Social Media Drama Reminds Us Why Email Newsletters Are So Vital to Your Fitness Business.

The biggest social media channels in the world have been in the news a lot lately. And it has renewed my belief in the power of email for marketing your small business and exercising the greatest control over your communications.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t use Facebook or any of the others — they’re still powerful tools, of course. And I’m not getting into the controversies around any of it.

But I want to refocus your attention on email newsletters to grow your business. I’ll create a new episode about it shortly, but this week I want to revisit an episode from two or three years ago. It covers a lot of the reasons why you shouldn’t rely on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or anyone else to be your primary communications channel with prospects and members. Look for that upcoming episode soon. Now, enjoy this encore edition.

#fitover50 #contentmarketing #emailnewsletters 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The biggest social media channels in the world have been in the news a lot lately, as you probably know, with Facebook and Instagram ownership making lots of headlines and TikTok being banned and then not banned and I don't even know where it is right now has renewed my belief in the power of email for marketing your small business and for exercising the greatest control over your communications. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't use Facebook or any of the others they're still powerful tools, of course, and I am not getting into any of the controversies around all of this but I want to focus your attention on email newsletters to grow your business. I'm going to create a new episode about it shortly, but this week I want to revisit a really useful episode from two or three years ago. It covers a lot of the reasons why you shouldn't rely on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or anyone else to be your primary communications channel with prospects and members. So look for that upcoming episode soon. For now, enjoy this encore edition of Optimal Aging.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Hi everybody, I'm Jay Croft and welcome to the Optimal Aging Podcast, where we discuss the business of exercise, healthy living and well-being for people 50 and over. Each week, we explore what healthy living means for millions of people over age 50 and what's coming next, with a focus on communications, content and making powerful connections. Now here's a story this week for all you gym or studio owners out there who say you don't have time to manage an email list or send out emails to prospects and clients on a regular basis. I hear this a lot from some of you that you know you think email is passe or nobody reads anymore, or you don't want to be annoying to people on your email list, or you don't have time to gather people to start a new email list, et cetera. So I want to tell you about Paolo Andaleft of Fit Factor in Fort Lauderdale, florida. Paolo is a friend of mine. He's a member of the Functional Aging Institute mastermind. He's a veteran studio owner with his partner, michael Johnston in Fort Lauderdale. They've been at it for more than 20 years doing great and serving this market, this over 50 market. I saw Paulo last week at the mastermind gathering of the Functional Aging Institute in Nashville and he shared this story that I'm going to share with you. So thanks, paulo, for letting me deliver this to everybody. Listening Back in 2017, paolo sent one email that has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in ongoing revenue and is still generating new referral clients right now.

Speaker 1: 3:19

That's right. One email has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. How is that possible? Well, here's what he said last week in Nashville. He said when we first launched small group training, I sent out a newsletter because we had never offered small group training before. And I got an email from a man who said I live down the street from you, what's up with this? Well, that man signed up immediately. Right, and he liked the training so much that he brought in his wife and then his adult kids and eventually a few friends of the family.

Speaker 1: 3:59

The referrals continued as recently as a few weeks ago and so far Paolo has won over eight clients from that single email. He says that's the power of an email, thank you. And how much did it cost? Zero, I spent nothing. To get eight clients. I wrote an email. Don't underestimate the power of it. So referrals like this give instant authority to your gym or studio. As Paulo said, when they come in from a referral, they are ready to sign. They're not asking a lot of questions about cost or anything else.

Speaker 1: 4:39

Paolo's clients often stay for many years. Fit Factor has been in business for 21 years. Most of the eight who joined because of this one email joined shortly after Paolo sent out that email five years ago and they've all stayed so if you multiply the monthly fees over time, you get a conservative estimate of lifetime value easily $250,000, probably more, it's possible to say, of course, but Apollo has low turnover and clearly those eight are true believers in what he's offering. Regardless of the final number, it's still an amazing return on one email. Like all smart gym and studio owners, paulo has been nurturing his email list of clients and prospects for many years. He adds new people to it systematically. He consistently sends them engaging, interesting content, including some from Prime Fit content, my business. Paulo also updates his blog and his Facebook feed with Prime Fit content and with his own updates about Fit Factor.

Speaker 1: 5:50

He and his partner Michael are big believers in community involvement. They attend functions of the Chamber of Commerce and similar organizations in Fort Lauderdale. They participate in charity and community events. They practice referral marketing with other businesses and they start by asking how Fit Factor can help the other establishment first, not by going in and asking for a favor right away. Consistent communications and community involvement always pay off in the long run, so does email, and I know that's a bitter pill for some of you who insist you don't have time or that nobody wants to be bothered with emails or whatever other excuse you're using to avoid this most basic marketing tool available to all small businesses.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Marketing guru who created the Content Marketing Institute and has written a few books on content marketing and has a terrific podcast about it, and Joe is always stressing something that I believe in very much that you shouldn't build your empire on rented land. You know that means don't rely entirely on Facebook or LinkedIn or some other social media channel or any channel out there. That's not yours, because you don't own those contacts. You don't own your content that you share on Facebook and the other channels. You do own your email list. That's the one thing that you absolutely control. So I hope that Paulo's example brings home to you the value and the importance of maintaining and making the most out of your email list. Now look, I'm not telling you that you're going to one day send an email that brings in a quarter million dollars or more revenue. I don't know, maybe you will, but I do know that consistent, steady emailing of valuable, relevant content always pays off in one way or another, even if it's not always this spectacular. So is email worth it? Ask Paolo and then decide hey, everybody wants to bring in more money and to save time, right? Well, our friends at Nomly are here to help you improve your gym's communications with clients and grow your business. Join more than 300 fitness coaches who are doing more business with less work. Helps to systematize and simplify gym operations by centralizing member data and communications, so gym owners can increase their customer lifetime value, improve staff efficiencies and raise the bottom line. This centralized communications tool helps you in lots of ways. It helps you orchestrate referral programs at the push of a button, helps you hold clients accountable with built-in two-way texting, and it lets you rest assured that all your clients' messages are being handled properly. Schedule a free consultation today at nomlycom. Slash optimal-aging-podcast. That's nomly. N-a-a-m-l-ycom slash optimal-aging-podcast Back to the show.

Speaker 1: 9:25

Thank you for listening to the Optimal Aging Podcast. I'm your host, jay Croft, and I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, I hope you'll subscribe, tell a friend and write a review. All of that helps us grow our audience. I also hope you'll share any comments you have with me in an email or on social media, including suggestions for people I should interview or topics I should cover. You can learn more about me and my content business at primefitcontentcom. You can send me an email at jay at primefitcontentcom. That's jay at primefitcontentcom. I'm also on Facebook, linkedin and Instagram, so find me anywhere you like and be in touch. And again, thanks for listening. Join us next time.