As we all know, the summer can be one of the toughest times of year for your clients and your business.
August can also be especially tough as many families are still on vacation and parents are getting their kids ready for school… and fitness and nutrition aren’t usually at the top of their priority list…
CHECK-IN CHALLENGES TO THE RESCUE!
Today, I’m going to outline a solution for you that’ll help you boost attendance AND motivate your clients to stick to their goals through one of the toughest months of the year.
Remember: It’s a LOT easier for your clients to stay motivated and maintain an existing habit than it is to get back in the groove later, when it can feel like they are starting all over again.
There’s one surefire way to keep your clients on track: set up a competition!
In a nutshell, a check-in challenge is where you’re challenging your clients to attend or achieve a certain number of workouts over the course of a month.
If they hit the goal (let’s say 12 workouts in a 30-day period), they win a prize! (Example: a water bottle or a special tee-shirt.)
These are awesome for not only keeping your clients on track with their goals (and for your business), but could also be pretty ninja for boosting your social media traffic… I’ll show you how in a bit.
Here’s the Step-by-Step on how to run a successful check-in challenge.
Step 1: Set Your Timeframe and Benchmarks.
How long will your challenge run? Four to six weeks is a good length of time – long enough to keep them motivated, and short enough to keep their attention. (I personally like four.)
Next, calculate a reasonable number of times your clients can workout or attend class during that period of time. 12 is usually a pretty solid number.
Step 2: Select Your Prizes.
Don’t break the bank. Clients will be motivated by almost any prize. Here are some fun ideas:
- Branded T-shirt
- Branded towel
- Water bottle
- Training session/nutrition consult
- Gym bag
- Gift certificate (massage, etc.)
- Branded reusable grocery bag
- Yoga mat
Cost-saving option: This is an alternative way to stage your challenge. Rather than awarding prizes to everyone who hits a benchmark, instead you can give a raffle ticket to everyone who comes to class/training. At the end of the challenge, do a drawing for one bigger prize!
The more often they come to class, the more chances they have to win.
You could do the raffle drawing at a special class to celebrate the end of the challenge – or you can do it via Facebook Live to get a little extra marketing push from it.
Other options: There is a great thread over in my Fitness Business Freedom Formula Facebook group with lots of member-generated attendance challenge ideas. Check it out here.
Step 3: Set Your Rules
Don’t overcomplicate this. Keep it super simple. You just need to define what will count as a check-in. For example:
- Do clients need to put a gold sticker next to their name on the “Check-In Challenge Poster” at your studio? (see #5 for details on how to do this)
- Do they need to check in on Facebook?
- Both?
- If you run an online training program, do they need to post a “sweaty selfie” with a special hashtag in your group or on your page?
Step 4: Promote It!
Spread the word about your challenge!
Send an email to your members, promote your challenge on social media (along with frequent updates as the challenge progresses), and put up posters around your studio.
Get people EXCITED! Get your team excited about this, too – more clients and members in the studio make their jobs easier and more fun, also!
Step 5: Make It Fun…
Pin up a progress chart so people can track how they are doing.
Get a big poster board and create a grid with spaces for your clients to put their names down one side and the dates across the top.
Have your clients put a sticker (like a gold star) next to their name every time they come to class.
This is motivating to your members … and also makes a great impression on new prospects who see a thriving community!
You also can track total visits to your studio to keep people motivated – you could make a donation to a favorite charity based on how many show up for workouts over the course of the challenge (this is optional!).
The extra “buzz” created by your challenge will put you in a positive space to hit the ground running in September, when business naturally picks back up.
Step 6: Swipe this Email to Get Started Right Now!
Here’s an email you can copy & paste to send to your list. Just fill in the blanks!
Good morning!
How’s it going? I hope you’re having a fantastic summer and enjoying this amazing weather!
You know that your fitness is important to us. Do you remember back when you first started working out … and how hard it was to get your momentum going, to start feeling and seeing results?
Don’t let that momentum slow down! It’s so much easier to keep it going vs. trying to start it back up again.
That’s exactly why we are kicking off a fun challenge on DATE – to help you keep reaching your goals!
We’re holding an attendance challenge that will not only reward you with results but also … PRIZES! 🙂 (I love a good prize, how about you?)
Every time you show up for a workout, you earn prize points!
Here’s how it works.
[PROVIDE A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE CHALLENGE RULES,
AND REMEMBER TO KEEP IT SIMPLE]
Not only do you earn a reward for your efforts … but you also gain a head start on your fall goals!
Looking forward to seeing you in the challenge!
Have an amazing day,
YOUR NAME
YOUR BUSINESS
Step 7: BONUS SWIPE: Social Media Post!!
This can be used in your Facebook group, on your Facebook page, and also on Instagram. Tweak the copy to suit your needs, fill in the blanks, and be sure to include an eye-catching graphic or video.
You can also tag clients in this post for even more impact!
📢🎉 SUMMER FUN AHEAD! 🎉📢
🌞 We’re taking it to the next level with our SUMMER CHECK-IN CHALLENGE … which kicks off DATE!
🥳You don’t want to miss this!
🏆Every time you workout, you earn prize points … and also amazing results.💪
🤸♂️🎁✨Have fun, get fit, win prizes … what could be better?
👉 How to enter: [RULES HERE]!
👉Check out our schedule here: LINK TO SCHEDULE.
🥇The contest is open to our members and runs through DATE. 🥇
🎉🎉 Are you READY to accept this challenge!?!?! Let me know in a comment below! 🎉🎉
………………………………………………………………………..
So there you have it… a step-by-step guide to setting up your attendance challenge!
Keep this one in your arsenal for next summer, too.
Hope you found this post helpful!
Make it an AMAZING rest of your day,
Alicia
