Email Marketing

‍Your potential patients check their email every single day. While social media platforms dissolve, digital marketing trends shift, and online forms of communication evolve, email has stood fast as the most direct and reliable channel to reach your audience. Think of your email as the new phone number: people do not change their emails, and they typically have them forever.

With well over 4 billion users worldwide actively checking their inboxes numerous times a day, email marketing offers medical practices an unparalleled opportunity to connect with patients where they are already spending their time. 

This means a lot of access for a very low financial investment.

For every dollar invested in email marketing, practices typically see a return of $36, making it one of the most cost-effective marketing tools available. More importantly, patients are three times more likely to make healthcare decisions based on email communications compared to social media outreach.

We can keep going on about the benefits that email marketing can provide — like tracking which messages resonate best with your audience, segmenting your readership based on their interests and treatment history, and giving you the ability to deliver targeted content that builds lasting relationships — but it’s better to dive through all this while learning how to actually do it.

So, here we go; let’s dive into The Incredible Guide to Email Marketing, which will teach you everything you need to know to get a successful email marketing program running, built from the ground up.

Email Marketing Fundamentals

Before we can discuss the specific details of running a successful email marketing program, we must first understand the basics and build a strong foundation. To do that, let’s first define email marketing, identify the types of email campaigns that exist, build an email list, and identify some important metrics to track. 

Email Marketing, Defined

Email marketing is a strategic approach to patient communication that involves sending targeted, valuable content directly to email inboxes. At its core, email marketing serves multiple purposes: educating patients about treatments, announcing practice updates, sharing promotional offers, and maintaining ongoing relationships with your audience.

Think beyond the standard newsletter blast. Modern email marketing encompasses automated appointment reminders, personalized treatment recommendations, educational series about procedures, and targeted campaigns based on patient interests. These communications work together to guide potential patients through their decision-making journey while keeping existing patients engaged with your practice.

The key difference between email marketing and regular email communication lies in its intentional, measurable approach. Each email serves a specific purpose in your broader marketing strategy, whether that's converting prospects into patients, encouraging referrals, or building long-term loyalty through consistent engagement.

Types of Email Campaigns

Medical practices can leverage several distinct types of email campaigns, each serving a unique purpose in your marketing strategy. Understanding these different formats helps you create a well-rounded email program that engages patients at every stage of their journey.

Promotional Campaigns

Promotional emails announce special offers, new treatments, or limited-time opportunities at your practice. These campaigns often highlight specific services while creating a sense of urgency to encourage patient action. Whether introducing a new laser treatment or offering a seasonal discount on popular procedures, promotional campaigns drive direct patient engagement and conversions.

Educational Content

Educational emails position your practice as a trusted authority while providing valuable information to your audience. These campaigns might explain treatment processes, share recovery tips, or discuss the science behind popular procedures. By delivering useful content, you build credibility and help patients make informed decisions about their aesthetic goals.

Welcome Series/Drip Campaign

When new patients join your email list, a welcome series introduces them to your practice. These automated campaigns typically include information about your services, staff introductions, and what patients can expect from future communications. A well-crafted welcome series sets the foundation for a strong patient relationship.

Typically, the structure looks something like this:

Each of the boxes in the flow represents a different email being sent over a period of time based on the behavior of someone in the ecosystem. This means you are creating an entirely curated and tailored brand experience, not just a singular email. 

And the email itself could look something like this:

Patient Journey Emails

These targeted emails guide patients through different stages of their treatment experience. From pre-procedure preparation to post-treatment care instructions, journey updates keep patients informed and engaged throughout their aesthetic experience with your practice.

Newsletters

Regular newsletters keep your practice top-of-mind by sharing practice updates, patient success stories, and industry news. Unlike purely promotional content, newsletters focus on building community and maintaining long-term patient relationships through consistent, valuable communication.

Example

Event Announcements

Whether you're hosting an open house, educational seminar, or special treatment day, event announcements generate excitement and encourage participation. These campaigns often include event details, benefits of attending, and clear registration instructions.

Example

Seasonal Campaigns

Align your email marketing with seasonal trends and holidays to create timely, relevant content. These campaigns might focus on summer skincare, winter rejuvenation treatments, or special holiday packages that resonate with your patients' seasonal interests and needs.

Simple Email

A text-based email is a very intimate and simple way to communicate with your audience. With a subject line like “From the Desk of Dr. Smith,” a well-written explanatory or informative email can go a long way in building a relationship with and getting key information to your audience. Keep the imagery light, and make sure to include only a few important links. 

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How to Build an Email List

Growing your email list requires a strategic approach both in your office and through digital channels. A robust email database becomes one of your practice's most valuable marketing assets, but collecting information must be done thoughtfully and systematically.

In-Office Collection

Your front desk provides the perfect opportunity to gather email information from patients. Include email fields on your intake forms and have your staff explain the benefits of joining your email list, such as exclusive offers and important practice updates. Train your team to highlight the value patients receive, such as treatment reminders, educational content, and special event invitations.

During consultations and appointments, providers can personally encourage patients to join the email list by mentioning upcoming treatments or educational content that aligns with the patient's interests. This personal touch often leads to higher sign-up rates.

