4 Types of Email Subject Lines that will Get Patients to Open

When it comes to cost effective marketing there may be none more effective than the classic email. Other than the time needed to create the email itself there’s really no cost to your practice—and so much to gain.

Assuming you have a dental practice website (remember when we went over the essential elements of a patient-pleasing site?) the next step is connecting with your patients digitally in meaningful ways. After all, why spend time and resources on your website if you’re not going to try to get people there?

Utilizing email marketing to provide relevant information is an ideal and budget-friendly way to strengthen relationships with patients and stay connected even when they’re not at your practice. To do this you need engaging subject lines that get recipients to open your email, which is why we’re sharing these four best dental practice marketing subject lines with you today.

Let’s look at the breakdown:

  1. The “Burning Question Answered” Subject line

    Use your dental expertise to answer common patient questions that you hear frequently in your practice.
    Try subject lines like:

    What to do next time you wake up with a toothache.

    How to manage dry mouth until your next office visit.

    The secret to actually tackling the plaque problem at home.

    Then once you’ve got the recipient intrigued enough to open the email you can answer the question right in the body of the email itself or—better yet—link to a blog page on your website with an article answering the question.

  2. The New Patient/Patient Loyalty Reward Subject Line

    People love being rewarded so a subject line letting them know there’s something in it for them to open the email makes it difficult to delete the message. Allude to a payoff in the eblast with subject lines like these:

    Exclusive new patient offer inside: Act Now!

    OFFER CONFIRMED: This one’s just for our most loyal patients.

    Happy 1-year appointment anniversary! Special gift inside.

    The key to these subject lines is to walk a fine line between teasing the offer and not giving it all away. Make them curious about what’s inside the email so they just have to open it.

  3. The “Friendly Reminder” Subject Line

    There are two main types of reminders for your dental practice to communicate via email: 1) Appointment reminder emails and 2) Needing to schedule an appointment reminder emails. Both are significant and in the best interest of the patient to open. Here are a few examples:

    Don’t forget! Your appointment is almost here.

    Your appointment is next week – is it on your calendar?

    Get no-charge x-rays if you schedule an appointment today.

    Don’t leave your smile to chance – schedule an appointment online now!

    The best part about an appointment reminder is that once it’s open and you’ve clearly shared the relevant appointment information you can include other items like a current promotion, recent blog post, or call to action to follow you on social media. These all provide extra ways to strengthen patient relationships.

  4. The Procedure-Specific Subject Line

    As the treatment you provide patients is the foundation of your practice it makes sense to use that to craft engaging email content. You can appeal to the motions connected to needing a procedure and / or to the benefit the patient gets from the completed treatment. Try subject lines like this:

    Tired of too-yellow teeth? Click to see all our whitening options.

    Is tooth pain or sensitivity making you miserable?

    A straighter smile can boost your confidence! Schedule a consultation today.

    Depending on your specialty you can tweak these subject lines to fit your patients, but the formula remains the same: show them you understand and have a solution to their dental problems. They’ll want to open to see what you have to offer.

Whether you’re a veteran email marketing practice or are just beginning to dip your toes into the email pond, these subject line tips can help you get patients to open. Test a few to see what resonates with your practice audience, and you’ll be on your way to forming deeper patient connections and growing your practice through email marketing.