The Trackster

The Trackster is online software that helps Personal Trainers communicate with and motivate their clients.

An important part of being in business is keeping up to date with what’s happening in your industry.  It can be time consuming going to 10 different websites a day just to keep track of what’s going on.  There are however, a few simple ways to keep up to date and get timely information when you want it.

RSS  

Without getting technical RSS provides a simple way of getting the latest news and info from different websites into one easy place.  For a quick and simple overview of what RSS is and how it works you can read a post from ProBlogger Darren Rowse here.  It’s well worth a read and especially the basic video at the end.

I recommend using Google Reader, and it’s really easy to set up and use.  At the moment I get information from over 200 sites which I can read at a time that’s convenient to me.  Most of the sites I subscribe to are business related but I also have some news and sporting sites that I like to get information from.  Each morning I spend about half hour going through about 100-120 new posts, mainly skimming info and reading the ones I think I should or that interest me.  This is pretty valuable time because it allows me to keep up to date with any breaking stories and also gives me a lot of information that I can use to improve my business.  Better than a newspaper!

Google Alerts

If you have a Google account, the next thing you should do is set up some Google alerts.  Google alerts are quick emails that can be sent about different search terms that you want to follow.  Google have a quick start guide to how they work here.  Basically you put in a search term and when something related to that term comes up you get an email with a link.

I have several Alerts set up.  For instance whenever my business The Trackster gets mentioned on the web I am sent an email about it.  Also, I have a couple of alerts set up around Personal Training and Personal Trainers so that I can keep up with any new things that might be happening in the industry.  It’s also a good way of seeing what or who is talking about your competitors!

Other ways of keeping up

There are a number of other ways of keeping up with information from different sources as well.  Most websites or blogs have email subscriptions where they send out regular emails alerting you to new information or posts on their sites.  Facebook is another way of keeping up with businesses or people you want to hear from.  Also Twitter is a great way of getting quick information from people in your industry.  And we shouldn’t forget about LinkedIn as well.

These are just a couple of ways to connect with people in your industry and keep up with the latest news.

Some websites that Personal Trainers should follow

There are a number of websites that give PTs great information about their industry and how to improve their business.  All PTs should be keeping up to date with their local industry association and their latest news for a start.  But here are a couple more that will help you with your PT business (and they all have ways of subscribing to their content!) -

PT Business Success – Kellie Sanders is a PT Business Coach who provides some great content on her blog.  And it seems that just recently she is ramping up that great content with more frequent posts.  I know Kellie personally and I know that she is  really helpful and considerate and is working hard to help PTs out there succeed.  A must follow blog.

Super Trainer – This website is run by Kaiser Serajuddin a fitness trainer from New York.  He also writes a monthly column for PFP Magazine which is another great resource for PTs.  Kaiser has some great material about  marketing and managing your growing PT business.

PT Business in a Box – Rick Watson is another PT business coach.  On top of his coaching services he offers a great blog with regular information about improving your PT business.  He also has some great interviews with successful Personal Trainers that are really  interesting.

PT Power – Bedros sells a lot of marketing packages and seminars on his site, but he also offers a great amount of free information on his blog about marketing and especially online marketing of your PT business.

Active Management – Justin Tamsett has a vast amount of experience running fitness businesses.  He is just about to launch a new program to help PTs with the business side of being a trainer.  On his site there are a few webinars coming up that might be of interest to Personal Trainers.  I’m going to be talking soon to Justin on this blog about some of his plans for PTs which should be interesting.

The Trackster Blog – How could I not mention this one  We try and write articles that help PTs with different aspects of being a trainer mainly on the marketing and business side.  Things like “How to find out what’s happening in your Industry”!!

This is just a small list of resources specifically for PTs.  If you know of more out there please let us know in the comments.

Just came across this quote from Dr Ellington Darden -

“People are not lazy by choice.  They are forced into it by the confusion that surrounds the abundance of fitness information that is available.  If these individuals are given simple, decisive instructions, they will train very intensely.  People, if they are provided with specific menus, will drastically alter their eating habits.  Most of these people, however, will do neither of these challenging things for more than a week – unless they quickly see and feel changes in their body.”

I’m guessing that most people actually know this.  However when I think about all the Personal Trainers that I have worked with, I can’t remember one of them talking to me about food and what I should eat, or what exercise or rest for that matter that I should do in the times that I’m not seeing the trainer.

Is there somewhere in your PT business that you could guide your clients a little better?  Can you make a connection with another professional to help with the skills that you lack?

