing a lot of them.

The upside? They're quick to write, and getting these assignments can be less "fuss" than the usual process for receiving print assignments.

The downside? The pay--the per-article rate for web exclusives is less than what you get for print (but going back to the upside I mentioned, the pay can work out to be a decent enough hourly rate).    

I caught up with three web editors at major women's and lifestyle magazines in Canada who generously agreed to share the scoop on writing web exclusives:

• KAT TANCOCK, senior web editor at Reader's Digest, former web editor at Best Health and Canadian Living and blogger at Magazines Online.
• VANESSA MILNE, editor of Chatelaine Walks and former assistant editor at MochaSofa.
• JENNIFER MELO, web editor at Homemakers. 

In this three-part series, I'll post each editor's response to three important questions about web exclusive content on magazine websites and how it can help you succeed at freelance writing. 

Here's Part 1. 

How is web exclusive content generally different from content that appears in the print magazine first?

TANCOCK: Readers online are generally looking for quick fixes and easy solutions, rather than a "good read." Therefore web content needs to be a lot more to the point.

Also, most people find reading on-screen more tiring than reading on paper, so web content needs to be oriented toward that experience: this is why bullet points, shorter paragraphs, frequent subheds and selective bolding within paragraphs is often used.

Finally, the web is, well, a web: articles don't appear in isolation. It's important to make use of the web by cross-linking, both within the site and to other sources. For instance, in a nutrition article that discusses sweet potatoes, we would add a link to some sweet potato recipes; or, in an article on the importance of strength training, we would cross-link to some arm exercises.

MILNE: In my experience, web-exclusive content is shorter and snappier: under 500 words, often lighter in tone (quizzes, lists, how-tos or recipes), and, above all else, something that you might Google.

The subjects are also different. At Chatelaine, much of our online content is health and recipes, and there’s less style, etc.

Oddly, online is often written in a more “evergreen” style, since it’s not often dated and normally stays in the archives. In terms of art and display, there are far more stock photos online than there are in the magazine, and the display tends to be more straightforward.

MELO: Web exclusive content needs to be more concise and more easily scanned than magazine content.

Subheads, bulleted lists and bolded words for emphasis work best for easy scanning for the web reader. Be clear, concise and compelling. Always serve the reader first.

Up next: Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll post our editors' responses to my next question: "What are your tips for writing web-friendly articles for magazines (i.e., what format works best, SEO considerations, web-friendly packaging, etc.)?"

Learn to Blog: Three Books Show You How (Part 3 of 3)

The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) asked me to review a handful of books on blogging.

Here's review number three (review one: Problogger; review two: The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging).

Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers. By Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, 251 pages, $24.95.

If your corporate clients are having trouble seeing the value of hiring you as a blog writer or consultant, consider citing one or more of the case studies in this book.

Naked Conversations is all about convincing businesspeople why they should blog. The authors (Scoble runs the enormously popular Scobleizer.com) use real-life examples to illustrate the business-related benefits of good blogging and the perils of bad blogging.

While some case studies went into more detail than I needed (Microsoft: I’m glad blogging helped you elevate your public image), I particularly liked the chapter on why blogs go wrong. For example, inauthentic blogs cause companies to quickly lose credibility among customers online. I’m glad I missed the McDonald’s Lincoln Fry blog, which the company quickly canned after members of the blogosphere labeled the blog about a French fry resembling president Lincoln as incredibly lame.

This book reminds readers that blogging is two-sided communication, where businesses engage and respond to customers compared to the traditional marketing model of talking at people.

Use the lessons in Naked Conversations to both build your own blog community and help your corporate clients create a more meaningful and powerful connection with their customers.

Also reviewed: Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (I hear they just came out with an updated edition.)

Also reviewed: The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.

Learn to Blog: Three Books Show You How (Part 2 of 3)

My previous post explains why I recently reviewed three books on blogging for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). Here's book review number two.

