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Tips For Improving Your Fitness Email Marketing Strategy

Fazeela — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:00:20 +0000

Email marketing is a powerful tool that fitness businesses can use to engage and retain their customers. However, crafting an email marketing strategy that works can be challenging.

In this ultimate guide to email marketing for fitness studios, we will cover everything you need to know in order to create a successful fitness email marketing campaign, including:

Why do fitness businesses need email marketing?
What makes a successful email marketing campaign?
How to create and implement a fitness email marketing strategy?

So, let’s get started!

Why Do Fitness Businesses Need Email Marketing?

If you’re a fitness business owner, email marketing is a great way to interact with your existing clients and attract new ones. There are many reasons why fitness businesses need email marketing, but here are some of the most important ones:

Email is a direct line of communication with your customers. It’s a way to stay in touch with them and let them know about new products, services, or deals that you’re offering. Regular communication builds relationships, fostering a sense of community and loyalty among your clients.
Email is an excellent tool for client retention. Regular updates, success stories, and motivational content keep your clients engaged, reducing the likelihood of attrition. Effective communication through email can remind clients of the value your fitness business provides.
Email marketing can be highly personalized. You can segment your email list by interests, demographics, or even purchase history and then send targeted messages to each segment. This ensures that your customers only get the information they actually care about.
Email marketing is cost-effective. It’s one of the most affordable marketing channels available and offers a high return on investment (ROI).

What Makes a Successful Fitness Email Marketing Campaign?

With so many businesses using email marketing, how can you make sure yours stands out? There are several key components to a successful fitness email marketing campaign. Here are some of the most important ones:

1. A clear and concise message.

Your email should have a specific purpose: promote a new product, announce a sale, or invite customers to your fitness studio. Provide content that is valuable, relevant, and engaging. This can include workout tips, success stories, nutrition advice, or exclusive offers. Use a mix of visuals, such as images and videos, to enhance the appeal.

2. Compelling subject line.

The subject line is the first thing recipients see. A compelling subject line grabs attention amid the clutter of emails in a crowded inbox and entices the recipient to open the email.

Craft a clear subject line that also accurately reflects the content of the email. A relevant subject line gives recipients a preview of what they can gain or learn by opening the email, making them more likely to engage with it.

3. Eye-catching visuals.

Engaging visuals immediately capture attention and create a visually appealing email. In the fitness industry, where aesthetics and motivation are key, vibrant images of workouts, healthy lifestyles, or fitness transformations can be highly compelling.

Well-designed visuals break up text and enhance the overall readability of your emails. Bullet points, infographics, and visually organized content make it easier for recipients to consume information, keeping them engaged throughout the email.

4. A strong call to action (CTA).

A clear and compelling CTA prompts recipients to take a specific action, such as signing up for a class, redeeming an offer, or visiting your website. It provides a direct pathway for turning interest into engagement.

A strong CTA also aligns with your campaign goal and ensures that the purpose of your email is clear and focused. It eliminates ambiguity and guides recipients on what steps to take next. This clarity is essential for a seamless and effective user experience.

5. A sense of urgency.

Including elements of urgency in your CTA, such as “Limited Time Offer” or “Act Now,” motivates recipients to take immediate action. This urgency can be a powerful motivator, especially in fitness promotions or time-sensitive offers.

How to Create and Implement a Fitness Email Marketing Strategy

Now that you know the importance of email marketing for fitness studios and what makes a successful fitness email marketing campaign, it’s time to learn how to create and implement your own fitness email marketing strategy.

Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

1. Define your goals.

Clearly outline the goals you want to achieve with your email marketing. These could include increasing class attendance, promoting fitness programs, driving membership sign-ups, or enhancing overall engagement.

2. Build your email list.

Create a segmented and targeted email list. Collect email addresses through sign-up forms on your website, during in-person events, and through other touchpoints. Segment your list based on demographics, preferences, or engagement levels for more personalized campaigns.

A quality email list allows you to reach a targeted audience who has already expressed interest in your fitness services or products. These individuals are more likely to engage with your content, leading to higher conversion rates.

3. Choose a reliable email marketing platform

Select a reliable email marketing platform that suits your needs. Popular platforms include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Sendinblue. Ensure the platform allows for easy list segmentation and automation. A reliable platform should also provide robust analytics and reporting features, allowing you to track key metrics and make informed decisions to optimize your future campaigns.

Integration with other tools and systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software or e-commerce platforms, is important for a seamless marketing strategy.

4. Craft compelling content

Create engaging and relevant content for your emails with strong CTAs. Compelling content helps build a strong connection between your brand and your audience. When your emails consistently provide valuable, interesting, or inspiring information, it enhances brand loyalty and encourages subscribers to identify with your fitness brand.

Well-crafted, shareable content has the potential to go viral, extending the reach of your fitness campaign beyond your email subscribers. When your audience finds your content interesting or inspiring, they may share it with their networks, amplifying the impact of your message.

5. Personalize your emails.

Personalization increases engagement. Address recipients by name, tailor content based on their preferences, and send targeted messages. Personalized emails make your audience feel valued and increase the likelihood of action. When subscribers receive content that aligns with their fitness goals, preferences, or past interactions, it also enhances their satisfaction and makes them feel more valued as customers.

6. Design mobile-friendly emails

A significant portion of users access their emails on mobile devices. Ignoring mobile optimization means missing out on a large and growing segment of your audience. Designing emails that are mobile-friendly ensures that your content is accessible to a wide range of users.

Mobile-friendly emails also provide a better user experience for recipients accessing content on smartphones or tablets. Properly formatted and responsive designs ensure that users can easily read and interact with your fitness content, leading to increased engagement.

7. Use A/B testing

Experiment with A/B testing to optimize your campaigns. Test different elements such as subject lines, content, images, and CTAs to understand what resonates best with your audience. Use the insights to refine your future campaigns.

A/B testing also helps determine the factors that contribute to higher engagement rates. Whether it’s the timing of your emails, the tone of your messaging, or the visual appeal of your content, testing different variations enables you to pinpoint the strategies that result in increased opens, clicks, and overall engagement.

8. Track, measure, and optimize your results.

Regularly monitor the performance of your email campaigns. Track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Analyze the data to understand what works well and identify areas for improvement.

Successful Email Marketing Tips for Fitness Businesses

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing for fitness studios.

Keep your list clean and up-to-date. The first step to successful email marketing for fitness businesses is ensuring your contact list is clean and up-to-date. This means removing any inactive or unengaged subscribers and ensuring that all the contact information on your list is correct.
Keep your emails short and sweet. Nobody likes to read a long, wordy email. Get to the point and be concise.
Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. With more people reading emails on their smartphones than ever, it’s important to ensure your fitness emails are mobile-friendly. This means using a responsive email template, shortening your subject lines, and keeping your images small.
Keep your calls to action clear and concise. Make it easy for recipients to take the desired action by including a clear and visible CTA.
Automate where possible. Implement marketing automation for tasks such as welcome emails, birthday offers, or follow-up sequences. Automation saves time and ensures consistent communication.
Timing is everything. When you send your emails can be just as important as what you say in them. Experiment with different days and times to find the best send time for your fitness email marketing campaign.
Solicit feedback. Encourage feedback from your subscribers through surveys or direct communication. Use this feedback to improve your offerings and tailor future email campaigns.

In Summary

Email marketing for fitness studios is incredibly important now more than ever. Following the tips and advice in this guide, you can create a successful fitness email marketing campaign to help you achieve your fitness business goals. Here’s a quick recap for you:

Email marketing for fitness gyms is important because email is a direct line of communication with the customers and the best way to stay in touch with them.
Email marketing can be highly personalized based on your clients’ interests, purchase history and goals to ensure you make the best out of your campaign.
A clear message, eye-catching visuals, a strong call-to-action, and a sense of urgency are some of the important attributes of a successful email campaign.
Email marketing for fitness gyms start with defining the goals first and following up by building an email list.
Segment your email list by interests, demographics, purchase history or goals.
Create high-quality content and finally track, measure, and optimize your results.

The post Tips For Improving Your Fitness Email Marketing Strategy appeared first on Fitli.

Facebook Ads Tips for Dance Studios (That Actually Work)

Fazeela — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:30:22 +0000

Facebook ads for dance studios can boost sign-ups and ultimately, growth in business . With 2.97 billion users and 1.62 billion daily active users, Facebook is a goldmine of potential customers for your Barre, Zumba, Jazzercise, Hip Hop, and any other type of dance classes you teach. But that can also be a problem.

With so many people using Facebook, how do you market your dance studio and get an influx of ideal customers? It’s important to make sure your ads are effective and reach the right audience. Here are ten tips to help you perfect your dance studio advertising on Facebook.

Target Your Ads to Specific Demographics, Interests, and Behaviors
Target Keywords
Use High-Quality Images or Videos
Use Video Ads for Extra Impact
Keep Your Copy Brief and to the Point
Optimize for Mobile
Create Compelling Offers
Continuously Test Your Ads
Incorporate Social Proof
Time Your Ad
Call to Action

Tips for Effective Facebook Ads for Dance Studios

When leveraging the power of Facebook ads, it’s important to ensure your ads are as focused and targeted as possible. Use these advertising ideas for dance studios to help you create effective Facebook ads:

Target Your Ads to Specific Demographics, Interests, and Behaviors

Creating a Facebook ad is not about reaching the most people but reaching the right people. Who is your target audience? What do they like? What do they care about? These are the questions you should be asking yourself before creating your Facebook ad and writing ad copy.

