The Optimal Aging Podcast
Millions of people over age 50 represent the biggest consumer market in history for fitness, nutrition, travel, recreation and more. But most businesses don't know how to market to them. We'll interview entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators to discuss this exciting opportunity.
The Optimal Aging Podcast
What Every Gym Owner Needs to Know About Marketing to people over 50
In this episode of The Optimal Aging Podcast, I dive into the most common questions gym owners and fitness professionals ask about marketing to people over 50. Learn why blogs still matter, how to get more from your emails, whether TikTok is worth your time and how to consistently create engaging content that actually works.
I also share powerful advice on how to truly connect with the active aging community—those in their 50s, 60s, and beyond—by using communication strategies that build trust and reflect their real values and goals.
Whether you run a gym, teach classes or offer health-related services for older adults, this episode is packed with practical, proven strategies to help grow your business.
🎙️ Topics Covered:
• Why blogs are still essential for people over 50
• The truth about keyword stuffing for small local businesses
• How to show up consistently across email, blog and social media
• Why TikTok might not be the right platform for your audience
• How to avoid annoying your email subscribers while staying top-of-mind
• A system for never running out of content ideas
Connect with Jay Croft here:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primefitcontent
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/croftjay/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaycroft
For more tips reaching the over-50 fitness market, subscribe to The Optimal Aging Podcast or visit www.primefitcontent.com.
Email: jay@primefitcontent.com
Thanks for listening!
All those people out there. They're busy, leaving their own lives. They don't read everything that you send them. They don't remember everything that you send them. They might not even check their email every day, let alone read and remember everything they see. They're just not that focused on you. Trust me, until the time comes that they want to join a gym or a studio and by then it's too late by then you should already be top of mind. They should already know that they like you and want to do business with you, and that comes from when they see you showing up in their inbox regularly.
Speaker 1:Hi everybody, I'm Jay Croft and welcome to the Optimal Aging Podcast, where we discuss the business of exercise, healthy living and well-being for people 50 and over. Each week, we explore what healthy living means for millions of people over age 50 and what's coming next, with a focus on communications, content and making powerful connections. I've been recording this podcast for a few years now and I've had the chance to talk with a lot of smart gym owners and fitness professionals who are building their businesses by focusing on the over 50 market. Between this and my main business, Prime Fit Content, I've talked with hundreds I don't know, maybe thousands of fitness professionals, about using content marketing to serve more people in this demographic, those with the time and the money and the motivation to become long-term high-ticket clients for you. I've heard a lot of the same questions from many of those gym owners, and so today I thought it'd be fun to answer a few FAQs or frequently asked questions, and who knows, maybe, if this goes well, I'll do another installment later. So send in your questions if you have any.
Speaker 1:Question number one do I really need a blog on my website? Nobody reads blogs anymore, right? Yes, you do need a blog, and no, blogs are not dead, especially not for the over 50 crowd, and that's because people over 50 or active agers, as I might call them, sometimes tend to do more research online before making a big decision like joining a gym. They want to know who you are, they want to know what you stand for and whether they can trust you with their time, their money and their health. And that's what a blog does. It shows your values and your personality, gives you a voice, lets prospects get to know you before they walk through the door, builds trust, which is the foundation of conversions. A blog also keeps your website fresh, which is super important for SEO. Google rewards websites that are regularly updated with helpful, human-written content. I don't know how they can tell if it's good content, but they can.
Speaker 1:Posting junk every once in a while sends all the wrong signals to the algorithms and to your prospects. Now I also get asked a lot if I stuff my content with lots of keywords for your blog posts, and the answer is simple no. I do not believe keyword stuffing is effective or necessary for small local businesses. Google's a lot smarter than that. They're looking for good stuff, not for keywords. I also get asked by some gym owners if there's a reason to not use my content because another gym owner I provided to will use it as well and that could hurt their SEO somehow. And that's really not a concern. Again, with a small local business. If you're, say, in Colorado Springs, you're not competing with gyms in Austin, Texas or even Denver because you're competing with gyms in your zip code. Now another thing about blog posts is I've actually had clients tell me that they get positive feedback about their blog posts from prospects and clients that those blog posts helped the client the prospect feel like they were making the right decision in joining that gym. The client, the prospect, feel like they were making the right decision in joining that gym.
Speaker 1:Okay, question two what's the one thing I can do this week to improve my marketing? And that depends on what you're not doing. If you're not sending out two emails a week, start. If you're not posting just about every day on Facebook and Instagram, start. If you're not producing staff bios, member profiles, start there.
Speaker 1:Consistency is the name of the game and, with so many communications channels out there, you want to be focusing regularly on providing high quality, relevant content via emails, social media and your blog, and you can and should do other things from time to time, like speaking at community events or collaborating with other businesses in your neighborhood, Day in and day out. Those are the three legs of your bar stool, so to speak. Don't overthink what you're missing. Just pick the thing that you're really not doing and commit to trying it for 30 days. See how it goes. Conversely, if you're doing something that works, Do more of it. Probably a good idea, right. When you're a PrimeFit content subscriber, I send you five pieces every week that you can plug and play across your blog, your emails, your social media accounts, and you can add your own stuff to it about changes in your schedule or local events coming up, whatever you want. I also recommend that you mark time on your calendar every week to do your content marketing and plan your posts so that you're not scrambling all throughout the week to make time for it.
