11 Steps to Start a Pilates Blog: A Comprehensive Guide
Hey fellow Pilates teachers! If you’re not blogging yet, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to show off those killer core skills and engage with your clients. And trust me, if you’re not blogging, your clients will think you’re still living in the 90s.
Do you know what else is totally passé?
Limp, lacklustre blog posts!
Come on, put some oomph into it! Make those blog posts EPIC, like The Hundred that lasts for 5 minutes! Google loves it when you put in the effort, so don’t be lazy like a cat doing a Pilates Spine Stretch.
And don’t forget to share your blog posts on social media. If you don’t, it’s like doing a thousand Pilates Roll-ups and not telling anyone about it. So get out there, flex those blogging muscles, and show the world what you’re made of!
The first step is to soak up these quick 42 blogging tips.
Step 1: 42 Pilates Blogging Tips to Whip Your Content into Shape
Here are 42 Pilates blogging tips to whip your content into shape:
- Include photos of yourself in Pilates exercises
- Create a blog post out of your next Pilates lesson plan
- Get ideas for blog posts from your students (e.g. wrist exercises if a student has weak wrists)
- Test blog post ideas on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook first
- Write about stuff you want to learn more about (e.g. yoga and Pilates for golfers)
- Use each blog to build your free newsletter
- Finish blog posts with a call to action (e.g. join your class, signup for a newsletter, like your Facebook page)
- Provide a download to a Pilates lesson plan.
- Be consistent (write a blog post every week or two)
- Be different
- Allow your personality to shine through
- Don’t write to impress (formal writing is boring)
- Write like you talk (conversational style)
- Write eye-catching headlines
- Make the blog post worth bookmarking
- Make the blog post so darn good that your visitors email it to their friends
- Find a niche (e.g. yoga & Pilates for runners or yoga & pilates for golfers)
- Write about something you love (e.g. yoga & pilates for runners)
- Add the blog post URL to your Business Facebook Page
- Add the blog post URL to your Twitter
- If you have an image of yourself in the post, add it to Instagram
- Add images. People love images
- Keep an eye on web analytics (are your blogs working?)
- Allow easy following (RSS feed)
- Get personal
- Talk about your failures, pains and struggles
- Spell check it
- Get someone to proof-read it
- Edit it (Google loves it when you edit your old posts)
- Use royalty-free images
- Turn the blog post into a Youtube Video
- I use Camtasia, green screen, yeti & Logitech c920 HD webcam to create Youtube Videos
- Turn your youtube videos into a Pilates DVD
- Turn the blog post into a Podcast
- Turn your blog posts into a PDF ebook
- Turn your blog posts into a Kindle ebook
- Have somebody evaluate your blog and give you constructive feedback
- Share something personal to show you’re a real person
- Enjoy yourself (put some music on when you write)
- Research like a crazy person (I spent hours researching for this blog post)
- Research what other pilates teachers are doing (can you do something similar?)
- Always over-deliver (give away more than expected)
In the next step, I’ll give you seven compelling reasons to choose WordPress for your Pilates blog.
Step 2: Seven Compelling Reasons to Choose WordPress
If you haven’t yet considered using WordPress, it’s worth exploring as it’s widely acknowledged to offer exceptional SEO (search engine optimization) capabilities. Additionally, it’s worth noting that a significant proportion of websites online use the WordPress platform, and for good reason – it’s considered to be the best available.
Seven Compelling Reasons to Choose WordPress
- Easy to use
- Free themes
- A lot of different layouts
- Loads of free plugins
- Easy to add images
- Easy to categorise posts
- Visitors can comment & share your posts
In the next step, I’ll give you tips on how to pick topics for your Pilates blog.
Step 3: Tips for Selecting the Best Topics for Your Pilates Blog
To create a successful Pilates blog, it’s important to carefully choose your blog categories or topics. As a Pilates expert, you have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to draw from. Selecting topics that you are passionate about and interested in can make the process of creating blog posts easier and more enjoyable.
Consider the following list of possible Pilates blog categories, including anatomy, fitness, healthy food, personal development, and Pilates equipment. Additionally, you could also explore more specific categories, such as Pilates for athletes, Pilates for pregnancy, and Pilates for runners, among others.
By selecting the right categories and topics for your Pilates blog, you can create engaging content that resonates with your readers and establishes you as an authority in the Pilates community.
In the next step, I’ll give you tips on how to craft exceptional blog posts for your Pilates blog.
Step 4: Crafting Exceptional Blog Posts for Your Pilates Blog: Tips and Strategies
In the competitive world of blogging, it’s crucial to create content that stands out and catches the attention of Google. To achieve this, it’s essential to write EPIC blog posts that provide useful information to your readers.
An EPIC blog post is one that is grand in scale or character and offers top-notch advice that readers can immediately apply. It should be informative and engaging, featuring images and videos to enhance the visual experience. In addition, humour, personal stories, and bullet points can help to make the content more relatable and digestible.
