Nerd Fitness: A Look Back and A Look Forward
Yes, I realize every other website out there has done one of these articles in the past week, blah blah blah, shut it!
Did THOSE articles have a picture of kick-ass fireworks? DIDN’T THINK SO! Ahem. Let’s start with a quick look back at how this site started, and then move onto where it’s headed in 2010:
Nerd Fitness Begins
I won’t go into too much detail about what my goals were for 2009 because I really didn’t have any. Way back in January, I made the decision to start writing this blog simply because I wanted to bring a unique perspective to the online fitness community which was oversaturated with super-generic, give-me-your-money websites. This was my “plan”:
- Write every day
- Figure out what the hell I was doing later.
I spent 9 months executing part 1 of this plan to perfection: I spent all of my free time writing and none of my time doing any marketing or relationship building because I simply didn’t know any better. Part 2 of the plan didn’t come into play until September – Josh over at WorldsStrongestLibrarian.com wrote an article saying he’d write a guest post for any fellow blogger that wanted one (and he ended up writing like 50 guest posts in a few months…Josh is the man).
This was the ah-ha moment I needed.
I nervously emailed Josh asking him for a guest post on Nerd Fitness and instantly received an email back saying he’d love to write one. This was my first experience with a well-respected blogger and I realized he was a lot like me: hard-working, honest, and eager to connect/help. A few weeks later, I wrote my first guest post ever for his site, 7 Life Lessons we Can Learn from Where the Wild Things Are, and things have snowballed since then.
The best decision I ever made for this site was changing my post-frequency from five relatively generic articles a week to two well-researched, unique articles that are actually worth reading (I hope). Now that I don’t have to focus on publishing an article every night, I can actually take some time to build relationships with NF readers (that’s you) and other writers out there. Not surprisingly, Nerd Fitness’s growth and my own happiness have increased incredibly since I’ve made this change.
Time to Grow Up!
Now that I’ve hit my stride and started to connect with a lot more people, I want to take Nerd Fitness to the next level. I don’t mean that in a corporate “think outside the box” kind of way (which would be super lame), but actually level up this website like an RPG. I have a great feeling that 2010 is going to be the best year yet. This is what I expect to accomplish:
- Create an LLC – Hopefully this isn’t a surprise to you guys, but I’d like for this website to bring in a steady income some day (gotta pay the bills, right?). I still plan on writing two kick-ass free articles every week until forever, so don’t worry. I feel like ads would kind of devalue the site, so plan on getting creative to bring in the dough. One of the biggest ventures will be to…
- Create an E-book available for purchase - Expect a more in-depth post on this in the near future complete with all the details on what will be in it. I received such a great response from my free E-book that I fell like this is the next logical step. Now, a big reason why I’d like to start bringing in money through the site is that I want to…
- Completely redesign NerdFitness.com - I’m currently using a stock WordPress template, but I’m getting to the point where a custom design needs to happen – this page needs more personality! I have a great vision in my head and it will certainly cost money to make that vision a reality.
- Create a Nerd Fitness Army/Militia/Clan/Guild - I’d like to start keeping track of all people interested in being a part of the Nerd Fitness community, yet I have no way in getting in contact with everybody right now. Chris has his small army, Baker has his Militia…I just need to come up with a kick ass name for the NF Community. Suggestions are welcome!
- Earn At Least One More Training/Fitness Certification – I am not a fitness expert. There are far more qualified and experienced individuals out there who could give you scientific, biological explanations for exercise and diet. I don’t have that type of background: my degree is in Economics and my day job involves the production of music cruises. I just happen to love fitness, I have a thirst for knowledge, and I really enjoy helping people get in shape. I do have a basic personal trainer certification, but I want more and I want to learn more. In the meantime, I fortunately have some friends in the industry with over 20+ years of experience – they’ve been nice enough to offer their advice and answer any questions I might have when writing articles or filming videos. Thanks guys.
- Increase my subscriber count by at least 400% - Why 400%? Why not! I think this is a goal within reach if I continue to produce inspirational/educational/comical content worth reading. I feel like I’m doing a lot of things right and helping a lot of people turn their lives around(I hope so anyway), so I just need to find a way to get in front of a bigger audience. To do that, I plan to..
- Write at least 6 Guest Posts on Other Prominent Sites – I already have one guest post in the works for one of my favorite sites that I can’t WAIT to finish. Moving forward, I plan on targeting great websites with strong active followers that have nothing to do with fitness. I’d imagine most of you guys would never in a million years visit a generic fitness website, so I’d rather try to snag the intelligent blog readers from awesome sites that want to get in shape but are turned off by all of the crap that exists out there in the fitness industry.
Phew! I realize that sounds like a lot to accomplish in the next twelve months, but I think these are all goals within reach if I continue to bust my ass. If you have any concerns, comments, or questions about where Nerd Fitness is headed in 2010, please email me at steve@nerdfitness.com and I’ll gladly talk to you about it.
When I started this website I never expected to feel so good about helping others, and I never expected to bring together such a kick-ass group of readers. I feel like I’ve really gotten to know a lot of you extremely well, and I look forward to getting to know the rest of you (email me!). Thank you for making Nerd Fitness what it is today, and thanks for coming back. I’m going to make all of you proud in 2010.
