Register for GSDCON | #1 Conference for Gyms & Fitness Studios | June 1-2

Lead Gen Through Marketing: 5 Easy Steps To Skyrocket Your Gym’s Memberships

marketing lead gen

Share This Article

Table of Contents

Ready to increase memberships at your gym and generate more revenue? These are 5 proven methods we use here at Loud Rumor as part of our campaign strategies to drastically increase lead gen for the studios we work with. 

But first, you need to nail down exactly what you’re hoping to achieve… 

  1. Do you want to build a list of contacts and qualified leads
  2. Or, do you want leads who will walk in and take advantage of a free offer at your studio?

There is no wrong answer and we would encourage you to do both! But the emphasis of your lead gen campaign will vary slightly, so it’s important to understand that distinction from the start. 

 

Before we get to it, here are a few things to consider when you begin your lead gen campaign. 

Lead Gen? Lead With “Value”

As a business owner, you should always build a list of contacts to market to (without question). But, when you’re building your list, make sure you’re leading with value. 

You need to give your targeted audience desirable content or information to help them improve their health in a way that only your studio can help. This helps position you as a helpful authority figure.

Some examples we’ve used in our campaigns:

  • Nutrition guides
  • At-home workouts
  • Flexibility workouts 
  • Equipment recommendations 

The goal here is to encourage them to take advantage of your content. Then, when they do, capture their contact information. Once they engage in it, you can collect information and data.

This data will be integrated into your list. After you have this list, you can retarget your audience in your social media marketing and email campaigns. 

Even if you’re leading with value to simply build your list, you can still ask those people to come in for your free offer. Whatever your offer is, you can easily create a bump or upsell on the “Thank You” page of your lead magnet with more for them to take advantage of. 

We’re doing this now at Loud Rumor and we’re seeing a 25% increase in leads due this strategy. Always ask, they’re already listening!  

Your Top 2 Must-Haves For Gym Lead Gen:

Facebook and Instagram are getting increasingly competitive. This leads to significantly higher costs for lead acquisition to your free offer.  

Your campaign is running on a short two-step funnel, we don’t have a long time to warm these people up. So… 

The most important things to focus on when you’re running lead generation campaigns are:

  1. You must have a great offer.
  2. And, you must be really good at copy.

This is especially important if you’re directly asking them for an in-person response, to come into the studio for a free offer. The higher quality your offer is combined with powerful, compelling copy, the greater impact your ads will have on your target audience. 

Make it a knockout!

OK, let’s dive into your 5 Easy Steps!

#1: Lead With “FREE”

Now that you’ve nailed the goal of your campaign, you need to establish what your offer will be. What does your audience get if they buy in? Or, from their perspective: “What’s in it for me?”

1 More Round Fitness Actual Facebook Ad FREE WEEK Loud Rumor Mike Arce Marketing Advertising Facebook Leads

At Loud Rumor, we know from experience that the amount of money you spend on your advertising campaign is directly related to three things:

  1. Ability to advertise.
  2. Demographic or ideal member.
  3. Offer.

After working with 2,000+ fitness studios and 50+ franchises across the world, we’ve found that low barrier offers tend to be the most successful. This means you spend the least amount of money for the highest quality results. 

When building out your offer, think FREE:

  • Week 
  • Class 
  • Swag or Merchandise

If you want more lead gen, lead with FREE! Occasionally, studios we talk to are hesitant about this strategy. They believe it devalues their brand. 

Is that how you feel? Answer the following question: How many people within a five mile radius of your studio actually know who you are?

The answer is probably only a few and that’s not a bad thing! That just means more opportunity.

Free doesn’t devalue your brand! It gives your ideal customers the opportunity to see how awesome you are, how great your services are, and it encourages them to come check you out! 

Everybody loves FREE!

#2: Offer Stacking

Another strategy to get people into your fitness studio is to start stacking your offers. This means adding another layer of benefits to your audience. 

