Email marketing is a powerful tool, but only when it’s done right.
Too many businesses fall into the trap of treating email as a numbers game—sending out mass messages in hopes of landing a few hits. However, effective email marketing is not about quantity, but quality. It’s about building relationships, engaging with your audience and providing value. This article explores the key elements of a successful email campaign, from who the email is from to the technical aspects of deliverability.
The most important thing about email marketing
The sender’s identity is the single most crucial factor in whether an email gets opened. Think about your own email habits—if you see an email from your spouse, a close friend or a trusted colleague, you’re likely to open it right away. This is because you have a relationship with the sender; you trust them, and you’re interested in what they have to say.
In email marketing, the same principle applies. Your audience is more likely to open an email if they recognize and trust the sender. This is why building and maintaining a strong relationship with your subscribers is essential. Every interaction—whether through social media, your website or previous emails—helps establish that trust and familiarity, which translates to higher open rates and better engagement.
If you’re just starting out or your brand isn’t well-known, focus on consistently providing value in your emails. Over time, as subscribers begin to see the benefits of your content, they’ll start to recognize and appreciate your name in their inbox, leading to improved engagement.
Subject lines matter: Make them count
After the sender’s name, the subject line is the next most important factor in whether your email gets opened. A compelling subject line can mean the difference between an email that’s read and one that’s ignored.
Here are a few strategies for crafting attention-grabbing subject lines:
Use curiosity: Subject lines that pique curiosity will make readers want to open the email to learn more. Examples include, “You won’t believe what happened at our last event” or “The secret to [desired result] you’ve been waiting for.”
Leverage “how to”: Educational content is highly valuable. Subject lines starting with “How to” suggest practical advice or tips, making them appealing. Examples include, “How to double your productivity in seven days” or “How to make your emails impossible to ignore.”
Play off current events: Referencing something in the news or pop culture that relates to your industry makes your email feel timely and relevant. Examples include, “What [recent event] means for your business” or “How [popular trend] could change everything.”
Keep subject lines short, snappy and directly related to the email content. Avoid misleading subject lines; they might get the email opened, but they’ll damage the trust you’ve built with your audience if the content doesn’t match the promise.
Make your emails entertaining, personal and story-based
Once your email is opened, the challenge is keeping your audience engaged. The emails you choose to stay subscribed to likely have something in common—they’re entertaining, personal and often story-based. People don’t want to read generic corporate emails; they want to feel like they’re having a conversation with a real person.
Entertainment doesn’t necessarily mean humor—it’s about making the email enjoyable to read. Use a conversational tone, share interesting anecdotes or include visually appealing elements like images or GIFs.
Personalization goes beyond just using the recipient’s name. Tailor your content to their interests, preferences or past behavior. For example, if a segment of your audience is interested in a particular children’s health condition, you could include stories or tips related to those products, activities and things to do with your kids to help them become healthy adults in the future.
Storytelling is a powerful way to connect with your patients. Whether it’s a success story from a customer, a behind-the-scenes look at your business or a personal story from your own life, incorporating narratives into your emails makes them more engaging and memorable.
And remember, not every email should be about selling. Constantly pushing a product or service can cause your audience to tune out. Focus on providing value—whether through education, inspiration or a good story. When you do make an offer, it will feel like a natural extension of the relationship you’ve built, rather than just another sales pitch.
Get it delivered: Clean up your email marketing list
All the effort you put into crafting the perfect email won’t matter if it doesn’t reach your patient’s inbox. Deliverability is a critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of email marketing. Just because you have someone’s email address doesn’t mean you should send them emails indefinitely.
Over time, email addresses can become inactive, or people may lose interest in your content. Continuing to send emails to these inactive addresses can hurt your deliverability. Email providers like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook track engagement, and if they notice that a significant portion of your emails go unopened, they might start flagging your emails as spam, even for people who do want to hear from you.
To avoid this, it’s important to regularly run your email list through a list hygiene service, such as Emailable (emailable.com). These services help you identify and remove bad or inactive email addresses. While it might seem counterintuitive to delete potential contacts, remember that quality is more important than quantity. A smaller, more engaged list is far more valuable than a large list of people who aren’t opening your emails.
Get responses from your patients: Engagement matters
One of the most effective ways to improve your email deliverability and engagement is by encouraging responses. The more replies you get, the less likely your emails are to be flagged as spam. When your subscribers interact with your emails, it signals to email providers that your content is valuable and wanted, which can help improve your overall deliverability.
In your emails, prompt patients to reply with their thoughts, questions or feedback. You can ask them about their experiences, encourage them to share their stories or even pose a simple question related to the content of your email. The key is to make it easy and natural for them to respond.
Ensure your domain is properly authenticated
Beyond the content and strategy of your emails, the technical setup of your email domain plays a crucial role in whether your emails get delivered. To protect your domain from being marked as spam or, worse, being used for phishing, you need to set up the following three essential email authentication methods:
Sender policy framework (SPF): This record lists all the IP addresses authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. It helps prevent spammers from sending emails that appear to come from your domain.
Domain keys identified mail (DKIM): DKIM automatically signs your emails with a cryptographic signature that proves the email was sent by you and hasn’t been altered in transit.
Domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance (DMARC): This policy tells receiving mail servers what to do if an email fails the SPF or DKIM checks. It also provides reports on emails sent from your domain, helping you monitor any unauthorized use.
To check if your domain is properly authenticated, you can use tools like MXToolbox (mxtoolbox.com) or Google’s Postmaster Tools (postmaster.google.com).
Ensuring these records are correctly configured can significantly improve your email deliverability and protect your brand from being impersonated by spammers.
Final thoughts
Email marketing is a delicate balance between art and science. It’s about building relationships, crafting compelling content and ensuring that your emails reach your audience. By focusing on who the email is from, writing engaging subject lines, making your emails entertaining and personal, cleaning up your email list, encouraging responses and ensuring your domain is properly authenticated, you can create an email marketing strategy that not only gets opened and read but also drives meaningful engagement.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to get your emails opened—it’s to create a connection with your patients that keeps them coming back for more. So, what are you waiting for? Start crafting those emails your patients will look forward to receiving.
Naota Hashimoto, DC, is the cofounder of TrackStat, patient-tracking software making it easy for admin people to attract and convert new patients while ensuring your existing patients stay in your practice. It offers new ways to retain patients and also offers ways for staff to communicate and schedule patients while providing you all the metrics of success. For more information, contact drhashimoto@yourtrackstat.com.
