In part one of my blog, I shared the 8-step marketing system that helped grow my private gym business to 7 figures. In part two, I want to discuss how you can use some of the same strategies as a collegiate strength coach to grow your online brand.
Maybe you already have a fulfilling career as a strength coach at a high school or university, but you want to make some money on the side doing programming or training clients online. Here’s a marketing guide to get you started.
First and foremost, you need to leverage your credibility. You’re an educated performance coach, so use that to your advantage by building your program around your background. Whether you’re targeting the general population or athletes, people want to be trained by someone who has experience working with high-level performers. Showcase your experience through testimonials, before-and-after photos, case studies, and improved performance metrics.
Second, create a signature program that offers a clear outcome. Think of it this way—what’s more appealing: “Utilize this program to improve your rate of force development and become more explosive,” or, “This program will help you increase your vertical by 4 inches in 12 weeks so you can be dunking over your buddies in your next intramural game”? Clear wins sell better than technical jargon.
Third, dial in your social media posting. I’ve developed a simple framework that works great for both brick-and-mortar services and digital products. It involves posting four times per week on your social media.
The first post should be educational. Use it to teach your audience about your training methods and position yourself as the authority in your market. Show engaging content like workout clips, fast sprints, high jumps, or heavy lifts.
The second post is your call-to-action. Promote your current program offering. Create compelling front-end offers that draw people into your online program—like free 7-day trials, sample training templates, checklists, or a free video assessment.
The third post should be social proof. Collect video testimonials, screenshots of text conversations, before-and-after stats, and progress photos. These results validate your program.
The fourth post is a 5-star review. Share positive feedback from a client who had a great experience with your program.
You’ll also want to create a free offering to get people in the door and onto your email list, so you can continue marketing to them. I like free workshops for this. Hosting one each quarter is a good start. Run them on Zoom or Google Meet, and center them around a topic your audience cares about. Some examples: “Top 5 Ways to Get Faster for College Athletics,” “How to Prepare for Division 1 Sports,” “Nutrition Strategies to Add Muscle Mass,” or “How to Prep for a 40-Yard Dash.”
Email marketing is your fifth strategy. Collect emails from everyone who attends a workshop, visits your product landing page, or purchases a program. Then, nurture that list weekly with educational emails. You can also use the list to drive sales. Think of your email list like a bank account—sales emails are withdrawals, and educational emails are deposits. If you’re always making withdrawals and never adding value, you’ll overdraw your audience's attention.
Next: direct outreach. We make a list of 100 potential customers each month for our gyms—you can do the same for your online program. Build your list from the people most engaged with your emails or social media, those who opted in but didn’t buy, or people you know would benefit from your program. Reach out individually, let them know how you can help, and offer an incentive to test things out.
Finally, ask for referrals and build in an incentive. Encourage your current clients to refer others or share their results on social. In return, offer a free month of programming, a consultation call, a t-shirt, a book—something valuable but easy to deliver.
If you’re a college or high school strength coach, you already have something most online trainers don’t—real credibility and results that matter. You’ve been in the weight room. You’ve worked with athletes under pressure. You’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.
The mistake I see most coaches make is sitting on that value and not sharing it. This blog isn’t about building a massive online empire overnight. It’s about showing you that, with a little structure and consistency, you can take what you already know and turn it into something that creates more income, more freedom, and more impact—without burning out.
Pick a lane, create a program with a clear outcome, and show up with consistency. That’s the name of the game.
If you follow the steps above, stay true to who you are, and don’t overcomplicate it, you’ll be surprised how fast things can grow.
You’ve already got the hard part down—you’re a great coach. Now it’s time to build the business around it.
