While I was out running the other day, I got to thinking about the various obstacles preventing me from taking my business from where it is to where I want it to be.
(As an aside, nothing beats runs or, indeed, walks for simple, unadulterated thinking time you can use to chew over whatever is vexing you and arrive home with a suite of possible solutions to test – but only if you do it without listening to music, audiobooks, or whatever else you use to stave off boredom.)
Probably the biggest challenge for me running an internet fitness in The Current Year is social media. Specifically, my disdain for it and refusal to engage with it beyond running simple advertisements to get people onto this newsletter or else buy one of my cheapo books.
Obviously, this is a problem because “The Internet” for most people nowadays consists of fewer than ten websites, with at least half of them being social media platforms of some description.
Worse:
I actively encourage customers to reduce their social media consumption not only to free up time to train but also because of the pernicious effect being exposed to Fitness Content™ (most of which is produced by drug abusers, drug abusers who deny their habit for various reasons, and bonkers “Health at Every Size” types) has on their thinking about their own training, achievements, motivations, and so on.
Which means that my best customers aren’t on social media telling the world how amazing their experience of my products and services has been. So I have to spend a lot more money to get a newsletter subscriber or a customer than I would if I had more “social proof”; nor do I get much in the way of organic (i.e. free) subscribers and customers to offset the cost.
It’s an expensive problem to have, that’s for sure.
I could cry about Big Tech creating algorithms and platforms that have de facto destroyed the decentralised internet where businesses such as mine were able to thrive as little as ten years ago, and then quit because it’s “too hard”.
Or I could use my noggin to find a way forward.
Naturally, I chose the latter.
Enter:
My OnlyFan, Jess.
Long story short, I got home from that run I mentioned and asked Jess to infiltrate various groups on Facebook and start talking about her experiences of using my methods to get stronger and more in shape with a view to getting people to check out my site, subscribe to this newsletter, and, potentially, buy something either now or at some point down the line.
To act as a recruiter for the little cult I am building, in other words.
It’s a long play, and it might not work. But it’s sure as shyte better than sitting on my backside bemoaning my situation while not lifting a finger to try and fix it.
A great many parallels with training in this email, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear the lessons.
Anyway.
If you want to join my cult, the most inexpensive and lowest risk way of doing that is to subscribe to The Phil Tyreman Letter, which you can do here:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/information/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman