Pilates Advertising: Top Strategies to Fill Your Pilates Classes

“I wish I had more insight into marketing.” 

Devra Swiger, Owner of Ab-Solutely Pilates, shared her thoughts on getting her Pilates business off the ground. “So much of what I tried in the name of creative marketing was ineffective. I needed to try every form of marketing in order for me to discover what really does work.” 

Does this sound familiar? 

Filling classes is a real challenge for many Pilates instructors. Today, we’ll look at the strategies and tactics you can use to fill your Pilates classes. 

The Challenges of Running a Pilates Studio

When you open a Pilates studio, you start your business at a deficit. Here’s a look at Club Pilates, a franchise offering Pilates.

While the initial franchise fee is $65,000, average costs range from $197,000 to $459,000. Even if you decide to start small, your initial costs may still be quite high. 

So you’re forced to face several challenges:

1. High startup costs and expenses: Your students will need Pilates machines to work on. This means your gym will need an assortment of Reformers, Cadillacs, Chairs, and Barrels. It’s not uncommon for a quality Reformer to cost between $1,000 and $5,000. 
2. Personnel costs and expenses: If you’re the head instructor, you’ll need to be paid for your time and your work. If you’re hiring, you’ll need to pay well to retain quality instructors—Pilates requires specialization, certifications, and ongoing training. The supply of quality instructors is limited, and the competition is high. 
3. Student retention: Pilates is viewed as a premium service. Group classes typically range from $15 – $50 per session, and one-on-one sessions range from $55- $150.  You’ll need to walk a fine line between value and difficulty. If your sessions are painful, discouraging, or too difficult, students won’t come back. If they’re too easy, they won’t achieve the gains they’re looking for. 
4. Uniqueness and value proposition: What differentiates your Pilates studio from other studios? When business owners are asked this question, most repeat generic details—we care about our clients, we’re the most knowledgeable, we have the best instructors, etc. The problem? None of this is unique to your business.  
5. Seasonal changes in attendance: Membership tends to fluctuate throughout the year. It’s fairly common for memberships to decrease during the summer months and increase during key points, such as the fall after kids return to school and after New Year’s Day (Resolutions and all). Your marketing will need to adjust to compensate for these changes during the year. 

This is why your advertising needs to fill your classes. 

Keeping your Pilates classes filled is the best way to overcome these problems. Okay, how do you fill your classes?

Step #1: Find Your Ideal Pilates Client

The ideal Pilates client should meet a few important criteria. 

• The ability to buy: Your ideal client has disposable income, and they can consistently purchase services from your Pilates studio. These clients are financially stable—they can afford a monthly membership, have one-on-one sessions, and purchase merchandise from your business.  
• The willingness to buy: These clients see the value of Pilates and are willing to (a.) spend money with you to achieve results and (b.) spend a reasonable or fair amount to get the value you’ve promised.  
• A desired outcome: Ideal clients will come to you with desires, goals, fears, frustrations, and problems. If you’re good at what you do, you’ll show them that (a.) you understand these issues and (b.) you know how your Pilates can address their concerns. 
• The right behavioral markers: Your ideal client is engaged and willing to follow your instructions carefully and work hard during their sessions with you. They have a certain level of admiration and respect for your business.  
• The right outcome markers: As the name suggests, outcome markers confirm client commitment. These markers—repeat purchases, higher average order values, increased purchase frequency, etc. demonstrate that your clients value your service and are eager to spend with your business. 

Now, you can use these criteria to create a target profile.

Outline the demographics and psychographics of the clients you’re looking for:

• Age range: Clients between 25-50 years old (but this can vary) 
• Gender: Predominately female (though men may take an interest) 
• Income range: Middle to upper middle-class income
• Specific goals: Improve flexibility, strength, and balance. Posture correction, injury rehabilitation, pain management, low-impact exercise (instead of strength training), weight management
• Lifestyle: These clients are health-conscious and looking to improve or maintain their health 
• Preferences: Enjoys group classes for social interaction and privates for skill development and growth

Why is it important to do this upfront legwork for your Pilates studio? Couldn’t you figure these details out as you promote your business?

That’s a terrible idea; 95% of your marketing success (or failure) depends on this upfront legwork.

Here’s how. 

When you identify your target audience properly, you know: 

• How to speak to your target audience so you (a.) get their attention, (b.) win their business, and (c.) keep them as clients
• How to qualify and disqualify clients because you know which prospects can afford your services
• Where to find qualified clients who are willing and able to buy
• What their objections are, and how to defuse them
• Which risk reversals will increase their trust 
• Which advertising platforms are best for your business
• Which partners will help you grow your business
• Which topics will resonate with your target audience 

See what I mean? 

It’s difficult to do all of this if you don’t have the upfront research you need. 

