The holidays can be slow for the personal training business. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait until January for things to pick up again. Just a few creative personal training marketing ideas can help you promote your business, connect with clients and increase your revenue this holiday season!
We’ve gathered some of our favorite holiday promotion ideas and tips to keep your business booming during the holidays.
The Benefits of Personal Training Promotions During the Holidays
The holidays are coming, and you know what that means—’tis the season of skipping the gym in favor of eating, drinking, and being merry. So, it’s not uncommon for the health and fitness industry to see a decrease in business during the holiday season.
As people get busy during the holidays, their health and fitness goals can become a low priority. Many of your clients may prioritize time with loved ones over time at the gym. And eating becomes the center of most social activities and celebrations.
It can be hard to keep your fitness business going when everyone else is taking a break. But with some creative personal training promotion ideas, you can stay engaged with your current clients and attract new ones during the holiday season.
Personal training promotions can give clients the motivation and inspiration to keep working out throughout the holiday madness. Create promotions that give your clients the accountability they need during the busy holiday season.
Holiday personal training promotions can also improve client retention, as they help to demonstrate your dedication to helping your clients stick to their fitness goals. What’s more, showing that you care helps build a good rapport with your clients.
Many personal trainers struggle to get new clients during the holiday season, so offering holiday promotions is a great way to attract new clients, particularly when you can design promotional deals targeting potential customers looking to jump-start their New Year’s fitness resolutions.
Personal Training Promotion Ideas for the Holiday Season
Our personal training promotion ideas will help you connect with your audience and get more business during the most hectic season of all. So, whether you’re looking to increase attendance at your boot camps or to keep your clients engaged during the holiday season, we’ve got you covered.
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 great deals and deep discounts. So, there’s no better time to offer discounts and package deals on your personal training or group training sessions.
Offering special holiday pricing on your personal training services is a great way to attract new clients, as it gives them a chance to try out your services at a discounted rate.
Consider bundling your personal training sessions with other services such as nutrition coaching or custom meals to create value-add package which deliver a valuable client experience, beyond a simple block of sessions.
Create urgency by offering time-sensitive discounts and early bird specials on those personal training packages to encourage people to act quickly. Creative bundles and discounts will help you attract new clients and keep existing ones coming back for more workouts with you.
Seasonal social media campaigns
It’s always important to stay connected with your clients, but especially during the holidays when fitness can take a backseat to shopping and shindigs. Social media is a great way to connect with clients and promote your services even when they’re at their busiest.
Incorporate seasonal messaging into your social media posts. Promote your personal training services while inspiring clients to feel confident in their holiday photos. Provide your audience with helpful, valuable information that demonstrates your knowledge and experience to keep them engaged over the holiday season.
The holidays can also be a difficult time of year for a lot of people, so consider providing educational content around mental health and encourage your audience to combat holiday stress and seasonal depression with exercise.
Other side effects—like burnout and overindulging on delicious holiday snacks—should also be top of mind when it comes to your content creation. Consider sharing posts with tips on how to make time to work out when life gets hectic and educate your audience on how to use those extra holiday meals to help fuel their workouts.
Get in the giving spirit
Remind your audience that it’s better to give than to receive by giving them a freebie this holiday season. Create a no-purchase-necessary offer that is available to your existing clients as well as prospective customers.
For example, you might direct folks to your website to where they download a free PDF of a holiday meal plan or post free mini-workouts to your social media channels that they can try at home.
Additionally, you can also include freebie bonuses with the purchase of personal training packages. Throw in a free nutritional consultation or a free personal training session with the purchase of a holiday bundle package.
Increase your social media engagement by holding a holiday giveaway. Ask your audience to complete a task, such as sharing your post, tagging a friend, or following your account for a chance to win a prize.
Giveaways help you reach a wider audience, so they’re a great way to market your holiday personal training promotion ideas.
Hold a holiday contest or challenge
Motivate your clients to stay active with a holiday fitness challenge. Awarding prizes like free sessions will give people an additional incentive to join in the challenge.
