Better
Writing Equals More Success: Tips for Boosting Attendance
in Fitness Workshops, Courses and Programs
By Amanda
Vogel, MA
The titles and
descriptions you use for your workshops, courses, classes
or special events can have a major impact on registration
numbers. The more persuasive your writing, and the more
interesting and useful you make your educational offerings
and programming sound, the better the attendance and overall
impact. Consider these ideas for creating clearer and more
enticing copy for fitness workshops, courses and programs.
Beat writer's block with this simple starting point
If you struggle with writer's block when preparing descriptions
for workshops, special events or fitness classes, try this
tip. Begin by imagining the average person who might come
to that session, then brainstorm answers to the following
three questions.
• What interests them about the session?
• What do they hope to get out of it?
• How will its contents improve their lives or skill
set?
Remember to address what every prospective client or participant
wants to know: "What's in it for me?" This technique
also works well for writing articles, websites and other
marketing material.
Hook ‘em with a stand-out title
The session title is usually the first and perhaps the only
thing people read. This is especially true if your description
is competing with many others in a brochure, group exercise
schedule or conference guide.
Motivate people to read your entire description by crafting
a catchy title that also clearly communicates the workshop's
benefit or purpose. For example:
Instead of: Managing Finances in the Fitness Industry
Try: 5 Steps to Smarter Spending for Personal Trainers
The second example works because it sounds more doable and
also much more interesting – "smarter spending"
as opposed to "managing finances" (snore!). The
second sentence also announces who should attend the workshop:
personal trainers.
Sell your workshop with the description
If you write descriptions for your master classes or workshops,
remember that you're selling the event, just like an ad
sells a service or product. Which of the following two workshops
would you be most compelled to spend your money on?
A: Join Charlie Brown for his famous FAB ABS workshop. He'll
make you sweat as he takes you on a journey beyond any other
core workout you've experienced. You'll leave this session
with ideas and moves that'll knock your participants' socks
off.
OR
B: In this back-by-popular-demand workshop, Charlie Brown
explains the concept of core training, including why it's
important for your participants to learn, and simple strategies
for how to instruct the recruitment of core muscles in a
group setting. Leave this workshop with a host of new ab-training
ideas and a tried-and-true framework for designing your
own core-conditioning class.
Hopefully you chose description B. Why? Because it provides
specific information about what to expect. The language
in description A is vague, which makes it difficult to picture
exactly what the session entails. People want to be clear
about what they are forking out money for; remember this
the next time you compose a workshop description.
Identify effective verbs for writing learning objectives
When writing learning objectives for course material, CEC
workshops and client programs, you must clearly define what
you expect the student or client to ultimately accomplish.
A properly written learning objective uses verbs that describe
measurable behaviour and performance. For example:
Instead of: Understand basic exercises for working the core.
Try: Identify basic exercises for working the core.
Instead of: Learn the main elements of a safe and effective
step class.
Try: Explain the main elements of a safe and effective step
class.
Instead of: Recognize the major muscles in the body.
Try: Name the major muscles in the body.
Other good verbs for writing learning objectives: analyze,
demonstrate, define, outline, discuss, list.
This article is an excerpt from 51 Need-to-Know Writing
& Marketing Tips for Fitness Pros. Can-Fit-Pro members:
receive a free copy of this e-booklet when you subscribe
to Active Voice's free fitness writing/marketing e-newsletter
at www.activevoice.ca.
Amanda Vogel, MA Human
Kinetics, is a Can-Fit-Pro Fitness Instructor Specialist
and the owner of Active Voice – a writing, editing
and consulting service that helps fitness professionals
and organizations improve the quality and effectiveness
of their marketing and educational material. In addition
to being a contributing editor at Chatelaine magazine, Amanda
regularly writes for IDEA Fitness Journal, ACE Certified
News, Self, Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Health, Cooking Light
and Shape. You can reach her at writer@activevoice.ca or
www.activevoice.ca.
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