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What is the secret to getting new members for your health club or personal training business? How do you keep current clients coming back? The answer could be a customer newsletter.

Successful businesses, both large and small, have been using newsletters to build customer loyalty and advertise their products and services for years. If you are a personal trainer or own a health club, do you have a customer newsletter? If not, you could benefit from one.

Customer newsletters are easy to create and distribute. All you need is a one-page newsletter with at least one article of interest to your customers. The rest of the space in your newsletter can be used to advertise your health club or services. You can easily create such a one-page newsletter on a personal computer with a work processing or publishing program. Microsoft[R] Publisher and Microsoft Word have newsletter designs with graphics in their programs. All you need to do is add the text. Your newsletter can then be copied or printed at a local printer.

Here's an example: Suppose you've recently opened a local health and fitness club. In order to get new customers, you compose a one-page newsletter. Included can be a brief article on how to cut fat in your daily diet with low fat recipes, as well as an article on how to flatten your stomach, complete with exercise instructions. You could also include tips on topics such as weight training. (You can get ideas for articles by reading women's and fitness magazines.)

The rest of the newsletter can be used for advertising such as "Health Club Memberships During the Month of October--20% Off!" If you're a personal trainer, an ad reading "10 Home Visits--20% Off" might be effective. Coupons are also great to include, such as "Buy One Super Energy Bar and Get One Free!"

Be sure to include your name, the name and address of your health club or personal training business and the names of your staff members. For the convenience of the reader, make sure to include traveling directions to the club, its operating hours and the appropriate phone and/or e-mail information for appointments and/or questions.

Send your newsletter to current customers, keeping their names and addresses on an organized mailing list. Distribute the newsletter to people in your community, too. If you're feeling particularly industrious, have the local ad paper distribute it with their next edition.

I recommend publishing newsletters once a month with new articles and new product and service offerings. Furthermore, keep a stack of newsletters at your health club or business for walk-ins to pick up. You can even post it in local supermarkets. Newsletters are a great and inexpensive way to keep your health club or personal training business in front of members and potential customers. After all, the more exposure the better!

Laura Peterson is a freelance writer based in Itasca, Illinois, and representative for Arbonne Products, who specialize in health, vitality, skin and cosmetic products. For more information, call (630) 250-7472 or e-mail ronpete@prodigy.net.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group