Do you have a true fitness community? People are social beings. There’s so much documented about longevity and health connected to social connections. This COVID19 has gone on long enough that everyone to some degree is missing the connection with their groups, attending events of like-minded people, and the health benefits that come with it. If you are in a fitness center if you’re in one, the same people aren’t all choosing to be there in a group. Schedules have changed such that the same faces aren’t there for those members that do come in. You can be a solution to this problem and provide yourself with a unique way to learn what offers right now may be of interest to your prospective members. You can use this as both nurturing for current clients and attractive for prospective clients. Platforms Facebook groups Zoom town-hall meetings (so people can see one another) The idea is to create a community within a community. You may think you’ve done that with your membership. The reality is some of your members have nothing in common. You want to find ways to connect people to each other, not just to you. Then serve them in that group. Think clusters of smaller groups with special interests. Ideas for Developing small fitness community groups Classes for kids – movement, snack-making, stories Parent’s night off – read to them, play games with them, teach them card tricks, teach them to skills or tricks or drills, do yoga with them. Teach them a dance. Cooking and meal prep classes – focus on a problem not a food (time, food sensitivity, dressings & dips, BBQ marinades & sauces, substitutions for sugar, eliminating gluten, etc) Expand to wellness and health habits Speak about immunity & exercise Bring in experts regularly How to Handle the Workload Got a team? Have one of them do one a week. Give each day of the week a theme. Focus on doing them Monday- Friday and use the weekend to send them out in emails. (to your segmented list that wants them). By the way this segmented list is the key to your success. If you’re still emailing everyone on your list every time you email, now more than ever you’re killing your success. If you send all your emails out to all your customers, you can’t nurture your people with what they really want.   You ignore their behavior which is a clue that you’re not talking to them about anything that’s interesting to them. If customers aren’t opening your emails because the title or the contents were never for them if they did? It’s a pretty sure thing that you’re never going to sell them. Don’t Forget Fitness Community Segments You’ve Ignored How long have you been ignoring the people on your list that your personal trainers have the least in common with? The guys in the weight room more than you think they should be? They definitely have something they want. They’re there early every morning or every night after work. There is probably something they would respond to if you started talking about it. You can talk about protein needs, recovery, ability to gain lean muscle or avoiding injury from XXX by switching out to ABC. Wouldn’t there be value in finding out if you’re leaving money on the table? More Topics to Get You Started Have a nutritionist or health coach teach cooking or simple ways to eat well. Get specific. Teach to a special audience. Teach to older adults. Teach to moms with young kids. Teach to the cooking-for-one older or younger segments. Do a segment on salads in a jar, making dips and dressings, talking about the difference between keto and paleo. Have your massage therapist teach a myofascial release session. Although you think that will decrease the need for their work you couldn’t be further from the reality. Random bits of information in videos ultimately give you the opportunity to serve first, engage with them, gain trust, and see that they need and want more structure than just this. Do It Live If you’re a procrastinator worried about what people will think, getting fluste