We’re seeing significantly higher conversion rates utilizing this simple strategy! 

So, if someone shows interest in your free offer, you can stack small things like nutrition guides, water bottles, or t-shirts to entice them even more. 

Get creative! Whatever you can think of to increase the perception of value your ideal member is receiving by opting in to your offer works.

Why is Offer Stacking So Effective?

Offer stacking in lead generation is an effective tactic because it allows you to increase the amount of value you provide to your potential customers.

By offering multiple incentives, you can create compelling offers that appeal to a variety of different motivations and desires. Offer stacking also works well when it comes to driving conversions because it encourages customers to think about the full package before making a purchase decision.

Additionally, offer stacking gives businesses the opportunity to stand out from competitors by providing more value than other companies may be able to offer.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, having an attractive and valuable lead offer can help companies gain a competitive edge over their rivals.

Another benefit associated with offer stacking is that it allows businesses to build brand loyalty among current and potential customers.

For example, if customers see that a business regularly provides attractive incentives, they are likely to return in the future for additional services or purchases.

This helps create customer loyalty while also increasing lead conversion rates as people become more comfortable with making repeat purchases at the same business.

#3: Zero In On Your Ideal Member

Here’s where most people get lead gen wrong. You must take the time to discover and dissect who your ideal member is. You should know everything about them! 

Make a list of the top members at your studio, the ones you want to replicate. Get as much information about them as you can!

Create Your Gym’s Perfect Avatar

  • Demographics 
  • Results they’re after
  • Where do they live? 
  • How far are they traveling to come into your studio? 
  • Personality traits 
  • Hobbies outside of work and fitness
  • Interests (i.e. TV Shows, Movies, Books, Podcasts, etc.)
  • What equipment or supplements do they use?

You need to know as much as possible about them so you can think like them, write like them, and most importantly, connect with them like no one else can.

Make sure your content is speaking to the right individual. Your top member IS your ideal customer avatar. So, speak to them! What would they say and what are they looking for in a fitness studio?

Start building out your ideal member avatar today with this free worksheet!

perfect gym fitness studio member avatar cheat sheet lead gen

Utilize Your Existing Lists For Lead Gen

Also consider what current lists you may have that can be leveraged to home in on your ideal or target member…  

Do you have a list that includes members who are frozen or have cancelled their memberships? This is data you can leverage to create a “lookalike” audience in new social media marketing campaigns. 

We’re not talking about “interests.” A lot of business owners, including advertising agencies, leverage leads with “interests” in what they’re selling as part of their targeting. We advise against this… 

Stick to the demographic of your potential customers —if that’s females, 25-55, within a 5-mile radius of your studio, then speak to them and ONLY them. If you speak to everyone, you’ll reach no one.

It’s Not What Your Gym Does, It’s Who It Does It For…

If you start targeting people interested in yoga and you own a yoga studio, chances are, those individuals are already going to another studio. If they’re happy at that studio, you’re spending money on people who aren’t looking for a new yoga studio.

The unfortunate truth is that a majority of people in this country and even globally aren’t fit or are overweight. Trust me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to leverage interest targeting in your paid social media campaigns.

People have a desire to get the results your fitness studio offers. Period.

#4: Master The Creative Pieces Of Your Gym’s Advertising Campaigns

This may be the most important thing that’s often overlooked when building out marketing or advertising campaigns.

THIS is the thing that literally stops people from scrolling past your post or advertisement in their social media feeds.

otf facebook carousel ads

Here’s another hard truth: I have to let you know now that you’re going to fail here. But that’s okay!

It’s important that you’re constantly testing new creative (images and videos) to see what works and what doesn’t work for your ideal member. 

With that said, don’t just throw things up to check a box! Your goal is to leverage your audience, your ideal member avatar. So, you want to create visuals you KNOW will stop them from scrolling by, and get them to read your copy. When that happens, they typically click over to your Landing Page.

What are they thinking? Feeling? Looking for? What do they want to achieve? 