Digital Collection

Your website should feature multiple opportunities for visitors to join your email list. Place sign-up forms strategically throughout your site, especially on high-traffic pages and after valuable content. Consider offering an incentive for signing up, such as a downloadable skincare guide or a special offer on their first treatment.

Social media platforms can also drive email list growth. Share previews of your email content and direct followers to sign up for exclusive information and offers they won't find elsewhere.

Get the Essential Information

When collecting contact information, focus on gathering these key details:

• First and Last Name (for personalization)
• Email Address
• Phone Number
• Birthday (for special offers)
• Preferred Contact Method
• Gender (to determine what types of procedures they might be interested in)
• Treatment Interests

That last point deserves special attention. Including a section where patients can select treatments they're interested in creates immediate segmentation opportunities. This information allows you to send targeted content based on specific interests, significantly improving engagement rates and conversion potential.

Opt-In Requirements

When building your email marketing list, it's critical to implement proper opt-in processes that comply with various regulations. These requirements should be built into all your marketing systems automatically rather than added as an afterthought. (They also don’t need to be exclusively on your digital marketing — you can include them in your standard onboarding documents as well.)

Opt-in regulations vary by country, state, and even county, so make sure you are compliant with the rules and regulations of your specific area. 

Database Management

Maintain your email list in a structured database or customer relationship management (CRM) system. Organize information consistently, using standardized formats for names, phone numbers, and other fields. Regular database cleaning ensures your list remains current – remove bounced emails, update changed contact information, and respect unsubscribe requests promptly.

Keep detailed notes about patient preferences and engagement history. Track which emails they open, what content they click on, and which treatments they've received or expressed interest in. This information becomes invaluable for creating targeted campaigns and personalizing future communications.

Remember to follow relevant privacy regulations and maintain HIPAA compliance in your email database management. Always obtain clear consent for email communications and provide easy options for patients to update their preferences or unsubscribe.

Email Marketing Software Options

Selecting the right email marketing platform for your medical aesthetics practice can dramatically improve your email marketing program. Here are some ways in which using these platforms outside of your standard EMR can benefit your practice:

• Superior Email Design: Professional templates and visual elements that reflect your practice's quality instead of plain-text EMR emails.
• Better Deliverability: Specialized services ensure your messages actually reach patient inboxes rather than being filtered as spam.
• Accessible Analytics: Most provide an easy hub for finding insights into which treatments generate interest, which subject lines work, and which patients respond to specific offers.
• Advanced Automation: Create sophisticated patient nurturing sequences that guide patients through their aesthetic journey without manual staff intervention.

While numerous options exist in the marketplace, several stand out for their specific features that cater to the unique needs of aesthetic medical professionals.

Here are some we recommend:

• Mailchimp: Intuitive drag-and-drop editor with robust automation capabilities. The free tier supports up to 2,000 contacts with advanced segmentation features as you grow.
• Constant Contact: Exceptional customer support with healthcare-friendly templates. Strong event management functionality for practice open houses and educational seminars.
• Klaviyo: Sophisticated segmentation and personalization for hyper-targeted content. Predictive analytics identify which patients are most likely to book additional treatments.
• Brevo: All-in-one solution with email and SMS capabilities. Charges are based on email volume rather than list size, with seamless practice management system integration.

Key Email Marketing Metrics

Understanding your email performance requires tracking specific metrics that indicate how well your campaigns resonate with patients. Here are the essential metrics every medical practice should monitor:

• Open Rate. The percentage of recipients who open your email. A healthy open rate typically falls between 20-25% for healthcare emails. This metric helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your subject lines and sending times. Consistently low open rates might indicate your emails aren't reaching inboxes or your subject lines need improvement. (Please note that open rates are notoriously difficult to track accurately — certain email providers do not share when subscribers open or interact with emails for privacy reasons, and there is a whole new wave of people who are looking to avoid being tracked online.)
• Click-Through Rate (CTR). The percentage of email recipients who click on one or more links within your email. Industry averages range from 2-5%. CTR reveals how compelling your content and calls to action are. It's often considered a better indicator of engagement than open rates, as it shows active interest in your content.
• Conversion Rate. The percentage of email recipients who complete your desired action, such as booking a consultation or purchasing a treatment package. This metric directly ties your email efforts to practice revenue. Track both the number of conversions and their monetary value to understand your campaign's ROI.
• Bounce Rate. The percentage of your emails that couldn't be delivered. A high bounce rate (over 2%) can harm your sender's reputation and future deliverability. "Soft" bounces indicate temporary delivery issues, while "hard" bounces mean the email address is invalid or no longer exists.
• Unsubscribe Rate. The percentage of recipients who opt out of your email list after receiving a campaign. While some unsubscribes are normal, a rate exceeding 0.5% per campaign deserves attention. Spikes in unsubscribes might indicate your content isn't meeting subscriber expectations or you're sending too frequently.
• List Growth Rate. The rate at which your email list grows, accounting for both new subscribers and unsubscribes. A healthy list consistently grows by 2-5% per month. This metric helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your list-building efforts and overall list health.
• Forward/Share Rate. The percentage of recipients who share your email with others. While typically lower than other metrics, a high forward rate indicates highly engaging content that resonates with your audience. These forwards often lead to valuable word-of-mouth marketing and new subscribers.
• Return on Investment (ROI). Calculate your email marketing ROI by comparing campaign costs (including software, design, and staff time) against revenue generated from email conversions. Email marketing typically delivers the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel, often exceeding 3600% (or $36 for every $1 spent).

