ChiropracticPR.com Blog

What Excuses Hold You Back? What’s Keeping YOU From Chiropractic or Personal Success?

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:59:21 +0000

We all feel sorry for ourselves from time to time. We all have situations and events that hold us back. Or more appropriately put, we all have situations we LET hold us back. It happens to the best of us. That doesn’t have to lead to failure, but it often does. The difference between success and failure is often as simple as making a conscious decision NOT to to fail.

Every once in awhile I come across a story that simply blows my mind, smacks me upside the head and makes me realize we can rise to levels of greatness and achieve things so much greater than we ever imagine, if we just put our minds to it. Today that mind blowing story comes in the form of 29-year-old Matt Stutzsman, a young man born without both arms who does his own automobile repairs with his feet! I’m not talking he turns a wrench every now and then while a friend does the rest..I’m talking he drives his car over to his friend’s garage, jacks the car up, puts sockets on impact wrenches and does it all. I’ve posted one of Matt’s YouTube videos below and it’s truly amazing:

To think I whine about being able to reach the spark plugs on my car or spilling a little 5W-30 on the garage floor when I change my oil!

I came across Matt’s story here via AOL.com’s homepage and it really got me thinking. His inspirational and motivational videos make me realize how those of us fortunate enough to have full use of all four limbs can manage to whine about little things holding us back. Most obstacles only hold us back because we let them.

Seeing a motivated person like Mr. Stutzsman makes you realize we can overcome much more than we may give ourselves credit for. What’s holding you back from achieving Chiropractic success? Ask yourself what roadblocks are present on the path to Chiropractic success. I’d like you to make a list of the top 5 or 10 obstacles that are keeping you from achieving that next level of Chiropractic and personal greatness. I don’t care what your definition of success is. Is is more wealth? More new patients? Greater patient retention? More time with family? Whatever your goals and desires are, let’s list what’s keeping you from getting there.

After you make that list go through and honestly ask yourself which obstacles are REAL and which are excuses. Maybe slow business and the economy are holding you back. Are finances and the economy really that bad, or are you letting them be your crutch? You see where I’m going with this.

Take a good hard look at that list and decide which roadblocks you are going to bust through. Which ones are you simply allowing to be a setback? Which ones could you overcome if you REALLY wanted to? There may be a few items on your list you simply can’t do anything about, but I’m willing to bet most of the items we list are little more than inconvienences that we allow to become barriers to our Chiropractic success. Chiropractic success can be as simple as deciding we aren’t going to allow something to hold us back any more. The word “can’t” is a powerful poison and we shouldn’t think it or use it in daily conversation. Our friend Matt certainly doesn’t the meaning of the word!

As Chiropractors and human beings we should all take note of truly inspirational stories like that of Matt Stutzsman. Personal and professional success is something that we must strive for and work at. We certainly can’t let obstacles stand in our way. When approached with challenges life throws our way we have only two options: fight back and overcome or let those challenges defeat us and settle for less than what we desire. You CAN achieve whatever goals you set for yourself, you just have to figure out how!

Consistent Chiropractic Marketing: What Message(s) are YOU sending?

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:36:26 +0000

What is the overall theme or message you send to the public with your Chiropractic marketing? Have you ever thought about it?

I would guess from most of the Chiropractic advertising I see, that many Doctors of Chiropractic DO NOT spend a great deal of time thinking about what message they are conveying with their advertising. This leads to sporadic spurts of Chiropractic advertising confusion.

Most Doctors of Chiropractic simply don’t know WHAT they are trying to say. It’s not because they have nothing to say. It’s because as Doctors of Chiropractic we know how valuable Chiropractic is and we are passionate about telling the world! We have so much to say we try to communicate all of our messages without much thought to order or consistency. This all leads to two common Chiropractic marketing pitfalls: inconsistency and confusion.

