Turning Junk Into Jewels

by William D. Esteb

A 1988 survey revealed that 27% of the chiropractic profession uses some type of periodic newsletter mailing. Marketing specialists who claim newsletters don't work or are a waste of time either have unreasonable expectations or entertain a short-term vision of the doctor/patient relationship. Few newsletters will produce patients the day after they are mailed. Instead, most of the ones I've seen ignore the fundamental rules of written communication, impairing their effectiveness. This is especially important if you consider the fact that most of your patients see your newsletter as just more junk mail!

What's the purpose of a newsletter? Without a clearly defined purpose, a newsletter can seem like a lot of extra work, a nuisance, and an unnecessary expense. With a definite (and measurable goal) it can be an exciting opportunity. A newsletter can inform and inspire your patients and serve as a vehicle for reminding them of their relationship with your office. It should be easy to create and accountable in its performance. If it isn't, you'll create one in a burst of enthusiasm and the well known benefits of frequency and repetition will be lost.

Use your newsletter as a way of educating your patients. While this is an honorable goal, be reminded of the narrow appeal of PBS television! Reading requires more work than passively watching television--your newsletter should be highly visual and entertaining too. Not necessarily every article, but make an effort to entertain as you educate. People learn more while they're laughing than when they're bored.

Others see their newsletter as a way to motivate patients, affirming their decision to seek chiropractic care. They include testimonials of patients bringing their children and newborns to the office. They share examples of patients who have chosen rehabilitative or maintenance care so new patients will realize there is more to chiropractic than pain relief.

Ideally a newsletter offers a variety of short educational, entertaining, and motivational articles that are interesting and to the point. But on what subjects?

Chiropractic of course! But lest patients perceive your newsletter as propaganda, consider taking a broader, wellness approach and include a wide range of subjects such as dental health, nutrition, exercise, mental health, pediatrics, and others. Help patients get a holistic picture of wellness health care. Each issue should have something from the doctor that helps reveal the doctor's personality, philosophy, or expertises. Similarly, consider short biographical sketches about yourself and other staff members. It's a great way to add some humor, human interest, and reveal interesting facts that may not come up in conversation in the adjusting room or at the front desk. Give patients a way to build a deeper relationship with the office than Wednesdays at 4:15 PM.

How long should the articles be? With all the books about how to be a One Minute anything, keep your articles and stories down to one minute or less. Most of us read about 200-300 words per minute at the 8th grade level (People magazine or Reader's Digest). But more than that, it's better to have five, 100 word articles, than two, 250 word articles. You want as many "entry points" as possible, especially on the front page of a multi-page newsletter. With more entry points you have a better chance of capturing your reader. Otherwise, if the reader isn't captivated by your featured "cover story," he or she may be less likely to continue reading.

As you edit and shorten the articles ask yourself the "So what?" question--so your audience won't! How will a patient or potential patient benefit from reading each article? Will you share a little known fact? Will your information enhance their life? What difference will it make? These are not difficult questions for your articles to answer, especially when working in chiropractic. Keep them in mind so your newsletter is valued, read, kept, shared with a friend, or used as a referral tool.

How frequently should you publish your newsletter? For some offices it's so traumatic or time-consuming it's done quarterly. Unfortunately with the objectives mentioned above, combined with the average length of care, quarterly may be too infrequent. Many patients may begin and drop out of care between issues! Instead, simplify your newsletter to a single-sided page that can be mailed monthly. Always have at least one photograph or illustration (with a caption!) on the cover.

You may want to avoid information that is dated, like birthdays and references to the season. Number the issues, but don't date them. Then, when you print your newsletter, print up a couple hundred extras and save them on the shelf. When new patients begin care send them a newsletter once a week until you're caught up with the current monthly-produced issue. It's during this early stage of their care that they are most interested in chiropractic, so nurture them with frequent mailings using back issues.

Who should you mail it to? Obviously active and inactive patients. And with the stigma of junk mail removed by short, benefit-oriented writing, send it to as many others as your budget allows. Start your non-patient mailing list with vendors, suppliers, and others who come into contact with your office on a business level. Consider other health care providers too, especially others in your community who provide wellness health care services who might serve as a source of referrals. And finally, if your budget permits, consider a bulk mailing to a 3-5 mile radius of your office. This is the typical geographical area your office serves and these households represent a major source of new patients.

How do you get your newsletter produced? Until recently there were few choices for the actual production of a newsletter. You could send the material to a typesetter or have your printer get it typeset, or use a typewriter to set the type yourself. Advances in computer technology have added another choice: desktop publishing.

Desktop publishing is a term used to broadly describe a computer program that hyphenates words, arranges copy into columns, offers a choice of typestyles, and does other typographical chores which are then printed on a laser printer. The near typeset quality and speed make desktop publishing a very attractive alternative to organizations that would normally use typesetting services for reports, presentations, newsletters, and other important internal documents.

Today, many "quick print" types of print shops are adding desktop publishing capabilities. Because the equipment is getting simpler to operate, some printers allow customers to enter and compose their material after a brief training session. Others have an operator who enters and formats the material for clients. Either way, this new technology has significantly lowered the price of producing a newsletter and, as expected, resulted in an explosion of newsletters, sales literature, and junk mail flooding our homes and businesses. In this environment, good design and customer benefit-oriented content become even more important.

After your articles are written and their order determined, the desktop publishing program prints an entire page of text at a time. Needless to say, proof your material at every stage along the way for typographical or grammatical errors. Typos are the constant frustration of any publisher. Yet invariably a few slip by. Typos are impossible to correct after you print and send your newsletter. Use the carpenter's adage, "Measure twice, cut once." Interestingly, the best way to proof for typographical errors is to read the document backwards. Since you won't be distracted by the meaning of the individual words, spelling problems are easier to spot. Another helpful test is to have someone unfamiliar with the material read it aloud.

How do you select a printer? First you must know the scope of work. How many pages will your newsletter be? What size of paper? What kind of paper--coated or uncoated, colored or white? How many do you intend to print? One color or two color or more? Being able to supply this information over the telephone can help you identify printers in your area comfortable with your size of project. Some printers cannot afford to tie up their presses unless you're printing thousands of copies. Other printers get nervous with runs greater than 500. The challenge is to find a printer with the quality, price, and interest to serve your needs. When you've found two or three printers that seem to meet this criteria, discuss the project in more detail and ask for written bids. Prices from printers offering similar quality can vary depending upon how busy they are.

Before actually printing your newsletter consult with a direct mailing facility to make sure your design will meet postal regulations. If the size of your mailing is large enough (more than 200 pieces) most facilities will encourage you to print their bulk mail permit number on your newsletter. This lowers the postage costs and simplifies mail room preparation. These same companies usually have their own mailing lists of residents in your community sorted by zip code. If you intend to mail to a geographical area around your office they can probably help with that too, so you'll know how many copies of your newsletter to print.

Your newsletter should reflect the tone of your office and be in step with today's graphic standards. The days in which a typewritten mimeographed page would work are long gone. Today, with so many things begging for our attention, a newsletter should be short, to the point, very visual, and enhance the reader's perception of his or her health and well being. When it does, you've transformed a piece of junk mail into a strategic practice growth tool.

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My Report of Findings
Originally published in 1993
240 Pages
US $24.95

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