Many acupuncturists and herbalists have mentioned to me how many flu patients they’re treating. It seems like the flu is going around almost like an epidemic. This is current news, and you can take advantage of it.

Here’s a three (and a half) step action plan to get your acupuncture clinic in the media. This is free, highly effective marketing, and takes only a little time - I’d guess an hour, maybe two. Many practitioners have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars on advertising, when this is free and even more effective than paid advertising!

Here’s what to do:

1. Get some testimonials from patients you’ve recently treated for the flu. I recommend actually writing up the testimonial in their own words as you remember them. Tell them you did it to make things easier for them, and ask them to change it to fit what they would say. Most of the time, they will have only small changes. (Writing it up makes everything go much faster. Having them write the testimonial themselves tends to make the wording stilted and awkward.)
2. Find out who the editor of your local paper is, or if you’ve noticed a reporter covering the flu “epidemic”, target that person instead.
3. Send them a short personal letter explaining what you can do. Get to the point in the FIRST paragraph. Something like “The flu has been spreading almost like an epidemic. I’ve been treating patients with herbs and acupuncture with great results. Most patients feel better within X days.” Mention the included testimonials, and say you’d be happy to explain further at their convenience. Include several ways to contact you (email, fax, phone).
   The tone of the letter should be as if a mutual friend told you to get in touch with them, because they’d be interested in what you have to say.
4. If you don’t hear from them within a day or two after they should have received the letter, call the newspaper switchboard. Ask for the fax number of the reporter/editor, and then ask to be connected to them. If you get them the first try, great - tell them you thought they’d be interested in a story about how the flu is spreading like an epidemic. If not, leave about the same message, and tell them you’re faxing it over.

Key points:

• Get to the point. Ask “Are you on deadline?” if you do get them on the phone. Reporters WILL hang up on you if you start talking and they have a deadline. (It’s happened to me!)
• Know in advance what you’re going to say. Just have a general outline of 2-4 points, and say them. Reporters are trained to ask questions - so don’t try to do a brain dump of everything you could possibly say. Give them the major points that will interest them.
• A fact sheet is always good. If you put together a sheet of interesting facts, this helps the reporter write the story. Things like how much Oriental medicine shortens symptoms, the difference between hot and cold types of flu according to TCM, etc.

This is not especially complicated - reporters are hungry for good stories. If you were clueless about AOM but concerned about the flu, wouldn’t you be interested in reading an article about this in your paper? I would.

Questions? Please leave a comment.