Create a unique hashtag for your clients to use when showing off their progress. You can also hold a contest where the clients who use the hashtag are entered into a drawing to win free personal training sessions.
Offer gift certificates
This year, make holiday shopping easy for your clients. Does your fitness business sell gift certificates for your personal training services? If not, this can help to generate revenue during the holiday season, even when you’re not on the gym floor with your clients.
Gift certificates let your satisfied clients give the gift of your services to friends and family. And you benefit from both the upfront sale and the exposure to potential new clients. Everybody wins!
You can also offer special holiday bonuses to further entice clients to purchase your gift certificates. For example, you could reward customers with a $25 gift certificate for every $100 they spend.
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 Season 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.
Promote your personal training services 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.
You want to give your clients plenty of time to both learn about and take advantage of your promotions. Set aside time to map out your holiday marketing strategy. Plan your messaging around important shopping days and the holidays themselves.
In October, you want to target the three big shopping days in November:
- Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)
- Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving)
- Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving)
Once the holiday shopping officially kicks off, people will be shopping right up to the last minute. In November, promote deals that run up until Christmas Day or kick off on Boxing Day.
Losing weight and getting healthy is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. As the year winds down, promote your training packages with a “New Year, New Me” message.
Make your holiday promotions easy to access
The holidays will have people busy enough with all the shopping, decorating, and social obligations, so make taking advantage of your promotions one of the easier things they’ll do this season.
Your personal training clients should be able to access your promotions, regardless of their schedules or availability. Include links in your emails and social posts that take them directly to the service, discount bundle, or holiday event you’re promoting. And be sure those links work.
Make buying your gift certificates convenient by selling both online and in person. Offer flexibility with your personal training packages so that clients can use them at any time.
Personalize your promotions
Everyone’s inboxes will be filled with holiday promotions, deals, and coupons. But very few of them will be personal. Stand out from the crowd by personalizing your offers. Even using “You” and “Your” or “I” and “We” will go a long way.
Design personal training promotions that attract your target audience. Targeting the right potential clients helps you avoid wasting time and money on promotions that don’t lead to new business.
You can offer your current clients special promotions or pricing on gift cards, personal training packages, or nutritional coaching. When designing your promotions and bundles, consider what problems they need solved or what will make their lives easier.
You should also create promotions and bundles that can be custom-tailored to your client’s individual goals and abilities. Showing clients that you consider their individual needs helps them to see the value in your personal training services.
Personal touches let your clients know that you care about them and their success. And knowing you care will make them more likely to take advantage of your offers and services.
Make Your Promotional Content Engaging and Shareable
Engaging, shareable content helps use the power of word-of-mouth to spread the word about your holiday personal training promotions.
Social media posts with photos and videos have higher engagement rates than posts with just text or links. Post photos and videos of workout demos, tours of your gym, and some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of your fitness business.
They key is to create content so valuable or entertaining that your audience can’t wait to share it. Here are some ideas:
- 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.
Hit the Ground Running with Your Holiday Season Personal Training Promos
With the holidays right around the corner, you need to hit the ground running with your holiday personal training promotion ideas. An all-in-one personal training software like My PT Hub makes marketing and running your fitness business easier than ever.
My PT Hub helps trainers, coaches, gym owners, and other fitness professionals manage their clients with ease. With over 15 best-in-class features, unlimited clients, and the ability to customize your account to look like your dream business, we’ll help take your fitness business to the next level.
Use the My PT Hub Vouchers feature to generate your own holiday-themed discount codes to redeem against your personal training Packages. Reward your existing clients with the gift of personal training and incentivize new signups ahead of the January rush.
My PT Hub’s Packages feature allows trainers to create holiday-themed fitness challenges within minutes. The best part? You can share your Packages straight to social and even take payment directly through the app!
You can also create your own holiday-themed meal plans with the My PT Hub Nutrition feature. With access to the World’s largest verified nutrition database, you’ll be able to share your recipe ideas and Nutrition Plans with ease to keep your clients focused on festive fitness.
Excited about setting up personal training promotions this holiday season? Explore how My PT Hub’s marketing tools can give you the support you need to promote your business year-round.
