5 Easy Tips To Attract Reader Attention and Create Loyal Clients
Great! You’ve realized sending regular emails can positively transform your practice. You’ve moved them from an ‘I know I should’ to a scheduled strategy. But how do you hone these digital messages to increase your results and profits?
Practice emails can be sent to welcome clients to your practice, to share news or to educate, but for many therapists, the first introduction to private practice emails will be focused on their private practice newsletter. With this in mind, let’s discuss how to get your emails to stand out, get opened and drive practice growth.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
The first aim is to attract reader attention amidst the clutter of a heavily populated email inbox. This is done via the…
1) The Subject Line
The subject line is your chance to yell ‘look at me!’ With dozens, even hundreds, of daily emails competing for your client’s attention you need to step into your potential reader’s shoes… and shine. You must offer an irresistible reason why they should spend their valuable time with you. This leads us to the foundational marketing acronym, WIIFM – What’s In It For Me.
Your subject line needs to present the reader with something valuable and relevant to their needs. Even better, it must provoke their curiosity or pull at the heartstrings.
You must stand out from the inbox clutter.
*Tip: Words like your and re let your reader know the email is for them, add in a quick to let your reader know the read won’t take long.
As you are emailing those on your newsletter or email list chances are you have their first name, so use it. Nothing appeals to our nature more than the sound of our own name, even in writing.
Note: As with any approach, don’t misuse this. A name employed every time will dilute its impact.
And if you still struggle with subject lines?
www.SubjectLine.com is a free online tool that will help inspire your thoughts.
Wonderful! Your subject line has hit home and your reader has opened your email. Now is where the rubber really meets the road. These next four steps are equally important so ensure focus and inclusion.
P.S. Already know about private practice emailing and want to get straight to the good stuff? Download the 5 Easy Tips To Attract Reader Attention and Create Loyal Clients Checklist.
2) A Planned Email Approach
A well-planned email builds a relationship, offers value and brings about an action. And while it may seem overwhelming at first, as you regularly implement this approach the neuroplastic changes derived from practice will sharpen you into a confident private practice marketing wiz.
Here are the components of a successful email:
Offer value
Always offer authentic value.
If your subject line says you will share the top 5 ways to beat depression, you had better. If the reader can implement a strategy or two at home and get results, that’s advisable. Your private practice emails are based around your areas of expertise, so share what you know. And at the end of the email ask a question that begs for engagement. In this example, ‘Is depression a challenge for you?’ Or ‘Read my best-selling book ‘How To Conquer Depression Naturally’ here.’
Hook Their Interest
The quickest way to turn a prospective reader away is to bore or disengage them. Using well thought through hooks does the opposite.
How?
Ask a question
Tell a story
Make a promise
Remind them of their problem
The article How to write an email hook that keeps ‘em reading to the very end explains this well. Think of it like a book you just can’t put down, where you desperately want to discover the ending. Except, in practice, the readers will discover a healthy, well life.
Be Strategic
As a therapist, you intimately understand the differences between people and the varied ways we consume information. When working with a client, although you may prefer another term, a strategy is implemented to form the plan likely to result in the best outcome in the shortest possible timeframe. Harness this approach in your private practice emails.
Including…
– Mark important information in bold… but, please, do not overdo this
– Use bullet points and subheads as some people scan rather than read, which is why including a P.S. is crucial and we’ll get to this soon
– Leave sufficient white space
An email that looks like an academic essay is simply too much work. People will quickly exit never to return.
– Want to feature a video?
Perfect! Video is an ideal way to share content. It’s easy to consume and shares your manner, voice, and presentation which are key in building connection, engagement, and rapport. Video is a great private practice marketing strategy.
To incorporate video in an email include a still photo from the video, add a ‘play’ button, and link this picture to said video. Let me walk you through:
a) Take a screenshot of the video
b) Go to PicMonkey or use photo editing software. I like PicMonkey as it is super easy to learn and free. Crop to remove extraneous content. Add a free play symbol (like this one). Resize to a smaller image so it will sail through the email servers unimpeded. Save to your computer.
c) Add the image at the appropriate place in your email and include a hyperlink from the image to the video.
