The PT Roadmap

The weekly newsletter for personal trainers who want to build and run a great business.

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I recently read Angela's Ashes for the second time. You may have watched the film, but the book is, in my opinion, far better. The details, stories, and humour that follow the author, Frank McCourt’s poverty-stricken childhood in New York and then in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s & 40s are incredible.

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

Business

My Plan to Stop Using Social Media

I have become totally disillusioned with social media.

I know it’s a helpful tool to grow my business, but at what cost?

It negatively affects my mental health.

It distracts the living daylights out of me. I cannot post something without being sucked into checking it numerous times. 

I can’t help but compare myself when I’m on it.

I’ve tried app blockers.

I’ve tried deleting it.

I’ve tried dedicating one specific slot in my day to it.

Everything works for a wee bit of time.

But then I just get pulled back in.

I also cannot ignore the fact that my social media pages could be pulled down at any point. It’s happened once before, and I had to start from scratch, so why can’t it happen again?

This will not happen to my email list.

So, I’ve made the decision to double down on email and start moving away from relying on social media.

I still plan to use it for ads.

And I may still publish the occasional post or story.

However, my long-term plan is to drastically reduce my overall use.

Here are 3 things I’m planning on doing to help make this switch a successful one:

1. Build My Email List

I currently have over 1200 PTs on this list, but only 180 of you are on my main mailing list.

This main list is where I email 3-4 times per week. These emails are shorter, story-based, and more like the Instagram content I’ve published on the Lift the Bar and Stuart Aitken pages in the past.

Punchy, relatable, story-based content for PTs where you’ll learn about all the things I’m testing, experimenting and figuring out in my own PT work and with my mentoring clients.

I want to bring as many of you over here as possible.

To incentivise you to come on over, feel free to grab one (or all) of these freebies:

• PT Biz Quiz: See how your Personal Training business stacks up regarding its ability to run effectively and bring in clients. You’ll get personalised recommendations for improving it once you’re finished.

• Price Increase Playbook: 5 steps to effectively increase your prices without pissing off or losing clients.

• 41 Hooks Playbook: If you create Reels, create carousels or write emails, you need a strong hook to pull people into consuming your content. This playbook gives you 41 examples, and 82 content ideas. All are specific to Personal Training.

Or just reply to this email with your name and email you want added, and I’ll do it manually 😀

2. Improve My Email Marketing Skills

I’m still new to the email marketing game.

I know I need education, practice, feedback and mentoring to improve. 

So, I plan to attack this like I’ve improved any other skill:

• practice: I’m committing to emailing a minimum of 3x per week. I’ll get plenty of practice this way, and I’ll use open rates and replies as a way to gauge success.

• education: I’m a big book fan. Books are my go-to starting point for skill development. I’ve bought a few of the best-reviewed email marketing books from Amazon. I’m enjoying this one so far.

• feedback: my wife is an amazing editor. She has started looking over and giving me some (very) honest feedback about the quality of my emails. I hate this bit and have to work hard to quiet my ego, but it always helps.

• mentoring: I’ll be investing in a mentor to help me here. Someone who can come in, give me feedback on my emails, and teach me what they’ve learned having been doing it for much longer.

3. Start Investing in Ads.

The great thing about ads is that they are targeted, meaning I can target the exact person I want to attract, and they run without needing me to do anything.

I plan to start running ads on some of my free lead magnets. 

Once a PT downloads one of those, they’ll be added to my mailing list.

Then, I’ll start emailing them regularly to build a relationship, provide useful education, share relatable stories, and generally be a valuable source of information on how to be a better PT and build a lasting business.

I’ve spoken to many of you in the last 12 months about your relationship with social media, and it is overwhelmingly negative.

I know I’m not alone here.

I feel a degree of responsibility to prove to you that you can build a great business without wasting hours of your life on social media.

Because that’s what it is, really, isn’t it?

Time you’ll never get back.

Wasted scrolling aimlessly.

I very rarely leave a social media scrolling session feeling better about myself. And I can’t imagine how much time I’ve spent faffing about with a Reel or post.

I don’t want to keep throwing away that time and mental space.

Life is too short.

Email has a proven track record of being a successful way to build a business. I’ve no doubt it’ll be hard, and I’ll want to start immediately gratifying myself with social content again, but I’m committed to giving this a fair shot.

Maybe I’ll change my tune. Maybe I’ll come to a better place with my use of social media. But right now, this is where I’m at, and I’m excited to focus my time on a platform (email) that isn’t anywhere near as distracting or mentally draining as Instagram.

Social Post

Wait…

Didn’t you just write 800 words on why you’re stopping using social media?

And now you’re pushing me towards a post on Instagram?

There are lots of great creators on social media, and I want to continue to learn from them in a way that isn’t all-consuming. Range of Strength is just one I thoroughly enjoy learning from, and this kind of post underlines why.

I haven’t used or programmed pullovers in forever, but I’ll add them now as more of a mobility exercise (and maybe start trialling them at heavier weights) as I love how they feel on my shoulders and upper back.

And I’m always looking for other exercises to add in to my sessions!

Thanks so much for reading.

— Stuart.

Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:

1. One-to-One Mentoring. Do you wish you had someone to talk to every week to direct, guide and keep you accountable? My 1-1 mentoring service is perfect for PTs with an already solid business (making at least 2.5K a month) but feeling a bit stuck with what to do next to grow and improve. Just hit reply if you’re interested, and we’ll set up a time to talk. No hard selling here, just a chance for you to talk about your business, it’s problems and whether my help might make sense 👍

2. The Lead Gen Roadmap. If you need clients or want to develop a systemised approach to lead generation, this course is for you. As a newsletter subscriber, use this link for 10% off.