Let’s say you’re offering Pilates classes for expecting mothers, athletes, and seniors; your marketing to each of these groups needs to be different. Expecting moms will naturally have concerns about safety and protecting their babies. Moms with young kids may need to bring their kids with them—do you offer childcare? Athletes may need pain management or injury recovery; do you have the credentials for that? 

Your messaging, tone, and voice may need to change depending on your target audience. 

Step #2: Create a Strong Value Proposition

A value proposition answers an important question. 

What makes you unique? 

Customers want to know—what makes your Pilates studio so different? Why should I spend time and money with you instead of your competitor? A strong value proposition meets four distinct criteria in your client’s mind:

1. Appeal: I want what this Pilates studio is offering
2. Exclusivity: I can’t get this specific offer anywhere else 
3. Clarity: I understand what this Pilates studio is trying to say
4. Credibility: I believe this Pilates studio is trustworthy

If your value proposition doesn’t meet all four criteria, you don’t have a strong value proposition. If you don’t have that, your business isn’t unique.

Here’s the good news.

Your uniqueness, a strong value proposition, doesn’t come from your past. It comes from your future. 

It’s a promise. 

Here are some classic examples from other industries:

• M&Ms: Melts in your mouth, not in your hand
• Dominos Pizza: You get a fresh, hot pizza in 30 minutes, or it’s free 
• FedEx: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight

See the difference? 

Your value proposition is not a simple statement of fact; it’s a promise. It’s specific, measurable, and clear—an objective promise that can be measured. Finally, value propositions can be created at the business, service, and product levels. 

Step #3: Build a Strong Brand Identity

Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap (and eight other books on branding), has a controversial take on Branding. He says most of us don’t understand what a brand is. 

So what is it? 

Your brand is not the logo of your Pilates studio. It’s not a promise, product, or service. Marty says your brand is the gut feeling people have about your business, product, or service. 

Your brand is your reputation. 

Your brand exists in the hearts and minds of your target audience.

What does this mean? 

Lots of details contribute to your brand’s reputation. 

• The value you provide
• The outcomes your clients achieve
• Online reviews
• Your customer service
• The culture and values of your business
• Consistent presentation (e.g., logo, font, typography, voice, tone, design, etc.)
• Pricing and positioning

This isn’t a comprehensive list; it’s a sample list designed to show you some factors that impact your branding. Think about what you want your Pilates studio to stand for and how to build your gym’s reputation. Do your best to ensure consistency.

What does that mean?

If you’re a premium brand, for example, don’t purchase cheap machines or use low-budget advertising to promote your studio. If you’re presenting yourself as a premium brand, the actions you take in your business should reflect that fact. 

Your clients use what they can see to inform them about what they can’t see. 

Step #4: Create Compelling Content for Your Pilates Business

Google wants topical authority. 

Google, clients, partners, and people who share your content—they all want to see that you’re the go-to expert on a particular topic, in this case, Pilates. Google wants you to produce helpful content that’s created for people first search engines second. 

I’m talking about content engineering. 

This is about creating content that draws clients to your Pilates studio. When people search for content on the benefits of Pilates—building functional strength and flexibility, they should find you. When they ask about how Pilates can help with injury rehabilitation, or pain management, they should find you. 

How do you create this kind of content? 

You start by asking the right questions and looking at the specifics of your client’s situation. 

1. Who are your followers (they may or may not be your clients)? 
2. What do they want from you? 
3. Which keywords do they use to search for what they want? 
4. Who are your clients?
5. What do your clients want from you? 
6. Which keywords do clients use to search for what they want? 
7. What are the behavioral drivers? (rewards, ideology, ego, values, beliefs, etc.)
8. What are their objections or dealbreakers?

Use this information to setup: 

• Content types  
• Content goals (e.g., book a session, free sessions, request a one-on-one, etc.) 
• The specific target audience you’re focused on
• Important topics, ideas, and key points you’ll want to cover
• The customer questions you need to be answered
• The keywords and keyword clusters you want to use
• Data sources you want to use
• Tone, voice, and style requirements (use the research from your target audience)

Content types

• Educational content: This type of content is designed to attract customers, converting them to warm traffic. Education is broad, and it includes—blog posts, podcasts, slide decks, videos, books, downloads, slides),
• Informational content shows clients how you do business. It includes—guarantees, warranties, reviews, utility pages, policies, terms, FAQs, and objection pages. 
• Offer pages include sales pages, landing pages, opt-in pages, webinars, seminars, and registration pages. They are designed to convert clients. These pages are decision points; they turn people into subscribers, clients, and partners. 
• Incentives are motivators that get people to buy. Incentives include loyalty programs, gamification, discounts, free sessions, and referrals. Incentives are designed to make your offers irresistible. 

Samuel Scott is right when he says, “In the end, all marketing is ‘content marketing’ because all marketing uses content.” 

