How to Create a Fitness Newsletter?

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of fitness newsletters. Whether you're a seasoned fitness professional or just starting, this episode will guide you through creating a compelling newsletter that grows your business. With invaluable insights and practical tips, James, Josh and Andrew reveal the secrets to engaging your audience, nurturing leads, and ultimately, enhancing your fitness business's success. Don't miss out on their expert advice. Press play now and discover how to revolutionize your fitness newsletter strategy!

Timeline Summary:

• [00:00:06] Introduction to Fitness Newsletters 
• [00:01:00] The Importance of Email Marketing
• [00:03:07] Nailing Your Niche
• [00:05:23] Newsletter Infrastructure Setup
• [00:09:20] Growing Your Subscriber Base

Key Takeaways:

1. Purpose-Driven Content: Understand the core purpose of your newsletter to provide value to your audience.
2. Consistent Scheduling: Commit to a regular posting schedule to maintain engagement and reliability.
3. Engaging and Relevant Naming: Choose a newsletter name that resonates with your target audience and reflects the content's essence.
4. Infrastructure is Key: Utilize the right tools and platforms for data collection and distribution, ensuring your newsletter reaches your audience effectively.
5. Growth Strategy: Focus on building your subscriber base organically, starting with friends and family, and expanding through social media and direct outreach.
6. Test Before Launch: Ensure all links and content work as intended to maintain professionalism and user trust.
7. Utilize AI Tools: Leverage AI, such as ChatGPT, for creative input and efficiency in naming and content generation.

Websites and Links Mentioned :

• Strength Matters
• Free Strategy Call

Quotes:

"Email marketing has been the most predictable for 20 plus years." - James Breese

"If you haven't got an email list... you're potentially leaving money on the table." - James Breese

"The newsletter is a really important part of the marketing puzzle in 2024 and beyond." - James Breese

"What job is your newsletter solving?" - James Breese

"Getting your first 1000 subscribers is the hardest thing to do." - James Breese

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Chapters

• 0:06 Introduction to Fitness Newsletters
• 1:00 The Importance of Email Marketing
• 3:07 Nailing Your Niche
• 5:23 Newsletter Infrastructure Setup
• 9:20 Growing Your Subscriber Base

Transcript

[00:00:00] James Breese: Strength Matters Media. Video. Print. Podcasts. 

[00:00:06] Josh Kennedy: Today we're talking about how to create a fitness newsletter. James, we've had a few iterations, I like the word iteration, over, over the years. What's, what's the latest one called? Actually, you used to do, what was the last one? And then what's this one called?

[00:00:19] James Breese: We had one called the brief. The 

[00:00:21] Josh Kennedy: brief, that was it, the brief. And, uh, what's, what's the new one called? 

[00:00:25] James Breese: Sunday strategy sessions, is what we're calling at the moment to help people grow their fitness business. So yeah, because of obviously we've changed our niche and strength matters to be more working towards fitness professionals, gym owners, personal trainers, health professionals, health practitioners.

[00:00:39] So it's all become about the business side of things. So what do we need to do? We have a strategy call. So we then call it the Sunday strategy sessions. So that's why we've, we've done it. But, I think this is the biggest mistake I see so many health and fitness professionals do is they don't collect client data or potential [00:01:00] leads.

[00:01:00] And they don't nurture them and they don't look after them. The most reliable, practical way of getting traffic to your website or getting, making sales. is email marketing. It's been the most predictable for 20 plus years, right? More so than Facebook advertising. It's similar. Send an email, get it open.

[00:01:22] They read it. They engage, they buy. It's also free 

[00:01:26] Josh Kennedy: as opposed to Facebook adverts. 

[00:01:28] James Breese: Yeah, it is. So, you know, you've got to, if you haven't got an email list and you haven't done a regular, got a regular newsletter going out, you're doing yourself a disservice and you're potentially leaving money on the table.

[00:01:40] And you're not helping your clients as best as you think you can do. The S in person, but what about the stuff that can help them outside of things and giving them tips, useful information to think about and ponder and answer questions that they have maybe as well. So I think the newsletter is a really important part of the marketing puzzle in 2024 and [00:02:00] beyond.

[00:02:00] And also it's free and you own and control your own traffic, which is the most important thing. 

[00:02:05] Josh Kennedy: Okay. So if we want, if somebody wants to set up a fitness newsletter, what is step number one? 

[00:02:11] James Breese: Step number one is to determine what is the purpose of your newsletter? What job is it solving? Right? So our our job And the purpose of our newsletter is to give business tips to help, help our clients get more clients and patients.

