How Fitness Expert Elle Linton Expanded Beyond Blogging
Despite the overbearing influence of social media, having your own website is still important. It’s where you call the shots and create within parameters that you can, for the most part, set yourself. This also doesn’t mean you should stay there. Expansion is a natural next step for most bloggers and there are plenty of ways to do this. For keep it simpElle blog founder Elle Linton, expanding meant taking her love of fitness to Zoom.
Ahead, the SHE Media partner shares how she began her blog, why she started teaching online classes, and her personal philosophy for social media.
Tell us about what inspired the creation of keep it simpElle.
I started keep it simpElle around the time of the London Olympics in 2012. There was such a buzz of excitement in the city and I’d been involved in lots of physical activity projects both personally and professionally. So I decided to take up space on the internet to share my journey and connect with others.
How do you approach fitness content in such a competitive space?
It absolutely is a competitive space so I always remind myself that no one has the same story, experiences, or journey as me! Fitness and physical activity was my passion and profession before I became an influencer—and that wasn’t even intentional. When I started blogging, Instagram didn’t even exist and blogs were more like diaries than resources. So much has changed and I’ve continued to learn and develop my site as well as aiming to remain consistent while I figured out my niche and audience over the years.
Share a tip that’s worked for growing your social media audience?
Growing a social media audience is probably one of the most difficult things. Personally, I’ve tried to keep my accounts as organic as possible, providing a more personal insight into what I share on the blog. When I do work with brands, I choose collaborations that are authentic to me and that I think my audience will find valuable. I stick to a clear set of content pillars and again, try to be as consistent as I can. I’ve found that using a platform’s features, such as reels or IGTV on Instagram, often helps to get you discovered.
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How has the pandemic impacted your business?
Before the pandemic, I’d say my business was mostly an informational resource. When I was unable to teach fitness classes in studios due to lockdown and was in need of a routine, I decided to create an online fitness offering. I had very few expectations as none of it was planned but one year later, I’ve built an awesome community that workout with me all over the world via Zoom.
I think having experience of building a brand digitally before the pandemic really helped to secure my business. I was comfortable using social media to connect with others and comfortable being on camera. I was also fortunate that what I do—delivering fitness—can be done online. Outside of this, I work as a consultant for a fitness tech company and also contribute to other publications/brands as a fitness expert.
Have you made any pivots to adapt to the in-home fitness trends?
Personally, I had always enjoyed home workouts and had already been creating content around working out at home so when it became trendy, I was already well placed and knowledgeable. I enjoyed creating more content around home workouts, especially video content as well as exploring indoor cycling as it gained much more interest.
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