Simple Strategies to Improve Your Newsletter Open Rates

Do you want to increase your newsletter open rate? Well, you’ve got mail! Your open rate is one of the most influential metrics for measuring the success of an email marketing campaign.

As a large healthcare business or a locally owned practice, patient newsletters are an effective email marketing tool for both existing patients and future patients.

99% of consumers check their email every day. – Data and Marketing Association

Why is that? Because it gives you the opportunity to connect with your patients in an application that they sign in every day – their inbox. Your newsletters should be resourceful and interesting to read.

The goal is to provide information that is intriguing enough to be opened. So before you send out your next patient newsletter, let’s make some small tweaks to boost your open rate.

First things first, let’s see where your practice stands! Follow this quick and easy formula:

Now that you’ve made your calculations, are you ready to discuss how you can boost your newsletter open rates and continue to grow your practice, all while maintaining a healthy patient base? Let’s dive in!

How to Improve your Newsletter Open Rate with Three Key Components

In your industry, the average open rate for healthcare companies is 33%. This includes alternative medicine, hospital, and health care, individual and family services, medical devices, medical practice, mental health care, or veterinary.

If your open rate doesn’t fall under this percentage, don’t worry! Here are three simple strategies to increase your open rate and get your patients clicking!

 1. Stand Out Subject Lines

All subject lines matter! In every inbox, the subject line for your newsletter is the first thing a patient will see. Which means it needs to be personalized, valuable and relevant. Add personality to your message, not an impersonal marketing approach.

 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line – Email Marketing Tips Delivered

Even though you’re writing to multiple patients, write as if it’s for one. For example, “If you are irritated with your dry eyes, you’ve gotta try this new eye solution.” Also, write concise and make it short and simple. This will tell the patient what to expect and will most likely open your newsletter.

Be sure when writing your subject line that you stay away from all caps and overuse exclamation points. For example, a subject line that says, “!!!READ!!!” or “!!!FREE EYE EXAM!!!” will make you seem desperate and hurt your credibility.

Here are a few more subject line starters that can improve your patient newsletter open rate:

• Pop the Question: A question in your subject line creates a more personal approach.
• Take Command: Be direct with your patients in a way to get them to take action, but don’t be desperate or forceful.
• Give a Little Tease: Entice your subscribers to read on by carefully crafting a unique message.
• Set an Agenda: Make a list, it’s easier for patients to consume the information you’re sending out in your newsletter.
• Add Emojis 😀: Emojis are playful and allow you to appeal to a specific emotion. In a recent study, businesses saw more than 50% opened emails just by adding in emojis to their subject lines.

Try implementing these subject line starters to a small percentage of your patients. This will show you which subject line draws in more patients into opening your email and reading your newsletter.
Learn More: What You Should Know to Make the Most out of Your Newsletters

 2. Mobile-Responsive Email

When you send your patients newsletters, it’s likely that a large percentage of them are reading your newsletter on a smartphone or tablet. According to a recent study, mobile has become the most popular, with 50% of all emails being read on a smartphone. That being said smartphones and tablets can no longer be avoided!

This is why it’s important to make your newsletter mobile-friendly. One of the biggest turn-offs from mobile emails is the screen size being too small to read and interact with.

The simplest way to look great in a mobile inbox is to have a mobile-responsive template. These templates will automatically adapt to fit any screen size and will display the content effectively making it easier for your patients to read.

Also, be mindful of how many images you include because too many can be overwhelming. Apart from this, not all your subscribers can view images based on their email account settings. For this reason, be sure to add an alt-text to describe the images.

Just keep in mind of how many graphics you use because too many blank boxes throughout the email are not aesthetically pleasing. In addition, 71% of users trash an email that does not display correctly on their mobile devices. A well-formatted patient newsletter on a mobile device will most likely encourage the patient to read on!

Some ways to optimize for mobile are:

• Use a responsive email template
• Reduce your image file size
• Add a (CTA) call to action button

Again, if your patients can not properly access your newsletter on a mobile device, they will click out of it and may be hesitant about opening the next one your practice sends.

3. Time Matters

Timing can have a tremendous impact on whether or not your subscribers open your newsletter email. Be sure to send your newsletter on a day and time that suits the majority of your patients. You can do this by analyzing their age, location, and occupations. Once you decide on a day, date, and time. Create a consistent schedule so that your patients are aware and expect to receive your newsletter email.

 HubSpot reports 11:00 am is the best time for email sends.

Give it a try! Send your email at 11:00 am and if this time doesn’t work for you then test out other times with a small percentage of your patients. This will keep you mindful of any changes in their browsing behavior. Also, try some A/B tests to detect what timeframes your practice performs best. Make sure your newsletters are sent out evenly and do not overwhelm your patients with an email every day. You should ideally be testing out different times along with the number of newsletters.

 How will you improve your next patient newsletter?

It’s not a sprint, but a marathon, and focusing on these three key components can greatly affect your next newsletter open rate. Remember to test your changes with a small percentage of your patients.
Now, you are on your way to a higher open rate and more subscribers, begin implementing these tips today!

Do you have additional questions about how to improve your newsletter open rates or use email marketing at your practice? Contact our team at 800-792-8384 or click here to learn more.