23 best gym promotions for business growth in 2025

Effective gym promotions will help you cut through the noise to attract, win, and keep more members for longer. Find out what it takes to run a successful gym promo and get 23 ideas to fuel your marketing all year round.

Looking to grow your business this year? Yes?! Then you need to make sure you’re regularly running the right gym promotions.

Sign up new members. Engage and retain existing members. Attract more revenue into your business. Regular gym promos can help you grow in all these ways and more.

In this article, we’ll explore:

Let’s get stuck in!

Benefits of running gym promos

Running regular promotions for your gym can bring both immediate and long-term benefits:

Sign Up More New Members

Gym membership promotions can trigger a surge in new members. Many people are considering joining a gym but need an extra nudge to commit. Discounts can be just the push they need!

Be cautious, though. Some gym operators find that members who join with a discount may leave sooner than those who don’t. So, take a measured approach to discounting. Discounts are a great way to attract new people into your club, but they should be used strategically.

Improve Retention Rates

When members feel valued, they’re more likely to stay. Exclusive promotions for members can engage them and show that you care. Use promotions to recognise achievements, encourage upgrades, and more.

Set Your Gym Apart from Competitors

Targeted, appealing promotions can help differentiate your gym from competitors. With over 7,000 gyms in Australia, standing out is essential for growth.

Unique promotions can attract people dissatisfied with their current gym, especially if timed well. Consider key times like January for New Year’s resolutions or September for back-to-school fitness pushes.

Increase Revenue Through Up- and Cross-Selling

Bring in more revenue with the right promotions. Persuade members to upgrade to premium memberships or higher tiers. Offer promotions that drive sales of services like personal training or products like apparel.

Build Brand Awareness

Promotions boost your gym’s visibility and build brand recognition. Positive exposure increases the likelihood that potential members will seek out your gym when they’re ready.

Understand What Appeals to Your Members

The more promotions you run, the better you’ll understand what resonates with your audience. Use performance data to refine your offerings, focusing on the best-performing packages and programmes.

Key ingredients for successful gym promotions

Well-executed promotions can significantly boost your growth. But planning is crucial to avoid common pitfalls:

How do you overcome these obstacles to run successful promotions for your fitness business? Follow these tips and you’ll have the ingredients you need to win:

Define Your Target Audience

Your gym marketing strategy should clearly define your target audience. And when it comes to the gym promotions that make up your gym marketing, you’ll want to have even more specific target audiences. For example, offer a discounted personal training package to members at risk of leaving, or a first-month-free deal for first-time gym-goers.

Craft a Clear, Compelling Value Proposition

Successful promotions offer real value that motivates immediate action. Consider what will help your audience meet their needs and wants.

Create Engaging Visuals

Visual appeal matters! High-quality images and graphics aligned with your brand can grab attention, be memorable, and generate more interest. This is especially crucial for digital gym ads, where people scroll quickly.

Set a Clear Timeframe

Time-sensitive promotions create urgency. Limiting the duration of a promotion taps into impulse buying and FOMO (fear of missing out), encouraging fast action.

Take care to balance time-pressure with attracting loyal members who are looking for more than a temporary deal

Create CTAs that grab attention and drive action

Your audience needs to know exactly what you want them to do next. Whether it’s ‘sign up now’, ‘grab your free class’, or ‘bring a friend along for a free session this month’, a clear and motivating call to action (CTA) makes all the difference.

A well-crafted CTA is the key to boosting conversions and keeping things simple for your customers. Ensure your online joining and sales journeys are as smooth and quick as possible. And when it comes to promotion codes, keep them short, sweet, and easy to remember—making it a no-brainer for your members to take action!

Align Promotions with Member Needs & Fitness Trends

Stay updated on fitness industry trends and observe what members are interested in. For example, promote Pilates classes, HYROX-inspired challenges, or wellness services.

Focus promotions on your community and inclusivity

Community-focused promotions make new members feel welcome and encourage existing members to stay. Ideas include “bring a friend for free” or group challenges.

Promote Across Multiple marketing Channels

The more visible your promotion, the better. Channels to consider include:

If you have a gym member app, you could also add it to the news section. And use push notifications to let prospects and members with the app know about it.