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging. By the Editors of The Huffington Post, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008, 230 pages, $15.00.

Sure, this book offers helpful hints on what to blog about and a Glossary of Blogging Terms (troll: “a disruptive commenter bent on making trouble on a site”), but it stands out as the most entertaining of the three books I reviewed, partly because it contains actual blog posts--political rants, funny observations--from the famed HuffPost.

The book also points to multiple examples of how blogging has advantages over mainstream media because of its immediacy (instant publishing), shared community, personal nature and platform for covering or uncovering stories that mainstream media ignores or, even better, doesn’t know about.

While this book offers basic advice for launching a blog, there’s not much detail on the nitty-gritty technical side of actually getting started and running a blog. Instead, pick up this title for an enlightening, entertaining and inspiring look at how the blogosphere is reshaping the media, and why you should start or keep blogging.

Also reviewed: Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

Up next: Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing The Way Businesses Talk with Customers.

Learn to Blog: Three Books Show You How (Part 1 of 3)

Blogging is becoming increasingly important—and profitable--on the internet landscape, where anyone can publish anything, anytime. Successful bloggers even get book deals!

If you want to be part of the blogging revolution, get on board with these three hallmarks of successful blogging: Learn to write well (and regularly), hook readers and shape a story (or post).

In addition to the Fitness Writer blog you're reading, I also blog at Fitness Test Drive. And I'm now steering my freelancing services toward blogging on magazine websites and helping corporate clients thrive in the increasingly competitive blogosphere.

To that end, I agreed to review three books on blogging for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), of which I'm a member.

The three blogging books I reviewed dole out much of the same advice:

• blog often,
• make it about the conversation,
• build your posts around authenticity, and
• encourage and respond to commenters.

However, each title tackles blogging from a different angle. Here's my take on Problogger, with two more reviews to come.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to A Six-Figure Income. By Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, John Wiley and Sons, 2008, 220 pages, $24.99.

Problogger is a useful resource for blogging newbies who want to learn the nuts and bolts of getting started. For example, the authors cover which blogging software to choose (they favor self-hosted Wordpress, no big surprise), how to write effective blog titles and how to measure--and boost--a blog’s success. This book even includes html code for customizing a blog template.

What about the promise of a six-figure income? Realistically, I’m not sure how many “secrets” in this book would lead to a six-figure revenue stream for most bloggers. But the book covers how to monetize your blog through direct and indirect means, such as selling advertising space and freelance blogging.

Plus, if you’re serious about making money, you can join a blogging network or sell your blog (I had no idea you could “flip” blogs like people “flip” houses!).

Problogger is the kind of resource you want on your desk as you muddle through setting up a blog for the first time or stare at your computer screen wondering what to blog about (reading the section on 20 types of blog posts can help).

Up next: My reviews of The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging and Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers.

Is Your Blog Really Promoting Your Fitness Business?

I just launched a new blog over at FitnessTestDrive.com (my first self-hosted Wordpress blog!), where I review assorted fitness products, such as books, DVDs, clothes, gadgets and gym equipment.

I thought I had my goals for setting up the blog all sorted out until I got an email that stopped me in my tracks.

Just after I'd written the About page for Fitness Test Drive, a blog post landed in my inbox from Copyblogger. It made me kick myself for overlooking such an important and obvious element on my blog.

I forgot that I had a business first and a blog second. Oh yeah ...

I'd been focusing pretty heavily on the blog's design (the green header looks good, eh?) and what kind of writing style to use. Along the way, though, I'd forgotten to reinforce what I wanted this blogging endeavor to ultimately accomplish.

Fitness Test Drive is meant to share vital information--in a lighthearted tone--about the scores of fitness products on the market. It's there to help fitness consumers and fitness pros cut through the hype and quickly size up what's new.

From a purely business perspective, however, one of the driving goals of Fitness Test Drive is to build on my platform as a fitness authority and writer. Why? To generate more interest in what I offer as part of my "real" job: magazine writing, book authoring, consulting, ghost writing/blogging, fitness presenting and instructing.

