How To Start A Fitness Blog That Bulks Up Your Wallet In 2024

Are you a gym rat or a personal trainer?

Are you on your own personal fitness journey?

Do you refuse to skip leg day, no matter what?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, why not start a fitness blog?

It’s a great way to inspire people who are struggling to find the motivation or the time to work out on a regular basis. 

The best part is you can start one today in less time it takes to complete a set.

I’m going to teach you how to start a fitness blog, give you some fitness blog ideas, and give you the skinny on some great fitness affiliate programs. 

How to Start a Fitness Blog Today in 7 Steps

Step 1: Decide On Your Ideal Audience
Step 2: Set Up Your Hosting
Step 3: Register Your Domain Name
Step 4: Build Your Website
Step 5: Customize Your Blog
Step 6: Create Great Content
Step 7: Monetize With Affiliate Programs & Ads

If you’re all about the commitment and hustle that comes with getting into physical shape, a fitness blog will fit right in with your workout routine.

Just like muscle building, it’s going to take some time to see results. But we all have to start somewhere and the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll start seeing gains.

You might find this handy Blog Launch checklist useful if you want to mark tasks as completed as you go.

Let’s get this done!

Step 1: Decide On Your Ideal Audience

Every fitness blog is going to have a different readership. Personal trainers aren’t going to have the same readership as someone who’s in the middle of a weight loss journey.

To help you choose your niche, ask yourself these questions:

• Who do I want to read my blog?
• What do I want them to learn? 
• What goals can I help them achieve?

As an example, if your goal is to lose 100 lbs in two years, who is going to be your ideal audience? The answer is you. People like you who are just starting out but don’t know how.

On the other side of this coin, if you’re an expert, maybe you’re looking to attract people to offer them advice in the form of paid coaching, workout routines, meal plans, etc…

Take some time to think about your readers. Imagine them in your mind. Think about demographics such as gender, age, and even salary ranges.

You know you’ve got your target audience picked when you can say “I’m going to help this group of people to do (achieve this specific goal)”

If you’re not there yet, this video will help:

Step 2: Set Up your Hosting

A host is a company that owns the server your blog lives on. Think of it as a kind of a gym membership fee for your website. You’ll have access to all of the equipment, a locker room and all the bells and whistles.

Wealthy Affiliate offers great, reliable service and I use them for all my blogs. WordPress comes as standard.

You’ll get:

• Reliable hosting and easy set-up
• 24/7 Technical support 
• Free SSL certificate – Your blog is safe at all times and so is anyone using your website
• Jaaxy keyword tool – Use this to help you come up with superb fitness blog ideas
• In-depth video training 
• A friendly community of like-minded bloggers
• Great pricing – Going broke won’t be an issue – Pay $19 the first month and $49/month after that or go yearly at $495 to get a discount on your membership, a free dot com domain and $50 in community credits.

To get started, go to WealthyAffiliate.com and enter your email address:

Once your account’s created you’ll find yourself on the welcome page.

Click on Websites and then Build a Website:

Click the Register a Domain option:

Then you’ll be taken to a page where you can pick a Premium pricing plan. Choose the one that best fits your needs. Now it’s time to choose your domain name.

Step 3: Register a Domain Name for your Fitness Blog

A domain name is going to be your web address. It’s not just the name of your website, it’s also your brand. You’ll be building out an entire business using this name, so make sure it’s exactly what you want.

For a fitness blog, use your name to answer any immediate questions someone might have. If you can, include something about yourself.

Let’s look at some examples. Are you a personal trainer? Do you focus on building bulk and getting ripped? Try something like this:

• Greggainsmuscle.com
• Getrippedwithgreg.com

Maybe Greg isn’t about that big arm life. Maybe he’s overweight and is looking to trim down. He’s just started his journey. Let’s say he’s a corporate guy that spends most of his day sitting at a desk.

• Getleanwithgreg.com
• Greggoeslean.com
• Fromofficetocardio.com

As you can see, the name of your website matters. Come up with multiple ideas. There is a chance your number one choice is taken so you’ll need backups. When you register your domain name, if it is taken, Wealthy Affiliate will give you some alternatives.

Step 4: Build a Website

Ok, ladies and gentlemen. The warm-up is done. Take a second to grab a drink, check your heart rate, and stretch. It’s time to get into the main workout.

Hit the Build a New Website button, enter a title for your website and now you’re ready to pick a WordPress theme. There are 4,000+ themes to choose from:

Different themes give you different layout and customization and design options. There are a ton of free themes to choose from, so look for one you like and remember you can always change it later.

I love the GeneratePress theme and use it for all my blogs. It’s free to start with and you can upgrade to unlock even more features as your blog grows.

Once you’ve chosen a theme, click Select and hit the green Build My Website button. Wealthy Affiliate will take care of the rest and your site will be live in less than 30 seconds:

As soon as it’s done you’ll be able to see your website under the Website tab and keep track of how your blog is doing under SiteHealth.

You’ll also get an email confirmation with your login details so you can access your blog’s WordPress dashboard.

Congratulations, your fitness blog is now live! See? I told you it was easy! 🥳

Step 5: Customize your Fitness Blog

Now take some time to go through the back end of your website and play around with the design options. You can change the fonts, colours, and layout and add a logo by going to Appearance and Customize.