Pick the Right Timing

Based on your target audience and the type of promotion you’re planning, you’ll need to choose the right time to run your gym promo.

If you’re aiming to attract new members, consider January, when New Year’s resolutions drive a surge in gym memberships, or spring (September-October), as many people prepare for the summer season. July also sees an increase in memberships due to mid-year fitness goals and seasonal motivations.

You can also run promotions around key dates like Black Friday, World Health Day, and Christmas. This 2025 Fitness Marketing Campaign Planner will help you identify relevant dates.

Track and Analyse Performance

Set measurable goals and track them to evaluate success. Metrics like conversion rates and ROI provide insights into what works, helping refine future promotions.

Nail Your Follow-Up

Have robust follow-up processes in place for leads and new members. The gym sales software features in your club management solution should make it easy to to follow up with prospects and send targeted emails. Ensure new members get comprehensive onboarding with both digital and in-person touchpoints.

With these strategies, your gym promotions will not only attract new members but also create lasting relationships, fostering a thriving gym community.

And with new members, make sure you are offering gym inductions. And have a comprehensive new member onboarding process set up. Effective onboarding usually includes digital and IRL – in real life – touchpoints.

23 gym promotion ideas to grow your fitness business

Looking for a little gym promo inspiration? You’re in the right place, here are 23 ideas to get you started, categorised by promotion type and goal.

New member promotions

These will help you attract and win prospective members for your club.

1. First month free

Give prospective members the persuasion they need to sign up to your gym with their first month free. An ever-popular gym membership promotion, create a catchy promo code that can be used during your online joining process.

2. No joining or admin fees

Cost can be a barrier for first time members and those looking to switch. So, waiving joining fees is a great way to help them overcome this barrier. Create an offer code for a set amount to cover what you normally charge new members.

3. Free day or 7 day pass

Let prospective members ‘try before they buy’ by running a promotion to giveaway complimentary day or even 7 day passes. This is a great offer for any apprehensive gymgoers who want to try out your offerings before committing.

Make sure you effectively follow up with those who take up the offer. Gather feedback. And encourage them to sign up to a full membership.

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4. Open days & weekends

Open mornings/afternoons, days, and weekends are a tried and tested way to encourage potential new members into your gym.

Run taster classes. Offer quick consultations with your personal trainers. Take prospects on a tour of your club. Go all out to show why your club is the place to be and the benefits members realise by joining.

You could also offer some sort of incentive for prospects to sign up during the event. And make sure you capture details of those who attend, so you can follow up afterwards.

Retention promotions

Gym promotions can be used to help your existing members stick with you for longer.

5. Refer-a-friend offers

Gym member referral programmes let you reward loyal members and win new members at the same time. Taking advantage of word of mouth marketing, refer-a-friend offers let your members promote the benefits of signing up to your gym.

Use your gym management software to run your referral promotion and track take up. Offer an incentive of some kind to encourage take up. Choose to run one-off referral offers and/or keep these running long-term.

Create a referral programme to turn members into advocates

Go deeper

Follow these 6 steps to build a high performing referral programme that helps you win and retain loyal members.

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6. Milestone-linked rewards

This is another type of gym promotion that you could run on an ongoing basis. Celebrate things like anniversaries and milestones achieved. Think 1^st anniversary of joining or 100 visits achieved.

Show your appreciation with special discounts, exclusive merchandise, or complimentary training sessions.

7. Loyalty-linked discounts

Reward loyal members with discounts on membership renewals. Or exclusive perks only available to long-term members. This will encourage them to stick with you rather than looking at other options available.

8. Upgrade promotions

Is your gym membership pricing split into tiers? You could encourage members to upgrade to a higher tier. Offer an incentive to make the switch and highlight the benefits.

Upgrade promotions could also target pay-as-you-go members. Start by focusing on those who visit regularly and would be better off having a full membership.

9. Offers on merchandise

Sell branded items like hoodies, t-shirts, or water bottles? Or other helpful items like padlocks for lockers, deodorant, or socks? Promoting a special discount on selected items can encourage more members to invest.

Run the offer in-club and/or via your online shop using promo codes to apply the offer.

