Marketing for gyms, fitness studios and personal trainers
Make walking in the first time feel easy.
The hard part of your marketing isn't getting noticed. It is getting a nervous person through the door once, and then keeping them coming. Both are things you can do yourself.
They have decided to get in shape, often on a Sunday night. They are nervous about walking in, so they look for a place where people like them already go and where the first step is obvious.
In this order
Start with these five
None of them costs money. Get the first one working before you move to the second.
Step 1: Show real members, not models
With their permission, post the people who actually train with you: every age, every shape. A newcomer needs to see someone like themselves.
Instagram, in an hour a week →Step 2: Make the first visit one tap away
One clear offer, such as a free first class, and one link to book it. Put that link on your Google listing, your profiles and your home page.
What to put on your home page →Step 3: Reply the same day
Someone who asks about joining has worked up the nerve. Answer within a day, by name, and suggest a specific class and time.
Step 4: Notice who has stopped coming
A short, friendly message to anyone you haven't seen in two weeks keeps more members than any promotion. Just ask how they are doing.
Start an email list →Step 5: Ask for reviews at milestones
A first month finished, a personal best, a hundredth class. That is when a member is proudest, and happiest to say so.
How to ask for reviews →
Where to spend your time
Every channel, ranked for gyms, studios and trainers
You don't need all eight. Start at the top and stop when your week is full.
Start hereWhere your first hours should go.
Add nextWorth it once the first ones are running.
Can waitFine to skip unless the note applies to you.
Nothing to post?
Three posts for this week
Post 1: Show your work
A class in full swing, photographed from the back of the room.
Caption to start from
[Day] [time] [class]. [Number] people, every level. Your first one is on us: [link].
Post 2: Help
One movement people get wrong, and the fix.
Caption to start from
Most people do [exercise] like this. Try this instead: [cue]. You'll feel the difference in your [where].
Post 3: Be a person
Introduce a coach and why they started.
Caption to start from
Meet Coach [name]. Started [activity] because [reason]. Teaches [classes]. Favorite thing to say: “[cue].”
What can wait
Big January discounts can wait. Members who join for the price leave for the price.
Do this today
Message three members you haven't seen in two weeks. Don't sell anything. Ask how they are doing.
Other kinds of business
See them all →Membership
Stuck on what to do next? Ask people who do this every day.
Members get a private group for questions and feedback, plus members-only playbooks. $99.99 a year — about $8.33 a month.
See what's included