3 Proven Ways to Promote Your Spinning Class

A spinning class harnesses the power of riding in a pack. It is one of the most popular group workouts in the UK today.

If you’re organising a spinning class, your challenge is to get potential participants to notice it. So how do you successfully promote your spinning class? Let’s look at 3 tested ways of going about it.

1. Design fantastic introductory offers

There are countless people out there who would like to start spin cycling. But they’re cautious of taking the first step. Some might have had bad experiences with their instructors. They’re looking for better alternatives.

Know the easiest way to rope them in?

Make affordable introductory offers. People love an opportunity to save money. Free class trials have that perfect win-win potential for you and for your new students.

Through a free trial, they can get a first-hand experience of your class. They’ll see what makes it unique without taking on too much risk or commitment.

Good examples of captivating introductory offers

Want inspiration? Here are some quick examples of intro offers:

• 30 days of unlimited spinning cycle classes for £XX
• Discounted new member fee in January
• Earn back your first month membership fee so long as you keep up with the classes
• Limited time trial: Get an all-access pass for XX days.

For spinning cycle classes, a limited time trial works best. It doesn’t place limit on the types of classes people can take so they can get the full experience before making a decision.

If your class is fantastic, new members should be hooked by the end of the trial period and come to rely on it for that extra shot of feel-good endorphins. From there, many will sign up for a full membership.

Here’s another way to look at it: Many spinning classes already have introductory offers and beginner’s incentives:

• Ride Republic, for example, has 10 rides for £110 and Black Friday offers of 8 rides for £8.
• Boom Cycle has an introductory offer of 3 rides for £29, with each offer lasting 14 days.

Most newbies expect such introductory offers. Without them, your class may be at a disadvantage.

Remember to communicate clearly on the trial period end date, especially when it’s almost coming to a close.

The happy customers you get during the intro period will help to promote your spinning class through word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals. Speaking of which…

2. Start a referral program

So, you have gone the whole nine yards with your introductory offers. You have a sizeable membership.

The camaraderie between your riders is strong. They leave your classes exhausted, sweaty, accomplished, and happy.

How do you encourage them to say good things about your class to other people?

Simple, start a referral programme!

Your existing students are your best advocates. Fred Reichheld puts it very aptly:

the value of any one customer does not reside only in what that person buys…what they are prepared to tell others about you can influence your revenues and profits just as much.  

Research has proven that people are four times more likely to purchase an item when it is referred to them by a friend. The Wharton School of Business also says that referred customers are 18% less likely to leave than other customers.

This research shows that an excellent referral process has the potential of speeding up your subscription rates by up to 69%. Similarly, 59% of businesses with high-quality referral programs report higher customer lifetime values. And 71% of them have higher conversions from simple contacts to lifetime customers.

Referral incentives can encourage your existing members to invite new ones. Good examples of incentives include:

A buddy pass

This is one of the most effective ways to get new members into your spinning class. About 44% of all gym goers love to work out with another person. Encourage your members to bring in their friend, spouse, or work colleague.

Gift cards

Reward referring members with items like nutrition bars, supplements, or athletic wear. Research shows that non-cash based incentives work 24% better than cash prizes.

Discounted memberships

This involves reducing your members’ monthly fees depending on how many people they refer.

You should recognise and publicly reward members who bring in most referrals. Recognition and praise for hard work feel good. It might even push the more hesitant members out of their shells.

Keeping track of referrals

As your class grows, you’ll need an organised system to track referrals and rewards. This ensures that members get their fair rewards and lets you keep tabs on which freebies were given out.

You can try:

• A simple sign-in system that notes every new member’s referrer.
• A hard copy of an intake form that has the name of the member who referred them.
• Business card–sized referral cards that your members can hand out.

Tip: Tools like Girafi can automate your referral program. They let you offer referral-based freebies on your website for actions like verifiable social media recommendations.

3. Re-engage your members with email marketing

After new member acquisition, retention becomes the next critical phase that fuels your success. Statistics show that a 5% increase in customer retention rate can increase profits by 25% to 95%. In fact, attracting one new customer costs five times more than retaining an existing one.

You will probably have a mailing list with all of your existing and past members. And yet…the average email stands only a 25% chance of being opened.

Thing is, not all of your dormant subscribers are lost causes. If you have won them over once, who says you cannot win them back again?

Sending re-engagement emails to show your old subscribers you do care about their progress and needs is quite easy. (But keep in mind that generic emails can sink you deeper into disengagement.) Here’s what to do:

Segment your hibernating subscribers to address their needs better

Dig deep and find out why they might be dormant and what you need to do to meet their current fitness needs effectively.

How do you achieve this?

1. If possible, reach out to inactive riders personally and ask questions.
2. Have frequent surveys and polls during sessions to measure user satisfaction.
3. Always ask quitting riders the reasons they’re not happy with your classes.
4. Pore through data and try to connect your inactive members with behaviour or other factors.

This should help you identify ways to bring your disengaged members back.

When sending out your re-engagement emails, address your subscribers by name and try to discover their present concerns. It could be something as straightforward as rude attendants at one of the local gyms or a dirty changing room.

How to spice things up for your disengaged members

You can consider a giveaway or promote new special events and themed rides in your newsletters.

If you have a Taylor Swift-themed rides, detail the extended playlist in your email. Describe the various activities that will be incorporated into the workout.

“Shake it off” on a spinning bike coupled with some weights? Taylor’s fans would love this!

If your subscriber list has grown, you might look into email marketing automation tools.

• MailChimp is a very user-friendly, charming monkey-fied platform. Its free plan allows you to send up to 12,000 personalised emails to at least 2000 of your subscribers.
• ConvertKit automates your email marketing with drag-and-drop design tools. It also assists you in building useful opt-in forms and more.

Tip: Check out these 10 great examples of re-engagement emails.

Now it’s your turn

You’ve put so much effort into making your spinning class rock. You deserve a sold-out class, with lots of repeat members. Use the above methods to promote your spinning class like a pro. Good luck!