[00:02:29] That's it. That's our number one problem solving aspect of it here now is how do they help the growth of business by getting new clients and patients? So we're trying to give actual insights and tips that will help people do that. Right. And then hopefully they'll, they'll like learn and trust us and they want more help and they'll come to us for advice in terms of our sales.

[00:02:48] So it's a, That's why we're doing what we're doing, but what job is it solving? So is it to help people lose weight? Is it to help people get stronger? Is it to help people get out of pain? [00:03:00] You know, you have to decide what job is it solving. And that's only comes down to you and your business and your niche.

[00:03:07] Josh Kennedy: Nice. So, So nail, step number one, nail your niche step. Number two, choose your newsletter type and name. As we say, our newsletter is called the Sunday strategy sessions. How do people choose a good name? Cause it's always like, it's hard to do, isn't it? And you have to get obviously, you know, you, what you.

[00:03:29] think sounds good might not sound great to your clients potentially. So you have to get feedback, I 

[00:03:33] James Breese: suppose. Just to go back on, on before they define a name, you've got to define your niche even more. So when I say, what's your, what job are you solving? When it comes to your niche, you've got to drill down even more.

[00:03:45] A really good example of this is you could be a bodybuilder, right? So are you going to talk about bodybuilding? Well, everybody's talking about bodybuilding. It's already a crowded market. However, if you're a bodybuilder who's a vegan, you can discuss and share [00:04:00] your story as a bodybuilder, a vegan bodybuilder.

[00:04:03] So you're going to attract a more specific niche to come into you and solve their problem. What's the name of the guy we follow on YouTube? That's a vegan bodybuilder. Is he 

[00:04:12] Josh Kennedy: vegan? I think I know what you're talking about. His name slips my mind right now, but are you sure he's 

[00:04:15] James Breese: vegan? I can't think of it.

[00:04:17] I'm sure he's vegan. Anyway, but by the by, but that's the first thing to do is drill down to that niche to like make it even better. And then how do you come up with a. Specific name. Well, you've got to then I'd say use chat GPT or Gemini, you know, use the AI tools. That's kind of help that can we put some ideas into what we did into there and it came up with the Sunday strategy sessions.

[00:04:40] That's what came up for us. So it was quite useful thing. So you've got to think of a name that's cool. It stands out that's useful, but you know, people, some James clear from atomic habits, he uses the three, two, one method. So he calls it the 3 2 1 newsletter, which is really, you know, massive email newsletter.

[00:04:56] So it's, you've got to find something that resonates and it [00:05:00] matters to your audience and resonate with the audience too. Were you talking 

[00:05:03] Josh Kennedy: about Ryan Humiston? Is that what you're talking about? That's the one. Ryan Humiston. Yeah. He's, he's a funny fella. If you don't follow him, I'd recommend that. He's a funny fella.

[00:05:12] He is funny. Um, okay. No point, point three, set up your newsletter infrastructure. What does that look like? involve newsletter infrastructure? 

[00:05:23] James Breese: Well, the infrastructure means you've got to decide when you're going to send it. I think let's, let's start with that first. It's like part of the infrastructure is okay.

[00:05:32] Stick to a timetable and make sure you do it without fail every week. Consistency is the key to this without, and doing it, we time in, time out, week in, week out, even when you don't want to send it, you have to do it. So for us, we send it out on a Sunday, we send it out on a Sunday morning at 10 a. m. U. K.

[00:05:49] time. And ideally when it fits in the time zones, 10 a. m., everybody else as well. So that's when we send it out. So we try and do it as often and frequently as possible. So that's the first [00:06:00] thing, step by step, is to get the infrastructure in terms of when you're going to send it. Now the next infrastructure section is like, what are you gonna use to send it with?

[00:06:08] Which means you need a mini CRM or email autoresponder sequence. You've gotta have somewhere where you're capturing people's data, you're storing that data, you know what the name and email address and what they like is all about. And then you can send that email here. So you've got the classic one's, a MailChimp, which everyone uses.

[00:06:27] Uh, we use our own CRM system in terms of go high level. And that's what we advocate for all our clients to use as well when they set that up. So you've got to have infrastructure in terms of your time schedule and then the systems you'd use to collect the data and then how you're sending it out. So you're going to choose your software to make it all happen.

[00:06:45] Josh Kennedy: Andrew, you've had a few newsletters over the years. What's been your experience? 