Everybody have a great Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Festivus), and we’ll see you on Monday!
-Steve
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photo from Bob Jagendorf
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Hehehehe…funny you should mention a redesign. I was messing around w/ my own wordpress theme and looking at others and I found one that looked pretty cool and that said it was customizable, then I hit me…”Oh shit, thats Steve's theme, I can't use that!”.
And I totally want to be a part of the Nerd Fitness Army/Force/Clan/Swarm (if you wanna get all Zerg up in here)….I just don't like Guild, reminds me too much of a bunch of guys at computers (with slurpees and hot pockets) getting ready to do a Diablo run (yes, most of my nerdiness is thanks to Blizzard Entertainment).
Have an awesome holiday!
Steve,
I really dig your non-corporate ultra anti-suckish plan for 2010! Sounds like well, a plan. To describe your community of subscribers, I think “Nerd Fitness Nation” would be in order. Think of it. The acronym of NFN – good ring to it plus you get to pronounce it “En Effin”, which sounds kinda edgy, ha!
This blog is one of my top three reads. You've got a great thing going!
Have a great Christmas!
Hey Steve,
Thanks man, hope you have a good holiday too. I agree that guild sounds TOO lame (I was definitely in a few guilds on EQ2 back when my computer worked). I like the idea of swarm…
I'll keep thinking about it, but I'm glad you want to be a part of it!
-Steve
Hey Rob!
Yeah, I don't plan to suck in 2010. Hahaha. I actually really like Nerd Fitness Nation too…hmmmmmmmmmmm. NFN….decisions decisions.
Thanks again for the kind words Rob. Merry Christmas!
-Steve
A couple of comments.
Your blog wouldn't devalue from a modest amount of google ads or something like that. And the few bucks are always welcome.
And nice going on the certificate. Would be nice. You definitely got more useful input than most of the certified personal trainers I see walking around in the gyms over here. Sometimes it makes you wanna cry, haha. The BS they tell…
Anyway, good luck with 2010. I will keep reading. And keep it funny, man!
PS: Wanna here your thoughts on the SS program I suppose you’re still doing at the moment. And happy holidays, of course.
Yeah, appropriate ads are certainly not a detraction. Even tying into them a bit, the way AoM does. The biggest problem with them I've heard of is that policing them can become time-consuming.
Nation is pretty cool. Other suggestions: Nest (too 'commune'al?). Troop (monkeys, kangaroos). Pack.
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/Animal...
Excellent goals. May I suggest a forum. Keep up the good work, this site is a valuable resource to many.
Hey Steve,
I def want to be part of your army,, now a new name.hmm…. Steve's bootcamp, posse (lol),
ditto on the forum idea
Hey Geeraard!
Thanks for the comments. I think maybe a super-targeted ad at the top or on the side isn't a bad idea. I'll certainly think about it.
So far, the SS program (starting strength) is going really well. I've made some adjustments to my squats and deadlifts so I dropped my weight way down to perfect my form. Got sick last week and have been traveling so I haven't been back in a gym for a few days, but things have been going well.
-NF Steve
Thanks for the comment Jacob,
I think Nation is solid. I've also come up with “the Nerd Fitness Rebellion,” as you would join the rebellion against the tyannical forces of “fat, sloth, and ugliness.” hahaha
Kinda sounds a little Star Wars-ish though, and I'm definitely thinking more D&D, Lord of the Rings, etc.
-NF Steve
Hey Alexander,
Thanks for the comment man, I really appreciate it.
I think this website is at the point now where the traffic is considerable enough to seriously consider a forum. My two concerns with forums:
-Not having enough activity, so people wouldn't come back (this is less of a concern now that the traffic has climbed to a big level).
-Trolls. Damn I hate policing message boards, and I don't have the time during the day to police the boards. I'd consider maybe something like charging a dollar a month for people to use the forums. I realize this would seriously cut down on the number of people who would use it, but I hope it would completely remove the trolls who just show up to knock people down behind the anonymity of the internet.
It would be a few months before I make the decisions on the forums, so maybe I'll put together some surveys to get everybody's thoughts.
-NF Steve
Hi Nina!
Lol, the Nerd Fitness Posse.
These are the ideas that just ran through my head while watching TV:
The Nerd Fitness Alliance
The Nerd Fitness Rebellion
The Nerd Fitness Coalition
The Nerd Fitness Nation
I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan (read the books over and over), so the good “armies” of that movie is what I picture when I picture a group of Nerd Fitness people interacting, getting in shape, and being awesome.
-NF Steve
I'm in the process of writing up my New Years resolutions, part of which includes a complete website overhaul. I'm planning on doing something like a tumblog on crack. What sort of ideas do you have for layout?
(If you're interested, I can show you the new mock-up for my blog.
Keep up the good work, Nerd Fitness. I look forward to seeing more of your work in 2010!
I'm thinking a name for your group could either be The Nerd Herd or just Lambda Lambda Lambda.
I enjoy your site.
-Chad
Keep up the good work, Nerd Fitness. I look forward to seeing more of your work in 2010!
I'm thinking a name for your group could either be The Nerd Herd or just Lambda Lambda Lambda.
I enjoy your site.
-Chad