Making Email Marketing Work for Addiction Treatment Centers
At first, it may seem as though drug rehab marketing and email marketing are not a good fit. After all, how many people struggling to find a treatment center find one through their Gmail account?
But the hard and even a bit unexpected truth is this: when it comes to client retention and conversion ratios, you won’t find a more effective strategy than alcohol and drug rehab email marketing.
Despite the fairly common assumption we began with, email marketing drives more efficient results with your target audience than any other form of marketing – if deployed correctly.
The bottom line is this – if you’re not deploying a consistent email marketing strategy for your treatment center, you’re losing a significant amount of potential revenue by not engaging clients through the most impactful channels.
With this resource, Ads Up Marketing covers all of the most pertinent topics surrounding email campaigns and rehab marketing, and how you can optimize your outreach strategy and effectively advertise your rehab center and mental health services.
Keep reading to get our guidance, honed by years of experience, and be sure to reach out for a complimentary consultation that can provide even more insights and actionable advice!
Why Your Drug Rehab Marketing Should Include a Solid Email Strategy
How effective is email marketing? Recent reports state that email marketing is over 40% more effective than social media marketing. 79% of all professionals involved in digital marketing list their email marketing strategies in the top 3 of their most important tools. Not only does it drive results – but it’s also one of the most cost-effective forms of digital marketing in existence.
But be aware that effective drug rehab marketing in the form of email campaigns is more than just sending out monthly newsletters with a few motivational quotes and notes on the latest at your facility. It’s a strategic tool that can educate, persuade, and engage new clients while maintaining connections with old ones to help further their recovery efforts.
Given the sensitive nature of the subject and the decision-making process involved in choosing a treatment center, direct and empathetic communication can significantly impact admissions and client engagement. And when it comes to digital marketing – an email campaign is the ideal place to achieve this specific tone and voice when talking with potential clients.
Don’t be fooled – while email marketing doesn’t take rocket science, it does take a joint effort by your content team to effectively craft a strategy and develop the proper outline that fits your rehab center. So, what goes into a rehab’s marketing email campaign?
The Initial Addiction Treatment Email Marketing Strategy
The first step to any good addiction treatment email campaign is to take the time to segment your audience, which is a core part of your overall marketing strategy.
What do we mean by this? Well – you can’t send the same material to everybody on your email list.
Think about it – would you want to speak the same way to a previous client as you would to a potential client who has never engaged with your brand?
Likewise, you don’t want to send the same content to someone who might be acutely familiar with your facility compared to someone who hasn’t heard of you. We’ve found the most efficient way to segment your audience for addiction treatment email campaigns are as follows:
- Initial Contacts (Top of the Funnel). These individuals have just recently expressed interest in your facility. They’ve filled out an email form expressing interest or taken some type of offer you’ve put in front of them. At this point, assume they know nothing about your treatment center.
- Engaged Potential Clients (Middle Funnel). These are people who have interacted with previous emails or other drug rehab marketing content. They know a little more about your rehab center, have stuck around to receive more content and information, and are likely in the decision-making process. In the marketing world, these are commonly referred to as “warm leads.”
- Alumni and Their Loved Ones. These are past clients who can benefit from follow-up support or new updates and news regarding your rehab center. They’re attached to your rehab centers because they experienced success, so there’s a sentimental element with plenty of emotion attached. You want to help these individuals remain successful in every way possible.
The next step in this form of marketing is crafting the message or story unique to your rehab centers, or single facility, wants to convey through your emails.
Crafting the Right Email Message for Your Rehab Centers
The language used in addiction treatment marketing email campaigns must be empathetic, respectful, and hopeful. Using terms such as “client” instead of “patient” and “substance use disorder” instead of “addiction” respects the dignity of individuals and promotes a more progressive view of recovery.
Depending on which audience segment you’re creating content for, it’s important that you construct a message they can relate to. Using a technique called “mirroring” can be powerful in this situation. This is a powerful strategy where you structure your voice or speaking platform to mirror the demographic of individuals you’re talking to.
For new clients who have yet to engage with your brand – this could mean speaking from the platform of a former user. Get eye-level with them so you can really pull heartstrings and develop trust.
The next step in your rehab marketing email strategy is deciding on a timing and frequency outline. Nobody wants to deal with treatment centers that just email bomb you into oblivion. This takes away the personal element. You should seem more like a peer and not an addiction treatment center.
People get emails from treatment centers all the time. Why shouldn’t they delete yours and instead take the time to continue down the funnel? It starts with proper timing.
The Importance of Timing and Frequency for Email Treatment Center Marketing
We’ll break these down based on the audience segments we mentioned above.
