If you own a Pilates studio, you know the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with your clients while you grow your business. One of the most effective (and cost-effective) ways to achieve this is through email marketing. Email marketing gives you the ability to communicate directly with your audience, share valuable information, promote special offers and events, and keep your clients engaged with your brand!
At the Pilates Education Institute, we know that a well-executed email campaign can help enhance your relationship with your clients, improve attendance, and increase revenue. If you’re thinking of exploring the world of email marketing, keep reading. We’ll share some strategies and best practices that you can put into practice to make your email marketing a success.
Build and Segment Your Email List
Creating an organized and segmented email list is at the heart of any successful email marketing campaign. You’ll need to start out by collecting email addresses from your clients, potential clients, and anyone else who shows interest in your Pilates studio. It’s critical that you receive explicit permission from each individual before sending emails. You can do this via a sign-up form on your website or in person at your studio!
Once you’ve built your initial list, you can segment it into various categories so you can send each grouping more personalized content. Some examples of different segments are:
New Clients
Send welcome emails introducing your Pilates studio, services, and perhaps a referral incentive.
Regular Clients
Offer loyalty rewards, reminders about classes or events, and special promotions.
Potential Clients
Send introductory offers, testimonials, and educational content to help encourage a sign-up.
Segmenting your mailing list will ensure your messages are relevant for each group; this will, in turn, improve engagement and conversion rates.
Intriguing Email Marketing Subject Lines
An email subject line is the first thing your clients will see in their inbox. This will determine whether they’re interested in opening your email or not. Make sure you stand out in a crowded inbox by crafting an attention-grabbing, clear, and concise subject line. We suggest adding elements of curiosity, urgency, and value to your email subject lines.
Some best practices for creating an effective email subject line include:
- Keep them short and sweet; under 50 characters is best.
- Use words that inspire the reader to take action – “Improve Your Fitness in 2025 with Pilates”
- Create a sense of urgency using phrases like “Book now” “Last chance”, etc.
- Personalize your subject lines when possible: “Sarah, RSVP for our upcoming Pilates event”
Don’t forget – a compelling email subject line can be the difference between an opened email and one that goes straight to the trash!
Offer Valuable Information
No one wants to read an email full of useless filler content. Make an effort to ensure your email content offers something of value to your audience. Provide clients with information about upcoming classes, wellness tips, or events. Whatever the case, make sure your emails are informative and useful. This will ensure your clients are engaged and will instill a sense of trust in your Pilates studio.
Here are some ideas for content that may resonate with your audience:
Class Schedules and Updates
Keep your clients informed about new classes, schedule changes, or upcoming events.
Exclusive Offers
Offer discounts on classes, special promotions for holidays, or early bird deals.
Client Success Stories
Highlight client testimonials and transformations to keep your clients inspired and motivated.
Pilates Tips
Provide helpful tips for improving form, strength, and flexibility.
When writing content for your marketing emails, make sure every email offers something useful. This will boost your open rate and decrease your unsubscribe rate!
Create Engaging Visuals
A clean and well-designed email with beautiful visuals can increase engagement and click-through rates considerably. We encourage Pilates studio owners to leverage the visual nature of their businesses to showcase high-quality images of their classes, studio, and instructors. Make sure your emails are visually appealing, easy to navigate, and, of course, mobile-friendly!
Here are some tips for effective email design:
- Use simple but professional email templates that are on-brand.
- Include clear calls to action like “book now” or “sign up today”.
- Less is more – avoid clutter and keep the layout clean and easy to read.
- Use high-quality images of your studio, and allow your audience to get the right impression of your studio.
A visually appealing email can help attract the attention of your audience and increase the likelihood that they will act on your offers.
Test and Optimize Your Email Marketing
As a Pilates studio owner, you know the importance of practice and dedication. Email marketing is no different! Email marketing is an ongoing process of testing and optimizing to find out what works best with your audience. Don’t be afraid to experiment with subject lines, designs, send times, and offers to see what resonates with your audience. A/B testing can be useful to help determine what will be the most effective with your clients.
Some elements that you can test include:
Subject Lines
Try different approaches to see which get the highest open rates.
Send Times
Test different days and times to determine when your audience is most likely to engage with your emails.
Calls to Action
Experiment with different working to see which leads to the most bookings.
Continual testing and adjustment are necessary to ensure top results!
Email Marketing Automation
Be as efficient and effective with your email marketing as possible – take advantage of email marketing automation! You can automate various types of communication, such as:
- Welcome emails
- Birthday emails
- Class reminders
- Re-engagement campaigns
Automation can save you time and allows you to ensure your clients receive timely and relevant information, making your campaigns as effective as possible.
Monitor Email Marketing Performance
Like any marketing tactic, it’s critical to gauge the success of your email marketing efforts. Make sure that you monitor key performance metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. These data points can provide insight into how well your campaigns are being received by your audience.
If you notice a dip in campaign performance, consider adjusting your strategy. You may need to refine your content, adjust your subject lines, or change your email frequency.
Email marketing is an incredibly valuable tool for any Pilates studio owner! Get ready to engage your clients with ease, promote your services, and build long-lasting relationships. We hope these tips and best practices help you create effective email campaigns that boost your Pilates studio growth.
