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Train For Top Dollar is a website devoted to teaching personal trainers, triathlon coaches, nutritionists, gym owners and fitness professionals how to make money and enjoy a successful fitness career. We teach personal trainer salary tips, triathlon coaching career advice, nutrition consulting business structure strategies, gym business tips, and career advice for fitness professionals. Whether you want to make more money as a personal trainer or enhance your income as a coach or gym owner, this website, combined with Ben Greenfield's book "Personal Trainers' Guide to Earning Top Dollar" will give you everything you need for a successful fitness career.


Click to get Personal Trainers' Guide to Earning Top Dollar Book

The book Train For Top Dollar now available from Healthy Learning Publications!

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Ready to get Ben Greenfield’s brand new fitness business book mailed to your front doorstep? Healthy Learning publications has just released Train For Top Dollar as a new book, entitled “The Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar”! You can get your copy today by clicking here to visit their website.

Recognizing that multiple income streams are key to success in the fitness business, the “The Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar” identifies those streams and provides instruction on how to command your income.

Continue reading ‘The book Train For Top Dollar now available from Healthy Learning Publications!’

How To Know Exactly What People Are Saying About You On The Internet.

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Quick Question:

Are you a personal trainer or fitness professional who delivers services to your local city?

Are you an “online” exercise or nutrition consultant?

Are you a gym or studio owner?

Do you sell fitness e-books and information products?

Then I guarantee people are talking about you, your services, and your products. On the internet. With the advent of online social networking, it is now possible to have detailed conversations about fitness businesses, customer satisfaction, client results, gym cleanliness, exercise equipment maintenance, personal trainer capabalities and a host of other factors.

Continue reading ‘How To Know Exactly What People Are Saying About You On The Internet.’

Podcast Episode #16: How to Get Ranked in the New Bing Search Engine

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If you’re a fitness professional, personal trainer or nutrition consultant who is serious about enhancing your web presence, then you must know about how to get your fitness website ranked on Bing, the new Microsoft search engine, over at http://www.bing.com.

As you probably already know, getting high search engine rankings in Google is “The Holy Grail” of internet marketing and is crucial in helping your online and local customers to find you quickly and easily. But by this time next year, getting ranked in Bing will be just as, if not more important.

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What Is The Best Way To Sell A Fitness DVD?

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I’m going to turn the tables. It is possible that the internet police may prosecute me for this, but rather than providing you with instruction, advice, and tips on having a career as a personal trainer, how to make money as a personal trainer and how to profit in the fitness business…

…I instead need advice from you.

You see, I want to give away a copy of a few of my DVD’s: “100 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism”. But I don’t just want to throw them to the wind. I know how to make a fitness DVD and I know how to sell a fitness DVD. But I want to actually profit from the publicity generated by a free fitness DVD giveaway, in this particular case, one which features me walking the viewer through 5 different body-weight workouts.

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Three Simple Steps To Put An Image Into the Body Text of Your Bootcamp or Fitness Class Craigslist Ad

Here it is (and after reading this, let me know if YOU have a Craiglist tip…just leave a comment!): the three simple steps to posting your ad on Craiglist and including an image in the actual body of the ad.

This is an incredibly useful way to keep Craiglist from “banning” your bootcamp or fitness class ad because it is the same as the one you posted a few minutes earlier. Just change the post title, put the ad code in, and you’re set.

Important: this is much different than just “adding an image” to your Craiglist posting. I know you’re smart enough than to have to read an article to figure that one out. Instead, this technique actually allows you to place an image in your ad BODY, as the primary content.

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Warning to Fitness Internet Marketers – Are You At Risk for “Computer Vision Syndrome”?

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Eye strain happens.

You know what it feels like. That headache back behind your orbital lobes that sometimes makes you feel like throwing up after you’ve been staring at web pages or word documents hours.

It makes you not want to workout, or makes your workouts feel like crap.

It makes you grumpy, and your family knows to avoid you after you’ve spent the day in front of a computer.

“It” is called Eye Fatigue or Computer Vision Syndrome, and you’re not alone. It happens to alot of internet marketers, computer workers, and anybody who stares at pixels and digital screens on a regular basis.

Continue reading ‘Warning to Fitness Internet Marketers — Are You At Risk for “Computer Vision Syndrome”?’

