Art's Blog

The 2-Step Ultimate Weight-Loss Boot Camp... by Art Rothafel

Yes.. there are companies.. almost franchises, really, that are running multiple boot camps in various metropolitan areas. 

This is the volume model.  Lots of clients and lots of locations with a price-point strategy.

Most trainers are sub-contracted and everyone seems happy.  Here are some links to a few: 

http://www.morningcrunch.com

http://www.codepinkbootcamp.com/index.php/locations/

http://www.extremebootcamp.com/front_end/locations.html

A customer of ours, Don, is 180 degrees the opposite.  His strategy is very "hands-on" and positioned as being only for serious clients that want "the best" and are willing to pay for it.  He is the Ferrari.

Don conducts a 2-Step Ultimate Weight-Loss BootCamp Package that costs $1,299 per client for 8-weeks. It comes with a lifetime guaranty.   His boot camps only begin when at least 10 people have enrolled.  He says this encourages referrals.  So, at a minimum, this is $12,990 in two months.  He does NOT allow mid-term walk-ons so the class is closed from the start.

In a nutshell, Don's bootcamp is 3 weeks of classroom training (Tuesdays and Thursdays) using our Reference Manual, MAP Software and other materials followed by 5 weeks X 5 Days of morning (5:30 a.m.) boot camps (1-hour ).

I can't give all the details, but, of note: 

• The classroom sessions are held at various locations.  If a student volunteers his/her house or company conference room for the class room settings.. that person receives a 15% discount.

• During the 3 weeks of classroom (two nights a week), there are homework assignments including Menu Planning for the following five weeks (5x5 bootcamps sessions).

• Completion certificates are awarded after the 3 week classroom sessions.

• Another round of completion certificates are awarded after each client completes the 5x5 boot camp.

• Don has a trade-out with day spa.  All participants are treated to a half day retreat upon completion of his 2-Step Ultimate Weight-Loss BootCamp Package.

To your continued Success!

Art

FYI... Last Chance

This is just an FYI... not an endorsement.  Well... maybe just a little.

I recently wrote about my cool new tool.  I still like it and am using it.   If you saw it, tried it and were thinking about it, you'll need to act fast.

Jeff Long, the creator, is pulling the LIFE-Time license for $97 at midnight. ETD, Friday, Aug 28th.

After that, the price goes up to $127 per year... every year.

Here's the link if you are interested:  InstantCapturePage

Count the Ways... by Art Rothafel

Most marketers have a secret.  It's called leverage.  They take a single item (or event) and leverage it into several different marketing tactics.  Sort of like making one dollar do the work of ten. 

And, I'm now discovering a lot of marketing-savvy fitness professionals are really good at it.  Here's what I mean.

I just released the "21 Truths to Lifetime Weight-Loss" as a .pdf file.  Permission was granted to use it however you choose.

One club owner did the following:

• Printed 100 copies and handed them out at the front desk
• Required entire staff to download and read
  
• Required entire staff to take the interactive quiz
  
• Uploaded the same .pdf file on the club website
• E-mailed a link to the document to the entire membership
• Sent complimentary copies to the local media
  

Now that's leverage!

21 Truths to Lifetime Weight-Loss.... by Art Rothafel

This is Chapter one in our Reference Manual.  It is an 8-page document / report that serves as a good response to the Time Magazine article that proclaims exercise is NOT necessary for weight-loss.

 

Included in this report is the information your clients absolutely must know before they embark on any type of weight-management plan.  Why?

Because, if they don't understand these 21 Truths... they will fail.  They'll put time, effort and money going in the wrong direction working the wrong protocol.  And, worst of all... they'll gain all their weight back.. and more!

Get it for Free!  Just click here....

Yes, No, Maybe.... by Art Rothafel

I received a ton of email regarding my new tool:  InstantCapturePage. 

It seems a lot of you are really getting into internet marketing.  And, you now know about the "gold" that exists in an extensive e-mail list.  So, build one, you must.  Especially if you sell digital products or, in my case, hard products.

I was asked why I chose this particular product.   I chose it because it's slick (I can add video to my e-mail sign-up box), it works beautifully and the vendor (Jeff Long) communicates with me quickly.

How will it build my business?  If I have to answer this... Don't Buy It.  You won't be happy.  Take a couple of classes in internet marketing and you'll be an expert in no time!  Then, you'll know exactly why this is such a cool tool.

How will I use it?  Here's an example.  I recently added a little video (Xtreme Swiss Ball) with a sign-up box. The video was a tease to see more videos of the same subject matter.  This box was a little harsh as it demands a sign-up.  Not a good idea as you should always allow people to simply close the box and proceed without opting in.  But, I'm still experimenting.   I placed a link on FaceBook and Twitter to this page.  It generated 27 new e-mail sign-ups. 

So, this is my first sign-up with a Video.  Here's the link. 

If you want to learn more about InstantCapturePage... just click here.

Is Your Website Sticky?

Have you thought much about your website?  Do your clients and customers go there just to get the next scheduled class or do they actually hang out on your site?  If you're like most fit pros... you may not be engaging your clients enough. 

