How can you use email marketing to improve your healthcare organization's outreach?

1 Define your goals and audience

Before you start crafting your email campaigns, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and who you want to reach. Your goals and audience will determine the content, tone, frequency, and format of your emails, as well as the metrics to measure their success. For example, if your goal is to increase patient retention, you might want to target existing patients with personalized and timely emails that remind them of appointments, follow-ups, feedback requests, or wellness tips. If your goal is to generate new leads, you might want to target potential patients with informative and engaging emails that showcase your expertise, services, or offers.

2 Segment and personalize your list

One of the key benefits of email marketing is that you can tailor your messages to different segments of your audience, based on their demographics, preferences, behavior, or needs. This way, you can increase the relevance and value of your emails, and avoid sending generic or irrelevant messages that might annoy or alienate your recipients. For example, you can segment your list by age, gender, location, health condition, insurance plan, or engagement level, and personalize your emails with their name, salutation, or specific details. You can also use dynamic content to show different images, text, or calls to action based on the segment.

3 Create compelling content and design

The content and design of your emails are essential for capturing the attention and interest of your audience, as well as conveying your message in a clear and effective way. To ensure that your emails are easy to read, understand, and act on, as well as visually appealing and consistent with your brand identity, here are some tips to consider. Start with catchy and concise subject lines that spark curiosity and highlight the benefit of opening the email. Use clear and conversational language that reflects your tone of voice and connects with your audience. Break up the text with short and scannable paragraphs, bullet points, headings, and subheadings to highlight the key points. Incorporate images, videos, or graphics to support your message and add visual interest. Additionally, use colors, fonts, and layouts that match your brand style and are compatible with different devices and email clients. Finally, include clear and compelling calls to action that tell your audience what to do next and why.

4 Test and optimize your campaigns

Before you send your emails to your entire list, you need to test and optimize them to ensure that they work properly and deliver the best results. You can use tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to check how your emails look and perform on different devices and email clients, and fix any issues or errors. You can also use tools like Mailchimp or AWeber to run A/B tests on different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, content, design, or timing, and compare their performance and outcomes. Based on the data and feedback, you can make adjustments and improvements to your campaigns.

5 Comply with the laws and regulations

As a healthcare organization, you need to be aware of and comply with the laws and regulations that govern email marketing, especially those that protect the privacy and security of your audience's personal and health information. For example, you need to follow the CAN-SPAM Act, which sets the rules for commercial email messages, such as providing a clear and easy way to opt out, honoring opt-out requests promptly, and using accurate sender and subject lines. You also need to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information, such as obtaining consent, encrypting data, and notifying breaches.

6 Analyze and measure your results

The last step to use email marketing to improve your healthcare organization's outreach is to analyze and measure your results, and use them to inform your future strategies and actions. You need to track and evaluate the key metrics that indicate the performance and impact of your email campaigns, such as open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, unsubscribe rate, or return on investment. You also need to collect and analyze the feedback and behavior of your audience, such as surveys, reviews, testimonials, or referrals. By doing so, you can identify what works and what doesn't, and optimize your email marketing accordingly.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?