The holiday season is approaching, and for boutique fitness studios, it's time to gear up for the busiest shopping week of the year. As the retail landscape evolves, so do the strategies for attracting customers and sales to your boutique fitness studio. In the last article, we went through the streamlined sale, the daily deal, and how to build your offers (start there!). Now, let's help you market your offers to make the most out of your holiday campaign and ensure your studio's Black Friday is a resounding success.

Understanding the Shifting Black Friday Landscape

Black Friday marketing is no longer confined to the day after Thanksgiving. Most retailers are starting early, which requires boutique fitness studios to plan their Black Friday campaigns well in advance of the actual holiday week. The key lies in understanding your target audience, speaking their language, showing up where they are, and tailoring your sales approach accordingly.

First, A Note About Black Friday and Holiday Sales:

Before you start planning your campaigns, pause to think about your current audience. If your studio is primarily moms- especially moms of young children who are responsible for their household's Christmas magic- you may want to focus more on Black Friday rather than a big Christmas sale. If you have younger or older demographics who are on either side of the heavy holiday lifting and aren't as responsible for extensive Christmas shopping, planning, and hosting, focusing your efforts on a big holiday sale may be more appropriate.

If you choose to participate in both Black Friday and a December holiday sale, ensure the offers are significantly different to avoid cannibalizing your sales or doing double the work for the same result. That may look like one option on Black Friday (e.g., 20% off ten class packages) and a robust Christmas holiday campaign (or vice versa), but try not to offer the same deals for both campaigns. There should be a distinct difference in your sales to appeal to a broader audience and buyer psychologies.

Effective Email Marketing Strategies

Of all your marketing, email plays the most important role in your fitness studio's Black Friday success. Most of your sales will come from a well-crafted email campaign that covers multiple days and speaks to a multitude of buyer personas. Here's how to make your emails stand out:

Strategic Emails:

• Plan and schedule your emails in advance to avoid last-minute chaos.

• Write subject lines that stand out. You're competing against every retailer your clients have purchased from all year during this week. If you want to be noticed, you need to stand out. 

• Use personalization in your emails. It increases the open rate by 29%.

• A subject line that includes the discount percent increases the open rate by 15%.

• Emojis increase the open rate up to 28%+ (but use it sparingly).

• Send more emails than you think you should. Only 15% of emails get opened on Black Friday, so you need to send more than average just for the chance of being seen. If you're doing deal of the day, that means two emails a day- one in the morning and one at night with an urgent "last chance!" lever (I know, don't panic close this tab yet!).

The good news? Once you make your framework, you can reuse it for all of your major campaigns. Save them in a folder in your email software and brush them off next year. 

Leveraging Social Media Effectively

Social media is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, but if you're not already a regular on one of the platforms, don't feel like you need to start now. Most of your sales will come from current or recent warm leads, so speak directly to them rather than shouting into the internet, and remember your email will do the heavy lifting. Treat social media like a boost rather than using it as your whole campaign strategy. 

Strategic Content Scheduling:

• Schedule your social media posts in advance using tools like Plannoly or Tailwind.

• Focus on high-value content, mixing educational, inspirational, and entertaining posts with your sales content. If you're too salesy, clients will stop interacting and your algorithm will shrink, even if you're posting more. 

• Utilize Instagram Stories for sales posts and interactive content like polls and Q&A sessions to keep high-value business-as-usual content on your feed.

• Engage with your audience through direct messages and respond promptly and authentically to nurture personal connections and future sales.

Your overall social media strategy shouldn't change much aside from increasing your regular posting to show up with increased holiday competition. Skip the ads during the holidays unless you have a huge budget. It's the most expensive time to run them, and they have a lower conversion rate due to all of the extra noise this time of year. 

Beyond Digital: Out-of-Home and Guerrilla Marketing

It's not a Limitless article without me reminding you to think beyond digital platforms to reach a broader audience. Your storefront and windows are your billboards that you've already paid for. Use them!

Creative Out-of-Home Marketing:

• Use banners, QR codes, window paint, and signage to reach walk-by or drive-by traffic.

• Make sure your OOH marketing is combined with a well-designed landing page and QR codes for ease of purchase. 

• If your marketing is for a high-dollar campaign, then the goal is to nurture those clients rather than expect an immediate purchase. Your landing page should only ask for a first name and email address rather than a credit card. 

• If you're selling something small or inexpensive, a credit card purchase is okay, but make sure you're still segmenting those clients in your email list so you know where they came from for future, more significant sales.

Technical Preparations for a Seamless Experience

Ensure your technical setup is tested and ready before you send out your first email. See the workshop for a complete to-do list, but remember to:

1. Create Landing Pages

2. Create cart links in your booking software

3. Check all your links

4. Create a banner for your website

5. Sign up for a countdown timer if you're using one

Tease the Sale

So, you've determined your goal, created your offers, and double-checked your expiration dates. It's time to tell people! Start teasing your Black Friday specials in creative ways. 

1. Add a Canva shot to your Instagram stories where they can't quite see the total sale.

2. Go live on social media to talk about the benefits of joining your studio, and tell viewers to stay tuned for Black Friday.

3. Post a story of a blank newsletter with "coming soon to your inbox!" and a newsletter sign-up box.

4. Start making announcements in class reminding clients to watch their inboxes the day of your Black Friday launch.

5. Count down to Black Friday in your Facebook stories- 3 days to go!

6. Don't forget to add it to your Google My Business updates.

Personalize Your Plan with a VIP List 

76 percent of consumers said that early access to sales would make them more likely to buy, and 69% would be more likely to buy if the promotions are personalized. Those statistics are too substantial to be ignored, so whip out your Limitless Black Friday lead sheet and start strategizing. Build your VIP (very important purchaser) list for your must-contact clients, including inactive clients, old members, regular sale-seekers, and recent intros who expired without buying. Then start contacting those clients with a quick personal video or text:

"Hi, Client name, I wanted to make sure I gave you first dibs at this year's Black Friday special of ______ because I know it's a favorite of yours, and we're only offering four this year. It's yours if you want it!"

Yes, it's a bit more work upfront, but my clients regularly share that this VIP list works to increase your revenue. It's worth the effort, I promise. 

As Black Friday week approaches, the key to success lies in meticulous planning, personalized communication, and strategic marketing across multiple channels. By understanding your audience, crafting compelling offers, and utilizing effective marketing strategies, your fitness studio can make the most out of this high-stakes shopping spectacle. Start preparing early, engage your audience creatively, and watch your Black Friday sales roll in. 

Need a coach in your corner? Get the step-by-step planning guide in the Black Friday Planning Workshop.