How to Write an Email

Here are the main components of any marketing email you will send out:

1. Subject Line
2. Preheader Text
3. Body Content
4. Calls to Action

Each of these needs to be carefully crafted in order to maximize the amount of success (revenue) you can extract from each email. Let’s break them down:

How to Write a Subject Line 😏

Subject line: Hey reader, this section is JUST what you needed…

The subject line is your only chance to hook your reader in a crowded inbox, especially considering that 64% of recipients base their decision to open an email on the subject line alone.

Effective subject lines typically incorporate three key elements: an announcement, a problem solution, and a sense of urgency. While incorporating all three elements can create compelling subject lines, focusing on even one of these aspects can prove effective:

1. Making an Announcement. Highlight significant practice updates, new treatments, or important changes that directly impact patient care. Example: "Now Accepting New Dawn Health Insurance | Eligibility Requirements"
2. Solving a Problem. Address specific patient concerns or pain points directly in your subject line. Focus on the benefits and outcomes patients seek. Example: "Advanced Treatment for Age-Related Skin Concerns Now Available"
3. Creating Urgency. Generate immediate interest by highlighting limited availability or time-sensitive opportunities. Rather than relying on discounts, emphasize the scarcity of appointment slots or treatment availability. Example: "Limited Appointments Available: New Anti-Aging Treatment"

Personalization Strategies

Modern email platforms offer sophisticated personalization capabilities through merge tags. These automated features allow you to customize subject lines with individual recipient information:

• First Name Personalization. Using merge tags like |FNAME| automatically inserts the recipient's first name
• Last Name Integration. Similar tags (|LNAME|) can incorporate last names when appropriate
• Treatment History. Reference previous procedures or interests based on patient data

An effectively personalized subject line might read something like this: 

Sarah, Your Custom Treatment Plan Is Ready | Next-Generation Skin Rejuvenation

Best Practices for Subject Line Optimization

• Keep length concise, ideally under 50 characters
• Incorporate emojis when appropriate for your audience (note: avoid in certain regions like Australia due to regulations)
• Test different combinations of announcements, problem-solving, and urgency
• Segment your audience to deliver highly targeted subject lines
• Monitor open rates to refine your approach over time
• Don’t be afraid to use emojis, they have positive impacts on open rates 😏

Here is an example of taking a long subject line and condensing it into something more concise:

1. Subject Line 1 | 16 Words, 86 Characters
   
   1. Alice, a New Treatment for Your Wrinkles Is Waiting - Get the Most Out of Your Fillers
2. Subject Line 2 |13 Words, 77 Characters
   
   1. Alice, a New Wrinkle Treatment Is Waiting Just for You - Bolster Your Fillers
3. Subject Line 3 | 9 Words, 45 Characters
   
   1. Alice, a Wrinkle Treatment Is Waiting for You

You should also remember that, while urgency can drive immediate action, it should stem from genuine limitations rather than artificial scarcity. Your audience will see through any artificial scarcity immediately. Focus on creating value-driven subject lines that align with your practice's professional standards and patient communication goals.

How to Write Preview Text

The preheader text, also known as preview text, provides a secondary opportunity to engage recipients when your subject line alone doesn't generate an open. This text appears directly beneath the subject line in most email clients, offering additional context and compelling reasons to engage with your message.

Optimizing Preheader Content

When developing preheader text, focus on complementing your subject line with additional value propositions. Statistical data and specific benefits often prove particularly effective. For optimal mobile performance, maintain a character count between 30 and 80.

Let's examine this process using a real example:

Subject Line: "Alice, a New Wrinkle Treatment Is Waiting"

For this announcement of the Blemish-B-Gone II system, we want to emphasize two key differentiators: the 30-minute treatment time and minimal side effects. Consider these preheader variations:

• Preheader Option 1: "Erase even deeper fine lines in as little as 30 minutes."
• Preheader Option 2: "Don't miss a beat — This new treatment will have you back to work before lunch."
• Preheader Option 3: "Amplify fillers in 30 mins. No harsh side effects — just a youthful complexion."

The third option proves most effective as it:

• Maximizes the available character space
• References existing filler treatments
• Highlights both key benefits (speed and safety)
• Maintains a professional yet engaging tone

Let’s see it in action:

Best Practices to Remember

• Ensure preheader text builds upon subject line messaging
• Include specific, quantifiable benefits when possible
• Maintain a professional tone while conveying urgency
• Test different lengths within the recommended character range
• Incorporate key differentiators of your treatment offerings

When crafted thoughtfully, preheader text serves as a powerful tool in your email marketing strategy, providing the additional context and motivation recipients may need to engage with your message.

