Marketing your fitness center is always a battle to stand out from the crowd. The voice most likely to be heard is the one that makes the best use of media to consistently send the message that will appeal to the most potential members. Over time you will discover a whole host of methods to promote your gym.

A press release is one of the most effective ways to get the word out to potential new members and to raise your brand awareness in the marketplace. If you haven’t tried using this method to spread the word about your promotional activity and new services at your gym, you really should consider trying it.

The Who, What & When of Press Releases

A press release is simply a format for writing articles as announcements. Media outlets recognize it as a standard operating procedure. The point of it is to get it to the outlets, which can relay it on to their audiences. It can be a very cost effective way of attracting interest to your cause.

The best part is that publication is a straightforward process once you know where to post your press release. Also, this kind of writing gets easier with practice. It may sound intimidating at first but it’s normal and accepted as a business practice. If you can set up and operate a gym then you can certainly issue press releases, once you know how.

Where To Release

There are a variety of channels for press releases and you want to choose the ones that are best suited to your market. As a small gym owner you’re likely only going to benefit from coverage in the areas from which your membership is drawn. In this business, customers tend come from within about 15-20 minutes by car, depending on your particular market. So anything beyond that is just a waste of resources.

You’ll probably decide to stick with local media such as newspapers, local interest magazines, radio and television. These sorts of media outlets are always looking for local interest stories that tie in with trends and current events. The easiest way to find the point-of-contact is to either check within the publication or look at their websites.

How – The Secret To Writing Effective Press Releases

I’m not going to try to write a how-to about this topic; there’s a huge amount of published information about how to write a press release. Online press release services like PRWeb.com may not be the right medium for your message but they are worth looking at. First, to decide for yourself if they can help you and also just for the information they publish about how to write a press release.

You need to cover the Who, Why, What, When, and Where of the activity. The real key is to make it readable and the best way to do that is to make it sound like the words of your favorite news anchor. When you read a press release aloud it should sound "newsy". That is about the simplest way of explaining the format.

An example topic would be if you were launching 24-hour access for your gym. You could tie it in to how people are working out late or early, and how non-traditional work schedules need to be accommodated in your offerings to members. Another example would be to write about the changing demographics of your community and a need for more fitness programs that cater to seniors and people with health issues. The tie-in could be an announcement that you now have certified trainers.

Why To Consider Using Press Releases

The big-name brands have national advertising channels and no interest in local media, particularly if their marketing is done through some far off head office. Your local competitors may not have thought to do this because they’re focused on survival or they just don’t know the potential benefits.

The competitor you need to watch out for is that smart local business owner, who’s gym is just down the street from you, and who’s already using press releases to get the word out about her or his new services, facilities or promotional activities. In any case, you can use press releases to make your voice heard above the competition and to keep up with your sharpest rivals.

Over to you…

What types of Press Release Campaigns have you launched?

What has been your most successful Press Release Campaign?