Intro Offers That Turn Into Memberships: The First 30 Days
An intro offer does its job on the day someone buys it. The harder part is the 30 days after, when a curious stranger either becomes a regular or quietly uses the last class and disappears.
Most studios put real effort into the offer itself: the price, the ad, the landing page. The follow-up tends to be one automated email that arrives with everything else. We think the follow-up deserves the same attention. It is cheaper than finding the next stranger.
Before the first class
A new person's main worry is not the workout. It is walking into a room where everyone else knows what they are doing. A short message the day before helps more than a welcome sequence.
"Hi Sam, see you tomorrow at 6pm. Arrive ten minutes early and we'll show you the reformer before class. Grip socks are fine, or borrow a pair at the desk. Jo"
Practical, short, signed by a person. It answers the question they were too polite to ask.
After the first class
Send it the same evening or the next morning, while the class is still fresh. Ask one thing and suggest one thing.
"Hi Sam, good to have you in this morning. How is your body feeling? If you liked the pace, Thursday's 7am with Mia is a good next one."
The suggestion matters more than the question. A second class with a time and a name attached is easy to book. A second class that will happen eventually can stay eventual for a long time.
After the second class
By now they have a favourite time or instructor, even if they have not said so. This is a good moment to mention it, and to mention nothing about prices yet.
"Two classes in. You seem to like the early ones. If it helps, Tuesday and Thursday at 7am have the smallest groups."
If someone has not booked a second class within a week of the first, the message changes. Keep it light and make it easy to say what went wrong.
"Hi Sam, we haven't seen you since last Tuesday. No pressure. If the class wasn't quite right, tell us and we'll point you to a better fit."
A week before the offer ends
This is where most intro offers are won or lost, and where most studios say nothing. The offer expires, the person assumes that is the end of the arrangement, and nobody corrects them.
Mention what comes next while they still have classes left. Be specific about the option that fits how they have actually been coming, not the one with the best margin.
"Hi Sam, your intro month ends next Friday. You've been coming about twice a week, so the 8-class monthly membership would work out cheaper than packs. Happy to set it up at the desk, or here's the link."
One option, with a reason. A full price list at this point turns an easy decision into homework.
The day after it ends
Some people meant to buy and forgot. Some decided against it. One short note covers both, and it is the last one.
"Hi Sam, your intro month finished yesterday. If you want to keep your Thursday spot, reply here and we'll sort it. If not, thanks for coming in."
Skip the discount in this message. A discount offered automatically at the end of every intro teaches people to wait for it.
What to track
Keep a simple list of everyone who started an intro offer this month, with four columns: first class date, second class date, classes used, and what they bought next. Nothing else.
After two or three months the list shows you where people stop. An example, with made-up numbers: 20 people start an intro month. 17 come to a first class, 10 to a second, 7 buy a membership. The biggest drop in that example is between the first class and the second, which points to the first class and the message after it, not the price.
Your own drop may be somewhere else. That is the point of counting it. We covered the intro-to-membership number, and two others worth a monthly look, in Three Numbers Worth Checking Once a Month.
Or we do the counting
If the list is the part that never gets made, send us your export. An Excel file, a Google Sheet link or a few pasted rows, with names removed. Within two business days we send back who is due, who has lapsed and who is slipping, with messages ready to use.
