VOX Mag: Style Had A Voice

VOX was a luxury magazine distributed in the Hamptons in Long Island, New York.

Anti-Aging content is one of the Natural Health Writer's favorite specialties.

As VOX‘s Well-Being Columnist, the Natural Health Writer had to convey complex nutritional concepts in a way that was creative, clear and entertaining. At right is one VOX column I did about antioxidants and the Free Radical Theory of Aging. What the PDF doesn’t show is VOX ‘s sheer beauty — it was a high-end, large-format publication with really superb paper quality. All funded by advertisers selling multi-million dollar real estate and diamond-studded timepieces! Sure, VOX went the way of the Dodo, but I am still proud of my articles for the mag.

The Lesson: Strong writing transforms boring scientific copy into dazzling, easy-to-understand content that consumers want to read. When consumers understand why nutrients might work, they are compelled to buy nutritional supplements.

Marketing of Personality

The marketing of personalities is essential for natural health industry growth.

Nutritional supplements are just one aspect of natural health. NavelEXPO hired me to market their conference’s natural health speakers in a custom-published magazine. The goal: Educate consumers on exciting natural health advancements, promote the experts speaking on these topics, and fill their lecture rooms to maximum capacity.

The sample at right (click the mag cover) was written for a speaker on tap water hazards. As I wrote about 2,100 toxins in municipal water being absorbed through the skin’s pores during a hot shower, I sold myself on the idea… I want a full-home water purification system! Click the image at right, read it yourself and see. At worst, you will want to attend the lecture; at best, you’ll want to buy the purification system immediately.

The Lesson: Natural health can include the marketing of concepts, or even the marketing of people. When the communication behind this marketing is clear and compelling, success is sure to follow.

A Portrait of Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour was a great celebrity “get” for me as Editor of Energy Times.

Jane Seymour was nice. She will forever be my favorite Bond girl.

She’s always been a natural health icon. A longtime homeopathy advocate, Seymour has also addressed Congress on complementary medicine and health freedom. On top of that she has an organic garden, is involved in art therapy and women’s heart health charities… too much to list! Read the article to learn more.

Nature’s Plus, which distributes Energy Times, was releasing a colorful whole-food supplement line when this article came out. Jane Seymour enthusiastically endorsed the virtues of colorful fruits and vegetables in the interview. Damn, I’m good.

The Lesson: Look for this type of media success where celebrity, publicity, charity and natural health intersect.

Nutrient Depletion

Extensively substantiated, my Nutrient Replenishment Guide gives consumers healthy new reasons to buy supplements.

When I published Rx Complement magazine, I knew that drug-induced nutrient depletion was a topic I wanted to publicize immediately.

For the first issue, I wrote an article and created a pullout chart which shows which classes of drugs are associated with nutrient depletions. Of great assistance was Dr. Ross Pelton, a true leader in the nutrient depletion field. Download the chart below, print it and use it as you see fit.

Education is the key to supplement marketing. Consumers need to know all factors that will diminish their nutritional status: Stress, drugs, aging and a modern “factory farming” agriculture that yields nutritionally-deficient frankenfoods.

The Lesson: Third-party publications like my Rx Complement can be phenomenally effective sales-boosting educational tools. Consumers who read about nutrient depletion make smarter (and more numerous) supplement choices.

Sexy Nutrition: Aphrodisiacs

Getting down? Feeling low? Read on before my puns take a bad turn...

I wrote this aphrodisiacs article: Nature’s Potions of Passion. This piece is a classic example of how the article format can educate consumers and compel them to buy nutritional supplements. Go ahead, read the article… if it doesn’t compel you to run out and buy the supplements mentioned, I’ll buy you a candy bar.

Nutrition for sexual health is another tricky marketing area these days. The FDA and FTC are scrutinizing this segment, thanks to contaminants — including pharmaceutical derivatives — found in fly-by-night products.

You can still achieve spectacular sales in the sexual health segment. Provide context, history, traditional perspectives — weave a sexy story. Over the top claims are unnecessary. There is already romance that goes hand in hand with aphrodisiac herbs… you can approach the topic obliquely, using innuendo and conservative suggestions. After all, sex appeal should leave something to the imagination anyway!