More health and fitness professionals are writing articles as an enjoyable way to earn extra revenue while helping promote healthy living to the general public.
Whether you want to (or already do) write health or fitness articles for your local newspaper, a widely popular national magazine, your website, or all of the above, consider these tips for ensuring your writing success.
Health Promotion
The Best Topics to Write About
Finding the best topics to write about is as simple as focusing on the subjects you're most passionate about. Draw from your everyday experiences teaching classes or seminars, working with clients and/or managing staff.
You might also develop story ideas from your observations about what your clients need and want, and also what your colleagues talk about. Sometimes, writing or researching one health or fitness article sparks an idea for another. The possibilities are endless!
One Important Skill, One Important Quality
Scoring a steady stream of article assignments (especially those that pay) starts, and continues, with skilled marketing and perseverance.
Being a well-known health or fitness writer involves smart marketing, just like how you market your business and services. You must sell your story ideas and yourself as a health and fitness writer.
All writers experience some rejection, so perseverance is also key. For example, years ago, when I was trying to break into a major fitness magazine, I emailed regular queries (i.e., story pitches), even though the editor I was emailing never responded to me.
Six months after I started doing that, she called with an assignment! Encouraged, I immediately fired off another batch of queries - and the editor responded right away with more assignments.
Once I contributed to one major publication, it became easier to break into others - sort of like a domino effect.
Path To Success
To ensure you stay on track with your writing goals, make it a point to regularly assess your objectives, including naming (and studying) the magazines you want to break into.
And when you begin writing for a new publication, work hard to build strong relationships with the editors there. Submit assignments on deadline (or early!) and turn in organized, properly researched and clearly written articles.
The Right Image
If your goal is to write health and fitness articles to showcase on your website or distribute on the Internet for marketing purposes, don't underestimate the need for top quality writing.
You can always tell when a health or fitness professional hammered out an article without proofing it or without enlisting the help of an editor or word-savvy colleague. Remember: No one wants to read sloppy writing.
As the health and fitness industries get more competitive, high-caliber writing is becoming more important because it communicates your professional image to your clients and your industry peers.
Plus, you never know who's reading your articles - your next prospective client could be an editor or an English professor! So always ensure you project the right image with your writing.
Succeeding as a Health and Fitness Writer