New Virtual Fitness Conference

Largest Ever Virtual Fitness Event - Still Available for Your Listening Pleasure

I recently presented a session at FitComXpo about scoring publicity for your fitness business and writing fitness articles for profit and promotion.

Since then, I've been busy loading tons of sessions into my iPod. I like to listen while I walk my dog, Rufus.

Here are my impressions of just some of the presentations I've listened to so far:

• Todd Durkin and Tom Terwilliger are very compelling speakers
• Helene Byrne offered an amazing amount of expertise about pre/postnatal fitness
• Celebrity trainer Valerie Waters provided some great workout ideas and insight for training women
• Scott Tousignant and Noel Lyons gave me some great ideas and leads for improving my online presence
• Nicki Anderson is a true professional - I always enjoy her sessions
• Mike Boyle delivered a very informative session on the advantages of interval training

My session was called The Inside Scoop! Achieving Success with Publicity & Fitness Articles. (Check the Networking Forum at FitComXpo for the correct link to download my session recording and Power Point slides.)

True, the live event has come and gone. But you can still gain access to all the sessions I mentioned above and dozens more. Oh, and I hear more live events are still being scheduled.

Visit the official event site to check out the exciting line-up of sessions.

How to Pitch a Major Women's Magazine

The featured editor in this video, Courtenay Smith, first contacted me when she worked as the fitness editor at All You. Now Courtenay is the Executive Editor at Prevention. See what she says about how to break into that major magazine.

Even if you don't have your sights set on Prevention magazine, consider also watching this second clip to learn more about the process of pitching health-related ideas to editors in general.

What Mice Have to Do With Fitness

What New Studies Are You Using to Promote Your Fitness Services?

And Why?

I recently stumbled upon an online forum discussion about using research to score media attention for a fitness business.

A new study had just come out saying exercise curbs depression. The forum discussion focused on how the study would make a good publicity hook for fitness providers. Yes … except the study’s subjects were mice, which no one mentioned.

I’m glad I found that thread because it led to two things:

1. I got the idea to co-author a couple of articles on how fitness pros can benefit from sizing up new research. One of my favorite editors just accepted both queries earlier this week.

2. I got to weigh in on how to incorporate new studies into fitness articles and media pitches.

Here’s a modified version of what I wrote on the forum:

Editors and producers like to ask "Why now?" about any potential story. A brand-new study can satisfy that question, as long as the study is truly relevant and credible. You can find plenty of new research through online newswire services. However, before you write about it, analyze it.

You don’t necessarily need to know everything about research design – just look for important points, such as if the study was sponsored by any companies (and how that might influence results) and if the subjects are similar to your target audience.

Essentially, consider whether the study is truly worth mentioning, apart from its catchy headline.

I just finished an article for Best Health where I had to dig up multiple studies published in 2007 that would be relevant to female exercisers. It would have been sloppy reporting to just see what the newswires had to say and leave it at that.

I used Reuters Health and similar sites as a starting point. Then I found the abstracts. Then I contacted the lead researchers to ask them questions and/or get a PDF of the full-text study.

Any big magazine expects this of you. Local newspapers should, too (although I don't know if all of them do). And if you write about current research for your own client newsletter or blog, you owe it to your clients to get the facts straight.

Bottom line: Use newswire services like ReutersHealth.com to get a heads up on what's out there. Then follow up by checking the actual study through journal websites and/or resources such as PubMed.

Instantly Improve Your Writing

Here's a quick writing tip for the next time you’re working on an article, memo, flyer, web page, etc. …

To streamline your writing and create stronger sentences, avoid turning verbs into nouns when you could simply use the verb. Here’s what I mean:

Instead of: Fitness pros make modifications to programs for a variety of clients.
Why not just write: Fitness pros modify programs for a variety of clients.

Instead of: This trainer provides instruction for clients about proper core training.
Why not just write: This trainer instructs clients about proper core training.

Instead of: Our first step is to conduct assessments on each client’s fitness needs.
Why not just write: Our first step is to assess each client’s fitness needs.

As long as it doesn’t change your intended meaning, zeroing in on the right verb makes your writing tighter and more conversational.

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Receive hundreds more tips and in-depth guidance in my new 50-page Special Report, ANATOMY OF AN ARTICLE. The product is for health and fitness pros who write articles (or want to write them) for magazines, websites, article directories, blogs, newspapers, newsletters and more.

Please check it out:

http://www.activevoice.ca/getart_anat.shtml

Fitness Article Fixes

Do Your Fitness Articles Need These Fixes?

