I lived in a town of just under ten thousand people for a couple of decades. Every year, the town would bring in musical talent for its county fair. These people who were performing would eventually end up at my fitness center to get a quick workout in, shoot baskets, or swim a few laps before the concerts. Word would spread, and hundreds of people would arrive at the gym to buy a daily pass and hopefully catch a glimpse of the “stars”. We made a killing. 

This is the type of thing gym owners should do to bring in new members. It doesn’t have to be top stars that are well known across the country (although that would help). Using local celebrities could gain you a few new members here and there, and the revenue will add up quickly.

Retired and Current Athletes

It makes sense. Bring in professional athletes to promote your gym. They know firsthand how important staying in shape is. Plus, there always seem to be a few professional athletes around who are living the quiet life after their days of being on the national stage are over. Reach out and see if you can make a deal that benefits both sides.

Local News Anchors, Radio Personalities, and Podcast Hosts

The great thing about enlisting media personalities to come and promote your gym is the free advertising that comes along with it. They don’t want to show up and have it be a ghost town. Inevitably, they will be mentioning it through their media forum. Together, through your own promotion and their following, it should be a nice turnout. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to even offer them a chance to do one of their shows or broadcasts straight from your gym.

Health and Wellness Experts

My friend once had a chef come to his gym and do a live demonstration on healthy cooking and eating. It was a win-win situation as the chef was promoting his meal kits and cookbook, so it didn’t cost anything to do. Just a little effort. It has now turned into an annual workshop in the gym that people look forward to every year. 

By bringing in nutritionists, physical therapists, and other medical professionals, you will be educating the masses on how to improve their health. Additionally, these experts are probably searching for more clients as well. It would be another situation where both sides are happy.

Social Media Influencers

It seems everybody has their favorite social media personalities nowadays. The fitness world has a number of them, including trainers, athletes, workout enthusiasts, and models. Even if they can’t physically attend your brick-and-mortar gym in person, perhaps they can give you a shout-out and ringing endorsement. Billions of people are on social media every day. Try having these fitness influencers promote your own brand and watch the revenue start to increase.

Local Motivational Speakers

The Biggest Loser was a hit show for many years on NBC. The trainers on it would often take morbidly obese people and help them lose, sometimes hundreds of pounds. If you search around your community, you might be able to find people with similar weight loss success stories. By having them come in and share their own stories, it could motivate many others to take the plunge, sign up for a yearly membership, and try their own attempt at becoming healthy.

Laugh and Lift Night

Almost half of my workouts tend to be with a partner. Lifting with someone who makes me laugh allows the workout to seem to go much faster. It would not be the worst idea to bring in a comedian or two every now and then and enable them to do one of their comedy sets for the fitness crowd. As long as it doesn’t slow people down from their training, then why not? Plus, it would probably receive quite a bit of attention on social media. Laugh and Lift Night could become a monthly event.

Bring a Parent to Train Day

The first person most of us aspire to be like in life is one of our parents. There is not going to be a more important “special guest” in the gym than our own blood. My own father did not start lifting weights until he was 80 years old and wanted to experience a bit of my life. He passed away a couple of years later, but I loved having him with me, even if he had no idea what muscle group he was training. And once again, the number of people who would take pictures of training with their parents and share the images on social media would make your gym famous.

Photographers

How many people have main profile pictures showing themselves working out on their social media accounts? Use our large egos to help your gym become more popular. Ask photographers to come in and snap photos during prime training time. As the gym owner, you could display these images on your social media with a watermark on them. If members would like to use these images, then they could purchase them from the professional photographers so they can make their money, too.

Turn Your Gym into a Community Destination

By making your house of fitness become more than just a building with weights, it won’t be long before you gain serious media attention. Word-of-mouth will increase foot traffic, boost memberships, and help with retention. 

It is important to remember that even if these events do not dramatically raise membership totals instantly, they do bring more eyes to your gym. Don’t think of it as a sprint. Think of it as a marathon. You are planting the seeds by hosting these festivities. If one or two of these special guest events bomb, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Learn what works, stick with it, and soon enough you will be reaping the rewards for taking a chance in being different.

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