Ensure that every ad you create targets a specific demographic, interest, or behavior. For example, when it comes to demographics, target adults aged 20-40 for fitness dance classes since this age group is more likely to take an unconventional and fun route to fitness. As for the behaviors and interests, target people who have previously attended dance classes or purchased dance-related products online.

With Facebook’s advanced targeting options, you can capture the attention of people who are not only likely to show interest in your services but may also be willing to sign-up. You can target your dance studio Facebook ad based on these target audiences:

Core Audience: This is the audience you target based on specific demographic, interest, behavior, or location.

Custom Audiences: You can create custom audiences by uploading a list of your existing customers’ emails or phone numbers. This way, you can target people who have already shown interest in your dance studio or retarget past customers who haven’t been to your studio in a while.

Lookalike Audiences: Once you have a custom audience, you can also create a lookalike audience. Facebook will then target users who have similar characteristics to the people in your custom audience. This is a great way to reach new people who are likely to be interested in your dance studio.

Target Keywords

Keyword targeting is a brilliant way to increase your ad’s relevancy and focus on your desired audience. Facebook’s algorithm considers the relevance of your ad when determining its placement and cost. Using relevant keywords can lead to better ad performance, higher ad placements, and lower costs per click (CPC) or cost per conversion.

So target keywords related to dance, dance classes, or specific types of dances. Remember to use keywords naturally in your ad copy and creative. Don’t just stuff keywords into your ad; instead, craft a compelling message that speaks to your target audience’s needs, interests, and desires.

Use High-Quality Images or Videos

If you come across Facebook ads for other dance studios, you’d notice vibrant images that radiate contagious spirit and high-energy videos that make you want to join in the fun.

High-quality visuals are more likely to catch a user’s eye as they scroll through their news feed. This is the first step to getting a user to engage with your ad. High-quality images and videos also reflect professionalism and can enhance the perceived value of your brand or product.

Facebook actually prefers high-quality images and videos and your ad’s performance may be negatively impacted if your visuals are of low quality. Facebook has an ad image quality checklist that your ad images must pass.

So go ahead, hire a photographer and take some fun visuals of your dance studio, happy dancers on the floor, and your instructors in action. Use them in your Facebook ads to get more engagement — likes, shares, comments, or clicks to your website.

Use Video Ads for Extra Impact

Dance is a visual art form, and a video can showcase your studio, instructors, and members in action, capturing the energy, movement, and music that a still image cannot. Watching people dance can evoke emotions and create a connection with the viewer. This can make them more likely to engage with the ad and sign-up for a dance class.

A video allows you to showcase your dance studio’s offerings in a dynamic way, whether that’s highlighting different dance styles, showcasing the studio space, or introducing the instructors. Let your audience get the feel of what it’s like to be in your dance studio. Let them feel the energy, the adrenaline, and all the fun that fills up your fitness space. This is an excellent example of Facebook ads for dance studios.

Video content tends to get higher engagement rates than text or images. This not only increases the chance of conversion but also improves the ad’s performance and can lead to a lower cost per click (CPC).

Facebook’s algorithm also favors video content, meaning your video ad may be shown to more people than if you were using just text or images.

Keep Your Copy Brief and to the Point

In the fast-scrolling world of social media, you have a very short window of time to capture a user’s attention — 6 seconds on average to be exact (as revealed by Facebook). Brief and compelling copy can quickly grab attention and convey your message effectively in those few seconds.

Brief copy is also more suited to mobile screens and can lead to better ad performance on mobile devices. Remember to craft your ad copy to speak directly to your target audience’s needs, interests, and desires. Use language that resonates with them and clearly articulates the benefits of your offer.

Optimize for Mobile

A significant portion of Facebook users access the platform via mobile devices. According to Statista, that accounts for approximately 98 percent of active users. Thus, optimizing for mobile ensures that you are reaching the majority of your audience.

Mobile screens are smaller and have different dimensions than desktop screens. Optimizing your ad for mobile ensures that your text, images, and call to actions are clear, visible, and easy to interact with on a mobile screen. Since mobile devices also have slower internet speeds compared to desktops, make sure that your ad loads quickly and doesn’t frustrate users with slow loading times.

test your ad on different mobile devices and screen sizes to ensure that it looks good and functions well on all of them. Consider using Facebook’s automatic placements feature, which automatically optimizes your ad placements across Facebook’s family of apps and services to get the best results for your campaign.

Create Compelling Offers

What’s in it for your customers? Why should they choose you over the other dance studios in your area? Be sure to include a compelling offer that speaks to your target audience and encourages them to take action and sign up for your dance classes. Here are some compelling offers that Facebook ads for dance studios can use:

Free Trial Class: Offer a free trial class to new members. This removes the risk for them to try out your studio and can lead to them signing up for more classes.
Discount on First Month: Offer a discount on the first month of classes for new members. This can make it more affordable for them to get started.
Bundle Offers: Offer a bundle of classes at a discounted rate. For example, “Sign up for three months of classes and get one month free.”
Early Bird Discounts: Offer a discount for those who sign up for a new class or workshop before a certain date.
Refer a Friend Discount: Offer a discount to current members who refer a friend who signs up for classes.
Special Workshops or Events: Promote special workshops or events that are not regularly offered, such as a dance workshop with a special guest instructor, a dance fitness event, or a dance performance.
Limited Time Offers: Create a sense of urgency by offering a special discount or bonus that is only available for a limited time.
Online Classes: Offer online classes or virtual workshops for those who cannot attend in person.
Private Lessons: Promote private lessons at a special rate. This can be especially appealing to those who want personalized attention.
Gift Cards: Promote gift cards at a special rate. For example, “Buy a $100 gift card for only $80.”

Continuously Test Your Ads

The best way to see what works and what doesn’t on Facebook Ads is by testing, testing, and more testing. Run multiple variations of the same ad to see which ones get clicked or shared more often. This can help you optimize your ad’s performance and get a better return on investment (ROI).

You can use different visuals with the same copy, or the same copy with different visuals to see what resonates most with your audience. The more testing you do, the better chance you have at succeeding with your Facebook Ads.

After testing, you can identify and allocate your budget to the best-performing ads, which can help reduce your cost per click (CPC) or cost per conversion.

Incorporate Social Proof

Customer testimonials, reviews, client case studies, or user-generated content are all excellent ways to show off your dance studio and convince others why they should choose you. Testimonials and reviews from past customers will give your ad a credibility boost and provide social proof to potential new customers.

People are influenced by the opinions and actions of others. Seeing that other people have had a positive experience and transformative results after joining your dance studio can influence potential customers to sign up for your classes too.

Remember to use authentic social proof and get permission from customers before using their testimonials or other user-generated content.

Time Your Ad

Timing is everything in the world of Facebook Ads. The time you post your ad can impact your click-through rates. Be sure to cross-reference your ad with when most of your target audience is likely on Facebook and ready to engage with advertisements. The best time to post on Facebook is 8.00 AM to 12.00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays when people are catching up on work and their newsfeeds.

You can also have the ad running on a specific schedule. For example, if your target customer is only active between 12 pm to 9 pm, there’s no use in having the ad running outside of this period. This also saves you some ad costs. To run the ad on a schedule, you will have to set up an ad lifetime budget instead of a daily budget and select the timings.

Call to Action

Dance studio advertising, or any advertising for that matter, depends on a precise message conveyed to the audience. Facebook ads for dance studios should have a clear and compelling call to action with a specific action to be taken by the audience. A well-crafted CTA can increase engagement with your ad, leading to higher click-through rates and conversion rates.

A simple call to action would be for a potential customer to visit your website or follow your social media page, while an advanced call to action could include signing up for your dance classes or buying a package. A CTA that creates a sense of urgency, such as “Sign up now” or “Book your spot today,” can encourage viewers to take immediate action rather than delaying or forgetting about it.

Using a CTA also allows you to measure the effectiveness of your ad by tracking how many people took the desired action. This can provide valuable insights into the performance of your ad and help you optimize future campaigns.

In Summary

While creating effective Facebook ads for dance studios doesn’t have to be a daunting task, it does take a bit of preparation and planning. With these ten tips, you can create an incredibly powerful Facebook ad for your dance studio that will resonate with your target audience and boost conversion rates. Here’s a quick recap of dance studio advertising ideas:

Target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Use target keywords to increase your ad’s relevancy.
Use high-quality visuals to grab the audience’s attention.
Videos are likely to be more impactful when it comes to Facebook ads.
Write a short, precise, and compelling copy for your ads.
Optimize your ad for mobile users since a whopping 98% of Facebook active users access it via mobile devices.
Include a compelling offer that speaks to your target audience and encourages them to take action.
Test your ads and run multiple variations of the same ad to see which ones get clicked more often.
Incorporate customer testimonials and ‘before and after’ transformation videos.
Post your ad at the time when your target audience is most active on Facebook.

Let us know in the comments below what works best for you. We’ll be back with some exciting advertising ideas for dance studios.

