How to Start an Email List for Cash Based Practices

As a business coach for cash based practice owners, one of the most common barriers to success I see is their lack of interest in sales and marketing. But without these concepts, gaining clients onto your caseload is virtually impossible.

Learn more about digital marketing for your cash based practice at the blog post here.

Maybe one of the least exciting marketing tactics to my students is email marketing. Most of them think "Email is so boring!" They often think it a waste of time because their patients don't want to hear from them via email. I'm here to tell you that that is completely false.

Email marketing is one of the most underrated and underused effective forms of digital marketing out there. Throughout this post, we are going to break down why email marketing is so important for your business, how it helps drive revenue to your practice, and simple steps you can use to get started today.

The Power of Email Marketing

When practice owners first get started in their marketing tactics, they often focus on paid ads, social media, and networking groups. While these tactics aren't wrong by any means, email marketing is often placed on the back burner and often never touched.

Speaking from personal experience, when I first started my practice, I was ignorant for not collecting emails from day one. Not that I necessarily had an email marketing strategy in place at that time like I do today, but building that list of warm leads could have made a difference in the speed of my practice's success.

But aside from trying to convince you that email marketing is the way to go just by my own thoughts and experience, I think it's important to put objective measures behind it. To do this, I've compiled some data from research I did on the Internet to help support the benefits of email marketing, specifically in the form of dollars - which we can all appreciate.

The Numbers Don't Lie

To start with, let's break down the benefits of email marketing in the form of money and statistics.

• From my research, I determined the average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is between $36 to $40 for every $1 spent.

• Email is nearly 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.

• 91% of U.S. consumers check their email daily. This fact prompts purchases from email marketing at a rate three times higher than social media.

• Plus, the average order value from email marketing is 177% higher than from social media.

Your email list is a direct line of communication to people that want to hear from you. When you send an email to this list, it goes to every single one of your subscribers. The same can't be sad for social media platforms, where algorithms determine who sees your content. Not to mention, not every follower you receive on social media is going to be actually interested in what you have to say.

Why You Need an Email List (Even If You’re Not Sending Emails Yet)

Like I mentioned before, your email list allows you a direct line of communication with people who actually want to hear from you. In that same token, you own this list. You own the contact information that makes up your email list.

Some advantages to this is that even if platforms go down or are completely banned, like our most recent experience with TikTok in 2025, your email list allows you a way to always reach potential clients.

Social media followers can disappear overnight and sometimes aren't even real people behind their profiles. With an organized email list, you have a set of warm leads to contact at anytime.

How to Start Building Your Email List

Starting an email list from scratch is not complicated, but it is the first step toward successful email marketing. When coaching students within our DPT to CEO program, I often break email marketing strategy down into levels 0-4.

Level 0: Start Collecting Emails

Level 0 is a simple as starting your email list. Collect the names and emails of potential leads you come into contact with. Don't be afraid to ask somebody for their contact information either. Something simple like creating a spreadsheet is sufficient to start keeping track of contacts who may be interested in your services.

Level 1: Use an Email Marketing Software

Once you've created a list, even if it only includes family and close friends, you're ready to dive into finding an email marketing software that fits your needs. A couple to mention are Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign. Personally, I prefer ActiveCampaign and use it for my business' email marketing to this date.

An email marketing software will allow you to input your list, keep it organized, and start creating emails to send to your contacts.

Level 2: Offer a Free Lead Magnet

Level 2 of email marketing is where we're hoping to start pushing for lead generation versus the simple list of contacts we've compiled. Creating what's called a lead magnet as a free resource in exchange for a potential customer's email is a simple way to start generating new leads.

A couple ideas of lead magnets that you could create could be:

• A downloadable guide on “Top 10 Stretches for Runners”

• A checklist for preventing back pain

• A short video on proper lifting techniques

Using your email marketing software of choice, you're able to set up a system so that when someone enters their email to get their freebie, they are automatically added to your email list.

