Tips on posting

Ten minutes a week, done well. What works for classes like ours, and where else to list your class once.

Ten minutes a week, done well, beats an hour done badly. Here is what works.

What a good post looks like

• Lead with the day, the time and the hall. People decide in two seconds whether it is for them.
• One picture. The one on your page is ready; your own photo of the hall is even better. A student in the picture only with their written permission.
• One or two sentences in your own voice. If the caption does not sound like you, change a word or two.
• A way to reply: "Message me" or your number. Make it easy to say yes.
• Your booking link at the end, as it appears in the caption.

When to post

• Facebook community groups: Sunday evening or Thursday evening, when people plan their week.
• Your own profile: Monday morning, when your class is fresh in your mind.
• Instagram: any evening. Use the Instagram caption on your page, which is shorter.
• One post a week is the minimum; two or three is plenty. More than that and people stop noticing.

How community groups work

• Read the group rules once. Most allow one business post a week, often on a set day.
• Some groups need an admin to approve a post. Do not post it twice if it does not appear at once.
• Post in the places on your Local marketing sheet, and anywhere else you know. There are no territories: every post ends with a link to the full timetable, so anyone who sees it can find the class nearest them.
• Reply to every comment within a day, even a thumbs up. Replies are what make the group show your post to more people.
• If someone asks a question, answer it in the comments, then message them.

Saving a picture on your phone

• Tap Save picture under the post. On iPhone and Android this opens the share sheet: choose Save Image, or send it straight to Facebook.
• If the share sheet does not appear, press and hold the picture and choose Save Image. It is now in Photos or your Gallery.
• Then start your post, tap the photo icon, choose the picture, tap Copy caption on your page, and paste.
• On a computer: Save picture opens the picture in a new tab; right-click and Save Image As.

Your newsletter in ten minutes

Your newsletter follows the shape Helen has used for years. Six short parts, all in your voice:

1. An opening: the week, often the weather, and what it means for class.
2. What you have been up to.
3. Why it helps: one benefit of the classes, a thank-you, and a nudge to anyone who has been away.
4. Your charity update.
5. Moves Fitness news: events, new routines, dates.
6. Your regular feature, if you have one. Helen has her dog Mabel.

The opening and the benefits story come pre-written each week; keep them, change them or clear them. Your classes for the week, with halls, addresses, prices and booking links, are filled in for you, and so is the bring-a-friend line and the unsubscribe line at the bottom.

Scroll down for your newsletter template. Add your personal touches and it is ready to forward on Thursday. Tap Send me a copy of my newsletter to my email and it arrives in your own inbox looking exactly as it does on the page; forward it to your list from there. Attach your photo if you have one; there is a marked spot for it. Ask one person a week to forward it to a friend.

Two versions of every post

• Community places refuse business advertising: the council What's On, the Borough Boards, libraries, churches and over-55 centres. For those, use the community notice version: "Local exercise class, come and join us", with the day, the time, the hall and who to contact. No price, no hard sell.
• Facebook groups and Nextdoor take the promotional version, with the booking link and the call to action.
• Your page has a Copy button for each version under every post. Use the one the place asks for.

One Moves Fitness Google Business Profile is held by head office, so people searching for Moves find one listing, not a dozen; teachers do not create their own. Facebook Events on your own profile are yours to create, and they show in Facebook's local listings.

Boosting

• You do not need to boost anything. The posts work without it.
• If you do boost, boost your own class post only, with the smallest radius Facebook allows around your hall.
• Keep the circle small, around your own hall. The people who live near your hall are the ones who will come.
• A few pounds a day for a week is enough to see whether it does anything.
• The full instructions, for teachers and for head office, are at /tips/boosting/.

What not to do

• No photos of students without their written permission. Where a student is happy to be pictured, a quick text or email saying yes is enough. Keep it.
• No daily reposts of the same picture. Once a week in each place is the limit.
• Do not say "first class free" unless you offer it. Your page only shows the line if you do.
• Do not promote the online class. Everyone who does it online found you in the hall first.
• Do not argue in the comments. Thank them and move on.

If anything is unclear, reply to Sunday's email and Ricardo will sort it.

Where else to list your class

Most of these are free and take ten minutes once. Check each site's rules before your first listing. Links checked on 17 September 2026.

