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Gym Marketing Ideas to Get New Members

« Blog | Written by Hannah Gwillim | | (0) Comments

Have you been looking for fresh gym marketing ideas to attract new members to your business? If you answered “Yes,” you came to the right place!

Creating a gym marketing plan is essential to the success of your fitness center if you hope to add new customers and continue making revenue. We will help you break down the process of creating your gym marketing plan, and get you started on the right track. The world of marketing can be overwhelming, so we did some of the legwork for you! In this post, you will find a quick introduction to why your gym marketing plan is so crucial to your business. We will also take an in-depth look at gym marketing ideas that you can use to both attract new members and bring your gym marketing plan to life!

Why is a gym marketing plan important?

Why do you need to have a plan? It’s because very few people are ever able to ace a test without first studying for it. Especially in business. There is always going to be a certain trend you want to keep a close eye on or follow in order to grow yourself successfully. In the case of gyms, you want to track your customers. You want to know who they are and what they like and don’t like.

You can have the greatest facility with state-of-the-art machinery and top-notch instructors. However, none of that means anything if you aren’t able to attract new customers to your fitness center and get the existing ones to stick around. Especially in an industry that is getting bigger by the day. No, make that bigger by the second! The fitness industry is growing at such a rapid rate. So, if you hope to stay in the game, you need to make sure you are constantly learning new gym marketing ideas and applying them so your brand can continue to stand out.

Creating a marketing strategy for fitness centers

Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse into why your gym marketing plan is important, it’s time to learn how to create a marketing strategy for your fitness business. In addition to bringing in new gym members, you will also learn how marketing can build your fitness business brand all together.

In your gym marketing plan, you can strategize for the next month, quarter or even the full year, and it doesn’t have to be super fancy or overly complex for it to work. You just need to know these four main things— your target audience, tactics, tools, and budget. Who are you marketing to? What are your goals? What are the best gym marketing ideas to reach them? And what steps are you going to take to do so?

Target audience

The most important step to any marketing strategy is knowing who your target audience is. How can you ever get your messaging right without knowing who is going to engage with it? Marketing without targeting one or two specific groups is like sending a letter to someone you don’t know— How would you know what to say and how to say it? It’s okay to assume your target audience will have similar interests as your fitness business. For example, let’s say someone wants to join a gym fulltime and utilize all the fitness classes offered; in this case it would be okay to assume this individual cares about their health and wellness to some extent. Buyer personas are also another great way to really get to the bottom of who your target audience is. Buyer personas are write ups on what your ideal customer is like.

Tactics and channels

Now that you’ve started to brainstorm who your target audience is, it’s important to consider which tactics/channels will be most successful in reaching this audience. If your audience is more local, maybe it could be helpful to use some traditional marketing strategies like billboards or sponsoring community events. If your target audience uses social media, then your fitness business should be right there with them.

Tools and technology

If you aren’t comfortable taking on all of these responsibilities by yourself just yet, or there simply isn’t enough of yourself to go around, you should consider implementing gym management software. Gym management software is a computer program that runs real-time tabulations to provide the right content, to the right person, at the right time. It can tell you which customers are attending class or alert you on who has missed out. It can tell you how much money you’ve made for the month and if your revenue is climbing or if it’s plateaued. Plus, it assists with everyday clerical tasks like checking in on your customers or sending out nurture emails.

Budget

The next thing to consider is your budget. How much money are you willing to spend on your marketing efforts? First off, it’s always a good start to consider which tactics are free, and which ones might cost you for your benefit. In most cases, you will find that certain platforms start off with free tools for you to market your business. For instance, you can set up your social media profiles and promote your business through sharing content at no cost to you. The same goes for setting up a google business profile, which we will take a closer look at later in this text. For starters, it’s best to pick two or three areas of your marketing plan to initiate paid marketing. If the tactics you are interested in offer free tools on a basic level, use those first. It’s a no brainer to master the free tools first before narrowing down on a tactic that you want to invest more in.

