Email marketing tips – How to build your email list for your leisure center

Email marketing is one of the most effective and cheapest ways for your leisure center to reach your guests and get more bookings.

‍Sending great emails keeps your guests engaged and convinces new guests to book an awesome experience at your venue. 

But if you’ve only just started sending emails, you probably don’t have many email addresses to send your emails to. 

 

So how do you grow your email list? 

1. Add a sign-up form to your website 

Have a visible button on your website that links to a form where you ask visitors to sign up for your emails or show a pop-up with the form on your homepage. Keep it short and only ask for the personal information you need – usually an email address, a name could be optional. 

Clearly mention what kind of emails you send and how often subscribers can expect to receive an email. Also include a sentence stating you won’t share personal information with third parties. 

Briq tip – In return for subscribing, offer subscribers a discount for their first visit to your venue to engage with them immediately.

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2. Add a subscription checkbox to the booking process in your webshop 

When guests book one or multiple activities at your leisure center, they’re interested in you. So the booking process is the best place for you to grow your mailing list. Simply add a checkbox where your guests can subscribe to your emails. 

Depending on the regulations that are valid in your country, you can or can’t pre-tick the checkbox. In some countries, like all European Union countries, your guests actively need to agree with the subscription.

Briq tip – Place the checkbox at the end of the booking process, below accepting the terms and conditions. 

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3. Ask guests to subscribe when they’re visiting your leisure center

Who are your biggest fans? Indeed, the people who are having fun at your venue right now. Ask if they’re interested in receiving news and updates about your leisure venue and have a form they can fill out to subscribe.

 

Post notices about your awesome emails and how to sign up wherever you can

• Add a message about subscribing for news and update emails on every receipt
• Have a business card with a link to the sign-up page and hand it out with the receipt
• Create a poster with why your guests should subscribe to your emails (and how!), for example on the restroom doors
• Write a note about ‘how to receive news and updates’ on a chalkboard
• Include a ‘sign up to our newsletter’ note anywhere your website or phone number is mentioned
• Provide a QR code that links to the sign-up form on your website

Briq tip – Make sure to send an email to the guests who signed up for your emails within a week. Within this timeframe they associate your email with their visit and won’t think it’s spam. 

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4. Promote your emails on social media

Periodically promote your emails through posts on your social media. Give a sneak peek of what you’re going to share in your email or simply let your followers know they can subscribe for news and updates. 

By showing people what they’re missing out on if they don’t subscribe, you activate them to do so.

Briq tip – Add the link to the email sign-up form in your Twitter and Instagram “About” or Facebook “Information” spaces. 

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*Regulations for newsletter subscription*

There are different regulations per country for emails with a commercial purpose, such as newsletters and activity promotions. Make sure you comply with your country’s regulations.

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How do I make sure the email addresses are correct? 

After subscribing, you can choose to send an email to the subscriber to confirm the subscription. When the subscriber confirms to sign up for your emails, you know he’s really interested in your leisure business and the email address is correct. 

If the confirmation email bounces or the subscriber doesn’t confirm afterwards, it means the email address that was filled in wasn’t correct or the subscriber wasn’t interested enough. 

This reduces the chance of being flagged as spam in the future and having email addresses of people on your list who don’t want to receive your emails. Don’t forget to make it easy for your guests to unsubscribe. 

 

 

Use Briq to integrate your tools

Once you choose Briq’s online booking system, you can easily integrate the tools you currently use to work as efficiently as possible and centralize all your information. This also includes marketing automation platforms that make sending, planning and testing emails much easier for you, such as Mailchimp. We will help you gather data, for example to send out marketing emails or booking confirmation emails.

Are you interested in Briq’s multi-activity booking and scheduling software, including free help with your online growth? Feel free to get in touch with us to discuss the possibilities for your family entertainment center, leisure center or amusement center. We look forward to meeting you!

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Data-driven decision making

To grow your business and drive more bookings, it’s key to use available data to make solid decisions.

We’ve written a free ebook that helps you read data to identify opportunities for your business to ultimately get more bookings.