If you are interested in learning more about how Fitli can make managing your dance studio a breeze, book a demo today, and we’ll show you how.

The post Facebook Ads Tips for Dance Studios (That Actually Work) appeared first on Fitli.

Dance Studio Advertising: How to Stand Out and Attract More Clients

Fazeela — Tue, 28 May 2024 17:22:59 +0000

Maximize visibility and drive revenue with effective dance studio advertising strategies.

A dance studio is a product of passion but running one means that you have to wear a lot of hats. And one of them is the hat of a marketer. How to stand out from your competition? How to get the word out? How to get your prospects to surrender their wallets and sign up for your classes? All of it depends on an effective dance studio marketing strategy.

The good news is that you will have the most fun wearing this hat (especially in comparison to accounting). In today’s digital world, there are plenty of innovative ways for marketing a dance studio. There’s social media marketing, email marketing, referral marketing, and a slew of other effective marketing approaches.

Let’s look at the best dance studio advertising methods and how they can help you attract more clients.

Use Social Media Marketing

Get More Prospects Through Lead Generation

Spread the Word with Referral Marketing

Don’t Forget the Significance of “Google My Business”

Your Website is Your Best Marketing Tool

Use Social Media Marketing

Only a few marketing approaches are as powerful as social media. The first thing you need to determine is which social media platforms are the best for your business. Is your ideal customer hanging out the most on Facebook or Instagram? Tiktok may be the new cool kid in the world of social media but Facebook is still an effective and viable marketing tool for your dance studio. Facebook ads get you targeted traffic, more reach, impressions, click-through rate, and conversions.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by obé Fitness (@obe_fitness)

Instagram is where you can reach a younger (sometimes more fitness-oriented) user base. This is also an equally important social platform for the growth of your business. Compelling images, engaging videos (especially reels), dance challenges, giveaways, and freebies are some of the ways you can grow a community of loyal customers on Instagram. Whichever platform you choose, your dance studio ads should resonate with and solve your audience’s problems.

Share your brand story, start conversations, or engage in ones that are already happening. The key to using social media is to converse with your audience. Give a personality to your brand, offer virtual studio tours, do regular live sessions, and share what goes on in your dance studio with your followers. The Sculp Society, DanceBody, and Elle Fitness And Social are great examples of how to use Instagram for your dance studio digital marketing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Planet Fitness (@planetfitness)

There are countless social media advertising ideas for dance studios but we’ll cover those in detail another day.

Get More Prospects Through Lead Generation

Generating leads is essential for any business, especially in a competitive industry like fitness. Lead generation is the process of acquiring the interest of your prospective clients and nurturing them through the sale funnel. Landing pages, popups, signup links, and subscription forms are great ways to generate leads. You can also use your dance studio ads for generating leads But why would a visitor want to sign up for your newsletter? What’s in it for them?

Here’s where you want your offer to sound enticing. Throw in a freebie – it could be a free trial class, a guide, or even a discount. The best freebie would be a free dance class. This involves no upfront investment or commitment on part of visitors, so if they’re interested, they are very likely to sign up. You already have them through your doors. All that’s left now is to wow them with your services.

Obé Fitness offers a free trial right on its home page.

Email Marketing to Turn Prospects Into Clients

Now that you have strengthened your email list with lead generation, it’s time for the next step. Email marketing is a great tool for marketing a dance studio, reaching potential clients, and turning them into paying customers. It may be just the tool you need to take your business to the next level.

Here are some quick tips for email marketing to enhance dance studio advertising:

Choose an email service provider to help you set up an account, design templates, schedule emails, or track conversions and costs. There are many email providers in the market to choose from. Constant Contact, ConvertKit, and Mailchimp are some excellent and easy-to-use options.
Find or develop email templates that represent your brand well.
Create an email sequence. An email sequence is a series of emails automatically sent to specific people on your email list after they perform certain actions such as browsing your services, subscribing to your newsletter, signing up for your free trial class, or abandoning a product in the cart.

Based on these activities, there could be a welcome email sequence, onboarding email sequence, abandon cart email sequence, re-engagement email sequence, or repeat customer email sequence.

Finally, test different campaign variations to see what works best for your audience.

Zumba Fitness not only does eye-catching email templates but sends out unique offers that you just can’t ignore.

Spread the Word with Referral Marketing

Referrals are among the most effective dance studio marketing approaches to attract new clients. Word of mouth is even more powerful than something you read online. When your existing clients recommend your studio to their friends, family, and colleagues, they’re more likely to take the plunge and give you a try. Because that information is coming from a reliable and trustworthy source. You can always include your referral programs in your dance studio advertising.

This strategy works well with all kinds of dance studios. Some examples are:

Offer a free month for each referral.
Offer a 20% discount when a client’s friend joins.
Give three free classes for a referral.
Give out free merchandise for each referral.

Don’t Forget the Significance of “Google My Business”

One of the easiest things you can do for your dance studio marketing is to use Google My Business to your advantage. 64% of customers look up local businesses on Google My Business to find out more details. You can use Google My Business (GMB) to stand out and attract more clients. It’s a free listing that lets you control your business’s appearance on Google Maps and Search.

You get the opportunity of presenting all the necessary information about your dance studio including the name, location, working hours, and photos of your studio. GMB also allows your clients to leave reviews of your business increasing your credibility.

Plus, it can help improve your SEO. To get started, head to the Google My Business website and sign in with your account. Then, fill out your business name, address, phone number, and website.

Your Website is Your Best Marketing Tool

A well-designed website is your number one marketing tool. Having a website for your dance studio can significantly enhance your advertising efforts and contribute to the overall success of your business. It enables your business to reach a global audience (especially beneficial if you offer virtual classes).

Unlike physical locations, your website is accessible 24/7. Prospective clients can learn about your studio, view class schedules, and contact you at any time, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Plus, it’s a great way to showcase your work, build credibility, and attract new clients. Make sure that your website has:

Functional and user-friendly interface
Clear call-to-action buttons
Engaging and quality content
Accessible contact and location information
Mobile optimization

Consider adding a community forum or group section to your website. This facilitates communication among your clients, allowing them to connect, share experiences, and build a sense of community. A newsletter sign-up form on your website captures leads and maintains regular communication with your audience. You can use that newsletters to share updates, promotions, and exclusive content, keeping your community engaged.

In Summary

Dance studio marketing is essential for the growth of your business because it creates awareness, attracts new clients, and helps increase revenue. Here’s a quick recap on how you can stand out and attract more clients to your dance studio:

Use social media marketing. Social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok help you reach a wider audience through compelling images, engaging videos, dance challenges, giveaways, and freebies.
Generate leads through landing pages, popups, signup links, subscription forms, and dance studio ads. Make sure you’re offering something valuable like a free dance class to entice the visitor to signup.
Spread the word with referral marketing.
Increase visibility and control your business’s appearance on Google with Google My Business (GMB)
Build an attractive website for your dance studio. It’s a 24/7 advertisement for your business that can reach a global audience

Effectively marketing a dance studio starts with harnessing the power of good dance studio management software. The one that clears up your everyday management tasks and integrates your marketing channels for easy communication. Fitli is a great place to start.

The post Dance Studio Advertising: How to Stand Out and Attract More Clients appeared first on Fitli.

10 Foolproof Ways to Improve Landing Page Conversion Rates

Fazeela — Tue, 21 May 2024 16:17:42 +0000

Maximize your online impact with proven strategies tailored to improve landing page conversion rate. Turn every click into a potential lead with optimized engagement.

A landing page is a powerful tool. Every marketing campaign, digital or printed, needs a landing page to usher your customers into the brand experience. Landing pages guide customers from an advertisement to the service, from a QR code to sign up, and from a marketing link to a conversion. Landing pages are where your advertisements lead and are designed to streamline the funnel from interest to conversion for your customers.

As a fitness business, you should be looking for ways to improve your landing pages and the conversion power they carry. Here are 10 best practices for landing pages to improve your website’s conversion rate.

High-quality and engaging content
Use the right call-to-action
Entice, engage, and inform
Clear landing page headline
Trade navigation bar with a hamburger menu
Add social proof
Keep it simple
Use numbers to convince
Visual aesthetic and light animation
Don’t forget to use social share buttons

Basics of building your landing page for SEO

How to improve landing page conversion

Improving the landing page conversion rate is crucial for a fitness business, especially in a digital age where first impressions often occur online. Let’s discuss the strategies tailored specifically for fitness businesses to optimize their landing page conversion rates.

1. High-quality and engaging content

If you want to increase your landing page conversion rate, invest in high-quality content. Focus on engaging write-ups and designs that best highlight your value proposition. Address your customers’ needs and provide answers to all their potential questions.

When creating a landing page, consider adding a summary video. The new generation of internet users prefers short videos (that quickly convey the message) over long chunks of text. According to Oberlo stats, 8 out of 10 people end up purchasing a service or software after watching a video from the brand. A video on a landing page can increase conversions by 86%. That’s how powerful videos can be.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t focus on the rest of the content. There will still be a significant number of prospects reading through your value proposition so make sure it’s easy to read with clear headings, subheadings, and short skimmable paragraphs. Your landing page conversion optimization depends on it.

2. Use the right call-to-action

A perfect call-to-action is the first thing that helps you improve landing page conversion. The CTA must be clear and concise but still give enough information for users to understand what they need to do next.

