Beachbody is a household name when it comes to home fitness programs. Many people have had a lot of success with it, but our discussion today will revolve around the question; can you make money with Beachbody? If you’re looking to start some kind of business in the fitness niche, read on to find out which of the two marketing methods will suit you the most.
What Is Beachbody All About?
Beachbody is an online comprehensive fitness platform that comes with a variety of exercise plans, nutritional supplements, and community support. The membership programs aim to help people lose weight, build muscle and improve their fitness through specific training and nutrition.
There are three main product offers worth mentioning here;
(1) Beachbody-On-Demand (BOD)
BOD is a streaming platform that plays workout videos for people to exercise according to their fitness style and preference. The programs are conducted by some of the top celebrity trainers in the industry like Chalene Johnson, Sagi Kalev, Shaun T, and many more.
Each workout has a fitness goal and calendar to help you stay focused and accountable. While most of the videos are pre-recorded, new content is always being added to keep the routine fresh for existing members. Besides the workouts, BOD also comes with community and coaching support to help track your progress.
(2) Nutritional Products
For better workout efficiency, Beachbody has a few signature nutritional products ranging from protein drinks (Shakeology), protein snacks (Beachbar) and supplements (Beachbody Performance). They are said to contain premium ingredients that are key for a healthier and more energized body stamina.
(3) Fitness Programs
The third offer is the wide range of fitness programs which are packages of specific workout routines and selected nutritional products combined. They are designed for people who are committed to specific fitness goals and willing to make positive lifestyle changes using Beachbody’s comprehensive guides and training.
How Does Beachbody Business Works
With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, Beachbody has undergone several marketing phases from the traditional selling of DVDs to the current eCommerce and digital streaming.
There are primarily two ways to promote products – Beachbody coaching and affiliate marketing. I’ll go through the pros and cons so you’ll get a better idea of how each method works.
(1) Team Beachbody Coach
This term is used to describe any individual who wants to build a Beachbody business by creating a group of coaches under their influence. You can earn anywhere between 25% to 40% in products or membership sales as well as bonuses for recruiting new members as downlines.
In other words, it’s like MLM and the income naturally increases as you rank higher in the group performance tiers. According to the Statement of Independent Coach Earnings released in 2018, the average earnings of a high ranking Diamond Leader is about $15K while a regular coach only takes home about $400+ per year.
To get started, you need to purchase a business starter kit for $39.95 which contains all the marketing tools to support your business. After the first 30 days, the virtual office will cost $15.95 per month to maintain. Besides that, you also need to get a Challenge Pack ($160) or a Performance Pack (about $160 to $180) from one of the fitness programs to immerse yourself in the Beachbody experience.
The Pros
1) Signing up as a Beachbody coach is fairly easy and can be done entirely online, whether you know a sponsor or not. If you’re not interested to continue with the business plan, you may cancel the membership at any time.
2) Upon purchasing a Challenge or Performance Pack, the starter kit fee will be waived so you’re investing in your fitness for the first 30 days.
3) The range of sales commissions is pretty lucrative in comparison to other types of fitness products which usually pay much lower than 25%.
The Cons
1) The personalized website that comes with the business kit is a very basic profile page. Other than containing some referral links to the Beachbody website, it does nothing to rank on the internet. The only way someone can see this page is when you share it with them, but it’s not as simple as posting it randomly on social media.
2) Anyone who has tried promoting MLM products to friends or family members knows that it’s an uphill battle especially when it comes to recruitment. People will always show resistance when you approach them with something they aren’t interested in so moving out of your comfort zone is crucial if you want to build your downlines.
3) As you can see from the income disclosure, it will take about 3-5 years to build a sustainable yearly income if you’re gung-ho about advancing through all the ranks. Like any business, it will also require re-investment and persistence to achieve the results you desire.
(2) Beachbody Affiliate
Most Beachbody reviews talk about the business opportunity from an MLM perspective, but do you know that it also has an affiliate program? The company has been marketing through affiliates since 2009. The program is available through the CJ Affiliate and it’s free to join.
