Email Marketing 101: How to Create an Engaging Fitness Email Newsletter

Did you know email marketing is 40 times more effective at getting new clients than Facebook or Twitter? Email is so important for your marketing and it’s a medium that continues to grow. In fact, studies show that about 80% of marketers have reported an increase in email engagement over the past 12 months.

A fitness email newsletter is intended to inform and educate your community about your business. With global email users projected to reach 4.48 billion in 2024, the right email strategy can increase engagement, improve retention, and grow your fitness business. Here’s how you can create engaging emails that will keep your clients connected to your business.

What do you need for a more engaging fitness email newsletter?

Engage your audience with interesting and informative content targeted just for them. Once you’ve mastered the content, here are some pro tips to increase those click-through rates:

• Use a catchy subject line: Grab their attention with a clear, engaging subject line. Keeping it short and sweet at about five words is the way to go. People open emails with personalized subject lines at a 50% higher rate than emails without, so make your subject line personal.
• Create engaging content: Stay true to your brand with consistent messaging. Use the voice they know and love to hold their attention and keep them coming back.
• Include visuals: Emails with videos increase click rates by 300%, so give the people what they want! Not too many, though, you want it to load fast with a good image-to-text ratio.
• Include social media links: Never skip an opportunity to draw them to your other channels (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter). Include these links in your email footer.
• Offer an unsubscribe option: You don’t want your audience to unsubscribe, but this is a great metric for understanding effectiveness. If stats show subscribers are leaving, tweaking your strategy is in order.

Is your newsletter mobile friendly?

Stats show that 50% of emails are read on mobile devices, so keep that in mind when designing your fitness email newsletter. Your template needs to be mobile-responsive so it automatically fits any screen, while still looking great.

Need some help with the graphic design? No problem! WellnessLiving’s automated marketing has customized email templates to get you started, so it’s branded, consistent, and organized. Include the following to keep the look and feel of your business consistent:

• Brand colors
• Logo and business name
• Stick to one or two sans serif fonts like Helvetica or Arial. Skip too many fonts or casual options like Comic Sans.

What goes into your newsletter?

Limit your content to two or three topics and a maximum of 200 words. Link to blog posts, websites or social media, using call-to-action buttons with text like: register today, book now, or learn more. What else can you include?

• Announce special offers: Hosting a yoga retreat, new class, or launching on-demand video library? Let your community know. Create a sense of urgency and target those most interested.
• Communicate updates: Keep your community updated on things like closing, reopening, adopting a hybrid business, or adding health and safety protocols.
• Promote your online services: Get attention for your virtual services. WellnessLiving’s Zoom integration and FitVID on Demand make going virtual simple for you and your clients. Get the word out about your new features and fill up those classes.
• Share success stories: Include case studies where you helped solve a problem (like guiding a client wanting to build strength). Share success stories to attract new clients and reinforce how you can help them reach their goals.
• Promote your top team: Highlight your stars and showcase your instructors’ qualifications and explain why they’re successful. Feature their results to target a particular audience to get them motivated to set the same goals.
• Provide information: Include helpful info like healthy recipes and nutrition tips, workout suggestions, relaxation advice, and more. Link to past blogs or put content right in the email.
• Celebrate occasions: Reach out for holidays like Christmas or a clients’ first class (or their 100th class) to celebrate them and build your relationship.
• Include important links: Send your community where you need them to go. Get your captive audience clicking your promotions, blogs, direct booking links, or leaving your business a review.

When do you send your email?

Timing is everything. Find that sweet spot when your fitness email newsletter gets the most attention. Studies show that the highest click-to-open rates are at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and they spike again at 6 p.m., though you will need to do some detective work, too. Once you’ve sent out a few emails, check your stats to see when you’re getting the best results. Do everything you can to prevent your emails from getting lost in inboxes or junk folders.

Test it out: send out the same email at two different times, adjust your content slightly, and try several subject lines to determine what gets the best traction. Stick to a regular schedule to learn what it takes for people to click, and you’ll boost subscriptions and maximize results.

How well does your email newsletter perform?

How can you tell when your campaigns are working? Today’s analytics leave nothing to the imagination. Use WellnessLiving’s tools to run the reports you need for a winning newsletter. Use our expert reporting to learn everything you can about your campaign, like:

• Opened vs. unopened emails: How many emails sent to clients were opened or left unopened during a specific date range.
• Emails that failed to send: How many emails never reached clients’ inboxes during that date range.
• Waiting emails: How long your newsletter sits in someone’s inbox before they open it.

With this kind of expert data, you’ll get the inside track on how and when to send content out to those who want it most—your best customers.

Send your newsletter, get more clients

Email newsletters reach a broad audience with a personalized approach, while taking it easy on your pocketbook. Send out COVID-19 updates, celebrate holidays, provide tips, and more. Use engaging emails to build your brand, increase interest, and get more revenue.

Need a little help from the pros? Get a competitive edge with our automated marketing suite, customizable templates, advanced reporting system, and more. Learn how WellnessLiving can help you manage your business better by booking a no-commitment demo today.