The path to becoming an email marketing ninja isn’t as complicated as you might think. If done correctly, email is one of the most personal and effective forms of marketing communication. It's targeted, trackable and measurable.
With the right strategy, you’ll be able to capture people’s attention, pique their interest and get them to act. Setting up your campaigns may take some time and effort on the front end, but the work will be worth it.
Here are some simple but effective tips to launch a successful campaign:
Read The Room.
Defining your target audience is the first step in a successful email marketing strategy. A great message won’t land with the wrong audience. For instance, you wouldn’t send an email campaign about a new membership promo to your current gym community. And you probably wouldn’t ask former members to vote on the new apparel line.
For gym owners, the top three email marketing segments are current gym members, former members and prospective leads. All three groups offer a plethora of opportunity for increasing revenue, but through completely different messaging.
Write A Rockin’ Email.
Once you’ve chosen your target audience, it’s time to dial in the message.
One of the most imperative steps is crafting a catchy subject line. Your goal with this is simply to get your audience to open the email. Put yourself in their shoes: What subject would make you want to open an email? People will open “Breaking News: HUGE Gym Apparel Sale!” while “Open for info about apparel discounts” might be a pretty quick click to the trash.
The next step is to compose an engaging email body. You don’t have to be a professional writer but your email definitely has to be professional. Remember, all communication that comes from your gym - from email to social media - is reflective of your business. Take the time to check for proper spelling and grammar. “Speak” in your brand voice. If you express excitement about your message, chances are your members will get excited too.
Finally, every email should include a CTA (Call To Action). When you’re putting effort into an email campaign, make it clear to your readers how they should respond. If you’re selling memberships, tell them how they can purchase. If you’re hosting an upcoming event, provide the link for them to sign up. Always include a highly-visible and simple way for them to take the next step.
Raise Revenue.
Email marketing strategy can be somewhat of a choose-your-own-adventure. You can send a standalone email or connect several in succession.
Here are some revenue-driving email ideas to get the ball rolling:
- Upsell memberships to current members. If you offer several levels of membership, entice members to level up. Or offer add-on options like personal training or skills sessions, allowing members to piece together a personalized, effective training plan.
- Reengage former members. Remind them how great they felt when they were regularly attending your gym. Find out about what they’re currently doing for their health and wellness, and offer them an incentive to return.
- Create a gym newsletter. Use this platform as a way to educate, inform and entertain. You can include everything from instructional videos to featured coach/member bios and even healthy recipes.
- Promote upcoming events. Whether it’s a one-time community event or an upcoming series, use your email marketing to keep your members in the know and have them mark their calendars.
- Collaborate with local partners. Create a fun collaboration with other small businesses in your area to promote their offerings and yours. Your audience may discover a business they never knew about, and you may drum up some new leads from the partnering business as well.
- Promote POS items or package deals. Offer members a small discount on apparel, supplements, energy drinks, etc. to rock your retail sales. Or bundle items together (i.e. Purchase two shirts and get 25% off a 2lb tub of your favorite protein)!
- Survey members. Need to get some feedback from your community? Send an email campaign requesting input. We recommend creating the survey as a link and including it in the email with any related, relevant information.
Remember The Four Keys to Successful Email Marketing.
There are four crucial elements to any successful email campaign:
1. Automation.
Putting all the campaign above into action could be exhausting without automation. Let technology do the work for you! Choose the perfect delivery timing for the entirety of each campaign (drip them if needed) and voila! Done for you.
2. Personalization.
Another way technology can work for you is the use of content tags. First and foremost, this allows you to lead into every email with the customers name. Secondly, you can personalize the email with everything from their gym anniversary date to links to your Google review page.
3. Optimization.
Take the time to optimize your emails. This includes measures such as improving email deliverability, creating content that’s relevant (designed for higher open rates) and monitoring your metrics. This will ensure better results for the long-term play with your email marketing campaigns.
4. Segmentation.
As we discussed, sending the right message to the right audience is key. You can segment your audience into different lists, helping to categorize people by which messages you want to send them. Start simple with the three mentioned above (current members, former members, prospective leads). From there, you can get creative. For example, do you have a group of current members that love when you launch new apparel lines? Create a segmented list, targeting that specific group.
Pro Tip: PushPress Grow can help you with ALL FOUR of these keys! Schedule a demo with our team today to find out how.
In Summary: Email Marketing Ninja Status Achieved
Email marketing is a powerful tool for helping gym members form a stronger connection with you and your business. Email marketing lets you send personalized, highly-targeted messages to your customers that keep them interested in your gym and motivated to reach their fitness goals.
Setting up a consistent way to talk to your target audience can help you get more buyers by giving them useful information that helps them make better decisions. By staying in touch with your members through email, you can create relationships that may lead to increased membership renewals, member satisfaction, engagement and revenue.
