The Zac Perna Podcast

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=dwCQnSlLNVM
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=dwCQnSlLNVM
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=dwCQnSlLNVM

AI can make your content or it can completely flatten it, and most fitness coaches are using it for the exact thing it is worst at.

In this video I break down why every AI written script sounds the same, the test I run on a script before I film it, and the only two jobs I actually hand over. I also build a short form reel from scratch using my own framework, then ask ChatGPT to script the same reel live so you can see the difference side by side.

Chapters:
0:00 What AI does to your content
0:30 Why AI scripts sound off
2:38 Use your brain more than ever
3:10 The right way to brainstorm with AI
3:58 The read it out loud test
4:29 Learn marketing, not AI
5:42 How I use AI for workflow instead
6:34 Two videos, a week of content
7:23 Where content ideas actually come from
8:23 The short form script framework
8:57 Visual hooks and props
10:10 The Pepsi example, start to finish
10:49 How to end a reel
12:10 Pattern interrupts every 2 seconds
12:27 I asked ChatGPT to script it live
13:52 Why that script fails
14:23 What to do instead
14:47 Free review on your content

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCQnSlLNVM

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=wrT-FpWIUd8
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=wrT-FpWIUd8
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=wrT-FpWIUd8

Jake is 28, an accountant on $85k a year, trains six days a week, has 900 Instagram followers and two online clients. Both are his mates, both pay him $50 a week, and he wants to quit his job.

He isn't real. He's every coach we speak to, rolled into one.

In this video I rebuild his entire business on camera using the coach flywheel: marketing, sales and delivery. His profile picture, his bio, the posts he should pin, the content he's wasting his time on, the offer that's pricing him into 25 clients instead of 12, the DMs he's blowing, and the one hour a night that actually runs the whole thing.

If you're an online fitness coach doing under $5k a month, this is the walkthrough.

CHAPTERS
0:00 who this video is for
0:40 meet Jake
1:11 the coach flywheel: marketing, sales, delivery
1:34 his Instagram profile, pulled apart
2:38 what the profile should look like instead
3:50 what makes a lead magnet worth opting in for
4:45 the posts to pin, and why
6:21 why you don't need to post workout videos
7:25 his offer, and why nobody cares about your deliverables
9:06 how to write the offer instead
10:13 pricing it properly
10:32 25 clients, or 12, for the same money
11:03 his DMs, before and after
11:52 your first five clients are already in your phone
12:21 collecting results from day one
13:48 his week, rebuilt
14:11 what I'd tell him to do this week

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrT-FpWIUd8

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=WCRdCeaFISY
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=WCRdCeaFISY
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=WCRdCeaFISY

How I built a 7 figure online personal training business from scratch, and the full 10 year story behind it.

I started posting fitness content at 17 with no plan, no confidence and a fake account I made so nobody I knew would see it. My first ever product was a fully customised diet and training program for $100. I had no idea what to charge, no idea how to set up a business, and I was doing all of it manually in spreadsheets with a PayPal link.

This video is the whole journey. What I charged, what I got wrong, the money I lost to an agency, the pivot I should have made years earlier, and the skills that actually moved the needle once I finally learned them properly.

If you are starting an online fitness coaching business, or you are already coaching and trying to scale past $10k a month, this is everything I would skip or shortcut if I had to do it again.

What I cover:
- Pricing your coaching when you have no idea what to charge
- Why handing a part of your business to someone else rarely works
- Low ticket vs high ticket, and when to switch
- Content, paid ads, marketing promotions, sales and delivery
- The back end: funnels, hiring, systems and automation
- Getting out of your own way when goal setting makes you freeze

Chapters:
0:00 From a kid who loved fitness to six figure months
1:19 Posting for the first time at 17 (and the fake account)
2:54 My first ever sponsorship
3:26 Starting YouTube when I was terrified of being on camera
5:50 Launching coaching because people kept asking
6:21 My first ever product and what I charged for it
7:57 The walk where my dad explained capped income
9:03 The agency mistake that cost me thousands
11:09 Quitting my job to go all in
12:13 Why business is terrifying if you are not wired for risk
15:22 Scaling low ticket to 13,000 customers
17:28 The skill gaps that were quietly costing me
18:30 The mentorships that unlocked everything
19:50 Lesson one: back yourself
23:14 Skill one: content
24:17 Skill two: paid ads
24:49 Skill three: marketing promotions
26:08 Skill four: sales
27:10 Skill five: delivery and the customer journey
27:57 Skill six: back end systems and funnels
28:55 Where to start from wherever you are right now

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCRdCeaFISY

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=1Rm3K0vP7o8
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=1Rm3K0vP7o8
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=1Rm3K0vP7o8

Hustle culture is quietly doing more damage to new online coaches than almost any other advice out there. Not because hard work is optional, it isn't, but because of what it implies: that the work has to be miserable, that you should be locked in a dark room hating your life, and that if you're enjoying it you must not be doing enough.

After ten years of building businesses, scaling my coaching business past $380k a month, and taking coaches from zero to $50k a month, I think that's backwards. The same task done in a good headspace comes out ten times better than the same task done scared. I know that because I've done both.

