Quick & Effective Marketing Plan for Local Yoga Studios, Fitness Trainers, and Gyms

Marketing 3-4-5™ Fundamentals Specifically Crafted For Local Yoga Studios, Fitness Trainers, and Gyms - Browse all industry plans here

Marketing your yoga studio, fitness trainer, gym or nutritionist business is as easy as sharing your daily activities and customer interactions.

Creating authentic content for your business can help you stand out, build rapport, and cultivate demand

Local yoga studios and health and wellness businesses are a mainstay in most local communities.

Participating drives physical wellness but also creates a sense of community.

While competition has grown, local yoga and fitness businesses are in a great position to add value to local customers/ students and trainers alike.

Most local yoga and fitness studios do not effectively communicate their unique value often despite a fair amount of effort.

This simple marketing and content plan is based on our Marketing 3-4-5™ approach and shows how every local yoga studio, fitness trainer, gym and nutrionist can clearly and effectively market themselves online without requiring much time or expense.

As we always say, content drives marketing, and it's surprisingly easy for local businesses to follow a repeatable process for creating impactful content.

Below are simple ways for you to rapidly create content that is relevant, compelling, yet requires zero creativity for your yoga studio, gym, or fitness center.

How to get started marketing your yoga and fitness studio in just a few steps:

Share Yoga Positions, Exercises, or Workouts

Educating people on specific exercises is an easy way to cultivate interest and appear approachable

This is a great and easy way to produce content to attract more visitors and customers. You have an opportunity to explain a few key concepts that empower customers and helps people 'prepare to attend' since we all want to know we're able to do the exercises taught in the class.

  • What is the exercise called and what muscles or body parts does it benefit?
  • What does doing it the right way look like and what are common mistakes to avoid? Use pictures wherever you can.
  • Why is this an exercise you recommend and what other exercises does it replace i.e. they have similar benefits?
  • Is there a modified version people can do if they're not prepared for the standard? What about an advanced version?
  • Do you have a quote from a student about this exercise that you can use to share their perspective - and add some social proof?

Don't forget to link to any upcoming classes you can that include this exercise or position.

If you're a nutritionist, you can replace the exercise with a recipe or ingredient and follow the same formula as above.

Employee and Instructor Recognition

Highlighting instructors and employees in a blog post is an easy way to reward them for a job well done while helping people get to know your business.

You have a few options to recognize employees. You can recognize employees regularly as an employee of the month, you can recognize them in an ad-hoc way when customers report a great experience to you or even celebrate new hires or work anniversaries.

This is also an opportunity to identify any unique skills or experience they bring to the team and, if relevant, ways you are using their know-how to train up other members of your team.

Not only does this make the people at your business feel more approachable but, in many cases, your instructors also promote themselves and this gives them more to share with their audience - a win-win!

If you're hiring or looking for new instructors, including a note at the end of each Employee Recognition post alerting and linking readers to your job openings is a great way to use marketing to build your team - there are, after all, 3 reasons to do marketing.

Customer Success Story

What better way to attract customers than to celebrate how you helped deliver value?

This can be as simple as helping a wayward customer find what the class or group they've been looking for (those of us who are less informed can be intimidated by a yoga studio or gym and showing you know how to help us can be valuable).

Removing fear and uncertainty is ALWAYS a path to new customers.

Your service and classes are one-thing but telling a human-interest story is another.

People love to see that you provide a unique and personal experience while showing your appreciation to those who benefit from your business. Inspire people with how you have helped people on their weight-loss trek or assisted in someone meeting their muscle-gain quest.

If the person looks like me, has similar physical challenges or goals, has similar limitations (like a job, family, etc), and you're able to articulate how you helped them achieve success then I feel more comfortable that you'll likely be able to help me.

