Savvy business owners understand the importance of growing their email lists. After all, the numbers don’t lie: 77% of internet users say that they prefer to receive permission-based marketing messages through email. Moreover, email marketing has been proven to be 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than social media.
That’s impressive!
But, here’s the problem: you work hard to create compelling offers that would make potential patients open your cold emails and convert. You spend a lot of time writing engaging content that your audience is sure to love. And, all your efforts eventually pay off: prospects subscribe to your email list, read your messages, and click on the links.
But, after a while, they become inactive. Prospects signed up for a reason, and they seemed to enjoy your content at first, but now they’ve stopped engaging. Or maybe they’ve signed up but never opened any of your emails.
Should you just forget about them and focus on acquiring new subscribers?
Of, course not!
Here are a few strategies that could help you re-engage the dead in your email list.
Should You Waste Time Reviving Dormant Subscribers?
There’s an old marketing adage that says retaining a customer is easier than acquiring a new one. The same stays true for subscribers.
Just consider the costs of acquisition vs. running a few campaigns that could reactivate the subscribers that have lost interest. Re-engaging dead leads is more cost-effective and makes more business sense than focusing on customer acquisition alone.
Here’s why:
Email communication is more private and personal than on other platforms. Potential patients get to read your message in the intimacy of their Inboxes without having to share it with the rest of the world. You can, therefore, tailor your content to their unique needs and use the insights you have on them to make them an irresistible offer.
We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: an email marketing campaign costs less than paid advertising. Not to mention, it’s highly targeted. While with AdWords, you may lose valuable dollars on unqualified clicks, with a re-engaging email campaign you know who the recipient of the message is, why they’ve converted, and what you need to tell them to grab their attention and make them move further down the sales funnel.
Why Do Your Subscribers Lose Interest?
Before learning how to win over your dormant subscribers, it’s vital to understand what made them lose interest in the first place.
Try to think about the way you consume content. Most probably, you don’t always subscribe because you love the content. Sometimes you do it because you’ll get something in return, such as a discount, voucher or maybe access to limited information.
The problem is that a lot of businesses tend to overwhelm their subscribers with content. They send newsletters morning, noon, and evening, and the subject line isn’t always of interest to the prospects. Because the amount of messages an internet user receives in a day is staggering, they often miss your email or intend to get back to it later, but forget about it.
Another reason subscribers don’t read your emails may be that they don’t receive them. That can happen if you’ve changed your email service provider recently, so make sure to check your delivery rates if you suspect there may be a problem.
You should also check if there’s a segmentation or value proposition issue on your part. If a subscriber signed up for a very specific reason, but now they’re receiving content that has nothing to do with their needs or interest, they may begin to ignore your emails altogether. For example, if a mom to be read content about the benefits of physical therapy during pregnancy on your blog and decided to subscribe but now she’s only receiving information about knee injuries and sciatica pain, she will probably stop engaging with your emails sooner rather than later.
How to Create and Implement a Campaign That Will Re-engage Dead Email Subscribers
Trying to re-engage dormant email subscribers means more than just reaching out or checking in with them. You need a strategy in place and a good reason for interacting if you want to turn this dead opportunity into a fruitful one.
Your re-engaging email marketing campaign should target dormant leads – that’s a no-brainer, right?
Well, not necessarily.
First, you need to determine what inactive means to you. Most businesses launch these types of campaigns after 28 days have passed since the last interaction, but that may have no value in your physical therapy clinic’s buying process.
Review your lead conversion and sales cycle and then decide who to include in your campaign. For example, you could target subscribers that haven’t opened an email in X day or haven’t clicked on an email in X day. You may also target those who never opened an email or clicked through one after signing up.
One of the major mistakes businesses make when trying to engage dormant email subscribers is that they are bombarding them with sales offers thinking that is the right way to grab their attention. However, more often than not, an aggressive sales pitch can turn potential patients away from your physical therapy clinic rather than making them curious.
Focus on sending relevant information to your subscribers and help them learn more about your physical therapy clinic and how you can help them solve their problems. Make 90% of the content educational and only 10% promotional. Include a call to action at the end of the email and encourage prospects to engage with you.
As mentioned already, avoid sending an overly promotional message that could make your subscribers feel like you’re only seeing them as walking dollar signs. Sounding like a despicable salesperson isn’t going to help your cause. Instead, use a personal and helpful tone.
Mention the reason you’re sending the email, but don’t make any assumptions. Do give your prospects a reason to re-engage with you, but don’t make it a discount, free consultation or another sales-y tactic. Help them understand the educational benefits of engaging with your content and what they can gain from it.
Keep in mind that there’s a good chance your prospects will open and read your email on their mobile devices, so make sure that your content and visuals will look great regardless of the screen size.
Some prospects subscribe because they are interested in specific topics but tune out when they don’t receive what they want. An excellent re-engagement technique is to give your subscribers the options to choose what type of content they want to receive. For example, they could opt to receive content about physical therapy for injuries or PT latest news, and so on.
In this day and age, when social interactions dictate most of our decisions, consumers don’t want to engage with faceless businesses. If your PT clinic is just another brick in the wall, the chances of reminding your business or wanting to engage with it can be pretty slim.
Sure, showing your prospects that you are an authority in your niche can make you look as trustworthy but it may also come off as arrogant and superior. Reach out to your dormant subscribers with a story that integrates both your achievements and mistakes and the lessons you’ve learned from them. That can make you human and reliable.
Reconnecting with a prospect that has lost interest can be equally exciting and terrifying. You want them to see that your PT clinic is worth their attention but you also don’t want to come off as needy or desperate. A good option would be just to be yourself. Here’s the thing: if the content on your website is informational and professional, but in your email communication you are fun and friendly, that may confuse prospects. Stick to the same tone of voice on every channel. Sure, you may customize your email message and adopt a more personal tone of voice, but don’t try to sound as if you’re the prospect’s best friend.
Some people subscribe for the wrong reasons. There’s no shame it in – you’ve probably given your email address too to enjoy certain benefits. The problem with these subscribers is that they have no interest in engaging with you once they’ve gotten what interested them. Sure, you may hope that your stellar services and state-of-the-art equipment will make them turn into loyal patients, but that’s rarely true.
So, don’t be afraid to cut loose the subscribers that are highly unlikely to convert. That way, you can focus your energy and resources on those that could help your physical therapy clinic thrive.
Learn When It’s Time to Let Go
You’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into trying to re-engage dormant subscribers and make them give your physical therapy clinic a second chance. Months have passed with no real action on their part. At some point, you will have to let go and just move on.
Continuing to send emails to prospects that show no sign of interest may be a waste of time and resources. Accept the hard facts and focus on those subscribers that are likely to convert and turn into loyal patients.
If there’s one thing you need to remember after reading this article is that you must show your subscribers how you can help them. Don’t trick them with compelling offers or bore them with sales pitches. This approach won’t benefit either of you.
If you need help setting your email campaigns, nurturing your leads or re-engaging your dead subscribers, then PatientSites.com can help you. We will personalize each message to your unique patient’s needs so that we increase the chances of conversion.
Do you want to take your physical therapy marketing to the next level? Download our Free Evergreen Marketing Blueprint for Physical Therapists and start creating long-term assets that generate new patient bookings for years to come.
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