You may have heard that email newsletters are a healthcare Internet marketing strategy that’s dying, even though that assessment isn’t entirely accurate. It’s true that email newsletters are an older form of Internet marketing, but that doesn’t make them outdated; the strategy behind newsletter blasts has changed to be more pointed and effective.
If you want to set up an email newsletter system for your medical or dental practice, or if you’re looking for ways to update your current system, here are some tips on how to ensure your newsletter is effective:
Promote your brand identity
Your practice newsletter is the ideal place to develop and promote the identity of your brand. We all have a number of newsletter subscriptions that pile up in our inbox – what’s going to make subscribers open yours over the others? If you promote your brand in your newsletter, you’re making it unique and are communicating your message to your subscribers.
Connect with patients
By offering special deals, promoting events at your clinic or sharing patient stories and anecdotes about your practice, you can create content that interests your target audience and engages them.
Mind your headlines
You also want to make sure that your newsletter doesn’t get sent to the spam folder. One way to do that is to mind your headlines. Avoid headlines that are too much of a sales pitch or that contain a lot of exclamation points – those are two signals for most email services that the email is spam. Use your headlines to tell your audience about the content of your newsletter instead of pitching it to them; using sales-heavy language could only push them away.
Encourage subscribers
Make your newsletter an important part of your healthcare marketing strategy by encouraging your patients to subscribe. Include information about your newsletter and a link to subscribe to it as part of your healthcare website design.
Share newsworthy content
One way to encourage your subscribers to open your newsletter is to have content that they don’t always see. Other than including information that promotes your brand identity or that connects with your patients, you can also include news stories about discoveries and new research developments in your field.
If you’re looking for other ways to inspire and improve your email newsletters, our experienced healthcare marketing consultants can help. For more information, you can contact us at 800.679.1200 or by email at info@practicebuilders.com.