Ask your customer if they'd mind if you tell their mini-story. If they agree, take a picture with them in the front of your business or working out in a notable backdrop and ask them:

  • Where they're from (local or visitor),
  • What brought them in or why they've become a customer,
  • Did they participate in person or connect in remotely and are there any COVID-specific adjustments that you've made to accommodate people?
  • What's something they'd say to someone looking to get in shape or become healthy... or who wants to support local,
  • What did they buy and how do they feel about their progress with you.

This can be short, sweet, and to the point, as it reinforces what makes you unique and valuable.

Partners and Support Local

Businesses in health, wellness, and fitness realms tend to be quite well networked.

Whether we're talking about recommending complementary services providers or simply highlighting other local businesses you support and endorse there's an opportunity to leverage these relationships to mutual benefit.

Are there businesses that regularly send you referrals or to whom you regularly refer people? In particular, if you just got a referral that paid off from another business this is a great time to show them your appreciation.

Tell their story.

A simple post explaining the nature of your relationship and a simple Q&A with your partner is fast and easy. A few questions we recommend include:

  • How did you get into the [business type]?
  • What do you specialize in and what are your ideal types of projects?
  • What role do referrals play in your business and how you work with clients?
  • How did you meet [your business name]?
  • What about [your business name] made you want to refer people to us?
  • Do you have a motto or way of thinking about customer service for your business?

When you do this, you're showing you're a team player when it comes to the community, you get to share why other businesses think you're great, and you tap into your partner's audience all without breaking a sweat.

Seasonal Posts and Considerations

Surely your health, wellness or fitness business has seasonal considerations.

Whether we're talking about staying healthy during flu season, finding a time to work out while enjoying fun-in-the-sun, or tips to get ready for swimsuit season there's often an opportunity to make your insights and expertise more relevant.

What seasons considerations do you find yourself sharing with customers, friends, and family? 

Those should be turned into content and distributed online.

Recommended Shoe and Clothing Wear (Brands too)

Let's face it, how we look working out matters (to most us)

A lot of people are uncertain of what to wear to look appropriate and to get the best results - see the comment above about removing uncertainty.

You can give people permission to participate when you make recommendations about clothing and attire:

  • What is your studio or gyms required attire?
  • What is the best outfit for a good workout session? Are there alternatives you'd recommend at different price-points? Explain the benefits and tradeoffs.
  • Is there other useful equipment like gloves, shoes, mats, etc?
  • Maybe you partner with some athletic brands, which do you can recommend or sell and why?

Feature these on your website as well to keep people informed and prep them for visiting your studio or gym. 

Events, Classes and Event Recaps

You most likely teach your own classes or perhaps you host free ones or open-houses as well.

In all cases, these classes should be listed on your website.

In fact, you should have a page on your website about classes, you should have a calendar on your website featuring upcoming classes (it should be sortable to show past classes too).

You can even do articles after classes highlighting an attendee or two - what they learned, what they did, what they thought of the experience etc.

Working Out at Home or Away from the Gym or Studio

How to continue working out when you're on your own can be a challenge, perhaps you can help?

Like sharing specific exercises, poses or approaches, sharing tips and suggestions for people to create an environment for success when they're away from the gym especially during COVID-19 helps people who are in need of guidance.

  • Do you have tips for working out at home?
  • Are there no-equipment-needed workouts or common household items that can make working out at home more effective?
  • Perhaps you know a good routine for those who sit at a desk all day, need to balance exercise with kids in the house etc.?

These are great ideas to showcase! 

Community Interest Article

Let's face it, where you live matters to you - and it should. Why not highlight a local cause you support?

This makes you look good - it's ok to make yourself look good - and it shines a light on a local organization you care about in real life.

Go further by highlighting Local Connections™ and feature local events in a community calendar, we have an app for that ;)

Get the Most Out of Your Content and Marketing Efforts


Don't forget that the blog lives on your website and follow our suggested approach to post and distribute content online

We wrote the Local Lovin' Book on Marketing

Marketing 3-4-5™: The Business Owner's Guide to Effective Local Marketing in 15-Minutes or Less