How to Write Body Content

The email body content represents the most crucial—and often most challenging—component of your email marketing strategy. While this element offers numerous possibilities for structure and style, a strategic approach helps ensure your message achieves its intended impact.

Begin by revisiting your campaign goals. 

• For product launches, structure your content to guide recipients through the sales journey. 
• When making announcements, maintain clarity and brevity, focusing solely on essential information. Content tone and style should align with your demographic. 
• Communications about skin rejuvenation treatments require different approaches for various age groups—what resonates with millennials may not appeal to more mature patients.

Focus your content on identified patient concerns. In our example, we're targeting fine lines and wrinkles. Structure your headers and primary content around these specific issues, ensuring quick comprehension of your message's value.

Pro-tip: Even master content writers need to be brief in emails. People's attention spans are not what they used to be, and you only have seconds to grab their attention. 

A Note on Value-Native vs. Value Foreign 

You will want to consider whether you are creating value-native or value-foreign emails. That is, does the email itself provide information or content of value, or will the patient have to move to a different platform from the email to retrieve said value?

Now, there is no need for all of your emails to be one or the other—you can mix and match them depending on the content at hand, but it should be a consideration in every single one you send. 

With that being said, there are some situations in which, as a medical aesthetic professional or plastic surgeon responsible for disseminating health information, you should lean toward either side of the spectrum.

When to Use Value-Native Emails:

• Immediate Education Needs: If you are explaining post-procedure care, providing tips on skin care routines, or delivering essential health information that the patient needs to know immediately (for example, right after a procedure), including this content directly in the email ensures it is easily accessible.
• Engagement and Retention: When you want to keep the patient engaged within the email itself, such as sharing success stories, testimonials, or informative articles that build trust and showcase your expertise, including the information in the email content itself is a good approach.
• Regular Industry Updates: For newsletters or regular updates where the goal is to inform rather than drive specific actions, embedding the value within the email can be more effective.

When to Use Value-Foreign Emails:

• Detailed Information Requiring Further Reading: If the content is too lengthy or complex to fit into an email, such as detailed research studies, comprehensive guides, or in-depth procedure explanations, it is better to link to a webpage or a downloadable PDF.
• Interactive Content: For content that benefits from interactive elements, such as videos, webinars, booking appointments, or detailed photo galleries, directing patients to your website or a dedicated landing page can provide a better user experience.
• Conversions and Actions: When the goal is to drive specific actions, such as scheduling a consultation, signing up for a seminar, or purchasing products, linking to a well-designed landing page that can capture and process these interactions is more effective.

By strategically deciding whether to use value-native or value-foreign emails based on the content and the desired outcome, you can ensure that your communications are both effective and efficient. This consideration helps you deliver the right information in the best format, enhancing patient engagement and satisfaction.

How to Design an Email

Plain text emails are the workhorses of the email ecosystem. They are the emails you use to communicate with your coworkers and other business professionals. They are easy to make, send, read, and keep track of.

However, research indicates visual information processes 60,000 times faster than text in the human brain. While compelling copy remains essential, visual elements play a crucial role in engagement, which is why HTML emails are the industry standard.

Modern email platforms like Mailchimp and Gmail provide professional templates that streamline this process.

Let's examine a practical example:

This template offers a clean, professional foundation for our message. Its simplicity allows for effective information presentation while maintaining visual appeal. Let’s adapt some of the color elements to be more on-brand:

Now that we’ve adapted the design, let’s fill in the written and photographic content to be more relevant to our audience and our fictional medical spa. 

Ensure all interactive elements function properly. Every button and link should direct to appropriate landing pages—each broken link represents potential lost revenue. This structured approach to email content development helps maintain focus while delivering your message effectively to potential patients:

If you aren’t intentional about optimizing every element — every button, link, heading, image, or content blurb — you are leaving revenue on the table.

Quick Tips for HTML Design

When it comes to designing your email, there are some fundamentals that you need to make sure you are keeping in mind, even if you aren’t someone creative or design-minded. 

1. Keep the layout and organization simple.
2. Use simple, compatible, HTML or CSS.
3. Keep the messaging simple and brief.
4. Use powerful, intriguing hooks and content.
5. Keep clear calls to action and purpose.

In other words, don’t bother sending the email if you don’t have anything interesting to say, don’t expect anyone to click anything without being offered some kind of value, and don’t overwhelm your audience with busy design or content. 

Here is a good rule of thumb from Incredible’s Creative Officer, Zack Bujazia: 

The longer your email is, the less time I’m spending per section on it.

Email Personalization

Personalization in email marketing involves customizing content for individual recipients. While your email list may contain thousands of subscribers, modern automation tools enable sophisticated personalization without requiring individual message composition.

Good Personalization Techniques

Many of the foundational personalization tools use simple tags to pull data from your email list, adding layers like first name, last name, or other simple identifiers to make something feel less mass-produced. 

