How to Start a Newsletter That Brings In Medical Billing Clients

If you’re trying to build a mental health billing business, getting clients can be one of the hardest parts.

You can network. You can answer questions in therapist Facebook groups. You can ask for referrals. You can reach out directly to practices.

All of those things can work, but they have one big problem: you usually have to be looking for a client at the exact time the therapist is looking for a biller.

A newsletter works differently.

Instead of trying to find a therapist who needs a biller today, you can start building a relationship with therapists who may need one six months from now.

Maybe their current biller retires. Maybe they’re unhappy with their billing service. Maybe they’re adding insurance clients and realize they don’t want to handle the claims themselves anymore.

If you’ve been showing up in their inbox with useful billing information, there’s a good chance they’ll remember you.

That’s really the point of a newsletter. You’re not trying to turn every subscriber into a client. You’re staying in front of the right people until the timing is right.

This is how I would approach it if I were starting a mental health billing newsletter today.

Quick answer

If you want the short version:

• Choose a specific audience. For a billing business, I’d focus on therapists and small practice owners who bill insurance.
• Choose one email platform. I use Kit and recommend it if you eventually want to sell digital products. Beehiiv is worth looking at if you want your newsletter archive to function more like a website. MailerLite is a straightforward option if you’re starting small.
• Create one useful freebie. Don’t spend weeks making it. A one-page checklist, template, or quick-reference guide is enough.
• Send consistently. Weekly is fine. Every other week is fine, too. Pick a schedule you can actually maintain.
• Give readers a way to work with you. It doesn’t have to be a hard sell. A simple invitation at the end of the email is enough.

Why a newsletter makes sense for a billing business

Therapists aren’t usually going to hire a biller because they read one blog post or see one Facebook post.

They’re trusting you with a pretty important part of their business.

You’re dealing with claims, insurance companies, payments, patient balances, and information that needs to be handled carefully. Most therapists want to know that you understand what you’re doing before they hand that work over.

That’s where a newsletter can help.

You can use it to answer the questions therapists are already asking.

Why did this claim deny when eligibility was verified?

What happens when a client’s insurance changes?

Which reports should I actually be looking at?

What should I be doing before the end of the year?

You don’t have to write a 2,000-word newsletter every week. Sometimes a short explanation of one billing issue is enough.

And over time, your subscribers start to associate your name with billing.

Here’s the scenario you’re hoping for:

• A therapist downloads one of your free resources in March. She reads a few of your emails over the next several months. She doesn’t contact you. She doesn’t need a biller yet.
• Then, in August, her current biller leaves.
• Instead of starting from scratch and searching Google or asking around in a Facebook group, she looks through her inbox and finds one of your emails.

That’s when your newsletter has done its job.

You didn’t have to convince her to hire you every week. You just needed to stay on her radar.

Before you pick an email platform

There are a lot of email marketing platforms, and it’s easy to spend way too much time comparing them.

Before you even start looking at features, answer these three questions.

1. Who are you writing for?

If your goal is to get billing clients, your primary audience should be therapists and practice owners who could actually hire you.

That sounds obvious, but it’s easy for billers to start writing for other billers because that’s who interacts with billing content online.

Other billers might read your newsletter. They probably aren’t going to become your clients.

2. What are you going to give people for subscribing?

You need a reason for someone to hand over their email address. It doesn’t have to be a huge ebook. In fact, I prefer something that solves one small problem.

• A billing checklist.
• An insurance verification script.
• A month-end billing checklist.
• A list of reports a therapist should review.

The best lead magnet is something your ideal client can actually use.

3. Are you planning to sell something?

This matters more than people realize.

If you eventually want to sell templates, SOPs, checklists, or other digital products, choose a platform that can accommodate that. Moving your entire email list and rebuilding your automations six months from now isn’t impossible, but it’s one more project you don’t need. If you know you want to sell products eventually, I’d rather choose a platform that gives you room to do that from the beginning.

Keep your newsletter HIPAA-safe

This is one area where you don’t want to get casual. Your newsletter is marketing. It isn’t the place to discuss individual clients, claims, or patient accounts.

Don’t include:

• Client names
• Claim information that could identify a client
• Screenshots from an EHR
• Specific patient situations that could identify the practice or client

General email marketing platforms such as Kit, Beehiiv, and MailerLite aren’t intended to store protected health information. Use your newsletter to educate and market your services. Keep actual client communication in the appropriate HIPAA-compliant systems.

If you’re looking for information about email options for therapists, I’ve also covered that here: Best HIPAA Email for Therapists.

And if you’re using a real situation as an example, change enough details that the practice or client can’t be identified. You can teach from your experience without sharing someone’s private information.

