Health and fitness newsletters are perennially popular, especially the ones that contain natural remedies and fitness tips people can use at home. If you’re thinking about starting a newsletter of your own, here are some tips to help you get launched.
Chapter Overview
1. Think about making a print version
People love health newsletters, including those circulated in print form. You’ll find that people between the ages of 35 and 80 are more likely to enjoy a physical newsletter, since they grew up in a world before the Internet.
So consider generating a printed magazine version of your newsletter. You’ll be able to reach an audience that appreciates printed content, and it’s a great way to run a direct mail marketing campaign.
If you want your newsletter to become popular, direct mail is still a highly effective way to make that happen. Most people use all-digital marketing these days, but direct mail response rates outperform digital channels, and you can take advantage of the fact that there’s comparatively little competition.
2. Stay within the law
The laws that govern health claims, including cures and remedies, are fairly strict. In your newsletter you will be required to follow certain laws that restrict what you may say about health, fitness, and diseases.
For example, you can talk about how cannabidiol (CBD) promotes better sleep, but you mustn’t say it cures any specific sleep disorder or disease.
These rules can be frustrating. You might have firsthand experience with positive results from using a natural remedy or supplement, but you’ll still have to avoid promoting it as a cure in your newsletter.
If you’re selling a product or service, it’s a good idea to avoid using testimonials altogether because they create a perception that you’re making certain claims. This is unfortunate, but no matter how much firsthand experience you can report on behalf of yourself, friends, and family – even if you’re a physician – you are not allowed to make any claims about curing an ailment with something that hasn’t been specifically approved by the FDA for that purpose.
3. Find your niche
Your newsletter will reach more people if you narrow the content to relate to a specific niche. You can choose a broad one, but you shouldn’t become so general that your content only scratches the surface of many different issues.
Some popular niches include:
- Holistic health
- Pet health
- Homeopathics
- Essential oils
- Herbal remedies
- At-home fitness programs
- Fitness for women/men/kids
- Resistance bands
- Dumbbell workouts
- Nutrition
Whatever niche you choose, follow the law regarding how you may present your information. Depending on your subject matter, you might be wise to hire a licensed medical doctor or nutritionist who can review your content and shoulder at least some of the legal responsibility.
4. Include rich images
Nobody enjoys a boring newsletter that has nothing to charm the eyes. Whether you’re publishing a newsletter online or in print, you should include rich imagery to complement your information.
Try to avoid using free stock photos since most of them have been used by other people in the health and fitness industry. You never know when such an image might have a strong, existing association for your readers – and seeing familiar images will be distracting to them.
If you have a budget, hire a professional photographer to create unique shots for your newsletter. If you have to pay a royalty, look for a photographer who will provide you with photos for a flat fee.
You may not find a top-of-the-line photographer, but there are plenty of talented people who will produce works for only a flat fee.
5. Publish interviews with professionals
Interesting interviews will make your newsletter stand out in the sea of health-related publications. Though it’s ideal to get interviews with well-known health experts, anyone who has specialized knowledge could add value to your newsletter.
Search for various professionals and reach out to the ones who strike you as interesting. You can find experts by reading health studies on sites like PubMed.gov and searching through Google Scholar.
6. Avoid over-marketing
If your newsletter will include advertisements for any products or services, be cautious not to over-market to your readers. People want useful information, and they don’t want to see full-page ads every few screens like what they’d find in a standard general circulation magazine.
Keep your ads to a minimum. If your ultimate goal is to monetize your publication, try to find advertisers who will opt for a full-page ad or dual-page spread rather than run numerous small ads from multiple advertisers.
Stuck for ideas? Look for examples
If you’ve never published a newsletter before, you might be stuck for ideas. Start looking at existing health-related newsletters to get ideas for content and formatting.
And don’t worry about perfection. You won’t come up with something ideal the first time out, but over time, with persistence, your newsletter could evolve into something great.