The holiday season doesn’t have to mean a slowdown for your personal training business. With the right personal training promotion ideas in place, you can stay connected with existing clients, attract new ones and head into January with real momentum.
We’ve put together our favourite holiday promotion ideas and practical tips to keep your business thriving through the busiest — and often trickiest — time of year.
Why holiday promotions matter for personal trainers
It’s no secret that the fitness industry takes a hit during the holidays. As people get busy, health and fitness goals tend to slip down the priority list. Clients favour time with loved ones over gym sessions, and eating becomes the centrepiece of most social events.
That doesn’t mean you have to sit back and wait for January. Creative personal training promotion ideas give clients the motivation and accountability to keep working out through the holiday season, and they go a long way toward improving client retention, too. Showing you care about your clients’ goals, even when life gets hectic, helps build a strong trainer-client relationship.
Holiday promotions are also one of the best ways to attract new clients, particularly those already thinking about jump-starting their New Year’s fitness goals. A well-timed offer can put your services front of mind well before the January rush.
Personal training promotion ideas for the holiday season
Whether you’re looking to fill your calendar before Christmas or build a pipeline for January, these personal training marketing ideas will help you connect with your audience and drive real results.
For further inspiration, explore top tips from some of the UK’s most successful personal trainers that you can use all year round.
Launch a referral program for your personal training business
Referral programs are a great way to reach new clients. Especially around the holidays when the last thing folks are shopping for is a personal trainer.
Even with all of today’s technology, word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to bring attention to your fitness business. And when you’re good at what you do, your clients are going to talk about it. So why not reward them for singing your praises?
Referral programs incentivize your current clients to spread the word about your personal training services. For every new client that your current clients refer, you can offer one or more of the following rewards:
- Cash
- Gift cards
- Free personal training sessions
- Discounts on membership fees or training packages
- A “bonus” service, like nutrition coaching or meal planning
A great example is the referral program My PT Hub uses to attract new business. Our customers earn a $25 Visa eGift Card for each monthly subscriber they refer or a $50 Visa eGift Card for each annual subscriber they refer.
And be sure to give your referring clients the recognition they deserve. Post a shout-out on social media thanking them for trusting your business enough to share it with friends.
Offer discount/bundle personal training packages
Nothing says “the holidays” quite like a great deal. Offering time-sensitive discounts and holiday bundle packages is one of the most accessible personal training promotion ideas for attracting new clients and rewarding existing ones.
Consider structuring your packages in tiers to make it easy for clients to choose:
- Basic: sessions only
- Standard: sessions plus weekly check-ins
- Premium: full coaching experience with nutrition support and custom programming
Bundling sessions with nutrition coaching or habit tracking creates a more valuable client experience that goes well beyond a simple block of sessions. And creating urgency with an early bird deadline or a limited number of spots makes people act faster. Learn more about building effective packages and payment structures.
Seasonal social media campaigns
Social media is one of the most powerful personal training promotion channels available, and not just because of reach. With a growing number of consumers now using platforms like Instagram and TikTok to discover new services, your holiday content could be the first introduction a potential client has to your business.
Incorporate seasonal messaging into your posts and inspire your audience to stay active, feel confident in their holiday photos, and make the most of the festive period. Share educational content around managing holiday stress, combating seasonal burnout, and using those extra Christmas calories to fuel better workouts.
The holidays can be emotionally difficult for a lot of people, too. Content around mental health and the role of exercise in managing stress and low mood can resonate deeply and position you as a trainer who cares about more than just physical results.
For practical Instagram content ideas, check out our guide on how to start a fitness Instagram and our Instagram post ideas for personal trainers.
Use holiday email campaigns to reach clients directly
Email is one of the most overlooked personal training promotion ideas, and one of the most effective. Unlike social media, your email list is yours. No algorithm decides who sees it.
Over the holiday period, send a short series of emails to your existing clients and leads. Share your bundle offers, upcoming events, gift certificate options, and tips for staying on track through December. Keep subject lines festive and personal (“Your Christmas workout plan is ready”) and include a clear link to book or buy.
Segment your list where possible; a different message for current clients versus cold leads will always convert better than a one-size-fits-all blast.
Get in the giving spirit
Freebies and giveaways are some of the simplest personal training promotion ideas, and they work. A no-purchase offer builds goodwill, grows your audience, and puts your expertise in front of people who haven’t yet committed to working with you.
- Share a free holiday meal plan PDF via your website or a simple email sign-up.
- Post free at-home mini-workouts to your social channels.
- Include a free bonus (nutritional consultation, extra session) with the purchase of a holiday package.
