Email marketing for some may be considered as an an outdated digital marketing practice for doctors. But the truth is, it is an effective digital marketing tool that helps to convey messages to prospective patients. According to MailerLite survey report, healthcare emails’ average open rate is 21.59%, with a super-high 3.31% click-through rate.
E-mail Marketing is a free marketing technique that helps doctors like you to connect and interact with potential patients directly. A professional healthcare digital marketing agency helps physicians implement the right email marketing techniques to gain target users’ attention and convert potential leads into patients.
Do You Have Proper E-mail Marketing Plan?
Running an email marketing campaign requires proper planning. A poorly drafted email sent to your potential patients may sometimes end up as spam, or even get deleted or ignored. So, using effective email marketing techniques is essential to generate more leads and also to retain existing patients. Sending emails regularly helps patients to get regular updates from you, and also reminds them how important check-ups are, and encourages them to plan doctor visits upfront. It also helps your marketing manager to improve brand awareness and increase patients’ odds of recommending a clinic or a hospital to family, friends or colleagues.
The following are some effective email marketing techniques for doctors:
- Make a List of Subscribers: Email marketing is an effective technique to reach out to your prospective patients and reinforce your relationship with them. Never stop adding to the list of your clients or prospects. Incorporate subscribers from websites, blog page, newsletter subscription etc and you may find prospects at events also. The list of subscribers will continue to grow and there is always the possibility of greater engagement.
- Keep the Message Short and Concise: Make sure to keep the message in your email small and neat, and focused on a single topic.
To retain the interest of the readers, you can do the following things:
- Write crucial things in bullet points so that the readers can easily understand the content
- Use photographs with phrases and relevant keywords
- Use graphics representation if any of your messages can be illustrated using it.
- Motivate the Readers to Read the Email: Writing simple promotional content and sending it your potential patients can be a wasted effort. It does not excite prospective patients to even open the email and read. If the potential patients fail to open the email, it means you have failed to communicate. The contents of the email should be engaging and exciting so that your target audience wants to open the email and read it.
Following are some tips to make the content interesting:
- Attractive Subject Line: The readers first see the subject, and a unique subject line for your email means your job is half done. To make your subject line more engaging and unique, make the title and email customized.
- Content should be Focused: Dividing your email list depending on reader demographics makes it easier to come up with valuable content that is relevant to their interests and requirements. This would encourage the readers to interact with you, and pass on the information to other prospects.
- Keep it Engaging: To ensure that the readers will definitely open the email, use simple, straightforward and engaging language instead of being condescending. Customize your email depending on the buying persona and be clear about what you are offering them.
- Personalize your Email: The aim of email marketing is to prompt the recipients to respond. Include your personal details at the end of the email. You can also include the recipients’ name even when the email is dispatched. You can divide the mail into target specific segments of your audience to provide separate versions of email.
- Make Sure that the Emails are Mobile-friendly: Many potential patients reach out to mobile phones to access their email. So, make sure that your email is mobile friendly.
- Use Permission-based Messages: The permission of readers shows their interest and they are often predisposed to act or buy.
- Never Hard Sell: Readers want to be informed, inspired or informed and they do not want to be pressurized. If you try to push them to buy your products or services, you may lose them.
- Proofread your Email Content: Email content should be proof read to ensure that there are no red flag warnings in your email that may cause potential patients to click on unsubscribe button.
- Test: Before rolling out, test your email message and content to know how it works. This will ensure that all links are functioning, codes are accurate, and it also lets you know about the nature of your content and what persona they are looking for.
- Revisit your Campaign: It is important to check on your campaign to know how many leads have been converted, and where leads have dropped. These metrics will help you formulate a stronger, optimized campaign in the future.
Email marketing is a cost-efficient marketing tactic to attract potential patients and build a strong relationship with them. A professional physician website marketing company could help physicians improve service quality, encourage patients to book follow-up appointments, and help on- board patients efficiently.
