Create a Winning Fitness Studio Email Marketing Template with Klaviyo

May 23, 2023·Nataliia· 10 min read All posts

As a fitness studio owner, you know that email marketing is crucial for retaining members, driving sales, and building a loyal community. But crafting the perfect email template can be overwhelming, especially when you're short on time and resources. That's where Klaviyo comes in – a powerful email marketing platform designed specifically for e-commerce and service-based businesses like yours.

25%↑

Email marketing conversion rate

Increase this with a winning template and Klaviyo

30%↑

Average email open rate

40%↑

Average email click-through rate

60%→

Average email ROI

The numbers are clear: a well-designed email template can boost your conversion rate, open rate, and click-through rate, leading to a significant increase in revenue. But what makes a winning email template, and how can you create one with Klaviyo?

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Target Audience

Before you start designing your email template, it's essential to know who your target audience is and what you want to achieve with your email marketing campaigns. Are you trying to:

Retain existing members and encourage them to book more classes?
Attract new members and promote your services?
Drive sales of your merchandise or supplements?

Take some time to brainstorm your goals and identify your ideal customer. This will help you create a more targeted and effective email marketing strategy.

Step 2: Choose a Template and Customize It

Klaviyo offers a range of pre-built email templates that you can customize to fit your brand and style. Choose a template that resonates with your audience and goals, and then start tweaking it to make it more engaging.

Use your studio's colors and logo to create a consistent brand identity.
Add high-quality images and graphics to make your emails more visually appealing.
Use clear and concise language to communicate your message.
Make sure your call-to-action (CTA) is prominent and easy to click.

Pro Tip

Use Klaviyo's drag-and-drop editor to make it easy to customize your template and add new elements.

Step 3: Segment Your List and Personalize Your Content

Segmenting your email list and personalizing your content can help you create more targeted and effective email campaigns. Use Klaviyo's segmentation tools to divide your list into smaller groups based on factors like:

Member type (e.g., regular, trial, or cancellations)
Location (e.g., city or zip code)
Interests (e.g., yoga, Pilates, or weightlifting)
Behavior (e.g., purchases or class attendance)

Then, use Klaviyo's personalization features to tailor your content to each segment. For example, you could:

Use the member's name in the email subject line or greeting.
Reference their preferred class or activity.
Offer exclusive promotions or discounts based on their interests or behavior.

Real Example

Check out this example of a personalized email campaign from a fitness studio in New York City.

Step 4: Send and Track Your Emails

Once you've designed and customized your email template, it's time to send it out to your list. Use Klaviyo's email sending tools to schedule your emails in advance, track your open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, and make data-driven decisions to improve your email marketing campaigns.

Watch Out

Don't forget to include a clear CTA in your email and make sure it's mobile-friendly!

BarChart: Email Open Rate Comparison

Here's a comparison of the average email open rates for different industries:

Average Email Open Rate by Industry

Fitness StudioBest

25%

E-commerce

18%

Service-Based Business

20%

Other

22%

Source: Klaviyo

As you can see, fitness studios have a significantly higher email open rate compared to other industries. This is likely due to the fact that fitness enthusiasts are more engaged and active online.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a powerful platform like Klaviyo at your fingertips, small missteps can turn a perfectly good email campaign into a wasted opportunity. Over the years, I’ve watched fitness studio owners pour their hearts into beautifully designed emails, only to wonder why nobody showed up for that 6 AM bootcamp. The truth is, the mistakes are almost always the same. Let’s walk through five of the most common ones, and more importantly, how to fix them without burning out your small team.

Mistake #1: Treating Every Member Exactly the Same

You wouldn’t hand a beginner the same workout plan you’d give a seasoned athlete, so why would you send them the same email? One of the biggest mistakes I see is studios sending a single, generic broadcast to their entire list. A mother of two who joined last week to lose baby weight has completely different needs than a retired triathlete who has been with you for three years. When every subscriber gets the same message, nobody feels special. And when nobody feels special, open rates drop, click-throughs plummet, and your carefully crafted email ends up in the spam folder or, worse, ignored.

