How To Be A Featured
Fitness Writer
The best way to get better at writing is to write more. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the obvious. But the best way to get your writing featured on well-known health and fitness websites, that’s a little less obvious.
Writing about fitness is a great way to reach new audiences, solidify your knowledge, get more personal training clients, earn more money, and be seen as a person who can be trusted. But none of this happens overnight. Much like your own training, you have to put in the reps.
Before we go any further let me get this out of the way. This isn’t going to be about the Xs and O’S on the skill of fitness writing. I’m assuming you know how to put together a few coherent sentences and your knowledge of the human body and coaching is up to snuff.
But this article will show you how and why writing about fitness helps your training career. Plus, I will share all the tips and advice I’ve picked up through my 20 years of training clients and writing for websites.
Let’s dive in.
Before we go any further let me get this out of the way. This isn’t going to be about the Xs and O’S on the skill of fitness writing. I’m assuming you know how to put together a few coherent sentences and your knowledge of the human body and coaching is up to snuff.
But this article will show you how and why writing about fitness helps your training career. Plus, I will share all the tips and advice I’ve picked up through my 20 years of training clients and writing for websites
Let’s dive in.
Where I’ve Been Featured
Okay, this is the part where I brag a little. But this isn’t to show off but to prove to you I’ve put in the reps. Here are a couple of major publications I have written for.
- Breaking Muscle
- Stack
- Bodybuilding.com
- Elite FTS
- Tony Gentilcore
- NCSA
Not only have I written but major fitness sites such as Men’s Health and Men’s Journal interviewed me for my expertise. Plus, I regularly publish content for trainers over on my site detricsmith.com. Okay bragging over.
How Writing Helps Your Career
It’s pretty exciting to see your name in the by-line and it never gets old. There is a personal sense of satisfaction that people will read your work and get something out of it. Here are five other ways writing will help your career.
Builds your reputation- this doesn’t happen overnight, but when people see you produce good work, you’ll develop a name for yourself in the industry.
Solidifies your knowledge- I’ve attended dozens of conferences, tons of continuing education credits, and read hundreds of books. The best way to condense all this knowledge I’ve accumulated over 20 years is to write about it. Once it’s down on paper I can always refer back to it if need be.
Positions you as an expert- Growing up reading fitness magazines, I used to hang on to every word and took this training advice as gospel. When someone reads your work, they may feel the same way too.
Can add another income stream- if you are lucky enough to get compensated for your writing, it can add another income stream. Do not expect to get paid for your first few writing jobs. Have patience, put in the work, and focus on getting your work out there.
Helps you get clients- when you can point potential clients to your written work or someone comes across your writing, they’re more likely to hire you than not. You want to be top of mind when they are ready to buy.
6 Writing Tips To Help You Get Featured
Assuming you’ve read this far, and you are in it for the long haul, here I’ll outline a few tips and tricks that have helped me along the way. Again, this isn’t an x’s and o’s on writing. There are other people for that. It is my hope you take this advice and apply it to your own writing so you can also get featured on fitness websites
Hire A Coach
4 years ago, when this writing thing became serious, I hired Nick Tumminello to take me to the next level. Nick explained to me that my writing was negative. My tone was one of writing down to people. There were no takeaways, and I was leaving the reader unfulfilled. This changed after I hired Nick. He also explained how to network my work to reach my ideal audience.
Find Your Voice
There are tons of great fitness writers who may seem smarter and more qualified than you. But you have one thing over them. Your voice and your experience. None of these writers have your voice, your perspective, and your set of experiences.
If you’re struggling to find your own voice, take notes on writers who resonate with you. I bet they are authentic and tell a story with their writing. Think about how you can weave your perspective and experiences into your writing so the reader connects with you!
Write For Free
If you want to get featured and nobody knows who you are, then it is up to you to start making a name for yourself. And that starts with writing for free to display your talents. A good place to start is HARO where journalists are looking for people to contribute to stories. There you will get a feel for what magazines want and you’ll learn the art of writing and pitching your article ideas.
Read More
Read everything you can get your hands on. The act of reading is like osmosis for your brain. You will pick up vocab, style, ideas to write about and increase your knowledge. If you want to be a better writer, it starts with being a better reader.
Develop Relationships
When you read something that resonates with you, reach out to the author or leave a comment on their page. Social media is an easy way to develop online relationships with other coaches and writers. When you develop a relationship, it will be much easier to ask them questions or they might allow you to write a guest post. This is a great way to get your name out there.
Seek Editorial Opinion
You have to be a big boy or girl and let other people read your work. When you’re too close to your work, you don’t see your opinions rubbing people the wrong way. It’s also a great idea to have someone review your work for grammatical errors. Either way, it helps to have a second pair of eyes on your work. If you have developed relationships with your fellow coaches(point above), this will only make your work better.
Wrapping Up
Adding another string to your coaching bow with the written word will help you get clients, earn the respect and admiration of your fellow professionals, and add money to your wallet. Plus You’ll always enjoy the feeling of seeing your name up in lights.
Looking to become a better trainer? Make a career out of fitness?
Here is how we can help.
- Send over your questions so they can be featured in our weekly Q and A
- Sign up for our newsletter to get updates
- Set up a no charge success session so we can discuss your goals in the fitness industry?
Looking to get into the best shape of your life?
Follow me over on my Results Performance Training site
https://
Fill out the contact form below!