17 Reasons To Blog for Your Fitness Business. And Exactly How To Do It.

Check out this video. I initially recorded it for a nutrition company called “Impax” who wanted their members to make bigger money blogging. It’s in a “GoToMeeting” style format and I guarantee, you’re going to pick up TONS of cool tricks about how to launch your first blog…and now it’s yours. For free. You can download this straight to your computer as a Quicktime movie to watch later, if you want (or just right click here to do it). There’s a little button on the right side of the player below that lets you do that.

If you care to count, I list 17 different benefits during the video, on why you need to blog for your fitness business and exactly how to do it, from initial set-up all the way to your first post.

Continue reading ’17 Reasons To Blog for Your Fitness Business. And Exactly How To Do It.’

How To Get the Coolest Little Head-Turning Fitness Business Cards on the Planet

businesscards

They’re actually called “Profile Cards” and they’re made by a company called “Zazzle”.

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Podcast Episode #15: May is the Official “Exercise is Medicine” Month…Are You Positioned to Profit?

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The month of May has been declared the official “Exercise is Medicine” month by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Health Association.

What does this mean for you as a fitness professional?

Well, to start, here’s an e-mail I received a few weeks ago from the ACSM:

Exercise is Medicine™ Month 2009

Thank you for your continued support of Exercise is Medicine™! We’ve been working on numerous exciting initiatives to advance the promotion of physical activity, and are once again gearing up for an important event: Exercise is Medicine Month.

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Seven of My Top Free or Dirt-Cheap Guerilla Marketing Secrets.

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1. Local Clubs – Free. Public speaking is credibility on steroids, and you’ll average 1-2 new clients per talk, guaranteed. Every community newspaper or community magazine has a local calendar of events that lists meeting places and topics for local clubs. Check it out, then contact the club president or listed representative and offer to speak at their next meeting. Here are some ideas:

Alcoholics Anonymous: How Fitness Can Be a Positive Addiction

Breastfeeding Mothers: What Type of Foods You Can Eat to Have a Smarter Baby

Continue reading ‘Seven of My Top Free or Dirt-Cheap Guerilla Marketing Secrets.’

Podcast Episode #14: How to Conduct The Personal Training Consultation.

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In this March 5, 2009 podcast episode, I teach you exactly what to say and how to conduct your initial meeting and consultation interview with a potential fitness, wellness or personal training client to win their trust, identify their goals and create a road map that results in a win-win situation!

I literally tell you exactly how I do it, and give complete instructions for creating a client interview form template.

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Free Excerpt from “Train For Top Dollar” Chapter Eight…

Can of Worms – Legal Considerations in Nutrition Consulting

Welcome to the nasty, smelly can of worms in the personal training industry. Can personal trainers legally and ethically dispense nutrition advice? For that matter, can “certified nutritionists” legally and ethically dispense nutrition advice? As a fitness professional, you are a gatekeeper of information on exercise and nutrition, but there is a great deal of disagreement over how you can actually share that information. Part of the disagreement is due to highly differing state laws that govern nutrition practices (to view state laws in more detail, visit www.super-super.com/nsca) , as well as a lack of consensus on the definition of diet prescription. 

Continue reading ‘Free Excerpt from “Train For Top Dollar” Chapter Eight…’

How a Fitness Professional Entrepreneur Can Get a Toll-Free Number

Here’s a guarantee: If you don’t have something like I’m about to tell you, there are a few dozen potential fitness or nutrition clients a day who are not calling you because they don’t want to use their cell phone minutes or they think your cheesy local number doesn’t look professional enough.

OK, get ready for a very cool and highly affordable tactic for giving your personal training or nutrition consulting business a more corporate feel and a higher degree of credibility, while giving yourself a very quick and convenient way to get voicemail automatically delivered to your e-mail inbox as an instantly playable .mp3 file. For 10 bucks a month. I know – I was also floored at the price.

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Podcast Episode #13: How To Become a Wellness Coach

If you listened to Podcast Episode #12, then you heard Phil Kaplan speak about the growing importance of “curing the disease” for your personal training clients. For some, this may include a focus on the wellness coaching component, because being a personal trainer involves so much more than simply helping your client achieve individual aesthetic fitness goals.

In this Podcast Episode #13, “How to Become a Wellness Coach”, Ben Greenfield interviews Margaret Moore from Wellcoaches about how personal trainers can become lifestyle and wellness coaches, a growing profession that is going to see huge demand in 2009 and beyond.

