What Can You Learn From a 59 Year Old Wood Carver?

This past weekend I was strolling through one of my favorite places in the world – the Ithaca Farmers Market.  The market is this great place filled with happy people, foods from around the world, local artisans and to top it all off… it’s right on the water.

I love everything about it.  One of my favorite things to do on a sunny Saturday morning is to get some fresh-squeezed lemonade, grab a seat on the dock and people watch.

Enough About Lemonade…

But enough about that.  Lets get on to what this post is all about – what fitness business owners can learn from a 59 year old wood carver.

Mary is the wood carver’s name.  She’s at the market every weekend.  Her booth holds her wood carvings for sale.  The cool thing about Mary though… is while people are admiring her work… she’s actually creating her next piece of work right there in the booth!

So you can watch her work – which is absolutely amazing.  There’s a video of her down the page, but it doesn’t give justice to seeing this woman carve and slice her way through a piece of wood.

Mary Restored My Hope Because She “Got It”…

So I stopped by to admire her work and watch her carve away.  She noticed I was there and said hello.  And then she said something that made me grin from ear to ear.  Her exact words were “Please take my business card or you can just Google ‘Mary Woodcarver Ithaca’ or better yet sign up here and I’ll friend you through Facebook.”

I am always talking about building a community of raving fans through your website, blog and social networks.  But honestly… sometimes I think people think I am crazy in asking them to push their fitness business to the next level by using technology.

But then this little 59 year old woodcarver restores all my hope.  If Mary has a solid website and Facebook page, don’t you think your fitness business should have them as well?  In all honesty, people are more likely to search for fitness related information than a local woodcarver.

YouTube, E-Newsletter, Happy Buyers…

Mary does a wonderful job with everything she does.  She shows how intricate her work is by actually doing it right there in front of you, she has a YouTube video of her working on her website, she has an e-newsletter, she has a Facebook page, she ranks on the first page of Google, and she even has a page called “Happy Buyers” which has quotes from her customers.  Think Success Stories for your fitness business.

She has all the information someone would need to know about her, her works and her services right on her website.  I’d make some tweaks and changes to things, but the over all thought to grasp is Mary’s ability to draw the prospect in… educate them about her work and then when they’re ready to buy… they will.

What About Your Fitness Business?

Is your fitness business utilizing technology?  Do you have a website and blog that draws targeted visitors?  Engages them?  Pre-sells them?

If not, what is stopping you?  In today’s business world it is critical to have an online presence that uses video, audio, images, conversational pieces (blog) and more.  It may seem overwhelming, but don’t let it be.

We make it super simple to get started.  Check out www.InControlWebsites.com for more information.  There’s no reason to not utilize technology.  Even Mary the woodcarver agrees!

More About Mary Michael Shelley…

Here’s a video from Mary and her website: http://www.maryshelleyfolkart.com

Social Networking Secrets

Do you Tweet?  What about Digg?  When was the last time your business was friend’ed?  If you have no idea what we are talking about… don’t worry!  Very few people do… but learning a little lingo is certainly worth it!

Take Home Point: Social Networking Connects Your Business to Targeted Leads & Potential Customers & Allows Them to Stay Updated on Your Business!

Take a few moments to read this page and see how using popular social networking (or snetworking) sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter can introduce new clients to your business, help with your search engine rankings and develop a community of raving fans…

- all which lead to MORE SALES!

Continue Reading This Free Report…

Fitness Website Design and the Death of Long Sales Copy?

Over the course of a few years people have asked me all sorts of questions about Internet marketing and website development.  One question that has been asked over and over again is about the effectiveness of long sales copy.

In case you are not sure what I am referring to, take a look at this sales copy from an ebook I have: http://www.personaltrainerwebsitedesign.com/the-ultimate-guide-for-personal-training-websites.html

It’s one of those long sales pages that seem to go on forever and ever.  So the question is…

Who Really Reads All That?

Here’s the thing… long sales copy has its place in the fitness website sales world.  And yes, people do actually sit and read the entire message.  But here’s the kicker… not all do and there’s a reason why.

