Note from Rachel

I was at  Heathrow last weekend for the fantastic Fitness Business Seminar and again the electricity, energy and excitement was outstanding. We brainstormed and talked about new ideas, projects and numerous ways to get a fitness business up and running and grow an online stream. I am absolutely loving the FBS days and I’ve only got one more to go, which is in Birmingham NEC on 26th November. So if you have a free day then come on down it will be great to see you Click here to book

Free Quick Fix Choreography

Every week on the site you will see a new feature called C2Go Quick Fix which will be a quick choreography block. It’s free and if you add your comments on the Blog underneath I will enter you in a free weekly prize draw to win DVDS and Music. The competition closes today, so make sure you check out the Quick Fix Choreography Block and please comment below. To check out the Choreography Click here

This week’s newsletter marks the first in a new series of articles on accountancy and tax from the Fitness Industry’s number 1 Accountant, Andrew Crawford. If you are in need of Tax and accounts info then give Andrew a call

C2go Podcast

Jayne and I have been experimenting this week with starting a weekly podcast so would love to get your feedback on this. If you like it then let us know any topics you would like us to discuss or comment on. Here is this weeks first podcast https://s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts1/Podcast17Nov.mp3

Fitness Pilates – The Next Level Workshop 2012

This workshop is booking up really quickly so make sure you get your place to take your Pilates classes The Next Level Click Here to book

Fitness Fatburning and Functional DVD on Offer while stocks last

I have the last few copies of this DVD available from my Summer Workshop  so if you would like to grab it at the discounted price Click here

Organise a New Year Seminar

If you are planning on launching a new class or product why not create a “live” seminar where you can invite clients, friends of clients and potential clients to attend. You can then market you new class or service at the end of the presentation. But how do you organise an event and what do you present or talk about?

Presenting at your own event or seminar automatically elevates you to a new level. You become a speaker, an event organiser and it’s a great way to promote your services and practice your public speaking.

But first here are some questions commonly asked about marketing your seminars:

Who on earth am I going to present to?

Where are they?

And how do I get them into a room?

The first step is to locate your target audience. Because once you know who your ideal prospects are, it’s just a matter of marketing your seminar to them effectively.

So, let’s looks at 2 easy strategies to find your target audience

Pre-existing groups.
This is by far and away the simplest strategy for effective seminar marketing. Once you have determined your ideal audience, the next logical step is to ask yourself:   “Where are groups of these people already gathering?”

Your target market, more often than not, are already meeting together in groups somewhere
clubs
associations
seminars
workshops
social groups
companies
small businesses
Night classes
Networking Groups.
Women’s Group

All these organisations are having regular events or meetings looking for someone to come and add value and inspiration to their members or employees. Why not try marketing your seminars to them?

create your own group
You should have an email list or database that you send your newsletter out to. This is a super easy way to market your seminar. Encourage your existing clients to bring friends and family members. You market to the people already interested in you and your services and because they are already engaged, you increase the percentage of them buying again from you.

One of the simplest marketing things you can do is have a “Client Appreciation Night”

Invite your clients to bring a guest along to an evening. Put on a drink or two and share with them some ground breaking fitness and fatloss information. At the evening you then do your awesome presentation and make some sales right there on the night to people who already know and love you, and their friends .

Now that you have 2 easy strategies to find to your target market and then market your seminars to that audience, why not plan your own client appreciation night or even approach an organisation to book yourself a public speaking slot!

Events and seminars are a great way to attract new clients, especially with the New Year looming so why not book a room and go for it?

Email me your comments or Tweet Me http://www.Twitter.com/RachelHolmes

Automate you Social Media

If you are getting bogged down with updating Facebook and Twitter then download the free http://www.Hootsuite.com dashboard. You can schedule all of Tweets and Status updates for days and weeks in advance, it’s super easy to use and makes managing your social media a dream.

