You can't stop people from wanting to exercise. Even when the economy is down, millions of people still want to get healthy. People will try to exercise on their own until they get discouraged and quit; this will give you more room in your facility without having too many members. The goal is for everyone in your community to have access to your fitness center at all times so that everyone can take advantage of what you have to offer.

It's a lot easier than you think to attract new clients, but it does require a planned effort on your part. In order to succeed you need a gym marketing plan that is tailored for and positioned to appeal to your ideal client avatar. In this way you will not waste your precious marketing budget.

You also need a motivated staff who cares about the success of your gym. Here are some tips for getting started:

1. Know what you're selling

Before you can attract more clients, you need to know what your fitness center has that others don't. You should be able to describe this in one sentence. For example, are you offering a wide variety of cardio equipment? Or are there some weight-lifting machines that no other gym within 50 miles has? Whatever you offer, make sure it's evident in all your marketing material.

2. Think about how many people will benefit from these

If having plenty of cardio equipment is what makes your gym stand out, then you need to figure out how often people use the equipment and for how long they typically use it. This way, when someone is thinking about joining a gym, they'll think of yours first because it meets their needs better than any others.

3. Make it easy for people to find you

This one is obvious, but you'd be surprised how many gyms make it difficult for people to find them. Your website should be easy to navigate, and your address and hours of operation should be clearly displayed on all your marketing materials.

4. Give people a reason to join

Most people won't join a gym just because it's close to their house or the membership is cheap. You need to give them a good reason to join, such as offering a free week of membership or discounts for signing up for a year in advance.

5. Get involved in the community

One of the best ways to attract new clients is getting engaged in the community. Sponsor local races, offer free classes like yoga or Zumba, anything to make your gym known in your area.

6. Help people get the most of their membership

People will pay for something they don't think is working for them, so you need to prove that your fitness center works. The best way to do this is by having a great staff who can help clients learn how to use all the equipment and track their progress over time. This alone lets people know that they're getting every penny's worth from their membership.

7. Continue offering new services and features

No one likes being stuck with something that doesn't have any improvements, so continue making updates as often as you can afford it. This may be as simple as just adding new equipment or turning up the air conditioning. Think of fun and challenging ideas for your bootcamp workouts. Whatever it is, it shows your clients that you're committed to staying ahead of the competition.

8. Keep client information confidential

Your staff will have access to all kinds of information about people, so make sure this information stays with them and isn't shared with others unnecessarily. This could be as simple as not letting all your employees know how much everyone pays for their membership. When someone feels like they can trust you, they are more likely to return in the future.

9. Offer incentives when appropriate

Giving out free T-shirts at a community event is one thing, but giving someone a gift certificate for referring a friend goes above and beyond what most businesses do these days. Whenever you do something special for your clients, make sure everyone knows about it.

10. Keep track of everything

Since you're already aware of what your fitness center has to offer, keeping track of this information is the only thing that will keep you on top of things all the time. Figure out how often people sign up or cancel their membership and then take future steps accordingly. For example, if twice as many people are canceling their memberships as are signing up for them, you'll need to develop an idea to stop this trend or risk closing down soon.

Just knowing these 10 tips can help your gym attract more clients, but they aren't enough since every business is different in its own way. The key here is to do more research on what you can do and always be ready to make future changes that will set your gym apart from the competition.