Choose relevant channels to market your gym

Once you’re ready to have your marketing strategy mapped out and your programs and people in place, it’s time to put all those notes to use. Test out the theories you’ve learned about the fitness industry, and start gaining traction. Fortunately, living in the digital marketing age has made promoting any kind of product a lot easier than it used to be. We will dive into social media use, how to create and host a variety of gym events, follow up on every single lead, use email marketing, start a referral program, and so much more!

Online ads

Like a lot of aspects of our lives, we can use the web to streamline our marketing plan. This helps us to reach new customers in ways like never before. Digitizing your marketing plan can prove to be very successful, but how? Statistics say three out of four customers use a search engine to find a business. So, we know there’s ample opportunity with digital marketing, but where can you start? Google has great pathways to take for fitness businesses both large and small. A great way to start online advertising would be to use Google’s “Smart campaigns” tool. This tool allows you to set up an ad campaign in a very simple way. All you need to start your ads is your preferred text, and an image or two if you’d like. After this step, you are good to go! You can even choose to reach your target audience by specifying your Smart campaign to a specific geographic area.

Google business profile

In addition to using Google ads, there are plenty of other digital marketing tools, including a Google business profile. A Google Business Profile is a free listing for your business that pops up when users search your business name on either Google or Google Maps. This listing will present users with a short summary that informs the purpose of your business. This summary should also include your fitness business’s address, phone number, hours, website, Google reviews, and any social media links. This information will show to every single person who searches your business on Google, so it is crucial to make sure that this information is consistently updated and accurate.

Social media

Social media is not only a great way to promote your business, but it is also a place to create a strong brand image for your fitness businesses. Each social media platform has a different set of norms with varying user demographics. We will break down the different platforms below. This way you can get an understanding of which platforms you’ll want to tackle first in your gym marketing plan. If you want to dive deeper into various social media marketing tactics, check out our 10 best tips.

Facebook

As of 2022, Facebook is still the biggest social media platform in the world. It averages just over 2.89 billion monthly users, and it was the first social platform to achieve more than one billion registered profiles. However, we shouldn’t let this statistic drive all our attention to Facebook. Facebook is a great platform to cultivate community and connect to groups who are likely to show interest in your fitness business. Individuals within the age range 35-44 are inclined to use Facebook as their go-to platform. This is worth considering when developing a strategy for your Facebook page.

Tiktok

If you are looking for a fun and trendy way to engage with a younger demographic, TikTok is your platform. In 2018, TikTok merged with a social app formerly known as Musical.ly. This helped the platform reach a global audience that is continuing to grow at a high rate. On this platform, the main idea is to share short, punchy vertical video content that is easy to engage with. TikTok has been able to take the most engaging media (video content) and personalize it for users like never before. If you have ever researched how social media platforms hook people in, you’ve most likely come across the concept of social media algorithms.

Sidenote: A social media algorithm can be described as a system to filter through the high volume of content posted to social networks each day. Maybe you can recall a time when the posts that inhabited your feeds happen to be there because they were the most recent; those were the beginning days of social media. Social Media platforms now use algorithms to show content based upon what the user engages most with, instead of what is most recent. 

TikTok has found a way to create the most innovative and personalized algorithm. You see, TikTok doesn’t take into account number of followers when spreading content to the masses. Instead, they are focused solely on what content users personally engage with. This will help your gym marketing strategy because unlike other platforms that require you to have a decent following before spreading your content, TikTok will prioritize sharing your content with anyone they feel will be interested in it.

Instagram

Now that we’ve covered the two social platforms (Facebook and TikTok) that tend to be the furthest apart in user demographics, it is important to know who the middleman is: Instagram. Instagram is a social media platform where users can share aesthetically pleasing image and video content. This platform was acquired by Meta in 2012 for a whopping 1 billion USD. This is why it is fairly easy to connect your Facebook marketing strategy to Instagram. Often times you can share your Instagram content to Facebook and vice versa with just one simple click. Just make sure to sync your Facebook page to your Instagram account for a simple approach to managing social.

In addition to having an age demographic that sits in between Facebook and Tiktok’s main age ranges, Instagram also does a fantastic job of mimicking key features from both platforms. 78.1% of Facebook users also use Instagram, which shows the two platforms are similar enough for users to comfortably utilize both. On the other side of the dice, Instagram has a feature called “Reels” which is almost identical to the vertical video-sharing craze that TikTok gained its traction from. It is even possible to share your original TikTok content in Instagram Reels. With this information in mind, it is easy to see that Instagram pairs nicely with either Facebook or Tiktok.

