Increase Your Healthcare Email Open Rates (7 Best Tips)

The power of healthcare email marketing remains unquestionable. It bridges the gap between healthcare providers and patients, forging relationships beyond the clinic. However, your email messages will fail to accomplish their goals if patients do not open them. Despite the deluge of email pouring into your patients’ inboxes these days, actionable strategies exist that can boost your email open rates.

This guide outlines seven practical tips to unlock the full potential of your healthcare email marketing efforts. It discusses the following:

• Educational content
• Patient storytelling
• Health information
• Appointment reminders
• Policy changes or news
• Healthcare webinars
• Wellness challenges or health check-ins

Let’s go!

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1. Provide Educational Content

Today, access to information is just a click away. Healthcare consumers are becoming increasingly curious about their health, but they may not know which sources of information to trust. Meeting their need for reliable information forms the cornerstone of successful healthcare email marketing. Thus, the first of our healthcare marketing tips involves sending educational content.

This content can range from preventive health tips to insightful articles about managing specific conditions. Consider the needs of your audience when crafting these emails. 

Take, for example, a clinic specializing in diabetes management. It might send emails about dietary tips for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. On the other hand, a pediatric clinic might offer advice on child nutrition or preventive measures for common childhood illnesses.

The goal is to provide value. Do not merely sell services; instead, offer knowledge. The credibility and trust established through educational emails can lead to higher open rates and increased patient engagement.

2. Showcase Patient Stories

Stories have the power to connect, inspire, and inform. They transcend the boundaries of facts and figures, making them potent tools in healthcare email marketing. Our second tip, therefore, is to leverage the power of patient storytelling.

These narratives can be as simple as sharing a patient's journey to wellness, expressed in their own voice. They can also be as detailed as a case study showing how your healthcare practice helped a patient overcome a challenging medical condition. These stories humanize your practice and allow other patients to see the potential benefits of your services.

Ensure that these stories respect patient confidentiality. They must comply with all relevant regulations, especially the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Well-executed patient stories can serve as compelling testimonials for your services, increasing the likelihood that patients will open and read your emails.

3. Deliver Tailored Health Information

Sending generic emails to everyone on your list is not an effective strategy. You must deliver tailored health information to get your audience to open your email. This tactic involves segmenting your email list on the basis of patient demographics, health interests, or specific conditions and crafting content directly addressing each group's unique needs.

Sending personalized emails makes your recipients think that the information is relevant to them. When they think an email directly affects them, they are more likely to open it. 

For example, a healthcare provider catering to young families and senior citizens might segment its list into two groups. The first group can receive emails on pediatric health and wellness. Meanwhile, the latter group might appreciate tips on managing arthritis or improving cardiovascular health. 

4. Send Appointment Reminders

People tend to forget about appointments amid their hectic schedules. This is why sending appointment reminders and follow-up emails helps boost open rates. Not only that, but it can also markedly improve patient care.

Emails that serve a clear purpose, such as reminding patients of an upcoming check-up or offering a gentle nudge for a necessary health screening, are highly likely to be opened.

Furthermore, these reminders underscore your commitment to your patient's health. They reinforce the perception that you are a caring and engaged healthcare provider. As a bonus, appointment reminder emails can help reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations, ensuring smoother operations for your practice. Meanwhile, follow-up emails can help patients remember instructions you gave them during the appointment.

5. Communicate Policy Changes or Healthcare News

Keep your patients informed about critical policy changes or news related to your practice. Doing this might sound more administrative than marketing, but it helps with effective email marketing. Sending such emails carries much value, helping cultivate a trusting relationship. 

Such emails display transparency, whether it is regarding a change in office hours, a new physician joining the practice, or updates related to healthcare laws that might affect your patients. They show patients that you value them enough to keep them in the loop. 

Consequently, these updates tend to have high open rates as patients want to stay informed about their healthcare provider's operations.

6. Send Invites to Healthcare Webinars or Events

Webinars, workshops, and special events are integral to patient education and engagement. Announcements about upcoming healthcare webinars or events relevant to your patients' interests usually inspire enthusiasm.

Ensure the email invitation is captivating and the event's benefits are clearly stated to make this tactic more effective. 

Are you hosting a webinar on diabetes management? Share how attendees can learn to control their blood sugar levels, understand the latest treatments, and have a chance to ask questions directly to specialists. This tactic increases the chances of your email being opened and enhances the likelihood of event attendance.

7. Do Wellness Challenges or Health Check-ins

Launching wellness challenges or sending health check-in messages can boost your email open rates. Wellness challenges can range from a step-count competition to a nutritional challenge. These offer your patients a fun, engaging way to focus on improving their health. 

An email inviting patients to join such a challenge has a high likelihood of being opened, especially if the challenge is creatively framed and offers tangible rewards.

Health check-in emails serve a different purpose. These messages, sent periodically, show patients you genuinely care about their well-being. A check-in email might ask how a patient is progressing with a fitness regimen, remind them to take time for self-care, or provide resources for managing stress. 

It boils down to going beyond just providing healthcare. Show concern for patients' health beyond what is typical. This way, they are likely to engage more with the emails they receive.

Summing Up

Embracing these seven tips can augment your healthcare email marketing and enhance patient engagement. If you need further guidance or personalized assistance, do not hesitate to work with Digital Authority Partners. 

Our expert team can help you navigate the complexities of healthcare marketing for optimal results. Contact us today, and let us help you elevate your email marketing strategy.