When crafting your Pilates blog posts, keep in mind that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Take inspiration from other blog posts you find interesting and inject your own personality into your writing. Focus on niche topics, such as the anatomy behind certain poses, and offer actionable advice to help readers improve their Pilates practice.
Make your blog post as long as necessary to cover the topic thoroughly and keep readers entertained. Remember to add a touch of humour and share personal stories to brand yourself as an expert and engage with your audience. With these tips, you can create EPIC Pilates blog posts that stand out in Google searches and attract a loyal following.
In the next step, I’ll give you tips on how to promote your Pilates blog on social media.
Step 5: Promote Your Pilates Blog Posts on Social Media
The very second after you publish your EPIC blog post, immediately do the following to promote it…
- Share it on your Business Facebook Page
- Share it on your Twitter
- Share it on Google+
- Share it Linkedin
It’ll only take you a couple of minutes and it’ll be well worth your time.
In the next step, I’ll give you an email template that you can use.
Step 6: Email Your Pilates Students Asking For Help
Email your students asking them to put the following on their Facebook pages:
Hi [Student’s Name],
I just wrote a new blog post called [YOUR BLOG POST NAME] today. I’m asking for a small favour to share the blog post URL on your Facebook and Twitter feeds. It may be useful to your friends who are interested in keeping fit.
You can use the script below: “My pilates teacher [YOUR NAME] has written a blog post called [YOUR BLOG POST NAME]. He publishes great content and useful tips. Feel free to have a look: [YOUR BLOG POST URL].”
In the next step, I’ll give you tips on how to be proactive on Twitter to get traffic to your post.
Step 7: Be Proactive On Twitter
Go to twitter.com/search.
Type in the keyword(s) that are related to your blog (for example: “Pilates exercises for runners”).
Search results from Twitter and check their profile.
Reach out to them in 140 characters (e.g. Hi, you previously tweeted Pilates Exercises For Runners. Maybe you’ll find this article useful: [YOUR BLOG POST URL])?
In the next step, I’ll give you a tip on leaving meaningful comments on fitness blog posts.
Step 8: Leave Meaningful Comments On Other Fitness Blog Posts
Engage with other fitness blogs by leaving meaningful comments on posts that entice readers to visit your blog. Avoid spamming and aim to participate in discussions, as this can be a quick and effective way to attract targeted traffic to your website.
In the next step, I’ll give you link building tip.
Step 9: Link Building Tip
Google likes link building because it views backlinks to a website as a vote of confidence or endorsement from other websites. When other websites link to your website, it signals to Google that your content is valuable and relevant.
This can increase your website’s authority and trustworthiness in the eyes of Google’s algorithm, which can result in higher search rankings and more visibility for your website. However, it’s important to note that Google also places a high value on the quality and relevance of the links pointing to your website, and low-quality or spammy backlinks can actually harm your website’s search rankings.
Try this…
Go to Google.com and search for queries like: “intitle:YourBlogTopic inurl:resources” or “intitle:YourBlogTopic inurl:links”.
That should bring up some websites that are similar to yours.
Send them this email about your blog post.
“Hi [FIRST NAME]
I was reading your NAME OF THEIR BLOG POST this evening and saw that you have a fabulous resource page. So, I’ve added it to my resource page. See it here: [YOUR WEBSITE RESOURCE PAGE].
I have a similar, but non-competing website that might be helpful or useful to your audience.
See it yourself: YourPilatesWebsite.com
Perhaps it’s worth mentioning on your resource page?
All the best,
[YOUR NAME]
In the next step, I’ll give you three social bookmarking sites where you can submit your post.
Step 10: Submit Your Post To Social Bookmarking Sites
Social bookmarking sites are online platforms that allow users to save and organize links to web pages or articles that they find interesting or useful. These sites enable users to tag, categorize, and share their bookmarks with others.
Social bookmarking is a way for people to discover new content and share it with others who have similar interests.
Examples of popular social bookmarking sites include Reddit, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, and Digg.
In the next step, I’ll explain why creating a video of your blog post is a great idea to get more traffic to your post.
Step 11: Create A Video Of The Blog Post
Creating a video of your blog post is not just an option anymore, it’s a must-do. This is because YouTube has become the second-largest search engine worldwide, second only to Google. Shockingly, most bloggers still neglect to upload videos to YouTube.
Fortunately, it’s not a complicated process! You can record a short video about your blog post using a screencasting tool like Camtasia and then upload it to YouTube. In the description section, make sure to add a well-written description of the video and include a URL link to your website in the first line. Doing this will increase the number of clicks on your website.
George’s Conclusion
And voilà!
You’ve reached the end of my epic guide on how to kickstart your very own Pilates blog.
Remember, the key to success in the blogosphere is consistency. Keep churning out quality content, and with each post, you’ll fine-tune your blogging skills. Don’t forget to inject your personality into your writing and share your own unique stories to engage your readers.
So, what are you waiting for?
Grab your mat, strike a pose (e.g. Swan Dive), and start writing!
George Watts
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