One of the keys to improving member retention rates in your gym is undoubtedly the way you connect and communicate with your members.

Email is a fantastic tool for connecting with members and should be incorporated in any strategy for communicating with your gym members.

The benefits of email is that’s it’s free, it can be sent in bulk and it can be automated using the right software.

The bad thing about email is that open rates tend to be relatively low (20-50%) which makes it harder to get your message through.

The secret to successfully using email to engage and connect with your members is in your messaging.

If you get your messaging wrong the results you get from email are going to be limited.

The biggest mistake gyms make when it comes to using email in their communication and retention strategies is that they phrase their emails as one to many rather than one to one.

Emails that are written as one to many tend to be the ones we gloss over and send straight to the trash can.

A typical one to many email sounds very formal and will be addressing a group rather than an individual.

Many gyms make the mistake of trying to be too corporate and formal in their communication with members.

For example,

Dear Members,

I write to you today to update you on two important matters…

Blah… Blah… Blah…

We have found that emails that are written in a one to one style have a much better open rate and lead to greater engagement from members.

A one to one email should be written like you’re writing to a close friend.

Introducing SPEAR emails

We teach our clients a simple acronym to help them craft more effective and engaging emails.

That acronym is S.P.E.A.R.

This stands for…

• Short
• Personal
• Expecting a Response

Short – These emails should be short – One to two lines

Personal – The tone should be personal- It should feel like its written as one to one or a close friend

Expecting a response – The last sentence should be framed as a question that is inviting a response

Here are two examples of SPEAR emails

Hi Jack,

How are you going with your workouts?

Warm regards

Brad Jones

Hi Ben,

How are you? Would you like to arrange a catch-up and review your training progress?

Cheers

Brad Jones

The goal of these emails is to get a response as well as make the member feel like you’re invested and care about their success.

They are much more personal and have a one to one feel.

This doesn’t mean that you cannot automate these emails. The beauty of email is its scalability and its important to take advantage of that.

With our clients, we typically program at least two spear emails in the member’s journey over the first 90 days using our FitDesk software.

For example, we may program one SPEAR email 7 days after the member has started a program and then again after 45 days.

Test this out in your gym and I promise the results will surprise.

If you would like to learn more about how to master email in your retention strategy feel free to contact us on 1300 181 665.