After reading the advice in "Could Your Blog Be Ruining Your Business?" by James Chartrand, I quickly logged back into Wordpress and sprinkled in a few "nudges" toward hiring me, as the author suggests.

What about your blog? Is it clear to readers what products and services you're in business to sell? What techniques do you use to communicate that information to readers?

If you're ready to get a blog online (or you have one but you're not sure how to make the most of it), send me an email. I offer consulting services for new fitness bloggers and ghost writing services for reluctant bloggers.

How the Web Helps You Break into Fitness Writing

Editor Lisa Tant's blog post over at Flare magazine got me thinking about when I was first trying to break into writing health and fitness articles for pay.

It seems easier these days to connect with editors (and hopefully charm them with your brilliant ideas and pithy writing). Plus, with today's web tools, you can put your writing in front of an audience any time you want to--no need to wait for an article assignment.

Here are three ways to use web technology for breaking into writing fitness articles that pay.

Blogs. Way back when--like, you know, 5 or 10 years ago--if you wanted to prove to an editor you could write, you had to first somehow get published in the print media. Then you'd photocopy your prized article and snail mail it around.

Now blogs let you create your own publishing platform and, if you go about it the right way, an audience of interactive readers.

Of course, blogging isn't a direct money-maker for most people. But if your posts are decent, they make good writing samples that could lead to paid assignments in magazines, on websites, on other blogs and even--and here's where you've got to be a real superstar--a book deal.

Plus editors have blogs too! You can and should read editors' blogs and comment on posts--it helps build a friendly rapport and keeps you in the loop about what's on their minds, which could help you write more targeted queries.

Web Exclusives. Magazines used to simply throw whatever articles were in the print magazine onto their website. Now a lot of big-name magazines are developing web-exclusive content--articles you can only find online, not in the magazine.

Sometimes you can sell an article to a magazine's website even when you're not having any luck with the print mag. (Did I mention I recently got my first assignment at More.ca?)

The downside for writers is that web-based articles generally pay less than what you can nab for a print article. BUT ... a lot of editors offer this silver lining: The editing process is less "picky" with web exclusives.

For one thing, there are no revisions as far as I can tell, so the per-hour rate is pretty decent. Count me in for more web exclusives!

Twitter. I love that I get a glimpse into the personal and professional lives of editors through their Twitter updates. I love that I can find out what stories a magazine is working on from an editor's tweet looking for sources. I love that I can @mention or direct message (DM) editors, engaging in a funny discussion or sending a friendly hello. And I love that editors respond on Twitter!

Have any of the above tactics worked to help you network with editors and/or score writing assignments? Write a comment to share your experience.

Permalink to this post.





For more info about breaking into writing for magazines and websites, check out How to Write Winning Queries: Get your articles published for profit and promotion as a health/fitness writer and expert.

Fitness Photos, You Let Me Down (One Woman's Blog Rant)

I've been a fitness pro for 16 years, and I'm done with teaching just regular group exercise classes for just the regular group exercise wage (read: too low).

Personal trainers are out there with group training and boot camps and enjoying a higher profit margin. Now I'm doing the same, but with group exercise.

So as I market two new revenue-generating fitness events this Fall - one's a 6-week circuit interval program for gym members, and the other's a step/strength workshop for fitness instructors - I'm thinking about that old cliché, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

I'm a writer, so you know I love words, but I also recognize the value of using carefully selected, targeted images in fitness blog posts and fitness marketing material.

To that end, I logged onto iStockphoto.com to download a couple of fitness shots.

It's at times like these that I'm glad I have a fitness blog so I can rant about this irksome fact: A lot of fitness images of women are so ... hard to love.

I want a photo that pushes emotional buttons but looks cool to fitness folks and doesn't disappoint those of us who are way beyond stereotypical, outdated advertising images.

