Health Club Owners and the New Mammography Screening Recommendations

Just in case you've missed it, the health community has been in an uproar recently about breast cancer testing. Here's an example of what has been in the media lately:

"The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stated, "There is convincing evidence that screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality," but pointed out that there was a greater absolute benefit in women aged 50 to 74 years than for women aged 40 to 49. Because of the relatively small benefit for screening the younger age group, the task force recommended against routine screening for women between 40 and 49. It clearly stated that women at higher risk--because of family history or genetic predisposition, for example--should be screened at an earlier age. Subsequent to release of this report, many groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology, promptly came out against the task force recommendations." (SOURCE: fredericksburg.com)

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is recommending less screening for women between the ages of 40 and 49. The American Cancer Society (and other doctors) are NOT happy about this recommendation.

There's a fight here, and it's being fought in the media.

So how do you, as a gym owner, react to this very public argument? What do you say when a fitness center member asks for your opinion on this subject? What would you say if the local media asked your opinion?

Don't be scared! The media doesn't expect you to be an expert along the same lines as a physician or a cancer specialist. You are, however, working in the health and fitness field and you do need to have an opinion.

The www.cuecd.com team highly recommends that you do some research in this area and come up with an opinion (if you don't already have one). Pick a side and be able to explain how you made that decision!

Next, write an article explaining exactly why you feel the way you do. In other words, join the public 'argument' and make it clear that you've done your homework. For an example of an article like this, click here or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1994482/can_exercise_help_prevent_cancer.html?cat=51

You can submit to the local media the article you've written, photocopy it and distribute it in the health club, or just file it under 'smart things I've done'. No matter what you do with the actual article, you're now ready to intelligently answer questions.

This makes you look like the local health expert that you are, which will bring you new health club members! Who knows? The article you write may even prompt someone to get a cancer screening, and you could end up saving a life!

Congratulations To These Health Clubs!

Have you read the latest edition of Entrepreneur magazine? In the December 2009 edition, in their franchise section on page 98, they feature the "TOP 10 TRENDS FOR 2010". We are excited to see that many of our best www.cuecd.com customers made the list!

Please join us in congratulating the circuit training (and other) health clubs who are featured in this article:
Anytime Fitness
CKO Kickboxing
CoachMeFit
Contours Express
Curves
Get In Shape For Women
Gold's Gym Franchising LLC
Jazzercise, Inc.
Koko FitClub, LLC
LA Boxing Franchise Corp.
Lady of America Franchise Corp.
One2One BodyScapes
Personal Training Institute
Planet Fitness
Platoon Fitness
Prime Time Boxing
Retro Fitness, LLC
Snap Fitness, Inc.
YAS Fitness Centers

From the team at www.cuecd.com, we wish you the best of luck in 2010 and beyond!

Health Club Marketing Idea

If you've ever shopped in a grocery store that has those Catalina coupon machines at the checkout stands, then maybe you've received a coupon like the one pictured here.

The other day I was shopping in Albertsons, a local grocery store, and the Catalina machine issued me this coupon for the local Fashion Bug clothing store.

That got me thinking about health club marketing ideas and the owners of small circuit training health clubs can copy the marketing ideas of the "big boys".

Here's a revealing question for any small business owner: How many local businesses will distribute a coupon or brochure for YOU today?

If your answer was "none", then you have a problem.

In this economy, you simply cannot afford to sit and wait for new gym members to come to you. It's not enough to hope for the best. To achieve success (or even survival) you MUST actively seek out health club marketing ideas and promote your health club every day.

Getting back to the Catalina coupon I received at Albertsons, can you see the power of that marketing idea working? Fashion Bug is being promoted to the Albertsons customer. Maybe they paid for Albertsons to distribute their coupons (they probably did) but you can copy this concept without spending a dime!

What you need to do is exchange coupon promotion with another business in town. You'll pass out their coupons or brochures, and in exchange they'll do the same for you. Just think of how many potential NEW gym members will be exposed to your message this way! This health club marketing idea is a win for the other business, too, because they're of course interested in marketing to your existing clients.

The maximize the returns off this marketing idea you should choose a partner business that serves the same customer you do. If you're a health club for women only, then exchange coupons with another local company that serves women. A clothing store would be a good example. Since you're promoting health and fitness, you may also want to approach a health food store or vitamin shop.

