We Turn First-Timers Into Members.
Portside Social runs Google and Meta ads for gyms, fitness studios and climbing gyms, and the follow-up that turns a first visit into a membership. One climbing gym group we work with has tracked over $2 million in online revenue in 2026, across three locations.
Starting at $500 a month plus ad spend. Month-to-month.
Fifteen minutes with Grant, who runs every account. No deck. Rather not talk yet? Get a 60-day plan by email.
Rated by gym and multi-location operators
Longest-running gym client, still active
Both platforms managed in-house
Five Places Gyms Lose New Members
They never hear from you after the first visit.
Most gyms spend on getting people through the door and nothing on the week after. That week decides who joins.
Your ads show the wall, not the reason people come.
People come for fun, for their health and for their friends. Ads built around the hardest move or the heaviest lift speak to the members you already have.
The trial request waits until tomorrow.
A first-timer who asks about a trial and hears nothing for a day has usually moved on. Replies should go out in minutes.
The slow month gets blamed on the weather.
Before you accept that summer is slow, look at who stopped coming and give them a reason to come back.
The report has numbers but no next step.
You already have dashboards. Every number needs an action attached. First visits down: change the offer. Repeat visits up: run a membership push.
Rather Not Talk Yet?
Send us your gym’s website. Grant will email you a 60-day plan to turn more of your first-timers into members, within two business days.
- Your information is private and secure. No email automation. No spam.
Numbers From a Current Client Account
Tracked purchase revenue per dollar of Google Ads spend, over three years.
Tracked online revenue in 2026 for one climbing gym group, across 3 locations.
One system, one source of truth, still running 4 years later and growing.
These are current numbers from a live account, not lifetime totals. We publish what we can stand behind.
A Gym And Fitness Marketing Agency Built Around The First Visit
Portside Social is a gym and fitness marketing agency. We run Google Ads and Meta ads for fitness studios, boutique fitness brands, multi-location gyms and climbing gyms, build the pages people land on, and set up the tracking so you can see which ads produced members.
Most gyms we look at don’t have an awareness problem. People walk in, sign a waiver, try a class, and never come back. That is where we start.
- Ads that bring in the right first-timers
- Follow-up that brings them back in the first week
- Tracking that shows which ads produced members
Every Number Gets An Action Attached.
Three Things, In This Order
Step 1
Bring In The Right First-Timers
Google for the people already searching near you: “gym near me”, “climbing gym day pass”, your competitors’ names. Meta for the people who don’t know they want a gym yet.
The creative shows why people actually come: friends, fun, getting stronger. Every ad points at one clear first step, a trial, a class or a day pass.
Step 2
Bring Them Back In The First Week
The first week decides who joins. Using what your gym software already knows, who visited and when, we follow up by email and show ads to recent first-timers with a reason to come back: a class, a partner night, a membership offer.
Most gyms spend nothing here. It is usually the cheapest member you will ever get.
Step 3
Show Which Ads Made Members
We fix what your ads are counting, so one person is one lead, and connect it to what happens at the front desk. Then we feed the real results back to Google and Meta, so they find more people who join.
Each month you get the numbers, and the action we are taking on each one.
What It Costs
Starting at $500 a month, plus your ad spend, which you pay straight to Google and Meta. The price depends on how many locations and channels we run. Month-to-month. No long contracts.
- Google and Meta ads, built and managed locally
- First-visit follow-up that brings people back
- Landing pages built around one clear next step
- Tracking tied to memberships, and a monthly report that says what we are doing about each number
Get The 60-Day Plan By Email
Grant Guthrie, who runs every account, emails your 60-day plan within two business days. Prefer to talk? Book a 15-minute call.
- Your information is private and secure. No email automation. No spam.
Your Next Member Has Already Visited Once.
Fifteen minutes is enough to find out if we can bring them back.