Introduction: The fitness marketing strategy
A lot of gym owners who are starting their own gym have problems getting members and grow to their break even point fast when they first open. They invest heavily in equipment and staffing, only to open their doors to an almost empty gym that still needs to attract members. It’s dangerous for the liquidity of your business and most important, it doesn’t have to happen!
When I opened my gym, I already had 380 paying members. I had revenue from day one. I had a thriving fitness community before customers set their first foot in the gym.
💡 How? By following a structured gym marketing plan that I’m about to share with you.
This isn’t a theory. This isn’t guesswork. This is a step-by-step fitness marketing strategy that I personally created and used to sell 380 memberships before opening.
🔹 If you’re opening a gym or fitness club, this guide will show you how to:
✅ Build excitement and demand months before opening.
✅ Launch a successful pre-sale that locks in hundreds of memberships.
✅ Leverage social media, email marketing, and local advertising to drive conversions.
✅ Turn an empty gym into a profitable business—before day one.
Why This Approach Will Work for Your Gym Too
Before getting into the tactics, let’s talk about why this fitness marketing strategy works for starting any gym, anywhere.
✅ Pre-sale memberships create immediate cash flow – You don’t have to wait for members to trickle in; you start strong with revenue before you even open. This is important because you will have a lot of expenses that need to be paid for when you start your gym.
✅ Scarcity & urgency drive action – My presale for the first 100 memberships sold out in 8 minutes because people didn’t want to miss out on the best deal with the most discount.
✅ Social proof & anticipation build momentum – When people see others signing up, they want to join too.
✅ A structured plan removes guesswork – By following the same blueprint and timeline, you’ll avoid mistakes and get real results fast.
Choose Your Audience for Your Gym
Before diving into your gym marketing strategy, you need to identify your ideal audience and where they hangout. Your gym’s concept and marketing should align with the specific type of members you want to attract.
Ask yourself:
🔹 Are you opening a hardcore bodybuilding gym with high-end weightlifting equipment?
🔹 Are you targeting 40+ clients who want a welcoming, non-intimidating environment?
🔹 Will you offer functional fitness or CrossFit-style training?
🔹 Do you plan to cater to high-end clients with premium services like saunas, personal training, and wellness programs?
💡 Choosing the right audience will determine:
✅ Your gym’s branding & atmosphere (from music to interior design)
✅ The equipment & facilities you invest in
✅ Your membership pricing strategy
✅ The marketing channels you use (social media, local networking, targeted ads)
My gym focused on all the possible clients because there wasn’t a lot of good competition around in my area. Most gyms had old equipment, lacked trainers on the floor and had older owners who didn’t want to invest a lot of time in the business. We saw an opportunity to create a gym made for everyone that could attract anyone.
Do Market Research to Validate Your Gym Concept
Before finalizing your gym model, analyze your local market. This is the most important aspect if your gym will become a success from the start or not
✅ Identify the competition – How many gyms are already in your area? What do they offer?
✅ Find the gaps – Is there too much competition for bodybuilding gyms but no gyms catering to the 40+ demographic?
✅ Survey potential members – Ask local residents or run online polls to see what fitness services they are looking for.
Example:
If you’re in an area flooded with bodybuilding gyms but no options for general fitness or seniors, you might want to focus on a wellness-based gym concept to differentiate yourself.
Choosing the right audience will directly impact your success when starting your own gym, so take time to get a really good grip on who your possible customers are going to be.
Before opening, you need to promote your gym through social media, videos, and your website. However, potential members won’t truly understand its value until they have trained in your gym. That’s why your pricing strategy must be attractive enough to drive early sign-ups during the presale period.. We used market penetration pricing during our presale period to maximize memberships before launch.
What is Market Penetration?
Market penetration refers to how widely a product or service is adopted in a specific market. It measures a company’s success in gaining market share compared to competitors. Strategies for market penetration include:
✔️ Aggressive pricing to attract first-time customers.
✔️ Strong marketing campaigns to boost awareness.
✔️ Limited-time promotions that create urgency.
✔️ Making memberships easily accessible through subscribing on a landing page on the website.
Why you need to Use a Market Penetration Strategy for Gym Memberships.
When opening a gym, you start with zero market share. Your goal is to gain members as quickly as possible before your doors even open because you have to pay for a lot of expenses when you start (rent, utilities, personnel etc) This is where penetration pricing comes in.
💡 Our Strategy:
We offered a 20% discount for memberships with a duration of 12 months to anyone who signed up during the pre-sale period. This created an incentive for early adopters, helping us establish a strong member base. When you already have active members in your gym, you can take in extra members after you start through word-of-mouth marketing after the launch.