Next you'll need to have the actual coupons printed. Keep them simple. Few people will take the time to read an entire brochure! We recommend using the ever-popular and low-cost business card, but instead of just putting your contact information on it you should turn it into a coupon. Check out this picture for an example, and on the "Courtesy Of" line you'll print the name of the business that is passing out these coupons for you. The best price we've found is VistaPrint where you can get FREE Business Cards

Now, do you REALLY want to kick this health club marketing idea up a notch? To take things to the next level, what you can do is give value to the other business. In other words, create a special offer just for them. This is particularly useful if you're having trouble getting a local company to partner with you.

For example, when ABC Health Foods is distributing your coupons to their customers you could give a discount to anyone who brings in their receipt from ABC Health Foods. This adds value to ABC Health Foods, and makes them look like the "good guy" who is going the extra mile for their customer.

The sky really is the limit with what this health club marketing idea can do for you! We've seen gyms run contests with massage therapists. We've seen fitness centers teach a class in a health food store, and we've seen coffee shops bring free healthy smoothies into a health club to give out samples.

Health club marketing doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, and it doesn't have to take up every moment of your spare time. The key is to get other people and other businesses to distribute coupons for you.

So, how many local businesses will distribute a coupon or brochure for YOU today?

Health Club Marketing Campaigns For October

In case you missed it, we've written an original and FREE article with almost fifty (yes, 50!) health club marketing ideas for you to use in October. If you haven't read it yet, click here to do so NOW.

Ready for another great idea for a health club marketing campaign in October?

Sponsor a costume contest! This is the one time of the year where you can have a lot of fun dressing up without people thinking you're weird.

What, you thought every health club marketing campaign had to be about health and fitness? Of course not! Some of the best campaigns for gyms and health clubs have absolutely nothing to do with exercise! What's important is that they're FUN, they GENERATE EXCITEMENT, and they BRING PEOPLE INTO THE FITNESS CENTER.

Here are the simple steps to hosting a Halloween costume contest as a health club marketing campaign this month:

1) Decide on the rules. We highly recommend that you have at least two categories, one for adults and another for children. While the kids probably won't be members of your gym, who cares? It's fun for them, and besides mom and/or dad will have to bring them into the health club to enter! You'll also need to decide if you're going to allow any costume, just homemade costumes, etc.

2) Decide on the prizes. You can award the winners cash, a free month gym membership, free tanning sessions, or whatever. You may even want to consider awarding some real engraved trophies to add some class and professionalism to the event! If you choose to go this route, then we recommend Trophies, Plaques, Medals, and More by Dinn Trophy

3) Announce the contest within the fitness center, and make sure everyone knows about it. Send it out via your regular newsletter, put it up on your website, post signs, etc. Of course, since this costume contest is a health club MARKETING campaign you'll also want to have members invite their friends and family to participate. The goal isn't just to help your existing membership base have fun (and thus remain loyal customers), but also to bring in new members.

4) On Halloween, have everyone come to the health club to show off their costume. You'll be ready with a camera, of course! Take a picture of everyone, and immediately print and post their photo on the wall of the gym. Make this an event! Have healthy snacks available, play spooky music, have some decorations up, and just basically have a good time! You may want to consider playing our Creepy Halloween cue CD this day for added fun! You can order one here.

5) Pick a winner. You can either have everyone vote for their favorite, you can have a celebrity judge decide a winner for you, or you can simply select the winner yourself. Award the prizes at the end of the business day, and be sure to get some photos of the winners accepting their trophies!

6) Okay, you're not done yet! Remember that this costume contest isn't just for fun. It's a health club marketing campaign designed to boost revenue! On Halloween night, or early the next day, take the photos of the winners down to the local newspaper along with a short paragraph you've written explaining the contest. Everyone loves a winner, and local news like this often makes it onto the community page. It's free advertising for you, and the winners love to see themselves in the paper!

Doing some marketing for your health club doesn't have to be boring. With just a little effort you can host a costume contest that people will be talking about for years to come!

To help you get started with your costume contest, we've researched the web to find you the best deals on Halloween costumes and Halloween party decorations. Check the links below to get started. Enjoy!

