How to Run a Reactivation Campaign for Former Gym Members

Every gym owner has a list of former members gathering dust in their CRM. These are people who already know your brand, have walked through your doors, and at one point chose you. Yet most gym owners spend the bulk of their marketing budget chasing cold leads while ignoring the warmest audience they have.

Dave Kovar — who has built a $6M martial arts organization spanning 9 locations over nearly 50 years — treats former members as one of his most valuable growth channels. His approach is refreshingly simple: reach out to every former member three times per year with a genuine, no-pressure check-in. The results speak for themselves — grassroots efforts like reactivation outreach account for 63% of actual enrollments in his organization, even though they represent just 54% of initial inquiries.

Here's how to build a gym reactivation campaign that works.

Interested to learn more about Dave Kovar's proven grassroots marketing ideas? He shared his foolproof system in a PushStart webinar, which you can watch on-demand now.

Why Former Members Are Your Warmest Leads

Before diving into tactics, it's worth understanding why reactivation campaigns deliver outsized returns compared to cold outreach.

Former members have already overcome the biggest barrier in fitness marketing: they know who you are. They've experienced your coaching, your community, and your facility. Unlike a stranger scrolling past your Instagram ad, a former member has a mental model of what training at your gym feels like. Many left for reasons that had nothing to do with dissatisfaction — they moved, changed jobs, had a baby, got injured, or simply lost momentum during a busy season.

Dave organizes his grassroots marketing into what he calls the "5 Buckets" framework: Neighbors, Old Leads, Former Members, Referrals, and Community Events. Former Members sit right in the middle as Bucket #3 — and for good reason. They convert at a higher rate than cold traffic, cost almost nothing to reach, and often return as more committed members than they were the first time around.

Step 1: Build Your Former Member List

Start by pulling a clean list of every member who has cancelled or lapsed in the past two to three years. If you're using gym management software like PushPress, you can filter by cancellation date, membership type, and last check-in to segment this list further.

Organize your list into three tiers based on recency:

• Tier 1 (cancelled within 6 months): These members still have fresh memories of your gym. They're the most likely to return and may just need a nudge.
• Tier 2 (cancelled 6–18 months ago): Life has moved on, but the connection isn't gone. A well-timed outreach can reignite interest.
• Tier 3 (cancelled 18+ months ago): These are longer shots, but some will surprise you. Dave Kovar's team has stories of members returning after years away.

Clean up bad phone numbers and email addresses now so your outreach doesn't hit dead ends later.

Step 2: Adopt the 3x/Year Outreach Cadence

The core of Dave's reactivation strategy is disciplined simplicity: contact every former member three times per year. That's roughly once every four months — frequent enough to stay on their radar without becoming a nuisance.

Each touchpoint should feel personal and low-pressure. This is not the time for hard-sell promotional blasts. The goal is to re-establish a human connection and remind them that your door is always open.

Here's a sample annual cadence:

• Touchpoint 1 (January/February): New Year check-in. Acknowledge that many people are thinking about fitness goals and let them know you'd love to help if they're ready.
• Touchpoint 2 (May/June): Summer momentum message. Share what's new at the gym — new classes, facility upgrades, coaching hires, or community events.
• Touchpoint 3 (September/October): Fall re-engagement. As routines reset after summer, this is a natural time for people to recommit to fitness.

The specific months matter less than the consistency. Pick three windows that work for your business and stick to them every single year.

Step 3: Use the "Permission to Bug You" Script

Cold outreach to former members can feel awkward — for you and for them. Dave's team uses a brilliant conversational opener that disarms the interaction immediately. They call it the "permission to bug you" approach.

Here's how it works. When reaching out to a former member — whether by phone, text, or in person — lead with something like:

"Hey [Name], it's [Your Name] from [Gym Name]. I know it's been a while since we've seen you, and I don't want to be annoying — but would it be okay if I checked in with you a couple of times a year, just to see how you're doing?"

This script works because it does three things simultaneously. It acknowledges the gap in a non-judgmental way. It gives the former member control over the relationship by asking for permission. And it sets the expectation for future contact so your next outreach doesn't feel random.

Most people say yes. And once they've given you permission, every subsequent touchpoint feels welcome rather than intrusive.

Step 4: Choose Your Outreach Channels

Not every former member responds to the same channel. A multi-touch approach across different mediums will maximize your reach.