Implement these foundational elements to begin personalizing your emails:

• Merge Tags. Utilize basic personalization tags:
  
  • First Name (|FNAME|) for direct address
  • Last Name (|LNAME|) for formal communications
  • Email (|EMAIL|) for account verification
• Dynamic Imagery. Match visual content to audience demographics:
  
  • Age-appropriate imagery
  • Gender-specific content
  • Lifestyle-focused visuals
• Strategic Timing. Schedule emails based on audience behavior:
  
  • Test different sending times (9 AM - 3 PM typically optimal)
  • Monitor weekday vs. weekend performance
  • Track open rates by time slot

Better Personalization Techniques

Once basic personalization is mastered, advance to these strategies:

• Dynamic Content. Adjust messaging based on demographics:
  
  • Customize tone for different age groups
  • Modify language complexity by audience
  • Adapt content style to patient personas
• Targeted Promotions. Create segmented* offers:
  
  • Treatment-specific promotions
  • Demographic-based discounts
  • Interest-aligned special offers

*Please note that segmentation is covered more thoroughly later in this guide.

Best Personalization Techniques

Reserve these advanced strategies for mature email programs after you’ve mastered the good and better techniques:

• Treatment Recommendations. Develop sophisticated suggestion systems:
  
  • Analyze treatment history
  • Suggest complementary procedures
  • Create custom treatment packages
  • Implement predictive recommendations
• Loyalty Program Integration. Incorporate membership data:
  
  • Display point accumulation
  • Highlight reward thresholds
  • Create VIP-specific content
  • Gamify treatment journey
  • Show progress toward the next tier

Begin with "Good" techniques and progressively implement more sophisticated strategies as your program develops. Monitor performance metrics to guide advancement through these levels of personalization.

Finding Your Target Audience

Before launching any email marketing campaign, you need a clear understanding of your ideal patient. Well-developed patient personas are essential for this process — if you haven't created these yet, pause here and develop your personas first. 

Click this link to access a full guide to developing patient personas. These detailed profiles will serve as the foundation for all your targeting efforts.

If you have developed them, here is a quick refresher on the types of key informational points your patient personas should cover:

Demographics

• Age Range. Different age groups have distinct aesthetic priorities and concerns. Younger patients (25-35) often seek preventative treatments and minor enhancements, while mature patients (45+) typically focus on age-related concerns. Understanding these age-specific motivations helps you target appropriate treatments for each group.
• Gender. Treatment preferences and marketing approaches vary significantly across gender identities. While some treatments appeal broadly, others may be gender-specific. In your marketing approach, consider how gender influences treatment selection and communication style.
• Income Level. Patient financial capacity directly influences treatment accessibility. Premium services might target higher-income demographics, while payment plans and entry-level treatments can appeal to budget-conscious patients. Match your offerings to your audience's spending power.
• Location. Geographic location affects both treatment needs and accessibility. When targeting specific areas, consider factors like UV exposure in sunny climates, urban versus suburban lifestyle differences, and travel distance to your practice.
• Education. Educational background influences how patients research and make decisions about treatments. Some prefer detailed explanations, while others respond better to simplified explanations focusing on benefits and results. This will also impact the type of language and syntax you use in your copy.

Behavioral Patterns

• Treatment History. Past procedure choices often indicate future interests. Patients who start with minor treatments may gradually progress to more significant procedures. Use this history to predict and suggest logical next steps in their aesthetic journey.
• Appointment Frequency. Regular patients have different needs than occasional visitors. Frequent visitors might benefit from membership programs or package deals, while occasional patients might need more education about treatment benefits.
• Response to Promotions. Track how different patient segments react to various offers. Some respond to percentage discounts, others to added-value packages. Understanding these preferences helps tailor future promotional strategies.
• Communication Preferences. Patient communication styles vary widely. Some want detailed treatment information, while others prefer brief overviews. Match your messaging style to your audience's preferences for better engagement.

Treatment Considerations

• Primary Concerns. Focus on the specific aesthetic issues your target audience wants to address. Whether it's anti-aging, body contouring, or skin rejuvenation, understanding these core concerns shapes your targeting strategy.
• Budget Range. Different patient segments have varying investment capacities for aesthetic treatments. Consider offering tiered treatment options to accommodate different budget levels while maintaining quality care.
• Time Availability. Patient schedules affect treatment timing and frequency. Working professionals might need evening appointments, while others have more flexibility. Factor these timing preferences into your targeting approach.
• Recovery Expectations. Patient downtime tolerance varies significantly. Some can accommodate longer recovery periods for more dramatic results, while others need minimal-downtime options. When targeting specific groups, match treatments to lifestyle constraints.

Refining Your Target Audience

Your targeting strategy should evolve based on:

• Campaign Performance. Monitor which messages resonate with different patient groups
• Treatment Success Rates. Track which patients achieve optimal results
• Patient Retention. Identify characteristics of long-term, loyal patients
• Revenue Analysis. Determine which patient types provide the best return on marketing investment

Remember that effective targeting isn't about reaching everyone — it's about connecting with the right patients who will value your services and become loyal to your practice.

Email Segmentation

Email segmentation is taking some of your data points from your patient persona or targeted audience research and customizing your email communication to fit their needs and wants more precisely. An easy example of this practice would be to send emails to people between the ages of 18 and 25 about preventative treatments while sending emails to people between 40 and 55 about surgical procedures or more intensive treatments. 

