A newsletter might hold little priority for fitness businesses. Many feel their time and resources could be better utilized elsewhere.
However, neglecting them could mean leaving money on the table for your fitness business. Newsletters can help you convert leads, upsell existing clients, and re-engage lapsed members. What’s more, the benefits extend beyond monetary gains.
A fitness newsletter can help you foster a robust online community. It serves as a platform to keep subscribers motivated. Also, done right, it can position you as an authority in the field.
So, let’s dive into crafting the perfect fitness newsletter for your audience. We’ll start with the essentials, providing clear guidance on what to expect. Then, we’ll offer engaging content ideas and strategies to ensure your newsletter stands out.
As we explore fitness newsletters, let’s define their purpose and outline critical goals.
Defining a fitness newsletter
A newsletter is an integral part of your broader fitness email marketing strategy. It’s a powerful tool to share timely news, tips, and business updates with your audience.
The purpose of a fitness newsletter is multifaceted and goes as follows:
- Educating subscribers: You can provide insights on fitness topics like workout routines, nutrition tips, and lifestyle advice. The fitness space is often rife with conflicting and confusing opinions. Leverage your newsletter to provide clarity and guidance to your subscribers.
- Foster engagement: Newsletters have ample opportunity to include interactive features, such as polls, challenges, or Q&A sessions. Remember that newsletters attract subscribers who voluntarily opt in, which boosts engagement rates and allows you to focus on an interested audience.
- Build credibility: Sending out regular newsletters helps to establish the sender’s authority in the fitness industry. Moreover, newsletters follow a consistent schedule—weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. This fosters expectations and maintains audience engagement over the long term.
Image via milled.com
Setting goals and objectives
It’s important to consider your fitness newsletter’s specific goal. This makes crafting content and maintaining consistency much simpler.
Here are a few examples of goals you can consider:
- Member retention: Use your newsletter to foster long-term customer relationships. You can provide subscribers with valuable content, motivation, and support. Additionally, express gratitude to loyal members by offering exclusive perks or discounts.
- Promotion of offerings: Showcase upcoming wellness programs or workshops in your newsletter. Emphasize their benefits and unique features to spark interest. Additionally, you can promote newly launched products and services, and consider offering discounts to boost sales.
- Highlighting business updates: Keep subscribers informed about developments within your business. Consider sharing news about equipment upgrades or changes in operating hours. Moreover, celebrate milestones to foster a sense of community among members.
- Boosting engagement across channels: Use your company blog as a valuable source of unique content. Prompt readers to engage further by clicking on your newsletter’s “read more” link. Employ a similar strategy to enhance social media traffic. For instance, embed video snippets in your newsletter if you have a YouTube channel.
- Fostering community building: Cultivate a sense of belonging among subscribers through your newsletter. Share success stories, testimonials, or member spotlights to showcase achievements. Additionally, encourages interaction by featuring user-generated content.
You may also have multiple goals to achieve through your fitness newsletter. In this case, consider segmentation.
This involves grouping your subscribers based on interests, age, or membership status. Then, you can send tailored content to different subscribers to achieve distinct goals.
Once you’ve established your newsletter goals, it’s time to develop a content plan.
8 fitness newsletter content ideas
You don’t require extensive expertise in content creation to begin crafting newsletters. All you need are effective ideas. For inspiration, here are eight compelling fitness newsletter ideas.
1. Share nutritional tips
You’re probably aware that exercise alone can’t offset a poor diet. Nutrition tends to be the primary challenge for consistency.
Therefore, offer your best advice to help your clients navigate this. Provide practical tips supporting fitness goals, including meal planning and healthy eating habits.
2. Highlight upcoming events
Showcase upcoming fitness events, workshops, challenges, or special classes in your newsletter. This is a great way to encourage participation within the fitness community.
3. Take subscribers “behind the scenes”
People enjoy witnessing things take shape. If you’re arranging a fitness workshop, you can offer a sneak peek into its setup.
Embrace showcasing the less polished aspects of your business as well. This approach helps them see that you’re only human, fostering a deeper connection.
4. Shine a light on business milestones
Use your fitness newsletter to celebrate business achievements. Examples include expansions, new facilities, equipment upgrades, or milestone anniversaries.
5. Provide innovative workout routines
New trends are constantly emerging in the world of fitness. However, not all are suitable for everyone. Besides, proper implementation is crucial to avoid counterproductivity.
Utilize your fitness newsletter to introduce diverse exercises and training techniques. Additionally, share a list of dos and don’ts to optimize their effectiveness.
6. Share client success stories
This is a great way to recognize dedicated clients who have achieved results. It also inspires others and reinforces their belief in reaching their goals.
For example, your gym newsletter could feature before-and-after photos and share clients’ weight loss stories. However, you must ensure you have their permission before sharing their information.
Image via milled.com
7. Feature expert interviews
Showcase interviews with fitness experts, trainers, nutritionists, and wellness professionals. These can help you share diverse perspectives on various fitness-related topics. Besides, they lend credibility to your newsletter by providing authoritative insights.
8. Offer promotions or discounts
Is your gym offering discounted memberships? Are you hosting a master class with a special trainer? If so, be sure to email your customers.
This is hands down one of the best fitness newsletter ideas. It communicates value to subscribers and makes them feel special for staying subscribed.
Engaging and retaining readers
You’ve crafted a fitness newsletter and built a subscriber list. Now, how do you ensure their ongoing engagement and retention? Here are some effective tips:
- Incorporate interactive elements: Elements like quizzes and challenges ignite curiosity and prompt active participation, for example, an activity challenge on Strava. As a result, subscribers are more likely to engage on a deeper level.
- Personalize communications: The best fitness newsletters tailor content to subscribers’s preferences. Use segmentation to send targeted content that resonates with specific audience segments.