The fix is surprisingly simple and requires almost no extra time once Klaviyo is set up. Use segments. In Klaviyo, you can create dynamic lists based on how long someone has been a member, how often they attend, what class types they prefer, or even if they’ve purchased a package recently. For example, create a segment for “members who haven’t booked a class in 14 days” and send them a gentle nudge with a “We miss you” subject line and a direct link to book their favorite class. Then, create another segment for “new members (joined within 30 days)” and send them a welcome series that answers common questions, introduces the instructors, and offers a small discount on their first retail purchase. Klaviyo makes this incredibly easy—you don’t need to be a data scientist. Just a few clicks can turn a one-size-fits-all blast into a tailored conversation. When you segment, your open rates can jump by 14% or more, and your click-through rates often double. That’s the difference between an email that gets deleted and one that fills your 5:30 PM spin class.

Mistake #2: Emailing Too Often (or Not Often Enough)

There’s a sweet spot for email frequency, and most fitness studios miss it entirely. On one side, you have the owner who sends an email every single day, sometimes twice. That quickly becomes noise. Your members feel overwhelmed, they start ignoring your messages, and eventually, they unsubscribe or mark you as spam. On the other side, you have the studio that sends one promotional email every three months when they need to fill a workshop. By then, your audience has forgotten you exist. They don’t recognize your name in their inbox, and that email feels like a cold call from a stranger.

So what’s the right frequency? For a local fitness studio, I recommend two to three emails per week as a solid baseline. One should be a value-driven email, like a quick workout tip, a recipe for a post-workout smoothie, or a member spotlight. Another could be a class schedule update or a reminder about an upcoming event. The third can be a promotional email—a new package, a referral incentive, or a limited-time discount. The key is consistency. If you send three emails one week and none the next, you confuse your audience. Klaviyo’s calendar and campaign scheduling features let you plan ahead. You can batch-write your content for the month on a quiet Sunday afternoon, schedule everything in advance, and never worry about forgetting a send. If you’re worried about over-emailing, look at your unsubscribe rate. If it’s under 0.5% per campaign, you’re probably in a good place. If it spikes, dial it back. But don’t go silent—that’s just as damaging.

Mistake #3: Weak Subject Lines That Beg for Deletion

You spent an hour crafting the perfect email body. You included gorgeous photos of your studio, a compelling story about a member’s transformation, and a clear call-to-action. But nobody opened it. Why? Because the subject line was boring. “June Newsletter” or “This Week at FitLife Studio” might be accurate, but they’re also instant sleep aids. In a crowded inbox, your subject line is the only thing standing between your content and the trash icon. If you don’t grab attention in that first split second, nothing else matters.

The fix is to make your subject lines specific, urgent, or curiosity-driven—or ideally, all three. Instead of “New Class Schedule,” try “⏰ Your favorite class just moved to 6 AM—grab a spot.” Instead of “Member Spotlight,” try “How Sarah lost 12 pounds and gained a community 💪.” Klaviyo has a built-in subject line testing tool called A/B testing. You can send two different subject lines to a small percentage of your list, let Klaviyo automatically determine which one performs better, and then send the winner to the rest of your audience. For example, you could test “Last chance for 20% off your next package” against “Don’t miss out—20% off ends tonight.” The second one might beat the first by 30% on open rate. That means hundreds more eyes on your email, just from a few word changes. Also, keep subject lines under 50 characters for mobile devices. Over 60% of emails are opened on phones, so if your subject line gets cut off, you lose. Use emojis sparingly—one or two can boost open rates by 3-5%, but too many look spammy. Test, measure, and iterate. It takes five minutes and pays off for weeks.

Mistake #4: Missing or Weak Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

I see emails all the time with beautiful layouts, inspirational quotes, and stories that tug at the heartstrings—but then the email ends with nothing. Or worse, the link says “Click here” buried in a wall of text. A winning email template always has a clear, single, and compelling call-to-action. Your reader should never have to guess what you want them to do next. Do you want them to book a class? Buy a package? Refer a friend? Watch a video? If you try to ask for all three in one email, you confuse the reader, and they do nothing.