Fitness influencers

Fitness influencers are also a terrific way to leverage marketing through social media. You may have heard of “social media influencers” in recent years. These individuals can already be celebrities or have gained popularity for their presence on certain social media platforms. Social influencers have become especially big in the fitness industry, therefore coining the term “fitness influencers.” You usually can get a fitness influencer to shout out your business by paying a fee or giving the influencer free goods or services pertaining to your fitness business. These are great people to get connected with because they can also be a direct line to your target audience!

Create a website

Now that you know some vital detail about leveraging social, the next thing you can do in your gym marketing plan is find people who specialize in marketing and data to use those inputs from your gym management software. If your budget allows it, hiring an experienced digital marketing team to help you create your business goals and execute a tailored plan can be extremely helpful. Our sister company 97 Display not only integrates with our EZFacility software, but they also specialize in website design and digital marketing specifically for fitness businesses. Their job is to help you run your marketing efforts and increase brand awareness on social media. They also drive traffic to your doorsteps through organic and paid searches and keep you up to date on month-over-month business-related growth.

If you are more of a “do it yourself” kind of person or looking to cut costs in this area,  Wix is a great place to build your own website with little to no prior knowledge. They also have a suitable selection of easy-to-use analytics at your fingertips. This can help you track how your site is doing in terms of the amount of traffic, and where that site traffic is clicking/engaging.

Traditional marketing

Maybe a digital marketing approach isn’t your thing, or you would prefer some traditional tactics to draw in new gym members. In this case, there are traditional agencies as well, who focus more on commercials, billboards, radio ads, and other efforts. You may think these marketing methods seem dated at first, but the truth is that they can still be a beneficial way to market small fitness businesses. In fact, traditional marketing is one of the best ways to both connect with an older demographic as well as get your name out in your local community. Overall, it is always a god idea to have a diversified mix of channels within your gym marketing plan, so be sure to check out some traditional methods!   

Referrals and loyalty programs

Referrals and loyalty programs are a wonderful way to not only bring in new clients but also to build rapport with your current client base. After all, who’s better to reach out to your target audience other than your loyal client base? Though there are many ways to offer referrals, we will give an example of what a basic referral or loyalty program could look like. Offer your current clients and whoever they refer a discounted month if the referred person signs up. You could even go further with this if the referred client stays a certain amount of time. For example, if the referred client stays for at least 3 months, reward the client who referred them with a free month! This is just a basic example to get your referral/loyalty program ideas flowing, but the possibilities are endless!

Offer a free trial pass

You may also want to consider offering a free trial pass for your fitness business. This is beneficial for both you and your clients. A prospective gym member wants to make sure your fitness business is a good fit. On the other hand, you want to make sure your clients are happy with your fitness business. Offering a free trial pass will ultimately attract more clients because they won’t feel pressured to commit right away.

Community events and fitness challenges

Some other good tactics to add to your gym marketing plan are community events and fitness challenges. Both community events and fitness challenges will not only build up buzz about your fitness business, but they will also give you a deeper connection within your community as well as with your clients. Consider giving back to your community by sponsoring an event. When you attend the event, you could have some fun merchandise/infographics to share with event goers. You could event tap into your social media channels to promote a fitness challenge! This will be a fun and engaging way to connect with your current clients and target audience at the same time.

Email marketing

Despite email marketing being around for a while, it is still one of the most important marketing channels to consider within your gym marketing plan. There are over 4 billion email users worldwide, which means your target audience most likely uses email. This gives us context as to why getting the right email approach for your target audience is key. Keeping this in mind, let’s talk about some key points to get your email marketing game up and running.

Who’s your target audience?

Now that we’ve established your target audience most likely uses email, let’s dive deeper into who these individuals actually are. This can include but is not limited to demographic based upon age or interests. Are they more likely to check their email in the morning, night, or maybe afternoon?

