3 Tips To Write Health IT Bylined Articles That Editorial Teams Will Love

We have seen a decline of almost 23% in newsroom employment as early as 2008 in the U.S. Editorial teams have reduced in size, meaning less opportunity to write for the publication. Articles contributed by outside sources are a benefit to both the editorial team and health IT clients since they can utilize their time for other time-sensitive projects, while clients can take full credit for the content and have almost full control over what is published.

Maximize your success to get your bylined article featured following these 3 tips:

1. Perfecting the pitch

   Healthcare PR professionals are skilled in pitching story ideas. This is due to their experience working with a variety of reporters, editorial teams and publications and learning the best practices on how to come prepared to pitch a story.

   Best practices for preparing a pitch should follow this approach:

   • Research the publication to confirm the editorial team will accept bylined articles
   • Have your story provide a different perspective tailoring it in a pitch to fit that need
   • Look at the frequency of when articles are posted
   • Check to see if the publication and/or reporter is active on social media

   By checking these boxes, you will capture the attention of healthcare reporters, provide new, valuable information and anticipate needs for an upcoming story. One way to do this is through reactive pitching: trends, events and news for future events. Win reporters over by making their jobs easier, period.

2. Come prepared with timely requests

   Depending on the angle of your pitch, health IT reporters may respond with an urgency for reviewing linked sources, biographies of individuals, product information, visuals -- or even an initial draft before providing approvals to move forward with building out content. These materials should be kept organized and available to meet the requests in a timely manner. Keep track of these sources in the following cubbies:

   • Google drive divided by folders for visuals, biographies, studies, etc.
   • Client portfolios
   • Internal drive (server)

3. dhere to individual publication guidelines, no exception

   If you do not reference a health IT publication’s guidelines, your health IT client’s article will be declined. Keep in mind that guidelines are not the same for every healthcare / health IT publication and should be cross-referenced when building out content. Keep a cheat sheet for your internal reference, which should include the following:

   • Length: Word count for headline, subhead and article copy
   • Formatting: Can you bold, italicize and link outside sources? What is the subhead structure and can you mention your health IT client’s company? Can you only mention the SME’s name?
   • Submitting process: How to submit your content, what does the review process look like, what is advised for follow up and overall timing for approvals and publishing?

   All in all, providing quality bylined articles to editorial teams can help build trust and secure future opportunities and make your health IT client stand out as an expert in the healthcare / health IT industry.

Missed the first blog of this series, Maximizing Your Content Strategy? Check out 3 Ways to Find the Right Opportunity.