One of the most common Chiropractic marketing mistakes is inconsistent advertising. Many Chiropractic practices run many different ads in an illogical order. While the ads themselves make sense, they don’t work well with the ad that ran the day before or the week after. For example, one advertisement promotes Chiropractic as a treatment for back pain. The next ad might focus on nutrition. The next ad focuses on neck pain or headaches. Another ad might discuss the importance of children receiving Chiropractic care. If your ads run months apart it may not be much of an issue. However, if you run many advertisements close together this can be problematic.

I’m not saying you can’t promote all of these aspects of your practice or Chiropractic. I’m simply saying you need to do so in a logical manner. If you want to discuss pain and injury then by all means pick one series of ads and focus on pain and injury. Run your 3 or 4 different advertisements about pain and injury before jumping to another topic. Another series of ads might discuss wellness and preventative care. If you offer unique treatment or services like acupuncture, spinal decompression or massage then discuss those in a logical order in another campaign.

With some careful attention to detail you can even work in transition phrases to help ease your audience into the next topic. While this may seem like overkill, it sends a well organized and consistent message to the community.

The second major mistake many Chiropractic practices make is trying to send too many marketing messages in one advertisement. We’ve all seen (and probably ran) those ads that attempt to discuss all of our Chiropractic greatness on a postage stamp sized area. One advertisement is not the place to list all of your skills. Listing your practice name and a bunch of phrases like nutrition, pediatrics, acupuncture, laser therapy, decompression, geriatrics, sports injuries, auto-injuries, personal injuries, orthotics and underwater basket-weaving is not effective advertising.

Consistency is key in Chiropractic marketing. If you are one of those rare jack-of-all-trades in the Chiropractic profession, by all means promote all of the benefits of your practice. Just do yourself a favor, and do it in a consistent manner. One of the worst things you can do is try to promote EVERYTHING about your practice in one advertisement (or even in one ad campaign).

Start by picking the top 2 or 3 aspects of your practice and focus on promoting those in a single ad. Once again, if you have a lot to promote break it down into different ad campaigns. Make a list of everything you want to promote and then design individual advertisements to promote everything on your list.

Last but not least, make sure you aren’t contradicting yourself with your marketing. Are you practicing what you preach? Are you getting adjusted? Are you taking the supplements or using the same exercises you promote to your patients? You’d better be, or at least be prepared with a good explanation why you aren’t!

Are your advertising messages contradicting each other? I’ve seen Chiropractic practices say one thing in an advertisement one week and turn around two ads later and say something in complete opposition. Nothing places doubt about Chiropractic, and your practice, faster than sending contradictory messages in your advertising.

Consistency is key in Chiropractic marketing. Take the time to design a logical and well thought out marketing campaign and you have a much better chance of creating Chiropractic marketing success!

HUGE Black Friday-Cyber Monday Savings at ChiropracticArt.com

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:54:22 +0000

Save big during our ChiropracticArt.com Black Friday through Cyber Monday Sale!

As promised…we have some unbelievable savings over at ChiropracticArt.com. Check out our Black Friday – Cyber Monday Sale! It will save you big money on Chiropractic gifts for yourself, a colleague, or that special Chiropractor (or Chiropractor to be) in your life.

We have our Chiropractic patient education PowerPoints and Waiting Room DVDs listed at $14.99! There are also all kinds of Chiropractic paintings and Chiropractic art priced under $30! You won’t even believe the temporary price reductions on our Spinal Decompression marketing kits.

Head on over and check out the deals, but hurry because this sale ends on Tuesday 11/30/2010 (or until we come to our senses).
UPDATE: Due to demand we’ve extended the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale over at ChiropracticArt.com. Take advantage of these great savings until 12/24/2010!

Happy Thanksgiving and a Chiropractic Black Friday Sale!

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:30:25 +0000

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving.

We are so busy filling orders for our holiday rush over at ChiropracticArt.com and keeping up with the demands of our Chiropractic internet marketing clients that we just haven’t had much time to focus on our own blog! I promise we’ve got some pretty cool review posts and some great Chiropractic posts coming soon.