Practice email writing

Maybe you will have someone else do the email writing for your gym marketing plan, but if not it is always best to practice your email writing. Remember, not all emails should sound the same if you want different results from each. For example, if you would like to receive an excellent response rate on a marketing email, personalize it! Take one of your clients for example and draft an email to them as if you were writing a letter. When there is a personal touch, people are more likely to respond. For a more informational email, try adding an image and video content to make it more engaging. Always ask yourself when you practice email writing, “What action do I want my target audience to take?” Let your “call-to-action” (CTA) be your guiding light and you will be golden!

Look into software for email writing

When you are sending mass emails at various times it can become quite difficult to manage within one email account. In addition to managing billing, scheduling, and other gym management tasks, EZFacility also has tools to create and send mass emails. This feature can also be used for email marketing purposes. If you would like to utilize a platform that is specifically niche to email marketing, check out Hubspot. They let you create custom email templates with plenty of resources to get your email marketing campaigns off the ground. You can also use software to measure the analytics and assess the performance of your emails. For more content on email marketing, see the ten emails you should be sending.

Measuring success

Similarly to how there is software to track performance of your email campaigns, there is also software to measure the success for your overall marketing strategy. Hubspot software also can track your marketing efforts in addition to email. Semrush is another marketing analytic software that gives you the tools to track the performance of your overall marketing strategy. This might include the performance of your website, lead forms, and so much more. Utilizing software to measure marketing data is key. It allows you to see where you are performing well while also showing you where you could improve.

Pivot, adapt, repeat

With any goal or plan in life, there is always going to be the need for evaluating what is working, and what isn’t. The same goes for your gym marketing plan. It is best to constantly be checking in on your data and performance to see what can improve, although don’t overanalyze it. It’s best to set certain time periods, whether that’s monthly or quarterly, and review if you’re making significant progress towards the marketing goals you set.

Conclusion

Let’s review for a second and start at the very beginning. So, what is it we covered exactly?

Your gym marketing plan is basically your written marketing strategy or game plan. It’s the overall record you outline for yourself and refer to often during the length of your business venture. Don’t be afraid to jump in right away and jot down business goals. The point is to consistently tweak it with any new information you believe is pertinent to keeping your gym growth at a healthy rate.

Good luck on using these gym marketing ideas to build up a loyal customer base. We hope this post has new or valuable content for you! Check back often for more fitness related topics and industry savvy tips.

EZL Release Article Blog

EZLeagues Software Release: New Features for League Websites

« Blog Product Release Notes | Written by Hannah Gwillim | | (0) Comments

You told us you wanted simple, mobile-friendly league websites, and we listened. This release is focused on improving your players’ online experience—especially when using mobile devices. Enhancements include mobile-optimized table views for league schedules and standings, an easy-to-use calendar tool, and responsive styling. This means that viewing league updates, scores, and standings on-the-go just got that much easier!  

Mobile-Optimized Table Views for Schedules and Standings  

While tables make it easy to see game schedules and team standings at a glance, it can sometimes be difficult to view this data on smaller mobile device. In this release, we improved the experience by introducing mobile-optimized table views. Additionally, site visitors can now toggle between Table View and a simplified Card View that displays individual games and team standings on standalone cards.  

Use the toggle switch to seamlessly flip between views.

Select Dates from an Easy-to-Use Calendar 

The updated calendar tool allows you and your players to navigate game schedules with ease. By default, the calendar tool remains open while browsing league schedules for an efficient, streamlined experience. Once you’ve selected a date, you can choose to continue displaying the calendar tool or hide it. Hiding the calendar provides more space on the screen for the list of scheduled games.  

This updated calendar tool makes it easy to navigate league schedules.

Print League Schedules

Want to display game schedules on a bulletin board or provide a paper copy to coaches and staff? Simply click the printer icon to print a copy of the day’s game schedule. You can also save the schedule as a PDF.

Mobile-Friendly, Responsive Styling 

Logos and banner images will resize automatically to fit mobile devices. This means never having to worry about cut-off logos or images when users are on their mobile devices. Responsive grids and tables also ensure that league information is easily viewable from any device—from laptops to tablets to cell phones.  

Thank You for Your Feedback and Trust 

At EZFacility, we consider feedback to be a gift. Helping you and your business grow is our #1 goal. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do just that. Your input made this release possible, and we would love to hear more. 

