Marketing Feels Harder in 2026? Here’s What Actually Works Now.
Marketing For Fitness Coaches Podcast with Kandace Dickson | CoachRx Podcast Network
You’re probably hearing a lot of marketers say “marketing feels harder than it used to.” After 22 years in the game, I’ll say this: a lot has changed and a lot is the same.
The difference now is buyer behavior. Buyers don’t want to be squeezed or pressured; they want autonomy, clarity, and a trusted guide. In this post, adapted from Episode 32, we unpack how we got here and what actually works now.
Reframe: The Real Problem
Most people are running with outdated mental models and many marketers still teach what they were taught, not what they actively practice.
At its core, marketing is trying to solve one thing: growth in the context of buyer behavior.
Traditional models were built for buyers who had:
Less access to information
Fewer choices
Less noise
Today’s buyers are:
More informed or misinformed
More distracted
More skeptical
That mismatch is the friction. So instead of jumping to tactics, let’s zoom out and trace how the landscape evolved and what that means for coaches right now.
The Digital Content Landscape (Why This Feels Hard)
Early 2000s → ~2010: Information Retrieval. If you knew things and could publish them, you won. Knowledge was leverage.
~2010 → 2025: The Attention Era. Information wasn’t scarce anymore, attention was. Platforms exploded, feeds filled up, and you were competing for seconds of focus.
Coaches felt this deeply: suddenly you weren’t just competing on expertise, you were competing with creators, influencers, AI, and entertainment just to be seen long enough for someone to understand your value.
What the Attention Era Changed
The attention era didn’t just change platforms, it changed expectations:
Content volume exploded
AI raised the baseline for “good enough” content
Feeds became interest‑based, not follower‑based
Visibility became unpredictable
Sameness crept in: same hooks, formats, talking points. Add influencer fatigue, mistrust in AI‑generated content, and longer buying cycles and marketing starts to feel exhausting.
You can’t out‑volume this environment. But you can cut through with clarity, connection, and perspective.
Why Coaches Actually Have the Advantage
Audiences don’t want over‑polished, over‑produced, over‑rehearsed “experts.” They want:
Someone who understands their world
Proof you’ve done the thing
Insight into how results are created
A perspective that helps them see themselves differently
In short: Connection. Proof. Perspective.
You already do this in client conversations. The job is to build a marketing system that makes those qualities visible consistently.
The Shift We’re Entering: The Era of Perspective
Value is shifting again, away from pure attention toward perspective. People don’t need more content; they need help deciding what matters.
The next era rewards:
Clarity and discernment
Emotional intelligence and relatability
A thoughtful point of view
This is coaching work. Help people understand themselves, their goals, and the next best step.
Five Models and What Each Optimizes
To understand what works now, we need clean definitions. Each model optimizes for something different:
1) The Funnel (Pressure)
Built on the assumption: “If we apply enough pressure, people will move faster.”
Awareness → Consideration → Decision.
Optimizes for conversion speed via control. This worked when options were limited and trust was assumed. Today? People don’t want to be squeezed. They want to be in control. Funnel‑first marketing often feels icky to run.
2) Inbound / Permission (Attraction)
The first big correction: teach first, help first, attract instead of interrupt.
Philosophical shift from persuasion → education, interruption → attraction, control → permission. Blind spot: over‑focused on acquisition, often siloed from sales/delivery/LTV.
3) The Flywheel (Experience)
Growth comes from experience, not acquisition alone. Customers aren’t the end—they’re the engine. Retention, onboarding, referrals, community. More sustainable, but it assumes the buyer is ready once they enter.
4) Loops (Learning & Adaptation)
Continuous feedback and improvement. Publish → observe → adjust. Great at making the system smarter every cycle (especially with AI), but it’s mostly a system‑level model and doesn’t fully solve the pre‑decision confusion.
5) Buyer‑Led (Understanding & Trust)
People buy when they understand themselves and trust the guide, not when they’re convinced.
This model has three phases:
Problem / Understanding
Process / Method
Payoff / Decision
Introduce payoff too early and it feels like hype. Introduce process too early and it feels pushy.
The guiding question: “What does this person need to understand next?”
How to Use the Models Together (Without Pressure)
Buyers don’t want pressure; they want support. Use the models to support a buyer‑led path, not to force it:
Problem / Understanding → Use inbound to attract the right questions and loops to keep teaching what resonates.
Process / Method → Apply flywheel thinking to preview the experience, cadence, and support you actually deliver.
Payoff / Decision → Borrow lightweight funnel elements (clear CTAs, simple paths) to make taking action easy—without pressure.
Buyer‑led is the director; the others are the cast.
That’s how you become the trusted guide.
Why This Matters for Fitness Coaches (Right Now)
Your marketing must be strategic and timed to buyer understanding. That requires deep audience insight and deep self‑clarity:
Your beliefs and perspective
Your methods and process
Your style and standards
The timing must be responsive, helpful, not pushy.
Practical Application
Stop asking “What should I post today?”
Start asking “Who am I teaching right now?”
Then build in sequence:
Problem → empathy, beliefs, connection
Process → frameworks, principles, methods
Payoff → proof, trials, consults
Marketing’s job is to make sales easier.
We’re not convincing anyone; we’re building trust, warming people up, and helping them choose confidently.
Close : The Big Reframe
Funnels optimize conversion.
Inbound optimizes attention.
Flywheels optimize experience.
Loops optimize learning.
Buyer‑Led optimizes understanding and trust.
Marketing is a practice and it evolves.
Don’t get discouraged by “it’s hard.”
Change is inevitable.
Growth is a challenge, and it’s worth the effort when you build as a trusted guide, not a pressure machine.
Next Steps
👉 Download your free one page marketing plan!
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And don’t forget, Marketing for Fitness Coaches is part of the CoachRx Podcast Network, a collection of shows designed to elevate the coaching conversation. Discover more shows in the CoachRx Podcast Network here.
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