Anywhere in the UK

• Facebook Events on your own profile or pagefree Create a public event for your class each month with the hall, day and time, and share it into the groups on your list. Events show in Facebook's local listings and can be shared once into a group without counting as a business post in most groups. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Nextdoorfree Post as a resident from the Nextdoor app once a week, with the hall, day, time and a way to reply. You must live in or near the neighbourhood. Nextdoor removes posts that read as adverts, so write it as a neighbour telling neighbours. Check the submission rules before first use.
• InYourArea eventsfree Search your postcode, choose Events, and submit your class as a recurring local event with a picture. Listings are moderated and can take a day to appear. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Eventbritefree Create a free 'come and try' event for your class, with tickets set to free, so people can find it when they search for things to do nearby. Free events cost nothing to list. Use it for a taster session, not every weekly class. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Gumtree community classesfree Post a free advert under Community, Classes, with the hall, day, time and your number. Renew it monthly so it stays near the top. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Open Sessions by London Sportfree Register your class once on Open Sessions and tick the box to publish it as open data, so activity finders run by county sport partnerships pick it up automatically. Run by the charity London Sport. One entry feeds several finders, including Active Kent's. Check the submission rules before first use.
• This Girl Can activity finderfree Your Open Sessions entry can appear here too; check the finder after a week and email them if it does not. Sport England's campaign for women. Reaches exactly the people who are nervous about a first class. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Age UK, your local branchfree Find your local Age UK branch and email them your class details for their activities list and newsletter. Branches decide what they list. A short, warm email with the hall and price works better than a flyer. Check the submission rules before first use.
• u3a, your local groupfree Find the nearest u3a group and email its secretary to offer a taster session or a mention in their newsletter. u3a is for retired and semi-retired people. They like a named local instructor and a specific date. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Women's Institute, your local WIfree Find the nearest WI and offer a ten-minute chat or taster at a meeting, then a mention in their newsletter. Contact the branch, not head office. Many WIs are actively looking for speakers. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Parish or village magazinesmall fee Ask the parish church or parish council for the magazine editor and book a small advert or a community notice. Often around twenty pounds for a half page, and the readership is the right age. Free community notices are sometimes allowed. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Library and community centre noticeboardsfree Print one A5 notice with the hall, day, time, price and your number, and ask the library and your hall to put it up. Ask first; most boards need a staff member to pin it. Replace it when it fades. Check the submission rules before first use.
• GP practice social prescribing link workerfree Ring or email your nearest GP surgery, ask for the social prescribing link worker, and send them your class details. Link workers refer people who need to move more and meet people. They need to know the class is gentle, cheap and friendly. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Your district or borough council 'what's on' pagefree Search your council's website for 'what's on' or 'community directory' and submit your class. Every council does this differently; some list regular classes, some only events. Check the submission rules before first use.

Cambridgeshire

• Living Sport (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough)freeCambridgeshire Email info@living-better.org.uk with your class details and ask to be listed in their activity finder. Living Sport trades as Living Better. Their old livingsport.co.uk address no longer answers. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Cambridge City Council, inclusive activitiesfreeCambridgeshire Use the contact on the page to ask for your class to be added to the council's activity information. Aimed at people who find it hard to get active. Check the submission rules before first use.
• How Are You South CambsfreeCambridgeshire Use the site's contact form to ask for your class to be listed under activities. Milton is in South Cambridgeshire. The site blocks automated checks, so open it in a browser. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Milton village website and parish councilfreeCambridgeshire Email the parish clerk or the village website editor with your class details for the noticeboard and the village newsletter. Milton Community Centre, where the class runs, has its own noticeboard too. Check the submission rules before first use.

Kent

• Active Kent & Medway activity finderfreeKent Register your class on Open Sessions and it appears in the Active Kent finder automatically; email activekent@kent.gov.uk if you need help. Free. The finder is fed only from Open Sessions. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Everyday Active Kent activity finderfreeKent Same route: your Open Sessions entry feeds this finder too. Everyday Active is Kent County Council's campaign for people who are not very active. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Sevenoaks District CouncilfreeKent Search the site for community events or the community directory and submit your class. Sevenoaks town council and the district council both run listings; try both. Check the submission rules before first use.

Surrey

• Visit Surrey, submit an eventfreeSurrey Submit a taster or open session as an event; non-members get up to four free listings a year. Events must be in Surrey, must not be a recurring weekly class, and are approved before they appear. Listings can also reach Surrey County Council's site and the Surrey Matters newsletter. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Active SurreyfreeSurrey Register your class through Open Sessions, then check Active Surrey's community pages and email them if it is not showing. Active Surrey's old activity finder page has gone; their community section is the current entry point. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Age UK Surrey activitiesfreeSurrey Email Age UK Surrey with your class details and ask to be added to their activities list. They list regular activities for older adults across the county. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Healthy Surrey, get activefreeSurrey Use the contact details on the page to ask for your class to be included in their local activity information. Run by Surrey County Council public health. Listing is at their discretion. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Elmbridge Borough CouncilfreeSurrey Search the site for community events and the Centres for the Community, and email the centre nearest your hall. Elmbridge runs centres for over-55s in Molesey, Hersham, Walton and Cobham that welcome activity providers. Check the submission rules before first use.
• Royal Borough of KingstonfreeSurrey Search the site for community directory or what's on and submit your class. Covers Chessington and Tolworth. Check the submission rules before first use.

Head office does these

One listing for the whole of Moves Fitness, so teachers do not need to.

• Google Business Profilefree One Moves Fitness profile, held by head office, with the Page's posts added as weekly updates. Teachers do not create their own. Several profiles under the Moves name would compete with each other in search and Google may flag them as duplicates. Teachers use Facebook Events on their own profile instead.