Good question, Mr./Mrs. Gym Owner… let’s jam on it:
Maybe you’re a master of the ad manager… maybe you’re a trainer/coach at heart that hates the “tech” side of the business and would rather spend your time on the floor changing lives (or doing literally anything that isn’t setting up ads, getting them connected to your CRM, etc.).
Either way, we’ll unpack some “food for thought” on whether or not you should be running your own ads.
Gym Marketing Hard Truths
This one hurts (hell, if it wasn’t true it’d make our job at Gym Member Machine a lot easier)…
Truth is, marketing is only getting harder. I tend to compare ads/marketing costs to the stock market: sure there may be seasonal peaks and valleys, and yes, costs can (and will) shift up and down daily—but on average, odds are pretty good that advertising costs will go up over time.
That’s good news if you’re prepped for it, bad news if your method is stuck in the digital advertising stone age of 2015 where any idiot could slap up an ad “HUGE OPPORTUNITY” (lol) and get $2 leads…
Part of this is due to general competitiveness and saturation, and part is gym-industry specific due to…
The Vicious Cycle of Trust Killing Gyms
Trust is at an all-time low in the gym business…
Our prospects & markets don’t trust us like they used to… why?
Remember when that tiny little company that rhymes with Sym Saunch popularized the bait-and-switch “fake free” six-week challenge? They (and the hundreds of copycat agencies) taught the industry it was okay to market something as free that… well… wasn’t.
Overnight, thousands of gyms started running the same play. To the point where gym owners would say:
“Yeah, people comment saying it’s a scam… and I’m like ‘oh ours is actually $499…’”
If you do that enough times, people stop trusting you.
Your reputation takes a hit.
And even if you never ran those plays—you’re still guilty until proven innocent in your market.
Is it fair? No.
Is it reality? Yes.
Summary: Marketing your gym is harder than ever—and it’s not getting easier anytime soon.
The Good News?
Gym owners are still winning, winning big, and expanding every day (it’s just harder to keep up than ever).
You vs. the Ads Team at Gym Member Machine
I’m pretty good at ads (yeah yeah… cue the eye roll). I’ve run them for years—from my own gyms to working with big names in the industry.
Long story short: I’m good at this.
But our current ads team? They smoke me.
I’m like a toddler trying to keep up with Michael Phelps.
Our ads team includes:
- A PhD in psychology who has focused exclusively on gym ads for 5+ years
- A former Anytime Fitness operator who scaled into running marketing for hundreds of gym accounts
They collaborate constantly—testing hooks, creatives, offers, funnels, optimizations—you name it.
So the real question is:
Is it realistic for a gym owner running ads part-time (while juggling everything else) to keep up with that?
Probably not.
That said—if your DIY marketing is working well (either you’re great at it or your market is easy), there’s more to consider:
To Delegate or Not to Delegate
Even if our team might be better, delegation isn’t automatic—you need to think strategically.
Here’s a simple framework:
Map your tasks into a “love/great vs hate/suck” quadrant (shoutout to Gino Wickman and Pat Lencioni).
Then prioritize delegating the highest ROI, lowest-cost (time, money, energy) tasks first.
If ads fall into your “hate/suck” category—and someone else can do it better and cheaper—it’s probably time to offload it.
Same logic as bookkeeping: you hate it, you’re bad at it, someone else does it better → delegate.
So… Should gym owners run their own ads or not??
Annoying answer: it depends.
If you LOVE ads and you’re great at them—maybe keep doing it (especially under $10k/month).
But if you’re just “doing okay” and barely touching your ads, then either:
- You’re in an easy market → keep going
- OR you’re under-optimizing → and leaving serious growth on the table
In that case, delegating to experts could massively improve your results 🤷
Either way—we’re rooting for you. Go change some lives.
PS: If you think we might be able to help, click any button on this page and book a call with our team to see if we’re full of it 😉