MOST AFFORDABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES from SpiritHalloween.com:

Get 20% off 1 item at SpiritHalloween when you use the coupon code SPAF20! Hurry, this offer ends 10/29/09!

MOST AFFORDABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES from BuyCostumes.com:

5 products, under $5 at BuyCostumes.com - Hurry, when they're gone, they're gone!

Clearance Costumes & Party Supplies at BuyCostumes.com

MOST AFFORDABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES from HalfPriceCostumes.com:

Free Shipping on Halloween costumes

Get 10% off orders $50+ Use code hpc10 at checkout

Get 10% off & Free Shipping on orders $70+ Use hpc10ship at checkout

MOST AFFORDABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES from CostumeDiscounters.com:

5% off all orders of $30 or more! Use code JUNE5 at checkout. Expires June 30.

Blowout prices - Up to 74% off Clearance Costumes at CostumeDiscounters.com!

Free Shipping on all orders of $70 or more!

MOST AFFORDABLE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES from Extreme Halloween Network:

Use coupon code JOKER for $12.00 off orders of $100.00 or more.

Get $5 off all orders over $35. Enter Coupon CJ5 at checkout.

Use coupon code CATWOMAN for Free Ground Shipping on orders $85.00 or more

Use coupon code BATMAN for $6.00 off orders of $60.00 or more

FREE ground shipping on orders over $55 Enter coupon code CJGROUND at checkout.

By the way, where else do you get FREE health club marketing ideas like this? Only www.cuecd.com gives circuit training health club owners FREE health club marketing campaign ideas! Wouldn't this be a good time to refer us to another gym owner?

How To Sell Gym Memberships Back To School Ideas

Most kids in the United States have recently started school, and as a result we're happy to report that we have some new back to school ideas to help you sell more gym memberships!

Let's begin stating the obvious:
1) Your health club is first and foremost a LOCAL health club. The only members you're going to get are LOCAL members.
2) The schools around your gym are LOCAL schools. In other words, the kids who attend the local schools live nearby.
3) Each child that attends a local school, and thus who lives nearby, has a family.

Our point here is that back to school ideas should be popping in your brain right now. The kids in the local schools are a great way to reach local families, if you approach it the right way.

One of the best ways to advertise and market using the schools is to send home some marketing materials with the kids. When something is sent home from school, most parents pay attention! They read anything and everything that comes home with Junior.

So why not get something sent home with the local school kids? This is a POWERFUL way to advertise to only local households, without spending a dime on postage!

This marketing idea is so amazing that some of the biggest companies in the nation are using it, including Nestle. Many (if not most) school districts in the United States recently sent home a Nestle booklet titled "Happy New School Year" (see picture above). This booklet contains coupons for Nestle products, information on a sweepstakes, and a lot of promotional information about Nestle!

Consider the opening paragraph from the Nestle booklet: "Dear Parent, Your commitment to your family's well-being may start with good food, but it also includes a solid educational foundation. At Nestle, we share the same values." Now if that's not pure marketing, we don't know what is!

So how do you get the local school(s) to send some of your marketing materials home with the kids? That's the million dollar question!

First and foremost, you have to make it valuable to the school. One idea is to create a promotion where you will donate all the registration fees to ABC Elementary during a specific week. In other words, for an entire week you'll donate 100% (or 50%) of the registration fees you collect. You can call this "ABC Elementary Week" and create a send-home handout with this information. Be sure to require that, in order for the donation to be made, the parent(s) must bring the form with them when they join.

The school will be willing to send home this marketing material because it's a fundraiser for them. The families will read it because it came from the school. You win because it's a no-cost promotion for you: if nobody joins during that week, you don't make a donation. You have zero downside risk and unlimited upside potential!

That's how to sell gym memberships during these back to school months!

Of course, this idea is just one of many. Need more ideas? You'll find them by clicking here.

Earn Money Online Surveys

Okay, here's the deal. We all know that this is a time of MAJOR CHANGE for the health club industry. The economy is in a recession, and businesses are closing faster than contestants lose pounds on the Biggest Loser television show.

As part of our continuing efforts to study the health and fitness industry, we need to know your opinion on the economy and other topics!

Not only do we NEED to hear your opinion, but it's so important to us that WE'LL ACTUALLY PAY YOU to give us your thoughts on certain topics!

We need to know what gym and fitness center owners are thinking right now, and you can help us by taking a survey. In return for your time, WE WILL PAY YOU CASH.

Interested? Just click on the link below to get started!

Complete online surveys and earn cash from GlobalTestMarket

Hydroxycut Reviews and Side Effects

Just in case you haven't seen the news lately, Hydroxycut reviews and side effects are on every newspaper page and on every channel. Hydroxycut is a popular line of weight loss and energy enhancement products. In addition to holding a vast share of the consumer weight loss market, Hydroxycut supplements are also popular among athletes, particularly bodybuilders looking to sharpen the appearance of their muscles.

Turns out that Hydroxycut isn't as safe as we were led to believe, and it has been recalled by the USFDA. The Food and Drug Administration is urging consumers to discontinue the use of Hydroxycut products as they have been associated with a number of serious liver injuries. The FDA said it has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries linked to Hydroxycut products, which are also used as energy enhancers and as fat burners.

NOTE: For a safe energy enhancer, we recommend FRS® Healthy Energy™


What does the Hydroxycut recall have to do with us as gym owners?

It's simple, really.

This recent news event just provides us with even MORE proof that there is no 'magic' weight loss pill. There is no fountain of youth!

This recent news event also proves (once again) that the ONLY safe way to achieve weight loss goals for life is through regular and consistent exercise!

How do you turn this knowledge into action? How do you use this news story about Hydroxycut to generate more sales and more clients?

First of all, you need to create an ORIGINAL article detailing exactly why there is no shortcut to true fitness. YOU know the facts, but you will generate zero sales if you don't pass those facts out to the public. Write a great article, and make sure you specify exactly why the so-called 'magic' weight loss pills only lead to failure. Then, in the same article, detail exactly why EXERCISE is the only way to SAFELY and PERMANENTLY lose weight.

NOTE: For a great example of how to write an article like this, click here.

After you've written a great article, then you need to get that article published in the local newspaper. If you're a real publicity genius, you'll also get some exposure on the local television stations as well as on the local radio stations!

Just think of all the FREE advertising and publicity you can gain from this Hydroxycut reviews and side effects story! By writing an original article about a big national news story, you'll be setting yourself up as a local expert. Even better, because Hydroxycut is a hot topic right now, you're almost sure to get the local media to run your article!

NOTE: If you have no idea how to get FREE publicity like we're talking about here, then you NEED to order our Gym Sales Manual. Click here for more information. Here you'll learn the step-by-step approach you can use to get FREE publicity from the local news media!

Taking a national story, like this one about Hydroxycut, and using it to gain new clients is just good business sense. It's also a great way to really help people find the true answer to the weight loss puzzle.

In other words, health club owners can use this Hydroxycut story to boost sales and profits, while at the same time helping people SAFELY achieve their weight loss goals.

The opportunity is there. Will you take it?

Want to Boost your Physical, Emotional, and Mental Health? Try FRS Free*.

Competing With YMCA Locations

Are you a private health club owner that is competing with a YMCA?

Do you find it frustrating that most YMCA organizations receive DONATIONS and offer SUBSIDIZED MEMBERSHIPS?

Do you find it IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE that many city councils, Chambers of Commerce, and other quasi-governmental organizations actually work hard to create and then support a YMCA when that exact same YMCA not only competes with but financially HARMS legitimate business in the area?

There's a YMCA in Warwick, Rhode Island. Of the incoming members about half are provided with financial assistance. Last year the Y subsidized memberships to the tune of $200,000 and with even harder times this year [they] expect it could be more.

At a YMCA in Norwich, CT money from memberships supported the Y's subsidized services. Now that memberships are down, it really is going to be a matter of finding partners in the community who can step up and help put together a proposed solution.

The YMCA of Southeastern Connecticut could receive the city's $269,000 federal community development block grant stimulus grant if the agency can prove soon that it has the means to stay open. FEDERAL GRANT = TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

Examples like this are all too common in the United States.

All too often, donations and/or taxpayer dollars are used to build, establish, or support existing YMCA health clubs.

IS THIS FAIR?

While I'm sure that all gym owners would agree that making Americans healthier is an admirable goal, it's also true that legitimate PRIVATELY OWNED health clubs have a tough time competing with a YMCA.

After all, how can a health club entrepreneur compete with an organization that is running on donations and taxpayer dollars?!?!?!?