Kit vs. Beehiiv vs. MailerLite

There isn’t one email platform that is right for every billing business.

Here’s how I would look at the three options.

	Kit	Beehiiv	MailerLite
Best for	Growing a list and eventually selling products	Turning a newsletter into a content site	Keeping things simple
Learning curve	Moderate	Low to moderate	Low
Digital products	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Main advantage	Strong automation and segmentation	Newsletter archive can function like a website	Easy to learn
Main drawback	More features to learn	Some features are geared toward publishers	Can feel limiting as your business grows

Pricing and plan limits change, so check the current pricing before making your decision.

Kit

Kit is the platform I use, and it’s the one I’d choose if I were building a billing business that I wanted to grow beyond just client services.

I’ve used Kit for years. It was originally built around creators, but that actually works well for the kind of business I’m building because I want my email list, free resources, and digital products to work together.

You can create forms and landing pages, tag subscribers based on their interests, build automated sequences, and sell digital products. I use it to sell my own Mental Health Billing Toolkit. That means I don’t need one platform for my newsletter, another for my lead magnets, and another for my digital products.

What I like about Kit:

• You can tag subscribers based on their interests.
• The visual automation builder makes it easier to see how your sequences are set up.
• You can sell digital products directly through the platform.
• It gives you room to grow without having to immediately migrate to another system.

There is a learning curve. You’re going to have to spend some time figuring out tags, sequences, and automations. But, you can start without them.

They do offer a free account. And like most email platforms, the price increases as your list grows. But if you’re serious about building an email list that eventually supports both services and products, that’s a tradeoff I’m comfortable making.

I’d choose Kit if: you want your newsletter, freebie, and digital products in one place.

Beehiiv

Beehiiv takes a somewhat different approach.

It’s built specifically around newsletters and publishing. One of the things that makes it interesting for a blogger is that your newsletter issues can also live on a public website.

That means your older newsletters aren’t necessarily buried in someone’s inbox. They can become part of your searchable content library.

Beehiiv has also added digital product capabilities. Its current feature set allows creators to sell products such as downloads and templates, although I’d check the current terms before setting anything up.

What I like about Beehiiv:

• Your newsletter archive can function like a simple website.
• The interface is clean and relatively easy to get started with.
• It has built-in newsletter growth features.
• You can sell digital products without necessarily adding another checkout platform.

The downside for a billing business is that some of its features are designed with newsletter publishers and media businesses in mind. And if you already have a website, you may also find yourself maintaining two places where your content lives.

I’d look at Beehiiv if: your newsletter is going to be a major part of your content strategy and you like the idea of having your newsletter archive function as a website.

MailerLite

Several of my clients use MailerLite, and one of the things I like about it is that it’s easy to understand. The editor is straightforward. Forms and landing pages are easy to build. You don’t have to spend days learning the platform before you can send an email.

For someone who wants to send a simple newsletter and isn’t sure how far they’re going to take it, that can be a real advantage. The issue I’ve seen is that people can outgrow it rather quickly.

Once you start wanting more complicated segmentation, multiple products, or longer automations, you can find yourself working around the platform instead of simply using it.

That’s not necessarily a reason not to use it. If your needs are simple, simple can be a good thing.

I’d choose MailerLite if: you’re starting small and want something easy to learn without a lot of extra features.

Which one would I choose?

If you’re asking me what I’d do, I’d start with Kit.

Not because it’s the only good option. It isn’t.

It’s because I like the idea of setting up one system that can handle the newsletter I’m starting today and the digital products I may want to sell later.

If you don’t have a website and like the idea of your newsletter functioning as a publishing platform, take a close look at Beehiiv.

If you’re testing the idea and want the simplest setup possible, MailerLite is worth considering.

The important thing is to pick one and start. You’re going to learn more from sending your first 20 emails than you will from comparing email platforms for another three weeks.

How to set up your newsletter

You don’t need a complicated launch.

Here’s how I’d break it down.

Step 1: Set up your account

Use your actual name and business name as your sender name.

Something like:

Angie at ASN Virtual Services

People are more likely to recognize an email from a person than something that sounds like a generic marketing department.

Step 2: Create your freebie

Keep it small. One page is fine. For a mental health billing business, you could create:

• A month-end billing checklist
• An insurance verification script
• A list of reports therapists should review
• A claims follow-up checklist
• A patient balance communication template

Don’t spend a month creating your first lead magnet. You can always make a better one later.

Step 3: Create your sign-up page

You don’t need a complicated sales page.

Tell people:

1. What they’re getting
2. Why it’s useful
3. What they’ll receive after they subscribe

Then give them the form. That’s it.

Step 4: Write a short welcome sequence

I’d start with three emails.

• Email 1: Deliver the freebie and welcome them.

