10 Creative Health Club Marketing Ideas to Get More Members and Grow Revenue

The majority of health club owners can agree that the business of acquiring and retaining members can be exhausting.

But, as you may probably know, health club membership is vital to its growth and commercial success. The more members you have, the higher your revenues.

So, how can you increase memberships at your health club? Well, you can achieve this through consistent and strategic marketing.

In this guide, we will walk you through 10 health club marketing ideas, which can help to attract more customers, grow your memberships and increase your revenue. With that said, let’s get to it.

1. Write for a Local Newspaper or Magazine

One of the most cost-effective ways of spreading the word around your health club is to reach your target audience through various publications. But, instead of placing an ad in a local newspaper or magazine, you will be writing an expert column.

First, you will need to approach local magazines or newspapers and ask whether they may be interested in adding a health and wellness article to their publication. In case they agree, you can then go ahead and start producing high-quality, informative and relevant articles as often as their publication allows.

For these articles, you can simply offer basic advice or tips on health, wellness and nutrition. And as you near the end of the article, you can then pitch the importance of regular exercise in maintaining optimal health and nutrition.

Remember to include your contact information, whether it’s your email address, phone number, or social media handles. The potential return on investment with this health club marketing idea is worth the time and effort spent in writing the article.

2. Host Charity Events

Another method that you can use to market your health club and reach a larger target audience is by holding a charity event inside your fitness center or in the parking lot. For instance, you can contact two local businesses, and ask whether they would like to compete against each other. If they agree, you can then go ahead and set it up.

To boost the attendance for your event, you should ensure you advertise it aggressively using different marketing channels. Also, you should encourage the event’s participants to spread the word.

The competition can include things like rope climbs or tug-of-war, among others. The idea is to find something fitness-related, competitive, and fun. Winners of the event will then be rewarded with cash donations, forwarded to their preferred charity.

While this method may cost you some money to set it up, it can be highly effective in increasing brand awareness and getting people through the door. And, some of the event’s participants may even sign up for your health club’s membership right away.

To streamline the registration process for your charity event, consider utilizing an online event registration solution. This approach not only simplifies sign-ups for participants but also provides an efficient way to manage attendance and keep track of important event details.

3. Deliver Snacks to Local Businesses

Delivering healthy snacks to businesses, community groups, schools, and other institutions nearby is also a great means of marketing your health club. The delivery can be during the 10 am or 3 pm snack time.

Some of the snacks that you can deliver may include things like fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals and crackers, frozen fruit, seeds and nuts, peanut butter cookies, or roasted chickpeas. Just to name a few. And the snacks don’t have to be too costly. You simply go with what you can afford, and most people will appreciate your gesture.

These snacks will then be accompanied by flyers, brochures, business cards or other print marketing materials, bearing your health club’s name, location, services offered, and contact information.

This health club advertising idea is not only unique but memorable. And, it may lead to several people joining your health club. You can repeat it every couple of months, just to keep your health club’s name fresh in their minds.

4. Host Workouts for Groups

Fitness activities like hikes are posted on various social media platforms every day. For example, if you visit Facebook and search for hiking events, you will come across several happening near you. So, how can you turn them into a marketing opportunity for your health club?

Well, if the event has been posted in a public group on Facebook, you can invite the participants to your fitness center, to get in shape for the hike. You can entice them with a free introductory personal training session and a discounted membership after the free session.

And without a doubt, some of the hike’s attendees will take you up on this offer, especially those who are not in great physical shape. Also, some may even continue renewing their memberships, even after the hike is over, which means more memberships for your health club.

5. Utilize Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is also an effective means of marketing your health club and reaching a wider target audience. You might not be an influencer, yourself. In that case, you'll have to find one. Thankfully, you won’t have to aim for the Kardashian-level influencers. Instead, you should aim for micro-influencers. Micro-influencers have a higher engagement, which means their following will be more valuable to your business, compared to mega influencers.

You just need to do your research and identify someone who aligns with your values, vision and budget. From there, you can then work out a partnership with your selected micro-influencer. The reward can be monetary or other arrangements that you may agree on.

However, influencer marketing can be tricky, since there are plenty of fraudsters out there. For instance, some influencers buy followers while others use unscrupulous methods to boost engagement. Hence, ensure you conduct thorough due diligence before you engage anyone.

You can also use third-party companies that specialize in vetting social media influencers.

6. Create Referral Programs

Encouraging your current health club members to put in a good word about your fitness center is one of the most economical ways of reaching more prospects. Also, this health club marketing idea tends to be highly effective because your existing members will be referring their close associates with similar interests. Hence, the chances are high that they will also love your fitness center.

The key to an effective and successful referral program is making sure both your members and the people they will be referring to join your health club will be adequately incentivized.

Some of the rewards that you can offer to your current members include membership discounts, monetary rewards, free training gear, or an upgrade to their current memberships.

As for the referees, you can offer them a one-week free gym pass, free fitness gear, free workout guides and meal plans or even something like a sponsored dinner with friends.

Once your referral program is underway, make sure you monitor it regularly and track where it’s delivering the best results. When done right, a health club referral program can considerably boost your memberships.

7. Run a Fitness Video Contest

Fitness video contests are a great means of spreading visibility around your fitness brand and reaching more potential clients. Besides, you will also end up with quality user-generated content, which you can later use as promotional material for your health club.

Social media channels provide the best platforms for running a video contest. And you can do so on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok or YouTube, among others. The videos that get the most views every day will then win daily prizes.

8. Leverage Popular Hashtags

Participating in popular hashtags on Instagram or Twitter can increase the number of views that your content generates on these social media platforms. By actively joining in on popular hashtags that thousands of other members in the fitness community are already using, you will get access to a wider audience, which is way beyond your ordinary follower count.

9. Offer Specialized Classes

Offering specialized classes in your health club can also help to attract new members and increase your memberships.

For example, you can invite a fitness instructor who specializes in yoga, Pilates, boxing, or HIIT to come and run a guest class in your health club. These specialized fitness classes can be weekly or monthly, depending on the success rate and demand.

Offering specialized classes will help to add variety and freshen things up in your fitness center for your regular members, thus boosting your retention rate. Also, they will attract walk-ins, who may be fans of such activities.

10. Give Away Stickers

As much as stickers may appear like a simplistic health club advertising idea, they can make a considerable impact. You just need to design several stickers, featuring your health club’s logo, location, contact details, packages offered and prices. From there, you should then distribute them.

By giving away these free stickers and encouraging the recipients to post them in various locations, you will get more eyes on your health club. And, some of the people that come across these stickers may get in touch, later on, to inquire about your services.

11. Wrapping It Up

If you’ve been experiencing a significant drop in memberships at your health club after the New Year’s gym rush, the above strategies can help to turn things around. And as you can see, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars.