Investing your time and money to send out a newsletter for your sports business may not be at the top of your priorities, especially with all the things on your to-do list. However, creating a comprehensive plan for your email campaign could be what pushes leads into paying customers, one-time customers into loyal clients, and consistent clients into lifetime members of your organization.
Whether you own a sports facility, fitness center, boutique gym, or sports performance business, creating an email marketing campaign can benefit your company. 4 billion people use their email everyday, and are receiving emails from your competitors. How can you set yourself apart from the competition without overcrowding customers’ already full inbox? Don’t worry, we can help! Taking just a few hours per week can make a huge impact by creating familiarity and trust around your organization.
P.S. Upper Hand saves customers an average of 5-10 hours per week with its sports management software. Get a demo of Upper Hand and see how you can save time on admin tasks like scheduling to reinvest in other areas of your business!
Why do I need a newsletter for my sports business?
As stated before, there are 4 billion daily email users. Here are some statistics found on Snovio that may further convince you to start an email campaign:
- 89% of marketers use email as the primary channel for generating leads.
- Email is the first check of the day for 58% of users.
- Email generates $36 for every $1 spent, which means that the ROI is 3600%.
Email marketing also acquired 40 times more customers than Facebook and Twitter combined with the average click-through rates for each channel:
- Email marketing (3.57%)
- Facebook (0.07%)
- Twitter (0.03%)
How do I go about starting a sports business newsletter?
As the statistics show, email marketing is very effective for marketing campaigns. So, are you now thinking about starting an email marketing campaign? If so, here are some things to consider and plan before you write your first email.
Create your goals and objectives
In order to find direction, you should come up with a few goals and objectives. A goal is broad, and points in the direction that you want your business to go. An example of a goal could be to grow brand awareness in your community. An objective defines specific and measurable outcomes that will lead you towards your goal. An objective could be to gain 10% more paying customers over the next 1 year.
Spending some time mapping out your goals and objectives will not only help you figure out where you want your business to be, it will also help you when you are creating your emails. With each email, ask yourself if it points in the direction of your goals and objectives.
Find your target audience
Now that you have defined your goals and objectives, you must figure out your audience. You can use demographics from your current or past clients to figure out the “customer persona” that you are trying to reach. Once you find their demographics, you will determine their goals and barriers. What are they looking for in a sports business and what might be keeping them from obtaining that?
An example of a customer persona is a man between the ages of 30 and 45, whose income level is $60,000-$70,000 and has 3 children. This man is looking for a sports facility that has lots of classes or clinics for his three kids who are all involved in different sports. He needs to be able to quickly sign up for classes and rely on your facility. Once you figure out one or two different different personas, you are better able to tailor your email content.
If your persona is a woman aged 20-35 who is looking for classes to attend after a 9-5 job, you may write content about how to schedule your workouts between work, meals, and other activities, or some healthy meal prep ideas for your work day.
Figuring out your audience is vital in generating business. If you know who you are speaking to, you are able to connect with them and their needs, and they will be drawn to your organization.
Implement subscriber segmentation
Subscriber segmentation is the most effective email marketing campaign strategy. Segmentation is the division of email subscribers into smaller sections based on a certain criteria. So, this could be sending different emails to customers depending on what stage they are in in the marketing funnel. Maybe they just signed up for your emails, so you send them information regarding signing up for classes, and why they should choose your organization. If they are loyal customers, you might consider sending updates on the company, upcoming events, and your class schedule. Another example would be sending customers a special gift on their birthday to show that you care about them as a member of your community. Take a look at our article on how to create a birthday campaign in 30 minutes or less.
Each of these email types is tailored to your customer, and it will set you apart from your competition. Customers will see the extra effort you put into your email campaign, and begin to trust your brand. You may be overwhelmed by the idea of writing many different emails for different customers, but don’t worry. There are tips and tricks that will be outlined later in this post so that you’re not spending too much time constructing your emails.
Now that I have a foundation, how do I write my newsletter?
You now have the things you need in order to write your first newsletter! However, it might be difficult to know what to write about and come up with ideas. Don’t panic! Laid out are a few best practices for writing your newsletter, as well as ideas and tips to make your process easier.
Best practices for writing a great newsletter
In order to capture your audience, it is vital to have an attention grabbing introduction. Make sure the audience knows what your post will be about right away. Including visuals is also important, and will keep your readers engaged. It is important to keep your information simple and uncluttered, with information that your audience will benefit from.
Templates
Templates are also a vital part of planning your email campaign. It is important to ensure that your emails are consistent in their voice and branding across all channels. Once you have your templates created, you can easily plug in your content and have it ready to send.
AI, Content Ideas, and Planning
Once you have everything you need to begin your email marketing campaign, it may be difficult to think of topics to cover and how exactly to write a compelling newsletter for your audience. Good thing for you, we have included resources and ideas that will help save time during this process of your campaign.
With all the recent advances in technology, it is important to get ahead and use them to your advantage. Chat gpt is a great source to give you ideas for your newsletter, or even give you a starting point for writing. HubSpot also offers an AI Marketing Asset called Campaign Assistant that can generate copy for your email campaign. Using this resource will allow you to spend more time with all the other tasks on your list.
Here are some other topic ideas for your newsletter:
- Introduction: Key Services and/or Products
- Upcoming Events, Camps, Clinics, and other Programs
- New Class Schedule
- Exclusive Discounts and Offers
- Training Tips and Workout Guides
- Behind the Scenes Content on Training Sessions, Team Updates, or Events Preparation
- Staff Member Highlights
- Customer/Client Testimonials
- Contests and Giveaways
- Expert Interviews or Industry Insights
- Motivational Content
Lastly, planning is a major key in a marketing campaign. In your content calendar, make sure to add the dates you want your emails to send, and have each email ready in advance. This will keep you organized, and if you have a busier week than normal, you will still be able to get your newsletters sent.
Ready to get started?
And there you have it! Creating a sports business newsletter for your brand might seem daunting at first, but you now have what it takes to make it happen. Your email campaign will help familiarize your brand, build trust, and strengthen your marketing campaign. Happy emailing!