Step #5: Choose Your Formats and Channels

Then, choose the formats and channels used by your audience.

Most Pilates students are women, so you’ll want to focus on the formats and channels that appeal to them. Dedicate a small portion of time to testing various channels and formats. Make sure your testing is statistically significant; keep the winners of your tests and dump the losers. 

Choose the right social media platforms: 

According to Pew Research, women spend their time on the following social media platforms. 

• YouTube (83% of women)
• Pinterest (70% of women)
• Instagram (54% of women) 
• Facebook (76% of women)
• TikTok (40% of women)
• Snapchat (32% of women)

This tells us two things.

First, women are more interested in visual content. Second, women spend most of their time on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. 

This means you’ll want to focus on platforms where your target audience is most active.

Use these social media platforms to share engaging content, promotions, and events. Use Instagram Stories and Facebook Live to build relationships with clients. As a general rule, you’ll want to follow an 80/20 cadence: 80% value, 20% offers. If you’ve done the upfront work I mentioned earlier, you already know what your target audience wants.

Use Digital Advertising for Your Pilates Studio

Most advertisers throw money at advertising platforms, hoping that they’ll get more customers. It’s a great way to lose money. There’s a better way. 

It’s 60-30-10.

• Spend 10% of your marketing budget on cold traffic. These are the people who have never heard of your Pilates studio. Give them value in the form of a quiz, guide, checklist, or download. 
• Spend 30% of your budget on warm traffic. People in this group are familiar with you. They’ve seen your ads, read your blog post, or visited your website. 
• Spend 60% of your budget on hot traffic. These people have shown interest. They’ve downloaded content on your website, signed up for a free trial, or subscribed to your newsletter. They’ve pre-qualified themselves.

You’ll want to segment your advertising budget, whether you’re advertising on Google, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. 

Remember all of our upfront work? It’s time to put that content to work. 

1. Define your target audience
2. Choose the right format (e.g., banners, pay-per-click ads, status updates, etc.)
3. Add your value proposition
4. Discuss your client’s desires, goals, fears, and problems
5. Create content (in this case, ads) 
6. Position your Pilates studio (via your landing page) as the solution
7. Share online reviews and testimonials, and before-and-after shots to boost credibility
8. Add trust seals (e.g., BBB badge, credit card logos, awards, certifications, etc.)
9. Add risk reversals (e.g., guarantees)
10. Add a call to action

It’s that simple.

Repeat this process whenever you want to create new ads or marketing content. Which digital advertising channels work best for your Pilates business? 

Testing is the best way to find out.

Here are a few paid advertising platforms you can use to get started. 

• Display ads
• Content distribution (e.g., Taboola, MGID, Outbrain)
• Search engine ads (e.g., Google, Bing)
• Social media ads (e.g., Instagram, Pinterest)
• Email ads 
• Video ads (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Instagram)
• SMS ads
• Podcast ads (e.g., Spotify)

Step #6: How to Measure and Optimize Your Pilates Advertising

Remember how I mentioned testing? 

You can’t test content if you can’t measure the results. Set up tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of each piece of content, channel, and landing page you create. You can use helpful tools like Google’s URL builder to set up tracking URLs. 

Verify that your tracking codes are installed correctly across all of your content and advertising. 

If you’re looking for more in-depth information on tracking your advertising and marketing, Google offers several detailed tutorials and certifications (and they’re free). 

Step #7: Become a Successful Pilates Instructor

If you’re looking to become a successful Pilates instructor, you’ll need to continue your education. Here are some simple steps you can take to do just that. 

1. Get certified by a recognized program (e.g., The Pilates Method Alliance) or a respected governing body in the industry. 
2. Become an apprentice, shadow experienced teachers, and work to improve your teaching style, class management, and cueing techniques. 
3. Develop broad and deep expertise. Learn about mat and equipment-based Pilates. Build deep expertise working with the tools of the trade (e.g., reformer, Cadillac, chair, and barrels). 
4. Stay focused on continuing education. Study and pass the necessary exams to keep your skills sharp and earn credentials. 
5. Gain expertise in anatomy, physiology, bio, and body mechanics. Attend conferences and take additional courses and seminars on rehabilitation and injury prevention. 

Conclusion: Filling Your Pilates Classes Doesn’t Have to be a Challenge

It’s common for Pilates instructors to struggle with marketing. As Devra mentioned at the start, most of what she tried in the name of creative marketing was ineffective. She needed to test various forms of marketing to discover the approach that worked best. 

When you start a Pilates studio, you face several challenges immediately. 
As we’ve seen, 95% of your marketing success (or failure) depends on your upfront work of getting to know your clients. Define your target audience, create a compelling value proposition, and answer important questions to create exceptional content.

It’s not easy, but it is simple.

Use these insights to market your Pilates business, and you’ll find you have what it takes to keep your classes full.