Creativity goes a long way in providing a fantastic member experience at your gym. October brings a full month of opportunities to have a scary-good time with your members. Statistically, November and December are slower months in the fitness industry. Lead into those slower months with these eight gym Halloween ideas to motivate and connect your community:
1. Power Snatches and Pumpkin Patches.
Host an in-house Halloween competition or challenge for your members. Most gyms use in-house comps as a way to test members’ fitness levels in a friendly atmosphere. Decide first if you want the event to be for individuals or teams. Participants can complete two to three WODs and a fun floater. Make the floater something fun and Halloween-related. Some examples could include using large pumpkins to replace sandbags or a cornhole game. You could even include a fundraising component to your competition, raising funds based on participation or work completed.
2. Eat, Drink and Be Scary.
After your Halloween competition, host a healthy potluck or trick-or-treat event. Members can all pitch in with a variety of foods. Designate a few members to bring chili (or make it a chili cook-off). Others can bring healthy side dishes or baked goods like pumpkin bars. Be sure to organize who’s bringing what in advance so you don’t have 50 pumpkin bar trays without a main course.
3. That Halloween Drip.
For some unknown reason, costumes always go over well. There’s something about sweating together that brings people together, but sweating in a costume? That’s community gold. Get coaches to participate as well, running themed classes for a week or having people dress up for one big event. Involve costumes just for the fun of it, or organize a full-on costume contest. Then you can have some fun with prizes, offering either bragging rights or tickets to a local haunted house.
4. The Monster Mash.
Set the mood for your events with the perfect playlists. During the month of October, you can find some great Halloween-themed playlists with a solid beat on apps like FitRadio. If Halloween music isn’t the right vibe to get people hyped for workouts, thrown it on during warm-up and cool-down time.
5. Squad Ghouls.
Fitness is always better with friends. Chances are, your members are always looking for reasons to invite new friends. Doing fun Halloween things, eating delicious food and dressing up like a vampire are all the reasons they need! Offer a couple bring-a-friend classes or events throughout October. Limit the number of these events so people don’t just “wait for the next one.” Level it up with incentives for members to invite friends. Then offer prizes for the most referrals or giveaways for everyone during certain events.
6. Come In For a Spell.
Offer a creative, Halloween (or fall) membership incentive. Let’s face it: Any month is a good month to get new members through the door. But leading into those slower months of the year, a good incentive always helps. If you’re running a month full of fun events, why not ask members to tell their friends? Ramp up your referral program or promote your onramp options. Create an irresistible offer so new guests have no choice but to join the fun.
7. Creepin’ It Real.
It’s time to get creative with names and decor. Halloween is a vibe. From WODs and classes to events and equipment, you’re only limited by your imagination. Is that a PVC pipe? Not this month. It’s a broomstick. Need some fun ideas for WODs? Check out this list and you’ve got eight to start with. Think about giving your gym members an experience this month, versus just a class.
8. Get This Party Startled.
Plan a Halloween-related community event outside the walls of your gym. Start by making a list of fall events like corn mazes, haunted houses, etc. Post the options on your gym’s Social Feed and let members vote, or add their own options. Once you’ve decided on an event, organize your night out and hit the town! Community events are a great way for people to make new friends and connect with others outside their typical class time. But beware: Your members might have so much fun that they’ll want to do this more often. And that’s how you know you’ve created a screaming-good member experience.
In Summary: Create a Happenin’ Halloween
Motivate your members and connect your community with this list of fun gym Halloween ideas. Host an in-house competition, get out of the gym with a community event and tell members to invite friends. Throw in some fun costumes, music and decorations. Get creative, have some fun and give ‘em pumpkin to talk about.