Winter Wonderland by KBC

Hey C2Go Gang,

Sorry it’s been a few weeks since I last wrote in the newsletter, I’ve been super doper busy with my Little Black Dress Club which has grown sooooo much…it’s now in 12 cities across the UK!

In this article I wanted to talk about the coming weather! A little doom and gloom maybe but essential if our businesses are to survive and grow through the winter.

Remember last winter, so many of us had to cancel classes, camps, clients…you name it…the snow affected it! So what are your plans for this year? How are you gonna bullet proof your business against the bad weather?

I thought I’d share with you my number one tip…make a DVD!

Here’s the situation:

Your clients love YOU
They love training with you
They love your workouts, methods, style etc
They want to avoid the Christmas bulge
They will inevitably have to miss class/camp/session at some point over the winter
Therefore you lose their business
You may lose touch with them, making it even harder to re-activate them in the new year
So, what better solution than a DVD…

You are in it
They still get to train with you
You create the content, e.g. workouts, format etc
They can keep exercising, doing something they enjoy regularly
They continue to see results
You still generate revenue
You remain in their top of mind awareness
So that’s why you should do it…now what should you film?

I would suggest you replicate what you deliver in person, onto DVD. For example, Pilates, Boot Camp, Dance and Tone, Legs, Bums and Tums, this way it instantly appeals to your current class members.

My 5 filming top tips…

Know your material
Practice actually speaking exactly what you want to say out loud
Talk to the camera like you are speaking to your best friend
Be yourself and be natural
Have some ‘bodies’ in the DVD for demos (class members are great for this)
I recently filmed my second workout DVD, ‘Katie’s Real Results’. I sourced a local company who have their own studio, but a mobile filming company and use of a dance studio, hall etc would work just as well. I asked 5 of my clients to take part too. We had a great day and even though the dreaded snow hasn’t hit yet, I’ve already sold half of my stock (they make great stocking fillers too!) You can also market your DVD as a way for your clients to bullet proof themselves from gaining weight over Christmas holidays.

Here’s to a fitness winter wonderland!

Katie x

p.s. my new DVD includes resistance band work, body weight interval training, boot camp and legs, bums and tums ideas if you are looking for some new content for your classes, you may find it useful ?

p.p.s it also includes a resistance band and a 7 day meal plan ? at www.katiebulmer.com

Ways To Start a newspaper advert for your New Year Classes

NOW is the time to begin planning your marketing campaign for the New Year and local newspaper advertising for the New Year.

Local papers, village’s newsletters, church newspapers are all great places for you to place ads

Of course, to keep the cost down, you may have to write your ad yourself. The hardest part of writing an ad is always the very beginning. Once you get the ad started, the rest is eas

Here are ways to start your ad.

Use these simple time- saving formulas to get a great ad going. Don’t worry about compromising quality. These are the exact same tricks top professional copywriters have used for decades, even for million-pound ad campaigns.

1. Start with the word FREE! It’s the most popular word in advertising–because it WORKS. FREE classes, FREE trial consultations, FREE samples, and FREE limited-time offers all get attention and get your ad rolling.

2. Start with the word NEW! Announce a NEW class, new product, new personal training service, or idea.

3. Start with a DO YOU? DO YOU want to lose weight, DO YOU want to tone up, DO YOU suffer from back pain? Questions pull the reader into the rest of your ad. A question makes the reader think the answer.

As subtle as this seems, it’s a powerful first step in getting people to think seriously about attending or buying

For years I’ve tested and written literally hundred of adverts in my local paper. NEW classes, FREE sessions

and DO YOU always have the best response.

5. Start with “I tried it.” Happy quotes and testimonials are the holy grail of fitness adverts and I am almost astounded that not many Fitness Professionals use them. A quote from customers works far better than having the ad copy say the same thing. “I lost a dress size”” “I have more energy”  “I improved my body tone” ” My back pain eased”

Testimonials work. Get them from customers, friends, and experts known in the industry.  Many times a class member will appreciate it if YOU use a comment from them and use it on an advert

Here are a few more tips to make writing an effective ad quick and easy: keep sentences short– only two words? Fine! Also, start sentences with actions words: save, buy, learn, enjoy.