Any type of business can ask themselves these questions.  And asking these questions regularly will help to improve your business and your service.

Twitter has been great for me and also a little confusing since I signed up.  The confusion I think is because I haven’t focused on how to use it properly.  So I’ve decided what I want from Twitter and how I’ll use my two accounts.

My first account is my business account, which is @TheTrackster.   What I’m going to do with the business account is to use it to help Personal Trainers.  On this blog I have written a few articles now that help PTs with different aspects of their business, and I’ll continue to do that.

The @TheTrackster account will also be a great way for any clients to get in contact quickly with any problems they have.  So if you are a PT that is looking for some useful info and links then feel free to follow @TheTrackster.  And let me know what you think.

The second account I have is my personal one @CraigMillman.  I have got the most out of this account because I’ve actively followed interesting people.  Not necessarily famous (although there are some..), but interesting people in the software industry and business world.  I even get daily updates when my little girl is in daycare!  It’s been a great resource, and I’m sure it will continue to be so.

If you are interested in following my @CraigMillman feed, you’re most welcome.  Just don’t expect any friendly tweets when my football team loses….

The second thing I have done today is to build landing pages for both my twitter feeds.  This is a great idea that I have gotten from @problogger.  If someone comes across either of my twitter accounts and decides to see who I am, they will be directed to a specific landing page, one for @CraigMillman and one for @TheTrackster.

These landing pages just give a bit more information about how I use twitter and what people can expect.  No surprises and they know what they are in for when they follow me.

I’ve come across a few Personal Trainers that are using twitter really well, and I’m going to write an article soon about how the best trainers are using twitter in their marketing mix.

If you are a PT using twitter let us know and we might highlight you in our upcoming article.  Or maybe you have seen other people using twitter in an interesting way?  Let us know in the comments.

Unless you were on a deserted island last week, you probably heard about Apple’s new Ipad that comes out in a few months time.  Some people are excited about it and some are a little disappointed.  Apple, for their part, thinks it’s a game changing device.

Where do I stand?  Well I think it’s going to be a massive seller around the world and be a very popular computer.  I say that because of two reasons 1) the massive popularity of the Iphone, and 2) the way the majority of people use computers now.

The Iphone is hugely popular phone.  I can hardly believe the popularity among my friends, everyone has one and invariably it’s a topic of conversation when a group of people get together – “Have you seen this app?” or “Have you played this game?”  And these are from people who don’t trust websites with their credit cards.  It’s simple and easy to use and has brought the smart phone to the normal every day person.  I think the Ipad will do the same for computers.  Most people have a computer, but when they see what the Ipad can do and how you interact with it, and at a price that is reasonable, they will snap up these things quick smart.  For a start every person with an Iphone will think about getting an Ipad.

The second reason I believe it will be popular is the way everyday people use computers.  My friends and family basically use a computer to upload photos, email friends, check in Facebook, upload songs to their Ipod or Iphone and do their banking online.  After that there are some online purchases through the year, mainly music, and if someone wants to make a major purchase like a computer, car, tv etc, they will get info online.  But that’s the basic way people interact with computers.  These are the things that the Ipad will excel at.  You will be able to do these things in an easy way and with the touch screen a “cool” way that will be attractive to everyday people.

I can see the Ipad basically being like a remote in the lounge room.  You sit down and watch some tv, and you have the Ipad checking your emails and Facebook, and then when you are done you just throw it on the couch ready for tomorrow when you might have some photos to upload.

What about how Personal Trainers can use the Ipad?  I think it will be a great tool for trainers.  It’s reasonably small and very portable and also has 3G connectitivity (basically you can connect to the internet anywhere you can use your phone).  When you are training your clients, you can update their training diary as they exercise, you have access to all your important information at the same time you are with your client, you’ll be able to use it in a Bootcamp situation, you can show clients videos of the exercise you are talking about to help them with their form, you can invoice your client while they are right there with you.  If you are a trainer that works in a gym and tries to get clients on the gym floor, you can carry it around and show people actual results you have achieved or at the very least get their details to put on your marketing lists.  Personally I think it will be a real boost to the productivity of any trainer.

And lets not forget that you will be able to use and update your Trackster account while you are training your clients.

You can, of course, do these things now with various tools available to anyone, but the thing about Apple and the key to their success is that the Ipad will be a “cool” thing to have.  And a very easy computer to use.

What do you think about the new Ipad?  Do you think it’s going to enhance your productivity or just more marketing hype?