How to Structure Your Pre-Sale Gym Discounts
Rather than offering a flat discount to everyone, we introduced a tiered pre-sale pricing system to create urgency:
📌 Presale Strategy Example: Sold in rounds of three
✅ Round 1 (First 100 members): Biggest discount – 20% off + no startup fee.
✅ Round 2 (Next 100 members): Moderate discount – 15% off + reduced startup fee.
✅ Round 3 (Final 100 members): Smallest discount – 10% off + standard startup fee.
Why This Works:
✔️ Creates scarcity: People rush to sign up before discounts disappear.
✔️ Increases perceived value: Later members see early sign-ups as proof of quality.
✔️ Secures long-term revenue: All pre-sale memberships are 12-month contracts, locking in revenue.
Final Tip: Your pre-sale should end at the end of your grand opening day. A day later, once the gym opens, regular pricing takes effect. This transition reinforces that the best deals were for early presale members, encouraging other possible members not to wait when you run similar promotions.
Analyze Your Competition & Set the Right Presale Price
Before launching your gym, understanding local pricing trends is essential. Most gym-goers choose facilities within a 15-minute commute. Research suggests that when a gym is more than 20 minutes away, members are far more likely to switch to a closer option. (Source: Daily Mail)
Step 1: Research Your Competitors’ Prices & Offerings
Find and list all the gyms within a 4-mile radius—this is your primary competition. Gather data on:
✅ Pricing structure: Monthly fees, annual fees, and contract length.
✅ Gym type: 24-hour gym, budget fitness center, CrossFit box, health club, boutique studio, or luxury gym.
✅ Location & accessibility:
- Close (0–2 miles): Direct competition
- Average distance (2–4 miles): Alternative options for some customers
- Farther (4+ miles): Less competitive unless they offer something unique
Step 2: Identify Your Closest Competitor
Your biggest competitor isn’t necessarily the cheapest or biggest gym—it’s the one targeting the same audience as you. Ask yourself:
- Which gym offers a similar experience, services, and facilities?
- Are they marketing to the same age group, fitness level, or demographic?
- How do their prices compare, and what value do they offer for those prices?
Step 3: Set Your Presale Price Strategically
💡 Price your presale just below your most competitive gym to attract members without devaluing your gym.
Example Pricing Strategy:
🔹 Competitor’s Price: $49.99/month (standard gym)
🔹 Your Presale Price: $44.90/month (limited-time offer)
🔹 After Opening Price: $49.99/month (same as competitor, but with better services or perks)
This strategy allows you to maximize early sign-ups while positioning your gym as the better value option.
📢 Want to dive deeper into gym pricing strategies? Check out our in-depth guide: [How to Set Prices for Your New Gym]
Set Up Your Website and Social Media (3 Months Before Opening your gym)
Choosing the Perfect Name for Your Gym or Health Club
By now, you likely have a name in mind for your fitness business. However, before finalizing it, take a moment to verify its availability across key platforms:
✅ Social Media: Check LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to ensure the name is available.
✅ Domain Name: Secure a .com domain (or relevant extension) that matches your brand.
✅ Competitor Research: Look for similar business names to avoid confusion or legal issues.
🔹 Pro Tip: If your ideal business name is taken, consider slight modifications like adding your city name (e.g., “Elevate Fitness NYC”), abbreviations, or creative branding tweaks.
Building an Optimized Website for Fitness Marketing
Once you’ve locked in your name, it’s time to build your website and social media presence. Here’s what to focus on:
- Decide Between DIY or Outsourcing
- If you have experience, you can build your site using WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace.
- If not, consider hiring a web developer to ensure a professional, SEO-optimized site.
- Your Website’s First Version: A Simple Landing Page
- Your site doesn’t need to be complex at first. Start with a simple “Coming Soon” landing page.
- Include your gym’s opening date to build anticipation.
- Add a subscription form for your email newsletter (this will be a powerful marketing tool leading up to your launch).
Why the Newsletter Matters: The more subscribers you have before opening, the easier it will be to generate hype and sell presale memberships when you’re ready.
Setting Up Your Social Media
Your website and your Google Business Profile will be your home base, but social media is where you’ll attract and engage potential customers. Here’s how to launch your platforms effectively:
✅ Create Social Media Accounts: Picking the Right Platforms for Your Gym
Before jumping into social media, take a moment to decide which platforms align best with your gym’s brand and target audience. Not all social channels will work equally well for every type of fitness business, so choosing wisely can save you time and effort in the long run.
- Register accounts for your gym based on which your audience uses the most Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Keep your branding consistent across all platforms (same profile pic, bio, and contact details).
