Below we present five critical success factors for dentists beginning a newsletter marketing campaign. Be sure to remember these as you get started and refer to them as you proceed! These are excerpted from WPI Communications’ educational paper, The Complete Guide to Building a Profitable Practice Through Newsletter Marketing
1. Be consistent. For newsletters to be effective, they must be used consistently. If your newsletters are high quality, your readers will become accustomed to receiving them, and they’ll anticipate them. Building this loyalty takes time, but it’s worth it. If you don’t use a newsletter to stay in touch with your patients or referral sources, how will you stay in touch with them? And equally as important, how are the dentists you are competing with keeping in touch with the people who matter to you?
2. It’s your brand! Your newsletter is a reflection of your brand. It should be as professional and high quality as you are and reiterate your practice’s expertise. Resist the temptation to cut corners, and be sure each issue reflects your high standards.
3. Measure your results. Unless you ask for it, you probably won’t receive a great deal of direct feedback from your readers. However, if you follow some of the tips addressed in this report, such as conducting a survey, sending a personal letter, asking the right questions and including a bounce-back postcard, you will receive important reader feedback. It’s critical to measure results of your newsletter when you receive new patients and referrals.
4. It can be easy. Newsletter marketing can be very hard, even tedious, work. But you don’t have to go it alone. In addition to producing print and eNewsletters, WPI Communications can compile, update and maintain your mailing list; insert your custom newsletters into customized envelopes; and even mail them for you.
5. Newsletters are a cost-effective investment. All marketing efforts should be seen as an investment, and with newsletters this is certainly true. Treat your newsletter like the investment it is. For many of the dental specialty practices with which we work, the acquisition of one or two new patients pays the cost of a newsletter program for an entire year, which is why referral marketing is best for dental specialists.
For more content that will help you grow your dental practice, download the free paper The Complete Guide to Building a Profitable Practice Through Newsletter Marketing.
Or contact us directly to get your dental newsletter off to a strong start!