You may be wondering if this is just more "hype" about another marketing technique that doesn't work in the real world. Well, let me tell you the story of how I discovered that this marketing technique would work on an effective and consistent basis. Let me take you back approximately eight years to when I was struggling to find new patients. At that time I was trying to get new patients by using all the usual methods: Yellow Pages; screenings; newspaper ads; telemarketing; speeches; networking; begging lawyers and doctors to refer patients to me; and bothering and annoying my few patients by asking them to send their friends to me for chiropractic care. Guess what? I received very few new patients from these traditional techniques.
Out of desperation to find success, I started to wonder about an infomercial to promote my chiropractic practice. I started to research the field of 30-minute infomercials and began to dabble in the production of my own chiropractic infomercial. I learned through the school of hard knocks the right way and the wrong way to produce and air an infomercial on television, and also discovered the expensive and inexpensive way to make one. Many people will take advantage of you if you don't know what you're doing.
Here are some guidelines and expectations that a chiropractor should have when entering the field of television and radio infomercials.
First, don't pay top dollar for the production of your show, or for the air time. Once you get the hang of proper negotiation skills, you'll find that the stations will reduce their prices by up to 70 percent.
Second, don't let your TV station stick you on a channel that no one watches. You can get on the more popular channels, so don't accept the first channel they offer you.
Third, don't psyche yourself out by thinking that you are not dynamic enough to do an infomercial. All you have to do is rehearse a lot and be friendly, and you'll be great on your infomercial. Most of the successful chiropractors I have helped throughout the years were not particularly dynamic, but they were friendly, and their infomercials came out just fine.
Finally, I want you to know that infomercials have a snowball effect. The more times your audience sees your show, the more trust and confidence they have in their decision to pick up the phone and choose you as their chiropractor. Television and radio can build your audience's confidence faster than any other type of media.
Be sure to start where you feel comfortable. If you can only afford one show on one channel per week, then start at that point. As you become more successful, you can have your infomercial on the air seven days a week on several different channels, as long as you are ready to handle the tremendous number of new patients who will come knocking on your chiropractic door.
Dr. Edward Martin is a chiropractor, motivational speaker, public speaking and marketing coach, and the author of the forthcoming book How to Attract More Chiropractic Patients by Using Public Speaking. Dr. Martin offers public speaking and marketing seminars, as well as individual coaching sessions. He also offers coaching sessions on the phone for chiropractors around the country. For more information, contact him at 818-314-2054 or
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