Have feedback or feature ideas for EZLeagues or EZFacility? Please get in touch! 

Sun Sets on 123SignUp While EZSignUp Emerges

« Press Releases | Written by Hannah Gwillim | | (0) Comments

WOODBURY, N.Y., October 13, 2022 (Newswire.com) – 123SignUp, an event and association management software, has been sunsetted to make way for a new online registration solution: EZSignUp. EZSignUp is the latest product to join the suite of solutions from EZFacility, a global leader in management software for the health, fitness, and sports industries.  

“After years of partnership with membership organizations and association professionals, we’re excited to offer the community a more modern, feature-rich solution,” said Bryant Strozinsky, President of EZFacility.   

Founded in 1999, 123SignUp’s software began as a prototype designed for a single association. “At the time, an integrated, web-based membership management and event registration solution was an innovative endeavor,” explained EZFacility’s R&D Director Michael Vidal. “But eventually, technological advancement outpaced what was possible on the original platform.”  

Faced with technical challenges and the aftereffects of the global coronavirus pandemic, EZFacility began sunsetting 123SignUp and transitioning clients to EZSignUp in late 2021.

When combined with EZFacility’s membership management platform, EZSignUp offers many of the same features as 123SignUp — as well as several new ones. Users can manage event registrations, members, payments, communications, schedules, and more from a single platform.   

Beyond association management, EZSignUp appeals to a wide range of industries. Sports and fitness facilities, corporations, clubs, and nonprofits can all create professional-looking online forms in minutes. Some specific areas where EZSignUp can be of service include races, tournaments, camps, sports leagues, and community events. The tools make it easy to collect registrations and payments for these events, plus many more.  

“We’re grateful to all of the former 123SignUp clients and employees who had a hand in the past 20 illustrious and groundbreaking years,” said Strozinsky. “Now that these clients have officially joined the EZFacility family, we look forward to continuing to offer them innovative solutions to attract, manage, and engage their customers.”   

About EZSignUp  

EZSignUp, a product of EZFacility, is an event registration and management software solution. EZSignUp gives users a platform to manage seamless online registration from start to finish, while also simplifying marketing and communication efforts. For more information, visit ezsignup.com or call 516-719-7000.

EZFacility, Inc., a division of Jonas Software, is a global leader in scheduling, management, and membership solutions for the health, fitness, and sports industries. Since its launch in 2003, EZFacility has offered simple, yet highly effective, web-based club management tools that enable its thousands of users in more than 30 countries to streamline operational performance, improve the efficiency of their staff, and increase their bottom line. For more information visit ezfacility.com or call 516-719-7000.

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Six Advantages to Choosing a Software Hosted on Amazon Web Services

« Blog | Written by Hannah Gwillim | | (0) Comments

In October 2022 EZFacility will switch cloud platforms to Amazon Web Services. This is a big step forward to further improve our ability to serve clients. There are plenty of reasons to migrate to AWS, but here are six main advantages that will positively impact your experience with EZFacility.

1. Amazon Web Services is the Industry’s Leading Cloud/Infrastructure Provider

Cloud computing can be defined as the real-time ability to deliver IT resources via the internet. Prior to using cloud services, software was usually uploaded to each physical computer system often in the form of a disk. Cloud computing has changed this process tremendously, especially Amazon Web Services. AWS is the industry leader among all cloud infrastructure providers. Although cloud-based software allows for a more streamlined service, it also requires more advanced security measures and consistent maintenance. Choosing an established industry leader like AWS gives EZFacility the ability to run and deliver our software in the best way possible.

2. Reduce Deployment Time

To keep any great software going, it will need to be updated. Through AWS, our deployment time for new features/updates will be reduced. We will have a greater ability to streamline new software updates, so you can enjoy new and improved features in a shorter span of time. This means we can release frequently while having less impact on your business.

3. Reduce Potential Maintenance Issues

Maintenance can be a pain, mainly because it takes time away from using our platform. It can be daunting from a developer’s perspective as well. With AWS, potential maintenance issues will be minimized. Additionally, AWS will also allow for easier and faster maintenance. This will result in not only a better software solution but also less time away from utilizing it. 

