Why you’re busy but not booked with email marketing
Everyone says that email marketing works but you’re sending newsletters to your email list but your calendar isn’t booming with appointments. You’ve finally got more time to do professional development but a bit more work would help with your stress levels and bank balance.
Email marketing is not admin or a task to be ticked off
- You know you're meant to track subscriber sources and email behaviour but you have no idea how. No one blames you when you admit you've never heard of UTMs (Urchin tracking modules) . If you're not a marketer it's totally understandable. Basically they're little bit's of code to help tell Google Analytics where the person clicked the link.
- You’re optimising for volume not conversion
- You’re not aware of what the data in your Google Analytics account is trying to tell you or how you can monitor this with a custom dashboard
- You don't have your list segments or groups setup to track who is lurking, clicking or dormant.
I know the marketing ‘funnel’ feels like a dirty word that shady marketers peddle in many healthcare professionals' minds. It feels so transactional and self-centred. But we’re all at a different stage of decision-making when we’re choosing how and who to solve our problems.
Your next client may be at the pointy end and trying to make sure they can trust you. But someone else you eventually work with is still wondering why they feel so rubbish, their jaw hurts or they’re wandering into a room and forgetting why they got there multiple times a day.
Some professionals have shared that despite their healthy email dashboard, the energy they put into marketing isn't returning enough clients who are ready to come in and talk. If this is relatable, we’ve all been there, attracting information seekers rather than those ready for a significant change. That’s a normal part of the process. They’re just missing the next step. And so are you.
Attention and interest are sexy funnel stages. They are the fun part of marketing with heaps of creativity. In my experience, the whole business wants to weigh in on the creative decisions and have their input here. Things can get out of control fast. This can create some interesting content. But being visible isn’t enough. So I’m going to show you how to break through that wall.
Email marketing is not just about engagement
NZ healthcare practice owners need to keep their staff's calendar fairly booked. They've got health practitioners to keep busy and paid. They've got support staff to tackle the customer experience. To do that you need your marketing working for you. Ads aren't cheap.
The problem is you're sending emails that engage. These will support sales but there are a few things missing.
When good metrics lead to bad decisions
Sometimes we do something that works and we’re on cloud nine. I’m going to use a dietitian as an example but this applies to your healthcare or private practice too.
Private practice owners often get stuck in a loop of creating what worked before. They didn’t do all their training and registration to spend so much time on marketing. So either the practice manager, owner or lead dietitian needs to spend time on lead generation. Or marketing is spread across the team rather than a dedicated role. When you have dietitians writing blogs or emails it takes time away from income-generating work.
So the bare minimum is done. Or it get's done by AI who regurgitates the generic messages that don't connect. What often happens next, particularly if no new people are added to the list, something changes.
The subscribers stop opening and clicking. Your '5 tips for better sleep' was helpful but then you didn’t deal with the questions that came up for them next. So your emails that used to get high opens aren’t working for them. So the Dietitians’ natural instinct is to make more education content (like tips and tricks).
There is nothing wrong with educational content. Tips get opens, but they don't necessarily build the authority needed for high-level coaching. You end up with a top-heavy marketing funnel. Lots of attention, but low conversion to your core offers because the metrics are a good sign. But they’re not telling what the audience need now.
The New Zealand founders blind spot
You don’t have infinite time or money. You certainly don't have a marketing department to dissect every click-through rate or map out complex behaviour decisions.
Someone needs to do it. But you’re busy with your current clients, you’re not sure where to start. You definitely can do it. But it will take you much longer and it’s not really how you want to spend your time anyway. So you glance at the big numbers and move on. That list of things to do ‘next time’ gets a little bit longer with every week.
This has more impact than you probably think. You might be unintentionally ignoring the 5% of your list who are actually your ideal clients. All because they don't engage with your emails. Making them engage isn’t an option either.
The metrics that matter for email conversions:
It’s easy to get stuck on How many people saw this?. That’s important. But what you need to focus on to solve the conversion problem is ‘Is this showing I’m a trust-worthy and an approachable expert that can help them?’
To measure trust, authority and encourage subscribers to turn attention into conversion you need to measure these metrics.
- The high-intent click: Not all clicks are equal. A click to a (compliant) case study or a ‘how I work’ page is worth 100 clicks on a recipe link.
