Email marketing tips for your DPC practice

Promoting your direct primary care (DPC) practice to potential patients involves educating them about the DPC model itself as well as convincing them that they should come to you for their healthcare needs. How do you do that effectively? There are a number of effective marketing techniques, which work together for your ultimate success. A regular email can be part of that strategy. Here are some email marketing tips for your DPC practice.

Before you can send marketing emails, you’ll need to develop an email list. Gathering emails is a critical first step and you want to be sure you do it legally and ethically. Only add those emails to your list as individuals give you permission to do so. You can add a link to your website to sign up. You can also include it in letters or other communications pieces that you send to current patients. Post the link on your social media sites frequently as well.

Optimize your DPC for success with these tips from Elation Health.

Once you have your list, you can use an email marketing tool such as Constant Contact or MailChimp to design a regular marketing message. These platforms will also help keep your email list legal, ensuring that your subscribers opt in and offering them the opportunity to opt out if they decide to no longer receive your messages.

Designing an email message that will be effective in marketing your DPC practice can be done by following a few guidelines:

• Write a strong subject line
• Write concise content for the body of the email message
• Stay on brand with your design and your content
• Include at least one call-to-action (CTA)
• Test your design on different email platforms
• Send the emails on a regular basis but not too frequently.

The subject line is your reader’s first impression of your email. It often determines whether they open the message to continue reading. Keep the subject line brief but intriguing. Use a short phrase or a question that will get the reader to want to open the email just to see the rest of the story or the answer.

A CTA encourages readers to do something, rather than simply reading the message. You might include a link to your homepage or your blog, enticing readers to click for more information or for an exciting update. A “contact us” link should always be included, with verbiage telling the reader why they should reach out – perhaps to schedule an appointment or to get to know more about the DPC model of healthcare delivery.

You can also use a CTA to get your email readers to follow you on your social media sites. In turn, you can use your social media to ask readers to sign up for your email list. All of your marketing platforms work together, as you promote your practice and educate potential patients about the benefits of DPC.

Staying on brand with your email message is critical for your marketing efforts, so that readers always immediately associate the email with your practice. Your brand is your practice’s personality, your color scheme, your logo, and all the things that make your practice stand out. Keep the same tone in your email content as you use in your social media and on your website. Consistency is key when you are marketing your DPC practice!