Do you compete with a YMCA?

Is it fair?

Please leave a comment and share your thoughts with other gym owners!

Circuit Training Ideas On A Budget

In case you haven't seen them yet, the cuecd.com team is PROUD to announce our new series of articles for circuit training health club owners! This series is titled Circuit Training Ideas On A Budget and the first two articles are THEME WEEK and BIGGEST LOSER.

Just like all of our original articles for circuit training gym owners, these two new resources are completely 100% FREE to you!

If you haven't checked out our growing library of FREE resources for circuit training fitness centers, then you need to go here today!

Gym Owners Get Free Business Cards Online

I think it's safe to say that every health club owner in the nation is feeling the impact of the troubled economy. That's why the www.cuecd.com team is constantly seeking out ways to help gym owners BOOST SALES while SAVING MONEY.

Today is no exception! We've found another GREAT way for any fitness center owner to save some serious cash by getting 250 FREE Business Cards and FREE Matching Website!


Check out the picture on the right. That's our new www.cuecd.com business card, and we got 250 of them COMPLETELY 100% FREE BY USING THIS SAME LINK!

We had to pay a nominal shipping charge, but in return we got some free business cards online!

If you really like this deal we've found for health club owners, then you'll ABSOLUTELY LOVE the entire list we've put together of FREE STUFF for gym owners! Click here to check it out.

How To Sell Fitness In April

Yes, believe it or not it's already time to think about gym membership sales in April. As luck would have it, you've stumbled upon the BIGGEST and BEST resource in the world for circuit training health club owners!

Deciding to read our FREE articles about operating a circuit training health club is the BIGGEST NO-BRAINER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!

Click here to read our original article titled How To Sell Gym Memberships In April.

If you're looking for some CASH, right NOW, then we highly suggest that you check out the link (below):

Gym Owners Get Marketing Postcards For (almost) FREE!

The economy is really hammering small business owners right now. That's why we've started a new series of articles titled "Circuit Training Ideas On A Budget". Click here to read our first article.

That's why we're also finding GREAT DEALS and passing them along to you.

For example, check out the sample postcard shown above. Not bad, right? You can get 100 of these postcards, personalized with your health club information, for (almost) FREE! Why do we say almost FREE? Because you will need to pay for shipping and handling, which is only $6.49.

That's 100 full-color marketing postcards for $6.49 total!

You can use these postcards to invite people to an Open House, a one-day sale, or just about anything! You can send one to each person on your lead list. At prices like these, you can go "post card crazy" and bring in some new sales!

The beauty of this offer is that you don't need to order THOUSANDS of postcards to get a low per-card price. This price ROCKS, and you should order now by clicking here: Free Samples - Business Cards, Return Address Labels, Rubber Stamp and Many More!

Two things today: Did you notice that 24-Hour Fitness is now offering a $0 initiation fee? That's very unlike them, and it's a sure indicator of the current economic climate.

Check it out here: $0 Initiation fee on any monthly payment membership at 24 Hour Fitness. Use promo code AMT3UB2AXI. Valid through 5/31/09.


What can we learn from this promotion? First, we can learn that even the "big boys" are hurting right now for new gym memberships. Second, we can learn that as smaller health club owners we really need to crank up our promotions if we're going to bring in new members!

Let's face it, customers are looking for VALUE right now. Are you offering VALUE with your current fitness center promotions and advertising? Have you cut prices as low as you can? Perhaps you should.....

Many of you are familiar with Anytime Fitness, the franchise based out of Hastings, MN. They are currently promoting the opening of their 1,000th health club. Although there's no mention of "value specials" on their website, we've received reports that individual gyms are offering $0 enrollment + 1st month free + 3 months free tanning. That's value!

Here's the question, though: Do you think Anytime Fitness is dramatically lowering prices because sales are great? Or, on the other hand, do you think they're lowering prices because sales are lackluster at best?

We want to hear about what you're doing to bring in new gym members! Share your wisdom with others, and learn what other circuit training gym owners are doing to boost sales right now. Leave a comment (the link to do so is below).

Also, just in case you haven't yet claimed your own FREE samples, we need to tell you about the best FREE samples available for gym owners. You can get FREE HEALTHY SAMPLES of products like Robitussin - Nexium - Alavert and More from Qualityhealth.com. Click here to get yours!