For example, if you’re selling gym memberships or want your users to enroll, you might want to use CTAs like ‘Sign up today’ or ‘grab the offer now’. On the other hand, if your goal is to educate or inform people about your services or brand, CTAs like ‘Learn more’, ‘Find out more’ or ‘Discover more classes’ might be more suitable.

CTAs can instill a sense of urgency or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Only a Few Spots Left” can incentivize users to take action immediately rather than postpone it. A compelling CTA captures attention and motivates users to engage with the content. It serves as a psychological nudge, urging the visitor to continue their journey and interact with the website or product.

Give your customers multiple chances to convert through your landing page. Multiple calls to action and big clickable buttons are a smart way to go. Don’t just repeat the same call to action each time, customize for the theme and topic of each section of your landing page. Invite customers for a consultation, to shop with you, to find your location, or to call directly at regular intervals through the landing page.

3. Entice, engage, and inform

When you ask yourself how to improve landing page conversion, this is it. Engaging and informing visitors on the landing page is particularly crucial for fitness businesses due to the personal and often transformational nature of the industry. A fitness journey involves trust, motivation, and clear understanding, all of which can be nurtured through effective landing page design and content.

A landing page should be more than information about a product or deal, it should follow a routine of capturing the audience’s attention and guiding each viewer of your landing page. Engaging content—be it success stories, testimonials, or motivational videos—can inspire visitors to take the first step in their fitness journey. People often seek motivation to kickstart or maintain their fitness regimen, and a landing page that inspires can be the nudge they need.

Videos, workout demonstrations, or transformation photos can capture visitors’ attention more effectively than plain text. After engaging and informing visitors, clear CTAs like “Start Your Fitness Journey,” “Join Our Community,” or “Book a Trial Session” can guide visitors to the next step, increasing conversion chances.

4. Clear landing page headline

Don’t leave your customers guessing. People make it to a landing page from many routes. Whether they clicked a Facebook ad or scanned a QR code, always give your landing pages a clear and welcoming title.

Let your customers know what landing page they have reached and what you have to offer. Welcome them to their free trial, congratulate them on claiming a prize, or introduce them to the webinar. Your landing page’s title should be in large print and above the fold so that it, along with your opening graphic, is the first thing that visitors see.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget your title tag so your browser tab has the right title.

5. Trade navigation bar with a hamburger menu

Landing pages share a domain with your company website but they shouldn’t look like every other page. Remove your typical navigation bars and website layout in favor of an eye-catching and converting design. Of course, your customers still want to be able to navigate the website if they’re familiar with your brand and the site. No one likes a website cul-de-sac that can’t be navigated out of.

The solution is a hamburger menu. The little lines in the expected upper right or left-hand corner can expand into the full navigation menu for your customers without cluttering your landing page experience.

6. Add social proof

Social proof is another excellent way to improve landing page conversion rate. People like to associate with brands that seem trustworthy and the best way to boost your reliability is by adding customer testimonials. 36% of top landing pages have testimonials.

The fitness industry, unfortunately, has its fair share of exaggerated claims and fads. Authentic testimonials or endorsements can elevate a fitness business’s credibility, assuring visitors of its legitimacy and effectiveness. So, collect feedback from your clients and add it to your landing page. Before-and-after photos, testimonials, or success stories can resonate with potential clients. Seeing real people achieve tangible results makes the fitness journey seem more achievable and inspires visitors to take the next step.

Reading or watching testimonials also evokes emotions. Whether it’s the story of someone overcoming personal challenges or achieving a long-desired goal, such content can emotionally connect with visitors, making them more likely to convert.

7. Keep it simple

You may be tempted to add too many bells and whistles to convince your potential buyers. But you’ll be surprised to learn that simple and straightforward designs perform better than complex ones. Keeping a landing page simple and uncluttered is a fundamental principle of effective web design and conversion optimization. A streamlined landing page directly affects user behavior, guiding visitors towards the desired outcome without distractions.

A simple landing page allows businesses to spotlight their primary message or offer. Without extraneous elements, visitors can immediately grasp the value proposition, making them more likely to take action.

A simple design generally provides a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Without clutter, the primary CTA also stands out more. A clear and prominent CTA button or link increases the chances that users will follow through with the desired action.

Every additional element on a landing page is a potential distraction. A simple design minimizes the risk of visitors wandering off-path or becoming sidetracked. Simplicity in landing page design aligns with the principle of “less is more.” By reducing distractions, focusing on the core message, and streamlining the user journey, fitness businesses can maximize their chances of turning visitors into clients, subscribers, or loyal followers.

8. Use numbers to convince

Presenting quantifiable data lends authenticity to your claims. When visitors see specific numbers, they’re more likely to trust that you’ve done your homework and that you’re not making baseless assertions. Numbers convey exact information, eliminating vagueness. For instance, “Helped 10,000+ clients achieve their fitness goals” is more impactful and clear than “Helped numerous clients…”

Humans process numbers quickly. A well-placed figure can immediately convey value without the visitor having to wade through dense paragraphs of text. Numbers like “2,000 people have already signed up” or “Only 10 spots left at this price” can trigger FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), prompting visitors to act swiftly.

Similarly, stats are a powerful way to convey your message and convince the customer into making the purchase. A convincing percentage figure puts things into perspective. But make sure that you’re doing your due diligence and cross-checking your sources. If possible, it’s best to include the source on your landing page so your prospects know it’s legitimate.

9. Visual aesthetic and light animation

A user forms an opinion about your website within 50 milliseconds. A visually appealing landing page can make a lasting positive first impression, increasing the chances of user engagement and conversion. A clean, organized design with strategic use of colors, typography, and spacing makes it easier for visitors to navigate the page, find information, and understand the call-to-action (CTA).

Visual aesthetics can evoke emotions in users. Colors, images, and design elements can create feelings of trust, excitement, calm, or urgency, influencing a visitor’s decision-making process. Animations also catch the attention of your customers and help to better illustrate concepts. Live charts fill themselves with data over time to illustrate the trends. Animated figures can demonstrate activities and bring ideas to life on your landing page.

10. Don’t forget to use social share buttons

Social share buttons on your landing page will help your users to share your campaign with their friends. Instead of just one sale per user, you now have the opportunity of getting more through that user.

But when you’re adding share buttons, don’t stuff your page with too many social platform buttons. Instead, just stick to 2 or 3 most used platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

Basics of building your landing page for SEO

Your landing page also needs to have some SEO muscle to be effective and push your customers through your sales funnels quickly. Here are some basics you should incorporate in your landing page:

Unique URL: Choosing a unique URL plays an important role when you optimize landing pages. You can also use it to incorporate keywords.

Title Tag: Your title tag is the HTML code tag that the search engine results pages (SERP) will see as the title of your page. You will find it in the snippet of your page on search engine result pages (the blue text). Don’t forget to fill out that field.

Header Tag: Header tags are the headings and subheadings for your page ranging from H1 to H6. H1 (the header tag) is the title of your page. Header tags optimize landing pages and improve readability.

Meta description: You probably already fill this one out on your blogs but for landing pages it’s all the more important. Because this is the text that SERP will grab and show to the audience as your page’s snippet. So you want to make sure what text you’re using to convince the user to click on your page. The right meta description helps increase landing page conversion rate.

Image file names: This one also shouldn’t be ignored. Always name your image files, if possible, with target keywords. This is a good opportunity for landing page conversion optimization.

Backlinking: This is the final and one of the most important steps to ensure your landing page is a success. Incorporate its link into all your ad campaigns, some blog posts, and guest posts. The more places your landing page link appears, the better your landing page conversion optimization.

In Summary

Creating a landing page with a high conversation rate is not as hard as it may seem. Keep it simple but impactful and you’ll have sales flooding in. But before you finalize your landing page, it’s always helpful to conduct an A/B test to determine which version performs the best.

Improve conversion with these best practices for landing pages:

Here’s a quick recap of the best practices for landing pages that fitness businesses swear by:

Use high-quality and engaging content. Add images and videos to make it more appealing.
Use the right call-to-action
Engage, entice, and inform your prospects about your services in detail.
An effective landing page uses a clear and concise headline.
Replace the standard navigation bar with a compact hamburger menu to declutter the landing page.
Add client testimonials and reviews to build trustworthiness.
High-converting landing pages should have a simple and straight design that’s easy on the eyes.
Use numbers and convincing statistics
Add social share buttons to give the visitors an opportunity to share it with friends.

By implementing these strategies, fitness businesses can effectively improve landing page conversion rates, driving more memberships, sales, and engagement.

The post 10 Foolproof Ways to Improve Landing Page Conversion Rates appeared first on Fitli.

Why SEO is Important for Your Fitness Business?

Fazeela — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 15:00:43 +0000

As a fitness business owner, you may wonder if SEO is really worth your time, effort, and investment. After all, there are so many things to worry about like boosting sales, attracting new clients, and retaining existing ones. The truth is, SEO can actually be a huge help in achieving these goals. But first, what exactly is SEO?

This blog will highlight that and the many benefits of SEO for fitness businesses.

