Health Activist Blogger Mentor Program

I am busy reviewing a number of health activist profiles who are shortlisted to join my mentor programme. Only four will be selected initially and I will work with them over the coming months to tell their story and to match with appropriate organisations and brands as brand ambassadors in the health and wellbeing sector. They will attend conferences on blogger passes, speak at events (stay tuned for an exciting announcement) and become involved in leading public health promotions campaigns.

Health Activists share a number of commonalities:
They want to be listened to. 
They want actions taken based on what they say. 
They want respect. 
They want emotional and financial support. (I discuss this more fully below and the need for disclosures and appropriate brand distance).
They want recognition for what they are already doing in their communities and want help. 

In so reviewing, I've become concerned by the number of bloggers who have really powerful stories to personally tell yet have simply given themselves away to brands. Sadly, some even appear to act just as a mouthpiece or be on the payroll for the organisation who supports them. 

My views are not necessarily directed at bloggers but rather at brands. Simply put, they should know better than to build brand associations with bloggers without the appropriate respect and guidelines necessary to protect the authenticity of the bloggers voice. Posts written just as  flowery endorsements of a brand achieve nothing except to turn readers off.

So how do brands in the health space work with bloggers to create behavioural change? Brands must recognise that bloggers and their unique stories can only help them when they are being true to their own voice and sometimes this will require simply stating that they are supported by the brand. Lavishing logos on each post about the brand is counter productive to what each is trying to achieve.

It starts with education about your organisation, agreed disclosures and transparency in the way you work with a blogger.

Why? Each Health Activist has a unique story, most start his or her journey with self-education, empowerment, and understanding about a specific health condition. Being seen to have an appropriate distance between brand and blogger is an important part of the authenticity of health activism.

Health Activists talk about health and health related issues every day and find genuine pleasure in offering support and advice to others online. They answer questions, offer resources, and help bring the sense of empowerment they have found in their own lives outward to others. Health Activists work in different spaces, both online and offline. 

Through personal experience and by eagerly pursuing knowledge of certain conditions, health activists stand out from the pack of online health users. By collecting that information and sharing that knowledge, they truly become leaders and that has a powerful value proposition.

Some Health Activists are content creators, bloggers, or lead forums, while others hold Twitter chats, or record video tutorials. Some Health Activists have started non-profits, support groups, or awareness campaigns. 

All Health Activists are: a voice for their condition, devoted to their health communities, and quality leaders. All Health Activists are also doing life, sharing the things that we all enjoy!

Footnote: If you would like to join my story coaching programme the link is here.

How to Master Storytelling To Ignite Revenue And Increase Engagement

There are some great tips in this info graphic for Health Care Professionals. Mastering your story not just in the real world but within online communities is a powerful tool for engagement. Too often when I coach health care professionals in social media there is an initial expectation that I am going to show you how to 'win' at social media. This is not the purpose. Social Media offers a wonderful forum for building engagement with your communities, for educating beyond the hospital wall and for advocating healthy lifestyle changes. What lessons have your learnt from this info graphic?

Are You Up For It? The Sydney Skinny (Swim)

It's very rare that I promote events. However, given that this event is very aligned with our health and well-being vision, I just had to share it with you. 

The founder of this event is the co-founder of Earth Hour, Adman turned author, Nigel Marsh, the former boss of Y&R.

The event is called the Sydney Skinny - and it’s one of the most positive and fun events I've heard about in years.

It's a nude ocean swim in Sydney, which is being sponsored by juice brand nudie and yes they deserve a free plug for this sort of innovative sponsorship.

On one level, it's a cheeky, large-scale skinny dip in Sydney's Middle Head harbour to raise funds for a national park. However, as you look deeper, this event is much more than just getting your gear off for a good cause.

This is an annual opportunity to throw aside concerns of body image, to connect with nature and celebrate as a community. It's also a beautiful chance to use the cleansing power of water to re-dedicate your next year to living with more kindness and courage.

Please note, nudity is encouraged (during the swim only), but it's not compulsory. It costs $35 to enter, and supporters can attend for $15 or $30 for the family. No spectators allowed.

According to Marsh this is designed to be joyous annual opportunity to snub dull conformity and routine and live a bit.

Marsh is a well known figure on the topic of work-life balance since a talk at Tedx Sydney led to a successful business speaking career. He is also the author of Fat, Forty and Fired, a book about his experiences of finding himself out of a job, which I understand could be turned into a sitcom by US network ABC

Check out more and book your ticket here. 

I can't think of a more exhilarating way to start 2013!

How To Monetize Your Social Media Efforts For Your Health Care Practice

Trying to master social media in the health and wellbeing sector? Did you know health is one of the most searched words on google? Not sure how to monetize your skill set online? Today's post is just as relevant to a health activist as it is to a practice owner. Most of us are using social media professionally to grow our businesses or our advocacy voice to educate.

Naturally then, most of us want a fiscal return for our efforts and greater freedom, not more work.  Right?

Follow this simple 5 step process and you will be well on your way to monetizing your social media efforts in a way that is not in conflict with your authentic voice or professional profile.

1: Choose Your Target Market - I cannot tell you in health how many people say my target market is everyone. Think again: Choose a niche. Drill it down and get VERY specific. Who is your target market?

2: Build Your List - The most important thing to remember: The money is in the list. If you want to increase your income with your social media efforts then you need to understand the power of list building. When you have a mailing list you drive traffic. Traffic is the lifeblood of any Internet strategy. Having a significant mailing list allows you to leverage your efforts at zero cost. Having a mailing list also means you can plan offers at times of the year where your real world business slows. So it is an important tool. Grow your list at every touch point, email - opt-in, twitter followers, Facebook Fans, RSS, Pinterest and more.

3: Promote Relevant Offers and Products To Your List - webinars should not just be free educationals with no return. Use your expertise at the end of the webinar  to up-sell to other products and services that will benefit your audience, e.g. DVD sets on weight loss tips for example or, how to be a health activist, coaching programmes. Think about what it is you do, what skills and services can be repackaged as a benefit to your target audience to promote an offer. Move away from the physical world for all your services if you can - think about passive income that is complimentary to your target audience and service.

4: Joint Venture To Accelerate Your Success - who do you know that is complimentary to your business that you could joint venture with to market to each others respective lists the offers that you have identified.

5: Automate It! - Yes that's right. The Internet allows for massive automation. For example you can sell your webinar series by pre-recording them and replaying on demand, you can sell an ebook series, promote affiliates that are complimentary to you, coaching programmes and more.

When it comes to growing your business online using social media, nothing generates long-term cash flow like an email list of engaged subscribers and customers.

Email marketing is the best way to generate traffic. It's the best way to recycle the same visitors again and again to any of your products. It's also the best way to convert prospects into buyers.

RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, should all be used as part of your sales funnel to grow your list.

Want to accelerate your social media activities in 2013? Try our coaching packages, special offer now available for pre-purchase to begin January 2013. Get started now and be ahead of the pack.