4. More Reliable Platform

The only thing worse than maintenance is unforeseen maintenance. The reliability of a cloud system is one of the most crucial components. Migrating to AWS will grant our system improved reliability, which will reduce the risk of having emergency maintenance issues with your software.

5. Improved System Security

Although cloud computing has created the ability for improved, agile software solutions, it has also created a greater potential risk for security issues. With AWS being the industry-leading cloud provider, security is of utmost importance. AWS is currently the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment available. This means you can run your business with peace of mind knowing that you and your client’s information will be further secured through using AWS.

6. Ability to Build for Infinite Scale

Quite possibly the most exciting aspect of switching to AWS is the ability it gives us to expand and innovate our software faster than ever before. AWS provides the latest technologies to experiment and innovate more quickly. It also creates the opportunity to take our software to the next level. As our software solution grows, AWS will give us the ability to scale our software to handle a larger number of clients. 

Conclusion

Many moving parts exist to make a transition like this happen. It is essential to recognize the development team and all who took part in making the migration to Amazon Web Services possible. At EZFacility, we strive to provide clients with the best solutions and experiences for their businesses, and the utilization of AWS is a great example of this priority. If any thoughts or comments arise on the AWS Migration, feel free to use the comment section within this blog post or email ezfeedback@ezfacility.com. If you are seeking a solution that will be dedicated to your business management needs schedule your free demo of EZFacility today.

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Fitness and Gym Business Ideas for 2022

« Blog | Written by Hannah Gwillim | | (0) Comments

Have you ever tossed around business ideas to break into the fitness world, but had no idea where to begin? 

If you’re on the fence about building a fitness business or starting your own gym, we’re here to say: go for it!

Why not? When you’re passionate about health and fitness, and eager to make an impact on other people’s lives, it only makes sense to earn a living while doing it.

Living in a post-pandemic world, people are starting to prioritize their fitness like never before. This is combined with the fact there are always going to be people who want to eat better, look better, feel better, and be better. So, in no time at all, your small business could result in a ton of profit. In this post, you will find several gym business ideas to get you started.

1. Become a Personal Trainer

Personal training can be a very flexible career. This means you have options of where you want to work also. The possibilities are endless. You could work at a gym, make house calls, set up pop-up events someplace, and eventually take clients with you when you open your own space. Having a virtual option also allows for ultimate flexibility as a personal trainer. 

Because let’s face it, it’s tough to go at weight loss alone. Most individuals who want to kick start their fitness journey often seek out a personal trainer to get started on the right track. It’s nice to have someone who can assist and encourage you in achieving your personal goals and help you stay the course. So, from a client perspective, once you’ve found a personal trainer you’re comfortable with, you’re willing to follow them to the ends of the earth. Whatever it takes. That’s why personal training will always be a market with high potential.

2. Open a Specialty Gym

When opening a gym, you could make it a free for all, where anyone is welcome to come to do their thing on the equipment. That’s always fun! But, if you are particularly skilled or knowledgeable in a certain fitness area you enjoy, focus on it and transform it into your small business. Some examples may include CrossFit, Powerlifting, boxing, yoga, or dance. Sport-specific gyms are also a great option, as more athletes are beginning to focus on training that will directly help them within their sport. 

CrossFit

Assuming you haven’t heard of the popular branded workout style, CrossFit has taken the world by storm since 2000. There are around 15,000 CrossFit gyms that span across 120 different countries. This popular style of fitness includes high-intensity interval training, also known as (HIIT). This style of training focuses on both strength and conditioning while most often in a group setting. 

Before choosing it as your gym business idea, you may want to consider the costs of opening a Crossfit gym. First, you’ll have to get certified through a weekend workshop. This workshop costs $1,000 and helps participants to learn the safe, correct techniques to perform workouts. After you are certified, fees to Crossfit will tally a total of $3,000 a year. Though this may seem like a lot, Crossfit is a well-known workout brand, which can help your gym gain traction when first starting out. If you want to start a gym with high-energy workouts and a tight-knit community feel, starting a CrossFit gym might be the right fitness idea for you!