Helps you reach a wider audience
Encourages local prospects to pay you a visit
Boosts brand awareness
Builds credibility and trust
Gives your business a competitive edge
Leads to higher conversions
Offers the best ROI
Gives you valuable insight into your customers
Vital to content marketing
Cost-effective

What is SEO?

SEO or search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your website on search engines like Google. When people search keywords related to your business, you want your website to appear as high up on the result page as possible.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for fitness websites is an invaluable marketing strategy that can bring more qualified leads and customers to your business. Whether you are an online trainer, a local gym, or a dance studio owner, it’s important that potential customers are able to find you easily.

Creating a webpage for your fitness business alone isn’t always enough; it’s important to also invest in SEO optimization to improve the appearance of your web page in the organic search results. Paid SEO services for fitness companies will have you all sorted. But first, let’s explore the many benefits of utilizing SEO for fitness websites. Let’s look at them in detail.

The Benefits of SEO for Fitness Businesses

1. Helps you reach a wider audience

Using SEO for fitness websites allows you to target your potential clients using precise and relevant keywords. It helps you focus your marketing efforts on a select pool of people who are actively seeking help with their fitness journey. 60% of marketers report that their highest quality leads are from SEO-engaged clients. This is because they seek a solution, and being at the top spot in search results makes it easier to fulfill their needs.

When your fitness website is optimized for relevant keywords (like “gyms near me” or “personal trainers in [city]”), it is more likely to appear on the first page of search results. This higher visibility means more organic clicks and a broader audience reach.

Unlike paid ads that stop bringing traffic once the campaign ends, the effects of SEO are long-term. With consistent effort, your fitness business can enjoy sustained audience growth, building a strong online presence over time.

2. Encourages local prospects to pay you a visit

You can highly benefit from local SEO for gyms and fitness businesses. Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the practice of optimizing a website or online content to improve its visibility in local search results. These results are generated by search engines (primarily Google) when users search for businesses or services near them, typically using qualifiers like “near me” or “in [city name].”

Studies show that 78% of local searches lead to offline purchases. Many people searching for a gym or fitness center start with searches like “gyms near me” or “yoga studios in [city name].” If your fitness business is optimized for local search, you’ll be more likely to show up in these searches.

When your fitness business appears in local search results, especially with positive reviews, it helps establish trust and credibility with potential customers. You can drive more traffic to your website and physical location. Since these searchers are already looking for local services, they’re more likely to convert (i.e., sign up for a class, purchase a membership).

Claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing is a critical component of local SEO. This free tool from Google allows you to manage how your business appears in Google Search and Maps, showcasing essential information like your business hours, location, and reviews.

Local SEO also encompasses managing online reviews. Positive reviews can boost your business’s credibility and influence potential customers’ decisions. Moreover, responding to reviews (both positive and negative) can show that you value customer feedback and are committed to improving.

Compared to other forms of advertising, local SEO can be more cost-effective. Once you’ve set up a robust local online presence, you’ll continue to reap the benefits without the recurring costs associated with other advertising methods.

3. Boosts brand awareness

Utilizing SEO for fitness clubs increases brand recognition significantly. The easier it is to access your online presence, the faster you build brand awareness and draw interested customers to your business.

Securing top rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords ensures that your fitness brand is the first thing users see when they’re searching for related services. This consistent visibility imprints your brand on the minds of potential clients.

By publishing valuable, SEO-optimized content—like workout guides, nutrition tips, or the latest fitness trends—you position your business as an authority in the fitness sector. Over time, this content can make your brand synonymous with fitness expertise.

Acquiring backlinks from reputable websites in the fitness industry or local community websites can increase brand exposure. These links not only drive direct traffic but also build your brand’s authority by association. Leveraging image and video SEO can further enhance brand visibility. Posting workout videos, client testimonials, or facility tours can engage users and embed your brand deeper into their consciousness.

4. Builds credibility and trust

Utilizing SEO for fitness clubs gives you a better chance of building your brand’s credibility and winning customers’ trust.

Ranking on the first page of search engine results for relevant keywords instills a sense of legitimacy. It’s an implicit endorsement from search engines like Google, suggesting your website is a reliable source of information or service.

Accurate listings on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and other local directories ensure that potential clients receive the correct information every time they come across your business. Consistency across platforms fosters trust.

5. Gives your business a competitive edge

With consumers increasingly turning to online platforms for information and reviews, a strategic SEO approach can be a game-changer, giving your fitness business the competitive advantage it needs. Good SEO practices ensure that your fitness business ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs). When potential clients search for fitness-related terms, your business appearing at the top indicates industry relevance and dominance. The more competitive keywords you rank high for, the more visitors you attract to your website.

Potential clients are more likely to trust and choose businesses that appear on the first page, associating top results with reliability and quality. A strong online presence also means you set the narrative about your brand. From showcasing success stories to addressing concerns, being proactive and visible online helps shape perceptions in your favor.

Fitness businesses of all types that embrace and implement a well-strategized SEO plan constantly benefit from a significant elevation in visibility and sales.

6. Leads to higher conversions

Besides bringing more traffic to your website, utilizing SEO for fitness websites is an ideal way to improve your conversion rate. SEO attracts customers who are ready to make a purchase or a booking. This is often targeted traffic that is more likely to convert than traffic driven from other channels.

Combining SEO with conversion rate optimization (CRO) works wonders and leads to even higher conversions, ultimately increasing your revenue. Once you observe a consistent increase in conversions, you should aim to adopt good customer retention strategies for long-term benefits.

7. Offers the best ROI

A good SEO strategy could potentially drive 20x more clicks and 150% higher return on investment than paid advertising.

When you are making use of SEO for fitness centers, you’re targeting people who are actively looking for your services. Unlike traditional advertising, SEO doesn’t interrupt your customer’s favorite YouTube video or rely on distraction. And it ensures that your website attracts users with a genuine interest in fitness services. They end up on your page or website only after specifically searching for your services because they actually need them.

These high-intent users are more likely to convert into paying clients, leading to a higher ROI. The precision of SEO means you’re spending money to attract the right audience, not just any audience.

SEO also yields long-term results. While PPC campaigns stop delivering the moment you stop funding them, a well-optimized site with quality content can continue to rank and attract traffic for years. This sustained visibility means a continuous return on your initial investment.

8. Gives you valuable insight into your customers

Once you have made the investment in improving your SEO, you can track your progress using Google Analytics. The analytics associated with SEO provide invaluable data about user behavior, popular services, peak engagement times, and more. These insights can guide other business strategies, from class scheduling to special promotions, ensuring resources are utilized optimally for maximum returns.

SEO data can highlight when certain fitness-related queries spike. Perhaps there’s an increased interest in weight loss before summer or health resolutions at the start of the year. Fitness businesses can capitalize on these trends with timely promotions or content.

SEO tools often offer insights into competitor performance. By understanding how competitors rank for certain keywords or what content they’re producing, fitness businesses can identify gaps in their strategy and find avenues to outperform their competition.

Because these results are quantifiable, it’s an excellent way for you to devise your marketing strategy based on data rather than shooting in the dark.

9. Vital to content marketing

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and content marketing are two sides of the same digital marketing coin, especially for industries like fitness, where content plays a pivotal role in attracting, educating, and retaining customers.

At its core, SEO’s primary purpose is to enhance a website’s visibility on search engines. Content, when optimized for relevant keywords and user intent, can rank higher in search engine results, driving a consistent stream of organic traffic to your fitness business.Content optimized for SEO not only attracts visitors but, when done right, also encourages them to take action, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, enrolling in a class, or purchasing a membership.

With the growing popularity of voice-activated assistants, optimizing content for voice search has also become essential. This often involves creating content that answers specific questions or provides concise information, catering to the conversational nature of voice queries.

10. Cost-effective

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has emerged as one of the most cost-effective marketing tools, especially for fitness businesses since they thrive on community engagement, local clientele, and online resources.

Users often trust organic search results more than paid advertisements. A high organic ranking signals to users that your fitness business is credible and authoritative in the field, enhancing trust and reducing the need for more expensive brand-building campaigns.

SEO is an inbound marketing strategy that saves money as opposed to outbound marketing strategies like social media, TV, or print advertisement which can often cost much more. SEO is also much more cost-efficient because you’re not casting an unnecessarily wide net. It allows you to target people who are already interested in your services and more likely to make a purchase.

While PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns can be effective, they can also be expensive, especially for highly competitive keywords. By investing in SEO, fitness businesses can reduce their dependence on paid ads.

In Summary

Fitness businesses face many challenges and finding new customers is one of the biggest ones. One viable solution is effective SEO for fitness centers. SEO has many benefits and its correct use can set you up for long-term growth. If you face trouble figuring things out, you can always consider paid SEO services for fitness companies. Here’s a quick recap of how getting the search engines to work in your favor can benefit your business:

Helps you reach a wider audience and drive targeted traffic.
Encourages local prospects to pay you a visit, especially when your Google My Business listing is optimized.
Boosts brand awareness by keeping you on top of the search results.
Builds credibility and trust by presenting you as a reliable source of services on the first page of search engine results.
Good SEO gives you a competitive edge. The more competitive keywords you rank high for, the more visitors you attract to your website.
Leads to higher conversions by bringing targeted audiences to your website.
Offers the best ROI by cultivating long-term organic results.
Gives you valuable insights into your customers
Vital to content marketing.
It’s also more cost-effective than outbound marketing strategies.

