If you have started your own fitness center or personal training business, then you will already know that there’s a lot to get your head around: understanding clients, knowing what to provide to them, learning fitness industry trends, and teaching them forward to your clients. Clubworx gym management software can help make a lot of things easy in terms of setting up your gym business but in order to be successful you must also market your business and make sure people in your local area know all about you and your services. If people don’t know about you as a personal trainer, how will they ever ask for your help?There’s quite a bit you can do in order to get your name out, and not all of them will cost a fortune. These are some simple things you can do to advertise your new fitness brand, and the most successful ways to do so.

This section also answers popular questions asked such as: "How can I promote my fitness business?" | "How do I attract people to my gym?" | How can I grow my gym business?"

Sponsor a charity event

There are plenty of local and national events that encourage health and fitness, such as the Fitness and Health Expo. A lot of these events can be sponsored, so they’re a great opportunity for fitness business owners to advertise. Start in the local area and help run the event by sponsoring or volunteering for the event. Any way that you can get your name published or mentioned in the event promotional material is a huge plus.You can also participate in fundraising events specific to charity. You can even raise funds for a local charity group to help raise awareness of your brand locally. To make the most of your local charity group partnership, show your charitable donations on your website and ask each charity to recognize your support on their website as well. This creates a link from your partner charity group to your fitness business.

Sponsor a client

If one of your clients is a bodybuilder, an athlete or even a sporting competitor of some sort, then ask if they would like your sponsorship. Not only will you be helping a local talent reach their potential and dreams, you’ll be able to show people the fruits of your labor. You’ll be showcasing one of your clients, and people will see that you’ve been a big reason behind their results, outcomes and success stories. In this sort of sponsorship it is important to ensure that your client is in line with your business's overall brand image and message in order to maximize your marketing efforts.

Have your name in the local press

Whether it be on the television, local radio station or newspaper, getting the word out about your business locally can be easily covered by approaching the local media. Start by asking about their advertising prices, and place advertisements where possible. You can also see if you can run a special event, such as a radio crossover of you live on the radio or an interview on television about a recent event. You may also want to list your business on local websites such as local business directories, local news sites or even small business blogs and Facebook groups targeting a local area of interest.

Offer something for free

Everyone loves something for free. It often doesn’t really matter what it is that’s free, so long as it’s worth the time and effort to get it. You could offer something as simple as a free class or a free first personal training session. Either way, you can use this free session to entice potential new clients to come back for more and pay for their next class or session. You can also provide referral bonuses to your clients. If someone refers a new client to you, you can give them a free session. The choices are endless with this, so be creative and look for new ways to encourage new members to sign up. Try steering away from giving away things such as e-books, freebies with strings attached or poor selling stock (there's a reason they're not selling in the first place).

Always have business cards on you

Have a business card on you at all times. You may be shopping for food or picking the kids up from school, or you may even just overhear someone talking about finding a personal trainer on the train. That’s where you step in. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of self-promotion. If even only a handful of people join up to your classes after you’ve handed them a business card, your efforts have paid off. It may not seem like its worth the hassle, but the new customers you do gain can potentially bring in even more business for you.

Get up to date on social media

You’re missing a big chunk of people in your local area if you don’t have social media accounts. You can start by opening up business accounts for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Encourage people to “like” your business by providing social media promotions, and be sure to update these accounts regularly. You don’t have to spend hours each week on this, but just updating with a simple video or image every so often will definitely bring in new likes and clients.

Furthermore, you could invest in a paid social media fitness marketing campaign such as Facebook Ads and promote your fitness studio to your target audience.If you really don’t have the time to be sitting on a computer thinking up new digital marketing ideas for your social media pages, you can always enlist the help of social media content marketing experts who can take care of your accounts for you. Have a look on websites such as Upwork, People per Hour, and Freelancer to find a social media marketer you can hire only when needed, without breaking the bank.

Be your own billboard

It doesn’t matter what you're doing with your day, you have a huge opportunity to be your own walking billboard. Because as a fitness professional you’re already working on your fitness and health, you will already look good enough to show people what you can achieve for them. You can then add your own workout gear that has your fitness club logo printed on them, and people will be able to notice who you are and what your business is. Get some customized gym clothes with your logo printed on them and go about your day knowing that you are a living, breathing, marketing machine.