Yoga Studio

People head to their yoga mats daily for many reasons. Not only does it improve overall flexibility and physical fitness, but it’s also a way to de-stress and clear the mind. And the better news is, this health trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Having a virtual option will be very beneficial in this sector as well. 

So, if you love yoga and want to help others work toward finding their spiritual grounding, take steps toward getting your yoga license and becoming a certified yoga fitness instructor. Most basic yoga teacher training programs start at 200 hours of yoga instruction, while the more intense certifications require 500 hours of training. 

A great way to start researching this gym business idea is to visit local yoga studios and introduce yourself to the owners and instructors. You can find out about local training programs where you can earn your certification, business advice, and what fellow fitness professionals have done to make their yoga studios successful. 

Dance Studio

If you are passionate about dance, you could open a dance studio. The best part is, that dancing can be a great workout for anyone! Dancing can be an exceptional avenue to staying physically fit and healthy in a fun, engaging way. Zumba is one example of how dance can be used for fitness purposes. While there are studios for more technical dance training, Zumba is great for anyone! 

Boxing Gym

Although it makes for an entertaining sport, the benefits of boxing are expansive. According to Forbes, trends showed that boxing has grown more than any other sport from 2010 to 2020. In addition to increasing hand-eye coordination, boxing is great for cardiovascular health. In a world where heart health is more important now than ever, boxing is a good way to promote a healthy heart. Boxing is also at the center of amazing gym communities. Whether you want to have a place for boxers to train, fitness goers to enjoy great workouts, or both, opening a boxing gym is another fantastic business idea to circulate!

Sports-Specific Gym

Maybe you have a specific sport in mind that is dear to your heart. If the answer is yes, there is good news for you! More and more athletes have begun to seek out sport-specific training. As competition becomes tougher, this is a great way for athletes to get ahead and excel at their sport. Across the country, more and more sports facilities have been setting up shops, including those that focus on training for baseball/softball, football, basketball, ice hockey, and track and field—to name a few. 

Sports performance training can be quite lucrative because of how niche and desirable this expertise is. Athletes who are serious about improving in their sport are willing to travel, invest more time, and pay extra to receive proper training. If you have advanced knowledge in how to optimize sports performance for athletes, this business idea can give you a competitive advantage over average gyms. 

3. Virtual Fitness

It is without question the pandemic changed the way we live in some shape or form. While this came with some hard changes, it also developed unique opportunities. Virtual fitness is an opportunity that many people are interested in, especially when the crunch for time doesn’t allow making the drive to the gym and back. Why not just pop open a smart device and get your workout in from home? This is a great option for individuals with busy schedules, and an equally great option for trainers who want to offer their fitness business from anywhere!

Having a virtual fitness option also allows you to record classes in advance. This can be a great time saver for both you and your clients. This way, you only have to run through the session once while your clients have the ability to access workouts whenever they are free! 

Virtual classes can be paid offerings, which introduce a good revenue stream for your business. But it is also important to consider how free virtual classes can be utilized to bring in new customers. Something that plagues most prospective gym goers is an unwillingness to commit to a training program, which is often driven by the client not knowing whether a specific gym or fitness service will be the right fit for their goals. Hosting free virtual fitness classes can be a good vehicle to break the ice for these individuals.  

Having a live virtual class option can also be a great way to have the community feel of a workout class, but from wherever your feet are! The possibilities are truly endless for virtual fitness, making it a great gym business idea to try.

4. Group Fitness Instruction

When it comes to physical fitness, it may be harder for some individuals to stay consistently motivated or held accountable. This is where a group fitness option can shine. If you offer group fitness classes, this can boost motivation and accountability amongst your clients. In return, your clients can stay consistent with their fitness goals while creating a unique team environment. This environment can be appealing to those who are just beginning their fitness journey as well.

Offering group fitness is another great way you can offer more to a larger client base. One-on-one sessions with personal trainers can hinder your availability and be more expensive than some clients are willing to invest. Group fitness can help you be more efficient with your time as a trainer while simultaneously providing a more affordable option for clients. Not only are you able to motivate a group fitness class, but your clients will also begin to build relationships amongst the group, furthering their motivation and loyalty. 

