Email Drip Campaigns for Fitness Apps: Boost Retention & User Engagement
Let's face it: it's not easy to keep gym-goers coming back. Studies show that almost 50% of new members quit within the first six months. That's a huge number! And it's a problem that hits gyms and fitness clubs hard. When members leave, it not only cuts into your revenue, it also hinders your business growth.
So what's going on? In many ways, it all comes down to engagement. If members don't feel connected to their gym or fitness app, they're more likely to leave. As the saying goes, "Houston, we have a problem.”
But the good news is that there is a solution. Personalized communication, especially through fitness emails, can make a big difference. One of the most effective ways to do this is through email drip campaigns.
In this article, we'll explain how email marketing can help you keep your members engaged and loyal. And you'll see what you can do.
What is User Engagement in the Fitness Industry?
Member engagement is how connected and active users are with your gym, trainers, and fitness app. Engaged users attend workouts, track their progress, and use your app regularly. On the other hand, when engagement is low, users stop attending classes and eventually cancel.
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Why is engagement so hard to get (and even harder to keep)?
High competition. Today, your prospects have a lot of choices to pick. They can go to your gym, the gym down the street, work out with an online trainer on YouTube or follow their own program at home.
Another reason is quite simple: motivation. People start out with a strong attitude, but they often lose motivation without proper encouragement. They do not understand why they have to work so hard every day and what it is going to bring them in return. So if you're just starting out and wondering how to build a fitness app that will keep users engaged, the first thing to think about is motivation. Now let's see how personalized fitness apps and emails help.
What are Email Drip Campaigns?
This term refers to a series of automated customer retention emails. The content and trigger for sending an email is based on the user's actions or behavior, or on a specific event (a goal achieved, an upcoming date, an interesting event, etc.). The goal of email drip campaigns is to build relationships with users over time. This can be achieved with useful and relevant content (as well as catchy subject lines and funny sign-offs, but more on that later).
In the case of email marketing for fitness, drip campaigns can:
- Welcome new users and help them get started.
- Remind inactive users to come back.
- Celebrate achievements, such as 10 workouts.
- Promote new features, classes, or challenges.
The key to success is personalization and timing. By sending the right message at the right time, you can keep users engaged and coming back for more.
A few words before you rush out to launch your email campaign. We strongly recommend that you perform email verification. It's not only important, it's necessary. Consider this: if you send email to unverified addresses, you can damage your reputation, get blacklisted, and simply throw money away. Conversely, if you use a reliable email verification tool, you can avoid spam, delete invalid emails, and reduce your false bounce rate.
7 Proven Email Drip Campaigns for Fitness Apps
To avoid being too vague, here are seven examples of effective email drip campaigns that can help retain and engage users.
1. New user welcome series
When someone joins your gym or downloads your app, a warm welcome can make all the difference:
- Start with a warm email that introduces your app and its features.
- Send a short tutorial video or instructions on how to use the app.
- Offer something special. This could be a free session with a personal trainer to make the user feel valued.
2. Inactive member engagement newsletter
When a gym user hasn't logged in or visited for a long time, it's time to bring them back. How do you do this? This is where customer retention emails come into play. Send a friendly "We miss you!" email and offer them a discount on their next membership renewal. Or invite them to try a new class or feature for free.
3. Fitness emails celebrating small steps
Do you know what keeps people motivated? Celebrating small steps and small wins. Did your users complete 10 workouts in a row? Great! Send them an email congratulating them on reaching a new milestone. Did they burn 2,000 calories? That's a great reason to remind them of their accomplishment. A little recognition can go a long way in keeping people engaged.
4. Personalized training recommendations
Use data from your app to send personalized workout recommendations. For example:
- If a user is focused on building strength, recommend a 30-day strength plan.
- If they're a runner, share new research on how to develop speed endurance.
But be careful: even the best content can be ruined by a bad subject line. Don't make it boring or vague. Instead, make your subject lines clear and concise so that people read the entire email.
5. Class or challenge reminders
The main goal of email marketing for fitness is to inform, support, and encourage your clients' progress. Help your members stay on track by sending them customer retention emails with reminders about upcoming classes or challenges. A quick email: "Don't forget, your stretching class starts in 2 hours!" can make a big difference.
6. Fitness emails asking for feedback
Show users that you value their input by asking for feedback. Send a short survey and thank them for their participation with a small reward, such as a free smoothie or a discount on their next visit.
7. Upsell and cross-sell campaigns
Offer premium features or services to your most engaged subscribers. For example, offer to upgrade them to a premium membership with exclusive training and coaching. Or encourage them to refer friends with a special reward.
Before they leave: Not sure how to close an email? Tired of sounding too formal? Try a fun or friendly way to close your email. This will make your email feel more personal and help you connect with your subscribers on a deeper level.
Conclusion As we've seen, email drip campaigns are an easy way to keep your subscribers engaged and loyal. But it's also very effective! Just a few warm words or thoughtful reminders can permanently improve your relationship with your fitness app subscribers and gym members. It honestly doesn't matter what type of member engagement newsletter you use. What matters is the content, your attention to your subscribers, and your relationship. Building relationships with customers online is difficult, but it's not impossible. If you know what kind of email drip campaigns to create, you're already halfway there. Start using these strategies today, and you'll see your retention rates - and your sales - skyrocket.