Level 3: Set Up an Automated Email Sequence

To take things a step further, once someone joins your email list, either from you asking for their contact information in person or from downloading their freebie, you now have the option of setting up an automated email sequence. Typically you will be sending that contact a series of email over the next several weeks to help nurture them. Some automated email ideas could include:

• A welcome email introducing yourself

• A helpful tip or resource related to their interest

• A personal story about how you’ve helped a similar client

• A gentle invitation to book an appointment or consultation

Remember that setting up an automation that allows us to be passive in nurturing our leads is going to take some time up front to set up. But once it's set up, it works on autopilot allowing you to keep in touch with leads while focusing on running your practice.

Level 4: Send Regular Newsletters & Promotions

The next and final step has two parts to it. Now that you've set up automations and started the process of nurturing leads, it's important that once that automation is complete, you continue to be consistent with sending out content.

Some ways that we can continue sending out email content is with newsletters and promotional emails. These types of emails allow you to stay top of mind with your audience. For my practice I currently send out 2 email newsletters showcasing our most recent content and 2 promotional emails promoting my coaching services.

Remaining consistent in the email content you provide will allow you to start seeing results such as leads replying to your emails, asking about your services, and evening booking calls with you without any extra effort on your end.

How to Grow Your Email List

To grow your email list does take work, but the strategies you put in place are really more simple than you make think.

In-Person and Online Events

One simple way to generate new contacts is by hosting in-person or online events. If you're planning host a workshop or seminar, have attendees RSVP to the event through an email form. If that's not possible, use a simple sign-in sheet at the event to collect names and emails. After your event concludes, add these new contacts to your email list and follow-up with them thanking them for attending.

Social Media Promotions

Creating social media content is something I recommend for every practice owner. Learn why at the blog post here.

In regards to growing your email list, one way that you can use social media is to share your lead magnet on Instagram and Facebook. A simple post letting your followers know you have a freebie will do the trick. You can also ask followers to engage with this post by commenting something like "ME" below if they want to free resource - and then send them the download link in exchange for their email.

Paid Advertising

Personally I feel that paid ads can be very effective in growing your email list, but this is not always the route I recommend practice owners start with. Once they've gotten their feet wet with events and promoting themselves on social media to grow their email list, then I feel like it's appropriate for them to step into advertising if their budget allows.

A small budget, such as spending $5 per day on Facebook or Instagram ads to promote your lead magnet can be game-changing. With well-targeted ads, its possible to acquire new leads for as little as $0.75 to $1 per email. This few dollars a day can generate 30-60 new leads a month over time, giving you a constant stream of leads to contact and potential clients.

The Long-Term Benefits of Email Marketing

Just like with any form of digital marketing, email marketing is something that you're in for the long haul. Don't expect to convert leads to clients immediate with your first 10 email subscribers.

With that said, the more your email list grows, the more opportunities you have to connect with leads and the better chance you have to convert contacts into clients. Many people won’t book with you the first time they hear about your practice, but if you stay in touch via email, they’ll remember you when they’re ready for help.

Another pro to long-term nurturing of your email list is that it allows you to build real relationships with your audience. As your list gets to know you through your emails, you'll begin to establish know, like, and trust—making them much more likely to choose you when they need your services.

Learn more about the benefits of the know, like, and trust at the blog post here.

Final Thoughts: Start Today!

In closing, if you don't have an email list, that's okay! You can get started today. Even if you simply start with creating a spreadsheet and collecting contact information, thats great progress. Over time, you will have the chance to tailor your email marketing strategy, implement automation, and grow your email list into a powerful marketing tool for your practice.

In the meantime, if you're struggling to grow your practice and would like help, reach out! We offer one-on-one business coaching in our DPT to CEO program. Or if you’d like to find out more about if our program would be the right fit for you, book a free discovery call with us. We can discuss your goals, current state of your practice, and what your next best steps would be.

Listen to this episode on my podcast!