- Update your unsubscribe process: Subscribers often sign up for various topics simultaneously. Let’s say a subscriber wishes to discontinue updates on one topic. Ensure that they can opt out of specific lists without unsubscribing entirely.
- Seek feedback: Some subscribers may opt out despite your efforts. View opt-outs as a learning opportunity. Encourage feedback to understand their reasons and improve future communications.
These strategies help keep subscribers engaged and excited for your newsletters.
The best fitness newsletters extend beyond quality content. The presentation and timing of content delivery are equally crucial. Let’s delve into the best practices for optimizing these aspects.
Designing your newsletter
For better subscriber engagement, aim for easily understandable content. Additionally, prioritizing excellent design is essential. Here are some key best practices:
- Clarity: Always strive to keep your newsletter design clean and uncluttered. Include clear headings, concise text, and ample white space for readability.
- Brand consistency: Maintain consistency with your brand’s colors, fonts, and imagery. This helps reinforce brand identity and recognition.
- Mobile responsiveness: Optimize your newsletter for mobile devices. This way, you’ll accommodate subscribers accessing content on smartphones. Ensure that text and images scale appropriately, and buttons are easy to tap.
- Eye-catching visuals: Steer clear of lengthy blocks of text in your newsletters. Instead, enhance your content with relevant, high-quality images and graphics.
- Clear call to action: Position CTA buttons where they’re visible and accessible. Incorporate visual cues such as arrows or contrasting colors to attract attention.
- Personalization: Use segmentation and dynamic content to deliver targeted messages. Tailor content to the interests and preferences of your audience whenever possible.
- Testing and optimization: Experiment with different design elements, layouts, and content formats. Remember, there’s no universal solution. Determine what connects most with your subscribers and regularly analyze performance.
Timing and frequency
Consistency matters more than how often you send your fitness newsletter. Therefore, establish a specific frequency and plan your content accordingly.
But how do you decide on the best timing and frequency for your newsletter? Here are some factors to consider:
- Audience demographics: First, understand your target audience. Consider demographics such as age, industry, and location to determine their preferences. For example, if you’re targeting young professionals in urban areas, they’ll likely prefer receiving newsletters during their commute rather than late at night.
- Quality and consistency: Establish a frequency that aligns with your capabilities. The goal is to produce content consistently, without sacrificing quality. Sending excessive, low-value information can diminish your brand reputation. Worse, it could lead to spam complaints and unsubscribes.
- Competitors’ strategies: Evaluate your competitors’ email cadence and consider adopting similar approaches. Additionally, analyze industry trends and consumer preferences to stay ahead of the curve.
That said, the best fitness newsletters prioritize A/B testing. Try various send times and frequencies to discover the best approach for your audience.
Fitness email marketing examples and strategies
In this section, we’ll explore examples and strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of your fitness newsletter.
Effective fitness email examples
Many fitness brands are already crafting exceptional newsletters. For additional guidance and inspiration, let’s examine the best fitness email examples.
1. JAXJOX
JAXJOX is a fitness company known for innovative at-home workout equipment and solutions. The brand uses its newsletter to promote products and offer discounts that are hard to resist.
The email below showcases their InteractiveStudio smart home gym. It features a clear image of the gym and a concise description of its benefits.
The email offers a flat $500 off on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies last. This effectively creates a sense of urgency and encourages quick purchases.
To generate social proof, it features a user review of the product. Additionally, JAXJOX partners with Klarna to offer affordable monthly payments, making it easier for customers to buy.
Image via ReallyGoodEmails
2. Strava
Some of the best fitness email examples help recipients stay motivated. This is a crucial element for maintaining fitness routines. Strava, a fitness tracking app, excels at this in its newsletters.
In the email below, Strava promotes a feature while encouraging users: a fitness report card that details their performance, impact, and progress.
The copy is simple yet compelling, motivating readers to push themselves harder. The clean, crisp design ensures all information is easily accessible. Finally, by offering first access to new features, Strava makes subscribers feel special and encourages them to stay subscribed.
Image via ReallyGoodEmails
3. MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is a health and fitness tracking smartphone app. The brand shares a list of healthy foods to eat regularly in its newsletter. This is accessible via a clickable link.
This email is especially effective because it taps into current trends. It shares dietician-approved store-bought breads and wraps, along with a helpful resource for those following a keto diet.
The layout is appealing with white space, colorful images, and clear CTA buttons. The email also subtly promotes the app’s premium version, potentially boosting sales.
Image via ReallyGoodEmails
Maximizing engagement through email marketing
Fitness newsletters are a valuable asset in your marketing toolbox. Here are effective strategies to maintain high engagement levels, as well as open and click-through rates:
- Craft good subject lines: Keep subject lines concise, relevant, and engaging. Use action words, personalization, and urgency to grab attention and encourage clicks.
- Leverage automation: Use email automation tools to schedule and personalize newsletters based on subscriber behavior and preferences.
- Include compelling CTA buttons: Use persuasive language that encourages subscribers to take the desired action. Ensure the buttons stand out visually with contrasting colors.
- Implement A/B testing: Experiment with different subject lines and CTAs to refine your approach.
- Provide valuable information: Share fitness tips, workout plans, and health advice to keep readers informed and motivated.
- Use eye-catching designs: Incorporate appealing visuals and easy-to-read layouts to capture and maintain attention.
Wrap up
A fitness newsletter is a valuable tool for direct communication with your audience. Compared to social media, it allows for more targeted content delivery. And unlike in-person interactions, a fitness newsletter is extremely scalable.
The good thing is that you don’t need to have everything planned from the start. Just establish a goal for your newsletter and start creating engaging content. Also, be sure to gather feedback and track important metrics as you progress.
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