When you mention a feature of your class, link it with the benefit it will give the customer. People aren’t necessarily impressed that your have a vast array of qualifications and attend workshops and conventions but they DO care that  your Body Conditioning class might help them tone up flabby arms! Don’t over think your adverts keep it simple and benefit rich,

I would love your Freedback please Tweet me Http://www.Twitter.com/RachelHolmes

What To Keep For Your Tax Return

Andrew Crawford ACMA

It is recommended that you keep anything relating to the transfer of money whether it is income or expenditure to replace a light bulb for your business.

Below is listed some of the common items you should be thinking about in the areas of income and expenditure. ALWAYS keep RECEIPTS

Income Items

If you get any of the following……    You must keep these……

Salary / Wages     P60  P45

Payslips

Notice of coding

Benefits in Kind

E.g. Company car, medical insurance    P11D

State Benefits     Statements of payments to you

E.g. Unemployment benefit, allowances    from DSS

Pensions

State pension    Statement of pension payments by   DSS or pension fund

Other pensions

Share Options     Share option documents from your

Employer

Other Earnings     Relevant vouchers or documentation

Tips, commissions     (Yes…tips are taxable….!!!)

Expenses not reimbursed     Expense receipts or vouchers

By your employer,

Self-employment &     Financial statements from

Partnerships     Self Employment & Partnership

Savings & Deposit accounts

Banks     Interest certificates

Building Societies     Interest certificates

National Savings     Interest details

Share Holdings

Dividends     Dividend vouchers

Unit Trusts     Unit Trust vouchers

Other sources

Other     Relevant vouchers and receipts

Land & Property

Furnished lettings     Invoices or receipts

Holiday accommodation

Overseas     Foreign income documentation

Trusts & Settlements     Trust tax vouchers

Other Sources

Royalties     Royalty income & expenses

Expenditure Items

If you spent on any of the following..    You must keep …..

Mortgage or loans     Mortgage or interest statements

Vocational training     Training papers

Charitable covenants     Deeds of covenant

Gift aid     Gift aid details

Venture capital trust shares     VCT Certificates

Shares     Contract notes

Land & property     Completion statement

Visit our site for more resources, articles and free downloads

www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com

You can find Andrew on Facebook and Twitter.

A Winter Warmer Soup for you to try by Alice Ramcharran!

Well who can believe it is half way through November already?!  Time is flying and we’re nearly at the end of another year!

I thought I would have a break from the IVF subject this week and give you something a little bit more light hearted – an idea for a yummy winter warmer soup!  It’s quick, delicious and also bootcamp friendly for those of you who run bootcamps, and it is from my soon-to-be-released vegetarian e-cookbook

Delicious Carrot Soup

Ingredients

·        2 tablespoon butter

·        1 chopped onion

·        2 apples diced

·        4 carrots ¼ inch pieces

·        4 cups vegetable stock

·        1 teaspoon cumin

·        Salt and pepper to taste

·        1 tablespoon garlic paste

Method

·        Add olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic paste in a thick bottomed pot.

·        Add the apples and carrots, sauté for 2 more minutes.

·        Add the stock and cumin seeds and bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

·        Blend the mixture to prepare a fine soup.

·        Reheat again and add butter.

·        Serve the soup hot

This is so quick and easy to do, and you can make in bulk too and freeze if you want!  And it’s a great one to do if you are short of time, as you can just prepare, leave to simmer and it’s done!

The vegetarian cookbook will be released mid November and will be available, along with my regular cookbook, at www.thebootcampcookbook.com

Alice Ramcharran

Add me as a friend on facebook – www.facebook.com/alice.ramcharran

‘Like’ my fanpage on facebook – www.facebook.com/PyramidHealthandFitness

Follow me on twitter – Pyramidfit

Have a wonderful Week and please Tweet me or “LIke” The Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/Choreographytogo

Love Rachel xxx