So you’ve probably heard about the elusive “email list” and the incredibly positive effects email marketing can have on your Beachbody coaching business. Building your coaching email list is going to be one of the best marketing tools – next to your website itself – that you have at your disposal.
Everyone is talking about the email list. There’s a good reason, even for Beachbody coaches who’s services range from free virtual bootcamps to joining your team.
You are your own unique coach with a unique way of doing business. You want to find “your people” and bring them into your orbit.
You are more than a Beachbody Coach.
Share YOU with those who want to listen and are receiving what you’re sharing.
I have been in this email marketing ‘game’ for quite a while now. I’m no guru but I have learned a fwe lessons along my journey in this digital space. In the beginning of doing this online business thing (a few years of being a Beachbody coach myself) it was overwhelming to figure out what type of freebie to create. How much to give, what to do after someone subscribed, all the things. I was doing what everyone was telling me to do. Never a good path to take.
I’ve dropped the ball many times and now, I’ve got a solid handle on the “rules” of the game. I learned a lot being a Beachbody coach myself, life coach, hypnotist and now building our web design business.
In the early days of JoLi Design Solutions, I created a few freebies and finally got things set up the way I thought would work. Well, they did not work. I attracted the wrong people completely so I didn’t make any progress with my email list.
I got discouraged and was not interested in email marketing at all. I pulled everything down, switched platforms and started fresh – after a few months of doing nothing – and now I KISS… keep it super simple.
The best way to get people onto your email list…
is to offer something for free and get that offer in front of as many eyeballs as you can! My favorite marketing tool right now is Pinterest. It’s my playground and so far so good with the results.
Anyway… you don’t only want to offer something for free, you want to create something that your ideal clients ARE LOOKING FOR. This is the kicker! They have to want it, be looking for it and have the problem that you are going to solve with this freebie.
Giving away your email address is pretty sacred, and people aren’t just going to give you their email address for no reason. There has to be something in it for them. They have to see the value, feel that you are going to help them and be inspired to take action by subscribing for “the solution to their problem”.
Biggest Mistake: Creating a random freebie and throwing it out there!
We don’t just want to create any old freebie. Like I said, where I made my biggest mistake when I first started growing my email list was having opt-in freebies that were totally attracting the wrong audience.
I thought the more people on my email list the better, so I created tons of freebies that weren’t really targeted toward my ideal clients, and I ended up with a big email list full of people who were never going to buy from me. Ugh, it was painful to say the least.
When I was beginning my 3-year journey of being a Beachbody Coach, I tried freebie after freebie to attract people, but in hindsight I had zero focus, minimal visibility and a lackluster website. I was still very new to web design and didn’t know best practices so this is my defense. haha
Not only was creating all of those freebies a waste of my time, but it was costly, because most email marketing platforms charge you for the more people you have on your list.
And I wasn’t only wasting time, I was zapped of energy with no ROI. I was wasting my time, energy AND paying a lot of money for people who were never going to buy from me.
Side note: We now use an email marketing platform that does not charge for how many subscribers you have. It’s a yearly subscription and there’s no limit of subscribers. Check it out!
These days I put a lot of thought behind one great freebie and am intentional about what I offer. It may not work the way I want it to with every freebie, but I don’t throw everything out there anymore. And while our list is growing a bit slower than I’d like it to, it was finally to a point where I know the people coming in are actually interested in what we have to offer.
Long story short, email marketing can work for any type of business, especially Beachbody coaches, but you have to make sure you’re attracting the right people to your freebie and on to your email list.
And to get the right sort of people on your list, you need to create the perfect opt-in.
So what makes a great freebie for Beachbody coaches?
1 – Your freebie needs to be helpful
Your opt-in incentive needs to be helpful or useful to your audience, otherwise there is no reason for them to download it or opt-in. They need to know there is a quick win in it for them. You don’t have to ‘give away the farm’ but give enough so they feel seen and have help in solving their problem.
2 – You want to create free offer specifically for your ideal client
It needs to be created strategically for your ideal client/target audience, otherwise you’ll be getting the wrong sort of people on your list. Really give this some thought. You may have to pivot and choose another freebie if you find one is not working, but give it some time too.
Don’t abandon the freebie after one week, three weeks, five weeks… okay, five weeks can be a turning point if you want to. But you have to give it some time and do your due diligence to get in front of people who are interested in fitness, healthy lifestyle, nutrition… actually being a part of your Beachbody team.
3 – Your offer needs to be related to, or leads into, the services you’re trying to sell
This one is more obvious, but no judgement here if you have fallen flat with this one. I sure have. You are a Beachbody coach and you provide certain services, even some that could be over and above what you do as a Beachbody coach. Utilize what you do and who you are to attract your ideal clients/customers.
I’ve missed the mark on a recent freebie about maintaining your WordPress website and making sure you’re protecting your investment.
“Our people” are people who want a website for their business, but don’t particularly care about maintaining their website, or don’t necessarily realize it can be a big problem if they don’t. They want a tool that will help them grow their business. Our solutions are simple, effective and hassle-free.
Here are some ideas that you can use for a freebie:
Free Consultation
This is probably the most common go-to free offer idea for coaches and consultants. Offering your real service for free can help attract people who are potentially going to join your team, or become customers down the road. Giving them a taste of what it’s like to be a part of your Beachbody community, your team, etc., can always help them decide whether it is worth investing. They will remember this personalized experience.
Free Mini-Challenge /Virtual Bootcamp
This is a great offer to have in place all the time and be sharing regularly. Whether you call them bootcamps or challenge groups makes no difference. I understand joining a challenge group is an investment, but maybe you run a shorter 5-day group. Something to invite these potential coaches to that is going to give them a little taste of working with you. You can even give them a more brand specific name, but if you’re going at this earlier on in your coaching journey, you’ll want to stick with what people know.
An email course
Set up your email marketing software (I highly recommend FluentCRM) to send 1 email a day for 3-5 days. You don’t want a free challenge to go longer than this. This can lead into a challenge group! An email course can be anything you want it to be. You can include short videos, guides, and even an opportunity to work with you in some capacity.
Guide, Checklist, Calendar, Cheatsheet
These are super easy freebies to create! As a Beachbody coach you already have access to tons of content that you can make your own and create something like this. You demonstrate your knowledge and help your audience get results! Yay you!!
For example; provide a list of 10 superfoods and a quick recipe or two. Another example; create a guide to using the correct weights when strength training. The list is endless. You’ll build credibility and have them looking toward you as an authority or a trusted guide.
A free video training
Create a video training on your topic and send them the video when they opt-in. You could create an interactive workbook to go alongside this training
Webinar
Grant access to a live webinar you’re hosting on the topic, or a replay of the webinar you previously hosted on the topic. This is a little more involved to put together but can be well worth the time and energy.
Remember when building your Beachbody coach email list…
It doesn’t have to be extravagant, long or complicated. If anything, the simpler the better. You always want to end with ways people can work with you, something lower priced maybe, or something to take the next step with you.
Make it easy on yourself in the beginning though. You can always build from the one freebie you have. If you already have a handful of free offers, I recommend adding them to a platform like MemberVault where you can start with a free subscription “hub” area and build out your offerings as you go. It’s free to start and offers a lot of bells and whistles. They really are a great company.
P.S. The link to FluentCRM in this article is an affiliate link, meaning I get a small commission if you sign up using my link. And you get a 20% discount. I only promote products I use and love!
