5 Best Personal Training Advertising Strategies To Get Clients Now

Stop wasting time and money on ineffective personal training advertising and focus on proven strategies instead. With 15+ years of fitness marketing experience, we’ve tested almost every ad platform and promo strategy out there. And we can tell you with certainty that five PT advertising strategies consistently outperform everything else…

In this article, we outline the most effective personal training advertising strategies that actually generate client leads and sign-ups.

We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped personal trainers and PT studios to successfully promote their businesses, so our marketing strategies are tried and tested.

If you’re wondering how to advertise as a personal trainer or fitness coach, then you’re not alone. Whether you’re a freelance PT, employed by a gym, or run your own studio business, generating sales is always a priority.

But spending money on advertising can feel risky. What if it doesn’t get results and you’ve wasted all that cash?

Well, we’ve narrowed it down to the most effective ways to advertise personal training and promote your business. These are the strategies that have worked for our fitness clients and students, so you can be confident that they’re battle-tested. We’ve even put them in rank order so you know which to try first and which to invest in last…

1 – Google Business Profile

Setting up a free Google Business profile is hands-down the most effective way to advertise personal training. Google is the first stop for most people looking for a personal trainer and having a business profile means you’re immediately visible to them. It gets you in front of hot leads for free!

Most people use a search engine to learn more about the personal training options on offer, where trainers are located, the services available, and how much they charge. This is an opportunity for you to get in early and become their first choice. Having a business profile means you’re featured on Google Maps or near the top of search results.

Google business profiles generate a huge number of inquiries – almost 9/10 people get in touch within a day. This is why we recommend that all our fitness business clients set up a Google profile before doing anything else. Include your contact info, operating hours, photos, and reviews or testimonials.

Free Fitness Marketing Guide

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2 – Reviews & Testimonials

Reviews and testimonials are powerful promotional tools for personal trainers but often get overlooked. They’re a messaging strategy rather than a platform which is probably why they’re skipped over when it comes to advertising. But nothing is more persuasive than recommendations from other people.

An impressive 20-50% of all purchasing decisions are driven by word of mouth. No amount of advertising can compare to the opinions of other people. This is why gyms are always pushing for referrals – they know just how powerful they can be!

Reviews and testimonials demonstrate your credibility and prove you can be trusted to deliver results. No one will hand over their hard-earned cash unless they believe in your training ability.

So, before you move on to the next few advertising strategies, make sure you’ve got a bank of killer client testimonials and reviews. Then use them as content in your ads to make them more effective and drive better results.

If you’re not sure how to approach this, then check out this handy testimonial template. Ask all of your existing clients to provide one and then feature them everywhere. This means on your website or blog, social media accounts, in-club posters, personal trainer bio, and any sales collateral you use.

3 – Online PPC Advertising

Once you’ve exhausted the free advertising ideas, move on to paid strategies. Online pay-per-click (PPC) ad platforms like Google Ads are our top recommendation. They get you in front of people who are actively searching for personal training services.

Online PPC ads are excellent value and drive a strong return on investment (ROI) if you use them as part of a solid sales funnel. It’s crucial to have a follow-up process in place to convert people who click on your ad into clients. Not having a funnel is the biggest mistake we see fitness businesses make when it comes to advertising.

You can often secure a free advertising credit if you’re signing up for the first time. If you’re driving people to your PT website, then create a landing page with a short sales pitch, testimonials, freebie, and contact form. If you’re driving people to call you, then make sure you have a script prepared and know what you’re going to say to secure a consultation.

Then use compelling ads to drive people to your website or call you. If you’re not sure what to put in the ads, check out this Google Ads guide specifically for personal trainers which includes example copy.

Get inspired… with these Marketing Ideas for Personal Trainers & Fit Pros or fitness-themed advert examples.

4 – Social Media Advertising

Social media is a marketing favourite digital marketing strategy with personal trainers. It has a huge reach and enables you to connect with thousands of potential clients. The downside is that building a large following takes time, but advertising is one way to find customers quickly.

We recommend that our clients explore Meta Ads on Facebook and Instagram only once they’ve exhausted free options and Google Ads. This can happen when there aren’t many people in your location actively searching for what you offer. Or it’s a highly competitive market (like big cities) which makes PPC ads more expensive than in a normal town.

In our experience, Meta ads are often cheaper per click than Google Ads so could be a more affordable alternative. But they’re cheaper for a reason – they aren’t as targeted and take longer to produce quality leads.

When you advertise on Facebook or Instagram, you’re interrupting people as they scroll. They aren’t actively looking for personal training (like Google users are) and rarely convert into clients immediately. But with some attention-grabbing ads, a nurture sequence, and a time-limited offer, you can eventually turn them into customers.

It takes time to establish trust and convert social media leads into paying clients, but it pays off eventually. Check out our more detailed social media marketing guides for advice on how to approach this…

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5 – Partnerships & Collabs

Partnerships and collaborations can also be a great way to advertise your personal training business. Think about where your ideal clients hang out or spend money (either in person or online) and then partner with those places!

This is an under-utilized but highly effective method for generating high-quality personal training leads. It does require a bit more leg work than the other advertising ideas on this list but it produces real-world connections.

Make a list of businesses that are complementary to your own – athleisure stores, health food cafes, spas, etc. Their customers are all likely to be interested in fitness and have the disposable income to pay for personal training. Then partner with them to get more clients, whether that’s through a basic poster, social media collab, joint campaign, or some kind of live event.

Thinking Beyond Advertising – Other PT Marketing Ideas 

Advertising can be a great way to drive immediate leads and sign-ups. But if you can play the long game and invest time rather than money, you might find other marketing approaches more effective. Here are some to consider…

• Email marketing – offer a lead magnet that appeals to your specific target audience and then send follow-up emails that persuade them to train with you.
• Fitness blogging – target specific health-related keywords to get found on search engines and generate a steady stream of online leads for free.
• Organic social media – create quality content in popular formats like reels and carousels to build a social following for free.
• Kindle books – if you’re an online personal trainer, then consider creating a Kindle book to generate leads for your business.

Advertising a Personal Training Business

So, now you know exactly how to advertise your personal training business and promote your fitness coaching services. These PT advertising ideas will help you generate leads and secure new clients quickly. All you have to do is take action.

Creating testimonials provides the foundational content for your Google Business Profile, PPC ads, social media channels, and partnerships. Just be sure to have a solid follow-up process in place so you take full advantage of all those juicy leads!

Our ready-made fitness marketing templates make it quick and easy to promote your fitness business effectively. Generate consistent leads, sign-ups, and sales revenue for your gym, fitness studio, or personal training business.

You’ll get 30+ resources covering…

These affordable templates are the same resources we use with our own clients. The bundle includes all the essentials you need to promote your business and sign up more customers. Learn more here.