St. Patrick's Day is Tuesday March 17th, and Easter is April 12th. What do these two holidays have in common? They both offer you the opportunity to use the Holiday Voice Cues CD to add excitement to your circuit training health club!

This cue CD is a specialty item created by circuit training veterans in Canada. Features the voices of Santa, the St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun, and the Easter Bunny. All voiceover cues are in both 30 and 45-second format, and it's all on one single CD for your convenience!

This is really just like getting six (6) cue CD's in one, because you get three different tracks of the three different voices, and you also get those different voices in both 30 and 45-second formats! Includes a 10-second heart rate check. All this for just $19.99 + $1 shipping! You'll use this CD for years to come!

Click here to order the Holiday Voice Cues CD today! If you have any trouble with the link, just cut and paste this address into your internet browser: http://www.cuecd.com/cuecdstore.asp

How To Sell Fitness In March

Attention gym owners! If you're looking for a forum where you can learn how to sell fitness in even THIS economy, you've found it!

It's just a couple days until March, so we HIGHLY recommend that you read our original article titled "How To Sell Gym Memberships In March". To check it out, just click here.

We also recommend that you take a look at the Workout equipment at Online Fitness

CLEARANCE SALE - Health Club Marketing Tools

How To Sell Fitness In February

Many health club owners are struggling to find ways to sell gym memberships in this down economy. Right now we need inexpensive but effective ways for marketing our gym!

If you haven't read our article on innovative gym marketing ideas for February yet, we highly recommend you do so by clicking here. In this article we explain the 'love letter' technique and how you can bring in new fitness center members for just the cost of one stamp!

Here's another great gym marketing concept: One of the best advertising methods out there is to make a one-time investment that will put your message in front of the public for a long time. Compare this to newspaper, radio or television advertising where you make a significant investment for a short-term payoff. In other words, for your advertising dollar you get a one-time ad that is seen only once. A perfect example is the newspaper ad. After all, how many people keep a newspaper and read it over and over again? Additionally, how many people pass their newspaper on to others for them to read? Not many!

The same thing goes for television and radio ads. You pay for each one-time ad, and once it's over.....it's over.

Compare these costly one-time health club marketing ideas to something inexpensive like distributing free bumper stickers for your gym.

A well-designed bumper sticker is a highly effective, yet 'cheap', way to get your message in front of THOUSANDS of people. Even better, a bumper sticker will keep telling your message for months, or even years, for just a few pennies!

The key to success is that you need a bumper sticker your health club members will actually put on their car. For that to happen, it has to be either funny or eye-catching in some other way.

To create the best bumper sticker, the team at www.cuecd.com recommends hosting a contest! Announce that you're going to be creating bumper stickers for your gym, and that you're accepting entries throughout the month. As the bumper sticker design entries are submitted, hang them up on the wall in the gym. This will create excitement, and generate more entries.

At the end of the month, have your members vote on their favorite. You want to award a small prize for the winning entry, like maybe one month free membership or a logo t-shirt.

Then go ahead and order the bumper stickers. For the best price and quality, we recommend Sticker Printing at PsPrint - Decals & Bumper Stickers


Once you have the custom bumper stickers you've ordered, then you need to decide how you're going to distribute them. You basically have three options here: you can sell them (for $1 each, probably), you can give them away for free, or you can give your members something free if they put one on their car.

Obviously, this is an important decision that you will need to carefully consider. If you sell your bumper stickers, then the odds are good that you aren't going to get very many put on vehicles. You will, however, earn back most (if not all) of what you spent to have them printed.

If you give your custom bumper stickers away for free, then you'll get more out in the public but you'll have no revenue (other than the free advertising!).

Finally, to achieve the highest distribution of bumper stickers and really get your message out there quickly, you can provide an incentive for members to put one on their car. We recommend that you take this approach, and really bring it to the next level by offering a one-month free membership GIFT CERTIFICATE for each member that puts your bumper sticker on their car.

In other words, when a health club member puts one of your custom bumper stickers on their car they will receive a one-month free membership gift certificate that they can then give to a friend. This method costs you nothing, has perceived value to the existing member, and the end result is that the gift certificate is going to bring in a non-member that you can invite to join the gym! It's a win-win situation! As payment for advertising for you with a bumper sticker, each health club member is going to be "allowed" to bring in a new member! It just doesn't get any better than that!

