I went into mine on a Groupon. The owner says he now hates Groupon. He says all these people use the Groupon and then don't join, and he loses money. But I think many people probably buy a Groupon and come in only once or twice, which means the box is not gaining but it is not losing. Plus, it's about marketing. Maybe most people who buy the Groupon do not join. But my son and I did. That's two people he probably would not have had. (I already belonged to the 'Y' and my son went to another Crossfit place.) And we're such fans of Crossfit we have brought a number of friends in. They haven't joined -- Crossfit isn't for everyone, after all -- but it is spreading the word.

Ours started in June last year. This year we celebrated the 1st anniversary. I think it might be harder in the US anyway as CrossFit is more prolific there - more competition.

It seems to me to be about publicity. Some of the things our box owners did (we are in the UK):
* Got affiliated to a supplement developer and became the only UK licensed reseller.
* Loads of special offers: 15% discount for a years upfront payment, 10% off membership in January, 10% off membership for Armed Forces and NHS professionals, an additional 10% off for new Forces memberships during August and September. Because we are close to two USAF bases, targeting the American military community with offers seems to be a particular winner.
* Offering more than 'just' CrossFit. Weekly Yoga classes, mobility WODs, running workshops, in the new year they will start doing Les Mills classes in the morning gap between WODs and I've heard the idea floated that we might start doing boxing WODs.
* Free taster classes once a week, and EVERY potential new member gets their first class free, regardless of whether they attend a scheduled free taster or come along to a regular WOD with a friend.
* CrossFit Kids is really popular too but you need additional certification or licencing - something like that.
* Merchandise - seriously, EVERYONE has at least one 'CrossFit A14' t-shirt and we go walking around in those in the supermarket post-WOD. Free advertising!

I joined my box by a Groupon too. The first bootcamp class is always free. Then I bought a Groupon for a month of unlimited bootcamp....$35, regularly $150. After the first month in order to encourage people to stick with it, the owner also did a special for the people that bought the Groupon for $75 for month #2. I've been there almost 3 years now. Not everyone stays on the Groupon, but it's enough to peak people's curiosity to come check it out, especially since most people know someone who has tried CrossFit. We also volunteer for a lot of events in the community. For an example, our box volunteered for a water station at an annual marathon- we brought rowers out too because at the time we were doing the concept 2 rowing challenge.

Also, if you have a Lululemon in your community, have them help spread the word! I know that some of our trainers are ambassadors and the lulu crew come in for bootcamp classes at our box and posted pics on their Facebook page.

Finally, success stories. A lot of people are intimated to try Crossfit or are under the weird impression that you have to get in shape before you Crossfit. My box has a whole section on their website dedicated to success stories. They ask people (like me) who have lost a lot of weight or had success in other ways to write about their experience, pull before and after pictures, and post a few stories a year on their social media pages and website. It will show people that no matter your fitness level you can CrossFit and takes away some of the intimidation factor.

Advertisement is something you have to spend on if you want to be known. Community events like fairs or parades of any kind is a good way to promote. Have a good logo and make t shirts for everyone from the box to wear, don't make cheap ones or no one will wear it outside the gym. Make sure to me in the internet like Facebook and post videos / pictures / success stories. One thing I find very important is to advertize with google so that your box will come up with any searches. Good luck!

Ours has grown greatly, mostly due to positive personal experiences and word of mouth. Our gym does monthly "bring a friend" workouts where you can bring a friend for free and it's a relatively short, simplistic workout, but you get the whole "feel"--plus you get to do it with a friend. Then if you want to join, you go through the foundations course. Facebook groups and testimonials--and an active twitter page--helps some too, I think. Relatively cheap ads. We have a logo and lots of gear--and that helps too.

My gym just made a weekday during the day "Soccer mom" class. He fit it around their schedule and now these ladies are recruiting more of their friends to come. Also @Allan is right. In an area like that, sport specific hours and bringing in say the football team for workouts. Our owners do that as well with sort of an after school off season training program. Parents buy into that stuff.