Question

How can I send a Broadcast email to my patients?

Solution

1. In the HotDoc Dashboard, go to Broadcast > New Broadcast. 
   
   From here, you can select a template from the library or create your own Broadcast by selecting + New Broadcast. 
   
   
   
   

   ⓘ Tip 

   Using the pre-built templates is an easy way to save time when sending common messages. You can also customise them to suit your clinic’s specific needs.

   
   
   
2. Select Email, then Next.
   

   
   
   

3. Choose whether the Broadcast is a Marketing or Transactional message type. This selection ensures you’ll know which anti-spam opt-out placeholders to add to your message content in the next step.

   
   
   

4. Enter a name for your Broadcast (patients will not see this), and the email subject.
   
   
   
   
5. Optionally, tick Allow patients to reply back to this email address if you would like patients to be able to reply to your email. You will need to enter an email address for the replies to be sent to – this email address must belong to a HotDoc user account that has access to the Dashboard or Sidebar. 
   
   
   
   
6. Optionally, select a header image to be shown above the email contents
   

   ⓘ Tip 

   In emails, images are automatically scaled down so they’re not too large. They’ll appear no taller than 150px, and the width will adjust to match the original shape (up to 440px wide). At the end, you'll be able to send a test to yourself to make sure it looks how you'd like it.

   
   
   

   
   
   

7. If you have uploaded a photo, you can scale and crop your image if necessary, before selecting Save Changes
   
   

   
   
   

8. Type out the message in the Email Message section. If you've selected a template option, it will pre-fill the suggested text for you. You can edit this text from the message box on the left, and see a preview of it on the right.
   
   Broadcast emails support basic formatting such as paragraphs and bullet points
   
   
   

9. To insert a placeholder to automatically populate information for you, click Insert placeholder and select an option from the list. 
   
   

   

    

   • Note: If selecting the Practitioner booking page placeholder, select the practitioner you would like patients to book with in the Select Practitioner field
     
     

   • Note: You will not be able to send a Marketing Broadcast if you remove the opt-out placeholders
     

      

10.  Next, decide how you would like to send to patients, either by manually selecting the audience (target filtering) or by uploading a CSV file:
    
    
    • Manually select audience
      Select the Manually Select Audience button, then use the filtering options relevant to your search to determine which patients will receive the broadcast.
      
      

      

      You can filter by the following options:  Age range/birthdate range Who has booked an appointment within in a specified date range Who has booked an appointment of a specific type/s By gender By their appointment arrival state for that appointment, i.e. Seen, No Show, Expected, Not Expected Who has booked an appointment with a specific practitioner By their MyMedicare Registration Status within your Practice Management system. (Best Practice/Medical Director/ZedMed)

      
      
    • Upload CSV file of patient IDs
      You can upload .CSV file of Patient IDs from your practice management software by clicking Browse Files to select a file, or drag and dropping the file directly from your computer into the blue box. 
      

      
      
      

11. Select Next step
    
    
    
    

12. Review your Broadcast's details, and you can also send a test to your own email address.

    
    
    
13. The test email will show you how it will look for patients
    
    

    

14. Head back into the Dashboard, and once you are happy with the way your email looks, select Send now 
    
    

    

15. Your email will be sent! You can view its status by going to the Broadcast History section of the Dashboard.