The fix is to design your email around one primary goal. If the goal is to fill your Sunday morning yoga class, then every element of the email should drive that. The subject line mentions a special Sunday flow. The body talks about the benefits of morning yoga with a specific instructor. The CTA button says “Book Your Sunday Spot Now” in bright, contrasting colors. Place that button above the fold (visible without scrolling) and repeat it once more near the bottom for those who read through. Klaviyo’s drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to add buttons, adjust colors, and test different placements. Also, avoid generic text like “Learn More” or “Shop Now.” Be specific: “Claim Your Free Pass,” “Reserve Your Mat,” or “Get 20% Off Today.” I’ve seen a single CTA change boost click-through rates from 1.5% to over 8% for one boutique studio in Austin. That’s the difference between three new bookings and fifteen. And one final detail: always include a clear CTA even in your automated flows, like welcome emails or birthday emails. People need direction. Give it to them.

Mistake #5: Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Here’s a painful truth: if your email doesn’t look good on a phone, you might as well not send it. Studies consistently show that 55-70% of email opens happen on mobile devices. For fitness studio owners, that number is often even higher because your members are on the go—checking email between meetings, during lunch, or while waiting for their child’s soccer practice to end. If your email has tiny text, buttons too small to tap with a thumb, or images that don’t resize properly, your reader will close it in frustration within three seconds.

The fix is to always preview your email on mobile before hitting send. Klaviyo’s email builder includes a mobile preview feature that shows exactly how your email will appear on an iPhone or Android device. Use it every single time. Keep your font size at least 14 pixels for body text and 22 pixels for headlines. Make your CTA buttons at least 44 pixels tall (Klaviyo’s default buttons usually meet this, but double-check if you customize). Use a single-column layout instead of multiple columns—multiple columns can get squished into a mess on small screens. Also, avoid using too many images that take forever to load on cellular data. A good rule of thumb is to keep your email’s total file size under 200KB. Klaviyo will warn you if an image is too large. Finally, always include a plain-text version of your email. Some email clients strip out HTML, and if your message is unreadable, you’ve lost that subscriber forever. Klaviyo auto-generates a plain-text version, but take a moment to clean it up so it reads naturally. This one step alone can improve deliverability and ensure your message gets seen, no matter where your members are checking their inbox.

How to Write Email Copy That Gets People to the Mat

You have the template, the segments, and the Klaviyo flows all set up. But then you stare at a blank subject line and wonder what to actually say. Writing email copy for a fitness studio isn’t about being a poet. It’s about being a coach, a friend, and a motivator—all while driving a specific action. The words you choose can make the difference between a member who scrolls past and one who clicks to book a class.

Start with the Hook

The first line of your email body should hook the reader immediately. Remember that most people will see your email in a tiny preview pane on their phone, often showing only the first sentence or two. If that sentence is “We are excited to share our latest updates,” you’ve lost them. Instead, lead with a benefit, a question, or a relatable pain point. For example: “Tired of the same old treadmill routine? Try something that actually makes you smile.” Or: “You’ve been crushing it in class—here’s a little reward for your hard work.” Or even: “5 minutes. That’s all it takes to reclaim your energy for the whole day.” The hook should be so compelling that the reader has no choice but to continue. I tell my clients to write their hook first, then build the rest of the email around it. If the hook doesn’t excite you, it won’t excite your members.

Fitness is deeply personal, but it’s also communal. People are inspired by real stories from people like them. Instead of saying “Our classes are great,” say “When Maria joined us last January, she couldn’t hold a plank for 10 seconds. Last week, she held it for two full minutes—and she’s already signed up for our next challenge.” That’s real, specific, and motivating. If you have permission, include a photo of Maria (or any member) smiling in the studio. Klaviyo makes it easy to embed images, and a genuine photo of a happy member will outperform any stock photo every time. Social proof also works in the form of testimonials, class sizes, or waitlist numbers. “Our 6 PM HIIT class is almost full—only 3 spots left” creates urgency and shows that others value your offering. Use short, authentic quotes from members in your emails. Even a single line like “Best hour of my week” by a member can be more persuasive than a paragraph of your own marketing copy.

