Thanks to digital democratization, people across the world are showing an amazing passion for fitness. The changing lifestyle added with easy access to quality information through the internet is driving people to focus more on fitness and lead a healthy life.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the Global Wellness Economy was at $4.2 trillion in 2017. Out of which the “Fitness & Mind-body” segment accounted for $595.4 billion.
“Global health club industry” market size from Statista
The need for quality fitness information and rising demand for quality products makes “fitness” as one of the most profitable niches for passionate bloggers.
You can tap this potential by starting a well-structured engaging blog to meet the requirement of fitness enthusiasts.
However, you need to be very careful in planning your blog, as your information and tips could be life-changing or life-threatening for anyone. You have to be very responsible and professional in sharing your ideas, thinking and expertise.
Makeup your mind and be ready to make the difference through quality blogging. Here are the essential steps you need to follow to start your fitness blog.
4 Steps on How to Start Fitness Blog
Step 1- Micro Niches To Choose For Fitness Blog
Fitness is a very broad term covering almost all aspects of health and well-being. You have to spend some time finding your micro niches so that you can serve the target audience effectively.
Niche selection helps you understand your target audience better and plan fitness blog content accordingly. Once you have the perfect picture of your target audience you can focus on quality content to build your credibility and authority.
Your focused niche approach will help you gain regular visitors, ultimately making your fitness blog venture popular. Here are some of the popular niche that you can pick for your blog:
Weight loss activity has several angles which include people, diet, exercise, and supplements.
Start a blog by picking the right one in which you create engaging content for the target audience. Which is possible only when you have the requisite knowledge and passion.
- Weight loss & gain for women
- Weight loss & gain for men
- Weight loss & gain for teens & kids
- Weight loss with diet
- Weight loss & gain with exercise
- Weight loss with juices
- Weight loss after pregnancy
Food, nutrition and supplements greatly impact body fitness. People search a lot about food and supplements which can help them in maintaining fitness. You can check my article on how to start a food blog, if you want to focus on food as macro niche.
The mirco niche ideas include
- Vegan (protein/ bodybuilding)
- Low carb diet
- Paleo diet
- Keto diet
- Detox diet
- Nootropics
- High protein foods
- Kombucha
- Cannabidiol
Different programs yield different results. Pick the one in which you have expertise because that will help you serve your audience better.
- CrossFit
- Aerobics
- Bodyweight training
- Functional fitness training
- Senior fitness programs
- Aerial yoga, suspended yoga, hot yoga
- EMS Training (Electrical Muscle Stimulation)
- HIIT GX (High-Intensity Interval Training)
- Pre-choreographed GX (Zumba, Les Mills)
Gadgets help in monitoring, recording and comparing fitness parameters. Help the audience in choosing a better gadget by sharing your expertise.
- Wearable technology
- Fitness band
- Heart rate monitors
- Activity tracker
Proper equipment choice is very important to achieve the desired fitness goals. As a fitness expert, you can help audiences pick suitable equipment.
- Kettlebells
- Dumbbells
- Cross trainers
- Pilates (on equipment)
You can read the health & fitness complete niche report
Step 2 – Choose Domain Name For Your Fitness Blog
My analysis of the best fitness blogs suggests that there is no unique way of picking domain names.
Some are personal names like “Tony Gentilcore” or “Kayla Itsines”. Others combine names or activities with words like “fitness” “workout” and “fit”. For example, “Bengreenfield Fitness” and “Nataliejill Fitness”.
Rest are words related to food, activity related to fitness space like “mind-body green” and “Running Off The Reese’s”.
You can try keeping your domain name close to your micro-niche.
Write two words that define your fitness blog and then look for name ideas on domain name finding tool Leandomainsearch.com.
For example, the tool returned the following domain name suggestion for the word “Fit Body”.
Try to find a word that is very close to your micro-niche.
If you are unable to find a suitable domain name then you can start with any domain name. I too started my blog with the domain name “wisebaniya”, then I changed it to “moneysparkle” but still I was missing the connection.
Finally, I got the right combination in the domain name “CashOverflow”.
The other things which you should keep in mind before finalizing the domain name are;
- To pick up a .com extension: If this isn’t available then go for any other extension.
- For a country-specific audience: go for that country’s extension. For example, for blog audiences in India go for .in extension and likewise for a US-based audience you should choose a .us extension.
- Avoid domain names with hyphens and special characters. Because your audiences may find it difficult to spell and remember.
- Avoid words that are difficult to spell and hard to remember.