The first step however, is to automate everyday operations and management tasks with Fitli so you can dedicate your time to SEO.

The post Why SEO is Important for Your Fitness Business? appeared first on Fitli.

Tips for Setting Pricing in your Fitness Business

Fazeela — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:00:11 +0000

Discover key strategies to optimize fitness business pricing, ensuring competitive rates while maximizing your revenue potential.

As a fitness business owner, you know that pricing is one of the most important aspects of your operation. Get it wrong, and you could be leaving money on the table or, even worse, driving customers away. Get it right, however, and you’ll be in a good position to maximize your revenue and profits. So the question arises, how much should I charge for a workout program?

The answer lies in the effective tips we discuss in this article. Here is everything we’ll cover.

Fitness Pricing Methods
Determine the cost and potential profit
Check your competitors’ pricing
Understand demographics
Test, Test, Test
Be flexible with pricing
Offer optimum value to your clients
Understand your client’s needs
Break your services into different levels
Review Regularly

There are a few different ways you can price your fitness services. The method you choose will likely depend on your business model, the type of fitness services you offer, and what’s most important to you (whether that’s maximizing revenue, profits, or reaching a wider audience).

Fitness Pricing Methods

Some of the most common fitness pricing methods include:

Per class/session: With this pricing method, customers pay a set fee for each fitness class or session they attend. This is a popular option for businesses that offer various classes, as it allows customers to mix and match to create their own fitness experience.

Monthly membership: With the monthly pricing plan for fitness businesses, customers pay a monthly fee in exchange for unlimited access to your fitness facilities and services. This is a popular option for gyms and fitness clubs as it encourages customers to keep coming back.

Pay as you go: With this model, customers can purchase fitness services à la carte without having to commit to a monthly membership. This is a good option for businesses that offer unique fitness experiences or cater to customers who only want to use your services occasionally.

How to Set Fitness Business Pricing

Determine the cost and potential profit

Calculate your costs and add a profit margin to those numbers. Calculating various expenditures like rent, trainers’ salaries, license fees, and premiums for insurance such as general and professional liability insurance are essential for fitness businesses. Having all records concerning your overhead costs will help you set fair fitness business pricing that also leaves you a good profit. Here is how you could split up your costs:

Fixed Costs: These are costs that don’t change regardless of how many clients you have, such as rent, salaries, utilities, and insurance.
Variable Costs: These costs fluctuate based on the number of clients or the volume of services you offer, like equipment wear and tear, refreshments, or extra staffing.
One-time Costs: These include costs like equipment purchases or facility upgrades.

At the very least, your pricing should cover your costs so that the business doesn’t operate at a loss. Knowing your fixed and variable costs helps determine the minimum price you must charge to break even.

Once you know your costs, you can set a pricing strategy that ensures a specific profit margin. For instance, if you aim for a 20% profit margin and your cost is $50 per service, you’d need to charge at least $60. If you’re aware of where your costs lie, you can also better communicate the value you offer to your clients. For instance, if a significant portion of your costs involves state-of-the-art equipment or highly qualified trainers, this can be a selling point in your marketing materials.

Understanding your costs allows you to offer discounts and promotions without accidentally putting yourself in a loss-making situation. It ensures that even promotional prices cover costs.

Check your competitors’ pricing

As you prepare to set the pricing, it’s essential to research the market and understand how your pricing compares to your competition. Competitors’ pricing gives you a benchmark to understand the prevailing market rate for similar services. This ensures you don’t undercharge or overcharge, both of which can have detrimental effects on your business. Undercharging might result in inadequate revenue generation, while overcharging can deter potential clients.

Your fitness business pricing strategy plays a significant role in positioning your brand in the market. By analyzing competitors’ prices, you can decide whether you want to position your services as premium, value-for-money, budget-friendly or perhaps all of these. Each pricing strategy has its own target audience and brand messaging.

Analyzing competitors’ prices alongside their service offerings also allows you to identify gaps in the market. You might find an opportunity to offer specialized services at a premium price or package deals that competitors aren’t capitalizing on.

Understand demographics

Understanding demographics is essential for determining prices for your fitness services because demographics provide insights into the characteristics, needs, preferences, and financial capabilities of your target market.

Different demographic groups have varied income levels. Understanding the average income of your primary demographic can help you set prices that are affordable and attractive to them, while still ensuring profitability for your business.

Similarly, different age groups, cultural backgrounds, or education levels might perceive the value of fitness services differently. For instance, younger generations might value a trendy, tech-integrated fitness experience, whereas older generations might value personal interactions and traditional training methods more.

By analyzing demographics, you can also offer student discounts, senior citizen rates, or family packages based on the predominant groups you serve.

Test, Test, Test

The best way to find the perfect price for your fitness business is to test different prices and see how customers react. This could mean running a sale at a discounted price or offering a premium service at a higher price.

Testing your prices also means understanding price elasticity. Price elasticity refers to how demand for a product or service changes in response to a price change. By testing different price points, you can determine how sensitive your clients are to price changes and find the sweet spot where revenue is maximized.

Different segments of your customer base also may have varying willingness to pay. Testing can help you identify these segments and possibly tailor different offerings to cater to each segment’s needs and budgets.

Be flexible

Once you’ve settled on a price, it’s important to be flexible. The fitness industry is dynamic. New trends, technologies, and competitors can emerge, causing shifts in market demand. Flexible pricing allows businesses to adjust quickly to these changing conditions.

Different customers have different needs and financial capabilities. Offering a range of pricing options or flexible payment terms can make your services more accessible and attractive to a broader audience. Loyalty discounts or referral benefits, can incentivize long-term commitment and client referrals, fostering community and loyalty within your fitness center.

Implementing dynamic fitness business pricing models, where prices are adjusted based on demand, time of day, or season, can help maximize revenue. For example, off-peak hour discounts can encourage usage during times when the facility might otherwise be underutilized.

For clients who might find standard rates challenging, flexible pricing models like sliding scales, group rates, or family packages can offer more perceived value, making them more likely to engage with your services.

Offer optimum value

Now more than ever, customers make their purchase decisions based on the value they’re getting. They want your services but they would also highly appreciate and, in fact, prefer expert advice, personal technique sessions, regular check-ins, and community. Every gym, dance, or Pilates studio will be offering more or less the same packages but it’s your expertise, culture, atmosphere, and sincere follow-ups that make your facility unique.

Make sure that you’re offering exceptional value beyond workouts. Hire certified and experienced trainers who can offer expert guidance. Their knowledge, techniques, and ability to connect with clients can make a significant difference in the perceived value of your services. When you’re providing your clients with that value, you can charge them accordingly. Customers are more than willing to pay for a service that addresses their needs and concerns. Some good examples of added value could be:

Longer schedules
1:1 technique sessions
A designated stretch and cool area
Regular check-ins
Regular progress tracking
Tests like body fat measurement

Understand your client’s needs

You’re probably already listening to your customers and asking them what they want. The needs of your target members play a significant role in determining your fitness business pricing. You should know how often they work out? What are their specific fitness goals? What do they think of your services? What improvements would they like?

Clients are willing to pay a price that aligns with the value they perceive. If you offer specialized training or niche classes that cater to specific needs, you may be able to charge a premium because clients recognize the unique value provided.

Some clients might want long-term commitments with lower monthly rates, while others might prefer shorter-term, flexible options at a slightly higher rate. Understanding these preferences can guide pricing structures.

Similarly, if clients express a need for auxiliary services like nutrition consulting, personal training, or spa treatments, these can be incorporated into the pricing structure, either as part of a package or as add-ons. Understanding your client’s needs not only ensures that your offerings are tailored and relevant but also allows for a nuanced, responsive pricing strategy that can drive both client satisfaction and business profitability.

Break your services into different levels

Not every fitness business can charge all its members the same price. A one-size-fits-all pricing strategy can no longer benefit you when you have clients with diverse needs. In addition to their fitness needs, they might have varied goals and budgets too. By offering tiered services, you can cater to beginners, intermediates, advanced individuals, or specific niches, ensuring there’s something for everyone.

Tiered offerings can clarify the value proposition for each level. By explicitly stating the benefits and features of each tier, clients can easily see what they’re getting for their money. This also allows customers to choose a package that aligns best with their needs, giving them a sense of control and personalization.

Once a client starts with a basic package and sees results or develops a deeper interest, they may be inclined to upgrade to a higher tier. This presents opportunities for upselling, thereby increasing the client’s lifetime value to the business.

Review Regularly

Finally, it’s important to review your pricing regularly. This will ensure that your prices are still in line with your costs and the value you’re delivering to customers. Over time, operational costs can change. This could be due to rent increases, higher salaries, or the rising cost of equipment and utilities. Regularly reviewing your prices ensures you cover these expenses and maintain profitability.

The integration of technology, like fitness apps or virtual reality, can introduce new cost structures and value propositions. Regular price reviews can account for the investments and returns of these technological features.

Regular reviews help to balance the fine line between charging what your service is worth and ensuring clients feel they’re getting value for their money. If clients feel they’re being overcharged, you risk losing them, but if they perceive they’re getting a deal, they’re more likely to stay loyal.

By reviewing your prices, you can identify which services are most profitable, which ones need adjustments, or which ones might need to be discontinued.