Speak to the Reader’s Identity

People don’t just buy fitness classes—they buy an identity. They want to see themselves as someone who shows up, someone who prioritizes health, someone who belongs to a community. Your email copy can reinforce that identity. Use phrases like “For those who are ready to level up…” or “You’re the kind of person who doesn’t quit—and we see that.” When you speak to who they are or who they aspire to be, you create an emotional connection that a simple discount can’t match. For example, instead of “Join our 30-day challenge,” try “You’re already putting in the work—our 30-day challenge is just the structure you need to crush your goals.” It shifts the focus from what you’re selling to what they already are. This is especially powerful in automated flows like a re-engagement campaign for inactive members. “We know life gets busy, but we also know you’re someone who comes back stronger. Here’s a free class to help you rediscover your groove.”

Keep It Short and Scannable

Nobody reads long emails anymore—especially not busy fitness studio members who are juggling work, family, and their own workouts. Keep your paragraphs to two or three sentences maximum. Use short lines, bullet points (without overdoing it), and bold text to highlight key information. For example, if you’re announcing a new class schedule, don’t write a paragraph about why the change happened. Instead, list the new times in a simple format:

Monday HIIT: Now at 6:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Wednesday Yoga: 12:00 PM lunch flow added
Saturday Bootcamp: Moved to 8:00 AM

Your reader can scan that in under five seconds and get the information they need. Then, below that, a single CTA button: “Book Your New Favorite Class.” The shorter the path from open to action, the higher your conversion rate. Also, avoid jargon or overly complex language. Your members aren’t fitness professionals—they’re people who want to move their bodies and feel good. Talk to them like a friend would. Warm, direct, and supportive.

Inject Personality and Consistency

This is where your brand voice shines. Are you the high-energy, hype-you-up studio? Then your copy should be full of exclamation points, emojis, and motivational phrases. Are you the calm, mindful yoga sanctuary? Then your emails should be softer, with longer sentences and a peaceful tone. Whatever your voice, be consistent across every email. If you’re funny in one email and formal in the next, you confuse your audience. Klaviyo allows you to save snippets of commonly used text—like your signature sign-off or your tagline—so you can maintain consistency without rewriting it every time. Develop a short style guide for your studio: list a few words you always use and a few you never use. For example, one studio I worked with banned the word “amazing” because it felt overused. Instead, they used “unstoppable,” “energized,” and “strong.” Small word choices can subtly shape how your brand is perceived. Always end your emails with a line that feels like you. “Now go crush it—see you on the mat” or “Wishing you a strong and peaceful week.” That personal touch turns a template into a conversation.

A/B Testing Your Fitness Emails: What to Test and How to Interpret Results

You’ve written your email, designed your template, and scheduled your campaign. But are you leaving money on the table? Every email you send is an experiment. And with Klaviyo’s A/B testing tools, you can turn guesswork into data-driven decisions. The best fitness studio owners I work with don’t just send emails—they constantly test, learn, and improve. Over time, small improvements compound into significant revenue gains.

What Elements to Test First

You could test a hundred different things, but start with the big levers. I recommend testing one element at a time to get clean results. Here are the five most impactful tests for a fitness studio email:

Subject lines: As we discussed earlier, this is the lowest-hanging fruit. Test a question vs. a statement. Test emoji vs. no emoji. Test personalization (using the member’s first name) vs. not. For example: “Hey [], your mat is waiting” vs. “Your mat is waiting for you tonight.” Run the test for at least four hours or until you have 1,000 opens per variation, whichever comes first.

Send time: When do your members most often book classes? Is it Monday morning when they’re planning their week? Or Thursday afternoon when they’re looking for weekend motivation? Klaviyo allows you to send to one segment at 7:00 AM and another at 7:00 PM, then compare open and click rates. One studio in London found that emails sent at 5:30 PM (right when people were leaving work) had 22% higher click-through rates than their standard morning sends. That insight alone filled their 6:00 PM classes.

