The Power of Email Newsletters for Vet Practices: Answering Common Questions

Many veterinary practices focus heavily on social media they find it easier to do and perceive it is more effective than email marketing and they often overlook it despite it being one of the most highly effective tools for reaching and engaging with clients, to encourage loyalty and repeat business.

If you're wondering whether email newsletters are worth the effort, let’s explore and debunk some common concerns, while highlighting the immense potential of this marketing channel.

No! It’s not about choosing between social media and email newsletters—they work best when combined. Each platform has its own strengths:

• Social media is fantastic for building quick, real-time engagement and increasing brand awareness.
• Email newsletters offer a direct line to your clients’ inboxes, where messages are more likely to be seen and acted upon.

The key is to leverage both platforms together for maximum effectiveness. Social media’s organic reach, particularly on Facebook, is only around 5.2% unless you pay to promote your posts (and even that is less effective than emails). On the other hand, email marketing typically sees open rates between 31% and 45.84% in the veterinary industry, meaning emails are far more likely to be seen?.

Pairing email and social media will allow you to connect with your clients in different ways. For example, use your social media channels to encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter, and include links to your latest social posts within your emails, creating a dynamic and engaging loop.

It might seem that way, but email newsletters don’t have to be time-consuming. They can be quick and easy to create if you use repurposed content from your other marketing efforts.

Here’s how:

• Repurpose blog content: If you’ve already written a blog post for your website, you can feature a snippet or teaser in your newsletter, encouraging readers to click through to your website.
• Social media posts: Many people on your email list might have missed your social posts due to the limited reach of platforms like Facebook. Including these updates in your newsletter ensures they see the important highlights
• Google Business Profile updates: Summaries from your blog or social media can also be added to your Google Business Profile, boosting your local SEO while reinforcing your brand across platforms.

By pulling together blog snippets, and social media highlights, and adding a personal note from your clinic, you can create a content-rich newsletter that clients will look forward to each month ?(and now with AI it is even faster and easier to do)

It’s true that inboxes can get crowded, but emails from trusted sources, like your veterinary practice, are generally well-received. One key difference with email marketing is that it’s permission-based—you’re sending messages to people who either opted in through your website or are already clients, meaning they expect to hear from you. This makes emails from your clinic far more relevant and anticipated compared to unsolicited marketing messages.

In fact, email marketing for vet practices achieves some of the highest open rates across industries, with open rates averaging between 45 - 55%,  well above the general average of 27%. Moreover, personalised emails—like welcome messages—can achieve even better results, with open rates as high as 63.91%. 

Additionally, when it comes to email marketing, the choice is always theirs. If someone doesn’t want to engage with your email, they can simply skip it. Modern email marketing platforms also allow clients to customise their preferences—they can adjust how often they receive emails or select specific types of content that interest them. And if at any point the content is no longer relevant, clients can easily unsubscribe. This gives them complete control over how and when they engage with your messages, preventing the sense of overwhelm that sometimes accompanies irrelevant or spammy emails.

By keeping your emails valuable, focused, and relevant, you ensure that people look forward to your updates instead of feeling bombarded. This customisation and flexibility is one of the reasons why email marketing remains such an effective tool. Clients appreciate the control they have, and as long as you consistently provide useful content—whether it’s health tips, reminders, or exclusive offers—your emails will continue to be welcomed and appreciated

Time is often a barrier, but there are efficient ways to manage your email marketing:

• Training your team: We can provide training and support for your internal team to help them efficiently manage social media and email content, making the process smoother and faster.
• Outsourcing the work: If you prefer to focus on your practice, our team at Vet Marketing Services can handle the heavy lifting for you. From social media posts to blogs and email newsletters, we manage the entire process, so you can focus on providing the best care to your patients?.

One of the biggest advantages of email over social media is that email reaches your entire list directly. Social media algorithms, especially on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, increasingly limit organic reach, which means only a small portion of your followers will actually see your posts unless you pay for ads. By contrast, with email marketing, your message lands in your clients' inboxes every time, without being subject to algorithm changes?(

Additionally, email marketing offers a far better return on investment (ROI). For every dollar spent on email marketing, businesses can see an average return of $42, compared to much lower returns from social media advertising?. 

This makes email an incredibly powerful tool for engaging clients, driving appointments, and boosting overall revenue.

Email newsletters provide a variety of benefits that can help build and maintain strong relationships with your clients:

• Increased appointments: Send reminders for vaccinations, check-ups, and other important services.
• Promote offers:  Promote current promotions, events, upcoming puppy school classes and more.
• Stay top of mind: Regular updates keep your practice in your clients’ thoughts, making them more likely to reach out when their pet needs care?.
• Request reviews: Newsletters provide another excellent opportunity to request Google reviews, which can help improve your local search ranking?.
• Educational content: Sharing pet care tips and news helps build trust and positions your practice as a trusted source of veterinary information?.

Email newsletters are a powerful, cost-effective way to connect with your clients and maintain engagement. When combined with social media efforts, they form a robust marketing strategy that reaches your audience in multiple ways.

And if time is a constraint,Vet Marketing Services is here to help you streamline the process, from creating content to managing your campaigns.

Would you like more guidance on developing your email marketing strategy or need assistance creating engaging content for your newsletters?

Reach out to us—we’re ready to help you connect more effectively with your clients!