What makes most practices fail when they attempt outbound email?
Before I explain where most practices (in fact most small businesses) go wrong when they try email, first let me qualify which fraction of ‘Outbound email marketing’ we’re talking about here.
I’m just talking about the informational style of email that you might better recognise as your practice’s weekly, monthly or occasional ‘email newsletter’. I’m NOT talking about the transactional email reminders you send for checkups, flea, worming and other appointments.
Now that’s clear, here’s ten places where a little bit of understanding might stop most small veterinary businesses going wrong when they email clients with news, information and offers.
1. Inconsistency – Small practices typically create emails that are inconsistent in look, tone and approach. Email inboxes are so full that having consistency across the key areas that make email work is vital to making this tool successful.
2. Poor subject lines – Once you have consistency nailed, you should be spending 80% of the time it takes you to create any email on the subject line. Creating a great looking perfectly balanced email is no good if no one opens it.
3. Inappropriate content - Long, ‘salesey’ & practice focussed content will kill your email performance dead. You are writing for the reader not the practice. Identify the value to the reader in every part of your email.
4. Misunderstanding the format – All too often we see practices putting all the content in the email. The email is NOT the newsletter. Format outbound marketing emails like an agenda for a meeting: short, punchy, enticing snippets.
5. Sign up to >>> despatch takes too long – Data shows that if you delay sending an email for more than a few weeks after someone signs up to get your news, then your email ‘unsubscribe rate’ will go up. Make initial emails timely.
6. Break for the holidays – A follow up to the point above. Your emails must go out on a regular basis. Weekly, fortnightly or monthly is ideal. Try to avoid inconsistent sending behaviours. Despatch regularly and predictably.
7. Ignore the numbers – The job is not done when you press the despatch button. Lots of vets don’t review their email stats to understand why individual sends worked or bombed. Success at email marketing is about following the numbers.
8. Ineffective leveraging of content – Email is part of a content marketing ecosystem. The core of the content in your email should also be on your website, across your socials and linked to a number of third-party sites.
9. Lack of double dip – This might be the closest tip to a ‘Silver Bullet’ I ever share with you. if you’re going to do outbound email marketing, then re-send every email you despatch, to sign-ups who have not opened the first send.
You’re welcome! Next time you see me at a conference you can buy me a beer.
10. Some practices still ignore compliance – It would take a while to delve into the detail of GDPR, but if you don’t know which legal basis for processing personal data you are relying on for email then we need to talk, so call me.
Andrew
Andrew founded Connected Vet in 2013 to level the online playing field for independent veterinary practices.