Should You Start on All Social Platforms or Just a Few?
You have two options when launching your gym’s social media strategy:
🔹 Start with a Few, Focus on the Best
- Pick the 2-3 platforms that best match your gym’s target audience.
- This approach saves time and ensures high engagement from the start.
- Example: A high-end gym might prioritize Instagram & LinkedIn, while a budget gym might focus on TikTok & Instagram.
🔹 Go Broad, Then Narrow Down
- Create profiles on multiple platforms and post consistently.
- After 3-6 months, analyze which platforms generate the most traffic and engagement.
- Drop the ones that don’t perform well and double down on what works best.
Before launching your pre-sale, you want to ensure you already have an engaged audience who knows about your gym and is excited to sign up. Since you’re starting your own gym with still 6 months to go, this is the perfect time to grow your social media presence and attract potential members.
Expand your Social Media following to market your presale.
Step 1: Post Your “Coming Soon” Announcement Video
Since you don’t want to follow people with an empty profile, make sure you have your announcement video already online and have some other content on your profile where people can interact with.
- Create an introductory video explaining that a new gym is opening soon in their area.
- Mention that followers will get exclusive updates and special discounts as early supporters.
- Keep the video short, engaging, and high-energy—you want people to be excited!
📌 Key Talking Points for Your Video:
✅ Introduce yourself and your gym’s concept.
✅ Mention the location and why it’s going to be a game-changer for fitness lovers.
✅ Tell them why they should follow you now (early discounts, VIP access, or limited-time offers).
✅ Ask them to engage (“Drop a comment if you’re excited!” / “Tag a friend who would love this gym!”).
Step 2: Start Growing Your Social Media Presence Optimize Your Social Media Profiles Before Mass-Following Before you start following potential gym members, make sure your social media pages look professional and engaging.
✅ Use a High-Quality Profile Picture – A clear logo or gym-related image.
✅ Fill Out Your Bio – Include your location, gym concept, opening date, and a CTA (Call-To-Action) to drive traffic to your newsletter or presale sign-up.
✅ Post Content Before Following People – At least 5–10 posts, preferably videos, showcasing your gym’s progress, trainers, and services.
✅ Include a Link in Bio – Direct followers to your landing page, newsletter sign-up, or presale page.
Check Platform Limits to Avoid Getting Blocked
Many social media platforms limit mass-following activities to prevent spam accounts. To avoid getting restricted, follow these safe engagement limits:
✔ Instagram:
- 🚫 Max Follows Per Hour: 10–15
- 🚫 Max Follows Per Day: 200
- 🚫 Total Follow Limit: 7,500
✔ TikTok:
- 🚫 Max Follows Per Day: 200
- 🚫 Total Follow Limit: 10,000
Follow a targeted audience to gain engaged followers
- Begin following people in your target audience. This could be locals who are into fitness, gym-goers, or people engaging with competitor gyms. Follow them only when you have some content on your profile, people want to know why they get a follow and will watch your content and plans. You can even send them a message with what your plans are, this increases engagements and will give you more follow backs.
- Make sure that people subscribe to your newsletter to get exclusive information on your gym about equipment used, subscriptions, who the trainers are etc.
Convert Followers into Email Subscribers
Your email list is very important when it comes to turning followers into members who will be active when the presale period starts. Promote it everywhere!
📌 What to Offer in Your Email Sign-Up:
✅ Exclusive updates on your gym’s progress 🏋️
✅ Early-bird discounts on memberships 🎯
✅ Behind-the-scenes sneak peeks 🔥
💡 More Subscribers = More Presale Membership Sales. Start now, so you have at least 500–1,000+ emails before your pre sale launch.
Step 3: Keep Posting Consistently
Since your gym is being built, you should have a lot of time to post videos of the gym. This is a great way of keeping your followers engaged with your social media profiles. We used Instagram a lot and posted every day to keep our audience engaged till opening day.
One way to keep your audience engaged is posting about different topics:
🔥 Behind-the-scenes updates → Show the gym’s progress, equipment, and setup. You can make a big day out of publication of what brand of gym equipment you’ll be using or which trainers there will be working in the gym. Be creative with these type of posts and keep the followers engaged!
📆 Countdown posts → Build anticipation as opening day gets closer.
🏋️ Sneak peeks → Preview what makes your gym unique (trainers, classes, equipment). What do you do differently than the other gyms in the area?
💬 Engagement posts → Polls, Q&As, and community-building content. Answer all the questions your followers have! Engagement with everyone is one of the most important aspects of building your following towards the presales.