I also wanted to give you the inside scoop that word is we may be running a little Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday type sale over at ChiropracticArt.com. It’s hard to believe we can offer better deals than we already do, but keep an eye out over the weekend for some potential great deals!

Enjoy your holiday weekend if you are lucky enough to get that much time off and be sure to pause and give thanks for all of the things we have to be truly grateful for!

Sincerely,
-Dr. James

Chiropractic Gift Idea: The Inkless Metal Ink Pen

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:21:06 +0000

So today I stumbled across the Inkless Metal Ink pen. I thought this was perfect for most Chiropractors because even those D.C.s in a paperless practice still need a great pen on a daily basis.

Half of the time I can’t find my ink pen and then when I do…it doesn’t write! This sweet awesome pen solves both problems. It features an endless supply of metal “ink” and writes in extreme positions and conditions. It even writes under water!

The fact that the metal ink material is smudge proof sealed the deal for me. Being left handed I cannot tell you how tired I am of smearing things and being covered in ink or pencil whenever I have to write for an extended period of time.

You can get a sharper point on this pen simply by rolling it at an angle on some sandpaper or a nail file. Too cool! This great Chiropractic gift idea retails for only $27.95!

Watch the video below or click on the images below for more info or to get yours.

The Inkless Metal Pen
$27.95
The Inkless Metal Pen features a special metal alloy tip. As you write, tiny amounts of this metal are deposited onto the page. The silvery markings may resemble pencil, but they are permanent and completely smudge-proof. Because it doesn’t require sharpening or refills, the Inkless Metal Pen is an amazing gift for artists or doodlers. Its “ink” is solid, so it will never leak, and it can be used upside down or under extreme conditions. The Inkless Metal Pen works on most any writing surface and features an anondized aluminum (rust-proof) barrel.

Chiropractic Gift Recommendations

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:48:13 +0000

Wow..it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here on the ChiropracticPR.com blog. I’ve had many people email or call asking if everything is alright and where the new blog posts have been.
I apologize for the absence but we’ve just been slammed with work. Honestly the last couple of months has seen a huge influx of work that we’ve been struggling to stay on top of! We also had some issues with our hosting provider and our server lately and it took us a few days to iron all of that out.
Not to mention it’s the Holiday shopping season…and the orders are coming in fast and furious over at ChiropracticArt.com. For those of you who may not be aware, I also run ChiropracticArt.com and I do nearly all of our hand painted Chiropractic paintings. Needless to say our cool Chiropractic art and affordable prices make for a high volume of orders at peak shopping times.
That’s right! The Holiday shopping season is upon us. Wow did the summer ever fly by this year. With the holiday shopping season in mind I decided to start a new blog series: Chiropractic Gift Recommendations. Many of you have purchased nearly our full catalog of Chiropractic art and often ask for other Chiropractic gift ideas. I decided to try a new type of blog post where I recommend some great ideas for that special Chiropractor in your life. Whether you are shopping for yourself, a colleague, or someone else we have some great ideas in the works.
Many of these will be great Chiropractic specific gifts, and some will not. I don’t want this to be limited to Chiropractic practice tools or products ONLY so I’ll do my best to balance things out. Basically if it is a great gift idea and would be useful or interesting to the average Chiropractor then I’ll write up a blog post about it. It should even be useful for all of us Chiropractors because it will give us some gift ideas for online shopping. After all we simply don’t have a ton of time to get out and shop!
Hopefully this will be beneficial to all and can be an ongoing project to look forward to each year.
I’ll be putting up the very first post in this series shortly so stay tuned. Along the way if you have some great Chiropractic gift ideas or products or websites you’d like to see us blog about in the series contact me and let me know!
-Dr. James

Think Chiropractic Geek: Chiropractic Relevant Products at ThinkGeek.com?

