How to Make Money as a Fitness Influencer [2024 Guide]

Last updated: January 23, 2024

Are you passionate about fitness and looking for ways to monetize your content and expertise? Becoming a fitness influencer can be a lucrative career path, but it requires hard work, dedication, and a solid strategy.

In this article, we’ll provide 8 ways how you can start making money as a fitness influencer online (without having to have any budget to start with).

Here’s a summary of how to make money as a fitness influencer:

• Start a fitness membership site
• Sell eBooks and other downloadables
• Sell online courses or workout classes
• Get sponsored brand deals
• Earn commission through affiliate marketing
• Youtube monetization
• Become an online fitness coach or personal trainer
• Sell physical products or merchandise

How to Make Money as a Fitness Influencer in 2024

Start a Fitness Membership Site

One of the most popular ways to monetize a fitness following is by starting a membership site. This can be a great way to offer exclusive content to your followers, such as workout plans, meal plans, and access to a community of like-minded individuals. You can charge a monthly or yearly fee for access to your site, and offer different tiers of membership with varying levels of exclusive content and perks.

You can set up a membership site for free using Payhip. Payhip also provides a comprehensive guide on how you can set up your own membership site from scratch (and also a preview of your members’ experience).

To make your membership site successful and earn a consistent stream of money, consider focusing on specific areas of fitness. This could be anything from strength training to yoga to nutrition. This allows you to be able to create a unique value proposition that sets your membership site apart from other fitness resources. This also allows you to develop a strong marketing strategy that appeals to specific groups of audiences.

Focus on building an engaged community of fitness enthusiast as it helps to create a loyal and motivated user base that feel a sense of comradery and belonging. Members who feel connected to a community are more likely to stick with the membership site over time. This can help to improve retention rates and ensure a steady revenue stream.

Sell Ebooks, Workout Programs, and Other Downloadables

Publishing your own fitness eBook is a great way to reach a global audience and generate passive income as an influencer. You can write about a variety of fitness topics, such as workout routines, nutrition, and mindset. Additionally, you can also sell other digital downloads such as meal plans, workout programs, and more.

Selling digital downloads such as eBooks and other downloadables is great because you’ll only need to create them once, and you can sell them over and over again without incurring any additional production or shipping costs.

You can sell your eBooks or any other digital downloads on your own website using Payhip. Payhip is completely free and you’ll only be charged a 5% fee when you make a sale, which is perfect if you’re just starting out. Payhip will also automatically deliver your eBook or any other digital files to your customers as soon as they complete their payments. This means you can sell your products without having to be involved in the order fulfillment process – say hello to making money while you sleep!

Sell Online Courses or Virtual Classes

Online courses are a great way to make money as a fitness influencer. You can build courses on any topic related to fitness, for example, nutrition for beginners or strength training tips.

Learning about health and fitness from an online course allows your students to learn at their own pace with much greater flexibility than in-person fitness training or 1:1 fitness training. Your students can go through your fitness courses at their own pace from the comfort of their own homes.

Your online course can be continuously purchased by multiple students without any additional effort or time commitment on your part, which can also turn into a very sustainable passive income.

Use an online course platform like Payhip so you can offer an engaging learning experience for your students. Here are some notable benefits of using Payhip for selling your online courses:

• You can publish various lesson types including video, text, quizzes, surveys, assignments, and more. This will help to keep your audience engaged and ensure that they get the most out of your course.
• You can use drip content to publish lessons at various time intervals (instead of publishing lessons all at once). This will encourage students to come back to your website on a regular basis.
• You can offer each student their own login portals and automated certificates of completion once they finish the course
• You can set various pricing options such as one-time payment, subscription, payment plans, and more.
• You can bundle your online course with an eBook or any digital downloads to sell them as a package deal

Payhip also provides a simple drag and drop website builder so you can build a beautiful and professional website to promote and sell your online courses.

Get Sponsored Influencer Brand Deals

As your social media following grows, you may be approached by brands for sponsored deals. This can include promoting fitness products on your social media channels or creating sponsored content for your website or social media channels. Be sure to only work with brands that align with your values and brand image.

To secure sponsorships with brands, politely demonstrate why your brand is worth their investment: showcase your current following, demonstrate engagement metrics from social media channels, and provide numbers that highlight the reach of your content on different platforms. The more followers and engagement you have, the more money you can potentially make through sponsored content.

Earn Commission through Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another great way to make money from your fitness following. You can promote health and fitness products that you believe in and earn a commission on any sales generated through your unique affiliate link.