• Email 2: Talk about one common billing problem and explain how to handle it.

• Email 3: Tell them a little about your business, who you help, and how they can work with you.

You don’t need a seven-email funnel before you have your first subscriber.

Three useful emails are enough to get started.

Step 5: Put the sign-up link where people can find it

Add it to your:

• Website
• Email signature
• LinkedIn profile
• Relevant directory profiles
• Blog posts

And don’t hide it at the very bottom of your website.

If someone is interested enough to subscribe, make it easy.

Step 6: Write a couple of newsletters before you start

This is one of those small things that makes a difference. If you write two emails before you launch, you have something ready to go when client work gets busy. You don’t have to be scrambling the night before every send.

Step 7: Pick a schedule you can maintain

Weekly is great. Every other week is great, too. I would much rather see you send a genuinely useful email every other week for a year than send something every Tuesday for six weeks and then disappear.

What should you write about?

This part is actually easier than it looks. Pay attention to the questions therapists ask you.

If one therapist is confused about a particular denial, there are probably other therapists who are confused about it, too.

If a client asks you which report they should be reviewing, that’s a newsletter topic.

If you find yourself explaining the same billing issue over and over, write about it.

You already have a list of potential topics sitting inside your client conversations.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Three reports every therapist should check regularly
2. Why a claim can deny for eligibility even after benefits were verified
3. What to do when a client’s insurance changes
4. Secondary insurance explained in plain English
5. How long should you wait before following up on an unpaid claim?
6. Questions to ask before joining a new insurance panel
7. Superbills vs. in-network billing
8. What your aging report is actually telling you
9. How to prepare for January deductible resets
10. A simple month-end billing check
11. When a patient balance should be written off
12. How to keep track of recredentialing dates

How to turn newsletter readers into billing clients

This is where a lot of business newsletters fall apart. They either never mention the business, or every email feels like a sales pitch. You don’t need either extreme. You want your readers to know what you do and how to get in touch with you. A few things help.

Give each email one main call to action

Don’t give people five things to click. If the topic of your email is aging reports, your CTA could be:

Need help figuring out what your aging report is telling you? Reply to this email and tell me what’s giving you trouble.

That’s enough.

Encourage replies

Replies are valuable. Not just because they can turn into clients, but because they tell you what your audience actually wants help with. If three therapists reply to an email with the same question, you have your next newsletter topic.

Give people an easy first step

Not everyone is ready to sign a billing contract. That doesn’t mean they’re not interested. A short consultation or billing review can be an easier first step than asking someone to immediately hand over their entire billing operation.

Talk about what you see in your work

Your experience is one of the things that makes your newsletter valuable.

You can say:

I see this particular denial come up every January.

You don’t have to tell the story of a specific client. You can simply explain the pattern you’ve noticed and what therapists can do about it. That’s much more useful than generic billing advice.

Pay attention to where your clients come from

When someone becomes a client, ask how they found you. Over time, you’ll start to see whether your newsletter is actually contributing to new business.

If you keep hearing, “I’ve been reading your emails for months,” that’s a pretty good indication that the newsletter is doing something even if people aren’t clicking every week.

Newsletter mistakes I’d avoid

Writing for other billers

It’s easy to do because other billers understand the terminology and may be more likely to comment or share your content. But if therapists are your potential clients, write for them.

Sending only when you have time

This is probably the biggest practical problem with newsletters. Client work gets busy. Something else takes priority. Suddenly it’s been six weeks since you sent an email.

You don’t have to send every week. Just pick a schedule you can realistically maintain.

Trying to sell in every email

If every email ends with “Hire me,” people will tune it out. Teach something useful. Share something you’ve learned. Then give people a simple way to contact you if they need help.

Constantly changing platforms

Email platforms all have strengths and weaknesses. You’re going to find things you don’t love about whichever one you choose. That’s normal. I’d rather spend the time writing useful emails than moving my list from one platform to another every few months.

Sharing too much about client situations

Even if you think you’ve removed the obvious identifying information, be careful. If someone familiar with the practice could figure out who you’re talking about, don’t use the example. You can still teach from your experience. Just keep the details general.

FAQ

Your next step

Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. Pick your email platform. Then create one useful freebie.

That’s the part I’d do first. Once you have something worth subscribing for, the sign-up form, welcome emails, and newsletter become much easier to build.

And remember that your newsletter doesn’t have to produce a client immediately. The goal is to build a list of therapists who know your name, understand what you do, and have a reason to trust your expertise. When one of them eventually needs a biller, you want them to think of you.

If you’re still building your billing business, start with How to Find Remote Mental Health Billing Jobs.

And if you’re looking for ready-made systems you can use in your billing work, take a look at the Mental Health Billing Toolkit.