One Month Before Opening: Final Gym Marketing Strategy for Maximum Presale Sign-Ups
By now, your gym marketing efforts should be reaching their peak. This is the final stretch! You’ve built anticipation, grown your social media audience, and engaged with potential members. Now, it’s time to convert all that attention into the presale of memberships before opening your gym!
📌 Where You Should Be One Month Before Opening:
✅ Social Media Growth: At least 1,000–2,000+ followers on Instagram, TikTok. Facebook etc.
✅ Daily Posting: You should be posting videos every day to keep excitement high.
✅ Direct Engagement: You (or your team) should be answering every DM, comment, and question in real-time.
✅ Email List Growth: At least 500–1,000+ subscribers to your newsletter, ready for presale announcements.
✅ Scarcity & Urgency in Place: Followers should already know that presale memberships will be limited!
💡 Goal: To maximize sign-ups before your gym opens by creating urgency and excitement.
Finishing Your Website Before the Presale Launch
By now, as your presale approaches, your website should be fully functional and optimized for conversions.
✅ Include All Essential Pages: Ensure your site has all the necessary pages: Home, Memberships, About, Contact, and FAQs.
✅ Display Pricing Clearly (With a Presale Discount Notice): List your regular membership prices but emphasize that exclusive presale discounts will be available for early sign-ups. This creates anticipation and urgency.
✅ Strong Call-to-Action (CTA) for Newsletter Sign-ups: Add a prominent CTA button encouraging visitors to subscribe to your email list to get early access to the presale date and discounts.
✅ Announce Your Website Launch on Social Media: Post an update on all your social media channels announcing that your website is live. This will drive traffic to your site, increase newsletter sign-ups.
Test Your Gym Pre Sale Funnel!
Your presale sales funnel must be flawless before the launch.
🔹 Run multiple tests to ensure the entire sales funnel from pre sale landing page to checkout is working smoothly.
🔹 Ensure mobile friendliness most of your visitors will sign up using their smartphones.
Legal Protection: Terms & Agreements for the Presale
Before launching the presale, make sure your terms and conditions are professionally written and included in the sign-up process.
✅ Ensure every customer agrees to a 12-month subscription by having a legally binding contract in place.
✅ Have a lawyer draft your Terms & Conditions to protect your business. Avoid DIY legal documents. A mistake here could cost you down the road! Always outsource legal requirements!.
✅ Make cancellation policies clear to prevent disputes.
✅Include a checkbox in the checkout process that customers must agree to before finalizing their purchase.
This final website setup will streamline your presale launch, minimize confusion and objections, and maximize conversions from visitors into paying members.
The start of your presale period! Starting your own gym with memberships
Our goal is to finish the first and the second presale two to three weeks before the grand opening of the gym.
📌 Presale Strategy Example: Sold in rounds of three
✅ Round 1 (First 100 members): Biggest discount – 20% off + no startup fee.
- (Friday 8:00 PM)
✅ Round 2 (Next 100 members): Moderate discount – 15% off + reduced startup fee.
- (Sunday 8:00 PM)
✅ Round 3 (Final 100 members): Smallest discount – 10% off + standard startup fee.
- (From the second round selling out until the grand opening of your new gym, you can stretch this one out for two or three weeks.)
Announce the Exact Time & Date of the Presale
Choose a Prime Presale Time: Your goal is to have as many people online as possible when the presale launches. Friday or Sunday at 8:00 PM is ideal. People are home and ready to sign up. Mail all your newsletter subscribers the link where they can sign up on Friday or Sunday.
📣 Make the Announcements Loud and Clear:
✅ Post daily countdowns: “7 days until presale!⏳ Who’s ready?”
✅ Send an email reminder to your subscriber list: “Only 100 spots available, don’t miss out!”
✅ Engage followers with polls & Q&A: Answer the latest question that possible members have about the gym
📌 Final Reminder: Make Followers Understand Presale is Limited!
👥 Scarcity Sells. Remind followers that presale memberships will be capped at a certain number. For example, mention there are 400 people waiting to buy a presale membership, so be fast!
🕒 Time-Sensitive Offers Work Best. “Lowest price ever—only available for the first 100 members!” Sold out is sold out!
🎯 Make It Easy to Sign Up. Ensure your website and landing page are optimized for fast checkout.
Three Days Before the Official Presale: Creating Maximum Hype
Now that your gym’s presale launch is almost starting, it’s time to scale up your fitness strategy marketing efforts. Every day leading up to the presale should be filled with content that is hyping up the presale to ensure your audience is ready to sign up the moment doors open. Make it clear to your audience that the first round could sell out in record time! create as much hype and scarcity as needed!