Initial Engagement and New Subscribers
After filling out the form asking for more information, you should send the first email from your treatment program within a day of their inquiry. If you wait too long, they could lose interest or motivation.
Middle of the Funnel
After the initial email, you’ll know what your open rate is and how each recipient is engaging with your content. For those who didn’t open, send another email as a reminder two days after the first. If this one is unopened, wait another day and send one more. If this doesn’t receive attention – it’s likely you’ve lost them for the time being.
However, if they open the email, begin sending weekly or biweekly updates. You can even segment this into monthly newsletters, but you don’t want to dilute your efforts too much. Two weeks seems to be the sweet spot.
Engaging with Alumni
Your alumni fall under a different schedule. You can usually scale these back to monthly, and even quarterly updates. This is unless you’re promoting a special event or important news.
A Sampling of Themes for Drug Rehab Email Marketing Campaigns
The most successful email marketing efforts generally use content formats similar to the one below:
New Clients
- Success Stories: Share testimonials and recovery stories.
- Positive Statistics: Give them hope by sharing success and other stats.
Engaged Subscriber
- Educational Content: Updates on treatment options, and staff introductions.
- Insurance Info: Send information about insurance agencies you work with in-network to help those who might not have a provider. Send tips about funding treatment.
Alumni
- Community News: Highlighting events, group sessions, and milestones.
- Community Opportunities/Job Boards: Help them keep busy and moving in the right direction.
HIPAA Compliance and Legal Considerations
Always ensure your email marketing strategy complies with HIPAA regulations to secure sensitive client information. Also, adhere to the guidelines of the CAN-SPAM Act, which include providing a clear opt-out mechanism to unsubscribe and avoiding misleading header information.
Although not strictly a compliance issue, making sure your DKIM and SPF protocols have been authenticated is also a large part of successful email marketing, as it will ensure your email marketing gets delivered.
If your facility does not have IT personnel, your web host should be able to help with this process, and our staff at Ads Up can provide a breakdown to help get this done as well.
Structuring a Message That Resonates with Rehab Audiences
Subject Line Strategy
Aside from being strictly monitored, your subject line is often the make or break for whether an email is opened. It should be:
- Clear: Directly state what the email contains.
- Engaging: Spark curiosity while being sensitive to the recipient’s situation.
- Concise: 60 characters or less is often ideal for mobile readers.
The body is actually the easiest part. Don’t keep the content too long – it should be easily digestible. Short, but highly informative. Use bullet points and bold lettering to highlight key facts.
Call to Action (CTA)
Each email should have a clear action for the recipient to take, whether it’s contacting a counselor, registering for a webinar, or downloading a resource guide. The CTA button should stand out and be placed both at the top and bottom of the email.
Personalization Tactics Used for Email Marketing
Use the following tips to make each message more personal:
- Include the recipient’s name in the greeting.
- Reference specific behaviors or actions—like prior content they’ve interacted with.
- Tailor content to the stage of their journey in substance use disorder treatment.
Building Out Your Rehab’s E-mail List
There are a number of ways to build your email list. The following are generally the most direct and efficient strategies:
- Website Opt-In Forms: Encourage subscriptions through your main website.
- During Admissions: Ask for consent to join the email list as part of the intake process.
- Social Media Promotions: Offer valuable resources in exchange for email subscriptions.
Testing and Optimization of Your Email Marketing Strategies
Regularly test various elements of your emails—like subject lines, layouts, and CTAs—to understand what resonates best with your audience. Make use of A/B testing and conversion tracking tools available in most email marketing platforms.
Engagement Metrics to Monitor
Be mindful of the following specs when monitoring your campaign:
- Open Rates: The percentage of recipients who opened the email.
- Click-Through Rates: The percentage who clicked on a link within the email.
- Conversion Rates: The percentage who took the action defined by your CTA.
Incorporating Email Marketing into Broader Campaigns
Integrate email marketing efforts with broader promotional or awareness campaigns. For instance, during Substance Use Disorder Awareness Month, tailor your emails to align with the themes and messaging of your broader outreach efforts.
Attach email campaigns to efforts on your social media platforms or search engine optimization efforts. Using intersecting forms of online marketing allows you to distribute a uniform brand message.
Rely on Ads Up Marketing for Email Marketing Support
Implementing a successful rehab e-mail marketing strategy requires attention to detail, a deep understanding of legal and ethical regulations, and a compassionate approach.
By focusing on targeted, personalized, and impactful messaging, you can significantly enhance your engagement with existing and potential clients, ultimately guiding more individuals toward recovery.
Is your current drug rehab e-mail marketing approach as effective as it could be? Contact Ads Up Marketing to optimize your strategy and get the most from your marketing efforts with a complimentary and confidential consult today!