The only thing you need to pay to get started is your web hosting and a custom domain name. Here’s how it works; when you refer someone who then purchases something from the Beachbody’s website, you’ll be rewarded with a small percentage of commission.
For example, any product orders from Beachbody’s online store within 30 days will earn you a 15% sale. Meanwhile, any new membership sign-ups for Beachbody on Demand (the streaming platform) within 45 days will earn you between $10 to $15 per subscriber.
The Pros
1) There are a few niches – we call them the evergreen niches – that do very well in the online space and fitness is one of them. That’s because people are constantly searching for solutions to lose weight and stay healthy with exercise; Beachbody is a great fit for this.
If we trace the progress for the past 5 years, the company seems to have an on-going trend that peaks during the mid and end of the year. This may suggest an ideal time frame to maximize promotional campaigns and increase blog traffic by leveraging these targeted keywords.
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2) One of the biggest advantages as an affiliate marketer is that you just need to focus on the product keypoints and visitors’ engagement on your blog. There’s no recruiting whatsoever and what may seem like a loss from leadership bonuses (in the MLM model) can be compensated by scaling online marketing to reach a wider audience size.
3) What I also like is that you can diversify your online revenue with other brands. You don’t need to stick to just one product to make money; there are plenty of fitness affiliate programs out there that can be integrated with Beachbody’s workout regime and still make your entire recommendation relevant.
The Cons
1) Affiliate marketing can feel foreign for most beginners, especially when we’re so used to the traditional way of doing business. Skills like website building, researching keywords and writing content can come with some learning curves. Some people learn faster while others may require a longer time to get a good grasp of things.
2) Despite the popularity, the Beachbody affiliate program only converts for the US, UK and Canada markets for now. If your visitors come from other regions and are interested, they will not be able to purchase any products or memberships that you recommend.
So, Can You Make Money Selling Beachbody?
The answer to this is an affirmative yes. The video workouts and nutritional products are part of a high-demand niche, especially during this COVID-19 crisis where people are forced to stay indoors and keep themselves healthy. The free-trial for the on-demand programs is a great entry point for newbies to get to know the products before committing to the full plan.
Whether it’s MLM or affiliate marketing, the Beachbody business is something that will require time and effort to see long term results. Between the two models, however, I strongly feel that becoming an affiliate can help you reach your income goals faster due to its online nature and potential to tap on hot-markets vs cold-markets.
If you like to get started immediately, use this WordPress builder to create a fitness blog for free.
And then, head over to my recommended training platform to learn more on how to run a successful online business as a Beachbody affiliate. Hope to see you on the other side.
Todd Matthews says
What I love about Beachbody is that it offers an outlet for affiliate marketers, meaning we’re not stuck doing just the MLM which I’m not a fan of. This allows variety for those like me who are turned off by MLM but at the same time, do affiliate marketing in the fitness niche and as you said, there are several fitness niches this program fits right into.
I also like how Beachbody is rather upfront about how long it takes to build a sustainable income since I know many who feel it’s a get rich quick scheme. It isn’t. Instead, just like any business, there’s work involved. And a lot of it too.
Christine says
Beachbody is a pretty fitting name for a fitness platform. It kind of reminds me of Baywatch 😉 I recently read an article stating that fitness business is booming right now, because people are staying home, due to the COVID situation. There are several niches that are exploding now, and fitness is definitely one of them.
I would not be interested in joining the MLM program though. I would be more interested as a customer. It looks like Beachbody is a good company and it would benefit anyone purchasing a package. It has been around for a long time, so that’s a good sign. Have you tried any of their products?
Affiliate marketing would be far more interesting for me. It will take time and hard work like any other business, but I think, in the long run, it will be more rewarding than MLM.
Cathy says
Yea, it does remind us about Baywatch, doesn’t it? 🙂 I’ve tried Beachbody’s Piyo classes; it was a very intense workout but a good one.