Step 2: The Presale Launch – How did we do opening our gym🚀
On Friday at 8:00 PM sharp, the first presale round of our gym opened, we had created so much hype that our website shutdown (read full article here). When we came back online, this were the results.
✅ 100 memberships sold out in just 8 minutes.
✅ 30+ buyers still trying to purchase after we hit the limit.
Our secret strategy? We quietly extended the first presale round to 130 memberships, but we didn’t announce it publicly. It was better for us to get the 30 possible customers right away than to wait for them until the second round.
This is what you will be doing to, if your web developer or yourself see that during the presale there are still a lot of people online while already 100 members have signed up, keep the page online! It’s better to have those members sign up immediately! After most of the hype and sales have cooled down, close the first presale round and start hyping up the second round.
💡 Why? Maintaining the illusion of scarcity ensured that everyone still believed they had just barely secured one of the “limited” spots. This kept demand high for future presale rounds.
Step 3: Using the Sell-Out for More Marketing Power
Immediately after Round 1, we leveraged the success to boost urgency for Round 2:
“We sold out in **8 minutes!**🔥 So many people missed out that we’re considering opening a second round but with a smaller discount. Sign up to our newsletter if you want access!”
This created social proof & demand. Followers who hesitated now felt pressured to act in Round 2.
🎯 Round 2 Strategy:
- Announced Saturday morning that a second presale round would open on Sunday at 8:00 PM
- Less discount than Round 1 (reinforcing the “early birds get the best deals” message)
- Our result? We Sold out in just 2 days! Which meant that we had a total of 230 followers four days after the first presale round had started.
Step 4: Leveraging the Final Presale Round for Maximum Conversions
After selling out the second presale round and you will if you follow this strategy, we strategically announced a third and final presale round to capture any remaining people who hesitated to become members of the gym.
We marketed this last round as an exclusive, limited opportunity, emphasizing that the last 100 spots remained. To create even more urgency, we implemented a real-time countdown timer on our website, showing how many spots were left.
This final presale round launched two weeks before our open house, the day before the grand opening.. However, instead of displaying the actual number of memberships sold, we started the countdown at around 40 spots left and gradually reduced it by one or two each day. By grand opening day, the timer displayed only 10 spots remaining. This created a scarcity that drove last-minute sign-ups. Always have the last round of your presale active on your open day as people who take a look in your gym might get enthusiastic and want to sign a gym membership subscription. You can offer them the ‘’last’’ spots of the third presale round and sign them!
This method ensured that we maximized pre-opening sales momentum while keeping urgency and scarcity at the forefront of our marketing strategy.
H12: The final result of our pre sale marketing strategy
380 memberships before we even opened our doors. This put us in a strong financial position from day one, ensuring immediate revenue and a thriving community from the start. The only problem was that we had to do 380 intakes with our small team! But we managed to do that too!
However, we still had work to do. Our ultimate goal was to reach our break-even point of 500 members, meaning we still needed 120 more sign-ups after opening. Fortunately, we had a post-launch fitness marketing strategy in place to continue growing our membership base rapidly.
Curious to see how we achieved this? Read our full breakdown here:
👉 [How My Gym Reached Its Break-Even Point in Just 2 Months After Opening!](Link Here)
As of now, almost 3 years later, our gym is doing really well! With 1,200 active and monthly paying members. The business has scaled significantly, generating $70,000 in monthly revenue. After covering all expenses, we’re left with a solid $30,000 in profit each month. While our expenses have increased compared to when we first opened, our profit margins have also grown, proving that a strong gym marketing strategy and retention plan lead to sustainable long-term success.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. How far in advance should I start my gym presale marketing?
You should begin at least 6 months before opening to build brand awareness, grow a social media following, and collect email subscribers for the presale.
2. What is the best way to price my presale memberships?
Use a tiered pricing system with three rounds:
- Round 1: Highest discount (e.g., 20% off, no startup fee)
- Round 2: Medium discount (e.g., 15% off, reduced startup fee)
- Round 3: Smallest discount (e.g., 10% off, standard startup fee)
This creates scarcity and drives early sign-ups.
3. How do I get people to sign up before the gym opens?
Leverage social media marketing, email list exclusivity, and website funnels with clear CTAs. Use countdown timers, create hype posts, and showcase early-bird discounts to incentivize action.
4. How many members should I aim for before opening day?
Your goal should be to reach break-even point before opening. If your break-even is 500 members, try to sell 60–80% (300–400) in the presale to ensure early stability.
5. Should I continue running promotions after opening?
Yes, but at a reduced discount. You want word-of-mouth referrals and organic growth to drive memberships after launch. A grand opening event with limited-time offers can bring in another wave of sign-ups.
