7 Email Marketing Tips For Dentists

Don’t forget about HIPAA – Before you start setting up email reminders and newsletters, it is important that you adhere to  HIPAA guidelines, which require that you obtain written permission to correspond via email, especially when transmitting protected health information (PHI). Capture permission by adding a checkbox on your patient intake forms allowing your patients to opt-in or approve the use of email as a communication method.

Stay out of Spam – Don’t get lost in the Spam folder by staying away from using all capital letters or multiple exclamation points, especially in your subject lines. Avoid using large images in your text and proofread to avoid spelling errors. Regularly updating your contact lists and removing those whose emails have bounced multiple times will help you to maintain a clean address book.

Build your Contact List – Speaking of contact lists – building your list is an uphill journey and involves efforts on multiple fronts. In addition to capturing the information during patient intake, it is important that your staff gets into the practice of updating this information at each appointment. Add a “Subscribe Now” button to your website and promote it social media profiles as a way to invite prospective patients to join in on the conversation before they even set foot in your office.

Brand your Emails – Be recognizable in the inbox by establishing some consistency in the look of your emails. You can personalize a base email template for each patient group, maintaining an overall layout that is consistent across all emails. Encourage interaction with buttons – “Call Now”, “Contact Us,” and include links to your social media platforms and your website. Include your logo and phone number at the top of the email and add your address to the footer of the email.

Automate your Emails – Put your software to work for you! Drip email campaigns make it easy to establish milestones to target patients, whether you are sending appointment confirmations and annual checkup reminders or if you are trying to re-engage patients who have fallen behind in their dental care. By creating segmented lists, you can send specific tips and how-tos to patients based on where they are in their dental journey! Welcome new patients with an email providing an overview of what to expect at their appointment, reminders of any policies and procedures in place, and let them know what documents to bring to their first appointment. Be sure to send a follow up email to reinforce any specific care plan details, confirm the next appointment, and ask for feedback! You can even include links for patients to easily leave a review.

Optimize for Mobile Users – Let’s be honest. The majority of people are reading emails on mobile devices, so make sure that your emails are easily readable regardless of their screen size. Many email softwares offer a desktop and mobile preview so you can easily see what your patients will see when they open the email. Keep your messaging concise and leave white space around clickable buttons for maneuverability.

Measure your Efforts – Analytics allow you to gauge the effectiveness of your emails. By understanding your open rate versus your click-through rate, you can better understand if people are interacting with your clickable content or if they are sticking to the meat and bones of the message. Going back to maintaining your contact list, your unsubscribes allow you to recognize those who are no longer interested in receiving your emails while your bounce rate identifies those whose emails are no longer valid.