There’s a massive misconception in the online health and fitness space. So many coaches want to build a passive course or membership and call it “evergreen.” But passive and evergreen are not the same thing. Not even close. Let us dive into the truth about passive income in health and fitness.

I’m Annie Miller, and I help coaches build sustainable, data-backed online health and fitness businesses — without selling your soul to vanity metrics. I’ve built passive and hybrid offers, discontinued 1:1 coaching, and made this shift myself. So I want to give you the truth — not the hype — about passive income in health and fitness.

Prefer to watch instead of read? Click here to watch on YouTube.

What Does “Evergreen” Actually Mean?

Let’s start with the term evergreen — because this is where the confusion usually begins.

According to a slew of Google definitions, evergreen refers to:

• An offer that is created once and lives on with no expiration
• A marketing strategy that isn’t tied to time-sensitive campaigns
• Content or programs that remain relevant beyond their original creation

Nowhere in those definitions is the word passive. You can have:

• Evergreen 1:1 coaching
• Evergreen downloads or templates
• Evergreen marketing for a high-touch offer

So evergreen is about content lifespan and marketing structure — not how involved you are in the delivery.

Let’s be clear:
Evergreen ≠ Passive

The Truth About Passive Income in Health & Fitness

With that out of the way, let’s get into what’s actually true about building passive income in this space — especially when you’re creating offers like digital products, memberships, or courses.

1. You Still Have to Sell It — Often

Just because it’s evergreen doesn’t mean people will magically find and buy your offer. You need to continuously market that thing.

Yes, it’s nice to have offers that don’t require new content every month. But if your sales rely solely on evergreen strategies and no launch cycles, you’ll need a high-frequency marketing approach.

This is especially true because there’s no built-in urgency or scarcity with evergreen offers.

If you want people to buy, you’ll likely need:

• Promo windows
• Bonus offers
• Payment plan updates
• Timely pushes around holidays or events

Evergreen = ongoing refinement + consistent promotion.

2. Evergreen Without Paid Ads = Manual Marketing

The only way evergreen becomes more hands-off is if you’re running paid traffic and have solid conversion systems in place.

If you’re not using ads, then you are the engine behind awareness and conversion. It’s not “set it and forget it.” Even with ads, you’ll still be testing, tweaking, and tracking performance regularly.

So if you’re going for passive income through evergreen offers, know that marketing never really stops.

3. Supporting Offers Usually Don’t Carry the Business

Please don’t expect a $29 PDF to pay your mortgage. That’s not what these offers are built for.

A small digital product is great as:

• A lead-in to your flagship program
• A low-risk way for someone to get value and build trust
• A conversion tool inside your email sequence

But on its own, it’s not likely to bring in the kind of revenue you’re imagining. You still need to position and leverage it within your full offer suite.

This is a super common mistake I see. Coaches make a product, post about it once, and then it sits on their site untouched — no sales, no visibility.

Want help building a better strategy around your offer suite?
Check out: What You Need to Start an Online Fitness Coaching Business

4. Know the Purpose of Your Passive or Evergreen Offer

Before you create anything, ask:

• Is this meant to lead into something else?
• Is it part of my core revenue strategy?
• Will I be promoting this year-round or seasonally?

If you know the role the offer plays in your business, your strategy becomes way easier. Don’t build random things and hope they sell. Build with intent and structure your marketing around that.

Final Thoughts

Evergreen offers can be powerful. Passive income in health and fitness is possible. But neither is “easy money.” They both require marketing, clarity, and consistency.

If you go into it expecting to never touch or talk about your offer again, you’ll be disappointed. But if you build a product that’s evergreen and design a smart strategy to support it, you absolutely can make recurring income from it.

Just don’t confuse “hands-off” with “no hands at all.”

Are you building a passive or evergreen offer? I’d love to know. Leave a comment under the YouTube video and share what you’re working on!