Anyone that has had a web meeting with Josh and accidentally seen his Gmail account, usually asks... "How do you get your gmail setup like that?". Well, it all starts with the Labs settings. In this tutorial, Josh will walk you through the Labs that he thinks are the essentials to any Gmail power user. Enjoy

We have a saying here at Spike that "Content isn't just King... It's EVERYTHING."

Fresh relevant content about your company, products and services is absolutely vital, yet a few of our clients opt to try a crack at writing their content themselves in an effort to cut costs and save money. After all, it looks easy, you have a high school diploma, spell checker and samples of what other people or competitors are using right?

In an effort to help out our DIY clients speed up the process of copy-writing. I found this super simple exercise to be very helpful. It snaps writer's block and stops you from being to long winded.

I am going to keep the F-BOMBs out since some of you reading this might have it blocked at work and I also don't want to make my Mom mad if she reads it. But it is important to note that when you go through this exercise, that you absolutely make sure you use the F-BOMB. Otherwise it loses it's effect.

Since content is what makes up your marketing messages, website, brochures, and other collateral, it is important to get to the point and let your audience know exactly what you want to convey.

You probably already have some good keywords or adjectives or standard sayings that you use when describing your company, product or service. You can probably say to someone what it is you do, who you are, or why they should buy your product or service. But when you try to put that down on paper you type to much, go off on tangents, and find it hard to get to the point.

THE EXERCISE:

Take the subject you want to write about, put it in your mind's eye. Next picture a teacher, drill instructor, football coach or some other type of person that you have a love/hate relationship with. Now imagine them walking up to, puffing up their chest getting right in your grill and screaming...

"What the F@$K are you trying to say?"

"What the F@$K does it do?"

"Who the F@$K are you?"

"Why the F@$K should I buy it?"

"When the F@$K is the event?"

"Where the F@$K do I go?"

You get the point. This list can go on and on.

Make sure when you answer, you are screaming right back. Screaming is the only way I have found it to work. You'll be amazed at how much simpler and to the point the answers become. This is where you should begin with your writing and only add to your answers when necessary.

Take it a step further and call your Google Voice number and record your answers so you don't even have to type the bulk of it. To see how to do that go here

Ohhh... it should also be noted that you will crack up laughing at yourself when you do this, it's just part of the process.

Have fun with it.

Nothing says Happy New Year to a CrossFit Affiliate owner like getting a bunch of new member sign-ups! And believe it or not - it's actually pretty easy to do. Imagine if you could add 10 new members, on top of what you normally would, in 1 month. With the average monthly CrossFit membership fee being approximately $125 per month, per member (based on our research) - that adds up to $15,000 of additional revenue for you over the course of 1 year. Not to mention the referrals from those new members…not too shabby for an investment of less than $350.

As we know in the CrossFit business, the hardest part isn't getting people to love the product - it's just getting them in your doors to try it. The fact is that once they try it and fall in love with the results and the amazing community that CrossFit provides, they're usually hooked anyway. So, having said that, all you really need is an enticing offer that overcomes the unspoken objections people have to starting or switching to CrossFit and getting them to experience that CrossFit Awesomeness.

From my experience, those objections have most commonly been one of the following:

"It's too expensive for a gym…"
"It looks like it's too hard / intense for me…"
"I don't want to get bulky (women)…"
"How do I know it really works?"

OK, those are all fair questions or concerns, but how can you overcome those objections, convert those prospective clients and get them to come in and try you out anyway…without even speaking to them? It just takes an enticing enough promotion that they can't say no to that will get them in your doors and experiencing what you have to offer.

Here's what we've done…and it works - REALLY WELL!

Offer a 30 day free trial (hear me out) for the whole month of January for anybody wanting to try CrossFit. I know it might seem crazy, considering that you probably already offer a free session or week, but this will work better. That’s because there's a big difference in what you're currently doing and what I'm suggesting you do.  What you're currently doing is only pulling in people who have qualified Crossfit in their minds based on research or recommendations from other CrossFitters. This will expose all the people who may not have heard of CrossFit yet and want to start taking their fitness more seriously.

You see, every year, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people in YOUR AREA making the New Year’s resolution to get back into shape and take their health / fitness / appearance more seriously in the new year. Most of them will go to the first place that offers them a deal (and believe me, all the Globo Gyms have them right now) and sign up for a gym membership. Most of them will actually sign-up and go to their local Globo for a little while, but thanks to the human ability to come up with a million different reasons to quit, they'll stop training and go right back to what they were or were not doing before.

CrossFit though, as you know, tends to create a different result. Because of the unique programming, encouraging, and results driven environment (not to mention nutritional counseling, personal training-like individual attention, etc), people who come and try CrossFit typically stay for a while, and if you run a tight ship and have an inviting community, become happy paying members.

The Flyer

Create an eye-catching flyer that features the promotion (No excuses - Try CrossFit FREE for a whole month!) on the front and your gym info on the back. Be sure to give a brief description of who you are, some bullet points on what to expect (be positive - focus on results and community), and how to contact you (phone, address and website address). Imagery must be professional, and contain a male AND a female as to cover both demographics. Also, make sure the images that you select aren't too "bad-ass" or you might scare away some of the slightly more timid potential clients - women don't like to see big weights or pullups so leave those out. Kettlebells for the women and olympic bars with weight for the guys tend to yield the best results.

The Best Places to Distribute

Start with all of your surrounding local businesses - simply asking if you could put a stack in the breakroom is a great start. Then, target more upscale grocery store parking lots (Trader Joe's, Mother's Market, Whole Foods, etc). Mall parking lots on weekends are great too - especially after the holidays.

Note: Being strategic about where you distribute your flyers wont just give you better results, but will also cut down on littering.

The Best Times to Distribute

Late afternoons and evenings work best for grocery stores, but mid day tends to be busier at the malls.

On a Side Note

Be sure to have enough staff available to accommodate all your newbies. You don't want to take away from you existing members.

Ready to start updating your blog and keeping your members involved and in the loop?  Watch this demo and get cracking!

Logging into your Google account couldn't be easier. Once there you will be able to access your Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and every other App. This quick video will show you how to do it.

As we all know in the fitness community, the holidays are a time when your existing (and future) clients tend to go off the deep end when it comes to diet and exercise and pack on those few extra pounds. To you, the gym owner, this can actually be a great time to pull in a slew of new members and really grow your business. Organizing a few simple yet effective marketing campaigns for the holiday season can bring huge returns for you in new member sign-ups without breaking the bank. Let's take a look at a few of the opportunities…

1.) Targeting the proactive personality types: Create a fun flyer campaign focused on the whole "beat those holiday pounds to the punch".  Inviting potential clients in for a free week could be all it takes to get them hooked on your box.

Contact your account manager for a pre-designed flyer template

2.) Targeting the reactive personality types: Create a promotion for all those New Years resolution makers who are ready to lose that new found weight. Offer a “no excuse” opportunity for those who want to start the new year off in a healthier way.

Contact your account manager for a pre-designed flyer template

3.) Targeting your existing member base: Create a simple, pre-packaged gift membership that your existing members can give their friends and family. Bundle it with a referral “reward” to really supercharge your results!

Contact your account manager for a pre-designed flyer template

Remember, be systematic and thorough with these simple ideas and they can payout tremendously in new member sign-ups!