Most Personal Trainers Do This Wrong

In yesterday’s email to you I talked about the biggest marketing scam ever. I also mentioned how some ads (even though they are bigger and ‘cooler’ looking) perform like crap while other smaller and not so slick ads pull leads like crazy.

I received a lot of emails yesterday from trainers who wanted to know why some ads pulled and why others fail miserably.

Here’s the thing. There are two types of marketing: Brand marketing and Direct Response marketing.

Branding marketing is all about reminding consumers about your product, service, image and logo. It takes a lot of money to play that game. I mean money like Coke, Pepsi, Nike, Adidas and Gatorade.

For the average small business owner like you, branding does nothing other than stroke your ego – and the last time I checked my ego did not pay for my homes and lifestyle.

Direct response marketing will evoke an immediate response and move people to action. If you have ever seen an infomercial, then you’ve seen direct response marketing in action.

For a personal trainer or any small business owner for that matter “brand” marketing is the kiss of death. Ad agencies love them because they look cool and showcase your logo all crafty like.

Oh, and they also like it because it’s results can’t be tracked or quantified thereby forcing you to dump more money into a bottomless pit.

Direct Response marketing is accountable. It can be tacked, measured, and the results are instant – no waiting to see if it works.

So what makes a direct response ad a direct response ad?

They use compelling attention grabbing headlines

They use testimonials and social proof

They’re personal – never sterile or corporate

They offer rick reversals (guarantees)

They use strong call to action

They make irresistible offers

They’re benefit rich

They build urgency

There you have it. Two types of marketing – one works and the other doesn’t (unless you have a ton of money to throw at it.)