Call-to-action copy: Test “Book Now” vs. “Reserve Your Spot” vs. “I Want In.” Test button color—does a bright orange button outperform a calm blue one? It might sound trivial, but I’ve seen a 15% difference in click rates simply by changing the button text from “Learn More” to “Save My Spot.” Klaviyo’s A/B test will tell you which variation drives more clicks, and you can set the winner to go to the rest of your list automatically.

Content length: Some audiences want a quick nudge; others want a story. Test a short, punchy email (three sentences and a button) against a longer email with a member story, an image, and two paragraphs. One yoga studio found that their longer emails had higher click-through rates for their weekend retreats, but their short emails performed better for daily class reminders. The key is to test based on your specific goal.

Offer or incentive: This is a gold mine. Test a 10% discount vs. a free guest pass vs. a “buy 5 classes, get 1 free” deal. Or test urgency: “This week only” vs. “Limited to 20 spots.” The results can be surprising. A Pilates studio in Vancouver tested “$20 off your next 5-pack” against “Free first class for a friend” and found the friend referral offer generated 3x more new leads. They shifted their entire email strategy toward referral incentives after that test.

How to Run a Clean A/B Test in Klaviyo

Klaviyo makes A/B testing straightforward, but there are pitfalls. First, always set a sample size. You don’t need to test on your entire list. A good rule of thumb is to test on 10-15% of your recipients, then send the winner to the remaining 85-90%. For smaller lists (under 2,000 contacts), you might test on 20-30% to get statistically significant results. Second, set a test duration. I recommend a minimum of 4 hours, but 12-24 hours is better, especially if you’re testing send time across different time zones. Klaviyo will automatically determine a winner based on open rate or click rate—choose the metric that aligns with your goal. If you want more bookings, optimize for click rate. If you want more awareness, optimize for open rate. Third, avoid testing too many variations at once. Klaviyo allows up to three variations in a single test, but I’d start with two. More variations require a larger sample size to get reliable results. Finally, document your tests in a simple spreadsheet. Note the date, the element tested, the winning variation, and the percentage improvement. Over six months, you’ll build a knowledge base unique to your studio’s audience.

Interpreting Results Without Overthinking

Not every test will produce a clear winner. Sometimes both variations perform similarly—that’s okay. It tells you that the element you tested isn’t a major driver for your audience, so you can stop worrying about it. If you see a statistically significant difference (usually 10% or more improvement in your chosen metric), celebrate and implement the winner. But don’t stop there. Run the test again with a different population or tweak the winner slightly. Continuous improvement is the name of the game. Also, pay attention to secondary metrics. If Variation A has a higher open rate but Variation B has a higher click rate and more conversions, the winner is clearly B. Always tie your A/B test results back to revenue or bookings, not just vanity metrics like open rates. Klaviyo’s reporting can show you the total revenue generated from each variation if you have your tracking set up correctly. That’s the ultimate decider. One client tested two subject lines: one got 2% more opens, but the other generated 18% more revenue because it attracted the right people. The higher-revenue subject line was the clear winner, even though it had fewer opens. Data is only useful if you ask the right question. The right question is always: “Which version helps me get more people into my studio?”

Automating Member Retention and Reactivation with Klaviyo Flows

Campaigns are great for announcements and promotions, but the real magic of Klaviyo lies in its automated flows. These are pre-built email sequences that fire automatically based on a member’s behavior—or lack thereof. For a fitness studio, retention is everything. It costs five times more to acquire a new member than to keep an existing one. Automation helps you nurture relationships at scale, without adding hours to your weekly workload.

