This is part of how we help gym owners build ad systems like Joel's. See the plan here:

https://100kplan.com

Joel Holland never ran a gym ad in 14 years. He used AI to build his first campaign. $3 cost per lead. 84 leads in 10 days. Here's how.

This gym Facebook ads using AI breakdown starts with Joel Holland, who runs 902 Athletics, a 17,000 square foot CrossFit and commercial gym in a 9,000 person market in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 14 years of business he had never run a paid ad. Everything was organic and referral based.

Ten days before this conversation, Joel taught himself how to run gym ads using Claude, an AI tool, and built his entire campaign from scratch. No agency. No prior experience. The result was a $3 cost per lead, compared to the $20 to $35 most gyms are paying right now, and 84 leads in 10 days.

Mike and Joel walk through the exact setup: the lead objective, the offer, the 34 second video ad, and why Joel wanted to learn ads himself before ever handing the account to an agency. They also cover why most agencies get bad results even when the technical setup is correct, and what the Meta algorithm actually does to gym ads that lose attention in the first two seconds.

If you have been told paid ads do not work for your gym, this look at gym Facebook ads using AI might change your mind.

In this episode you'll learn:

— Why Joel never ran a paid ad in 14 years of business, until now

— How he used Claude to build his entire ad campaign from scratch, no agency

— The lead objective, offer, and 34 second video ad that got him $3 leads

— Why he chose a two week trial with no charge instead of worrying it would devalue his gym

— The 70 to 75% trial-to-paid conversion rate that made the offer make sense

— Why increasing ad budget by more than 15 to 20% at a time can hurt performance

— What the Meta algorithm actually does to ads that lose attention in the first few seconds

— Why most agencies get blamed for bad creative instead of a bad account setup

— Why Joel is running his own ads for 30 to 45 days before handing it to an agency

— Why referrals built his gym to 1,000 members before he ever ran an ad

— What to say the next time an agency tells you they have never seen this before

If you have been putting off paid ads because you assumed you needed an agency first, this episode shows you what is actually possible on your own.

Timestamps:

0:00 $3 cost per lead, 84 leads in 10 days

0:50 Welcoming Joel and setting up the story

2:30 Inside Joel's 17,000 square foot gym

3:17 Why Joel wanted to learn ads before hiring an agency

3:57 The lead objective and the sign up flow

4:14 The two week trial offer that started it all

5:17 The 70 to 75% trial to paid conversion rate

6:20 Building the video ad and the first few seconds that matter

9:20 The $15 daily budget and why Mike called immediately

10:21 What happens the moment someone clicks the ad

12:29 How referrals built the gym before any paid ads

13:32 The biggest lesson Joel did not expect

15:00 What the Meta algorithm actually does to bad ads

16:30 Why a 9,000 person market is not an excuse

18:10 What Joel took away from the A-Class retreat

100K Plan:

https://100kplan.com

Behind Gym Doors Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnwaMl7Us7dAkfE6idQW56EYkEEQ2E5eE

————————————————————————

Joel used AI to build a $3 cost per lead campaign from scratch, in a market smaller than most gym owners would even try. The plan behind how GSD Gyms helps studios build systems like this is right here.

Watch the 100K Plan:

https://100kplan.com

New gym growth strategy every Thursday. Subscribe so you don't miss it.

Turns out horses and Facebook ads mix better than you'd think.