Speaker 1:Question number three do I need to be on TikTok? My answer is no, you do not need to bother with TikTok. That is because your audience people over 50, is mostly on Facebook and some are on Instagram, especially those in their 50s, as more people age into our demographic. But they're probably not spending a lot of time on TikTok. So I don't think you need to be doing that either, unless you have some special reason to. There's nothing inherently wrong with TikTok. It can just be a waste of time to try to learn every new social media channel that comes along. So you really want to focus your time and energy for the greatest ROI. So you want to stick to one or two communications platforms, learn to do them well enough and that's it. You don't need to be on all of them. You don't need to have a podcast. You don't need to launch a YouTube channel all at once If you're doing some of those things and you're having a good time with them and you're good at them and they're bringing good results, then that's great, but there's just no shame in focusing on what's going to bring you the returns that you would need.
Speaker 1:Number four how often should I email my list? Because I don't want to annoy people. This one comes up a lot and I understand nobody wants to be a spammer, but here's the truth. Once a month is just not enough. That's basically the same as nothing. Once a week is not enough because I'll tell you something I learned very early in my career as a professional communicator to mass audiences All those people out there, they're busy living their own lives.
Speaker 1:They don't read everything that you send them. They don't remember everything that you send them. They might not even check their email every day, let alone read and remember everything they see. They're just not that focused on you. Trust me, until time comes that they want to join a gym or a studio and by then it's too late by then you should already be top of mind. They should already know that they like you and want to do business with you, and that comes from when they see you showing up in their inbox regularly, when they see the same key messages from you over and over again, and a lot of those key messages about active aging, about staying fit later in life. Those aren't common for a lot of people in this demographic.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what I mean. I'm 61 myself and I can remember very well what life was like, what the culture was like before fitness became part of everyday life for most people. It wasn't like that in the 70s. It kind of became that way in the early 80s, and so people my age and older they might not know that they need to be working out regularly. They might not know that they need strength training later in life. You need to hit them with these messages consistently in a way that is relevant to them, to show them why it matters to their life, why it's not just about young boys wanting big muscles. Okay, and remember this Anyone who's on your email list signed up to be on your email list. They asked to hear from you and they can unsubscribe at any time. The secret to avoiding spam is not to avoid sending email. The secret is to send better emails. Send relevant content, and people will associate your business with value, not noise.
Speaker 1:Okay, question five, the last one how do I come up with ideas for content. I feel like I've said everything already. Well, look, everybody repeats themselves over and over, not because they're lazy or uncreative, but because it's good communications practice. You need to repeat these messages over and over to a lot of people a lot of times, over a long period of time. In fact, I wrote an article for my blog post years ago that I use frequently, about how to methodically come up with ideas.
Speaker 1:The key thing to do, the first key thing, is to jot ideas down whenever you get them, so that you have a list events and themes. Ask your clients what's on their mind, what they want to know about. Follow the news, Follow pop culture. Tie your messaging to big events like the Super Bowl, holidays, local festivals, Curate a list of your favorite podcasts, links, resources, etc. I could go on and on. But the point is there's not a muse. This isn't art, this is business. So when you treat it like just another part of your business, it can shift your thinking in a way that is really critical.
Speaker 1:Okay, there's one bonus question. I said there were five, I gave you five. Now there's one bonus question, and here it is. What's the best way to show that I really do get people over 50? And this is my favorite, because it shows that you're really thinking beyond just stating things right, Beyond just saying we specialize in older people, which, believe me, you need to say over and over again all the time If, in fact, you do specialize in training older people, you need to be clear about it, because most gyms don't. But more than just saying it, you need to show it, and that comes in the types of things that you put in your content, in the words that you choose, in the images that you choose.
Speaker 1:You want to use photos of actual older adults. You want to write about things that they care about, like their independence, being able to function day-to-day, being able to enjoy the activities that they enjoy. You want to avoid terms like golden or elderly, and please don't ever refer to a prospect as a little old lady. I had someone do that at a gym where I was consulting. She referred to a couple of women who walked in the day before as little old ladies and I said how old were they? She said I don't know 50. And I said hey, I'm 61. Would you call me a little old man? You said no, but you don't look old. Well, look, nobody at 50 feels old and nobody at any age deserves to be dismissed like that, especially if you're trying to get their business right.
Speaker 1:So use photos of people in the demographic that you're trying to reach. Speak to them in ways that resonate with them. Make cultural references that mean something Think Springsteen, not Benson Boone, right, and if you're not sure about something, ask them, talk to them, listen to them. They're happy to talk to you, and if they're not, that's okay, but at least you've done your part. You ask with respect and an open mind about what's important to them, so you don't have to come up with everything all on your own. You can reach out to other people, including me, and if anything I've said here has clicked with you, be in touch with me. My contact information comes up at the end of this episode and I'd love to hear from you. You need to be out there. You need to show people that you want their business and that you can give them the results and experience that they're looking for, and I'm here to help, Thanks.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Optimal Aging Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Croft, of PrimeFit Content. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll subscribe, review and tell a friend. All of that helps me grow my audience. I hope you'll share any comments you have with me, including suggestions about people I should interview and topics I should cover. You can learn more about my newsletter and content business at primefitcontentcom and write me at jay J-A-Y at primefitcontentcom and I'm on all the social channels. Again, thanks for listening. Join me next time. Thank you for listening to the Optimal Aging Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Croft of PrimeFit Content. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll subscribe, review and tell a friend. All of that helps me grow my audience. I hope you'll share any comments you have with me, including suggestions about people I should interview and topics I should cover. You can learn more about my newsletter and content business at primefitcontentcom and write me at jay J-A-Y at primefitcontentcom. Again, thanks for listening. Join me next time.
