by Honora Lee Wolfe

If you want to be perceived as an expert on a specific subject (improved sports performance, preventing anorexia, treating or preventing fibromyalgia, you name it), go to your local/regional paper and TV station websites and find the names of relevant editors (health, special features, modern living, etc.) and look at what they write over a period of a few weeks. Then send them a short, to the point email message. Keep it to three paragraphs and use powerful words and sentences to get across your message.

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It's best if you can tie your letter to a previous story that this journalist has written or covered... and never use attachments since all of us should know by now not to open these unless we know who the sender it. Give them the guts of what you have to say in a sound bite (that's what journalists do, right?). Deliver it in a way that makes their job easier and who knows, you might become their main contact for alternative health for years to come. Here’s an example”

“Dear Mr. Smith,

I saw your recent health column about the increase in stress-related disorders in nurses and other workers in hospitals in areas where disasters had recently occurred. You stated that ailments such as stress-related sleep and digestive disorders go up by 20% in the months following such incidents among health care providers. I thought you might be interested to know that, according to the World Health Organization and related Chinese medical research, acupuncture can be fast and cost-effective in treating a wide range of stress related disorders, without the need for drugs with their cost and side effects. Disorders that respond quickly include, but are not limited to:
- Insomnia (80% improvement)
- Anxiety (70% improvement)
- Heart palpitations (68% improvement)
- Irritable bowel syndrome (84% improvement)
- Nausea, burping and belching (90% improvement)
- Many types of body pain (97% improvement)

If you’d like to know more about how acupuncture can help all types of stress disorders, I’d be happy to talk with you and present you with some relevant research from China. (I am assuming that many of the readers of our blog know that Blue Poppy has over 1500 pages of research from China FREE and downloadable from the TCM Infoline at th is website.) I also have many clients who would be happy to be interviewed to add some human interest to the story. This could make an interesting follow-up article to your recent column on this subject. I can be reached at ............."

Who knows what opportunities these letters can open up for you? It could be your main way to get clients. Somebody has to be an “expert”... why not you?
BTW, are any of our blog readers doing this type of thing already? If so, please comment.