Seasonal promotions

These promo ideas are linked to specific times of the year – making the most of both busy and quieter seasons.

10. New Year’s resolution special deals

January is a time when many people reset their fitness goals after the indulgence of the festive season. So, consider offering special deals or packages in January to attract those motivated by resolutions.

To help members with similar goals, you could offer a series of small group classes. Working as part of a group will encourage these gymgoers to stick with it. And can foster social connections, building a sense of community that inspires loyalty.

11. Back to school promotions

Deals around life changes, like back to school, can attract specific demographics who may be ready for a change. Target students going off to uni or starting new courses in their hometowns/cities.

Also, look at offers targeted at parents. Parents who are getting back into the school routine after the summer holidays.

12. Summer promotions

School holidays. Foreign holidays. Good weather and the desire to be outside. Summer can be notoriously quiet for gyms and fitness clubs.

So, run special gym promotions that bring people into your club during the quiet period. And you’ll boost business and avoid losing members in the summer months.

13. Festive promotions

Like during the summer, many people lose interest in going to the gym in the run up to Christmas and New Years. So, festive promotions are a fantastic way to keep existing members engaged. And even attract new members.

Ultimate guide: Festive gym email campaigns to boost business

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You could also consider running Black Friday gym promotions. And you’ll tap into the desire for special offers at that time of the year.

Personal training promotions

Working out with a personal trainer can help motivate members towards their fitness goals. Ultimately, keeping them with you for longer. Encourage more members to try out personal training with these gym promo ideas.

14. First training session for free

Nudge new (and long-term) members on to try out personal training by offering them a session for free. This is a great opportunity for members to set goals and get tips that’ll improve their experience at your club.

Attach a value to this session

Tip

Make this a session that’s paid for by your club. Attach a cost to it rather than saying it’s free. That way members will understand the value of future sessions

15. Bundle discount

Offer a package of personal training sessions at a discounted rate. It’s a great way to push members to commit to a series of sessions.

Keep it simple with a buy one get one free offer. Or offer a bolt-on of 6 or 12 sessions with a saving attached.

16. Group training offer

Small group training is a key fitness trend for Australian gyms. So, make the most of this an offer a discount on small group training sessions.

This can help make personal training more accessible for those concerned about cost. And it’s a great way to build community.

Corporate & group membership promotions

Alone is hard. Together is better. Apply this in your business with these group-based gym membership promotions.

17. Corporate discounts

Partner with local businesses to grow your club. Offer employee discounts. Or special membership prices when businesses refer a specific number of employees.

You could also work directly with those businesses. And provide memberships for employees paid for by the employer.

18. Family memberships

Is your club family friendly? Offer group-based family memberships for parents/guardians and children. Promote the value that these bring.

19. Concession / discounted memberships

Want to know another way to promote your gym to more people? Offer discounted memberships for specific demographic groups. Typical concession memberships to consider are:

Health & wellbeing promotions

This final set of promo ideas for your gym business will help you support the overall health and wellbeing of your members.

20. Wellness package bundles

Think nutrition support, physio sessions, or massages. Offer discounted bundles to encourage members to take advantage of any health and wellbeing services you offer.

These bundles could also include bolt-ons for classes like yoga, meditation, or breathwork.

21. Challenge-based fitness promotions

Gym challenges:

So, if you want to design a gym promotion that engages members, focus on a challenge.

31 gym challenges to engage members

Go deeper

Want some challenge ideas for your promotion? Get loads of options and find out how to run a successful challenge.

Read now

22. Educational events

Host free or paid for educational events on topics like nutrition, mindset, or injury prevention. Invite guest speakers in to run these sessions.

These sort of events will add value for members. You’ll be helping them get more from their training sessions at your club.

23. Food & drink offers

Healthy snacks. Coffees. Protein shakes. If you sell these or any other food and drink items at your fitness club, you could run a special discount offer. Or even give away samples to encourage more members to buy.

The wrap up…

Want to grow your gym business? Gym promotions can power growth over the long-term by helping you:

There are some common pitfalls of running promotions. The right approach can help you avoid any potential drawbacks and maximise the success of your promotions.

Effective promotions for gyms include:

Get in touch to find out how Xplor Gym can power successful promotions for your fitness business.