We’ve discussed why you want good content, but now what about outreach? In the world of marketing, nothing stands alone; everything gets interwoven and utilized. It’s about creating funnels and pathways that take your reader and website visitor directly where you need them to go – on the mats of your martial arts academy.

With dozens of martial arts academies popping up teaching everything from Krav Maga and Drunken Boxing to Capoeira Fusion, you want to stand out. The best way to stand out is to pick your Thing, stand by it, and blast it from the rooftops. Our founder did this near-literally, but it’s not 1998 so you don’t have to sticker the entire city of Boulder in die-cut vinyl. You can do it through good email marketing. 

These days, the best way to slip into people’s minds is through the internet, and the most direct way is email marketing. You want to make sure to get in front of the eyes of your target audience, and not get lost in the sauce.  

[Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working]

Why

Lack of clear information creates the number one blockage in communication. Have you ever been peeved that you didn’t know about a sale or event your academy was having – a gathering or a free workshop going on that day you were bored at home? Had you only known, you would have definitely taken advantage. Email marketing exists for this reason.

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay connected to students, parents and prospective members. It creates easy pathways to communicate with them about events, schedule changes, merch drops, closures and more. Even if your coaches read off announcements at the end of class each day, some people need a reminder in their Inbox.

It also can make people feel like they’re connected to a community. We’ve had many people take a break from training at Easton and then find out it was an email that brought them back. 

At the end of the day, you want to become more than just a gym. You’re a hub of information, resources, and knowledgeable individuals both on the mats and off (we’re not just talking about staff). You’re an academy. Staying connected through updates and sharing information becomes one of the small ways your academy breathes.

How

You should have access to a list of emails from prospective, current, and former students. Starting with your lead generation mechanism on your website, you should be collecting emails first and foremost among the information you mine from prospective students. 

If you somehow missed their email when they became a lead, be sure to collect it when you get them to sign up. Email addresses are like gold in the modern age of internet marketing. Once you have them, you have direct access to your consumers. 

If you’ve been gathering an email list of prospects, students or former students, make sure you’re keeping it up to date. This might mean syncing up your email marketing CRM or setting an alert for yourself to update your contact list monthly if you have to do it manually.

Each time you send out a group of emails pertaining to the same topic or goal, that’s called a campaign. Pace your marketing campaigns so that you don’t overwhelm your audience by sending too many emails on the same day or even over the course of the week. 

If you’re curious to see what works and what doesn’t start tracking your numbers. See how many unsubscribes you get when you send 5 emails a week versus 3. You can do general research to identify best standard practices based on industry trends, but tracking your own unique data will give you insight into your own, very specific story.  

What

Aside from basic operational updates like schedule changes and save-the-dates, email marketing can make a powerful brand-building tool, focusing on culture and connection. It’s a way for you to share parts of yourself and your company with your members in a way they may not experience just coming in a couple times a week for class.

One way that you could utilize your email marketing channel to share more than just the basics is to share student stories. Launch a community-oriented email campaign where a couple times a month you spotlight a student and share their story. Or their favorite BJJ move. As long as your idea comes from an honest place of excitement and heart, it could be almost anything. 

Something like this, which breaks down the intimidating wall between a “martial artist” and the rest of the world, could make the difference between a student who comes once a week and eventually quits, to a student who becomes a permanent fixture in your academy’s community.

Living organism

Likely, you’re already targeting viewers and potential members digitally with paid ads, but once someone gets on your email list, you want them to stay subscribed. This means you need to view your email marketing as a living organism that breathes, shifts, reacts and responds.  

Your audience can be either wooed or repelled, and you need to learn the pulse of your subscribers. Once you get some insight into which emails get more opens, which get more unsubscribes, you can begin to blend the needs of your messaging with the rhythm of your audience. 

Think of your email list as a vital artery that extracts information and infuses engagement back in through its power to communicate, much like the circulatory system. You need it. So, you need to learn how to keep that channel as clear as possible. 

Email marketing is your friend. It’s a megaphone and a catalyst. It’s also a power you shouldn’t abuse. Make sure to respect your subscribers' emotional boundaries and inbox space, and you’ll create a strong sense of brand loyalty and genuine connection to your community that lasts a lifetime.