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16 min
Fitness has been a hot topic for quite a few years now, and so have fitness blogs. While different sports, diets, and systems fall in and out of fashion, there is always an opportunity to catch the wave and produce something relevant to this huge audience. There are tons of successful fitness blogs out there, and there is every chance that yours can be one of them, too.
Starting your own fitness blog is obviously not just about posting your workout routines online – there are quite a few thing you need to take into account. Here’s our checklist for any amateur fitness blogger who wants to do things right from the first time.
Do: Find your niche and your audience, come up with original topics and angles.
Don’t: Post videos on all fitness-related subjects from A to Z, including ones that have been done a hundred times before.
How: Start your journey by answering a few questions. Why did you decide to launch a fitness blog in the first place? Are you an enthusiast or a professional? Do you have a particular field of expertise? For example, if you spend most of your time on business trips, there is every reason to specialize in hotel room workouts. Or, if you are always looking after your children, try playing around with a “mom workouts” theme. It is particularly important that you know your potential audience and their interests. If your blog is dedicated to weight loss, it’s probably best not to post calorie-dense recipes for muscle gain. Equally, a heavy powerlifting workout wouldn’t really fit on a yoga channel. Define who your viewers are and then decide what you are going to communicate to them. Make sure your language suits your audience, too.
Get inspired: OFFICIALTHENX is an extremely popular fitness channel dedicated to calisthenics. It focuses on workouts that can be done anywhere – no equipment required – yet are still super effective.
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Do: Choose something nice and short. It should be clear enough for viewers to know what the blog is about, and easy to remember.
Don’t: Make it too complex, too long or too pompous. Or (which is even worse) make a bad play on words.
How: Let’s face it – it isn’t easy to invent a killer fitness vlog name right off the bat. Ideally, fitness blog names should reflect what the channels are about, but still be short and easy to remember. Using your name in the blog title is only worth it once you’re famous – it won’t help you much with attracting viewers just when you’re starting out.
Frankly, it’s best to choose something simple rather than going for something overly pretentious, glamorous or aggressive. Most importantly, the name needs to resonate with the language of your target audience. Oh, and don’t even try using wordplay unless you are absolutely sure about it. A poor attempt at wordplay always looks ridiculous, and that’s not something you want.
If you can’t come up with something ingenious, don’t let it stop you from proceeding with your plan. Think of some generic name and start filming. During the first days and even weeks of your blog’s existence, your audience will still be fairly small, so there is a good chance they won’t remember your original blog name if you opt to change it later.
Get inspired: Muscle Madness may not sound like the most original blog name in the world, yet it does its job. It has a clear message that it has to do with muscles. And it probably has some insane content inside. Two million viewers can’t be wrong.
Do: Post videos on a schedule. Same time, same days, same subject order.
Don’t: Make random posts with no logical order. One month of daily exercises, 2 weeks of weekend recipes, a month of silence and then another burst of daily posts will not keep your audience wanting more.
How: Right from the start, you will need to decide how much content you are willing to produce regularly. If your blog is based on Instagram, you’d better post daily. If you can’t handle that much video, think of what you can post in-between your workouts. It’s easier to post less often on YouTube, but you still need to decide which days of the week you are going to post. Don’t make the gaps between episodes too long, or the audience will forget you. Likewise, don’t overdo it by posting several videos a day. Concentrate on quality rather than quantity. Make one or two episodes, estimate how much time and effort you have put into them, and then decide how much content you will aim for. The key point here is to be consistent in your schedule, as the algorithms of YouTube will take it into account.
At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with recording workout routines in your kitchen, garage space or a hotel room as long as you’ve come up with a clever theme. This kind of content is particularly popular with the people who for some reason can’t or don’t want to in the gym.
Get inspired: MadFit has almost a million viewers, and it’s worth it. New posts come out almost every day, and the quality standard remains high. Something to learn from!
Do: Draw on your own experience or expertise in the subject. Or put some effort into finding and analyzing information from authoritative resources.
Don’t: Repeat something that’s already been said a million times.
How: Prior to producing a video, do some research to find out what has already been said on this subject. Try to come up with something new – there is no point in recycling the very same facts and figures that everybody already knows. If you are more of a fitness enthusiast than a guru, try experimenting on yourself: tell your viewers about the methods and workout practices you have tried and what sort of results you can expect from them. If you are a coach or a doctor, you are an expert. In this case, try discussing popular fitness topics, analyze and comment on them. Use your own experience, scientific bases, client feedback (make sure you have their consent!), etc. If you are generally interested in fitness, but there isn’t much expertise you can share, become an analyst. Gather information from various clinical resources, the latest research papers and medical practices, ask experts for commentary and produce thorough analytical breakdowns. A high-quality blog with complex scientific explanations simply put will be appreciated.
