Struggling with paid ads for your gym? Here's what's actually working in 2026.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Colm O'Reilly, Two-Brain's paid ads specialist, for a tactical breakdown of everything gym owners need to know about Facebook and Instagram ads right now.

In this episode, Colm covers the real numbers behind paid gym ads: what you should expect to pay per lead, what a client actually costs to acquire and how to know if your ads are profitable.

John and Colm explain why ads amplify your other marketing funnels and how Meta's Andromeda update changed the ads game.

Colm introduces a simple “BUT” formula for writing ad copy that speaks directly to your ideal client's goals and objections and breaks down campaign structure for both beginners and advanced gym owners.

The pair also discuss what to say on that first phone call, how to handle the pricing question and how to keep cold leads warm for months after they first clicked.

Watch this episode and walk away with a clear starting point for running profitable gym ads in 2026.

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0:00 - Intro

2:51 - Ad math and budgeting basics

7:39 - What to expect from your ad spend

10:34 - The Andromeda update and creative strategy

13:03 - The “BUT” framework for ad copy

15:57 - Campaign structure for gym owners

22:15 - Lead ads vs. landing pages

24:13 - Lead nurture and what to say on the phone

32:24 - Troubleshooting ads that aren't working

34:01 - Should you hire an ad agency?

Paid ads have changed. Here’s what gym owners need to know to make them work in 2026.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper close out Marketing May with the paid ads funnel.

You build this funnel last because it’s the one that amplifies everything else.

John explains why the old ads playbook is dead—Meta’s Andromeda update changed how ads are targeted and delivered—and what that means for gym owners.

Chris and John share why gym owners need to know how to run their own ads and understand their ad math, rather than just outsource to an ad agency.

They walk through exactly how to create an effective ad campaign and even deliver two clear action steps to help you get started: one for gym owners who have never run an ad, and one for gym owners who are already running them and want better results.

This is episode 4 of 4 in the Marketing May series. If you missed the previous funnels, check them out via the links below.

Links

The Referral Funnel

The Social Funnel

The Content Funnel

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0:00 - Intro

1:31 - Media buying is dead

5:56 - The 5-1-30 post

10:10 - How to generate content ideas

15:40 - Campaign structure & tracking

18:28 - Your action steps

No time to make content for your gym? Not anymore.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper walks you through the exact system he uses to turn one idea into a full week of content in 30 minutes with AI.

Chris demos the entire workflow live, starting with a brain dump audio recording answering a question that came up naturally in his gym.

Then he uploads the audio and transcript into Claude with a prompt that generates a week’s worth of content:

- A podcast script
- A blog post
- An email newsletter blurb
- Five Instagram carousel slides
- A YouTube description and thumbnail

For gym owners who want to go further, Chris also shows the AI stack he uses to create fully polished and edited video content for YouTube and short-form reels.

After this episode, you’ll have the system and tools you need to create consistent content every week.

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0:00 - Intro

4:17 - Brain dump & QuickCast

5:34 - Claude workflow

10:25 - Podcast distribution

18:27 - Descript AI video editor

26:12 - Reels with OpusClip

Chris Cooper has been publishing content since 1998. It got him fired from one job—but it also built all of his businesses.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper give gym owners a step-by-step content system that builds trust, brings in leads and keeps working long after you hit publish.

Chris shares his personal content creation process: how he plans everything during his 25-minute drive to work and then spends another 10 minutes producing the content with AI.

He also explains why AI search is changing the game, with 30 to 40% of your audience searching for your gym using tools like ChatGPT.

The pair also share the four principles your content should follow to get results: local, helpful, shareable and authority-building.

You’ll see real examples of the kind of content that works and walk away with a clear starting point for your gym’s content strategy.

This is episode 3 of 4 in the Marketing May series. Next week: the paid ads funnel.

If you missed the previous funnels, check them out via the links below.

