No successful online marketing strategy for personal trainers is complete without email marketing.
I know what you’re thinking… Email marketing? Isn’t that a little old school?
As it turns out, one of the oldest ways of reaching people in the digital space is still one of the most effective. Social media is great, of course, but when it comes to connecting with potential clients and making sales, email is still the superior route.
Don’t believe us? Here are some stats:
- 86% of consumers prefer to get email-based marketing messages over Facebook ads, TV commercials, and display ads (HubSpot).
- Email converts 40x more leads into customers than Facebook and Twitter combined (McKinsey).
- Some studies suggest that email has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent (Constant Contact)
Pretty impressive, right?
Another powerful aspect of email marketing is that you have total control of your email list and who sees your content.
Think about it, if something happened and you got locked out of your Instagram, you’d lose access to all those hard-earned followers. Or when Facebook inevitably changes its algorithm for the upteenth time, you’ll once again be struggling to make sure your content is getting in front of the right eyes.
Email gives you a direct line to your prospects and more control over content distribution. Email can help you connect with would-be clients and nurture those important relationships, so that you can sell your products and services more easily.
So, are you ready to start building that email list for your fitness business? Here are the steps:
- Step 1: Set yourself up for success.
- Step 2: Make it easy to sign up.
- Step 3: Create a lead magnet.
- Step 4: Create a landing page.
- Step 5: Distribute lead magnets.
- Step 6: Keep prospects on your list.
Email marketing doesn’t have to be intimidating! Let’s cover each of these steps in detail so that you can start growing your fitness business with this incredible marketing tool.
Set yourself up for success.
First things first, make sure you have what you need to start an email marketing campaign. Hopefully, you already have a website for your personal training business. You’ll also want to make sure that you have a professional email address and sign up for an email marketing service provider.
Your email service provider will provide you with a link for collecting emails and will be where you will store all of the email addresses that you collect. This is where you will write and send emails that keep your prospects engaged. We share more about picking the right service provider for you in our Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing for Personal Trainers, check it out here.
Make it easy to sign up.
Now that you’ve got a personalized link and place to manage your email list, it’s time to start collecting addresses. We’ll get into some specific ways to drive conversion to your email list, but the first and most simple thing you can do is make it easy for users to sign up for your email list in various places on and offline. Some ideas? Include a pop-up on your website, a sign up form at the end of your blogs, a QR code on flyers at the gym, and a link on your social media pages. Let people know what joining your email list will entail. Will you be sending a monthly newsletter? How about some good exercise tips straight to subscribers inbox? Let your people know that you’ll be sharing valuable content and important updates about your personal training business in future emails.
Making it easy for prospects to sign up is the first step. However, just putting a link to join your email list is not the most effective way to get subscribers and build your list. You’ve got to offer an incentive in exchange for their contact info . Let’s get into that now.
Create a lead magnet.
Your website visitors or social media followers are much more likely to give you their precious contact information, if you have something to offer them in return. A lead magnet (sometimes called opt-ins or freebies) is one of the best ways to build your email list. **A lead magnet is a piece of content that you give away for free in exchange for someone’s email address.**
Lead magnets drive conversions and help you not only build your email list, but turn that list into paying clients further down the road. A high converting lead magnet has the following elements:
- Tailored to your ideal client - Your lead magnet needs to speak in the language they understand best.
- Addresses their common problems - Think about the biggest challenges your ideal client faces on a daily basis.
- Provides value - Offer a solution to one of their challenges with valuable content.
- Is actionable and easy to consume - Provide your prospects with a quick win so that they can experience the benefits of your lead magnet sooner.
Here are some examples of lead magnets you might create to build your email list:
- 2 page PDF on equipment free at-home exercises
- Guide for dining out in X city
- 15 min exercise video
- Morning routine checklist
- 5 easy and healthy recipes
We recommend creating multiple lead magnets for the best results. Base your lead magnets on your four main content pillars and keep them in rotation. This will make it easier to constantly be collecting new email addresses.
Create a landing page.
A landing page is a unique web page that will serve as the hub of your lead magnet. Your landing page will have a URL which you will use to direct all prospects to the page to download your lead magnet in exchange for their email address.
Most email marketing software comes with a way to create a landing page and will automatically put leads on your email list.
When creating your landing page, make sure to be clear and direct with the words you choose in order to persuade prospects that end up there to provide their contact info. When it comes to writing the copy for your landing page, it’s always a good idea to lead with the benefits your prospects will receive from your offer.
The benefit of a meal plan = healthy recipes created for you.
The benefit of a workout video = feeling great and accomplished in just twenty minutes.
The benefit of a guided meditation = calm and relaxing start to your day.
Lead with the benefit on your landing page. Then, share more about what is actually included inside the offer. If possible, include some testimonials from happy people that have already benefited from your freebie.
And of course, you will want at least one opt-in form on your landing page, but consider having a few CTAs and a few different areas on your page where people can enter their email address. Your opt-in form needs to be simple and easy to complete. Asking for more information than an email and a first name might discourage some prospects from signing up.
Distribute lead magnets.
You’ve created your irresistible lead magnet and your landing page to collect email addresses, now it’s time to distribute your freebie far and wide. Include an easily accessible link to your landing page on all your social media accounts and make followers aware of it often. For Instagram, you can put your link in your bio, and direct followers there by sharing your offer consistently within your content. For Facebook and Twitter, you can include the link to your landing page directly in your posts.
Don’t just share your lead magnet with no context. Instead, build interest in the subject and work your lead magnet into your content strategy. Give followers a little bit of information with every post so that they can’t wait to learn more! This is why having multiple lead magnets can be really useful. Every time you share content around one of your content pillars, you’ll have a corresponding lead magnet to share with followers, making it easy to always be collecting new email addresses.
If you’re motivated to build your fitness email list quickly, you might also try promoting your lead magnet through paid advertising on social media. Don’t be afraid to get creative when it comes to lead magnet distribution! YouTube, Reddit, Podcasts, and in-person networking can also provide you with great opportunities to get your lead magnet out there.
Keep prospects on your list.
As you grow your list, you’ll want to also make sure that you’re giving subscribers a reason to stick around. You need the right content to keep your email list engaged and informed. Remember to tailor all the content you create towards your ideal client to provide the most value. This will help you nurture relationships and turn those prospects into clients.
Most email marketing tools will allow you to automatically send new subscribers a series of “welcome emails” that help you explain more about you, your fitness business, and what recipients can expect from your content moving forward.
From there, the frequency of your emails might vary depending on your goals. For regular newsletters, once or twice a month is fine. However, if you are building up to a big launch, trying to promote a new program, or doing a push for new personal training clients, you might up the frequency of your emails during that period of time.
To learn more about crafting the perfect email to send your list, check out this blog. We’ve also got an Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing for Personal Trainers that covers everything else you need to know.
Leveraging email marketing is a great way for personal trainers to grow their business. Follow the steps above to start building your email list and taking advantage of this tool today.