Boutique Fitness Marketing Podcast

Photos are so important for how you present your studio online.. On your website, in your google business profile, on social media… they give that all important first impression for prospects who are researching fitness options. Throughout every web design project I do, photo selection is one of the most discussed things and websites always turn out better when there’s a great photo shoot behind the scenes. 

So for today’s episode, I’m excited to welcome Monika Normand to the show. Monika is a Dallas-based creative director and brand photographer specializing in vibrant, authentic content for personal brands, commercial brands, and hospitality based businesses. 

Connect with Monika:

https://monikanormandphoto.com/

https://www.instagram.com/monika_normand_creative/

Other Resources mentioned in this episode:

Pixality Design Website Photo Guide

Welcome back, studio owners. If you’ve ever considered adding an instructor training program to your studio’s offerings, this episode is for you. Today, we’re talking with  Suzy Levi of Defining You Business Consulting.

A little bit about Suzi:

Suzy is a Pilates and fitness trainer, Teacher Trainer, workshop presenter, and Business Consultant for Pilates, fitness, and wellness businesses. She’s spent 30 years working in the wellness space, both in a big corporate setting and owning and running her own boutique studio in St Paul, Minnesota. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what we covered:

• Suzy’s studio experience and her journey towards adding a teacher training program. 

• Why does Suzy like this approach over other revenue streams? (ie. Retail, expanding services,  retreats, corporate wellness programs?)

• When is a good time for a studio to add an instructor training program? 

• Should they be open for a certain amount of time?

• What’s the experience level needed to pull something like this off?

• How hard is it to fill a teacher training program?

• What are some of the best ways Suzy has found to do that?

• Open House Q&As are a common promotion before teacher training. Has Suzy found these to be effective?

• Do smaller workshops throughout the year build to the big enrollments?

• How has having the ‘school’ element influenced Suzy’s studio’s brand?

• What about client retention?

• Other tips for marketing a successful teacher training program. 

• Why testimonials matter.

• Why you shouldn’t rely solely on digital marketing. 

• If someone is listening and thinking that adding a training program would be a great next step for their studio, how should they start? 

• What are the things they need to get the ball rolling?

Connect with Suzy

https://www.suzylevi.com/

If you’re running paid ads for your studio or considering doing so, you’ll like this episode. 

My guest today is Dave Pancham, founder and CEO of Go Pancham, a digital marketing agency specializing in the fitness industry. His company has become known for its innovative approach to lead generation, personalized client service, and a relentless focus on long-term success. 

A little bit about Go Pancham:

Go Pancham was created to be a trendsetter in reliable, results-driven marketing for health and fitness franchises. Whether you’re looking to increase memberships, grow your brand awareness, or drive more sales, they’ve made it their mission to expand your belief of what’s possible and deliver unmatched results.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we covered:

• What does Dave do at Go Pancham, and how did he find himself in the fitness niche?

• How are paid ads working these days for boutique fitness studios? 

• Are they worth it? Is the ROI really there?

• How is the marketing landscape changing? 

• What do studio owners need to know to keep up with what consumers connect with?

• What type of ad creative is performing the best in 2024? 

• A studio can run ads on many platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, TikTok). Does Dave have a favorite right now? 

• How do you decide which platform to use if a studio has a limited budget?

Connect with Dave

https://www.gopancham.com/

We’re back with another episode of the boutique fitness marketing podcast! 

My guest today is Meghan Kinsey, who I met at the BFS Summit in NYC last year while she was attempting to walk across Manhattan in some fabulous, very tall heels. She’s one of those people you immediately like and want to hear more from, so I’m excited to welcome her to the show.

A little bit about Meghan:

Meghan Kinsey is the founder, owner, and health coach of Motivate.® Movement in Amesbury and Rowley, MA (and soon in North Hampton, NH) and globally on Zoom. 

At 50+ years old, her extensive background as a classroom teacher, sales rep, community organizer, city councillor, childbirth educator, barre instructor, health coach, and studio owner has coalesced into her role of Joy Coach.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we covered:

• Meghan’s backstory, including why she does what she does and how she got to where she is as a studio owner. 

• How have Motivate’s services expanded, and how did those additional revenue streams come about?

• What is the entry offer?

• What’s the top of the marketing funnel for her services? 

• Do people come for the fitness classes and then participate in other things? 

• Do health coaching, retreats, and more bring people in? 

• How do you market health coaching and retreats? 

• How does Motivate retain clients? 

• Why is Meghan opening another location? 

• What are the things she looks for when considering a new location?

• What, if anything, is she doing differently this time since she’s already done this once before?

• What promotions or specials does she offer for a new studio’s grand opening? 

• Do they do founders' membership rates?

• How does Meghan plan to launch the brand in a new community? 

• Motivate Movement recently rebranded (previously Motivate Barre); what were the challenges with that?

• Looking back, is she glad she made the switch?

Connect with Meghan:

https://motivate-movement.com/

Welcome back, studio owners! You’re listening to the Boutique Fitness Marketing Podcast, where we dive into all the things that can help you market and grow a profitable studio business.

Today's guest is my friend Seran Glanfield, CEO and Founder of Spring Three Studio Business Consulting. She’s also the host of the award-winning Pilates Business Podcast, which is a great listen. She’s a leading business coach and consultant to boutique fitness studio owners worldwide. 

In this episode, we discuss some common marketing mistakes we make and how to avoid them. 