Dear iStockphoto, here's what I don't want (and what, unfortunately, you've got a lot of):

• Scrawny women who appear to have never exercised, gazing either seductively or passively at a couple of hand-weights that they clearly have no intention of ever lifting.


• Modern, fit-looking women waving around pink, Barbie-sized dumbbells.


• Women exercising with cringe-inducing form (note: lunges don't involve hyperextending the spine so the ribcage juts as far forward as possible).


• People lifting weights wearing socks, no shoes.
  

Did I miss anything?

Sure I rant, but I still heartily recommend iStockphoto.com.

One of iStockphoto's newsletters includes free downloads, which is how I get a lot of the images I use on this blog - at no cost. (They're not usually fitness photos, but with creativity, you can still make them work for a fitness blog.)

Other places to get free photos:

• Morguefile.com


• Flickr.com (check the Creative Commons section)
  

Anyone else have tips about where to get budget-friendly images for a fitness blog and fitness marketing?

Blogging is Like Exercise. How Often Do You Do It?

I just got a delivery of two books about blogging for a roundup review I'm writing for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). (I'll post the review here, too.)

I love blogging, but maybe I don't do it as often as I should. Actually, I'm not convinced that I should be blogging to some set schedule. When I write blog posts on assignment for other people or magazines, I meet my deadlines of course.

But for my blog? I post when it makes sense.

How often you blog probably depends on who you are and why you blog. If you even do it at all ...

As a fitness writer and presenter, I encourage fitness pros to use social media like blogging for marketing purposes.

"Just do it!" I say. "Start a blog!" People get overwhelmed though.

OK, then think of it as being a bit like exercise. (If you're a fitness pro and you're like me, you probably really enjoy relating most things back to exercise.)

You wouldn't tell a fitness client to exercise ONLY if he or she could absolutely, positively do it the recommended 4-5 times a week, would you? Isn't 2-3 times a week better than just not working out, ever?

So that's what I think when I start getting down on myself for not logging onto Blogger more often. I might only blog once a month sometimes. But it still beats not even bothering to have a blog at all.

What do you think? Is blogging like exercise in that you should just do it when you can, or should you commit to doing it at set times even if you don't feel like it?

More Direction for Using Twitter and HARO

I recently recommended joining Twitter and HARO to boost your fitness marketing opportunities. If you've already done that, or you're still figuring out how to make sense of it all, here's a little more guidance.

Tip 1: Please, please, please add a picture and thoughtful bio to your Twitter profile - it'll help you gain followers. Include a bit of professional info in your bio, but also a thing or two on a more personal level.

Even a well-thought-out series of words that describe you can be effective. Here's how I wrote my Twitter bio: www.twitter.com/amandavogel

Tip 2: If you haven't already, check out these two posts on this blog:

1) The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You on Twitter (it's by another writer and links to Mashable.com), and

2) Using Twitter for Marketing & Publicity (it's a video from Hubspot.com that you can watch right from my blog).

Tip 3: Try out a site or two that will help you manage Twitter and finetune your networking potential there.

Tweetlater.com lets you set up keyword alerts so you know when people are tweeting (chattering on Twitter) about you and/or stuff that matters to you (hint: it's a good way to choose pertinent people to follow).

Also, have a look at Tweetgrid.com to get a real-time overview of who's talking about subjects of interest to you.

For example, type "fitness" into a search bar and see what pops up. You can also make your searches more specific, such as who's talking about fitness where you live.

Tip 4: If you subscribed to the HARO e-newsletter (HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out) as way to score publicity, but you're unsure about how to respond to journalists, read this article by a writer from Mopwater PR.

Still in doubt? Ask me for more tips by posting a comment here or posting to the discussion board on the Active Voice Facebook Group.

How to Find Ideas for Blogging, Writing Articles and Publicity

Looking for something to blog about, write an article about, or use as a hook to get publicity in your local newspaper?