Here are three simple problem-solution scenarios to make your health and fitness articles grab more attention, and help you excel at educating and inspiring your readers.

ONE

Problem: Burying the article’s lead in the second, third or fourth paragraph.

The most compelling, tell-me-more information, or a scenario that readers can relate to, should appear in the very first, attention-grabbing paragraph.

Solution: Avoid warming up with superfluous info or chit-chat at the beginning of your articles. Comb your piece’s first draft for the most relevant lead sentences (they’re usually buried a few paragraphs from the top), then rework them to fit front and center.

TWO

Problem: Introducing fitness terms or concepts without defining what you mean (even if they seem straightforward and commonplace to you).

Many fitness pros offer the following generalized tips, but readers might not understand specifically what to do:

• Work out more intensely


• Drink enough water


• Eat sensibly


• Be active every day

Solution: Offer one or two concrete examples so that your tips make sense to readers. For example, explain that working out more intensely means aiming for certain feelings and physical responses based on the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale.

THREE

Problem: Writing an article that ends up being one huge block of text.

It’s no use writing articles that no one reads because they look so unappealing. Your job is to make the article’s language and format as inviting as possible.

Solution: As you pen the piece, consider how to logically organize your information, then add relevant subheads to break up the text. Doing so makes your writing more enticing and informative for readers.

For 50 pages of in-depth guidance on how to write health and fitness articles that get the results you want, check out ANATOMY OF AN ARTICLE from Active Voice.

Publicity on TV

A TV Producer’s Perspective

I’ve known my friend Phairis since high school. We both studied acting, which is how we met. Now we both work in the media – she’s a TV producer, and I’m a magazine writer.

Phairis’s daughter is the same age as mine (almost 2), and one time, while we ambled along with our strollers, we chatted about what so many fitness pros want to know: How to get the media’s attention.

She and I have seen our share of good, bad and ugly pitches. And since I’m here to offer info from media insiders like Phairis and me, I asked my friend to let you in on her perspective.

Phairis has the qualifications to tell it like it is, too: She’s the former producer for the EARLY News with Deborra Hope on Global TV and the current associate producer for Global National, a nightly national newscast from a major Canadian broadcaster.

Here’s what she graciously agreed to share with you …

DON'T give me a sell job.

You're not pitching an ad or a commercial. Give me FACTS about what it is you do, or what it is you sell. People love facts. They want to learn more.

If you can tell me something I don't already know or can't get from another source - and you can do it in an entertaining way - your chances of getting publicity are far greater.

DO personalize your pitch.

For example, pick a show on a local TV station and find out who the producer is. Send that person an email. Then follow up with a phone call. Nobody likes getting mass emails – that’s an easy way to get your press release tossed in the recycling bin.

DO watch what's in the news and make your pitch when it's appropriate.

If a celebrity is suffering from a health problem or a new study comes out that’s related to your product or service (even in a small way), that's a great time to send out your pitch.

DON'T take it personally if you're turned down.

Next time, do some research about the media organization you're pitching to and really tailor your media package. Also, be sure to include the basics: who you are; what you do; where you do it; when you'll do it next; why I should care and how I, as the producer, can get in touch with you.

Marketing Beyond the Benefits

Writing Promotional Signs That Get Results

Posting signs around your gym or training studio to market your programs, events or specials can increase registration numbers and interest in your services or workouts.

Fitness pros often create a sign that focuses on the features of their offer instead of communicating the benefits in a way that makes sense to fitness consumers. This is a mistake.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you offer 35-minute training sessions for your clients. That, in itself, is a feature. It doesn’t necessarily communicate any value to the fitness consumer.

The benefit to your clients is that a shorter-than-normal session saves them time and perhaps allows them to work out on days when their schedule is too tight for a longer gym visit.

Now, how could you communicate the benefits of your time-saving sessions in a way that’s even more meaningful to your target audience?

Well, perhaps part of your target market is new moms. When my daughter was under a year old, I would have been sold on the chance to squeeze in a decent workout AND maybe a post-exercise shower before my baby started fussing in the gym’s daycare. That would have been the benefit of 35-minute sessions to me.

With the scenario above, moms like me are happy. Babies are happy. And as the trainer, you’re happy, too, because your ability to communicate real-world benefits to your target clientele pays off.

When you promote benefits that resonate with your clients and prospects, you capture their attention, which is the purpose of your sign (or other marketing piece) in the first place.

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More guidance on how to write marketing material for special events and programs in the fitness industry: Profitable Fitness Events for Managers and Trainers.