Who Reads Your Long Sales Copy - only those that are truly interested.  They want as much information about your fitness product or service as they can get.  They are serious buyers and are willing to read long sales copy to get as much info as possible.

Who Does Not Read Your Long Sales Copy - those that are not that interested in your fitness product or service are more than likely not going to take 10 – 15 minutes of their time to read your sales pitch.

BUT… some people may be interested in what you have to offer… but they’re not really interested in reading all of your text.  It’s just not how they want to digest your information.

The Solution - the solution is two-fold.

Part 1 - the first part is offering something for everyone.  Try making your long sales copy as interesting as possible.  Include real life case-studies and stories.  Include photos.  Also, make your headlines tell the story as most people will simply scan your page and read the headlines first… then if the headline interests them… they’ll read the paragraph or two for that headline.  Also, include bullet points.  People are more likely to read bullet points before the actual text.

But also consider adding more multimedia content like video and/or live chat.  Adding video and live chat will help those people that ARE interested in your product or service but who will not read all your sales copy.  Adding video or live chat enables them to get your sales pitch in another format.  Adding different ways to “digest” your sales pitch means you are reaching more people before.

The idea is to get as many targeted people to digest your information.  Some prefer long sales copy.  Some prefer audio.  Some prefer video.  Some prefer to call you.  Some prefer live chat.

Part 2 - The second part is all about testing.  Try putting up long sales copy for one month and measure your statistics.  How many people bought?  Then for the next month, try putting up just a video of you talking about the product or service with a few bullet points and see if your purchases increased or decreased.  Then try a combination of long sales copy +  a video (place it above the fold) and see what those results look like.

The thing to keep in mind is to measure your results using as many controlled factors as possible.  For an example, it wouldn’t be fair to judge the effectiveness of just video and bullet points when you decide to launch a major PPC (pay-per-click) campaign to that page.  You want the organic traffic to be similar in both test methods so your results are as spot on as possible.

Does Long Sales Copy Work?

It does work and it does have its place in the online marketing world.  Many people still swear by it and it has been shown to increase a product or service’s validity – after all if someone can write a 15-page sales pitch on something… it must be a great product offering a great solution, right 

So Lynn, What’s Your Personal Opinion on Long Sales Copy?

I personally believe long sales copy has its place… and should be tested appropriately for each website niche.  But I also believe long sales copy is becoming less popular.  I am moving my company more into video and audio as it captures people’s attention more than anything else.

But I will not leave long sales copy behind… my job is the same as yours… test, test, test and test some more.

Fitness Website Design Tip of the Day

The fitness website design tip of the day is all about fonts.  Most fitness marketing experts agree that a larger, easy-to-read font is best for your website visitors.  We personally like arial 15 point – the size you are currently reading.

Small and hard-to-read text tends to be ignored.  So increase your font size and make it easy to digest your most wanted responses!

A Fitness Marketing Squeeze Page Lesson

How’s everyone doing?  I hope you’re busy as all heck with new training clients and a steadily growing fitness business.  I wanted to take some time and share with you a lesson that – while easy to understand – is often difficult for most to get.

When you’re developing a squeeze page or an opt in page, a simple layout is key to success.  Here’s some pretty cool proof:

Motley Fool, a widely popular investing info website, is launching a new membership soon.  Would you like to see the squeeze page of a multi-million dollar company that built it’s roots and foundation through the Internet?  Here it is – Click Me to Find Out

Was it what you expected?

Most people think that flashy colors, tons of images and all sorts of banners are key to success.  More often than not… they are the key to failure.

When you are developing your fitness website squeeze pages, keep a few things in mind:

1) Keep the rif-raff to zero.  Only include what’s absolutely needed to get someone to give you their name and email address.

2) Use the power of video.  People LOVE video.  It interests them and more often than not… your video will be watched.  You should be warm , inviting and professional in your videos.  This pre-sells your services even more.  And always include your MWR (most wanted response) at the end of your video (which for a fitness squeeze page it would be to fill in the form below, etc).

3) Keep the form on the initial opt in page short.  Just ask for the necessities like name and primary email.  Include your privacy state or link to it.  Including a short privacy statement is preferred.

