Email Marketing for Dental Practices
As a practice, one of your most valuable resources is your existing patient database. The most cost-effective way to communicate with this base is via email – this is why you need to be doing it.
Recent changes in the law with regard to GDPR have made changes to who you can and cannot contact, but with a compliant data policy, you should still be making the most of this massive resource.
Top 10 Email Marketing Tips
✅ Plan your content: Spend a little time working out what might appeal to your patients and what you would like to promote.
✅ Mix it up: We have found that a combination of practice news, treatment education, promotions, and dentistry-related topics (e.g., the sugar tax) works best.
✅ Don’t just sell: Avoid a “sell, sell, sell” approach. Instead, treat emails as informative and educational newsletters and write accordingly. This is even more relevant following GDPR.
✅ Storyboard your emails: Plan four to six emails in advance, covering treatments, practice news, promotions, and more. Remember: fail to plan, plan to fail!
✅ Craft compelling subject lines: Most campaigns will succeed or fail based on the quality of their subject lines. Ask yourself: What would make me open this email?
✅ Organize your data: Export all your patient data into an Excel spreadsheet – but first, remove all under-18s to ensure compliance.
✅ Use professional email marketing software: Platforms like Mailchimp or Dotmailer provide valuable analytics such as open rates and click rates, helping you optimize your strategy.
✅ Keep it short and engaging: If an article is long, host it on your website and include a link in the email rather than overwhelming the reader.
✅ Include plenty of clickable content: This allows you to track what interests your audience the most and refine future emails accordingly.
✅ Review and adapt: Regularly check your email reports to tailor future campaigns based on what your audience prefers.
Things to Avoid
❌ Don’t overload your first email: Keep it focused and concise.
❌ Avoid sending emails on Mondays: Most people are busy, and open rates tend to be lower.
❌ If you have nothing valuable to share, don’t send an email! Wait until you have meaningful content rather than sending for the sake of it.