A little bit about Seran:

With over a decade of hands-on experience, Seran has masterminded the growth and development of hundreds of studios, becoming the go-to expert for those looking to scale their studios, transforming them into sustainably profitable, streamlined studios.

She’s a graduate of the prestigious London School of Economics and is also a MINDBODY certified business consultant, Walla Business Consultant and both Power Pilates and Romana’s Pilates trained Certified Pilates Teacher.

Seran’s expertise encompasses all facets of business management, including marketing, retention, sales, team management, pricing, and strategic growth.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we covered: 

• Seran’s background in the boutique fitness industry and what drew her towards marketing for studios.

• The most common mistakes studio owners make in marketing.

• How can studio owners shift their marketing to communicate better what makes them unique?

• What branding and messaging really mean for a boutique fitness studio.

• What to do now if you’re making one of these mistakes. 

Connect with Seran:

www.springthree.com FREE DOWNLOAD: 30 REELS CAPTIONS FOR YOUR FITNESS BUSINESS Includes a step-by-step guide to creating reels that get your studio the visibility & brand awareness that leads to real growth! https://www.springthree.com/masteringreels

Welcome back to another episode of the Boutique Fitness Marketing podcast! 

I’m so excited for this episode because if you know today’s guest, you know it will be packed full of good ideas. 

Today, we’re discussing offline marketing ideas—marketing that doesn’t involve Facebook, Google, or any social media. 

Our guest is Niki Riga, Owner of Limitless Studio.

A little bit about Niki: 

Niki has been a client, a studio owner, and a coach in boutique fitness for over a decade. She became a coach because she was regularly asked, “How did you do that!?” by other studio owners who were drowning in the day-to-day of business ownership without support. She loves showing studio owners how they, too, can achieve their long-term entrepreneurial goals; they just need some guidance and a well-strategized to-do list.

• Niki’s backstory, including how she transitioned from barre studio owner to running a coaching business. 

• What is guerilla marketing?

• What are some of the best offline marketing campaigns Niki has seen work? 

• Tips on hosting free marketing events and getting people to come to the studio afterwards.  

• How does seasonality come into play with guerrilla marketing? 

• Is there a best time of year to put effort into these things? 

• Ideas for studio owners who are in a slump and don’t have a large budget to invest in paid marketing. 

• Where should they start? 

• Where you can find Niki, how you can work with her and some details on her Studio Sales Solution. 

Connect with Niki:

https://www.yourlimitlessstudio.com/  https://yourthrivestudio.com https://studiosalessolution.com/

Welcome back to the Boutique Fitness Marketing podcast – season two! 

I’m excited to be dusting off the podcast for another round, and I’ve got a long list of great guests already lined up for this season, so if you’re new to this podcast or returning from season one, welcome.  

To kick things off for the season, we’ll have a little ‘state of the industry’ chat with my friend, yoga studio owner and fitness business consultant Nicole D’Andrea. 

A little bit about Nicole: 

Nicole owns Blackbird Yoga in New Jersey and founded Spark Strategies, a growth and marketing agency with one goal: to help women in the wellness world stop undervaluing themselves and their businesses.

I can’t think of a better person to help kick off season two with insight into what’s happening in the boutique fitness industry. Nicole’s in it every day in her own business and has a first-row seat to what’s working, what’s shifting, and what’s new in the world of studio ownership. 

• How Nicole got started in the industry.

• What the industry looks like right now in fall 2024.

• What trends and conversations is Nicole seeing?

• Services and pricing options that are selling well? 

• Studios niching or expanding services? 

• Studios looking to add locations? Scale back and focus on profits? 

• What does Nicole see working well for intro offers right now?

• What’s the intro offer at Blackbird? 

• What processes does Nicole have behind it to ensure people stick around?

• Are there any other intro offers or special offers Nicole has seen work well recently? 

• What tech tools is Nicole using at Blackbird? Why?

• What are the most important things you think someone should look for in a tool?

• What marketing channels or activities are Nicole and her clients focusing on today?

• SMS, Email, Instagram, Paid ads, etc. 

• Nicole’s thoughts on the secret to success of running a profitable studio in the long run. 

Connect with Nicole:

Nicole's consulting business:  sparkstrategies.co

Nicole's free facebook group for studio owners: https://www.facebook.com/groups/501496037087061

As we close out season 1 I want to take a look back at some of the big takeaways from prior episodes. This is Your cliffs notes review for those of you who have listened to all the episodes and a chance to highlight some of my favorite bits and action items that you may or may not have had a chance to accomplish yet. If you’re just tuning into this podcast for the first time, then this episode will give you an overview to help you decide which episodes to listen to next!

Hiring and team management doesn’t at first feel like it’s very related to marketing however So many of our previous guests have mentioned the importance of having the right team members to support your marketing goals…., whether it’s to get your people on-board with the required sales process or to ensure you’re providing an excellent customer experience day in and day out.. So it’s clear to me that having a good employee culture and training is critical to your marketing success. With me today to talk all about building that employee brand is my friend, former Pilates studio owner and the founder of Fitness HR, Katie Santos.

I talk to fitness studio owners daily about their web presence and through all the vision boards, feedback calls and rounds of revisions, it boils down to this. Everyone wants the same thing: a website that is modern and easy to navigate. In this episode we’ll break down those 2 things with a look at what your boutique fitness studio website needs to be doing right now..