4) Your font should be arial 15 or 18 point as it’s easy to read.

5) Text is limited only to a few lines or bullet points.  The less people need to read… the better.  Keep your copy short, to the point and benefit rich.

6) Your background image should be a light color or white.  Flashy design detracts from your MWR.  I know it’s pretty and cool… but direct response marketers and uber-successful online businesses know that simple layout and design is key to success.

As you think about your fitness website design and layout, remember that your website is often the first impression a potential client has of your business.  Having a professional fitness website design and layout is critical to increasing opt in’s and delivering your MWR.

Fitness Website Design Ideas and Upselling – An Almost Perfect Example

I wanted to tell a quick little story about upselling.  Think of how you can use this example in your fitness business and on your fitness website.  Upselling is key to growth!

The Story…

I recently purchased a magazine subscription as a Christmas present for someone.  I purchased the gift subscription on their website.  Right before I was about to checkout, an offer appears.  The offer is to add another magazine subscription of a different magazine (but in the same genre) for just $5.

The offer is almost perfect.  Not only are the magazines one that my friend would like, the price is perfect too.  The offer is $5 for an entire year of another magazine in the same genre.  They even go so far as to offer two titles my friend may like and then they offer an option of bundling together the 2 additional mags.

My options: do nothing – add 1 of the additional titles for $5 – or add both additional titles for $10.

Take a look at the image… even the wording is great.  Notice how they use words like “Today Only” and “One Click Is All It Takes!”  Click the image below for a larger image.

The only thing that could have made this offer better was a bundle of both magazines at a discounted rate.  Even if it was only a buck.  I would have also added another headline that said something like “Get 2 More Magazines Subscriptions for (insert friend’s name) for just $9 bucks!”  Other than that… they did a nice job.

A Simple Task to Generate More Leads

Now if the perfect time to ask for referrals and new clients! With the holidays fast approaching you can easily offer coupons for a free session or a free consultation or a free anything.

1) Give your current clients a free session if they provide 3 names, email addresses and physical addresses to you.

2) Give your current clients another free session for each referral that turns into a sale.

3) Give all potential clients a coupon for a free session or consult with you. Give them a coupon and then give them extras for their friends or family.

The idea is to give something away for free to your current clients and your prospective clients while generating buzz about your services.

Whatever you do… make it viral. Make it as easy as pie for people to sign up and to refer your services.

Create a page on your website where clients and prospective clients can give you the info you need to grow your list and redeem their free gifts

Barack, Technology and Your Fitness Business

I sincerely hope you caught the difference of the Barack Obama campaign whether you voted for him or not.  He used online technology like I’ve never seen in a presidential race.  The sheer difference of how he connected to his supporters, those on the fence,  and those against him is especially cutting edge.

Obama used the net to announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nominee and he used it for creating and steadily building a massive national and international community of supporters that could be leveraged into an utterly formidable election machine.

His website released regular video addresses, e-mailed supporters constantly, and ran a blog.  He announced his VP pick via text message to those that opt’ed in.

The Obama campaign also mastered the art of the friendly e-mail. The first campaign e-mail on the morning of Tuesday’s election, the one voters would have woken up to in their inbox, was not from Barack but from his wife, Michelle.  It was a friendly email reminding people to vote, but the tone of the email was friendly and helpful… not salesy.

The lessons are clear… people are using the internet like never before.  Phone books are becoming out-dated.  Online searches are increasing for everything from “how to become a better baseball player” to “fundraising tips for non-profits”.

While your fitness business may not be running for president, it can use the internet and technology to increase those in your sales pipeline.  Once someone opt’s in for something (whether it’s to know who the VP choice is or see a webinar you did showcasing the benfits of eating healthy) you have the ability to follow up with them by sending them friendly emails, helpful newsletters, special offers and more.

The power of the web is astonishing.  You do not have to be a super-geek to use its tools.  Just start with a clear mind of what you currently offer, how you can transfer that to the web and how you can use technology to make your life easier.

We offer lots of great information on our main website.  Be sure to get your hands on our free reports and offers too.  They really help define the next step for you.