The Top 3 Ways to Sell Training Online
You’ve probably seen a bunch of “make 6-figures online!” type ads on your Facebook feed, but this is different. Rather than sharing some “magic” formula to get leads through webinars, here I’ll show you three ways to ACTUALLY sell training online (not just market it). Here is the process of selling training online.
I’ve built dozens of websites that sell online training in a variety of forms. From online courses, to training certifications, to video content, to ebooks, to fitness communities, I’ve done it all. With that said, it’s not 100% necessary to have a website to start selling training online. Here I’ll show you the different methods to sell fitness information online.
Use one of the three methods below to process transactions and execute a training program online. I’ll start with the most basic and get into a more advanced system. At the bare minimum you’ll need a facebook account, gmail email account, and a paypal account.
Process #1: Sell Training Without a Website
You don’t have to have a website to sell training online. It’s always tempting for small business owners to overthink the process of selling a product or service, complicating it with stuff like marketing, branding, advertising, graphic design, etc. The truth is that the only thing you really need is the ability to sell and a few accounts that you can sell for free online.
I’ll be posting step by step tutorials and templates for each process in the near future, but all of these processes are readily available on Youtube, so go nuts :). Again, this is the process of executing a transaction and the program itself. It assumes that you already have someone interested in online training.
Step #1
Invoice your new client using a free paypal account. Click Here to learn how.
Step #2
Create a questionnaire about your program using Google Docs and send it to your new online training client. Click Here to learn how.
Step #3
Using the information from your client, create a Google Doc or Google Sheet to write your workout program and share it with your client. Click Here to learn about Google Sheets
Bonus
If you want to add more value to your program, create a free Skype account and schedule regular video chats with your client to check/demonstrate proper exercise form. You could also upload video demonstrations of each exercise and upload to a Youtube account, then share a sheet with your client containing the exercise names and a link to each video.
Process #2: Sell Training With Any WordPress Website
This process assumes you have a wordpress website and the administrative ability to edit it (if you hired someone to make it for you, you may not be able to use this process with an “editor” account).
There are free ways to process transactions using free store plugins (like Woocommerce), but we’ll keep this method simple for now.
Step #1
Invoice your new client using a free paypal account. Click Here to learn how.
Step #2
Create a questionnaire about your program using Google Docs and send it to your new online training client. Click Here to learn how.
Step #3
Rather than using a Google Sheet or Doc, you can input your client’s program directly on your WordPress website, then restrict the page with a password of your choosing. Again, I’ll post a video showing you how to do this soon, but here are the basics of the process:
- Login to the backend of your wordpress website.
- Go to “Pages” in the left column of your admin section.
- Click “Add New” to create a specific page for your client. Use your client’s name for the page to keep things easy to find.
- Input your program in the main body however you see fit (basic html knowledge helps here but isn’t totally necessary).
- In the upper right hand of the page you’ll see a box titled “Publish.” Click “Edit” on the “Visibility” line. Click “Password protected” and create a unique password for your online client. Then click “OK.”
- Publish your new page. Update whenever necessary.
Bonus
Shoot videos of each exercise you use in client programs, then create a wordpress “Post” for each, categorized by equipment, body part, etc. Link from your new client page to each of the associated posts for added benefit to both your client and your website rank. Again, if you want to add even more value to your program, create a free Skype account and schedule regular video chats with your client to check/demonstrate proper exercise form.
Process #3: Sell Training With an Upgraded WordPress Website
As you probably noticed, there’s quite a bit of work using processes #1 and #2. Each client will require all of the steps to be repeated. One of the best ways to make this easier is to automate the process using WordPress plugins.
That said, there are A LOT of plugin options and apps and a whole bunch of crap online. I’ve tried almost all of them, and I’ve found that the best way to customize and control your online training platform is using a plugin called Memberpress. It is not super easy to set up or cheap, but if you get someone to set it up for you who has a developer license (like me), it’s extremely capable, customizable, and easy to use.
Better yet, the right set up will allow you to make money from restricting access to content you’ve already created (like an ebook, video database, or other content). You can then sell your “basic” members on upgraded, customized services. Again, easy to run, not easy to set up.
The following process is kind of abbreviated, but I promise you it’s worth it to get this professionally done if you’re serious about making a significant amount of your training income online.
Step #1
Create your own database of exercise videos, workout videos, workout plans, and workouts. Compile the content on your computer.
Step #2
Hire MegaMad to build your online training platform. We’ll use your database of information to create free information to entice people to come to the website (called content marketing), restrict some of the information to gather potential client data and small sums of money (this would be your basic membership), and create a seamless flow for users to upgrade to premium or custom membership (the final step in your “funnel”).
Step #3
Focus on creating more content to drive traffic and take care of premium members.
There’s more to this process, but you get the picture. We do the website building for you and you worry about doing what you’re good at: creating custom programs that get people the results they’re looking for.
Want us to do it for you? Click Here to view our programs.
Online Training Conclusion
There you have it! I always suggest starting a website on your own to learn the ropes unless you’re 100% sure you want to dedicate the time and effort necessary to create a real online training platform. Professional platforms like the ones we build are affordable, but far from free. They’ll take you to the next level, but just like getting your body into shape, it takes consistency and effort to grow.