If you are wondering how much your segmentation efforts are worth, consider these figures: Segmented email campaigns generate 30% higher open rates and 50% higher click-through rates than non-segmented campaigns. 

If you have not been collecting the segmentation data on your patients and potential patients before, that’s fine. The best time to start was yesterday, the second best time to start is now. 

How to Segment Your Email List

Now that you know the group of people you want to target, segmenting your email to reach that demographic is as easy as checking a few boxes on whatever email marketing platform you are using. Mailchimp and Constant Contact are two of the most popular, but there are plenty out there for whatever your budget and needs are.

It’s important to know that you can segment your list at any point. The best time to segment was when you opened your practice; the next best time is now. — Sam Peek, Chief Executive Officer

In any case, the process of creating a segment should be relatively similar between platforms. Here are the steps to doing this process on Mailchimp:

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Step 1: Navigate to the “Segments” tab under the “Audience” category.

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Step 2: Based on your level of comfort, choose “Advanced” or “Regular” segments and then select “Create advanced/regular segment.” 

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Step 3: Name your segment and then click “Add filter.” For our purposes, we will use “Skin Resurfacing Candidates.”

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Step 4: Select your metrics. Remember, we are looking to target people between the ages of 35 and 49 as closely as possible. For this specific example, we have to go outside of our target range just a bit by using two different age ranges. 

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Step 5: Select “Review segment” at the top right.

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Step 6: Make sure the segment is populated, and then click “Save segment.” Congratulations, you’ve now created an email segment. The process will be very similar regardless of the platform you use.

Email Automation

In any email marketing platform, you can select certain actions that trigger an email. This action/trigger relationship is the basis for email automation. 

A good example of email automation is a welcome email: when someone adds their name to a list through a form, the system triggers an action, which in most cases is a welcome email.

If someone leaves something in their cart from your online store, you could set that as a trigger as well. The action could be to send them an email reminding them that they had items in their cart. 

Here is a list of very common triggers and the resulting email action that can follow:

Consultation Request. Send a welcome email with appointment details, a list of required paperwork, and a what-to-expect guide. Include parking information and practice location details.

Treatment Anniversary. Create a celebratory email highlighting their treatment success. Include maintenance recommendations and a special offer for their next visit.

Birthday Messages. Deliver a personalized birthday greeting with an exclusive birthday month offer. Keep promotion subtle and focus on the personal celebration.

Post-Treatment Follow-up. Provide detailed recovery instructions and care guidelines. Include a progress check-in form and address common recovery concerns.

Treatment Page Views. Share educational content about the viewed treatment, including FAQs and provider credentials. End with a soft consultation invitation.

Email Inactivity. Send a "we miss you" message with preference update options. Showcase new treatments and include a special return offer.

Membership Renewal. Highlight membership benefits and usage statistics. Include renewal incentives and showcase member success stories.

Treatment Series Completion. Send a congratulatory message with maintenance recommendations. Request before/after photos and testimonials.

First-Time Patient Welcome. Deliver practice overview with patient portal setup instructions. Include service menu and social media connection invitations.

A Note On Dynamic Email Content

When you use both segmentation strategies and personalization tools in a single email, that content can then be considered “dynamic.” It is important to use both concepts since they play so well together when it comes to any email performance metric you could test. 

By first narrowing down the type of person you want to communicate with and then changing the content they receive on an even deeper level, you are essentially microtargeting patients in the most bespoke, tailored way possible. 

Advanced Drip Marketing

When automation is taken to the next level, you can create complex webs of communication tailored specifically to your patient archetype and their stage in their aesthetic journey. This is called a drip campaign. 

Let’s revisit this map to give you an idea of the triggers and branches that can exist from a single drip campaign:

To give you a clear idea of what this looks like in practice, here are three easily replicable steps you can take in a drip campaign to create tailored communications:

Step 1: The Initial Survey 

Our campaign kicks off with a survey designed to identify those most likely to book a breast augmentation. The survey helps us segment the audience into three groups: those ready to book, those needing more information, and those not interested. Anyone who selects "No" is automatically removed from the campaign, ensuring that only engaged prospects continue to receive further communication.

Step 2: Tailored Follow-Ups 

For those who selected "Yes," we immediately send a follow-up email with the message, "We're thrilled you chose us." This email reaffirms their decision and encourages them to take the next step in booking their procedure.

For those who selected "Not yet," we keep them in the funnel by sending an educational email, featuring an informative ebook. This content is carefully crafted to provide valuable insights into breast augmentation, addressing common concerns and questions. The goal here is to nurture these leads by providing them with the information they need to feel confident in moving forward.

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Step 3: Creating Urgency 

If the "Not yet" group engages with the educational email but still hasn't booked their procedure, they receive a final follow-up: a limited-time offer. This email is designed to create a sense of urgency and provide an exclusive incentive, nudging them toward making a decision. By offering something special, we aim to convert these hesitant leads into scheduled appointments.

By responding to their actions and providing relevant content at each step, we increase the likelihood of conversion by tackling their most likely objections. This is just one example of a very simple but effective drip campaign that your practice can use—they can get much more complex, but, well, that’s a whole adventure on its own.

