Expert Advice From a Fitness Educator on How to Get More Personal Training Clients (2026 UPDATE)

Edited by Liam Huggins - Fitness Blogger

Being a personal trainer is often a freelance position and therefore it is the responsibility of the personal trainer to find their own clients. It is very important for this reason that the personal trainer is skilled in this area and has a toolkit available to them of ideas and plans for how to attract new personal training clients.

To create this article and gather credible first hand knowledge, we sat down with fitness expert James Luscombe to gather his thoughts on this subject! With years of work within the fitness industry, James has valuable experience to provide great advice with.

Thinking about entering the health & fitness industry for yourself? Study Active provide a range of qualifications from Level 2 Gym Instructor to Advanced Level 4 Personal Training or other areas such as Level 2 nutrition. Start or develop your fitness career with Study Active today!

Using Word of Mouth to Get More Personal Training Clients

Firstly James, how is word of mouth useful for getting personal training clients?

Great question! A key thing that is always important for a personal trainer is word of mouth. Word of mouth is what others may say about that trainer. This could come from several sources such as past clients, current clients, friends of clients, or people from a local gym that have seen the personal trainer in action. If good things happen then people say good things, so if a personal trainer is doing well with a client, or clients, and that client is getting results from them, then naturally word of mouth will occur!

Don’t Rely on One Source to Attract New Personal Trainer Clients

But obviously you cannot just rely on word of mouth right?

Absolutely, you can’t rely just on word of mouth, and there are other things that need to be done in what is a very competitive market. Remember, personal trainers are fighting for market share so therefore clients that want a personal trainer are looking for a reason for who to choose. So, it is important that any personal trainer has their own selling points to attract new clients.

Offering Taster Sessions to Get PT Clients

What would be a great way to show clients what your sessions would be like?

Great question, and there’s a perfect answer for just that! A fantastic way to do that would be offering taster sessions. This could be saying to a client that their first session is free or offering for example a 30-minute taster session, or even planning an event that potential clients could come to where they could find out more. It could also involve a personal trainer doing health assessments - taking the blood pressure and resting heart rate of potential clients and giving them a little health report at the end of it free of charge. These things - giving a free taster session, or a free mini health report or having an open event - can get the interest of potential clients and entice them to perhaps step forward for some personal training!

Offering Deals to Attract Personal Trainer Clients

We all like a good deal, would this work within the world of Personal Training?

Yes, it would! Financially speaking, there are lots of deals that a personal trainer could present to attract new clients. Examples would include offers such as - a buy one get one free deal, or a 50% off deal, or it could be book 10 sessions and get your 11^th free. There are many different variations that can be created. It should be remembered that a personal trainer is in effect a mini business and therefore putting financial offers in place is often something which can attract more clients towards one and appeal to new clientele!

Marketing to Find Personal Training Clients

How would a Personal Trainer market themselves, do you need to be a marketing expert to do well?

In terms of marketing, you do not have to be an expert! There are different avenues available to a personal trainer to assist in promoting themselves. Examples of potential sources for marketing either in print or using a digital approach include –

• An advert in the local newspaper or in a local shop
• Advertising in a local magazine that get distributed in the area
• The use of social media such as Facebook, Instagram etc
• Having a web presence and driving people towards that website
• More adventurous and established personal trainers could create a paid digital marketing campaign (this is something that incurs cost and is perhaps not something that the beginner personal trainer would necessarily jump into)

Using digital marketing such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and establishing a website is a very cost-effective way to get a digital presence and something that all personal trainers should certainly consider doing.

Learning from the methods used by top digital strategy agencies can help personal trainers create more effective campaigns and strengthen their online visibility.

You could also consider being listed on specialist directories such as Whichpersonaltrainercourse.co.uk, which connects clients with qualified personal trainers in their local area.

Assuring Potential PT Clients of Your Abilities

How important is it then that a Personal Trainer is coaching clients that meet their abilities and qualifications?