[00:06:50] Andrew Wallis: Um, everything that James says, but then for me putting into having a format that makes it [00:07:00] easy that you can keep that consistency and getting into play. Um, um, with nowadays, I look at well, with the. Marketing assets we use, the platforms we use like YouTube or the podcast or the blogs, for example, then if you're showcasing those elements within the newsletter, then you're driving additional traffic to your, your, your platforms, be it YouTube, be it the podcast or whatever.

[00:07:30] So those platforms are seeing that you're getting consistent traffic coming through. So that increases the amplification out as well. So having some structure. Uh, and process of, of the actual content, uh, makes a lot of sense. It makes it easier then to, to think about, uh, what am I going to write this week?

[00:07:51] That's what I've found to be beneficial, uh, for myself and for clients. 

[00:07:56] Josh Kennedy: So we've got your niche, you've got your name, [00:08:00] you've written it. Potentially using the help of ChatGPT, but obviously also then putting it in your own voice to make sure that it is you and speaking to your audience, which we've spoken about on previous podcasts.

[00:08:10] Is there anything else you need to do pre launch before you send it into the world? 

[00:08:17] James Breese: Make sure it works. That's a really important thing. It's so simple, like you can press send to like, whatever you're doing, you lose all the content. So test that for yourself. Choose, obviously you have, hopefully you have your business email address.

[00:08:28] So send it to one of your personal email addresses to make sure it goes through. That's, that is the, probably the most important thing is make sure it is working accordingly. Because there's nothing more depressing than seeing your emails not being read or opened. That's just horrendous. So keep that in mind.

[00:08:46] Selling is important. 

[00:08:47] Andrew Wallis: Yeah, most, most CRMs have that test, um, ability that, uh, to send it out because, hey, I've made the mistake in the past. I've sent something out and then realize when it comes through live [00:09:00] that the links, if you're linking out to your blog post or your YouTube, it's not working. Yeah, 

[00:09:08] Josh Kennedy: absolutely.

[00:09:09] So test, make sure that it works. Um, what are some, once you've sent you. Email, uh, your newsletter out and it works and people are opening it. What are some ways to good ways to grow it after 

[00:09:20] James Breese: that? So, yeah, I think, I think the hardest thing to do is to get your first 1000 subscribers. That's the hardest thing to do, and that's the goal you should be focusing on, but do it in stages 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, think of it in terms of that, those are your goals.

[00:09:38] So the first thing you got to do is I would create a landing page, right? Which means a page on your website or like a simple standalone page. In any of the website or landing page builders out there where you collect your name and email address and stores it in a database. That's the first thing you're going to do is that people need to [00:10:00] go there and then need to understand what it's about.

[00:10:03] So landing page, clearly defined. What is it you do? So our Sunday strategy sessions are all about helping health and fitness business owners get new clients and patients, or get more clients and patients, depending on which way you're looking. That's our purpose. So it's a newsletter to help you get more clients and patients.

[00:10:20] Can you define your newsletter as succinctly as that? That is the, that is the key topic here. So a landing page, all that data, and then you're going to post and send to your friends and family members. How about that? If they're interested in doing this or friends or acquaintances or colleagues who are into fitness, or want to learn more about it, you know about them, send a text message to them, get your first 10 subscribers first, right?

[00:10:45] And see if they get, they get your emails and then you can start doing posts and social media. So to get to your first a hundred subscribers. Organic methods, posting your Facebook, posting your Twitter, posting on Instagram, wherever you want to do it, start posting [00:11:00] and say, Hey, I'm coming up with a new newsletter.

[00:11:02] It's all about X, Y, Z. I'd love it if you opt in, you know, you'd really be helping me out. So you're appealing to your friends and family first as a starting point. That's the first thing, but, but somewhere they can put the data in. 

[00:11:16] Josh Kennedy: Data capture all about getting those emails. Absolutely. So could you sum up then briefly, what are the key takeaways from starting your own fitness newsletter?

[00:11:26] James Breese: Key takeaways. If you want to grow your health and fitness business and get more clients and patients, you need a newsletter to engage people. So key takeaways are, choose a name, choose a niche, be ultra specific with that niche. Create a landing page that you can collect data and store data and choose a software platform for you to send this information out.

[00:11:45] Josh Kennedy: Fantastic. Yeah, that's good. Andrew, anything you want to add before we wrap 

[00:11:48] Andrew Wallis: up? No, all good on that. Um, I think that's nice and succinct, uh, on, on that piece. 

[00:11:54] Josh Kennedy: Great, great episode. Thank you very much. That is it for today. Please don't forget to rate, review and subscribe. And if you want help getting [00:12:00] more clients or patients, then book 15 minute strategy call with us by going to strengthmatters.

[00:12:05] com forward slash strategy.