A common misconception about email marketing is that it's only used to sell a service or product. This could not be more false in the physical therapy space, where PT marketing emails can engage current patients in their care, offer resources to improve patients' health and well-being, and even help gain referrals for potential patients needing PT services.
A robust physical therapist email list can support overall practice success with:
Physical therapy email marketing is a cost-effective opportunity to improve patient engagement through educational and informative content such as guides, webinars, blog articles, and testimonials. Remember that patients may not know what services they need, so PT emails can help keep them informed.
By developing a PT clinic email marketing list and incorporating automation tools to help distribute email marketing campaigns on a set schedule, practices can streamline operations and enhance productivity to meet patient needs better.
Maintaining consistent communication keeps your practice top of mind for physical therapy services. Whether it's for engaging current patients in their care, reminding patients to schedule their next visit, or encouraging patient referrals among those already segmented in your physical therapist email list, consistency is key.
Unsure where to start with physical therapy email marketing? We've compiled our top 10 tips to help you launch a successful physical therapy marketing strategy.
Before you even send emails, you must conduct an email list clean-up. To eliminate bounce-backs from dead ends or outdated contacts, invest in email marketing software to assess your existing physical therapists' email list and remove nonoperational contacts.
While conducting an email list clean-up, use your email marketing software to segment the list. Segmentation between current, past and potential patients and categories for demographics like age and location on your physical therapist email list can help ensure each email is better targeted for higher open and conversion rates.
With an email list segmented and ready to go, take the time to develop a physical therapy email marketing plan to map out your various campaign and content ideas. Assess your audience needs and construct various email ideas that speak to patient interests in your unique brand voice.
When it comes to email marketing, you cannot simply compile a bit of text and expect it to work. An impactful and productive email should match the voice and culture of a PT practice and should be able to capture your reader's attention organically. Take a look at email samples, including your competitor's PT practices, and ask your PT staff for input.
For emails your patients can easily read, it's important to avoid poor formatting when designing physical therapy marketing materials. Ensure that you avoid long walls of text, strange lines of broken code, and poorly thought-out font sizes and colors. An email must be visually appealing and legible the moment it's opened to attract (and keep!) reader attention.
Once a physical therapist begins laying out their email marketing, one of the first and most important steps will be developing a subject line. Your email marketing subject lines must stand out amongst other emails and offer an intriguing yet informative introduction to what readers can expect in the body of the email, from exercise tips to new practice hours.
In physical therapy, one of the critical things potential new patients will look for when deciding between practices is previous client success. To help push potential customers toward your PT clinic, include existing testimonials in the body of the email that outline the success of previous patient care and the benefits of using you as their therapy provider
The last thing PT professionals want is an email recipient interested in therapy services but has no immediate way of gaining contact information to set up an appointment. Always include a clear call-to-action (CTA) in each email, such as a hyperlinked line of text or clickable button that can redirect readers to your physical therapy practice’s physical address, phone number, relevant social media profiles, or submission forms.
Believe it or not, under the CAN-SPAM Act, commercial email messaging must include a way for recipients to opt out of receiving future messages to be legally compliant. You must include an unsubscribe button at the bottom of every physical therapy email marketing message. Don't take it offensively if the button is used — email marketing materials aren't for everyone but are still loved by many.
With the above tips and tricks in mind, the last and most important tip is never to focus solely on the text. Appealing physical therapy email marketing will always include informative text accompanied by other forms of media, including but not limited to webinar videos, infographics, statistical charts, and illustrations. These graphics bring variety to a reader's viewing options and provide an enjoyable experience from beginning to end.
When embarking on physical therapy email marketing, it's essential to remain mindful of HIPAA guidelines. Remain compliant with these dos and don'ts for your physical therapist's email list:
Failure to adhere to these email requirements could result in costly HIPAA violations and fines that range from $100 to $50,000 for each discovered incident.
If you're just beginning to construct your physical therapists' email lists, your PT clinic marketing may need an extra hand (or two!) to get going. Fortunately, with MWTherapy's vast collection of email marketing tools and templates, you can develop quality email marketing materials that attract viewers and potential new clients in no time.
To learn more about how MWTherapy can help take your physical therapy email marketing efforts to the next level, contact us today and schedule a demo.