- Lurkers: Identifying the people who open everything but never comment. These are often the subscribers who are getting to know your values before they commit.
- Response quality: Tracking the specific phrases or stories that prompt someone to hit reply and share a personal inner conflict.
For a Registered Dietitian, you'll want to track how many bookings for initial assessments you get.You'll also want to see how they respond to your emails after the initial assessment. Especially if you have a post-call lead nurture sequence for non-converters.
I suggest making a client love file that includes the email replies from your subscribers who took the time to respond to your emails. This is great for tracking replies but it can also be helpful when you're outsourcing website or email copy. If they're silent don't worry. Sometimes the people who are ready to move don't engage until they make a booking.
A more intentional way to audit your private practice email marketing
- Repurposing with precision. Instead of just sending new educational content repurpose the winners. Decide which 20% of your stories are doing 80% of the heavy lifting for your brand authority.
- Create and protect the safe space. Assess how well your emails serve as a safe space for your audience to navigate their identity shifts. Rather than just another source of noise in their inbox.
- Segment your audience into patients, subscribers and industry professionals. Suppliers and industry professionals are interested in news. Understanding how many patients and potential patients make up your list help you understand where you need to focus.
Use the right tools for your private practice email marketing
Where possible it's best to use your practice management software (Nookal, Indici, GoodX, or GenSolve). Unfortunately, the platforms are great at what they do but they often don't connect easily with email marketing platforms. However, Mailchimp can integrate with Cliniko.
Respecting your time and expertise
You’ve spent years becoming an expert in your field. Your bottom line should reflect that level of effort. To do that you need to stop chasing the thrill of an email with high open rates and start looking for the data that leads to a sustainable, fulfilled practice.
Regulations and limitations with email marketing for Registered Dietitians and healthcare practitioners
According to the The Advertising Standards Authority:
It’s worth reading up on the Advertising Standards Code if you promote products or services in New Zealand including coaches and professional service providers. Check out the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority website.
Of course, marketing a regulated industry like a health practice in New Zealand means extra regulations.
A quick summary is that you need to make sure to advertise in a way that is compliant, responsible, and ethical. For example, you’re not deceiving anyone with any unrealistic claims. Be particularly cautious about patient or client privacy, consent, misrepresenting or causing harm.
I’m not a legal professional so I can’t go into detail. But you can read more about them here:
- Medical council for doctors: https://www.mcnz.org.nz/assets/standards/e93109ce92/Statement-on-advertising.pdf
- Advertising standards authority therapeutic and health advertising code: https://asa.co.nz/codes/codes/therapeutic-and-health-advertising-code/
- New Zealand Dietitians Board : https://www.dietitiansboard.org.nz/common/Uploaded%20files/Web_Documents/Code-of-Ethics-and-Conduct-Updated-November-2017.pdf
- New Zealand Dentist council: https://dcnz.org.nz/i-practise-in-new-zealand/standards-framework
Please note: these links may lose relevance over time as the regulations or legislation changes. If you are aware that any of the links are no longer relevant please let me know.
Disclaimer: I am providing this for general information purposes only not advice. Please reach out to an appropriate legal professional to ensure you are compliant.
How I navigate client regulatory concerns for regulated industries and healthcare professionals
I am currently building connections with healthcare copywriters that have greater knowledge of the requirements. I have created a particular service for people that want a welcome sequence setup that doesn’t include a copy by me.
While I have a strong ethical compass I understand that you need to make sure your welcome sequence copy is compliant for your regulated industry. So I can understand using your own copywriter or another specialist that writes for your industry all the time protects both of us. I can work with your chosen industry specialised copywriter or I can provide a suggestion of a collaboration partner.
What can you do today to increase health appointment bookings with email marketing for your health practice
One action you can take today to stop the busy work and start seeing the real story the data is telling you is to find out who is in your account, what stage they're at and make sure the Call To Action shows them something that inspires conversion.
If you've been educating non-stop, instead of linking to another educational blog post in your next email, link directly to your how I work or contact page. See who clicks. Those names are your highest-intent subscribers. Are they current clients?
If finding or looking at those numbers makes you want to close your laptop and head back to the clinic, this is what I love to do. Book in an email audit and I can decode what your email account is trying to tell you. So you can find out the potential hiding in your list.