As previously stated, a funny bumper sticker will be FAR more popular than one with just your logo and phone number. That's why we recommend the design contest so you can get a lot of ideas for free. In the meantime, here are a few examples of funny bumper stickers that you're welcome to use with our permission:
"I left my fat behind at ABC Gym!"
"Actually weigh what your drivers license says. ABC Gym."
"Don't weight another day! Join ABC Gym!"
"The weight is over! Join ABC Gym today!"

Health club marketing doesn't have to break the bank, and with just a little imagination you can have a successful 2009!

Used Health Club Equipment For Sale

Since the economy has taken a SERIOUS downturn lately, there is a boatload of used health club equipment for sale on the internet!

Unfortunately, many gyms and health clubs are going out of business. While that's obviously bad for them, it could spell O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y for you.

We did a quick search to find health club equipment for sale on eBay and were able to find items priced from $349 to $23,400. When we search used gym equipment for sale on Google we found 895,000 hits. No doubt about it: there's a lot of used health club equipment for sale today, and the vast majority of that exercise equipment is coming from health clubs that have closed.

So how do you know if the used gym equipment you're considering is a good buy, or just a 'lemon' waiting to fall apart the second you buy it?

First and foremost, you need to personally inspect any and all used fitness equipment prior to paying. By checking it out yourself, you'll know what you're getting.

Second, you should carefully consider WHO has the used exercise equipment for sale before you pay. Is it a fly-by-night operation that bought it used a couple months ago, or it is a quality health club that purchased the equipment brand new a few years ago?

Third, before paying for any used workout equipment you will also want to think about WHY the seller is getting rid of their equipment. Are they selling because they could no longer keep up with the repair and maintenance costs, or is there some other factor involved? Ask a lot of questions!

Finally, prior to buying any used health club equipment for sale you must consider if your insurance company will 'cover' the purchase. In other words, will your gym insurance policy allow you to add used gym equipment to your facility? If not, then you're out of luck.

Buying and selling used exercise equipment can be profitable, but only if you know what you're getting into and do your homework before writing a check!

If you have used health club equipment for sale then click here to find out how we can help you advertise and sell it fast!

If you're looking to buy used health club equipment at great savings, then click here to see what we have available.

Gym Advertising Ideas For January

Considering that the economy is in the toilet, many health club owners are absolutely strapped for cash right now. At the same time, we're all aware that January is the best month of the year for new gym memberships.

So how do you sell gym memberships in January when you have zero dollars in the marketing budget?

One of the best gym marketing ideas is to GIVE AWAY FREE MEMBERSHIPS ON THE RADIO.

What?!?!?! Give away free health club memberships? Are we crazy?

Absolutely not! When you have zero dollars for gym marketing, yet you need to get some name recognition, you can still find success by giving away free memberships.

Here's the plan: Go through the phone book and create a mailing list of every single radio station in your area. Be sure to include both AM and FM stations for maximum coverage. Then print up five (5) FREE 1-MONTH GIFT CERTIFICATES for each of those stations. So if you have twenty local radio stations, then you'll print off one hundred gift certificates.

Mail each station their five gift certificates, along with a letter that says something like this:
Dear _____ Radio Station,
January is the month of New Years Resolutions, and many (if not most) of your listeners are making a resolution to lose weight this year.

Enclosed you'll find several gift certificates for a FREE short-term membership at our health club. Please accept these as our gift to you, for you to use to help create on-air excitement this month! You may consider using these gift certificates as prizes or rewards. Many radio stations like yours award prizes like this at random, either for the _th caller or for answering a trivia question.

These gift certificates will be valued by your listeners, and each winner will appreciate the prize!

Please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you need any additional gift certificates. We would love the opportunity to partner with you in the future!

Sincerely,
__________, owner of ABC Health Club

Do you see the beauty of this concept? For the price of a stamp, an envelope and a few sheets of paper, you've 'bought' some radio advertising! When the radio DJ announces the contest and the prize on the air, you get the name of your gym on the radio! Not only that, but you've also (possibly) created a partnership with at least one local radio station that could lead to future promotional opportunities!

Who said good gym advertising ideas were hard to come by?

For even more gym advertising ideas click here.

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