Email marketing can be an enormous challenge but it can also be a lot of fun! Email marketing has managed to stand the test of time but
many marketers fail to update their strategies or they attempt to initiate a campaign without a strategy and without an understanding of the process or what to expect. Some marketers believe it is acceptable to simply messages out just to get in front of their audience rather than to take the time to provide a quality message. They believe if they get enough emails out, one of their emails will eventually “Click” for their audience. Quantity over quality is a strategy that can have a negative impact on your marketing campaign.
Quality, relevant and targeted messaging is important.
When it comes to marketing in the medical and healthcare industry, your message may be to patients, the healthcare community, sales professionals or other healthcare professionals. It is important you instill the utmost professionalism to capture their trust in you (or your brand or company) while at the same time you deliver a clear and consistent message. (Professionalism really should apply to all email marketers in any industry, but we are sure you’ve seen the ChEck ThIs oUt subject line somewhere before and immediately threw it into your trash folder, if your spam monitor didn’t already do so.)
Most mailboxes are congested — and your email can be easily drowned out in overflowing, busy mailboxes and some email providers use tabs as additional filters making it even more difficult to get noticed. (Gmail: Promotion, Social, etc.) It is important to provide quality over quantity whenever you are delivering content whether you’re providing content for your website, content within your marketing collateral, or email marketing.
The open rate of email campaigns range between 13% and 26% amongst mass marketers across multiple industries.
It is important to recognize the typical results from email marketing and set a challenge to yourself to obtain results above the averages. Below we have provided a list of some of the various industry results as provided by MailChimp from data they obtained from their 10 million plus users. (Note: They only tracked lists over 1,000 subscribers.) As you can see, the open rate of email campaigns range between 13% and 26% amongst an array of industries for mass marketers. (These include some very talented and creative email campaign managers.) We suggest you set your goals to at least match these talented email marketers by setting your goals initially to obtain 13% open rate. Do not be discouraged if you do not obtain this starting out.
As you build your brand recognition, your open rates will substantially increase if you keep your messages relevant, unique and provide good quality content, similarly as one does for Branding Medical and Healthcare Websites with Content.
Targeting your messages in email marketing campaigns can have a tremendously positive impact on open rate results
The stronger your followers are and the more relevant your content is, the higher your open rate results will be. For example, if your are a healthcare provider and you mass mail several times a week general health information, you may find your open rates dropping. Consider targeting your audience with information specific and relevant to your readers. As an example, separate your email lists specific to healthcare conditions, such as Diabetes, overweight or other. Realistically, if the reader receives information on diabetes and they are not a diabetic chances are lower that they will open your email.
If you are product manufacturer, supplier or other service provider and your email list consists of your company’s sales representatives or distributors then your open rate should be substantially higher hovering around or above 75% and if not, your messaging is too often and without relevant content or you simply need to align with sales representatives interested in what you have to say!
Product Manufacturer of a brand new start-up hits 60% open rate their first several email campaigns and 25% click ratio!
Below is an image of campaign reports of a network member, product manufacturer with a brand new product launch, hitting open rates at nearly 60% – this company is just starting out with new email campaigns and building their brand recognition. You can see they have targeted very carefully and their messaging is powerful to obtain open rates this high on their first few email campaigns they sent! (Email lists include their sales force and healthcare providers.)
The following is a list of the Top 10 Tips for successful email marketing in the medical and healthcare industry:
- Permission: Be sure you have permission to email your recipients to avoid CAN-SPAM penalties or being blacklisted by ISPs (Internet
Service Providers) resulting in mail servers actually refusing all mail coming from your domain if spamming complaints are lodged against you. - Spend time on your subject line. You need to attract attention and pique curiosity. This is a critical step to getting your email read, deleted or thrown into a junk folder. Avoid spammy subject lines, ALL CAPS, fUnKy text, dollar $$signs$$ and exclamation points!!!
- Quality vs. Quantity: Refrain from quantity of emails. Email when you have something truly valuable or educational to share.
- Target Your Audience. Avoid larger (mass) mailing, unless you are initiating a new introduction – such as a new company, product or service. (Quality vs. Quantity!)
- Messaging Consistency: Keep consistent with your message. This is particularly important if you are building awareness of a new brand.
- Quality Content! – Give your audience quality and relevant information providing them a real benefit with reading your email. This can be done by sharing a useful tip, educational piece or something that Inspires them.
- Personalize: Prepare your email as if you are emailing only one person to keep it more personal. If you are using an email campaign manager, many will provide you an option to ‘insert personalization’ such as the recipient’s name. Are you more apt to open an email that has YOUR name in the subject line?
- Experiment and feel free to try various (but consistent) messages. Be creative or dare to be different but be careful you don’t overdo it. You might actually be surprised by what works and what doesn’t when you experiment a little. (You can deliver a consistent message by presenting the message multiple ways.)
- Avoid following a strict formula. Blueprinted emails will quickly bore your readers. Formulaic emails tend to seem much more less personal and more robotic. You can always work from a template, but change it up some with a different image or other creative way to deliver your message.
- Metrics and Test: Utilize a campaign manager to identify your results. Often campaign managers will provide you a “test” for spam filters by various email providers (Outlook, Yahoo, Google, etc.) This can help you during your early learning stages of preparing your email campaigns.
- Bonus Tip: Feel free to use your actual name as your from address. (From Dr. Jacobs rather than ABC Primary Care office or Jon Smith, CEO rather than XYZ Company. That’s telling the reader you are putting your name and reputation on the line and this can also make it appear a little more personal. If your focus is to build brand recognition for the company, it is certainly acceptable to use the company name.)
Feel free to contact us if you need additional insight or assistance with your marketing campaign.