About the Episode‍

Jonathan Goodman is the creator of the Personal Trainer Development Center ($35M+ rev) and host of the popular Obvious Choice podcast, a top podcast for coaches, entrepreneurs, and small business owners.

Jonathan’s been featured in most major business and fitness publications including Men's Health, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Robb Report, Inc., and many more. Over 200,000 coaches and small business owners in more than 120 countries have purchased business development materials from him.

In this episode of "Uploading...," Jonathan shares insights from his journey of building a multimillion-dollar fitness business through strategic content creation. He discusses key concepts like understanding audience needs, developing scalable systems, and focusing on meaningful metrics for long-term success.

Today, we'll cover:
- Jonathan's transformative journey from personal trainer to successful online entrepreneur
- The key principles for creating impactful, business-focused content that resonates with your audience
- How to develop a range of offerings that serve your audience at different stages of their journey
- Adopting a balanced, seasonal approach to work and life for long-term success and fulfillment
- Powerful, timeless lessons from Jonathan's new book, The Obvious Choice, on mastering the game of business and life

3 Strategies for Success From Jonathan Goodman

1. Measure what matters

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Likes, followers, and fleeting virality—they may boost your ego, but do they translate to meaningful business outcomes? Not necessarily.

As Jonathan emphasizes, the key to sustainable success is focusing relentlessly on metrics that truly matter. For you as a content creator, that means tracking tangible results that directly impact your bottom line, such as inbound inquiries, product sales, and email subscribers.

The challenge is that these metrics require more effort and patience to influence than racking up likes and followers. It's easier to gain a following than to nurture genuine relationships and guide your audience to a buying decision.

But remember, what gets measured gets managed. By choosing the right North Star metrics and tracking them diligently, you ensure that every piece of content you create is purposefully designed to drive real business growth.

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2. Master the content trifecta

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According to Jonathan, creators need to master three types of content: viral content, value-based content, and depth-based content.

Your viral content grabs attention, sparks conversations, and expands your reach. It's your bold statement, contrarian hot take, or emotionally resonant story that stops the scroll and compels engagement.

Your value-based content builds trust and positions you as an authority in your niche. It's your how-to guides, industry insights, and actionable advice that helps your audience overcome challenges and achieve goals.

Your depth-based content closes deals. It's your case studies, product demos, and comprehensive resources that showcase your expertise and demonstrate results.

The key is understanding how each type of content fits into your overall strategy and tailoring your mix based on current priorities and audience needs. By striking the right balance, you can effectively guide your audience through the customer journey and build lasting, growth-driving relationships.

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3. Play the long game

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The pursuit of overnight success is tempting. You see viral sensations and breakout stars, believing that's the only path to success.

But as Jonathan knows, true staying power comes from playing the long game—consistently showing up, delivering value, and building trust with your audience over months and years, not just chasing fleeting trends.

Your content is like a savings account. Every post, video, or update is a small but significant deposit that compounds over time. While returns may not be immediate, the cumulative effect is a trove of evergreen assets that continue driving traffic, generating leads, and establishing authority long after publication.

Focus on creating timeless content that speaks to your audience's core challenges and aspirations. Rather than getting caught up in algorithm changes or fads, double down on topics and formats that showcase your unique perspective and expertise.

This doesn't mean ignoring trends altogether, but rather putting your own spin on timely topics and tying them to your overarching strategy.

Ultimately, the long game is the only game worth playing when it comes to content—embrace it, and you’ll watch as your audience and brand grow stronger over time.

Episode Timestamps‍

00:00 From working as a personal trainer to a $7M per year business
04:20 Jonathan’s new book, The Obvious Choice; the parade problem
07:01 First steps to start growing an audience online
13:34 Personal Trainer Development Center’s first online course
14:57 How to create a scalable system and avoid the trap of false economies
19:57 Thinking of content as a long-term savings account
24:11 Goodhart’s law: when the metric becomes the goal, it ceases to be a good metric
28:00 Building businesses in seasons; balancing personal life and work
33:12 The four arms of Jonathan’s business
36:53 Broader community vs high ticket offers; choosing customers wisely

Likes vs Business Impact: “It's easy to be rich with likes and poor with dollars because what feeds the ego is what's bad for the wallet… I have lots of posts that have 10, 20, 30, 40, 100,000 likes. I also have posts that have less than a thousand likes. And I can tell you that the posts with less than a thousand likes drive more business than the posts with 30 or 40,000. Now, does that mean that neither is valuable? I believe that we need three types of content. I believe that we need viral, value, and depth-based content.” — Jonathan Goodman, 00:25:59 → 00:27:08

Content as a Savings Account: “Most of the time, everything that's working for you will be bubbling underneath the surface, invisible to the eye. You don't know when that inflection point is going to hit… You have to think of content as a savings account and you have to think of content as a way to primarily nurture and convert people and leads that are generated elsewhere.” — Jonathan Goodman, 00:21:10 → 00:21:56