Very important! Above all, in terms of attracting new clients a personal trainer needs to be able to demonstrate to the client that they are going to give them a good experience. It is very important as well to make sure that your speciality comes through. For example, are you specialising in weight loss, are you specialising in muscular conditioning, are you specialising in training for an event? It is important to showcase any USPs that your particular training has so that you can make yourself stand out from the crowd for the right type of clientele. It is also very important to have your credentials in place, and to make sure you have the correct qualifications (which you must make available for inspection). You must also make sure that you are a member of the professional bodies such as CIMPSA which shows that you are aligning to industry standards. Making sure that you have got all your qualifications and credentials available for inspection gives your client that peace of mind that you are the real deal!

Getting more PT Clients - In Conclusion

Thank you very much to James for taking the time to speak with us and provide fantastic insights to this very useful topic! Hopefully you have learnt something valuable from it!

Overall, this blog has looked at different aspects of a personal trainer promoting themselves with the view of attracting more clients. It has looked at different angles a personal trainer can exploit to get more clients, including word of mouth, local marketing, digital marketing, USPs and financial packages. There are a range of different avenues that a personal trainer can go down with the hope of attracting more clients. Much of this can be explored further in the Level 3 Personal Training course during the business unit. Hopefully this has been a useful blog and gives you some inspiration and ideas to attract new personal training clients.

For information on how to become a personal trainer please see the top courses section of our website.

Editors Notes:

Let’s cut to the chase, if a Personal Trainer has no clients, then they do not have a successful business. Technically, there is no Personal Training business without Personal Training clients. Knowing how to get clients as a Personal Trainer is critical if you want to earn a good salary and be successful within the fitness industry. Although, keeping clients is just as important as getting more clients therefore I will also cover this point.

So, do does a Personal Trainer get more clients?...

The fitness industry is developing at a rapid pace and since lockdown the demand for online Personal Training has risen therefore a big presence and awareness on social media should be a key priority for Personal Trainers. Client results and testimonials are an amazing way to attract new Personal Training clients therefore video testimonials and also client photo results should be shared all over social media with a ‘call to action’ enquiry contact! A call to action is important in order for new potential Personal Training clients to input their details therefore capturing their data for a follow-up and consultation call. When posting on social media it is really effective to tag the location a Personal Training is located in as potential client’s might see the tag via a shared location. It is also a great idea to ask current client’s to share posts and tag the Personal Training business in so the post reaches a wider audience.

Below are some ideas for content to be shared on social media to attract more Personal Training clients and new Personal Training enquiries:

• Current client testimonial videos
• Current client results photos
• Education posts about your Personal Training services
• Personal post of training tips
• Like, tag, share and win post. Everyone loves a freebie therefore create a post where potential clients have to like, tag and share to win a free Personal Training session. The shares will ensure a wide audience is reached which could then attract more new Personal Training clients!
• Talk about your business USP’s. Go live and create reels about business USP’s, why should new clients enquire to you? What Personal Training do you specialise in? What are your success stories?

Knowing the fact that online research is something that new Personal Training clients are going to be completing another important factor would be to consider a landing page or website with Personal Training services on and a call to action in order to data capture new potential Personal Training clients. Links on the website to your social media and a link from your social media platforms to your website should be included to ensure maximum exposure online. A website might not automatically show up on the first page of a search engine therefore it is really important to utilise SEO so the website ranks higher. Taking the time to optimise your website is crucial if you want to have an advantage and stand out against other local Personal Trainers in your area.

Aside from social media the easiest way to attract new Personal Training clients is to utilise your current client database! This is always cost effective as the last thing a Personal Trainer wants it having a high turnaround of clients. Some top tips are below is now to utilise current clients to gain new Personal Training clients

• Social days – allow clients to bring their friends
• Ensure you have branded gym gear – clients will be a walking advertisement
• Deliver free sessions or classes
• Bring a friend to a PT session for free
• Have a friend referral scheme

Word of mouth is one of the strongest yet simplest ways as a marketing strategy. Being dedicated to your current client database can be powerful in keeping them happy and letting them market your business for you!