Cite this new study that suggests walking roughly 100 steps a minute - or pretty much to the beat of the Bee Gees song Stayin' Alive - keeps you moving at a moderate-intensity pace.

Apart from being an excellent news hook (I've already hammered out several queries that make use of the study), these findings are a simple way to demonstrate to your clients what moderate-intensity exercise feels like.

In fact, after strutting around my living room to Stayin' Alive, I bet a lot of fitness clients would be encouraged to know they can hoof it a lot faster than the song's beat! Move over, John Travolta.

Here's an audio summary of the study with lead researcher Simon J. Marshall, Ph.D. of San Diego State University. (Audio courtesy of medpagetoday.com.)



Source: Marshall SJ, et al "Translating physical activity recommendations into a pedometer-based step goal: 3000 steps in 30 minutes" Am J Prev Med 2009.

Facebook, Twitter and Publicity for You

Use the Web to Get Media Attention

It's still winter in Vancouver, B.C. - it snowed here this week - but I'm already in summer mode, partly because I'm still unpacking my flip flops, tank tops and bikinis from a vacation to sunny Mexico earlier this month.

But it's also because magazine editors plan so far in advance; right now, they're asking me for fitness stories with a summertime twist.

Now's a good time for you to plan how you'll use the media to promote yourself and your health/fitness business during the upcoming year.

To help you get started, I offer these five tips for gaining success with the media using online resources. Everything I suggest below is totally free, and each tip takes just a few minutes at most to implement.

1. Subscribe to the HARO e-newsletter: HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out. These newsletters arrive to your inbox three times a day packed with media leads from journalists who are looking for experts to quote or feature in an article, on TV, on a blog or on the radio.

Each newsletter includes a specific section for health and fitness stories, but be sure to check the other categories, as well. Fitness-related queries sometimes appear in categories such as lifestyle or travel.

2. Join Twitter: Micro-blogging using sites like Twitter helps you expand your sphere of influence as you write short updates about what you're doing.

Being on Twitter pays off. A producer for a popular cooking show in Vancouver recently contacted me through Twitter, asking if I would consider being on the show.

However, she wanted me to talk about healthy eating AND cook at the same time. I'm a bad cook, so I declined and referred her to someone else. It was an important lesson about knowing your limits even when you want the publicity.

3. Follow the Media on Twitter: Once you're on Twitter, connect with media folks there. Follow writers, producers, magazines and media outlets that interest you.

Check out who I follow to find fitness writers. And also search for media folks on Twitter through associations for journalists, such as MediaBistro, skydiver (that's HARO), WoodenHorsePub and prnewswire.

4. Share Media Hits Online: Most online magazines and newspapers now allow you to quickly and easily share links across the web.

Recycle your media promotion in social networks like Facebook by sharing links to articles you've written or that quote you. In my experience, the more you market your media hits, the more media opportunities arise.

5. Join the Active Voice Facebook Group: Speaking of Facebook, stay on top of media opportunities and learn more about how to succeed with the media by joining the Active Voice Facebook Group (find it by searching “Active Voice Writing Service” under Groups).

Post a question (I'll answer it!) and read advice from a former Shape editor, a regular contributor to Men's Fitness magazine and other fitness pros who've achieved success with publicity and fitness writing.

If You Write Articles or Want to Start ...

Check out these two resources from Active Voice:
How to Write Winning Queries
Anatomy of an Article

Using Twitter for Marketing & Publicity

A great webinar from HubSpot about how to use Twitter for marketing and PR.



Please follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/amandavogel

Marketing Fitness with Social Media

I have to admit something … I don’t “get” Twitter.

Twitter (if you’re wondering) is a social networking and micro-blogging site. You write mini-updates about your life, week, day, whatever.

You can update every hour or sooner if you want. Each update has to be 140 characters or less, so Twitter forces you to write concisely. In that way, it helps you improve your writing skills.

