Read with extreme caution!
A title with read this with extreme caution may interest you for a blog to read, right? There is a reason for this. Many of our Madow Center friends are doing something fantastic – sending emails to their patients on a regular basis and also blogging once or twice a month. Way to go!! This is more important than ever as we are trying to recover from pandemic restrictions.
This is more important than ever as we are trying to recover from pandemic restrictions. However, some offices have expressed concern that their emails and blogs simply are not being read. One simple reason could be that their subject lines are…..BORING!
As exciting as we feel dentistry may be, it can be difficult to get our patients to share that enthusiasm. So let’s face it – if you send out an email with the subject line “Dental Health Tip From Dr. Beasly,” it may not get people to drop everything they are doing and click on that message.
Recently a practice complained that no one read a very important email they sent out about all of the things they are doing to protect their patients’ health. Well no wonder – the subject line was “Newsletter from Oakwood Dental Care.” Zzzzzzz….
A coaching client recently asked us:
“Let’s say you are sending an email or writing a blog to educate your patients about tooth sensitivity. What would a good subject line be to get them to open it?”
They suggested things like – “What You Need To Know About Tooth Sensitivity” and “The Causes Of Sensitive Teeth.” Now there may be nothing wrong with those, but they are a tad bland.
But how about something like “Are You A Sensitive Guy Or Gal?“ Wow – now that is a great subject line! Who wouldn’t want to click on that??? An A/B split test proved that subject line had almost double the “opens” of something a bit more generic.
The point is, if you are taking the time and trouble to send emails to your patients or writing blogs that you hope they will read, make the title or subject interesting! Which will get more readers – “Learning About Oral Cancer” or “A Trip To The Dentist Can Save Your Life!!?”
And one more thing. When composing emails and blogs (or even speaking to patients) – don’t forget that dentistry is a foreign language. Words that are normal parts of our vernacular (such as “periodontal disease,” “amalgam,” “composite,” “5mm pocket,” and practically everything else we say on a regular basis) are totally foreign to your patients. They may say they understand to avoid looking stupid, but they don’t. You may as well be writing or speaking Esperanto.
So remember – make your titles intriguing and write and speak in sixth grade level English. You will succeed in getting your message out!