Another way to attract new Personal Training clients is to collaborate with other fitness professionals and cross promote – or any businesses within your local area that are based around the health industry. Check out the local GP or local dentists, the majority of us are registered to a GP or dental practise can you have your business cards there, will they provide a link to your Personal Training services on their website. The more exposure your Personal Training company has the higher the chances of receiving enquires from potential new Personal Training clients.

Summary - how to get more personal training clients

A tick list of how to attract new Personal Training clients:

• Does your Personal Training business have clear USPs?
• Do you have a clear landing page/website which includes data capture?
• Have you got a data capture policy timeline of when to contact the new lead?
• Have you got social media platforms for your business?
• Is your social media regularly updated?
• Do you have current member testimonials?
• Do you have current client results?
• Do you tag your Personal Training business at every opportunity?
• Are you using your current Personal Training clients to attract new Personal Training clients with a refer a friend scheme?
• Are you looking after your current client database? They are you free advertisers!
• Do you collaborate with local businesses and health service providers?

For more Study Active blogs and to read about 'How much does a Personal Trainer earn' please visit: How much does a personal trainer earn? (studyactive.co.uk)

Getting More Personal Training Clients in 2026 – Has Anything Changed? – Here’s the Latest Trends I Found

For any Personal Trainer out there finding clients is vital. There are different ways and channels to reach different clients and build client bases, so I read this blog to gather a good idea on just that. But seeing as it was written back in 2022, I have decided to create a 2026 update to see if anything has changed and how to get more personal training clients in 2026!

With current technologies and platforms like social media, finding clients has never been easier... or competitive! Trainers now have access to more tools than ever to find clients, but I found that sticking out from the crowd requires more than just posting workout pictures on social media.

Today’s clients are looking for expertise, authenticity and (most importantly) proof that you can actually help them achieve their goals! In other words, clients now don’t just buy training sessions – they’re buying confidence in you as a coach!

Here is a list of the best client acquisition strategies I found in 2026:

I also noticed that a lot of successful trainers use platforms like Trainerize and MyPTHub to manage both their online and in-person clients. Platforms like this create a smoother client experience from day one!

A noticeable trend I identified is that social proof is more important than ever. Realistically, before choosing a trainer most people will check reviews, social media, testimonials in order to grasp an idea of what you are like as a personal trainer.

Potential clients will want to see:

• Real client transformations
• Positive reviews
• Consistent content
• Professional qualifications
• A coaching style they can relate to

Even a handful of genuine success stories can outperform expensive advertising campaigns.

I also noticed that local SEO is becoming a game changer. If someone searches ‘personal trainer near me’, you’d want your business to appear. Don’t worry, you don’t need to become an SEO expert overnight! Just do the following things and you’ll be more visible on google:

• Create a Google Business profile
• Collect client reviews frequently
• Publish fitness content on your pages
• Keep your contact details updated
• Add location-specific service pages

Opportunities with SEO are a great easy way to gain traffic towards your business!

Finally, another key trend is the rise of hybrid coaching, it provides benefits like:

• More flexible working hours
• Additional revenue streams
• Better client accountability
• Improved retention rates
• Greater scalability

Many clients also now expect support in between their sessions, whether that’s through messaging, workout tracking or habit coaching.

Overall then, it’s evident that getting more personal training clients in 2026 isn’t about chasing every marketing trend. The trainers seeing the best results have a focus on trust, visibility and client experience. By combining referrals, social proof, local SEO and hybrid coaching any personal trainer can build a sustainable, long-term stream of clients. Always remember, people are more likely to hire a trainer they know, like and trust rather than the one that shouts the loudest online!

If you are interested in joining this exciting industry for yourself, click here to find out how to become a Personal Trainer with Study Active today!