And remember, the more time your clients and customers spend on your site, the more you can:

• reinforce your brand
• increase loyalty
• build your online community
• generate revenue with a store

Here's a quick way to get started. Just put this free, non-branded video on your site.  It's informational, entertaining and provides a little "stickiness" to your site.   Click here.

Here's a Cool Tool... I think!

O.K.... so I know this is way premature... especially since I haven't actually tested it as much as I'd like. 

But, if you hate to write HTML, like I do, and wish there was an easier way to build e-mail opt-in boxes and forms, well, this is pretty cool.  And, for me, that you can embed a video into the optin box is slick.  Plus it will work with AWeber and other e-mail solutions with existing autoresponders.

It's called InstantCapturePage.

I was told by an internet marketing guru that it's just a glorified squeeze page.  I think it's a little different. And besides, a lot of internet marketers just love to write code.  I don't.  You be the judge. 

I don't think I went into this blindly.  I contacted Jeff Long (creator and marketer)  via e-mail and asked the usual questions - who are you, what's your background, refund policy, is it legal, etc. 

He was quick to answer my questions (within the hour) and seems to be a pretty straight-forward guy who's just trying to make a living.  You can view Jeff's home page at FB.   I sent, and he accepted, a "friend request"  just so I could continue my due diligence. 

And, yes, I already paid the $97 lifetime membership fee to try it out.  And, yes, that fee made me an automatic affiliate.   So, if you decide to purchase this tool, well, "Thanks for the commission!"   Now you're an affiliate, too. 

O.K. beyond all the full disclosure stuff,  I'm pretty excited about this little tool.   I think it's a huge time saver for my particular needs.  But, far better for Jeff to describe it in his own words with this video.  I just know that for me, it will save a bunch of time and code writing.

InstantCapturePage.

For those of you with far more experience than I, please let me know what you think.  I certainly don't want to recommend anything that isn't worth the "value proposition."

FaceBook Ads - How To Do It... and Are They Worth It?

I've only run four ads on FaceBook, but I've learned alot.  You may be interested in what I've discovered.  At the bottom of this post, is the best Tutorial I've found on YouTube on how to set-up your ad. 

Here are my results for my FaceBook Ad. 

I ran an ad for our MAP menu/activity planner website.  I set it up for male/female ages 24-50, anywhere in the U.S. with key words such as "fitness, training, workout, nutrition, etc.  My final number of possible viewers was over a million. Also, I only pay for CLICKS.  Not impressions. People are way too distracted on FB to pay for impressions.  DON"T EVER PAY FOR IMPRESSIONS!   I only ran the ad for 5 days with a budget of $25 per day for a total budget of $125. I'll explain the results below.

The big red arrows clearly demonstrate the correlation between your bid amount and click through rate (CTR).  Look at my CTR once I bid $1.00!  Significant.   You can continually adjust your bids on FaceBook.  I adjusted my bid from a low of $.19 to a high of $1.00.

Blue arrows: 

• The first blue arrow simply tells me how many "impressions" the ad made (371,755).  I don't really care about this. 

• The second arrow in red tip shows how many actual "CLICKS" the ad generated.  In this case 141.  I verified this with a counter on my landing page.  I care ALOT about this rate.

• The next arrow is simply CLICK THROUGH % .

• The next red tip arrow is very important in that it shows me the average COST PER CLICK.  Now, if I run this ad again, and want the same results, I have a better idea of what my "sweet-spot" bid should be for CLICK THROUGH.  

• The next blue arrow shows the cost per thousand impressions. I don't care about impressions. 

• And, finally, the last arrow shows my total cost to run the ad ($92.48).  Hey.... I came in under budget!!

What about sales...?

So, here's what you really want to know.  Did it work?  For me, YES.  We converted 2 fitness professionals and one doctor to our $399 MAP Web-based menu & activity planner for a total of $1,197.   And 8 fitness professionals are still in trial mode.  But even at 3... It's worth it for me.

I've seen many, many fitness professionals running ads on FaceBook. I primarily see very localized ads for boot camps, training packages and a few products.  Very inexpensive.  My advice is to at least experiment and see what happens.

Good luck!  I hope this has been helpful.

Art Rothafel
privatelabelfitness.com

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Instant Cash... by Art Rothafel

Lately, I've been working with a consultant to help develop different marketing models for fitness professionals, clubs and spas. There are some some fantastic strategies being developed.

Nonetheless, I still hear this:

"I need cash now!"

Sound familiar?

The only problem with learning new marketing strategies and programs is that it takes time.  Time that most of us just don't have.

So, what to do?

PRODUCTS SALES!  (You knew this was coming.) And, yes, it should be BRANDED PRODUCTS with YOUR LOGO!

Look, selling products is a "no brainer."   Selling exclusive, branded products:

• Generates IMMEDIATE Revenue
• Builds an automatic Continuity Program
• Multi-Tasks as a Brand Builder
• Requires no learning, no training, NO TIME!

Want to see a snapshot of average monthly NET income?  Click here...