You know that email is integral to marketing to healthcare providers and professionals. But how long should your email be to relay your message without boring the recipient effectively?
This question is a little tricky to answer because there isn’t one clear set of rules. However, we will do our best in this blog post to give you a good idea
of how long your emails should be to captivate the interest of your intended audience of healthcare providers and encourage them to engage with you.
Too Much of A Good Thing
Mastering the art of a perfect email is no small feat. It needs to be concise yet thorough, witty yet professional, engaging yet not overly friendly.
And you have to do all of this without using too many words. When it comes to email content, there really is such thing as too much of a good thing.
So, where’s the sweet spot when it comes to email length?
Like so many things in the marketing world, the answer is “it depends.”
Factors That Contribute to a Great Email
Ok, so even though the exact number of words you need in an email can vary, there are some general guidelines you can follow.
First, less is more. Email is not the time to delve into a deep analysis or academic musings. Email should be as concise as possible, giving readers the information they need and nothing more. You can include links to longer articles that your audience can read when they have more time.
Second, remember that your goal of the email is to get and keep your readers’ attention. That means everything should read conversationally. So, don’t sacrifice word count for meaning. Using a few extra words is OK if they make your email more sensible and interesting.
Finally, embrace white space. An email containing one solid 200-word paragraph will be more challenging to read than an email with 300 words broken into smaller sections.
How Many Words Should You Include in an Email?
Now for the answer to your burning question of how many words you should include in an email.
Best practices suggest that the ideal email length is less than 200 words.
Some data suggests that emails with 200 words get the most engagement via click-thru rates, while emails with 50 to 125 words have a response rate of 50 percent or higher.
That’s because people don’t read emails the way they read other content, like books or articles.
On average, people spend less than one minute reading an email. They often gloss over the meat of the email and only scan headers and colorful CTAs (another reason to utilize design in your emails!)
How Many Questions to Ask for Engagement
Often, healthcare email marketers will use questions to engage with providers. A survey can be an excellent way to learn more about your audience so you can deliver content that benefits them and adds value.
Keep in mind that providers are busy. So, they don’t have much extra time to dedicate to your email survey. Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to keep your survey questions short and sweet, just like your emails. Stick to five questions or less that are targeted to give you the specific information you need and nothing more.
Need Help Getting More Email Engagement? Let’s Talk
Successful healthcare email marketing begins with the right email marketing strategy. HealthLink Dimensions can help you with email marketing and deployment to ensure your emails get opened and read by your target audience.
Contact us to learn more about our email deployment services.