Five Last Minute Holiday Marketing Ideas for Your Acupuncture Email Newsletter - These ideas work for any holiday season. From Modern Acupuncture Marketing www.ModernAcu.comHello, internet friends. It’s been awhile, I know. But I’ve been thinking of you. Creepy…? I promise, not creepy.

In between making thumbprint cookies and chocolate peanut butter bark while listening to the Partridge Family Christmas album, I received an email that inspired today’s post. A good friend of mine, Becky of Derma Renew Spa, recently sent out a spectacular email newsletter for the holidays. That really got me thinking about all the awesome holiday newsletter ideas that are out there, and how they can be used by acupuncturists.

It’s my humble opinion that an acupuncture email newsletter is a MUST for any acupuncture clinic. There are loads of reasons why sending regular email newsletters should be an essential part of your marketing plan. Take a look at these previous articles if you need convincing:

And before we get started with the holiday themes, let me just say:

It’s not too late in the holiday season for a few last-minute ideas, ya’ll. People are still looking for unique gifts, and they will be right up until the last minute.

In an ideal world, you would have a “Holiday Marketing Campaign” where you planned out all your marketing steps well in advance (as in, waaaaay before Thanksgiving). But whether your holiday marketing plan is already in full swing and you want to add a little something extra, or if you didn’t have a plan at all, there’s an idea here that will work for you!

5 Last-Minute Acupuncture Holiday Marketing Ideas for Your December Email Newsletter:

1. Advertise Gift Certificates Sales in Your Email Newsletter.

This one seems like a no-brainer, but I think sometimes the simplest and most effective ideas are the ones that get overlooked.

If you’re selling gift certificates, make sure your put that announcement front and center in your holiday email newsletter (as well as on the front page of your website!).

The most important thing is this: Make it as easy as possible for people to purchase!

If customers can purchase your gift certificates online, make the “Buy Now” button large, easy to find, brightly colored – in other words, impossible to miss. If your gift certificates can only be purchased over the phone, make your phone number large and make it clear that phone purchases are welcome.

Finally, consider offering a discount for multiple gift certificates purchased.

2) Host a Holiday Open House, and Invite Your Newsletter Subscribers – Several Times.

I mentioned my esthetician friend, Becky. Every year, Becky hosts a Gift Certificate Open House event at her office, and she cleverly includes several concepts to help people want to attend her event and spend their money. The big draw is that she incorporates a fundraiser for the local food pantry. In a nutshell, if you bring canned goods to the Open House event, you’ll get 15% off of your gift certificate purchase. She also offers holiday-themed refreshments and treats at the event, and decorates her office beautifully in holiday decor.

Why does the Gift Certificate Open House work?

  • Offering a discount that’s combined with giving back to the community is a great combination; who wouldn’t love that? She gets a higher turnout because it’s easy to donate cans to get the 15% discount, and everyone feels good about it.
  • Making it a limited-time-only event creates a sense of urgency and the feeling that no one wants to miss out on a great deal.
  • Creating a special atmosphere (refreshments, decorating, etc.) makes it luxurious and relaxing. Nothing like the usual mad shopping rush!
  • The local food pantry gets a big fat donation of canned goods in time for the holidays.

Everything is win-win!

What does this have to do with email marketing? Becky sends out a series of emails: introducing the event first, then several reminder emails as the event gets closer. Trust me, people need to be reminded! And email is a spectacular, easy way to do that.

3) Promote Your Colleagues’ Coupons or Gift Certificates in Your Newsletter, and Ask Them to Do the Same for You.

I love this one. Do you work in an office space with a massage therapist? Or maybe you have a chiropractor that you refer to all the time? These practitioners are great resources!

If they send out a holiday newsletter to advertise their own holiday specials, ask them for a trade: That you will advertise their holiday specials in your holiday newsletter, if they will promote you and your holiday specials in theirs.

The beauty of this is that you get exposure to a whole new group of potential clients, who are already interested in wellness care!

4) Include an Article on Acupuncture for Stress Reduction, With Research to Back It Up.

If you feel reluctant to send out a December newsletter that is only focused on the sales pitch, I get it. Providing free wellness advice that ties into the holidays is a great option, and fills out your newsletter so it’s not just one big advertisement.

  • Write a brief educational article about how fantastic acupuncture is stress reduction, with solid research to back it up, and tie this into the stress and hustle of the holiday season.
  • Need an article about research on acupuncture and stress? Try this one from Huffington Post.
  • Don’t forget to mention that stress often causes flare ups in chronic conditions (such as, for example, IBS and arthritis). People often forget this unhappy side effect of stress.

In short, tell your patients and potential patients WHY they need to visit you for acupuncture during the holidays. It’s for their sanity! They can control their physical and emotional health during the holiday season with acupuncture.

You can tie this into an advertisement for your gift certificate sales (which I totally recommend!). Or you can keep it subtle and simply remind patients to call to set up a stress-reduction appointment at your office.

5) Include Natural Tips for Holiday Wellness (Outside of Acupuncture).

Similar to the above article, you can also write something brief about all the different ways patients can find relief from holiday stress. That way you’re adding some variety, and it’s not all about you and acupuncture.

Your article could link to sites with stress-reducing suggestions using:

  • Meditation
  • Stretching
  • Yoga
  • Aromatherapy/Essential oils
  • Exercise
  • Recipes for strengthening immunity
  • Qigong or tai chi

Keep in mind that you don’t have to actually write these articles: you can just link to an article in each topic and give credit to the authors. Easy!

There you have it, my top five holiday email newsletter ideas! Give them a try when you’re not decorating piles of gingerbread cookies 🙂 And please keep track of the results, then let me know how they work for you!

  • Have you tried any of these ideas already? How did they go?
  • Do you have any other great newsletter ideas for the holiday season?

Leave a message in the comments!