5. Outdoor Fitness

While some like to keep fitness and enjoying the outdoors separate, some people love to combine the two! Outdoor fitness has become popular recently, as it boasts not only physical fitness but fresh air and Vitamin D. Outdoor fitness classes can also be a part of your group fitness or bootcamp sessions. Mix it up one day and enjoy an outdoor space for your fitness business! In addition to bootcamps, outdoor fitness can include many creative fitness business ideas such as hiking, yoga, cycling, and even watersports if the landscape is right.

6. Bootcamp Fitness

Running a bootcamp program can also be a fun way to run your fitness business. Bootcamp fitness programs are usually high-intensity interval training (HIIT) based workouts. Hosting a bootcamp for a specified amount of time, or as a special weeklong program can also be a great gym business idea to get you started. Bootcamp fitness is a fun way to engage all different gym-goers. Weather permitting, bootcamp fitness in an outdoor space can be another appealing layer to add!

7. Workplace Fitness Instruction

 Believe it or not, another area where fitness is being promoted further is in the workplace. Promoting workplace fitness and healthy living is a win-win for both employers and employees. If you want to start a fitness business that works exclusively or partly with corporate offices, there is a space for it. Workplace fitness instruction is also a great area to work in fitness challenges among staff. Healthy competition can be motivating and promote consistency within fitness habits.

8. Become a Physical Therapist 

Do you have to go to school before you open a fitness business? Not necessarily. If you’re ready to get started right now, you will be happy to know there are plenty of fitness careers that only require certifications.

However, if you are good at hitting the books, it’s never a bad idea to earn a bachelor’s degree or doctoral degree, in any health-related field. These credentials can open the doors to many more fitness career possibilities like physical therapy.

With a physical therapy business, you can coach patients on how to manage or prevent injuries, like athletes. Becoming a physical therapist also comes with some great benefits. Physical therapy is a field that will continue to have above-average growth through 2029, so there is plenty of demand for the occupation. Physical therapy also has a high national average pay, as well as many different areas to break into. A few of these areas include sports, orthopedics, geriatrics, and women’s health. This option also boasts great flexibility to better your work-life balance. If you want to research more benefits and possible cons of becoming a physical therapist, you can give this article from Indeed.com a read

 9. Nutrition

If you’re more interested in what goes into the body, perhaps your gym business will include becoming a nutritionist to help with meal plans, weight loss, and healthy eating. After all, only a small percentage of results comes from the actual working out. The rest of a client’s results depends on what type of fuel they are loading up on and if they are eating healthy or not.

What’s especially great about the nutrition profession is that you can find work anywhere. If you want to be a nutritionist in someone else’s gym, cool. If you want to be a nutritionist in your gym, equally cool. You could start anywhere and branch out to your own place of business as your experience grows. Being a nutritionist is also an amazing way to make a huge impact on an individual’s overall health. 

10. Meditation/Mindfulness Coach

As our world evolves and life becomes more and more demanding, people seek out ways to help them stay grounded. Becoming a meditation or mindfulness coach is a great path toward helping individuals maintain mental health, which is critical to one’s overall health and physical well-being. If you are interested in becoming a meditation/mindfulness coach, there are plenty of certification courses to help you get your gym business started!

11. Branded Fitness Apparel

Maybe you love fitness, but becoming a personal trainer and/or opening your own gym doesn’t quite fit your style. How can you still impact the fitness community that you’re passionate about? One option is to start your own branded fitness apparel! There is a huge sector of individuals that take pride in their style while reaching their fitness goals. You can take part in each of their fitness journeys by offering apparel that will allow them to express themselves while reaching their various goals. Whether your apparel is geared towards function, fashion, or both, branded fitness apparel is a fitness business idea to consider.

Putting Your Gym Business Ideas Into Action

Whether you’re ready to get started on your gym business idea today or want to give it some more thought, we hope this post sparked some creativity! Though knowing the direction of your gym business idea is the first step, you may think about what comes next. You are going to want someone to help you with things like billing clients, organizing class schedules, keeping track of revenue, and much more. This is where a gym management software solution like EZFacility is ready to guide you with all your gym business management needs! To speak with a software expert, you can schedule your free demo today.