Health Tip Sheet

Take these tips to boost your results on your next health feature story:

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1. Photos: Use beautiful, eye-catching color photos, infographics or informative charts and graphs. A person talking to a doctor may work well.

2. Statistics: Include compelling statistics from a reliable source such as a medical trade association or a government agency.

3. Expert: Provide a quote or use a byline format from a reputable expert from a medical association or a govern- ment agency.

4. Websites: Include a link to your website or social media site for more helpful information.

5. Phone: Include a toll-free number for more information.

6. Prescription Medication: Alert readers about who is at risk, what the incidence is, how many are affected, the symptoms to look for and available methods of treatment, and encourage people to see their doctor for early diagnosis and prompt treatment.

7. OTC: Alert readers of symptoms to look for and available methods of treatment, and encourage them to ask their pharmacists for more information.

8. Nutrition: Offer advice about food choices and include nutritional information with a recipe, possibly from a celebrity chef, and a quote from a nutritionist.

9. Problem Solving: Include tips to help people overcome health problems that readers or their friends and family members may be facing.

10. Misconceptions: Create awareness about the truth of your matter by offering supporting facts from a credible source to separate myths from realities.

11. Case Studies: Tell readers about real-life experiences of individuals who have been helped by your product or service, to meet their challenges in extraordinary ways, and quote them about the experience to inspire others.

12. Home Maintenance: Encourage readers to maintain their homes regularly to avoid common health issues such as poor air quality, mold or bacteria.

13. Clinical Trials: Alert readers about new methods of treatment that have been tested in Europe or in other countries and direct them to a site for information about how they may be able to participate in clinical studies in the U.S.

14. ISI: The current trend has been to weave the important safety information into the body of the article rather than including that as a note to the editor under the cutline or as a link for full prescribing information. Results have been good all three ways and what matters more is the popularity of the topic. For example, new help for breast cancer victims would do well even if the product is mentioned several times in all caps, in bold with a registered trademark sign next to it.
Patient Compliance: Alert readers of the dangers of not taking the medicines that have been prescribed for them and encourage them to comply with a doctor’s advice by describing the benefits to their health and longevity if they do.

15. Demographics: You can reach men, women, and people of all age groups in community news outlets nationwide, which are all supported by local advertising and include information about local sports, politics, schools, entertainment and other local news that would not be found in major news outlets.

16. Prevention: Offer tips to prevent people from having problematic health issues.

17. Management: Offer tips to manage health issues effectively and affordably.