One of the best things you can do for your marketing and SEO strategy is to start a gym blog. The fitness industry provides a variety of topics and a plethora of influencers, so you’ll want to get creative and stand out.
Statistics show that companies with blogs generate significantly more leads than those without. People enjoy reading content from brands they like. And it goes even further when the content is relevant, educational and/or entertaining. In other words, your effort won’t be wasted when blogging for your target market.
For the most part, gym owners are not generally experienced writers so the idea can seem intimidating. The initial setup and content plan may take some time on the front end. But once you start producing more and more content, you create a snowball effect, where efficiency goes up while effort goes down. Rest assured, the web traffic and positive impact will make it worth the effort.
Why Do You Need A Gym Blog?
A gym blog is fundamental for digital growth, brand awareness and traffic generation.
The main way blogs attract customers within a niche is through SEO (search engine optimization). By using keywords, phrases and headings, search engines such as Google scan your site. Then, posts get ranked in searches based on relevance. In short, high-quality content equates to higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) and, in turn, more traffic.
The two crucial things you want to keep in mind when optimizing your website for search engines are ease of access and search-ability. These two elements play a central role in any successful blog and are the heart of every digital marketing strategy.
Think of your gym blog like a fishing net that you can cast out to capture traffic via Google’s search algorithm. Once you’ve got readers in the net, you can direct them back to your website.
Since blog content lives on your website, it can last indefinitely if it continues providing relevance. In fact, the blog will gain more authority and automatically be boosted in Google’s rankings the longer it has been around.
You can consistently market old content to new traffic while also writing fresh posts. This way, you'll broaden your reach to new audiences.
And if your blog becomes successful enough, you may even be able to make it profitable. From taking your gym retail sales online to running ads and affiliate marketing, a high-traffic gym blog can be lucrative.
Regardless of your goals, a blog is a versatile tool for developing a unique brand identity and making your business stand out.
How Do You Start A Gym Blog?
Once you’re ready to start blogging, here are five easy steps to get the ball rolling:
1. Determine Your Target Audience.
Defining your target audience is the first step in a successful gym blog strategy. Great content won’t land with the wrong audience. For instance, you wouldn’t make a post about the benefits of signing up for a gym membership to your current community. And you probably wouldn’t post ring muscle-up tips if a majority of your website traffic comes from beginners looking for a new fitness routine.
Your “read the room” strategy means starting with the ultimate goal of why you’re creating your blog in the first place. Determine who you’re speaking (writing) to in order to craft the perfect content messaging.
2. Make A List Of Topics.
When you first create your list, err on the side of too many ideas. Write down every topic that comes to mind. You can pare it down and refine it later on.
Take a look at the people visiting your blog (i.e. members) or the type of people you want as visitors. Ask directly or observe (through blog traffic data) what customers enjoy about your content and what they would like to see more of.
Need more ideas? Consider social media and even your competition for content sources. Social media will provide you with trending topics. And when it comes to your competition, you can either cover the topic better or go in the opposite direction.
Also, take an in-depth look at what successful fitness brands are doing right, and see if you can incorporate their methods into your gym blog strategy. Ask yourself whether they have a high level of engagement, such as comments, questions, sales, etc. Are their posts getting a lot of views? Is the company growing? When you find out what works in their most successful blogs, take notes on the topics, keywords and visuals that make them so effective.
3. Create A Content Calendar.
Once you’ve created a list of content ideas, it’s time to map out a schedule. This is a written outline of when you plan to post your content, and where else you’ll promote it.
One of the main tenets of a successful blog is consistency. When you regularly upload posts, you create an expectation of delivery. To avoid readers losing interest, come up with a manageable timetable to guarantee your delivery lines up with your goals.
Content scheduling also plays an invaluable role in maintaining organization. When everything in your business is organized, time management is significantly easier.
When developing a gym blog schedule, leave enough time to create quality content while managing the other tasks on your plate. Experimenting and changing things up in the early stages is a great way to find the perfect balance.
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Another purpose of content scheduling is strategically uploading certain pieces of content during key periods of the year. For instance, the time to post about goal setting isn’t in the middle of the summer, when attendance is low. Instead, try right before New Years, when interest in gym memberships is about to skyrocket.
4. Just Start.
This part isn’t complicated. The only way to get better at writing is to write. Remind yourself that even a few pieces of decent content are better than an empty gym blog page. If it helps, choose the topics you feel most comfortable writing about and start there. Once the ball is rolling, you’ll find that “snowball effect” will help you to continue and improve over time.
5. Optimize your blog posts.
You’ve taken the steps to come up with the right messaging for your target audience. Now it’s time to optimize your blog for the best possible reach. Make sure to include headings, images and links for SEO-score improvement. This will help search engines to recognize your content as relevant and readable, getting your work in front of more people.
In Summary:
A gym blog is fundamental for digital growth, brand awareness and traffic generation. Determine your target audience, outline a content calendar, craft your message and optimize your post for the most impact. While the initial setup and strategy may take some time on the front end, the web traffic and positive impact will make it worth the effort.
