Why Health Care Practices Should Consider Outsourcing Their Newsletter Marketing Programs

In an ideal world, health care practices would have the time, expertise and resources to create their own newsletter marketing programs. Unfortunately, the reality is quite often the opposite.
The reputation of your health care practice is as important as the health of your patients. And just as you wouldn’t advise your patients to compromise their health by self-medicating, I wouldn’t advise you to compromise your reputation by skimping on the quality of your newsletter. The same way that you would advise your patients to see an expert (you!) about whatever is bothering them, I would advise you to work with an expert on newsletter marketing as well.
Outsourcing your medical, dental or physical therapy newsletter benefits you and your practice in the following ways:
It saves time. Creating a professional newsletter takes time-something that you, as a health care practitioner, don’t have in abundance. On top of that, patients and other health care professionals who receive your newsletter are information savvy. They can tell the difference between a hastily put together newsletter and one that you crafted to include information relevant to their concerns. If your aim is to connect with your readers, encourage them to refer patients to you or come to you in their time of need, a newsletter hastily put together will reflect badly on your health care practice.
Don’t let lack of time affect the quality of your healthcare newsletter. Not only will outsourcing save you time but your readers will love hearing from you because your newsletter articles will be informative and a pleasure to read. They will appreciate the fact that the information you provide is catered specifically to them. We have found that when newsletters are done well, recipients anticipate their arrival.
It gives you access to expertise you lack. When I say lack of expertise, I don’t mean your clinical knowledge. On that front, you are the expert. What I mean is a lack of copywriting expertise.
There’s no one better to educate, teach, and inform your patients and referral sources than you. But it’s quite possible that you don’t have the copywriting, design or marketing skills to do all of the above in words and terms your readers can easily understand.
Having someone whose expertise is to create newsletter content will ensure that your newsletter articles are optimized for your reader’s understanding and interest.
So unless your health care practice has a marketing department with specific experience with newsletter marketing, outsourcing to a newsletter service is your best option.
How to Outsource Your Newsletter Content
When outsourcing your newsletter, look for a company that has experience in your field of health care practice.
Once you find a few companies, research them well. Ask for client testimonials or referrals, and pay close attention to how they communicate. Are they professional? How rigorous are their writing, proofreading and fact-checking processes? Are they willing to go the extra mile?
When you find a newsletter marketing company you trust, you still need to read your entire newsletter. If a reader calls you about a newsletter article that piques his or her interest, be sure you are ready to respond.
Newsletters can be a powerful marketing tool for your medical, dental or physical therapy practice. After 28 years in the newsletter marketing business, I have seen their success firsthand. But I also know that your No. 1 concern is your patients, so my advice to health care practices interested in setting up a newsletter program is always, “Don’t go it alone.”