- Run a social media giveaway where followers tag a friend or share your post to enter.
Giveaways in particular are great for reaching a wider audience fast, and they tend to attract exactly the kind of people who are already interested in their health.
Hold a holiday fitness challenge
A holiday fitness challenge is a brilliant way to keep clients motivated and engaged through December while generating buzz around your business. Awarding prizes like free sessions creates an extra incentive to join.
Create a unique hashtag for participants to use when sharing their progress, and consider running a draw for clients who post with it. The content your clients create essentially markets your services for you.
Offer gift certificates
Gift certificates make holiday shopping easy for your clients, plus they generate revenue for you even when you’re not in the gym.
Promote gift certificates across your social channels, in your email newsletters, and in person. Consider sweetening the deal with a holiday bonus: for example, a $25 gift certificate with every $100 spent. Make purchasing as simple as possible by selling both online and in person.
Partner with local businesses
One of the most underused personal training promotion ideas is co-marketing with local, complementary businesses. Think health food cafes, physiotherapy clinics, massage therapists, yoga studios, or supplement shops.
Reach out and propose a simple arrangement: you promote their services to your clients, and they promote yours. Even something as straightforward as having your details on their counter (or theirs on yours) can open up a valuable new stream of referrals. The shared audience already cares about their health, which means less convincing required on your part.
Host a free holiday-themed workout
A great way to get people to the gym during the holidays is with a free workout. Host a themed fitness event, such as a Santa’s sweat workshop or a holiday HIIT boot camp.
Show people that working out can be fun and enjoyable. Put together a festive playlist to get people in the holiday spirit or lead a fun-filled workout while dressed in a Santa costume.
Invite people to come wearing their favorite holiday-inspired workout gear. Encourage your existing clients to bring their friends and family members. The more the merrier! And the more exposure to your personal training business.
Holiday promotion tips
As far as marketing strategies go, a well-executed holiday promotion can help grow your business well into the New Year. Here are some tips to help bring your holiday personal training promotion ideas to life.
Start promoting early
About 50% of shoppers start their holiday shopping before Halloween. Even if you’re a last-minute shopper yourself, it’s worth starting to market your holiday personal training promotion ideas early.
Map out your holiday promotional calendar around the big shopping dates:
- Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)
- Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving)
- Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving)
Then run promotions right through to Christmas and Boxing Day, before switching your messaging to a “New Year, New You” push as January approaches. Getting personal training clients during January is one of the biggest opportunities of the year, so your promotions should set that up well in advance.
Make your holiday promotions easy to access
Your clients are already stretched over the holidays. Make taking advantage of your offers one of the easier things they’ll do all month.
Link directly to the relevant service, bundle, or booking page in every email and social post. Test those links. Offer flexibility on when packages can be used. Sell gift certificates online as well as in person.
Personalize your offers
Every inbox is flooded with generic holiday deals. Stand out by tailoring your promotions to your audience — or even to individual clients. Using “you” and “your” in your copy, designing bundles around specific goals, and targeting the right audience helps your promotions feel personal rather than promotional.
Think about what problems your clients are trying to solve and build your offers around those. Clients who feel understood are far more likely to buy.
Make your promotional content engaging and shareable
Great content amplifies every one of these personal training promotion ideas. Posts with photos and videos consistently outperform text-only content, so showcase your workouts, your gym, and the people you work with.
Here are some ideas to inspire shareable content this holiday season:
- Share healthy recipes and fitness tips that help your clients and showcase your expertise.
- Show your audience that you care about more than the sale. Asking questions lets your clients and potential customers know that you’re listening and interested in them as people.
- Engage your audience on social media platforms with open-ended questions that foster a sense of community. What’s their favorite part of the holiday season? Do they have a healthy holiday recipe they swear by? What are their fitness goals in the new year?
- Incorporate client feedback into your holiday marketing—a staggering 93% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase.
- Share customer quotes and customer reviews in your social media promotional posts and holiday newsletter.
Building this kind of trust and community through your content is what turns followers into paying clients; not just over the holidays, but all year round.
Hit the ground running with your holiday promos
The holidays are the perfect time to put your personal training promotion ideas into action, and My PT Hub gives you the tools to make it happen.
Use the Vouchers feature to create holiday-themed discount codes for your Packages. Use the Nutrition feature to share festive meal plans and keep clients on track through December. And use My PT Hub’s marketing tools to promote your business year-round, not just at Christmas.
Whether you’re running a referral programme, launching a holiday bundle, or hosting your first festive fitness challenge, My PT Hub has everything you need to promote your business and grow your client base, this season and beyond.