Email Analytics and Metrics

There is almost no point in sending emails out if you have no interest in spending some time figuring out what works best for your medical practice. You might get lucky a few times, but the value of email marketing really begins to grow when you start to learn the best methods for your specific audience. 

To get that level of insight, though, you have to learn both which metrics to track and what kind of story they are telling you.

High-Value Email Metrics

There are many metrics that you could be tracking in your email marketing program, but we are here to tell you that you are wasting your time on most of them. Here is a list of high-value metrics to keep an eye on and the value or insights that they can provide.

• Opens — This is the raw number of total opens your email received. This number is important because it gives you a quantifiable number of people you are reaching with each email, which can be useful as you look to strategize your marketing efforts in the future. If you know that your emails are reaching an audience of 1,000, while your SMS marketing is only reaching a couple hundred, then you know that when resources are tight, you should be prioritizing email marketing. 
• Open Rate — Open rate is the percentage of people who received your email and opened it to read more. This is an imperative stat to measure because it gives you insight into how engaged your audience is and how well certain types of subject lines and preview text are performing. Over time, you’ll be able to tell what kind of language and formatting your audience responds best to. Do they like offers and value propositions in the subject? Do they like a more conversational tone? How do they respond to emojis? All of these questions and answers can help you improve your conversion rates over time. (Again, keep in mind that open rate analytics are rarely perfectly accurate, and there are many factors that play into open rate on a single email basis.)
• Forwards — The number of people who found the information in the email important enough to share with their peers. This is a good way to see how much value your emails are providing to your audiences. More forwards generally mean more valuable content.
• Unsubscribes — This is the number of people who found the information you have provided so unuseful that they no longer want to be bothered by your communications in their email box. Unsubscribes, at a reasonable rate, are not necessarily a bad thing. You should always expect some attrition, and the self-pruning that happens helps your data become much more applicable to the audiences that will more likely engage with you. 
• Click-Through Rate — This is the percentage of people who opened your email and found the content interesting enough to click on a call to action to learn more about whatever you were communicating to them. This is another critical metric to track since it can give you insight into what your audiences are most interested in from a content perspective. 

Use Data to Optimize Your Email Campaigns

Data on its own is just a collection of numbers. Looking at open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics without context won't provide real value or understanding of your email marketing program's performance. There's a story in your email data waiting to be told - here's how to find it:

1. Organize Your Email Metrics

Start by compiling your email marketing data into a single organized database. Include key metrics like:

• Open rates across different types of emails
• Click-through rates for various calls-to-action
• Conversion rates from email traffic
• Time and day performance patterns
• List growth and unsubscribe rates

2. Visualize Performance Patterns

Have your data visualized professionally to spot trends and relationships between different email campaigns and metrics. This helps identify what's working and what isn't. For example, you might notice that educational emails about skincare sent on Tuesday mornings consistently outperform promotional emails sent on weekends.

3. Look at the Big Picture First

Examine overall trends before diving into specific campaigns. How have open rates been trending quarter over quarter? Are click-through rates improving? Understanding these baseline metrics helps avoid misinterpreting individual campaign results.

4. Consider Your Audience's Behavior

A practice focused on millennials might see higher mobile open rates and quick response times to flash sale announcements, while one targeting seniors might see better performance with longer-form educational content opened on desktop computers during morning hours.

5. Build the Narrative

Here's how to construct a narrative from your email metrics:

Start with a simple premise: "We saw a 25% increase in consultation bookings from email this month."

Ask deeper questions:

• Was this from increased open rates or better conversion?
• Which types of emails drove the most bookings?
• How did this align with other marketing efforts?

Let's build the story:

"Our latest email campaign about nonsurgical facelifts generated a 25% increase in consultation bookings. Further analysis shows this success came from three factors:

• A strong subject line that achieved a 45% open rate
• Clear before/after images that drove a 12% click-through rate
• A landing page optimized for conversion at 8%

The campaign performed particularly well with our target demographic of women aged 45-60, especially when sent mid-morning on weekdays. Follow-up analysis revealed that educational content about the procedure, combined with a limited-time consultation offer, created urgency without being overly promotional.

This insight suggests our future campaigns should:

• Focus on educational content with subtle promotional elements
• Target mid-morning weekday send times
• Include high-quality before/after imagery
• Maintain clear, benefit-focused subject lines
• Link to optimized landing pages"

By methodically analyzing your email marketing data this way, you'll uncover actionable insights that can significantly improve future campaign performance.

Remember, successful email marketing analysis isn't about individual metrics; it's about understanding how different elements work together to drive patient engagement and conversions. Let the data tell its story, and use those insights to continuously refine your approach.

A/B Testing Your Emails

After establishing your basic email marketing program and implementing drip campaigns, A/B testing becomes your next crucial optimization tool. This testing methodology allows you to compare two email variations to determine which version generates better results.

The process involves creating two versions of an email:

• Version A serves as the control
• Version B contains the tested variable

These versions are sent to separate audience segments of equal size. By analyzing performance metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, you can determine which version performs better. Most email platforms will then automatically send the “winning” version to the remaining audience.