The Welcome Flow: First Impressions That Stick

When someone joins your studio, the clock starts ticking. The first 7-14 days are critical for building a habit. A welcome flow should do three things: build excitement, set expectations, and drive the first few class bookings. Here’s a simple three-email welcome flow for Klaviyo:

Email 1 (send immediately after sign-up): Thank them for joining, share a quick video tour of the studio (phone-recorded is fine—authenticity beats polish), and offer a direct link to book their first class. Include a photo of the owner or head instructor. Subject line: “Welcome to the family, []! 🎉”

Email 2 (send 2 days later): Highlight one or two popular classes and instructors. Share a quick testimonial from a new member who was nervous at first but now loves coming. Include a clear CTA to book. Subject line: “Meet your new favorite instructor.”

Email 3 (send 5-7 days later): If they haven’t booked a second class, offer a small incentive—a free smoothie at your café, a branded water bottle, or 10% off their next package. If they have booked, thank them for coming and invite them to bring a friend for a free trial. Subject line: “You’re already crushing it—here’s a little bonus.”

This flow alone can increase first-month retention by 20-30%. It’s set-and-forget, but check it quarterly to keep the content fresh.

The At-Risk Flow: Saving Members Before They Churn

Members who haven’t booked a class in 14-21 days are at risk of churning. Life gets busy, motivation dips, and all it takes is one missed week to break the habit. An at-risk flow gently nudges them back without being pushy. Start with an empathetic tone. Email 1: “We miss you! Life happens—here’s a direct link to book your favorite class. No guilt, just a mat waiting for you.” Email 2 (3 days later): Share a success story from another member who came back after a break. “Sarah took two weeks off and felt rusty, but her first class back was her best yet.” Email 3 (5 days later): Offer a small incentive—a free class credit or a discount on a future package. “Come back on us. Use code COMEBACK for a free class this week.”

Klaviyo can trigger this flow based on a custom event like “last_booked_date.” You can set it to pause if they book a class, so they don’t get the next email. This prevents annoying someone who just came back. One client recovered 12% of at-risk members with a simple three-email flow. That’s revenue you would have lost entirely.

The Birthday and Anniversary Flows: Celebrate Them

Everyone loves a little recognition on their birthday. Set up an automated birthday flow that sends a personalized email on the member’s birthday (collect their birth date during sign-up). Offer a free class or a small discount on retail. Subject line: “Happy birthday, []! Your free class is waiting.” This is low effort but builds massive goodwill. Similarly, set up a member anniversary flow—one year since they joined. Send a thank-you email with a photo they might remember from their first day, and offer a loyalty reward like a free t-shirt or a discounted annual membership. These flows cost you very little in terms of the offer, but they deepen the emotional bond between your studio and your members.

The Re-engagement Flow: The Last Effort Before Goodbye

If a member hasn’t booked in 60 days, it’s time for a final attempt. This flow is more direct but still warm. Email 1: “We haven’t seen you in a while. Is everything okay?” with a short survey link asking why they left (too busy? moved? injury?). Email 2 (7 days later): Offer a significant incentive—one month free or 50% off a 10-class pack. Email 3 (7 days later): A final goodbye, but leave the door open. “We’ll miss you. If you ever want to come back, your account will be waiting. Here’s a link to reactivate anytime.” After this, move them to a suppressions list, so you’re not paying to email inactive contacts. Klaviyo’s analytics can show you the revenue saved through re-engagement. One studio recouped $2,300 in three months from a flow like this—members who would have been lost forever.

Setting up these flows takes a few hours, but once they’re live, they work for you around the clock. You can focus on teaching classes and growing your business, while Klaviyo quietly nurtures your community. That’s the beauty of data-driven marketing: you don’t have to be everywhere at once, you just need the right automation in place.

You’ve got the template, the strategies, and the tools to turn your email marketing into a revenue engine that runs on autopilot. But I know that getting started can feel like the hardest part. Maybe you’re still figuring out your segments, or you’re not sure which flow to build first. That’s okay—you don’t have to do it alone.

At DataLatte.pro, we help small fitness studios just like yours brew up email campaigns that actually work. No fluff, no jargon, just practical strategies that fill your classes and keep your community growing. If you’re ready to take your marketing to the next level without burning out your team, let’s chat. I’d love to hear where you’re at and help you map out a plan that fits your studio’s unique vibe.

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Nataliia

Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.

About Nataliia