Get inspired: Love Sweat Fitness is a channel led by Katie Dunlop, a female personal trainer based in LA. She had the experience of losing a massive amount of weight on her own, and she shares her personal story as well as lifestyle advice along with her workout videos.
Do: Shoot in high resolution, with good sound, and ensure you have a clean, uncluttered background
Don’t: Use a low-grade camera (e.g. the front camera on your phone or the webcam on your laptop) in poor light with a messy background
How: There are tons of poor-quality fitness videos out there – don’t add to this collection. No one watches dark videos with low resolution and bad sound, however valuable their content may be. The viewer would rather follow someone who can do the same thing in a more visually attractive way. Put some effort into decent equipment for capturing both the image and the sound, and clean your background of everything extra. Use professional cameras, consider renting studios rather than trying to find the right location in your flat, and make sure every shot looks good.
Get inspired: Pamela Rf Vlog is all about aesthetics. Whether it’s home fitness workouts or yoga on the beach, the videos look flawless and beautiful.
Do: Make your blog look better and easier to navigate with graphics – transitions, titles, and stickers.
Don’t: Bypass transitions, logos, and titles and rely solely on your spoken explanation.
How: Posting simple workout videos with no editing involved will probably be appreciated only on Instagram. However, even on this platform, your content will still look better with some graphic information about the technique, weight amounts, etc. Aiming for YouTube makes graphics a vitally important part of your video. First, you need a logo – partly because it will serve as basic protection from unauthorized use of your content. Put it at the beginning of your video and have it in the corner of your shot all the time.
Whatever you are explaining in your video, short bullet points summarizing your comments will make your video better right away. Make sure your titles are not just easy to read, but have a touch of style – it will all contribute to the aesthetic quality of your blog.
Finally, sometimes graphics and animation help you out when you need to make an organic transition between shots or program blocks. This approach will work best if you think through all graphics and effects in advance. You don’t have to create them yourself unless you are a motion designer – there are ready-to-use theme packs available out there.
Get inspired: Fitness Blender is a channel operated by an energetic couple who make full-length videos with functional workout programs. Check out their subtly minimalistic yet informative graphics, which gives their blog kind of a signature look.
Do: Invite your audience to engage in a dialogue, encourage activity.
Don’t: Ignore your audience.
How: Active viewership is the most trustworthy indicator of the popularity and authority of your blog. The more people view and comment, the more interesting your channel looks to potential advertisers and new subscribers. If you’ve already done everything you can with your content, but your audience remains silent, try simply inviting them to discuss the subject in the comment section. Encourage them to answer your questions, launch challenges, and tell your viewers to post their results in the comments, host competitions – try different strategies until something clicks. Sometimes asking your friends to start a conversation helps. New viewers may be reluctant to leave the first comments but would be happy to join an ongoing conversation.
Remember to communicate: reply to comments, answer questions and include user-generated content in your videos.
Get inspired: Criticalbench is a channel with strength-oriented workouts which actively engages in a dialogue with its viewers. They reply to every post in the comment section below the videos, encouraging their audience to come up with even more questions and suggestions.
If your goal is to eventually transform your blog into a profitable project and make money from running it, you’ll have to invest a fair amount of time and effort into promoting it. If YouTube is your platform, it’s worth looking into YouTube Analytics (we’ve got a whole guide on dealing with this data right here), as it will help you get a better understanding of your audience and its needs. Don’t worry – it’s simple enough for beginners to understand.
Furthermore, you’ll need to optimize your videos so your viewers easily find your channel. There’s not much need to consult professionals – read our article on using YouTube tags to figure out how to use keywords.
You can use paid promotion instruments as well, but we strongly suggest that you start with things you can do for free – you never know how far it can get you!
Where do I find ideas for posting regularly?
Watch the fitness blogs we’ve listed above and explore further – there are plenty of channels and accounts for your inspiration out there.
Do I have to post many workout routines? What if I run out of them?
There are far more formats and genres of videos that’d look great on your fitness blog. Try posting expert interviews, reviews of fitness gadgets, lists of top nutrition programs – you name it. Besides, you don’t even necessarily need to talk about fitness all the time – try featuring some content on other topics related to wellbeing. Give general health advice, share your favorite music that gives you motivation, or even include occasional lifestyle insights. Just make sure you’ve already established yourself as a fitness blogger so your audience doesn’t get confused.
