3 Reasons why you should create personal trainer emails + tips

If you’re a personal trainer just starting out, marketing yourself can seem like a difficult task. How do you stand out from the crowd? What value do you offer that your competition doesn’t? What may have worked before - sending printed materials - just won’t cut it anymore in this digital age. So what do you do?

One answer: Personal trainer emails.

If you haven’t considered email marketing as a way of putting yourself out there as a personal trainer, we’re here to tell you to consider it seriously. And we’ll tell you why. 

3 Reasons why emails from personal trainers’ matter

Now, before we dive into how to send personal trainer emails, you need to know why email is so vital to getting your personal brand up and running. 

1. Highest marketing return on investment (ROI) 

Simply put: When it comes to ROI, email marketing has the most to offer. 

On average, every $1 spent on email marketing sees an ROI of $38. This is the highest marketers see across all channels, both traditional and digital.

Source: Campaign Monitor

So what makes email marketing so effective? It brings content to consumers where they want it. 

Consumers admitted, out of all other digital channels, they want to hear from their favorite brands through email. This is especially true when it comes to sending out promotional content. When asked by MarketingSherpa, 72% of people said they would much rather receive promotional information from their favorite brands via email versus 17% of people who prefer social media. 

2. Build your clientele list 

Many choose to follow personal trainers and fitness brands because they want special offers and other valuable information. And once they’ve visited your website, they’re more than likely going to look for a way to subscribe to an emailing list or newsletter.

Source: Personal Trainer Chris Downing’s Website

This on-boarding process is one of the most efficient ways to build your client list. If someone visiting your site has gotten as far as subscribing to your newsletter, it’s a sign they feel you’re worth trusting and receiving information from. 

Chris Downing not only has a dedicated place for people to subscribe to his newsletters, but he even makes use of popups on his website to encourage visitors to add one-on-one training with him if they feel so inclined. 

While this is an excellent marketing tactic for those who already have a solid fanbase, it isn’t for those starting out. If you’re in the latter category, don’t jump into the process of selling yourself just yet. Take a look at our next recommendation.

3. Builds trust and authority

Sending personal training emails is a great way to start building trust and authority among your audience members. While many well-established personal trainers use email to stay in contact with their fans, newer personal trainers should take time to prove their knowledge and abilities. 

While showing off your personal training abilities via email may seem a bit odd, it’s not as difficult as it seems. For example, take this newsletter from Runtastic, a fitness app designed for athletes:

Source: Really Good Emails

In this newsletter, they provide athletes several tips and tricks to stay motivated and live their best life. Use these principles in your personal trainer emails and provide your subscribers with helpful fitness, wellness, and nutrition tips. 

Heads up to those who may not specialize in fitness and nutrition: You can send original content based on concepts you’re qualified to talk about - along with curated content on nutrition to help prove to your readers you’re interested in their wellbeing.

Efforts like these help you create a bond with your subscribers, which will then convince them you have the authority to assist in their personal health and wellness goals.

What makes for a good personal trainer email? 

Knowing why email marketing for personal trainers is so vital is only the tip of the iceberg. Now it’s time to put theory into practice and start thinking about the actual messages you’ll provide to your readers.

So, what makes for a good personal trainer email? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Get to know the trainer

Once someone has signed up for your email newsletter, take time to introduce yourself. This is an excellent opportunity to set up and send a welcome email campaign. In this campaign, you’re free to brag about yourself a bit and tell your new subscribers who you are, what your mission is, and so much more. 

The fun doesn’t have to end there. Personal trainer email newsletters are a great way for your subscribers to get a sneak peek into your everyday life. This makes you more relatable to them. Take this example from celebrity personal trainer, Shaun T.

Source: Gmail/Shaun T

What’s great about this email: Shaun takes the time to motivate his readers and provide them with tips he knows they want. He also goes a step above and gets personal with his readers. In this case, he includes a section on “3 things you never knew about me.” 

By the end of the email, it’s clear to readers that they’ll see a different side of the man behind the fitness - and that’s exciting to them.

Takeaway: Your subscribers want to know the person behind the email. Don’t be afraid to let them in.

Personal trainer emails with tips

While it’s fun to let your clients see a different side of you, it’s essential to remember they’ve come to you for a reason. So, as part of your personal trainer emails, make sure you’re addressing the needs of your subscribers. 

How do you do that? Provide campaigns specific to certain activities or seasons. 

In the following example by celebrity trainer Tony Horton, you’ll see he gets creative and shares a variety of recipes with his clients. 

Source: Gmail/Tony Horton

Not only does he provide recipes, but he also invites readers to his next diet bet challenge (which is a virtual personal training challenge to help motivate people around the world to reach their goals).

This is a great example of braiding a promotion into useful information.

Takeaway: Give the readers what they came for. And yes, that can mean sprinkling in a few promotions along the way.

Personal trainer product recommendations

Do you have great products you want to recommend to your subscribers? Do it.

Personal trainer emails that contain product recommendations are great when executed correctly. Remember, the goal isn’t to blatantly sell them a product (at least not every time). However, if you’re running an email campaign that pertains to a given subject, your clientele may be interested in hearing about your own personal favorite products that help you stay on track. 

The following message is from Ilana Muhlstein, a well-known dietitian. As a part of her regular newsletter, she shared some of her favorite Amazon finds that her clients could benefit from. 

Source: Gmail/Ilana Muhlstein

You can see she suggested a variety of food and food prep options that she had recently fallen in love with. Since they’re Amazon suggestions, she may or may not make a small commission as an affiliate - but this email isn’t designed to make a sale, it’s designed to provide her clients with beneficial information. 

Takeaway: For your personal trainer emails, why not consider making recommendations on fitness products that you simply can’t live without? Remember, these should be beneficial to your clients, not your pocketbook. 

What you need to know when designing your personal trainer emails

Ready to start designing your personal trainer emails? Here are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind:

• Know your audience: To draw in new clientele, you must know who your target audience member is. Everyone has different health and wellness goals, so make sure you’re specifically targeting a given audience to provide the most value.

• Tell a story: You need to share your story with new subscribers and clients. It’s your ability to tell a story that’ll pique their interest and help you come off as approachable and relatable.

• Create value for them: Yes, you’re in this business to make money. But you also need to provide value to your readers to bond with them. Only then will they come to you for more.

Wrap up

Establishing yourself as a trusted authority figure in the health and fitness industry takes time. Not only do you have to prove to others that you know what you’re talking about, you also have to relate to them on a personal level. 

The best way to do this is to keep these personal trainer email ideas in mind:

• Get to know the trainer

• Trainer tips and tricks

• Trainer recommendations

Ready to take your personal trainer email marketing to the next level? Contact us today to set up a demo - we’ll show you exactly what we can do for you.