I recently spent quite a bit of money for a podcast coach to teach me the ins and outs of launching a new podcast. I'm going to give much of that information away for free to gym and studio owners because I know that's a luxury you cannot afford.
This will be a multi-part series, since there's so much to cover.
Podcasting is the newest rage in all industries - hell even I've started one here! The gymOS Podcast from PushPress talks in depth about the business of fitness. But should your gym podcast? In this post, we'll dive into why you might want to consider it, and how to get the best bang for your buck.
Start With Who
The first step of this podcasting journey begins with who. You need to understand very specifically who you're talking to.
Define your perfect listener (this post with worksheet will help) - the one who will get a tremendous value out of what you can share, and then define him or her.
This step is CRUCIAL - do not gloss over it. Because your content has to be tailored to this listeners interests.
You might end up with more than one perfect listener.
When defining your "who", do not make them your current members.
Your podcast should be speaking to people in your community who might be trying to discover a fitness studio, not your members.
If you design your podcast right, it will still resonate with your members, but you want to be focused on building authority with potential clients.
The gymOS Podcast Perfect Listeners
We came up with 3 perfect listeners to our podcast. These are the people we felt we could help the most - who needed to hear the content we were building.
- Newbie Nancy - Nancy is a new gym owner and she loves everything about it! She's super eager to soak up everything she can about the business, and is seeking help everywhere she can find it.
- Struggling Steve - Steve has been in business for a while, but unlike Nancy, he felt he knew exactly what to do. He didn't seek any help initially, and he realizes now maybe everything didn't go perfectly. While Steve's not in any risk of closing, he is now ready to grow the business and he's open to start learning! Steve reads and watches all the content the fitness mentors put out now (but he dismissed it before)
- Business Betty - Betty has seen a bigger picture and she understands that this business is actually bigger than herself. She might be able to open a few studios soon and be able to impact a larger number of people and help more coaches develop a solid career. Betty read business books from people who are outside of the realm of fitness for guidance and has a mentor.
The gymOS Podcast is helping fitness professionals become business professionals, one episode at a time. Start listening now and level up!
Once You Know Who: Ask Why?
Once you have figured out who the perfect listeners are for your gym podcast, you need to understand why they would listen.
Time is a rare resource. You need to provide your listeners with some information that's pertinent to their struggles and pains.
The pain points will come pretty quick if you start to think about why someone might need your services.
Brainstorm a list of things that might be the pain points of your perfect listeners. Here's a quick sample to kick start your list:
- They want to feel better.
- Their child needs is getting bullied
- They just got divoced/separated and need to date.
- They want to kick their medications
- They have a new child or grandchild and realize the value of life.
- They are losing mobility or strength.
- They are stressed.
- They lack friends, comraderie or community.
Picking A Show Format
There's a number of different ways you can format your podcast, I'm going to give you an easy format that I believe is one of the best formats a gym can do.
Member Spotlights
Let the members in your gym share their success stories, things they've overcome and experiences. It's the most authentic content you can share to your community.
The reason I love these for your local fitness studio is many:
- It provides your listeners with an authentic story from someone that they might relate with.
- It connects one of your members to your gym by highlighting them and their successes.
- It's easy content to generate, and it requires less planning.
There are numerous other formats you can choose.
When deciding on your format, you will need to understand that it will affect things like equipment needed, show prep, and more.
Show Cadence
Consistency is the key to content. If you decide you want to podcast, you should commit to a certain number, on a certain cadence.
Cadence is important, because people tend to expect content to be available to them on a reliable schedule.
Think about it, if your favorite TV show was randomly released on different days at different times, it would be hard to get into it.
You can also opt to binge release a bunch of episodes at once. If you do this, break your show up into seasons, and release an entire season in one shot. Netflix has proven this model works very well too!
For The gymOS Podcast, we chose a weekly format, released every Monday.
The burden of producing content is real. For it to be effective, your audience needs to know there's an episode coming on a regular interval.
If you don't plan and start doing one episode at a time, your podcast is doomed. You will burn out under the pressure.
Block out one day a month and record all podcast episodes on that day. Have your guests come in to record on that day.
Doing this will allow you to get in a groove, recording a few at a time and your quality of podcast will be better. It will also allow you to get 3 or 4 done in one day, which will make staying consistant much easier.
Stay Tuned For More About Gym Podcasting
There is quite a bit to cover in this series of blog posts - so stay tuned for more.
In future posts, we will cover:
- What podcasting equipment to buy (quick setup!).
- How to format an exciting episode.
- How to produce a show, quickly.
- How to record good audio.
- How to publish your podcast
- More!
Podcasting, done right, can help you extend your reach and your authority in your community.
It also can be an effective tool to get your members more engaged and get their stories told!
