Although there are plenty of marketing channels available, including social media and text messages, email marketing is still an extremely valuable and impactful channel for businesses to leverage. With the right strategies, you can use an e-newsletter to keep your business top-of-mind for current clients. When they’re ready and able to make a new appointment, they’ll think of your massage practice.

With social algorithms changing all the time, it’s easy to rely on email marketing to ensure your content is being seen by your network. However, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that your emails are received and engaging. Let’s take a look at four top tips to make your e-newsletters more compelling and effective!

1. Add Value

When creating an e-newsletter, you need to think about one thing and one thing only: adding value. To do that, you must start by understanding your customers and what they need and want from your newsletters. Ask yourself questions like:

• What types of content do they enjoy reading?
• What topics are they most interested in?
• What questions do they have about massage therapy or wellness?
• What information can you provide that your customers can’t get elsewhere?
• What feedback have you received from customers about past communications?
• What challenges do customers face related to massage therapy or wellness?

Use the answers to these questions as the foundation of your e-newsletter strategy. Once you’ve decided on appropriate topics to focus on, marry that with your expertise. For example, if you specialize in injury rehabilitation, discuss famous athletes’ injuries and rehabs. You might discuss tangential topics your audience would be interested in, such as by weighing in on the 2024 Summer Olympics.

2. Plan Ahead Using Themes

If you sit down to write your newsletter at the beginning of each month with no ideas or theme, it’s likely not going to be well-organized, and your customers may notice and lose interest.

Instead, use a thematic calendar to schedule ideas for each newsletter a quarter at a time. This will help you organize your thoughts and give you time to flesh out ideas, find inspiration, and read articles pertinent to your audience. Here are a few ideas for the first six months of the year to get your mind moving:

• January: The Power of Positivity. Most people are making resolutions, but they’re also getting inundated with marketing messages about “new year, new you.” You could take a similar approach but focus on adding beneficial habits rather than removing bad ones.
• February: Celebrating Love and Diversity. Valentine’s Day has become a hallmark of the entire month, but there is much to celebrate beyond that, including Black History Month. Your theme could also be about different kinds of love, including self-love and creating rituals that help self-esteem.
• March: Spring is Coming. For much of the country, it’s getting warmer outside, which means more outdoor activities and exercise. Offer tips and advice on protecting joints and muscles when getting more active.
• April: Spring Cleaning / Mother’s Day. While spring cleaning usually focuses on the home, you can offer tips on how to spring clean your self-care routine by automating your self-care appointments or getting a massage therapy membership. Additionally, start talking about Mother’s Day early so people can get their gift certificates and stop worrying about what to get the moms in their lives.
• May: Celebrating Mother’s and Father’s Day. In addition to celebrating Mom, remind people that Father’s Day is also coming up. If you’d rather skip these topics, you could create a theme around staying healthy and stress-free during the busy summer travel season.
• June: Refresh, Renew. The kids are out of school, so staying family-minded could be relevant. Suggest fun activities to try with the kids that won’t break the bank–or your back! If you have any family massage packages, this is the time to promote them too.

A thorough calendar will streamline content creation and ensure you deliver a cohesive e-newsletter that stands out amongst the other marketing messages your clients receive.

3. Perfect Your Send Times

According to a survey by Hubspot, the highest engagement rate for marketing emails occurs between 9 AM and 12 PM and 12 PM and 3 PM. However, what works best for your massage business may differ from these times.

The best way to find your ideal e-newsletter send time is to try a few different day and time combinations and compare email open rates. You can also try an A/B test: sending one email to 50% of your audience at a certain time and the other 50% at another time.

This is another case where knowing your audience really pays off. If most of your clients work from 9 AM to 5 PM, they may be unable to check their emails during those times. In that case, it may be best to send your emails after 5 PM to ensure that they get the visibility you want.

4. Personalize as Much as Possible

If your email marketing software allows you to do so, personalize your emails to ensure engagement. For instance, you can address your emails to the recipient’s first name. This will automatically create more interest in their brains and is likely to keep them reading. You might also put first names in the subject line when it makes sense.

Alongside adding names to emails, segment your email list by interest in services. This requires you to group your customers based on their shared interests or characteristics, ensuring that they only receive emails that are relevant to them. For instance, you might send exclusive updates to customers with memberships.

Don’t be afraid to create a welcome series as well. These are a set of e-newsletters specifically sent to those who are new to your audience. The goal of these is to boost interest in your services and entice recipients to book a service at your massage practice.

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Use these four tips to create more engaging e-newsletters to pique your audience’s attention and keep them interested in your massage practice. Be sure to invest in software that helps you streamline the process. For example, MassageBook’s solution comes with plenty of tools that help you create, automate, and send customized emails that deliver the results you desire.