In Summary

Setting the right price for your fitness services is essential to your success as a business. Thorough research and planning are crucial to setting the right price for your fitness business. It’s only through the right pricing that you’re able to attract potential clients, earn profit and grow your brand. So the answer to the question of how much should I charge for a workout program lies in these few steps:

Determine the cost and potential profit
Check your competitors’ pricing
Experiment and test different pricing before settling on one that works the best for your business
Be flexible with your pricing and offer discounts
Provide exceptional value
Understand your clients’ needs
Break your services into different levels.

Setting the right price for your fitness business is a blend of understanding your costs, knowing the market, and recognizing the value you offer. Once you’ve figured out your pricing, don’t forget to list down all the packages or tiered offerings on your website for your potential clients to browse and choose.

The post Tips for Setting Pricing in your Fitness Business appeared first on Fitli.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: Which is better for small businesses?

Fazeela — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 16:00:24 +0000

Small business owners have a lot of things they worry about, as opposed to large business owners. It’s a lot of different things like the amount of money coming into the business, earning enough to keep the business afloat, reinvesting into the business, having to pay your employees enough to keep them satisfied, and the list goes on. But when it comes to accounting, FreshBooks vs QuickBooks is a big conundrum.

Accounting is a huge headache that most small fitness business owners despise. What if they can’t afford an accountant but also don’t have a head for numbers? Well, that’s where accounting software like FreshBooks or QuickBooks comes in. They handle all the accounting help the business requires like tracking the money going in and out of the business and keeping books in order.

FreshBooks and QuickBooks are two of the most popular accounting software for small businesses. They’re both considered excellent accounting software and since different types of businesses have different accounting needs, both serve their own purpose.

But one still might wonder, which is better QuickBooks or FreshBooks? Check out our comparison of FreshBooks vs QuickBooks to see which accounting software is suitable for you depending on your business needs and budget. We shall cover:

Features

Accounting Tools
Invoicing
Payment Acceptance
Mobile Apps
Scalability
Customer Service

Pricing

Pros and Cons

Why Choose FreshBooks?

Why Choose QuickBooks?

What is the Difference Between QuickBooks and FreshBooks

FreshBooks has more general bookkeeping functions than QuickBooks but is more difficult to set up. FreshBooks is often praised for its intuitive and straightforward setup process. It provides step-by-step guidance for new users and a clean, easy-to-navigate interface. This can make it easier to get started, especially for freelancers or small business owners who may not have a lot of experience with accounting software.

QuickBooks, while also user-friendly, has more comprehensive features and settings, which can make the initial setup feel more complex. It might take a little longer to configure everything to your liking and to understand all the features available to you.

That’s just one of the differences between them. Perhaps delving a little deeper into the world of accounting software will assist you as a small fitness business owner with selecting the most appropriate one for your business.

QuickBooks vs FreshBooks — Features

Accounting Tools

Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer cloud-based accounting features specifically designed for SMBs. FreshBooks definitely has better time tracking features – that work best for hourly employees- but QuickBooks is a clear winner in this comparison as it comes with inventory management, forecasting, 1099 reporting, and payroll processing on top of the features that both tools include.

FreshBooks does not have the functionality to support contractor payments, which gets challenging during tax season, especially when it comes to preparing and sending out 1099 forms.

Invoicing

Both tools come with the invoicing feature — customizable invoice templates allowing you to send invoices via email, and track whether they have been viewed or paid. You can also set up recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders. However, FreshBooks takes the lead with its additional functionalities such as deposits, retainer, and late fees.

QuickBooks comes with advanced features, such as accelerated invoicing, as well. But overall FreshBooks invoicing is more user-friendly and intuitive. You can create professional-looking invoices and customize them with your logo and colors before emailing them.

Payment Acceptance

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks have a variety of payment options available. They both allow you to accept payments online via credit cards, debit cards, ACH bank transfers, and PayPal. But FreshBooks has slightly higher transaction charges. While QuickBooks charges 2.4% + $0.25 per every credit card transaction, FreshBooks charges 2.9% + 0.3$ per transaction.

FreshBooks, however, also has Stripe payment solutions integrated, which is not the case with QuickBooks.

Here is an overview of both FreshBooks and QuickBooks payment processing service fees:

Payment processing fee for QuickBooks:

Payment Type
ACH Bank Transfers
Credit Card (Swiped)
Credit Card (Invoiced)
Credit Card (Keyed)

Fee
1% ($10 Maximum)
2.4% + $0.25 Per Transaction
2.9% + $0.25 Per Transaction
3.4% + $0.25 Per Transaction

Payment processing fee for FreshBooks:

Payment Type
ACH Bank Transfers
Credit Card (Visa, Discover, Mastercard)
Credit Card (American Express)
PayPal (U.S.)
Stripe (U.S. Bank Transfer)
Stripe (U.S. Credit Card)

Fee
1%
2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction
3.5% + $0.30 Per Transaction
3.49% + $0.30 for PayPal accounts
2.9% + $0.30 for credit and debit cards
1%
2.9% + $0.30

Mobile Apps

QuickBooks and FreshBooks both have their iOS and Android mobile applications available with more or less the same features. One stark difference, however, is that QuickBooks mobile app comes with user access to reporting tools. This option is not available in FreshBooks.

Apart from that, both mobile applications allow seamless communication, invoice access, expense recording, time-tracking, and online accounting.

Scalability

While both tools claim to be scalable, FreshBooks is better suited for solopreneurs and freelancers who are consistently working on a smaller scale. While it does offer different plans with varying features, it may not be as suitable for larger businesses with more complex accounting needs.

If your business is looking at e-commerce scalability, QuickBooks is the way to go because it is specifically designed for businesses that sell products and are looking for a scalable, complete accounting suite.

Customer Service

Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer strong customer service, but the quality of service can sometimes vary based on the user’s location, the time of day, and the nature of the inquiry.

FreshBooks is often commended for its responsive and helpful customer service. Users can reach out via phone or email, and there is also a comprehensive knowledge base available on their website. Many users appreciate the personal touch and responsiveness of the FreshBooks support team.

QuickBooks also offers various support options, including phone support, live chat, and a comprehensive online help center. However, the feedback on QuickBooks customer service is mixed. Some users have reported long wait times and difficulty getting issues resolved, while others have had positive experiences.

It is also worth noting that QuickBooks offers premium support options with priority service for an additional fee, while FreshBooks does not have a separate premium support tier.

QuickBooks vs FreshBooks — Pricing

Let’s look at QuickBooks versus FreshBooks pricing plans in detail.

FreshBooks Pricing

FreshBooks’ plans differ in the number of billable customers allowed and the features included. The first three plans only permit one user, but the custom plan has two users from the start. Let’s look at FreshBooks pricing in detail.

FreshBooks pricing is broken down as follows:

Lite: FreshBooks Lite is only $15 a month. That sounds pretty reasonable, right? Tempting as well. However, it only allows five customers per plan and does not provide a balance sheet. Not a suitable option even for a small fitness business that’s just starting out.

Plus: For $25 per month, you get one user and 50 billable clients. Not a bad deal for a newly launched business.

Premium: $50 per month for one user and an unlimited number of clients. Sounds like an excellent deal for someone thinking of long-term plans.

Select: Choose from various pricing options, including two users and an unlimited number of clients. Custom plans are always the way to go if you know what you’re looking for and plan on investing in long-term success.

QuickBooks Pricing

The number of users and features included in each of the four QuickBooks plans varies. All three plans offer a variety of services and features.

The following are the QuickBooks pricing plans:

Simple Start: $25 for a single user each month. So it starts off pricier than FreshBooks. Pricier isn’t always bad unless you’re a struggling business and every penny counts.

Essentials: You pay $50 per month for three users in this plan.

Plus: For $80 per month, you get five users. If you increase the number of employees, you can advance to a better plan.

Advanced: $180 per month for a total of 25 users.

QuickBooks Payroll: $45 per month is the minimum amount for this package.

QuickBooks vs FreshBooks — Pros and Cons

Now that we’ve looked at each of their features and pricing, let’s look at the pros and cons when it comes to FreshBooks vs QuickBooks for small business.

FreshBooks:

Pros
It’s simple to use for small businesses and self-employed people.
The customer support is very good.
It provides excellent invoicing services.
Time and mileage tracking is part of all plans.
It offers an option to calculate tax specifically for a certain country. This makes tax calculations easier.

Cons
The number of users and clients is very limited.
There’s no option for bank reconciliation in the lower-tier plans.
There’s no provision for quarterly tax estimates.
It has no support for multiple currencies.
It’s too focused on small businesses which can make it difficult when you want to scale up operations.

QuickBooks:

Pros
It has excellent accounting reports.
Bank reconciliation and accountant integration is part of all plans.
Multicurrency support is baked in as an advanced feature.
It provides automatic quarterly tax estimates.
It has excellent search features which make it very easy to find and fix mistakes in your accounts.

Cons
It lacks some features like barcode scanning and eCommerce features.
It lacks invoice design tools.
On some platforms, it has stability and backup issues.
The customer support is lackluster.
An excellent search feature also makes it easy for someone to manipulate data.

Why Should You Choose FreshBooks Accounting Software?

