Storytelling isn’t a new idea, and it's a great way to thoughtfully engage and attract newcomers to your facility. When you strategically tell a story, you have the opportunity to involve potential members before they ever step foot in your gym. You also can use this to put the spotlight on one of your most important assets, the people who keep members coming back every week.
This article includes:
How to showcase staff through bios
Tips for highlighting staff achievements
How to Showcase Staff through Bios
While a picture of a coach is great, it can be even better to showcase impactful stories to allow website visitors to get to know the environment they are stepping into. This can create a welcoming environment, an atmosphere of understanding, and make important connections to build trust between your staff and your potential members.
In this article, we will provide you information on how to write a bio, what information to include, and templates so that the writing is a breeze.
Example of a bio written using this guide.
How to write a bio
Writing a good bio can be challenging. Trust us, we know; we've written thousands of bios over the years! But, with the right information, and a little practice, it can be a piece of cake.
Firstly, you will need information on your staff member. We have historically recommended gathering information using a templated questionnaire. Using the answers from this questionnaire can help you to write a dynamite bio.
Secondly, you'll need to identify the important pieces of information and settle on the style of writing you will use. You can start a bio with facts about the person, and allow their experiences to shape the bio.
Using the free templates below, you can create the bio easily using the questionnaire and template. The template below also provides an example and fill-in-the-blank text snippets to use in tandem with the questionnaire.
Additional Tips
Be consistent and concise. 1-3 paragraphs is usually enough.
Use consistent tone across all staff. If you write in the Past Tense for one coach, do it for all staff.
Remember your audience. Potential members should be able to read this page and feel a connection to the staff.
Other Ways to Highlight Staff Achievements
Add a "Coaches Corner" in your blog
Do you have a coach who really knows how to meal prep? Do you have a coach who wants to talk about foam rolling? You can allow them to write about their subjects of expertise in your blog! This is a great opportunity to generate content (important for SEO), and it's also a great way to share a variety of information and establish expertise on a diverse range of topics.
Use Social Media
You use to social media to highlight the success of your members, but why not highlight a coach from time to time? Along with allowing them to explain movements or skills, take time to share pictures of their personal successes. To the coach who finished 3rd in a local competition, to the coach who helped an athlete lose 40lbs - these are both great opportunities to feature you're amazing staff.