MHM#27 Increasing appointments with email marketing

One of the key principles I follow in marketing is to not put all your eggs in one marketing basket. If you just use one marketing activity (Instagram, Google ads, etc) to get all your clients and that marketing activity stops working, enquiries and new appointments can rapidly stop. It then takes time to establish a new marketing activity and start seeing results.

Another risk with marketing activities is that many use a tool or platform you don't own or control - Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc.  These platforms can change their policies and algorithms at any moment, which can greatly impact enquiries and appointments. We're seeing increasing healthcare industry related policies being implemented by Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and Google to protect the privacy of clients/patients. This is obviously great and very important for clients; it just creates challenges and complexities when using them as a marketing tool to grow a therapy practice.

What is a marketing activity that you own and have full control over?

Your email list.

This is why your email list is one of the most valuable marketing assets you'll own as a therapy practice. 

Your email list enables you to regularly engage with prospective, current and past clients by sending them newsletters. 

There is sometimes the feeling that people don't open newsletters any more - but email/newsletter marketing continues to be a very effective marketing tool. People mostly don't open newsletters because they aren't getting value from them. However, if you're sending relevant and helpful content tailored to the specific needs, challenges and aspirations of your ideal client, then people will look forward to your newsletters, knowing each time they receive them, it will be a positive and valuable experience. 

A key part of marketing is staying front of mind; as we know, people can sit on the thought of seeing a therapist for a very long time, sometimes even years. By getting prospective ideal clients on your email list and sending newsletters, you're staying front of mind, providing value, and building credibility and trust. So when the time comes for them to feel ready to book an appointment, there will be a high chance that they'll choose you. 

Growing your email list

Growing your email list takes time, and it's much better to grow it slowly with the right people (your ideal client), but here are a few ways you can proactively help your email list grow.

1) Make it more enticing to subscribe to your newsletter

These days, people are hesitant to subscribe to your newsletter on your website when the description says something like "Complete the form below to subscribe to my newsletter". They think they don't want more emails in their inbox, and the description gives them no insight into what they'll be receiving and how often - we've all had that experience of subscribing to a newsletter and then getting bombarded daily with never-ending emails. 

I recommend choosing a name for your newsletter that strongly aligns with your ideal clients and their main issues/challenges and letting people know how often they'll receive them. Something like:

"Subscribe to Thrive at Work, a fortnightly email sharing tools and tips to manage stress and anxiety in the workplace."

2) Create a lead magnet

You may have heard the term "lead magnet" before. A lead magnet is a free resource that people exchange their email for. The resource could be a mini e-book, checklist, guideline, questionnaire, video training, etc. Anything that you believe your ideal client will find very valuable. Once you've created your lead magnet, add a page on your website describing what it is, what people can expect from it, the benefits they'll receive, and a form where people can enter their email to receive it. Let them know how they will receive the resource (via email, for example), that they'll then be receiving further resources fortnightly (your newsletter), and that they're welcome to unsubscribe at any time.

3) Add a tick box on your enquiry/contact form

Not everyone will tick it, but you'll get a proportion of people ticking the box that says something like "Email me fortnightly tools and tips to help manage anxiety at work."

4) Add current clients to your email list

When a new client completes your intake form, add a tick box asking if they'd be happy to receive your newsletter.

5) Add "still considering" prospective clients

If you've communicated with a prospective client or had an initial free consult and they're still thinking about it, ask them if they'd be happy to receive your newsletter and receive info/resources while considering booking an appointment. 

Following spam laws

A critical part of growing your email list is getting consent from people. Spam laws differ between countries, and the USA has both federal and state-based laws. In some places like Australia, inferred consent is legally okay, meaning that if a person has an ongoing relationship with your business, it's okay to send them newsletters if the content relates to their relationship with your business. Therefore, you could add a current client to your newsletter list. However, even with this law, I recommend only sending your newsletter to people who have specifically signed up for it. It sets a more respectful tone about the relationship they can expect from you.

Writing newsletters and how and when to send them is a topic on its own, so I'll focus on that in a future article.