Email Marketing For Personal Trainers: The 5 Best Strategies

We love doing email marketing for personal trainers and fitness coaches. It’s one of those often-overlooked promo strategies that can have really powerful business results.

In this guide – we outline the most effective email marketing strategies for personal trainers that have worked for our fitness clients.

We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped personal trainers, fitness coaches, and online influencers to promote their businesses using email, so our strategies are tried and tested.

Effective Email Marketing Strategies for Personal Trainers

Email marketing can seem a bit daunting to some fitness trainers, mainly because of the tech involved. While social media is something that most of us are familiar with using, email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Convert Kit are a bit more foreign.

But email doesn’t have to be complicated. So we’re going to focus on the most effective strategies for personal trainers that generate more leads, clients, and revenue…

1. Welcome emails
2. Client follow-up emails
3. Newsletters
4. Promo emails
5. Automated nurture sequences

Let’s talk about what’s involved in each of these email strategies and why they’re so effective for fitness professionals specifically…

We offer email marketing services and DIY solutions for fitness businesses. You can hire us to create your email strategy, set up automated sequences, and write impactful email content (get in touch here). Or you can purchase our Email Marketing Kit which is packed with pre-written templates, guides, and done-for-you lead magnets.

Welcome emails

Welcome emails are sent to new subscribers as soon as they sign up for your list. They’re useful for establishing a relationship between personal trainers and potential clients. With the right approach, a good welcome email can turn strangers into qualified leads for your PT business.

Much like a welcome email for a gym, it should introduce your personal training brand, let them know what to expect, and deliver any freebies you promised (like a fitness training ebook or lead magnet).

Your welcome email for a personal trainer might say something like…

Thanks for signing up – I’m so glad you’re here! As promised, here is a link to download your [insert a link to free ebook, etc].

I’ve been working with clients just like you for [insert number of years] and understand what it’s like to [insert common challenge your clients face]. Which is why I put together the [freebie name] so that you can [how it helps address their challenge].

I’ll also be sending you helpful fitness and nutrition tips over the coming weeks so look out for those in your inbox (and add me to your address book so I don’t get lost in the spam folder!).

If you want to get started straight away, then check out my [insert training program or online fitness course]. Or hit reply and tell me more about your fitness goals – I read every single email 🙂

This welcome email template delivers on the freebie, introduces your personal training background, and lets subscribers know what to expect from future emails. It also makes them aware of your training programs and makes it easy for people to buy immediately if they’re ready.

So, how do you set up your welcome emails so that they’re sent automatically to new subscribers?

Simply head to the ‘automation’ section of your email marketing platform. Create a new autoresponder series and use the template text above for your first email. Then schedule it to be sent as soon as someone subscribes to your list. That’s it!

Personal Trainer Follow-up Emails

Sending follow-up emails to potential personal training clients is a crucial step in the sales process. If someone enquires or you have an intro assessment, then that person is a hot lead. You just need to get them over the line and emails can be a powerful way to do this.

A good personal trainer follow-up email should…

• Summarize what you discussed and what the client’s goals/needs are
• Outline why your training program is the ideal solution and how it’ll help them
• Ask them to sign up

Sending a personal training email to clients that covers these points is much more likely to end in a sale. The first section shows that you’ve listened, understand their unique needs, and sets a professional tone. The second section really sells your training services by showcasing how they’ll solve the client’s issues. The third part is where you get them to take action and buy (but it’s something personal trainers often forget or feel awkward including).

So next time you send a follow-up email to a personal training client, follow this format to increase your success rate!

Email Newsletters

Sending regular email newsletters is a great way for personal trainers to showcase their expertise and promote their services. Sharing regular tips and insights will position you as an authority in your chosen training area.

Providing valuable info consistently is a really effective way to build and nurture relationships with your audience. People will start to look forward to your emails landing in their inbox because they’re so packed with juicy content!

Newsletters also give you another channel to promote your own personal training services. Every email newsletter you send should include at least one reference to your programs or online products. It might be a snippet about something new you’re adding to a package or a client success story that showcases their epic results.

Check out this list of wellness-themed newsletter ideas to get started.

Promo Emails

Sending promotional emails is a crucial marketing tactic for any personal trainer. Promo emails are designed to generate sales so they’re vital for driving revenue.

This might involve promoting a specific personal training package, upselling people to a higher-value bundle, or plugging a special offer.

A really good promotional email should…

• Hook the reader and give them a reason to be interested (e.g. through an enticing subject line).
• Outline the benefits of what you’re promoting (i.e. what’s in it for them, not just a list of features).
• Get them to act immediately (otherwise they’ll get distracted and then forget about it).

If you can nail all three of these elements, then you’ve got a winning combination that’ll drive immediate sales.

Automated Nurture Sequences

Automated nurture sequences are probably the most advanced marketing strategy for personal trainers. They involve creating a series of emails that build a relationship with would-be clients and get them to want your products or services. If you’re selling high-ticket fitness training where people need a bit more convincing to buy, then email sequences are an ideal sales approach.

While this does take a bit more upfront work, it can generate a steady flow of paying clients once set up. It’s the email strategy that Life Time Fitness used to generate an extra $600,000 in revenue so it definitely works!

Nurture sequences involve sending a series of emails over several days that warm people up to buy from you. A simple nurture sequence might include five emails that…

• Get people to know, like, and trust you by giving them a freebie/taster and telling them about your expertise.
• Outline your offering and the benefits it provides for clients.
• Share a client case study or testimonial that proves your training gets results.
• Send an FAQs email that addresses common objections and removes barriers to purchasing.
• Give people an incentive to buy immediately, such as a bonus that disappears after 24 hours.

People who go through this funnel will be more likely to buy from you than those who just get a single promo email. The email series warms them up and persuades them to purchase within a few days. Try using this template for your own personal training services and let us know how you get on!

Email Marketing for Personal Trainers

We offer email marketing services and DIY solutions for fitness businesses. You can hire us to create your email strategy, set up automated sequences, and write impactful email content (get in touch here). Or you can purchase our Email Marketing Kit which is packed with pre-written templates, guides, and done-for-you lead magnets.

The fitness email marketing templates and resources make it easy to generate leads and sales revenue. They include a step-by-step playbook, done-for-you email templates, and resources to help you get results. From coming up with the perfect lead magnet and growing your list, to sending effective emails that help you sell more, this kit has it all.