You can create your own logo for free with Canva (it’s easy) or you can hire someone on Fiverr to design one for you for literally $5 – whichever way you prefer.

This is your fitness blog, your branding and your style so make it your own.

Step 6: Create Great Content

Many new bloggers freeze up at this step. It’s like they just woke up on leg day and calf raises are the last thing they want to do.

But there are so many different types of blog posts you can create like helpful how-to guides, top 10 lists, product reviews and so on. A great way to get ideas for your content is to do some keyword research.

A keyword is a focus word. Keyword research tools, such as Mangools, show you how many times a month a word or phrase is googled each month.

Keep in mind, that the top-notch keywords are going to be taken by the heavy hitters. The most important use of these tools is to help you find keywords that can land your content on the first page of the Google search results.

Go through Mangools and try to find some low-hanging fruit, build phenomenal content around them, and use these easy-to-rank keywords effectively.

Setting A Blogging Schedule

It takes a little getting used to but after you write up five or six posts, the process will become second nature. Quality is always better than quantity.

If you can only crank out two amazing blog posts a month, then go with that. No one wants to read garbage content. However, if you want to set a goal for yourself and your fitness blog, two to three posts per week would be ideal.

The key is to set realistic goals depending on your schedule and then blog consistently.

Step 7: Monetize With Fitness Affiliate Programs

There are tons of ways you can make money as a fitness blogger but my two favorites are ad networks and affiliate marketing.

For ad networks, Ezoic is the best bet. Put ads on your site and you can earn an extra $300-$500 a day depending on your traffic.

Affiliate marketing is my favorite way to earn money with a new website. Sign up for a relevant affiliate program, receive a link from the company, and earn commissions when someone clicks on your link and completes a sale.

See our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Affiliate Programs to see exactly how you can earn from your blog:

Below is a list of some of the best fitness affiliate programs you can find on the web.

5 Top Fitness Affiliate Programs

1. Fitbit

No matter what your fitness sub-niche is, every fitness blogger should have some affiliate links for Fitbit.

The age of technology is upon us and no company combines technology and fitness better than this company. The commission is 3%. This may seem a bit low, but the program has a high conversion rate.

2. Nike

Nike is a fitness staple. From basketball to running, they’ll have everything you need to gear up for your workout. They offer a 1% commission. 

3. Under Armour

Under Armour is just as popular as Nike. However, their affiliate program is much more attractive.

They offer a 5% commission. Almost every athlete has at least one shirt or pair of shorts/pants from Under Armour and could be looking for more. People who are just starting their fitness journey will likely be looking to accumulate a lot of merchandise.

4. Amazon

When in doubt, Amazon it out. This is the most well-known affiliate program on the planet.

Their commissions vary by product type, but if you cannot find a program for a product you want to promote, Amazon will have you covered.

5. GNC

If you want to promote vitamins and supplements, check out GNC’s affiliate program. They offer a 5% commission.

GNC is like the Nike or Under Armour of the supplement world. They’re an internationally known brand that people trust and if you love their products you can recommend them and earn daily commissions online.

See also:

• 12 Best Triathlon Affiliate Programs That Pay The Highest Commissions
• 13 Best Boxing Affiliate Programs (Equipment, Memorabilia & More)
• 20 Best Bodybuilding Affiliate Programs To Pump Up Your Income
• 26 Best Sports Affiliate Programs With High Commission Rates
• 11 Best Sports Injury Recovery Affiliate Programs (High EPC)

How to Start a Fitness Blog FAQs

How To Start A Fitness Blog For Free?

You can start a fitness blog for free with Wealthy Affiliate to try it out and see if it’s a good fit long-term and you can transfer your blog to your own dot com domain with ease whenever you’re ready.

Starting a free fitness blog might be a great warm-up, but if you really want to grow your blog’s physique then you’ll want to host it on your domain at some point.

How Much Money Do Fitness Bloggers Make?

When you first start off, you’re going to be making nothing. But if you’re patient and put in the work, you will see results. Some of the most popular fitness blogs make 7 figures a year.

Steve at Nerd Fitness is one of those bloggers who’s earning big bucks. Any Google search looking for the best fitness blogs to follow is going to have his website on the list.

Tammy over at Organize Yourself Skinny hasn’t posted an office income report in a long time. However, she’s still actively creating content and has even created other blogs, using her original website to build an audience and a brand. 

As far as I know, she’s still earning at least six figures a year from her work on various websites.

Sia over at Diary of a Fit Mommy has done an excellent job of turning her blog into a business. She claims to make over $100,000 a year from her website.

I hope you’re starting to see just how much money you can make as a fitness blogger. The sky is the limit!

Final Thoughts on How to Start a Fitness Blog

You’re officially a fitness blogger. What’s next?

Keep generating amazing content and promote it. Great places to find an audience are going to be on social channels like YouTube and Instagram. You can also find more readers on fitness apps.

Travel around to various blogs in your niche. You’ll likely find the most profitable are creating their own products, such as meal plans and cookbooks. This is end-game content, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind.

Be sure to check out our 100% free Commission Academy crash course that’s gonna run you through not just how to start a fitness blog, but how to start a hugely successful and profitable fitness blog.

And if you have any questions (at all) on how to start a fitness blog, ask us in the comments!