You might think that your small gym isnt newsworthy. Think again! Do something to help others, and you in turn will reap rewards. Your health club marketing opportunities are only limited by your own imagination.
1. Canned food drive
Free Enrollment when you bring in 5 canned foods! You can partner with your local soup kitchen or Salvation Army, and then tell the newspapers and news stations about the partnership...they eat that stuff up! (And of course, youre also helping those in need, which always feels good)
2. Write for your town's newspaper
You can volunteer to write up a fitness tips section for your local newspaper. There might even be multiple opportunities if there are other smaller newspapers or local newsletters or area magazines you could write for. And don't forget websites. There are probably some local sites that would appreciate free content from you. If you write poorly, it shouldn't be hard to find a colleague, significant other, or employee to write for you
3. Partner with your local radio station
You can have a radio station sponsor your 8-week weight loss contest. Get a DJ as your advocate. They can announce the contest to the listeners, have them submit applications, maybe even get teams set up between two DJs. All participants can have a free membership during the contest in exchange for lots of plugs for your club over the 8 weeks. Be sure to get contact info for anyone whose application wasn't accepted so you can give them a short term trial membership as well.
4. Conduct a charitable contest
Your members can get people to pledge money for the amount of exercising that you do. I.e. A dollar for every step you take on a stairclimber. You may not even have many people take part in the program, but it really doesn't make a difference. The radio station will still make a story out of it. Anything that puts some good news on the air is always welcome in our times of gloom and doom typical of media these days.
5. Provide free seminars
At your local community center or chamber of commerce you will find a listing of presentations put on by local experts and hobbyists. From soccer skills to business planning, you will find a little bit of everything. They will be presented by experts and those who simply avid enthusiasts. Keep in mind that if someone is already on the schedule to promote fitness, find out specifically what their topic is and choose a different fitness related topic. There are so many different things you could present. And their organization does all of the promotional campaigning for the presentations, but it would be a good idea to do a little marketing for your fitness business as well.
6. Promote one of your members as local hero
As mentioned before, your local media loves positive stories, especially when the story is on a person who did something great. Have ll of your members apply to be in the Hero of Your Town Event. Everyone can send in an article on their rise to success and how your health club has helped them achieve their dreams. You'll pick a winner and create a press release (or have one written). The press release can say something like, "local hero recognized at XYZ Fitness". For those people not selected, they will still get a prize. You could even have multiple heroes recognized at your health club. This is a great way to market your health club to new prospective members.
Add a little creativity to your health club marketing and you will find that these 7 strategies are only a small sampling of all of the marketing opportunities available for your health club. Everyone loves free press...be creative and you'll get lots of it.
1. Canned food drive
Free Enrollment when you bring in 5 canned foods! You can partner with your local soup kitchen or Salvation Army, and then tell the newspapers and news stations about the partnership...they eat that stuff up! (And of course, youre also helping those in need, which always feels good)
2. Write for your town's newspaper
You can volunteer to write up a fitness tips section for your local newspaper. There might even be multiple opportunities if there are other smaller newspapers or local newsletters or area magazines you could write for. And don't forget websites. There are probably some local sites that would appreciate free content from you. If you write poorly, it shouldn't be hard to find a colleague, significant other, or employee to write for you
3. Partner with your local radio station
You can have a radio station sponsor your 8-week weight loss contest. Get a DJ as your advocate. They can announce the contest to the listeners, have them submit applications, maybe even get teams set up between two DJs. All participants can have a free membership during the contest in exchange for lots of plugs for your club over the 8 weeks. Be sure to get contact info for anyone whose application wasn't accepted so you can give them a short term trial membership as well.
4. Conduct a charitable contest
Your members can get people to pledge money for the amount of exercising that you do. I.e. A dollar for every step you take on a stairclimber. You may not even have many people take part in the program, but it really doesn't make a difference. The radio station will still make a story out of it. Anything that puts some good news on the air is always welcome in our times of gloom and doom typical of media these days.
5. Provide free seminars
At your local community center or chamber of commerce you will find a listing of presentations put on by local experts and hobbyists. From soccer skills to business planning, you will find a little bit of everything. They will be presented by experts and those who simply avid enthusiasts. Keep in mind that if someone is already on the schedule to promote fitness, find out specifically what their topic is and choose a different fitness related topic. There are so many different things you could present. And their organization does all of the promotional campaigning for the presentations, but it would be a good idea to do a little marketing for your fitness business as well.
6. Promote one of your members as local hero
As mentioned before, your local media loves positive stories, especially when the story is on a person who did something great. Have ll of your members apply to be in the Hero of Your Town Event. Everyone can send in an article on their rise to success and how your health club has helped them achieve their dreams. You'll pick a winner and create a press release (or have one written). The press release can say something like, "local hero recognized at XYZ Fitness". For those people not selected, they will still get a prize. You could even have multiple heroes recognized at your health club. This is a great way to market your health club to new prospective members.
Add a little creativity to your health club marketing and you will find that these 7 strategies are only a small sampling of all of the marketing opportunities available for your health club. Everyone loves free press...be creative and you'll get lots of it.
About the Author:
Curtis Mock has quickly become the go to person for fitness center marketing advice. You can sign up for his fitness center marketing strategy of the week and be sure to take advantage of your trial membership to the powerful fitness center marketing resource site created specifically for health club operators.
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