So which one works? QuickBooks or FreshBooks? Is FreshBooks better than QuickBooks? It really depends on the business needs and what you’re looking for.

FreshBooks is an appropriate choice for you if:

You Are a Freelancer or Small Business: FreshBooks is designed with freelancers and small businesses in mind. The interface is very user-friendly, and it provides features that are particularly useful for smaller operations, such as time tracking, project management, and client-specific features.
You Want a User-Friendly Interface: Users often praise FreshBooks for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface. If you are not particularly tech-savvy or just prefer a straightforward and visually appealing design, FreshBooks might be a better choice for you.
You Need Strong Invoicing Features: FreshBooks started as an invoicing app and has strong capabilities in this area. It allows you to create professional-looking invoices, automate invoice reminders, and accept payments directly through the invoice.
You Want Strong Customer Service: FreshBooks generally receives positive reviews for its customer service. If having responsive and helpful customer support is important to you, this might be a deciding factor.

Why Should You Choose QuickBooks Accounting Software?

QuickBooks is an appropriate choice for you if:

You’re Looking for a Scalable Solution: QuickBooks plans serve a wider range of business sizes and needs. It offers more advanced features, more user allowances, and a broader range of third-party integrations, making it more scalable as your business grows and your needs evolve.
You Are a Medium to Large Sized Business: QuickBooks offers plans that cater to larger businesses with more complex accounting needs. The Advanced plan, for example, allows up to 25 users and provides features like custom user permissions and priority support.
You Need Integrated Payroll: QuickBooks offers integrated payroll services (at an additional cost), which can be a significant advantage if you have employees and want to manage your accounting and payroll in one place.
You Want More Third-Party Integrations: QuickBooks integrates with a larger number of third-party apps and services compared to FreshBooks. This can be an important consideration if you are already using other software and want to integrate your accounting software with them.

In Summary

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks is a long debate but to summarize, FreshBooks is the more appropriate choice for you if you’re a small firm or a solo entrepreneur.

In contrast, QuickBooks is a better general accounting application for enterprises of all kinds, larger businesses included.

FreshBooks offers a strong focus on invoicing and requires your permission to access your bank account, which is always an excellent security feature. On the other hand, QuickBooks doesn’t let you down if you need more than invoicing. It can handle practically every business area, including inventory management, project accounting, and tracking income and expenses by class. Which seems like a pretty good deal.

At the end of the day, when you ask yourself QuickBooks or FreshBooks? Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks are strong accounting software options, and the best choice depends on your specific needs and preferences. It is always recommended to take advantage of the free trials offered by both platforms to test them out and see which one works best for you.

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Fitli uses Bidsketch to send proposals for our Fitness Website service

John Cline — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 19:23:01 +0000

Would you believe me if I told you I have seen almost every Fitness Website in the United States? Probably not all, but you can imagine I’ve seen quite a few as I’m following sales leads, doing demos, and helping customers launch on Fitli. We also know that our customer base is very cost conscious and does not have much free time to try to build and manage their own website. The options for a new website range from very cheap and/or free (do it yourself 100%) to very expensive custom options. We decided we could offer a better option and Fitli Digital was created to deliver a great Fitness Website service.

As you can imagine, selling a website project is very different from selling scheduling software. There are many different project options, fee categories, and a need for a project specific contract that covers the challenges associated with this type of project.

The Old Traditional Way

Of course, we could have just taken one of the many online proposal document templates and used that. It would work, but it would be fairly laborious to customize each proposal. Changing company and project names, deleting unneeded sections, updating the proposed fees, adding new fees and verbiage along the way and creating new templates.. all these things take time.

Then, of course, the next step would be to print the proposal as a PDF and email it to the potential client. Then you wait around wondering if they have viewed your proposal. Eventually, if and when they reviewed it…. and responded with changes, we’d have to open up the Word doc, edit the changes, reprint as a new PDF and send again. Then wait and wonder again. If and when they decided to accept the proposal, they would need to print the document, sign it, scan it, then send it back and we’d need to do the same.

Finally, we’d need to make sure we store that signed copy of the document in a folder in our Google Drive setup.

So that is one option for this process. If we stuck with that approach, it would be much harder to sell a Fitness Website. Not ideal. There is a better way and we were lucky enough to find and use a product called Bidsketch.

The Newer Better Way

Bidsketch, simply put, automates all of those steps I described above. If you are going to be creating, tracking, and storing multiple proposals, you should use this tool. So what is the process like with Bidsketch?

First of all, the setup is something you only have to do once. It’s pretty straightforward. They already have several templates to choose from to start your proposal. That is very helpful. After choosing a template, you can start editing. You can follow the pre-set format of the template or change it as you like. You create all your various types of project options and fee options which can then be added or removed with the click of a button. Then you add your logo into the system so your proposal document and portal reflect your brand. Everything looks clean and professional.

When you’re ready to submit your first proposal, you simply create a new customer by entering their basic contact info. Then, generate a proposal. The customer specific info is populated throughout the document. So, then you simply need to choose any project and fee options.

That’s it! The proposal is ready to go and the process to send and iterate is super easy too. When you are ready, you simply ‘Submit’ the proposal to your potential customer. You can customize the message they receive. It also includes a link for them to view and download the document. One of the best parts? You can see if/when they view the document. They can leave comments and questions within the application. Then, when the time is right, they and you can accept and sign the proposal document. No need to save it in a drive somewhere. It’s stored and visible to you and the client right there in the portal.

All of this simplification and automation means I can send many more proposals than if I were doing it the manual way. More proposals mean more customers are hiring Fitli to build their Fitness Website. If you have a business that sends proposals for work, I strongly recommend you check out Bidsketch at your earliest opportunity.

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How Your Website Can Hurt Your Gym or Fitness Center

John Cline — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 02:29:13 +0000

Your gym or fitness center’s brand is the image that all potential and active customers have of your business in their mind. It is not just your logo and tag-line. It is everything that sets you apart from the competition. Essentially, it is your fitness business’ complete personality, core values, and how well you meet customer needs and help achieve their goals. Consequently, a strong brand is, more often than not, the difference between success and failure. One of the best tools to display your brand is your website.

Many gyms and fitness center owners believe an eye-catching website is enough. It is not. In fact, your website could be hurting your fitness business, making it difficult to attract customers and new members. If you have not thought long and hard about your website, how it aligns with your mission and core principles, and how it adds value to your customers, you are better off not even having a site.

Everyone has heard the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.” Repeated studies have shown that the majority of consumers are using the internet as part of their shopping process, for both goods and services. It is not just for online shopping. Consumers are going online to research virtually every company that they plan to do business with, and they are starting their research very early in their decision-making process. So, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, consumers are looking at your website and determining whether you are trustworthy and if you can meet their needs. With this in mind, Here are several ways that your website can hurt your gym or fitness center.

Mistakes Harming Your Fitness Website

1. Does Not Target Your Ideal Member

Take a moment to visualize your ideal gym or fitness center member. Who do you see? Is it an older person trying to lose weight and get back into shape after years of television watching? Is it a young woman who wants to look great for her wedding? Is it a college-aged individual who is using your gym as their second home? Trying to build a website that will appeal to every type of person will only work against you. You want to identify those customers who either share your values or your values compliment theirs.

2. Copy Is Generic and Lifeless

Your employees and trainers are likely very friendly, engaging, and interesting people. Is that reflected on your website? Is your verbiage pompous and arrogant? Is the content filled with a ton of fitness jargon and slang? You are the ultimate face of your brand. Consequently, they should hear your voice when they read your website copy and content. Inauthentic, generic, and poor writing will give your website visitors the wrong idea. Your website should reflect the face of the people who customers will meet when they visit your gym or fitness center.

3. Provides a Poor User Experience

Many gyms and fitness centers have visually stunning websites that ultimately fail due to poor user experience. A good website design will be uncluttered with easy navigation. Visitors should be able to find the information they are looking for within just 2 or 3 clicks. Moreover, your website must adapt to any mobile device. Today, more people are using mobile search than a desktop. If your website is not usable on a potential customer’s chosen device, they will find one that is.

4. Does Not Align Your Core Values with Customers

How do your core values help members achieve their needs, goals, and desires? Take as an example Planet Fitness. There are many within the fitness industry that don’t even consider Planet Fitness as a real fitness center. Yet, it is one of the largest franchises with one of the largest membership bases. This happened because of effective messaging that aligned their values with their target customers.

Do you have questions? What haven’t we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like to talk about how your website can hurt your gym or fitness center, or a related topic, please contact us.

The post How Your Website Can Hurt Your Gym or Fitness Center appeared first on Fitli.

Sanjay Salomon of PYMNTS.com caught up with Fitli CEO and founder John Cline

John Cline — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 19:33:04 +0000

When looking to shed a few extra pounds or get in shape for warmer weather, consumers can turn to personal trainers to help them meet their fitness goals, boost their endurance or raise the flexibility bar. Today, new solutions are helping fitness professionals gain more flexibility in scheduling sessions and accepting payments.

For the November Tracker’s feature story, PYMNTS caught up with Fitli CEO and founder John Cline about helping personal trainers and other fitness professionals accept payments, and the “chicken or egg” challenge of pitching a fitness marketplace to customers while simultaneously encouraging instructors to join the platform.

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