That’s what you need to show them! The creative is not meant to “sell” a membership. In fact, it’s not even there to get the prospect in for your free offer. Nope… 

The sole purpose of the creative is to get that individual to take the next step. Stop their scroll, intrigue, or entice them to take the next step: Read About Your Offer. 


That’s where so many gym owners miss the mark when it comes to maximum lead gen. They don’t think about where they’re at in the respective funnel.

This means, they don’t build the right creative or write the proper copy for the campaign objective. Your advertising needs cohesion from the creative that stops the scroll and the copy, to the landing page and thank you page that create the conversion.

When you’re building out creative and copy, you must consider where the potential member is in the journey of your campaign.

Here are 5 Tips for Developing Creatives to use for TOFU Advertising

1. Take the time to understand your prospects and their needs in order to create a creative that resonates with them. This will help you craft messages that are tailored to their wants and needs.

2. Focus on providing value rather than selling a product or service. Showcase unique solutions that can address their pain points in an appealing way.

3. Make sure your creatives are visually appealing, attention-catching and memorable by using high-quality images or graphics along with concise yet captivating copy that stands out from the competition while portraying the message you want to deliver accurately.

4. Utilize A/B testing when creating creatives in order to identify which combination of visual elements and copy works best for your target audience.

5. Utilize a “call to action” within your creatives that encourages viewers to take further action after viewing it (e.g., visit a website, or sign up for an email list). Doing this gives prospects something else to do if they are interested in learning more about your product or service after viewing your ad, increasing their chances of becoming a customer down the line.

#5: Optimize Your Landing Page

Within your marketing campaign and lead generation strategies, it’s important to remember that you’re not driving traffic to your website. Instead, you’re driving traffic to a landing page (or lead pages), where the goal is significantly different. 

We want your audience hyper-focused on the action you want them to take, not your website content.

If that action is opting in to your free offer, landing pages and lead forms will keep them focused on that goal. 

You’ll want to take the time to test and optimize through a landing page, or a lead form. We highly recommend ClickFunnels, and you can get a 14 day free trial HERE!

lead gen rockbox fitness landing page

Make Sure Everything Matches on Your Lead Gen Landing Page

The theme of your landing page should match the theme of your campaign. If you were leveraging testimonials from your members, you want to make sure that messaging is cohesive on your lead gen landing page. 

Keep things straightforward, simple, and streamlined. The headline on your landing page should remind people why they’re there (why they clicked): Your FREE Offer.

The sub headline should reinforce why they WANT to take action NOW. And, what action to take (fill out the form)!

Include any other areas where you can increase your credibility—more testimonials, awards, etc. Show off how amazing you, your team, and your facility really are so they know what to expect and feel even more confident that your can help them!

Regardless of how your page is designed, the headline, sub-headline, and the call-to-action are going to drive 90% of the results. So, focus on those areas and get them dialed in before you dive into the rest of the page. 

Check out these the 5 easy steps Loud Rumor’s Marketing Director Patrick Cundiff lays out in this video, will not only flood your gym with qualified leads, but will give you the best shot at experiencing ROI with your marketing campaigns.

Now, Go Skyrocket Your Gym’s Lead Gen!

Marketing campaigns for gyms and fitness studios aren’t difficult. It’s all in the details! A well thought out lead generation campaign that has been tested and optimized over and over again is the single, most-valuable tool in a gym owner’s marketing kit.

To learn more about increasing your lead gen and gym memberships,  get in touch with us here or Email me at [email protected]

Loud Rumor
Loud Rumor

Get FREE growth resources sent straight to your inbox.

We’ll send you something immediately, plus more each week such as industry trends, data, how-to’s, case studies, frameworks, etc.

GET NOTIFIED WHENEVER WE DROP SOME NEW KNOWLEDGE.

100 Leads in 7 Days

Stop wasting ad spend! Get 100 new leads in 7 days with this simple and free strategy!