Step 3 – Buy a Reliable Hosting
You should avoid free hosting because in free hosting you do not own the site.
You are given a subdomain. Which will look like “mysite.yourfitnessblog.com”, which makes you look a little unprofessional.
In free hosting space, you do not have access to the control panel. On top of that, the server speed slows down as the load increases.
There will be NO help and support options. To make things worse, free hosting does not give you the flexibility to design your website and has limited functions.
A good idea is to buy hosting space from the safe and reliable hosting service provider having quality customer care.
I would suggest you to buy Siground hosting.
Siteground gives you a safe hosting space on their high-speed servers. Your website loads faster on their solid-state drives (SSD) and free content delivery networks (CDN).
All the shared hosting plans from Siteground are protected from hackers and brute force attacks using HTTP/2 tech and AI security bots.
You get a free SSL “Lets Encrypt” certificate. Above all, you get access to quality customer support.
Click here to Buy Siteground at discounted price
Steps To Buy Hosting From Siteground
Step 1 – Go to Siteground website and select “Web Hosting”
By purchasing web hosting you get hosting services for your blog on the Siteground’s shared servers.
Step 2 – Select GrowBig Plan
The “GrowBig Plan” is for starting level growing websites. You get enough resources for starting a growing blog, like;
- Hosting more than one website
- Having 20GB of webspace
- At a time, the plan can handle up to 25K visitors
On the other hand, you can host only one website on StartUp Plan having limited resources.
The GoGeek Plan has higher resources and is best suited to high traffic websites or to support the portfolio of growing websites.
Step 3 – Register or Enter Domain Name
You should not get a domain name registered from your hosting service provider for the following reason:
- In case of website transfer, you may want to shift the domain registrar also which can be confusing.
- For a portfolio of websites, managing domain at the registrar is better.
- For added security.
Name Cheap is a good option for registering a domain name.
Step 4 – Select Plan Period and Complete Purchase
Here you can select the hosting plan period from 12, 24 or 36 months. Siteground GrowBig plan has a fixed transparent price of $5.95 per month irrespective of the plan period.
Next, you will require a WordPress setup to create your blog and make it live on the internet.
Step 4 – Complete The Technical Steps
Installing WordPress, themes and essential plugins make your fitness blog go live and functional.
Install WordPress
You can create beautiful websites by installing a free content management system of WordPress.
You just need to go to the control panel and click on “Install WordPress” in order to create a blog.
Some hosting services provide a pre-installed WordPress, but that entirely depends upon your hosting provider.
WordPress is used to create web pages, posts and add images. Further, WordPress lets you install themes & plugins, to help you customize and change the appearance of your blog.
Setting Themes
Themes include layout, style elements and color schemes. They provide the overall look and feel of the website.
List of Best WordPress Themes for Fitness Blog
- Gym
- In Shape
- Just Fit
- Olympic
- Fit Club
Always choose a SEO optimised wordpress theme.
However, when starting a blog you should not waste precious time in finalizing the theme.
Instead, you should pick up a free theme or any reasonably priced theme and focus more on other important things like content & growing your blog.
Make sure that whatever theme you choose, the website should;
- Have a responsive design
- Open with the help of any browser
- Be easy to navigate
- Give a professional look and have a proper structure
Steps to Install a Free Theme
You need to go to the dashboard> “Appearance” menu and select the option theme.
Next, you can select one from the list of themes and click on add new.
Steps to Install a Paid Theme
- Download the theme file from the theme website
- Click on upload theme
- Choose the theme file
- Click on install
In both cases (free or paid theme) after the installation, click on the “Activate” button to make the theme functional.
Installing Necessary Plugins
Plugins give you the much needed additional features. They are helpful for having additional functionality. For example protection against spamming, incorporating SEO features, creating, an e-store and many more.
Further, as you grow you may require advanced plugins like email marketing or affiliate marketing plugins.
In the initial phase, you can start by installing only necessary plugins, the list of which is as under;
- Akismet
- JetPack
- Yoast SEO
- TinyMCE Advanced
- WP Smush
- Shortcodes Ultimate
- Mammoth .docx converter
You would also like to read – How to start a lifestyle blog
10 Different Ways To Monetise Fitness Blog & Make Money
#1. Sell Own Products
Once you gain authority you can build a brand around the fitness niche by selling your own products. The product ideas which you can sell relate to men/women training gears, apparel, shoes and accessories.
#2. Offer Services as Fitness Specialist, Personal Fitness Trainer
Check whether any certification is required under the law to be a fitness trainer?