• Phone calls: For Dave’s studios, calls are the highest-converting channel for reactivation. A two-minute personal call from a coach or staff member who actually knew the former member carries more weight than any email. Prioritize phone calls for Tier 1 members and anyone you had a strong personal relationship with.
• Text messages: Texts are ideal for members who may not pick up the phone but will read a text within minutes. Keep texts short, personal, and conversational. Avoid anything that reads like a mass blast.
• Email: Sending an email works well for broader outreach, especially when you want to share updates about what's changed at the gym. Use email for your full list, but don't rely on it as your only channel — open rates for reactivation emails typically hover between 15% and 25%.
• Handwritten notes or postcards: This method is a high-effort, high-impact option for your most valuable former members. A short, handwritten note stands out in a world of digital noise.

For each touchpoint in your 3x/year cadence, aim to use at least two channels. For example, send an email to the full list and follow up with personal phone calls to your Tier 1 segment.

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Step 5: Persistence Wins, so Play the Long Game

One of the biggest mistakes gym owners make with reactivation campaigns is giving up too soon. They send one email, get a few responses, and move on. But the data and the stories tell a different tale.

Dave shares the story of a woman named Gina who took seven separate appointments before she finally joined. Seven. Most gym owners would have written her off after the second or third no-show. But Dave's team kept following up with patience and genuine care, and Gina eventually became a committed member. You can watch Dave share Gina’s story above.

There's also the Nancy Walzog approach — relentless but warm persistence that treats every touchpoint as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship, not just close a sale. The key mindset shift is this: you're not pestering people. You're showing them that you care enough to keep the door open.

Some former members will come back after your first outreach. Others will take a year or more. The 3x/year cadence ensures you're always there when the timing is finally right for them.

Step 6: Systemize It so It Actually Happens

The best reactivation strategy in the world is worthless if it only happens when you remember to do it. Dave Kovar's organization doesn't leave grassroots marketing to chance — they block dedicated time on the calendar and build team accountability into the process.

Here's how to systemize your reactivation campaign:

• Block calendar time. Set aside specific hours each week — or at minimum, each month — for outreach. Treat this time as non-negotiable, just like you would a coaching session or a staff meeting.
• Assign ownership. Designate a team member (or yourself, if you're a solo operator) as the point person for reactivation outreach. This person is responsible for maintaining the list, tracking responses, and making sure every touchpoint happens on schedule.
• Track everything. Log every outreach attempt and response in your CRM or a simple spreadsheet. Track who you contacted, when, which channel you used, and the outcome. This data will help you refine your approach over time and identify which messages and channels perform best.
• Create templates, not scripts. Give your team conversation starters and email templates they can personalize, rather than rigid scripts that sound robotic. The "permission to bug you" opener is a great foundation, but each message should feel like it's coming from a real person.
• Review monthly. Spend 15 minutes each month reviewing your reactivation metrics: how many former members were contacted, how many responded, and how many returned. Celebrate wins with your team to keep momentum going.

With PushPress Grow, the outreach is easy and can be automated. Let’s chat if you want to learn more about our gym marketing CRM that integrates with Core.

Step 7: Make the Return Easy

When a former member signals interest in coming back, remove every possible barrier. The re-enrollment process should be faster and simpler than their original sign-up.

Consider offering a "welcome back" experience that might include a free trial week so they can ease back in without commitment, a brief check-in with a coach to update their goals and address any concerns, a simplified sign-up process that doesn't require them to re-enter information you already have, and a personalized class recommendation based on their previous training history.

You don't necessarily need to discount your rates — in fact, many returning members are happy to pay full price because they already understand the value. What matters most is reducing friction and making them feel genuinely welcomed back, not like a transaction.

Measuring Your Gym Reactivation Campaign

Track these key metrics to gauge the health of your reactivation efforts:

• Outreach completion rate: What percentage of your former member list did you actually contact during each touchpoint? Aim for 100% coverage across your three annual touchpoints.
• Response rate: How many former members engaged with your outreach (replied, answered the phone, clicked through)? Benchmark this by channel to see what's working.
• Return rate: How many former members re-enrolled? Even a 5–10% annual return rate from your former member list can meaningfully impact revenue.
• Lifetime value of returners: Track whether returning members stay longer or spend more on their second stint. This data justifies the time investment in reactivation.

Start Your First Campaign This Week

You don't need a perfect system to get started. Pull your former member list today, pick up the phone, and call five people. Use the "permission to bug you" opener. See what happens.

Then do it again next week. And the week after that.

The gym owners who win back former members aren't the ones with the cleverest marketing funnels — they're the ones who show up consistently with genuine care. Three times a year, every year. That's the formula.

Your former members already chose you once. Give them a reason to choose you again.

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