You should choose products related to health and fitness as you’ll most likely have enough credibility when presenting these products to your followers. Be sure to always be transparent about your affiliate relationships with brands, and maintain high integrity when providing your product review. Make sure that the products you’re promoting align with your values and genuinely provide value to your audience, so they will be more likely to purchase them through your affiliate link.

You don’t have to wait to be approached by brands. Look for any affiliate programs within the health and fitness niche that align with your brand and target audience. This could include programs for fitness apparel, fitness equipment, supplements, or online training programs. You can sign up as an affiliate, start promoting their products, and earn commission on a regular basis.

Make Money Through Youtube Monetization

If you have the equipment to create video-based content, you can earn money through YouTube’s ad revenue program, which pays creators a portion of the ad revenue generated by their videos. To be eligible, you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months.

Note that you may need higher quality filming equipment for filming Youtube videos as audiences generally expect a higher video production quality in comparison to short videos such as what you see on TikTok.

Once your Youtube channel has a substantial following, various fitness brands may start to show interest in sponsoring your videos or channel. This could include sponsored product placements or dedicated sponsorships. Be sure to disclose sponsored content to your audience. As mentioned before, you can also earn a commission by promoting products or services through affiliate links in your videos.

Become an Online Fitness Coach or Personal Trainer

If you have a background in fitness and enjoy working one-on-one with clients, consider becoming an online fitness coach or personal trainer. You can offer virtual coaching sessions, create customized workout and meal plans, and provide ongoing support to your clients.

Using Payhip’s coaching feature, you’ll be able to schedule video calls and also provide personalized fitness content such as workout and nutrition plans to your clients. Your clients also have the ability to send you personalized progress. This allows you to create a stronger coach-to-client relationship, resulting in long-term clients who will continue to purchase your coaching services.

Consider reading our comprehensive guide on how to become an online fitness coach.

Sell Physical Products or Merchandise

If you have a strong personal brand in health and fitness, you might be able to make money by selling merchandise such as t-shirts, water bottles, or gym bags. This can be a great way to generate additional income while also promoting your brand.

Your designs should be creative and catchy, so people would actually want to buy them. Invest time in creating merch designs that people would love.

Watch this short tutorial to see how you can sell physical products or merchandise for free from your own website.

5 Tips to Grow Your Following as a Fitness Influencer

Growing your fitness following on social media can be challenging, but it’s essential if you want to earn money from your work as a fitness influencer. Here are some tips to help you grow your fitness following:

1. Build Momentum and Post Consistently

As a social media influencer, posting consistently is one of the most important things you can do to increase your following. Create a content calendar and stick to it, so your followers know when to expect new content from you. Consistency is key especially when you’re starting to build a following as an influencer. Post regularly and at the same times each week so that your audience knows when to expect new content from you.

2. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to get discovered by people who aren’t already following you. Use relevant hashtags in your posts, and consider creating a branded hashtag for your account. Remember to also research popular hashtags in the fitness industry and include them in your posts.

3. Engage With Your Followers

Make time to engage with your followers by responding to comments, asking for feedback, and creating a sense of community. This will bode well for when you decide to start a fitness membership site.

Respond to comments and direct messages, ask questions in your captions, and create polls or quizzes in your Instagram Stories.

4. Collaborate With Other Fitness Influencers

Collaborating with other influencers is a great way to reach new audiences and gain more followers. Consider doing a joint workout, hosting a Q&A session, or creating content together with other fitness influencers.

5. Focus on Providing Valuable Fitness Content

Create high-quality content that provides value to your audience. Share your knowledge and expertise, provide workout tips and advice, and inspire your followers to live a healthier lifestyle. Make your audience come back for more as you create consistent valuable content.

6. Share Your Fitness Journey

Your fitness journey can inspire others who may be struggling to get started on their own fitness journey. By sharing your successes and setbacks, you can inspire others to start their own journey or continue on their current path.

Sharing your fitness journey on social media can also help you connect with others who share similar interests and goals. This can create a sense of community and provide a support system to help you stay motivated and on track.

Final Thoughts – Earning Money as a Fitness Influencer

Learning various ways how to make money as a fitness influencer is the first step to establishing your income sources. These strategies will require dedication, hard work, and a willingness to explore different methods that will work for you and your audience. Whether you choose to focus on social media, video content, or other platforms, it’s important to stay true to your brand and create high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

By building a loyal following, partnering with relevant brands, and leveraging your expertise in the fitness industry, you can turn your passion for fitness into a profitable career.

If you’re keen on expanding your income sources as a fitness influencer, consider reading our guide on how to sell fitness programs online.