Apart from that, though, what's the point?

Do people really care that I visited Multnomah Falls near Portland, OR, or that I chatted with Jim Labadie on the phone (these were two of my recent mini-updates, or “tweets” as they’re called in Twitter-speak).

My friend Biray Alsac first told me about Twitter, and so I joined the site as research for my workshop “Beyond a Website: Virtual Tools for Attracting Real-World Clients” (I’ll be presenting it next at the BCRPA conference in October 08).

Biray is on top of how to use Internet technologies in the fitness industry. And since I trust her opinion and expertise, I’m sticking with Twitter for now. I still have a lot to learn.

In the meantime, I wanted to find out how other fitness pros fare with Twitter, so I turned to personal trainer Scott Tousignant of UnstoppableFatLoss.com.

Scott’s got his finger on the pulse of how to market fitness using social media (like Twitter, blogging, Facebook). Here’s what he told me:

Amanda Vogel (AV): Has Twitter helped you market your business?

Scott Tousignant (ST): Twitter has been one of my favorite and most effective ways to market my business. The connections that I have made through Twitter have been absolutely priceless.

The biggest advantage of Twitter is being able to connect with some big players in the internet marketing industry immediately. There have been colleagues who I've been trying to connect with through email for a very long time and I have not received a response from. The second I send them a message on Twitter, they respond. I have their attention, and we build a relationship pretty quickly.

Another benefit of Twitter is the search function. I can type in a key word like “workout” and see everyone that has made a “tweet” about working out. If the person looks like someone who I would like to connect with, I offer them a quick tip or congratulations on embarking on the fitness journey.

AV: Who follows your updates on Twitter (is it clients or colleagues)?

ST: It's about a 50/50 split. Ideally, you should create two Twitter accounts. One where you give fitness tips and try to connect with clients, and another Twitter account where you try to connect with colleagues.

AV: What about your Twitter-cise social network at Ning.com, which shows people how to do brief exercises. Does your Twitter-cise network require a lot of upkeep? Has it been a good marketing venture?

ST: Twitter-cise has been a fun little project for me. It's really not much upkeep. It all depends on how much effort you want to put into it and what your other priorities are.

When my wife Angie and I started the community we would shoot four one-minute videos in one day and upload one at a time over the next four days. Total video shooting, editing, and uploading took about 30 minutes for four videos.

Other than that it really isn't much work and has definitely been worth the effort.

AV: Of all the social media marketing tools you use, which is the most useful to you? Why?

ST: My blog is the most useful social media tool and is the hub of my business. When I engage in communication on Twitter, I send people to my blog. When I post a video on YouTube, I send viewers to my blog. When I post something on Facebook, I link to my blog.

The reason my blog has been the most useful is because it provides the best platform to engage with my audience through a variety of media streams like video, audio, and articles.

Also, blog posts can be submitted to all the other social marketing sites and get bookmarked and indexed. You can place your blog rss feeds in your Facebook profile and other social marketing profiles, as well.

Why Facebook?

I first joined Facebook to joke around with a few friends from high school. Then I started receiving numerous “friend” requests from customers and clients.

I decided to take my own advice from an article I co-authored with Biray Alsac about using online tools to add value to your fitness business. (See IDEA Fitness Journal, February 2008, pages 54-61.)

And so, if you’re on Facebook, I invite you to join the Active Voice Group (find it by searching “Active Voice Writing Service” under Groups).

Currently on Active Voice’s Facebook discussion board:

- What a former editor at Shape says about which media pitches won her over, and which ones she ignored.

- What Joe Stankowski, a regular contributor and training advisor to Men’s Fitness magazine, says will put you in the right ballpark for getting your name in Men’s Fitness.

- An example of how I used my Facebook group to recycle recent publicity in a Vancouver city magazine.

- The difference between a byline and a bio in an article.

- What it means when a publisher wants “all rights” to your articles – and why you should care (it makes a difference to your bottom line).