How much can I earn with my fitness blog?
It really depends on how seriously you treat your project, how much effort you put into it, and how unique your content is. If you manage to gather a significant number of subscribers, you might get noticed by advertisers, so they’ll give you all the freebies that most famous bloggers get to enjoy, and even pay you for featuring them in your videos. But that’s a long way to go. Alternatively, you can use your blog as a promotional channel for your own business – say, if you’re a personal trainer or a nutritionist, keeping an active YouTube or Instagram account constitutes a large part of your personal brand. Once the audience realizes that you’re actually an expert in your field, they’d want to buy your products or come to your training sessions.
Do I need to look fit to keep a fitness blog?
That’s a tricky one! As a general rule, someone who’s keeping a fitness blog is expected to look fit. For your new viewers, that’s the only evidence of your expertise. However, it all depends on your angle. Say, you’re planning to lose weight and don’t mind sharing your journey with the public. In that case, it’s perfectly fine to be real and sincere! Just make sure you use reliable sources of information or bring in real experts. Or, if you’ve just set a goal of gaining muscle mass and never worked out seriously before, that could be another topic for your own reality show. The only requirement you can’t ignore is that you should be passionate about fitness. Otherwise, why start a fitness blog at all?
If it’s all about the quality, do I absolutely have to rent studios and use professional equipment?
No, not really. Again, it all depends on how creative you are about your whole concept. You might get away with shooting on your smartphone. Make sure you use a microphone if you talk a lot, otherwise don’t worry about that much. If you want everything to look super glamorous and professional, it might be worth renting a studio. However, your apartment will do just fine as long as you find a neutral background and figure out the lighting. Make sure you’ve tidied the mess around and that your family members don’t interfere with the recording. Or do the opposite – get them engaged! There are many workouts out there featuring children, pets or siblings.
Can I become a brand ambassador?
Yes, you can. But first, you’ll have to earn your reputation as a fitness blogger to get the brands interested in you and your audience. Again, it’s a long way, but it’s perfectly feasible. Besides, these days advertisers have realized that smaller bloggers are actually more effective when it comes to generating sales. A few thousands of subscribers on Instagram could be enough to bring you your first deals.
Can I get other bloggers to recommend me?
Yes, but it’s highly unlikely that they’ll do it for free. Getting advertised by other bloggers can cost you quite a lot of money, but the effect will not necessarily satisfy you. Instead, go around looking for interesting conversations in the comment section under those bloggers’ posts. Introduce your own arguments for or against the author’s position, give advice and keep hinting about your expertise. This is particularly relevant for Instagram blogs: the more you engage in the comments, the more people will notice you. Just don’t forget to choose the blogs which interest your target audience.
YouTube or Instagram? Or can I do both?
If you can physically handle keeping two blogs at once, there’s every reason why you should be on both platforms. Note that there isn’t much point in posting similar content on two different accounts, so try to diversify it as much as you can. For example, you can post short training routines and everyday tips on your Instagram while reserving YouTube for full workout videos and lectures. Instagram live is another great instrument for attracting new audiences and getting them to know you in person (as much as it applies to virtual communication, of course!). If you prefer to stick to one blog at a time, it depends on the type of content you prefer to produce. Longer videos obviously belong to YouTube. Instagram’s IGTV is more of an asset rather than an independent promotion channel, so choose Instagram if you’re more into shorter forms.
How about TikTok?
Right you are – TikTok is another platform to consider. Although it used to be treated as a social media hub for the teenage audience, in the past few months its popularity has increased drastically. These days advertisers are getting more and more excited about TikTok, so if you’re looking to monetize your passion for fitness, you know what to do. What we also love about TikTok is the choice of fun instruments for editing your videos. Mind that the in-built toolset doesn’t allow you to do advanced editing, so we suggest that you first prepare your clips in a designated app (such as our favorite Movavi Clips).
We hope you’ve enjoyed our little manual on how to start a fitness blog. Bear all these points in mind and just, well, do it. Even if your first attempt to launch a fitness blog doesn’t succeed, eventually, you’ll end up exercising not only your content creation skills but your muscles as well. Which is still a result!
One more hint: if you’re still unsure how to start, download Movavi Video Editor – a simple program for creating your videos that’ll help you get the ball rolling with little hassle. Surf through out blog to find out more about all the special features of our software that’ll help your blog really stand out!
