Make sure your medical spa's emails get opened by avoiding these deadly email sins.

Email is easily the most simple and effective way to let your patients and clients know about what's going on at your clinic, so making sure that your email is opened can mean thousands of dollars in revenue. Craft your email subject lines and you'll increase your open rates while running afoul of one of these email sins will ensure that your message is deleted or sent to the spam folder.

If you're a Medical Spa MD Member you'll have received the occasional email from us announcing a new free deal or a special offer for your medical spa.

Here's the list of don'ts that we run through before we hit send.

1. Hubris (haughtiness, pride, or arrogance): Nothing will make you look like a stuck-up snotty-ass quicker than talking down to your audience. You're asking for a favor from someone. Don't ask like they owe you one.
2. Boring: Dull little subjects aren't whipping your patients into a frenzy, are they? How many 'Botox On Sale This Week' emails can anyone be expected to open? Add a little zest without going overboard and make sure that your subject speaks to your patients needs and interests, not your own.
3. Length: Most email software will cut off subject lines after 60 characters (including spaces), but who want's to read a subject line that long anyway? Stay under 10 words if you can. If you can't... do it anyway.
4. Ambiguity: Don't hide your intent or make someone work to figure out what your email is about. Write a subject that's clear and direct.. like the headline of a news story.
5. Redundancy: Simply repeating your medical spa or laser clinics name isn't building your brand. Your emails subject line is the one thing that is sure to be read and it's valuable space. Make sure you're making it short and action oriented, not simply redundant.
6. Spammy: If there's a hint of spam you've got multiple problems; first, you may not even make it into the inbox since everyone now has email filtering software that will assign your email to the trash, and remember the sending address as being spammy. Second, it hurts your reputation with the recipient and makes you look like you couldn't care less about the recipient.
7. Just because: There are many clinics that send a monthly email 'newsletter' just because they've seen others do it but they don't take the time to actually say anything or provide value (and just promoting yourself shamelessly isn't value). It may seem like a good idea but make sure that you actually have something to say before you open your mouth. Send drivel and your open rates will drop into the basement.

If you want  results - and email can create great results - have a strategy and a plan that avoids these sins and craft your maketing message before you click 'send'.