Consider a breast augmentation drip campaign addressing three common patient objections:

• Practice and surgeon credibility
• Treatment cost
• Recovery concerns

Here is our initial hypothesis: Recovery concerns represent the primary obstacle to conversion.

Here is how we test that hypothesis:

• Version A (Control): Email focusing on surgical safety, recovery protocols, and complication statistics
• Version B (Test): Email offering a 10% discount on the procedure

Here are the results of our test:

• Version A: Generated 2 patient inquiries
• Version B: Generated 10 patient inquiries

This data suggests that cost presents a more significant barrier to conversion than recovery concerns for this specific audience. This insight allows for the optimization of future campaigns by addressing cost considerations earlier in the communication sequence.

When you conduct and track multiple tests on your audience, you can begin to create communications that are hyper-targeted to your unique set of patients. 

(Remember to test one variable at a time to ensure clear, actionable results that can inform your ongoing email marketing strategy.)

How to Set Up A/B Testing

If you are looking for a quickstart guide on how to actually go about A/B testing, here is one for Mailchimp: 

1. Click the Create icon, then click Email.
2. Click A/B test.
3. Enter an email name and click Begin.
4. Select the audience or segment for your test.
5. Click Next.
6. Choose the variable to test: subject line, From name, content, or send time.
7. Add or remove variations (up to 3).
8. Set the percentage of recipients for the test combinations using the slider.
9. Choose the winner criteria (open rate, click rate, total revenue, or manually) and test duration.
10. Click Next.
11. Enter Email subject, From email address, and From name.
12. Configure send time variations if applicable.
13. Check the boxes for preferred settings or tracking options.
14. Click Next.
15. For “subject line,” “from name,” or “send time” tests:some text
    
    1. Select a template.
    2. Design and preview your email.
    3. Click Confirm.
16. For content tests:some text
    
    1. Click Add Content for each variation.
    2. Select a template and design the email.
    3. Enter a description for each content variation.
    4. Repeat for all variations.
    5. Click Next.
17. Review the pre-delivery checklist.
18. Click Resolve or Edit to make changes if needed.
19. Click Send to send the test immediately or Schedule to send later.

For a complete Mailchimp walkthrough, check out this link.

Email Deliverability

There are several steps you can take to ensure your emails are delivered to their intended audiences:

1. IP Warming. Instead of sending 10,000 emails when you first start, start slow and let your ISP establish a reputation with your domain. If you are using a service like MailChimp, this process is built innately into their service since their IPs are already established. 
2. Watch Your Email Engagement. If the engagement in your emails is low, then it is possible that you will be flagged a spam content as email services deprioritize your messaging. Avoid this by regularly creating quality content that entices people to open up your emails. 
3. Avoid High Bounce Rates. If you send 1,000 emails and 100 of them bounce because of faulty email addresses or other technical issues, then that 10% bounce rate will signal to email services that your content could potentially be spammy. 
4. Don’t Be Spammy. This should be a no-brainer — quality content only, all the time. No exceptions. 
5. Regularly Clean Your Email List. You should be going through a process of removal multiple times a year to ensure that the open rate relative to your email list is as high as possible. Doing this will avoid the appearance of low engagement, high bounce rates, or spammy content. 

If you work with a third-party IT company, you will want to make sure that the IP being used is listed in their spam lists. You should be able to contact them and get walked through the process. 

Advanced Email Marketing Tactics

Once you’ve done the work of understanding the basics of email marketing, there are some advanced concepts that you should turn your attention to. These tools will help you take your email marketing program to the next level, ensuring that you stand out among the sea of other medical professionals around you.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content, or UGC, is content created by your “users,” which in your case would be your patients. This type of content is invaluable, as it allows one patient to speak directly to another patient who is currently going through the consideration process and sales funnel.

People are more likely to trust these kinds of endorsements because they are not coming specifically from the medical practice itself, but instead, someone who was previously in the exact same position, feeling the same concerns or insecurities and ultimately looking for the same kind of solution.

This content can live in many different places, but incorporating UGC — like a quote from a patient or a short video on their experience — into your emails will drastically improve your content’s ability to overcome the obstacles your potential patients are dealing with. 

For more details on UGC, check out this article. 

Social Media Integration

Despite the controversy social media has generated, there is really no substitute for speaking directly to an audience, especially if you are seeking a new audience. A lot of work should go into creating social media content, and it is a smart tactical move to utilize that content inside of your email marketing as well. 

Integrating your social media into your email marketing program could mean sharing similar content throughout both platforms during a single campaign, including direct social media embeds into your body content, or even making sure you have some kind of internal link to your social media profiles in case someone wants to check you out on Instagram after reading your most recent email. 

The switch from email to social media should feel natural to the user, so make sure that you are intentional about it as you build your email marketing program beyond the basics. 

Conclusion

Email marketing, despite being a very old form of online communication, is still one of the best ways to connect with an audience of people who you already know are interested in what you have to offer. If you are able to master the concepts in this guide and implement them into your practice’s marketing program, you will see considerable results. 

We know that it can seem overwhelming, so if you get stuck anywhere in the process, reach out to us with your questions. We will be happy to walk you through the steps and get your marketing up to the next level.