Certification gives you the status of a professional, who is equipped with skills to impart knowledge. Additionally, certification helps you build credibility.
You can offer services as a fitness specialist in various areas such as weight management, youth fitness, functional training, nutrition, sports performance and many more.
#3. Monthly Membership Portal
The membership portal is best when you want to offer a premium service and personalized advice. Membership also helps in building a community of dedicated fitness enthusiasts.
Use membership portal to offer;
- Group training programs
- Workout plans
- Personalized messages and videos
- Leaderboard (to compete with fellow members)
You would also like to read – How to start lifestyle blog
#4. Product Reviews
Product reviews help your audiences discover new products and services which can help in reaching their fitness goals. Products can be new training methods, supplements or equipment.
Reviews are helpful in providing insights, building closer engagement and establishing credibility.
You have to make sure that the review post of products is helpful to your audiences and is in line with your fitness micro-niche.
#5. Ebooks on Programs
Convert your expertise and advice into a helpful ebook for your audiences.
For example, you can write an ebook on pull up programs, shoulder & hip workouts, complete body exercises that are helpful to your readers. Make them in an easy pdf downloadable format.
Use your fitness blog to showcase ebooks or you can also create an e-store.
#6. Online Coaching / Consulting
More and more people are in need of personalized attention for their unique fitness needs. Being a fitness expert you can offer exclusive coaching to help them achieve desired goals.
Don’t hesitate in asking the community for consulting requirements. One time consulting for solving specific fitness problems can also be done through the blog.
#7. Seminars & Workshops
Fitness workshops help the audience gain first-hand expert advice, help them connect with like-minded members and regain motivation.
You get a chance to understand your audiences better.
Try conducting seminars and workshops to guide audiences on techniques like deadlift, assessment, and giving feedback.
#8.Fitness Business Mentorship Program
After gaining experience in establishing a fitness blog, start offering mentorship programs to help other fitness lovers set their fitness blog.
Your audience can be fitness trainers and experts.
#9. Affiliate Marketing
Fitness space has tons of products right from equipment, gears, apparel, accessories, to nutrition products, supplements and gadgets.
Do not make the mistake of turning your blog into a marketplace.
Market products smartly by maintaining the balance of product to customers need so that your audience must get some kind of benefit.
#10. Create an E-stores
A separate e-store can be integrated into your blog using the WooCommerce plugin. Where you can showcase the products that you have used and approved.
The products can be;
- Digital information products, like training guides, ebooks and cheat sheets
- Physical products like, training gears, accessories and workout apparel.
Get First 1000 Visitors In 30 Days on Your Fitness Blog
You can pull traffic to your fitness blog in two different ways, namely social media and Google.
While your fitness blog may take some time to rank on Google, you can use your social media network to build influence and drive quality traffic.
Getting readers and their feedback is important for you to understand user intent, their expectations and establishing connections.
#1. Get Visitors Through Social Media
You should explore various social groups and forums to find initial audiences. In the beginning, you need to provide value to the group by helping people and solving their problems.
Then only you can expect things in return. Your primary aim should be to build relationships and not spamming the group with your blog promotion.
For example, you can use Instagram to find an initial audience.
On Instagram, you can explore relevant groups and communities using hashtags. A simple way to find a community is to search Instagram with “#community”.
For example, you get the following results when you type “#fitness community”;
You can engage with the audiences of popular blogs, communities, niche groups and competitors by following them, liking & commenting on their photos. The chances are that some of them will follow you back and visit your blog.
#2. Using Email Marketing
The email IDs are great to build an engaging audience base. Use email IDs to reach out to health-conscious and fitness loving people.
Deliver useful personalized content and in return, ask for healthy reviews about your blog.
#3. Publish Regularly
While you are promoting on social channels, do not forget to post regularly. You should cultivate the habit of creativity in writing, compiling and publishing relevant content regularly.
Once you have the optimum content volume on your blog, Google will start indexing your web pages qualitatively and rank them accordingly. The genuine indexing will start driving organic traffic to your fitness blog site.
Conclusion
Having credentials and expertise in the fitness niche helps in building trust and authority. Make sure you have both or are in a position to acquire credentials.
Rest, starting a fitness blog is not all that difficult. You need to have a passion for being fit and a mindset to inspire people to be healthy.
Learning Resources/ Further Readings
2 thoughts on “How to Start a Fitness Blog in 2022 : Step by Step Guide”
Detailed post with different areas of fitness we can focus on. Thanks.
This is really an informative blog. Thanks for sharing this content.