Email is well-established as the key communication channel for gyms and studios. Most fitness operators rely on automated emails to remind customers when they have a personal training session, when they’ve made it off the waitlist, when their membership is up for renewal, and more. Automated email functionality is built into most member management systems, including ABC Glofox.
As critical as a well-oiled automated email program is, the power of one-off emails is often overlooked. An effective one-off email can be used to keep members in the know, reduce churn, drive sales, or even reactivate past members. They’re also relatively low effort to produce and cheap to send.
Use cases for one-off emails
There are numerous use cases for fitness operators sending one-off emails, but here are a few of our favorites:
Facility announcements
Everyone hates showing up at their gym only to find that the opening hours are different that day, or that a key amenity is closed for maintenance. Sending emails to your member base whenever you have any changes with your facilities can go a long way in keeping members happy and warding off complaints caused by facility issues.
Promotions
Promotions are the most common use case for one-off emails. The most popular promotions are typically for Black Friday and New Years’ sales, but successful promotions can be sent any time of year. A good promotional email includes a CTA (call-to-action) and a sense of urgency so that the recipient is compelled to engage before they close the email.
Newsletters
Newsletters are a little more time intensive to produce but can be a great way to increase member engagement. You can use a newsletter to highlight new equipment, special events, new service offerings, community initiatives and anything else you think your members will find value in. In fact, we’ve written an in-depth newsletter guide, which you can find here.
Updates for former members
The most underutilized use case for one-off emails is keeping former members in the loop. You shouldn’t send these emails as often as you would to active members, but when used sparingly they are a fantastic way to reactivate past members. The best time to send updates are when you’ve added a new amenity, when new equipment has arrived, or when something else notable has happened that improves the experience of using your gym or studio.
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Discover more What makes a good one-off email
Effective one-off emails aren’t just plain text emails sent to your entire mailing list. They are:
- Professional and branded to match your gym or studio.
- Personalized to include the recipient’s name.
- Targeted to an audience that will find the email relevant.
Every email you send also needs to have a clear goal in mind, as well as a plan to measure the outcome of the email. This can be easy for specific promotions where you are directing email recipients to your online store, but more difficult for something like a newsletter.
All of this can be achieved using email marketing software like Mailchimp, SendGrid, or Constant Contact. However, you’ll need a way to export your member list to one of these tools. You may also need to pay to use them, depending on how many emails you send.
Sending one-off emails from ABC Glofox
We wanted to make it possible for ABC Glofox customers to send highly effective one-off emails without disrupting their workflows or requiring them to purchase an additional tool. Which is why we’ve recently added everything your fitness business needs to send one off emails directly from ABC Glofox. We’ve included:
- A drag-and-drop email designer to easily build emails that look professional on any device.
- Configurable email templates to help save time.
- Pre-built audiences so that you can target active members, former members, leads on a trial, and more with a single click.
- Reporting on one-off emails with key metrics like opens and clicks.
If you’re already using ABC Glofox, head to our Knowledge Base to learn how to start sending one-off emails.
If you aren’t using ABC Glofox and would like to learn more about how we can help you grow your revenue and streamline your business, click below:
