How Creating an Online Class Library Quadrupled a Fitness Instructor's Sales

It’s no secret the world wants to find community online and accomplish their fitness goals from the comfort of their home--even before the pandemic, we saw this. That’s why we’ve seen fitness instructors creating Youtube videos, LIVE Zoom classes, and recorded workouts to reach their communities.

As for Savannah Freed, she took things one step further and created an entire library of on-demand fitness classes for her students. The result: She’s making 4x more in sales. That’s why we sat down with her and asked her to spill all her secrets in this informative interview--and we’re going to share it all with you! This way, fitness instructors like you can reach your students easily and grow your fitness business through your online fitness studio.

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Q: What were you doing before you created an online class library?

A: Before creating my on-demand class library, I was hosting drop-in workout classes. I loved teaching them but had to be LIVE to be making money. When I created the library and filled it with recordings, I started making money while asleep.

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Q: What are your recommendations for creating an on-demand library?

A: I think the biggest thing is not to overthink it. Think about what your most popular fitness content is, then start creating those videos. 20-30 online workout videos tend to be the sweet spot because it’s not overwhelming but gives your students a great library to choose from.

You also want to go for variety to keep your subscribing students interested. You can have a few 5-minute quick classes and some 75-minute hardcore classes to also vary the intensity and time interval. I also like labeling them beginner, intermediate and advanced so each student can choose their level, stay engaged and feel like your classes are tailored to their specific fitness level.

And my #1 tip is to ORGANIZE. You want to make it as easy as possible for your students to find exactly what they need. You never want to hit them with 100s of videos and no organization, ‘cause they’ll get super overwhelmed.

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Q: How do you save time when it comes to recording content?

A: Easy. I turn my live classes into my recordings. I do this about 90% of the time, so I rarely film outside of my online fitness classes. Recycling the content saves so much time and also gives my videos great energy since they were once a live class with upbeat, sweating students. So I know my community will love them.

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Q: Can you give us any pro tips?

A: Of course I can! My #1 tip is to always think of your students when building your library. Think of their wants, needs, and process for working out. I highly recommend building out a section called “This week’s picks” so your returning students can easily find your new videos. If you have engaged students that are always coming back for more, this section will ensure they still get fun, inspiring content.

My second pro tip is for the new students that just landed on your page. Create a section for them called “Where to start.” This way, they can quickly choose a video and get started on their fitness journey with you. It does a great job of taking away selection fatigue.

With these two tips, your content will continue to appeal to both new and returning students.

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Q: You quadrupled your income! Can you tell us more about that?

A: Before my on-demand online class library, I was relying on live-streamed Zoom classes. I could only do so many of those per week, so it made growth a lot slower. When I created the library, I promoted it organically on my fitness Instagram. I just put my Sutra page in my Instagram bio and direct my students to the link. It’s so easy! My followers turned into my students and subscribed monthly for all of my virtual workouts. This quadrupled my income, and now I don’t have to worry about finding other income streams.

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Q: How can you keep your students engaged, so they continue coming back for content?

A: Retention is all about engagement. I love keeping my students engaged with promo codes for live classes and referral programs. I also offer monthly challenges through Sutra to keep my students looking forward to the next one. Sutra makes it really easy to collect data on my clients, so I’m always able to reach out to my regulars and new subscribers for feedback. This way, they feel like they’re building the community with me. I think constant communication definitely makes a big difference in how much your subscribers feel loved and supported.

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Ready to craft your own online fitness studio and have results like Savannah? Learn exactly how you can start recording classes and creating your own online library.

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