Readers will see the play button and click, if interested. This will direct them to the video.
While video linking is easy in blogs (you can simply embed the video), I have included an example below so you can see exactly what it looks like.
Email Regularly
Choose a day of the week to send your emails and commit. Building a relationship takes time and effort and you must be regular — yes, to the day, even the time — for people to take you seriously and feel you care for them.
A bit like dating, really.
Write, Edit, Polish
In the hustle and bustle of life, it can be tempting to throw some words together and hit send. Remember, though, your emails are a reflection of your practice and a perceived barometer of your care. So…
Plan what you want to say before you begin writing.
a) Decide on the topic for your private practice newsletter and email
Create an attention-grabbing headline and subject line… and yes, you may need to tweak this after the body of the email is created.
b) Choose the points to include… and remember to bold your subheads
c) Determine the action you want the reader to take
Engagement is essential, so whether it’s simply asking a question, directing them to another resource or driving them to your sales page, practice the art of asking for an action.
d) Write… without distraction
e) Edit
“I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.”
– Pascal
Editing is as important as writing. Remove fluff, redundant words and errors; shorten where you can.
f) Polish it to flow and effortlessly whisk the reader from the opening to the close
As Pascal stated this takes time. However, with email forming a serious part of your private practice marketing strategy and a primary way to contact, engage and woo current and potential clients, it is worth the effort.
Push Send
Don’t wait until you become a polished writer before braving the world of private practice emails. As you continually practice, the ‘doing’ will result in marked improvement. Once you’ve produced the best email you can, push send.
Tip 1: People love stories. Weave tales and examples into your emails.
Tip 2: Much of the health field can appear stoic. Share your personality and a little about yourself and you will stand out.
3) Email Signatures That Connect and Convert
An email signature is…
For the boring: The block of automated information at the end of your email providing your logo, name, email address, phone number, and website. For example:
For the strategic: It is prime real estate to capture attention. Not only can Alex Gonzales be contacted via the regular routes, he has also shared his social media to increase engagement.
For the super-strategic: It is human nature to gravitate toward faces. We’re designed that way. We also prefer color to monochrome. Incorporate these facts into your email signature. Got a favorite article or tweet? Link to this here too.
Mari Thomas is a well known social media marketing expert and her email signature shows she knows what she’s talking about.
4) The Under-Appreciated P.S.
Do you include a P.S. at the end of your emails? No? Promise me from this day forward you will never, ever omit a postscript.
Why?
Some people will read your subject line, open your email and head straight to the P.S. Others will read every detail. The P.S. sentence or paragraph can reiterate the importance of your message, offer a bonus, create urgency and reinforce your call to action. It must become a staple in your private practice marketing efforts.
5) Track, Analyze and Continually Adapt
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else”
– Yogi Berra
To send emails to your database, grow your private practice newsletter list and positively transform your practice, you need a professional autoresponder service. Unsure what an autoresponder service is? Read our article 8 Simple Steps To Starting Your Private Practice Newsletter Today now.
Your chosen service should enable you to track patterns in your email responses, like…
– When was it opened?
– By whom?
– Who are your most active subscribers and who are the non-responders?
– Do emails sent at certain times or on certain days convert better?
– What subject lines gain more traction?
– Which topics carry more weight?
Private practice marketing requires awareness and an intense focus on what works and what doesn’t. By tracking, analyzing and adapting, you will quickly become more effective and efficient with email marketing, which means you will achieve more in less time.
Maintaining a regular private practice newsletter, with frequent, client-centered private practice emails will help you stand out in a crowded inbox. And by connecting regularly and cementing yourself as the approachable expert, your clients will thrive in both personal results and numbers and your practice and its profits will flourish
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