Email marketing in healthcare: How to create engaging emails healthcare professionals want to read

Anyone who’s ever sat in a medical waiting room knows healthcare professionals (HCPs) are incredibly busy. And today their schedules are fuller than ever, as patients who delayed care during the pandemic return to clinical settings.

With so many new communication platforms vying for their attention, email remains a strong and effective channel for marketing to HCPs. But with clinicians and administrators alike receiving dozens of emails a day (or more), your communications need to stand out.

So how do you succeed at email marketing in healthcare? Your emails need to be relevant and relatable to engage your audience. Follow these best practices for successful email campaigns that can help you establish relationships, build trust, and position yourself as a valued partner in the healthcare space.

Strategize your subject line

The message inside your email doesn’t matter if your subject line isn’t compelling enough to prompt your recipient to open it. Give HCPs a reason to open your email as soon as they see it by quickly communicating the value they’ll receive when they do.

This benefit could speak specifically to their work, practice, or patients, and might include topics such as clinical or regulatory updates, or breakthrough technology news. Be mindful of length to help ensure your subject line doesn’t get cut off in the recipient’s inbox: Research shows subject lines with 5-10 words and up to 50 characters have the highest open rates.

Segment your list…

To increase engagement and click-through, your email lists should be as targeted as possible so you can deliver messaging that’s relevant to each HCP. Today’s email platforms can divide recipients into smaller groups such as specialty, skills, demonstrated interests, or geographic location. If the HCPs have opted-in for your communications, you can also reach them when and how they prefer based on the email preferences they share when signing up.

…and get personal

Once your lists are segmented, you can provide pertinent information curated for each recipient. While the messaging may vary by recipient, every communication is an opportunity to share how you can partner with HCPs in their work to improve outcomes for their specific patient population—whether it’s through educational content, product updates, or the latest industry news. Make it comfortable by using a conversational tone and consider using “you” to address your recipients to draw them into the conversation and make them feel like they’re speaking directly with you.

Short is sweet

Email content for busy HCPs needs to be crisp, clean, and concise. Avoid large blocks of text that look daunting. Instead, use subheads and bullet points to break up the content and help make the email easy to scan and digest. If you have more content to share, consider using a link or QR code to drive them to additional content on your website or another landing page.

Make it mobile

Most healthcare providers will be opening your communications on their phones, so it’s crucial to deliver an appealing mobile experience. Make sure the text is easy to read, the images load quickly and properly, and any link buttons are easy to tap. Platforms like Email on Acid allow you to preview an email on a variety of mobile devices to help make sure your content displays well before sending.

Invite action

Your emails should always include a call to action inviting recipients to further engage with your brand or business. The call to action should encourage them to take a next step—such as clicking a link to more information on your website, downloading a resource, or following your social media sites—so you can continue building a healthy relationship together.

Need help creating engaging email campaigns for HCPs? We can help. Drop us a note at: contact@shattlescommunications.com