Studies show that the number of e-mail users worldwide is forecasted to rise to 2.9 billion users by 2019. (Source: Statista, 2016) and a June 2016 survey of US marketers conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Demand Metric found that email had a median ROI of 122%.
In the health and fitness industry, the difference between a successful personal trainer and an unsuccessful one how consistently they can stick to any particular marketing strategy. If your preferred marketing strategy is email then these 10 tips to help make your email marketing strategy a success is for you!
1. Build a Relevant Email List
While this seems obvious, this is where most personal trainers get stuck. Mailing to the wrong people or not mailing to anyone at all can have disastrous results. This is why you need to have a solid, well organised mailing list. Some great sources to build your email marketing lists are:
While almost all personal trainers gather emails from the sources above, most aren't segmenting based on those sources.
- Blog readers
- Social media followers
- Personal contacts
- Website visitors
- List of prospective clients
- Members of a fitness community/Facebook Group
While almost all personal trainers gather emails from the sources above, most aren't segmenting based on those sources.
For example, blog readers might want to receive more informational emails from you whereas website visitors, people who visited your services page, might be more interested in your offers.
Getting these two segments mixed up could mean a lot of unsubscribes, poor open rates and an unhealthy email list.
2. Communication Should be Constant
When it comes to communicating via email, consistency is the key. Make sure you stay in touch and engage your audience regularly. Some PTs like to email once a week, others every day.
A study by Marketing Sherpa asked 2,057 people how often, if ever, would you like to receive promotional emails.
A study by Marketing Sherpa asked 2,057 people how often, if ever, would you like to receive promotional emails.
Clearly, the two most popular choices were “At least monthly” and “At least weekly.” The third most popular choice was “weekly”, and the fourth option picked most was “monthly”.
Decide what works for your business the best and keep at it. It’s safe to say that the greater the exposure and visibility to a brand name; the greater is the chances of conversion.
3. Draft Valuable and Do-Able Content
Why should someone read your email? Ask yourself this question before you sit down to draft your email. Your emails should contain information which is relevant to your list and which will provide solutions to their existing problems.
For example, emails entitled ‘5 best exercises to tone your abs’ will have a greater click-through-rate than emails which just try to sell fitness services and exercise equipment. When creating a personal trainer email marketing strategy, include easy tips and tricks which your specific target client can follow and implement.
For example, emails entitled ‘5 best exercises to tone your abs’ will have a greater click-through-rate than emails which just try to sell fitness services and exercise equipment. When creating a personal trainer email marketing strategy, include easy tips and tricks which your specific target client can follow and implement.
4. Use the Perfect Subject Line
The email subject is the first thing your readers will see. If the topic doesn't sound interesting enough, they won't bother to open it and the more that happens the more likely they will start ignoring your emails completely and eventually unsubscribe.
Drafting a good subject line is a great way to get noticed by prospects. Here are some things you need to keep in mind when drafting a subject line:
Drafting a good subject line is a great way to get noticed by prospects. Here are some things you need to keep in mind when drafting a subject line:
- Keep your basic goal in mind: If you’re offering a discount on a product, say so. If you’re providing exercise tips, make that clear to your readers.
- Words matter: The right words have the best impact. Use high-impact words like ‘quick’ and ‘how to’ to get the best results.
- Make it time-sensitive: If you’re running a discounted rate for your gym’s membership fees, then using phrases like ‘for 24-hours only’ is a great way to encourage readers to act on your mail.
5. Include Links to the Right Landing Page
The landing page is the page on your fitness website or blog where your readers are directed when they click on the link in your email. While all email marketers include a link to a landing page, many fail to include the right one.
For example, if your email is about the new water aerobics class you’ve launched at your center, your link should lead to a page that includes all of the information on your water aerobics class. Not a link to your home page that forces the reader to go searching.
For example, if your email is about the new water aerobics class you’ve launched at your center, your link should lead to a page that includes all of the information on your water aerobics class. Not a link to your home page that forces the reader to go searching.
6. Personalise the Email
Using your client’s or prospect’s first name adds a very personal touch to the email and encourages the reader to click the links and peruse its content. Including a subject line entitled, ‘Hey Adam! We’re sure you’ll love these exercises’, adds a very warm and inclusive feeling to the email.
One report by Aberdeen Research found that “Personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14%, and conversion rates by 10%”.
One report by Aberdeen Research found that “Personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14%, and conversion rates by 10%”.
7. Speak From the Heart
When people subscribe to your list, they do so to read your story and discover how you can help them. They’re interested in the trials, tribulations, and victories of you and your clients.
When drafting your email, include references to how you helped yourself or helped your clients. This will make your fitness advice more realistic and relatable.
When drafting your email, include references to how you helped yourself or helped your clients. This will make your fitness advice more realistic and relatable.
8. Keep it Short and Simple
Jargons i.e. technical terminology may make you sound smart, but they detract from the overall reading experience. Write your email as though you were writing to a child and not to adults. We don’t mean that you should sound patronising, but just that you should make your email as easy to understand and follow as possible.
A great way to understand the language you should use is by studying the language your potential clients use when communicating about their problems.
Where you might say "lose subcutaneous fat", your client would say "tone up".
A great way to understand the language you should use is by studying the language your potential clients use when communicating about their problems.
Where you might say "lose subcutaneous fat", your client would say "tone up".
9. Graphics Generate Leads
Images can have the power to attract business. Some research shows that emails with videos and images generate click-through-rates 96% higher than emails that only contain text.
Other research suggests that plain text is better and more friendly.
Ultimately, you need to test it to find out what your readers prefer. This then translates to more number of people reading your email completely, more number of people visiting your fitness website, and more number of people contacting you for your services.
Other research suggests that plain text is better and more friendly.
Ultimately, you need to test it to find out what your readers prefer. This then translates to more number of people reading your email completely, more number of people visiting your fitness website, and more number of people contacting you for your services.
10. Integrate Social Media
If you use cookies on your website, you can use website visitor information to re-target advertisements on social media. Say a prospect visited a landing page through your email. Now, you know that this person is interested in what you have to offer. You can use this visitor information to custom-create an advert for all visitors who visited your landing page through that particular email.