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Podcast Episode #12: Recession-Proof Your Fitness Business

The past year has been a financial and business roller-coaster ride for most industries. Do you want specific suggestions on how personal trainers can ensure success if economic turmoil continues in 2009? In this January 2, 2009 Podcast, Ben Greenfield interviews Phil Kaplan about how personal trainers can approach the 2009 economy and still experience massive success in the fitness business.

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How to Start an Online Personal Training Business: Part II

And remember…check out the 150+ page fitness business manual by clicking here!

How to Start an Online Personal Training Business: Part I

OK, so the first thing you need to understand is that online personal training is your answer to this so-called “Recession“.

Case in point:

Just lastnight, I received two separate e-mails. Both were from individuals who “couldn’t afford” face-to-face coaching but who both wanted to sign up immediately for online training.

Continue reading ‘How to Start an Online Personal Training Business: Part I’

Learn Exactly How to Start an Online Personal Training or Sports Coaching Business

You’ve heard of online personal training and sports coaching, but how does it practically work? And is it really the answer for fitness professionals to still make money during the financial recession in America? In the upcoming series of 10 articles right here at this website, you’re going to learn how to:

-host and build your website

-advertise your online services

-optimize client interactions

Continue reading ‘Learn Exactly How to Start an Online Personal Training or Sports Coaching Business’

5 Simple Things You Can Add to Your To-Do List for Automatically Skyrocketing Your Online Personal Training Business

If you could hack into my computer and log-in to my Entourage calendar, you would find that I’ve created a simple task for each day – just something small that takes only about 5 minutes to accomplish. These tiny, seemingly inane habits add up to massively boost my online presence, search engine ranking, and productivity as a fitness professional, personal trainer, and triathlon coach.

I want to share 5 of these tasks with you. WARNING: After 2 or 3 weeks, you will begin to notice your website hits and interest in your personal training programs begin to skyrocket!

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Podcast Episode #11: Social Networking for Fitness Professionals

In this November 3rd, 2008 podcast, Ben Greenfield interviews John Santagate of Go Talk Fitness about how fitness professionals can enhance marketing presence, increase search engine rankings, meet new clients, and profit from a wide array of social networking options.

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How Much Would You Pay If You Knew This Secret?

Distribution of your articles to multiple online and print sources can vastly improve your search engine rankings, website hits, and business. Just imagine if the latest article that you wrote on “How to Tone Your Triceps” was appearing on 120 different websites just 10 days after you wrote it. You’d have instant expert status!

I was recently approached by a company that wanted to help distribute my articles to online and print publications, and also provide full press release and marketing for each article.

My first thoughts?

Fantastic! A better way to manage time and enhance marketing visibility!

My second thought, after hearing the cost?

You’re kidding.

This service was being offered for a grand total of just $4975.

Continue reading ‘How Much Would You Pay If You Knew This Secret?’

Podcast Episode #10: Cloud Computing & More

In this October 16, 2008 podcast, Ben Greenfield explains how to automate your lifestyle, finances, and communication via simple and free web tools. Train For Top Dollar is all about the concept of “time as money”, and this podcast is crucial to saving you hours each week. Very helpful websites mentioned in this episode:

http://www.basecamphq.com

-manage projects, keep track of correspondence, archive files and make, assign to-do lists, and interact with outsourced employees

http://www.skype.com

-free skype-to-skype calls and dirt cheap national and international calls, including video to interact with your online clients

http://www.mint.com

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Podcast Episode #8: A Tasty Tip to Double Your Personal Training Income

In this September 21, 2008 podcast, Ben Greenfield discusses how nutrition consulting can provide your client with instant results and exponentially increase your salary. Includes information about certifications, websites, and legal implications of enhancing your fitness business income with nutrition consulting.

Website mentioned in this episode:

http://www.mercola.com

http://www.whfoods.com

http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org/

Podcast Episode #7: How To Create and Profit From a Personal Training Boot Camp

In this interview, Ben Greenfield has a conversation with personal trainer Danna Snow about how she trains 30 people in a single session, and nets an entire day’s profit in a single hour via her boot camp. Ben and Danna discuss fee and business structures, online automation, and boot camp workout styles. The bonus? ZERO overhead!

Links: http://www.youradventurebootcamp.com