Dental Newsletters – 5 Reasons You Should Be Sending Them

In marketing terms, if you really want to stand out from the crowd you need to do things differently. Dental newsletters allow you to do exactly that.

Most practices stick to a few tried and tested methods such as localised SEO and social media. As a result, other marketing practices such as the sending of dental newsletters have fallen out of favour.

However just because they’ve fallen out of favour, does this mean that they aren’t effective any more?

The answer is no. In fact, if executed correctly, dental newsletters carry more weight now than they did say 5 years ago. So why is this?

Recent research shows that emails are 6 times more effective at acquiring new patients than Facebook or Twitter. This should come as no surprise as 82% of the UK population send and receive emails on a daily basis, but only 49% use social media regularly. In other words, if you’re considering dental newsletter marketing, then the time to do it is now.

With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at how a good dental newsletter can help your business

A dental newsletter helps to build your email list 

When you offer people a free subscription to your newsletter, what you’re effectively doing is capturing email addresses. This is important because it offers the perfect chance to speak to people that aren’t already your patients. In addition it gives you an instant list of names and addresses to which you can market any promotions or treatments that you may have to offer.

A dental newsletter helps to build trust

When people purchase a product or service from any business (and the dental industry is no different) it’s normal (read important) to trust the company or person they are purchasing from. This trust is usually attained in two ways.

Firstly they may have previously bought other related products and services you’ve sold and as such, continue to use your services. Alternatively, trust can be built up over time with people who aren’t already customers through continued and ongoing communication.

A dental newsletter gives you the opportunity to do the latter. By continually offering snippets of dental advice the reader finds value in your emails. When the time comes that they need a service or treatment that you offer, they’re far more likely to book an appointment with you because (A) they remember that you exist and (B) they wholeheartedly trust you to do a good job

A dental newsletter creates an instant audience

Let’s say it’s approaching the festive season and you consider offering a promotion on chair-side teeth whitening treatment. After all, most people want to look their best for their upcoming Christmas do or New Year function right?

A quick newsletter blast means that in just one click your offer is placed in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of people on your subscriber list.

The good thing about this is that while people might not open an email from someone they don’t know, a leading marketing agency suggests that 82% of people will open an email from someone they trust.

A dental newsletter is often shared

Unlike the vast majority of emails, many newsletters are shared or passed on to family and friends. This is why it’s always important to add value when compiling a dental newsletter.

Let’s say that your latest newsletter contains a special offer for 20% off teeth whitening. Now let’s imagine Janet has a friend who isn’t happy with the colour of her teeth. It just so happens that Janet is on your email list and has received your newsletter. On reading it she sees the promotional offer, remembers her friend and passes the newsletter on.

It’s easy to see from this how your patient numbers can swell.

A dental newsletter is more personalised

When most people receive emails from dentists it’s usually to remind them that they’re either due a check-up, or that they need to settle their dental bill. With this in mind, a well-constructed dental newsletter can make a refreshing change.

The corner-stone of a great newsletter is one that is 80% educational, 10% promotional, and 10% fun; but most importantly of all… it’s personal. Because of this fact, readers may feel that they can connect with you in a way that many other forms of marketing don’t offer. In other words, they get to know the person and the team behind the dental chair…and trust me…that’s a good thing!

So there you have it…. If you really want to kick-start your marketing in 2017, dental newsletters are a cost-effective and proven way to get new patients through your door.

If you’d like to find out more about dental newsletters, or if you’re looking to ramp up your dental content marketing, email the Dental Writers team at @dale@dentalwriters.com. Remember “If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll get the same results you’ve always got.“