For gyms, membership sales are the lifeblood of the business. The more memberships you sell, the more revenue you have coming in to sustain your growth. Sure, you can make money by selling training programs and gear, but memberships will be the foundation of your revenue. and marketing efforts. Hence, as a gym owner, you need to have several strategies on how to attract members and drive sales.
This guide outlines eight strategies you can implement today to attract new gym members and drive more membership sales to your small gym.
This Article in a Nutshell
- Memberships are the foundation of revenue for gyms, and you need to have strategies to attract members and drive sales.
- There are several strategies to attract new gym members and drive more membership sales, including ramping up email marketing, maximizing social media, and giving traditional advertising a chance.
- By implementing these strategies, small gym owners can attract more clients, boost their gym’s brand, and increase revenue.
Top strategies to attract more members to your gym
1. Ramp Up Your Email Marketing
Email marketing can be one of the best ways to attract prospective members to a small gym, especially when they focus on a local clientele. They are particularly effective if you have the means to collect emails from your users on sign-up.
It’s usually also a great idea to set up some sort of email marketing strategy when you open your own gym. Even if you don’t pay much attention in the beginning, it’s something you can use down the line.
Here are three email programs you can use to promote your small gym right now.
Send an email program promoting fitness tips to existing members
This is a great way to build their confidence and convince them that joining a gym will help them reach their goals. I will also give them actionable information that they can use to improve their workout plans and achieve their goals.
Offer exclusive discounts to subscribers
This strategy ensures that people look forward to your offers, and they refer their friends to sign up because it means they get the offers too.
Share exciting articles
The sky is the limit with the kinds of articles you can share. You could talk about how to stay in shape during the winter or the nutrition mistakes that most people make.
2. Maximize Social Media
Social media is essential for every business as it’s used to drive sales and reach more customers. Over half of the world’s population uses social media, estimated to be about 4.70 billion people. If you’re trying to reach the most people, social media is a fantastic place to start.
Follow these tips on how to promote a gym on social media.
- Share regular updates of people working out
- Encourage customers to share their workouts on social media
- Offer free fitness classes on YouTube
- Consider getting sponsored posts on Facebook
- Post testimonials from happy customers
- Use hashtags fitness-related hashtags
- Try hosting giveaways
3. Give Traditional Advertising a Chance
It’s common to find smaller gyms typically struggle with the marketing aspect of their business. Often, their budgets don’t allow for traditional advertising methods like billboards or TV ads. However, there are ways that smaller gyms can still get the word out about their facility.
For instance, you can use flyers. These inexpensive advertising mediums can help get the word out about your gym. Put them in local coffee shops and community centers, or hand them out during a walk around your neighborhood.
You could also set up a booth at events and give away free samples to promote your products.
4. Beef up Your Gym’s Brand
If you’re looking to increase gym membership sales, start by making sure you have an engaging social media presence. Share your latest blog posts and post pictures of popular group workouts that are currently happening at the gym.
Create an image for your gym that screams experts in whipping people into shape. You’d be surprised at how many people will seek you out once they hear about your brand.
Finally decide what equipment to add to your gym? Post about it online. Ran into something no one tells you about running a small gym? Find a way to turn that into a story and share it.
5. Invest in Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is another gym outreach idea for your small gym. Many small fitness studios are utilizing influencer marketing to attract more clients with tremendous results. There are some ways a small gym can successfully integrate this tactic into its marketing strategy.
- Have an influencer post on social media about getting the most out of your workout. The influencer should specify which classes or machines they use at your studio.
- Offer an exclusive offer for your studio that only an influencer can get, such as a free month’s membership or special access to a class.
- Connect with influencers in your area who have experience working with smaller gyms and ask them if they would be willing to work together to market your gym.
6. Ask for Online Reviews
Online reviews are one of the best ways to boost sales and attract more clients to a small gym. If your small gym has a website, you can also create a membership satisfaction survey and post it on your site.
If not, ask each client for feedback when they leave and provide them with a business card so they can write the review directly on it.
You can also offer rewards for reviews and have contests where people submit photos of themselves working out at your gym for prizes like t-shirts or discounts. Include social media buttons on your site, blog posts, and all marketing materials to promote your gym’s social media channels.
7. Start a Simple Blog
Another monthly gym promotion idea you should consider is starting a blog. A blog can be used to promote the gym on social media, offer new services, and more. An added bonus is that blogging can also be a great way to build your brand!
Creating a blog allows you to share content with current clients and potential new ones. And with SEO optimization, you can even pull in a new audience.
For this strategy to work, you need to:
- Find other blogs in the fitness industry and comment on them. Share pictures of what your gym has to offer.
- Participate in relevant conversations on Facebook by responding to or sharing articles related to health and wellness topics
- Share posts from your blog too! If people know how easy it is for them to find information about your business online, they’ll want one of those hot deals from you ASAP!
8. Focus on SEO
To attract new clients and grow revenue, small gym owners need to understand how to promote their facility online. One of the best ways to do this is through Search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword targeting.
These two tactics can attract potential customers by using relevant keywords in the gym’s website content and on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. When prospects search for those terms, they will find your business and may be interested in what you offer.
Wrapping Up
Attracting more clients and boosting your gym sales isn’t rocket science. Be consistent with social media posts, increase brand awareness and watch your client base grow.
