As with all the marketing campaigns you initiate, launch, and manage for your massage therapy practice, you want to be sure you have a purposeful plan before you invest your time, creativity, and resources. This holds true not only for the content you regularly add to your website, the gift cards you promote, your Tweets, Facebook messages, and other social media blasts, but also your newsletter. Yes, even your email newsletter needs a strategy to make it effective and worth not only your time, but also the time of its recipients.

Before launching your massage therapy’s email newsletter, here are 8 tips to keep in mind as part of your whole newsletter strategy:

Tip #1: Be mindful.

Engaging and effective newsletters take time for you to prepare and take time for your established and potential clients to read. Your aim should be to provide information that is timely, relevant, and useful. In addition to providing content that your readers will appreciate (and share with others), you want to present it in a consistent format that also makes it easy to read.

Tip #2: Identify your purpose.

Identify why you feel compelled to add an email newsletter to your massage therapy practice’s marketing collateral. What do you want it to accomplish?

• Do you want your potential, new, and established clients to understand all the countless benefits of massage therapy?

• Do you want to establish yourself as the “go to” expert in your market?

• Do you want your readers to attend your monthly massage therapy get-togethers?

• Do you want to establish one exclusive place (and one place only) where you include your coupons for discounts?

• Or do you want to accomplish all of the above goals?

Tip #3: Keep a content calendar.

Don’t simply create content on a whim days before you want to send out your newsletter. Instead, plan it out according to your purpose and in sync with the seasons and the specials you want to run. Don’t include content about Christmas gift cards in a newsletter you send out in the spring. Your content calendar can serve as a wonderful archive of past newsletters and reference for future newsletters. Keep track of the content you’ve sent, when you’ve sent it, and the feedback you received from it.

Tip #4: Create thoughtful content.

Write informative, error-free content for every newsletter. If you’re asking your readers to take the time to open and read your newsletters, then make it worth their while. Make sure that each article you include in the newsletter is relevant and helpful.

Tip #5: Write a captivating subject line.

Don’t write a subject line phrase like Newsletter March 2015.  Write something snappy that has to deal with most (if not all) of the content in that particular email newsletter. This way, your readers will be motivated to open the newsletter, will know what the theme is of that particular newsletter, and will be able to access and quickly refer back to it whenever they want to reread that information in the future.

Tip #6: Use photos purposefully.

Some recipient of your newsletters have their emails set in such a way that they don’t allow for images or graphics to be downloaded or available. If you add photos or graphics, don’t write your content inside the photo or graphic; and furthermore, don’t send newsletters that are only images or graphics. Use the photos and graphics as supplemental visuals to your already-engaging content.

Tip #7: Have a call to action.

Yes, even in your email newsletters, you want to include a call to action. You don’t just want your customers to read your newsletters, you want them to feel compelled to do something after they’ve read it. Some examples include:

• Have readers book by a certain date to receive a discount.

• Inform the reader that if he/she refers a new client to you within a certain time period of receiving the newsletter, he/she will get a free massage.

• Include a live link within the email that connects directly to a coupon on your website only accessible via the link.

• Have your reader “like” you on Facebook.

• Invite your reader to sign up for your monthly message therapy group.

Tip #8: Think (Again) Before You Hit “Send”

Think twice, send once. Even though you are not physically printing 1000 copies of your full-color newsletter, you still need to make sure everything in it is perfect, error-free, and exactly as you want it to be before you send it. Although you’re not a professional writer or a full-time graphic designer, that’s no excuse to send out anything but the very best to your clients and potential customers. Everything you send out into the physical world and virtual universe reflects your brand. Make it count.

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing channels. Put some thought into your newsletters to ensure they’re delivering value to your list. Leverage tools like MassageBook to save time and create professional email newsletters your list will love.

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