How to Manage A Veterinary Email Newsletter Like a Pro

Email newsletters are a common way to keep your veterinary practice top-of-mind for potential clients as well effectively reinforcing yourself as a credible authority within your speciality. Companies such as Constant Contact provide an affordable, valuable service to veterinarians who wish to develop a newsletter following and attract new clients. However, effective newsletter marketing is an art, and it requires continuous attention and effort to maintain a following.

Steve Klinghoffer of WPI Communications advises healthcare professionals to follow these six tips to ensure their email marketing programs are effective:

1. Know Your Brand
Your brand needs to be consistent across all marketing materials. Make sure font and color schemes match. What you send out is a reflection of your practice so always remember to use your brand in the newsletter to reaffirm your expertise.

2. Build a Quality Email List
Put the email “subscribe” button on your website and social media channels. People who visit these pages are more likely to be interested in receiving a newsletter. This can also ensure that the contacts on the list know why they are signing up. You don’t what your emails to come across as spam. Never! Ask clients, referrals and partners to sign-up and keep the process short and sweet.

3. Develop Interesting, Relevant Content
Poor content and redundancy cause emails to go unopened or unread. But there is a remedy for this. Use high-quality content to engage your reader. For instance, you could consider using content about the impact of nutrition and exercise on the overall health of pets. They are relatable topics and can apply to many different readers. Just remember: The goal is to educate, not sell. If done correctly, the newsletter can convince readers that they need what you offer.

4. Write a Good Subject Line
The subject line is the bait. It is the first thing a reader sees so it needs to be concise and targeted. Consider something like “Good Food & Exercise Improves the Health of Your Pet” versus “Spring Email Newsletter.”

5. Be Consistent
Find which email frequency works best for your practice and stick to it. If you send out an email monthly then keep it monthly. Just make sure your efforts are consistent. If your content is compelling enough, your readers will anticipate your email. Until you get there, find which email frequency works best for you. Steve Klinghoffer, President of WPI Communications, suggests monthly emails for patient audiences.

6. Measure Your ROI
The money put toward an email campaign should generate a return. There are important metrics that can be measured to gain insight on the success of your email campaigns. Most email marketing providers track the email open rate, clicked links and email forwards. Keep a record of that information because the metrics should influence future content choices.

A couple of new clients could cover the costs of a newsletter for a full year. Maximize your results with good content, design and distribution.

Written by Brittany Richards. Brittany is an editorial coordinator for the medical software reviewer Software Advice, where she handles the Profitable Practice blog. Contact Brittany at Brittany@softwareadvice.com. By the way, we’re hiring…

Article edited by Mark Feltz, DVM, owner, VetNetwork, LLC