WriteBusiness.net Online Blog

Archive for the ‘Email Mktg.’ Category

As we’ve talked about with social media marketing, keeping your name in front of your patients and clients on a regular basis builds and strengthens your existing relationships while establishing credibility and trust.

We are certainly in the electronic (e) age and along with it comes one of the most cost effective marketing tools for communicating with your patients and clients…e-mail and e-mail marketing!

One of the best tools for e-mail marketing is an autoresponder.  Autoresponders  are specifically designed for helping you keep your name in front of your audience by keeping in touch and allows you to send messages automatically to those on your  email “list”.    

Choose an autoresponder program like Aweber (what I use) , iContact, Constant Contact ,  Get Response, or Mail Chimp to name a few.  These programs are double opt in, meaning people sign up and then they receive an email to confirm they subscribed to the email/newsletter  before they can start receiving it.  Once set up, all these programs are very simple to use.

Practice newsletters are one of the biggest uses for email marketing.  You can also announce office events, important dental health information and tips, special offers, awards, welcome letters, appointment confirmations, and participation with school, community, or charitable events.  You can include your patients in your “dental family” by announcing team members marriages, births, graduations, and office trips.

In addition to practice information like your newsletters and announcements, if you have messages on certain procedures, you can set an autoresponder to automatically send those specific messages when someone clicks on the message link.  They can even be set to send a series of articles, messages, procedures, even courses..the list is unlimited for the use of an autoresponder.

NOTE: ALWAYS provide an unsubscribe link in all your e-mails allowing subscribers the option to “UnSubscribe”. Nothing is more irritating than receiving newsletters and not having a way to stop receiving them.  

The length and tone of your e-mail newsletter messages is entirely your choice. It can be a few lines of text or a detailed newsletter or both.  Your newsletter may be semi-monthly, monthly, or even quarterly.  Again it’s your choice. If you choose once a month, then send once a month….every month.  Later you may try sending twice a month.

Choosing the 2nd Tuesday of the month is a good example. Then every 2nd Tuesday of the month….send your information. The main thing to remember is once you have made your choice about when to send… be consistent! Always include your web site link and e-mail address in your information along with a notice to feel free to forward the information to a friend.

Your content can be written in-house by you or a team member (if time permits).  If you don’t have the time  or you don’t feel comfortable writing your content, it’s something that can be outsourced.  Do make sure whoever you choose to write the content understands the purpose and audience of your newsletter. They are representing you and your practice.

Another great e-mail marketing tool is your e-mail signature (sig). It’s your virtual online business card. You are (or should be) sending out responses to e-mails every day, don’t just type your response and then type your name and send your e-mail. Instead, advertise your practice and web site every time an e-mail is sent from your office.

Your e-mail signature should include your name,  telephone number, e-mail address and most importantly, your web site address and your social networking sites!

Remember: Keeping your name in front of your patients is paramount in social media marketing. With e-mail marketing…It’s your practice’s golden opportunity.

What are some of the ways you use email marketing in your practice or business?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, email marketing, engaging social media, how to use email marketing, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing

Today’s social media market is one of engaging and connecting, which puts us in constant contact with our viewers, clients, and patients and brings our email addresses and our cell phone rings in the limelight from time to time.

As patients and clients give us their email addresses, it’s amazing, sometimes comical, some of the names created to be used.  The cell phone rings we hear in the office can also be quite funny. 

A great example of your cell phone ring and how it’s heard is the Geico commercial when they are discussing ring tones and the CEO’s cell phone rings and his ring is totally out there!

If at all possible, have your email address linked to your website address. Best would be your name @your web address.  If that’s not possible, then use your name @gmail.  What you don’t want is something like “redneckgirl @yahoo” or “dudeman @gmail”.  If you’re using it for your business email, then keep it professional. 

The same thing goes for your cell phone ring tone.  True when someone calls you they don’t hear your ring tone,  But what if you are in the middle of a business conversation and you’re right at a critical point and your phone rings playing…”Take This Job and Shove It”! 

In short: Keep it professional.  If in doubt…don’t use it.

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, Social Media and Telephone, social media marketing, Telephone skill

You’re on the Social Media platforms, you know…”If you build it, they will come”.   You have a Facebook profile and business page, a Twitter page, a LinkedIn page, and you’re on YouTube…life is grand! 

But wait a minute!  Do your viewers, clients, and patients know “where” you are on your social sites?  Do they have you “social address?”  

As most of you know, I’m a 30 year dental business office professional and certified Social Media Specialist.  This past weekend after speaking at a social media event, I had a “Wow, I could have had a V8″ moment!  Like at all events, we had our business cards out and we enchanged cards. 

That evening when I got home and was looking at the cards I had received I noticed a few of them had their actual addresses of their social media sites.  Mine on the other hand had my email address on it!!  What’s so bad about that you ask?? 

Did you notice above I mentioned I’m a social media specialist??  Well, I’m a social media specialist…without one single social site listed on my business card!  So, I remidied that….New business cards are ordered, they’re on their way, and you guessed it….all my social sites are listed on these cards! 

My whole point in saying the above is for you to make sure you have your social sites listed on everything you have printed that is sent to New Patients or existing patients.  Here’s a good example of how it can be fitted on a business card (I’m using my usiser name as examples)

• Twitter: /Livvie_Matthews
• Facebook: /copywritingand socialmedia
• LinkedIn: /in/livviematthews
• YouTube: /LivvieMatthews

OR you could use the social icons in place of the social site’s name followed by your “address”.  Either way works just fine and will tell viewers, patients, and clients where they can find you on all the sites.

In addition to your business cards having your social sites listed, they should also be listed on your letterhead, listed in any printed ads you may still have, links should be in your email signature to your social sites, and  included in any correspondence sent out from the office

Social media is about gaining more visibility, so the more people see where they can find you, the more viewers you will have that follow you!

What about your social sites…how are some of the way you use them for gaining visibility?

Technorati Tags: Dental Marketing, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Twitter, women using social media

Social media is changing the dynamics of marketing and in 2010 will continue to revolutionize marketing as we know it. 

In this economy businesses are seeing the huge benefits and potential Social Media Marketing presents for:

• Expanding their reach to existing and potential customers
• Relationship marketing and establishing credibility
• Becoming a thought leader in their area of expertise
• Increasing sales
• Cutting costs in printed marketing and advertising
• Low to no cost marketing on Social Media platforms – i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube, and virtual events  (Tele-seminars, Webinars, Podcasts, etc)

Lisa Olinda of OlindaServices.com is hosting 2010 Social Media Masterminds Event with a line up of amazing guest bloggers sharing their expertise in social media marketing each day during the month on January. 

Read JoAnne Westwood, owner of Westwood Virtual Associates, guest post on the Dynamic Changes in Virtual Events .  JoAnne’s post shows how businesses are changing the way they are hosting events through Social Media outlets. 

What are some ways you see Social Media changing traditional business marketing?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, email marketing, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing

We are all hearing  the buzz about social media and social media marketing with the mentioning of all the social media sites to be set up and be listed with.  However, you are already set up on one social media site and it’s closer than you think…your email!

For quite a while, email has been used for marketing purposes.  It’s quick, targeted, and postage free!  But with the onset of social media, there’s  the discussion topic by some marketers, that social media will kill email and that email marketing is dead. 

John Jantsch with Duct Tape Marketing makes a very interesting point on  how email and social media can actually compliment each other in his post How Social Is Your Email? 

John mentions a couple of ways to bring your email into the Web 2.0 arena.  What about you, can you think of a way your email can be more…social?

Technorati Tags: email marketing, Internet Marketing, social media marketing