A few months ago I moved from Melbourne up to Queensland purely to reset my environment, and I made an extra $100k off the back of ideas and campaigns I genuinely don't think I would have had otherwise.

So in this one I go through where hard work is non negotiable (DM outreach, posting content, being uncomfortable), where misery adds nothing, the 30 minutes I protect every morning, why cutting the gym and your social life to work more backfires, and the people you need out of your life before any of this gets easier.

If you've been grinding flat out and wondering why it still feels like nothing is moving, this will probably explain why.

0:00 Why hustle culture is doing damage
2:22 Hard work vs being miserable
4:26 The daily balance that keeps it sustainable
7:11 Your environment and who you keep around
9:40 What I'd tell my little brother

#onlinecoaching #fitnesscoaching #hustleculture

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rm3K0vP7o8

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com

Work With Me (New Coaches) : https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube

Work With Me (Over $10k/month) https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AByPJMjZObg

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=MqSCQnQuOs4
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=MqSCQnQuOs4
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=MqSCQnQuOs4

Picking a fitness coaching niche? These are the 5 worst niches I see new online fitness coaches choose, after watching 600+ coaches go through it. I break down why "everyone", "busy professionals", muscle building, bodybuilders and budget audiences hold most coaches back, then show you the pain vs ability to pay map I use to check if a niche can actually pay you. Plus what to do if you don't have a niche yet.

The recommended niches (and a limited-time niche guide) are in the free kit above.

0:00 Intro
1:23 Niche 1: everyone
2:20 Niche 2: busy professionals
4:13 Niche 3: people who want to build muscle
4:52 The pain vs ability to pay map
7:01 Free kit + niche guide
7:51 Niche 4: advanced lifters and bodybuilders
9:15 Niche 5: budget audiences
10:05 They have to resonate with you
11:18 No niche yet? Start broad, then test

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqSCQnQuOs4

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=LttUwmRd7Q4
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=LttUwmRd7Q4
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=LttUwmRd7Q4

How to scale a coaching business past $10k a month, starting with finding the one bottleneck that's actually holding you back.

If you're a fitness coach doing $10k a month and you can't work out why you're not at $20k or $30k yet, this is the same simple audit I ran with one of my clients. Every coaching business comes down to three parts: delivery, sales and marketing. Your business is only as strong as the weakest one. I go through the numbers to check in each part (retention, LTV, close rate, where your last 10 clients came from), why "I just need more leads" is usually the wrong answer, and the maths on how fixing a few sales numbers can triple your income from the same leads.

Chapters
00:00 Who this is for
00:59 The 3 parts of a coaching business
01:44 Delivery: retention, LTV, referrals, results
03:52 Sales: your last 10 clients and your close rate
04:45 Marketing: where your clients come from, outbound and inbound DMs
08:04 Content problem or niche problem?
10:11 Running ads
11:20 Marketing campaigns every 4 to 8 weeks
12:27 The leads maths
13:45 Going from coach to operator

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LttUwmRd7Q4

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com?v=Rq-Mjri8jqc
Work with me (over $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube-scaler?v=Rq-Mjri8jqc
Work with me (under $10k/month): https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube?v=Rq-Mjri8jqc

The exact Meta ads I'd run as an online fitness coach right now, and why most coaches are running the same ad five times without realising it.

I've helped 600+ online fitness coaches and scaled my own business past $300k a month, and this is the breakdown I wish someone gave me: when you should (and shouldn't) run ads at all, why a boosted post often finds the wrong people, the 6 types of lead ads and which one I switched off, and the angles to test so 5 ads become 15 to 25.

This one's best if you're already spending money on ads.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq-Mjri8jqc

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com

Work With Me: https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDr_GX-NXsk

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360 

🚨 Download the FREE coaching toolkit that gives you your offer, pricing, DM, and sales frameworks: https://kit.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com

Work With Me: https://apply.theonlinecoachingblueprint.com/youtube

Why a high ticket coaching program is often easier to sell than a cheap one. I break down the profit math behind your offers.

Many trainers assume that lowering prices makes selling easier. The reality is that your cost per acquisition is the single biggest factor in your profitability. If you are struggling to scale your online coaching business, you might be focusing on the wrong side of the equation.

I use a whiteboard to illustrate exactly how the numbers shift when you move from a $7 offer to a $7,000 service. When you understand how cost per acquisition dictates your margins, you can build a coaching program that actually sustains growth rather than just keeping you busy. This is the difference between a hobby and a scalable model.

Subscribe for weekly business breakdowns, and let me know in the comments if you prefer high ticket or low ticket pricing.

0:00 Why High Ticket Coaching Wins
1:13 The Math Behind Your Offer
3:49 Finding Your Ideal Buyer
5:34 The Reality of Paid Advertising
9:13 How Price Influences Results

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rdiwvFJEsc

Connect with Zac Perna:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacperna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacpernafitness/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zacperna
• Website: https://www.zacperna.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZacPernaShow/videos 
• Podlink: https://pod.link/1798655360 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aK7QA0FenAndOQV0TfQwY  
• Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-zac-perna-podcast/id1798655360