Links

The Social Funnel

The Referral Funnel

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2:35 - Content vs. social media

3:43 - The content playbook

9:40 - Distributing content

13:40 - Where AI comes in

16:14 - Your action steps

The average gym gets 28.9% of its leads from social media.

Most gym owners leave them on the table by posting the wrong things—or worse, nothing at all.

Today, Two-Brain CEO John Franklin walks through a simple social media system gym owners can use to get more prospects onto their page and convert them into paying members.

He gives you side-by-side comparisons of real gyms’ pages, showing you what attracts leads and what doesn’t.

He also presents examples of gym owners who are crushing it on social right now, such as:

- Joseph Strada, who built an audience by leaning into his love of White Monster.
- Anthony Wu, who gets one to two new small group clients from social every month with under 100 followers.
- Elvis Fisher, whose fun karaoke video became a magnet for new members.

Plus, he hands you DM scripts for starting conversations with new followers, re-engaging old members and turning comments into clients.

Watch this episode and walk away with a clear posting plan, real examples to model and word-for-word scripts to start generating more gym leads from social media today.

Links

Gym Owners United

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3:14 - Convert leads from social

5:47 - Create social proof

9:58 - Make prospects like you

12:57 - Build authority

14:27 - 3x5 story method

Tune in to get the exact plan for what to post on social media to grow your gym.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper walk through the social media system that turns lurkers into paying members.

They lay out the big three content types every gym owner should be posting:

- Conversion content that moves prospects closer to buying.
- Connection content that makes people like and trust you before they ever walk through the door.
- Value content that helps your community solve real problems for free.

They break down each type with examples from real gym owners, and they present tactical steps you can take to start creating better gym social content today.

The pair also tackle one of the most underused tools in gym marketing: sell by chat (having real conversations with real people who interact with your social media).

You’ll walk away with a simple weekly posting strategy you can actually stick to.

This is episode 2 of 4 in the Marketing May series. Next week: the content funnel.

If you missed last week’s episode on referrals, check it via the link below.

Links

The Referral Funnel

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0:37 - People buy from people

2:17 - 3 types of content

15:18 - Story strategy

19:24 - Sell by chat (DM)

22:31 - Your action steps

Does your gym really need more clients? What if you just kept current members longer?

In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin sits down with Two-Brain mentor Brian Foley, whose gym Activate has over 360 clients and 27-month average length of engagement.

Brian walks through the full retention system that makes his client count possible, starting with marketing to the right avatar and running a No Sweat Intro that filters for fit.

He explains how his team uses a weekly review to identify at-risk clients before they consider canceling, as well as automated check-ins to keep individual goals front and center in a large gym.

You’ll also hear about his top client acquisition strategy—quarterly bring-a-friend events that add 40 to 50 new members per year at virtually no cost—and how referrals, organic social media and a modest ad spend work together to keep his pipeline full.

If you're tired of "filling a leaky bucket," watch this episode and learn how to increase your client count by building a gym no one wants to leave.

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Gym Owners United

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1:22 - How to retain clients

13:46 - Client management systems

18:35 - New client referrals

24:23 - Where paid ads come in

27:05 - Why work with a mentor?

Your best clients already know your next best clients. Here’s how to find them.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper kick off Marketing May with the most underused growth tool in the fitness business: referrals.

Referrals are free, they get results faster than any ad campaign, and most gym owners are leaving them on the table every single day.

John and Chris walk through the seed client exercise, a simple process to identify your best clients and find more people just like them.

Chris shares three questions to ask seed clients over coffee to sharpen your offerings and open the door to referrals without feeling pushy, plus how to use goal reviews with all clients every 90 days to increase retention and referrals.

The pair also lay out a full playbook for in-gym and out-of-gym events that bring non-members through your doors and turn them into paying clients.

Subscribe and follow along all month. Every week in May, we’re breaking down one of the four funnels you need to grow your gym. Next up: social media.

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Gym Owners United

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0:50 - Why referrals first?

2:10 - Seed client exercise

9:21 - Goal review process

15:58 - Internal and external events

21:05 - Your actions steps