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:04:37 +0000

Last night I experienced something I very rarely have the pleasure of experiencing: free time. My son decided he was tired and wanted to go to bed early (an even less common occurrence around here). I decided to seize the moment and start some online Christmas shopping. Yes I know it’s not even October yet but the truth is I just won’t have many opportunities to shop between now and the Holiday season.
Being a single dad with a busy schedule means I don’t have the luxury of browsing through brick and mortar stores without my son with me very often. That’s why I do the huge majority of my holiday shopping online.
My son has become a HUGE Star Wars fan so I decided to visit a site I haven’t visited in a few months: ThinkGeek.com. I first discovered this site a few years ago because I’m a bit of a computer and tech nerd. Big surprise there right? On my first visit I was surprised to learn this site offers much more than computer hardware and accessories. They have all kinds of cool prank and witty novelty gifts. They have also recently started carrying all kinds of unique and harder to find Star Wars gifts. They are also now producing their own zany and original products. If you have an intelligent slightly geeky person in your life with a wicked sense of humor, then ThinkGeek.com is definitely a great site to shop!
I know what you are thinking. “What the HELL does this have to do with Chiropractic?” Well stick with me because while I was browsing their site I came across some pretty cool gifts that really struck my funny bone as a Doctor of Chiropractic with a good sense of humor.
One of the first items I stumbled across were “Microbe plushies”. These cute and cuddly plush stuffed animals represent many common germs and microbes.
Now whether or not you, as a Doctor of Chiropractic, subscribe to the germ theory isn’t my concern. Regardless of your stance, giving someone herpes or varicella has never been funny . . . until now! I was pretty blown away with the huge selection they have. These aren’t just your typical common microbes. You have to check out the amazing selection for yourself.
If giving that special someone in your life a nasty microbe isn’t your cup of tea then maybe you could simply pick up a neuron plushie instead! While not for everyone, these plushies definitely got my attention and are worth checking out for a good laugh.

I also came across a cool new version of something I currently use in my Chiropractic practice: the Dynaflex Powerball Gyroscope. For those of you who don’t know, the Dynaflex powerball is basically a handheld gyroscope. The inside of the ball spins at high revolutions and creates a very dynamic rehab tool that is very effective for treating conditions like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. At higher speeds the ball is challenging to hold on to and actually makes for a great wrist and forearm workout. This never version lights up in a cool blue LED glow. The best part? It does NOT require any batteries!
I also discovered a couple of books I thought were very cool. One is entitled
The Complete Manual of Things that Might Kill You: A Guide to Self-Diagnosis for Hypochondriacs.

This humorous book appears to be a guide to inducing panic in hypochondriacs by describing various events and activities that might kill you. I’m still desperately trying to resist the urge to buy this and place it on the coffee table in my reception area. Although most of my patients get my sense of humor, I fear some still might be offended.
The other book is entitled, Why There’s Antifreeze in your Toothpaste: The Chemistry of Household Ingredients.
This book aims to demystify common myths and misconceptions regarding common household chemicals and explains the use and purpose of many chemicals contained in many household chemicals and products.
The last product I want to mention is something that could be of benefit to all of us and our Chiropractic patients. It’s a little gadget called the UV monkey.

The UV Monkey is a nifty little device to measure levels of Ultraviolet light exposure. When it is exposed to sunlight, the center of the device will turn to a purple color. The differening shades of purple indicate increasing levels of UV light with the darker shades equating to the means highest level of UV exosure. The UV Monkey is capable of indicating 4 different ranges of the UV Index (Index 1-2, Index 3-5, Index 6-8, Index 9-11). What a great way to protect your skin and your health!
There are plenty of other very cool gifts and products available on this site. These were simply the Chiropractic relevant ones that jumped out at me during my visit. I personally love the site and recommend checking it out since it pretty much has products for everyone. If you have some intelligent friends and relatives with a different sense of humor then ThinkGeek.com is a great place to shop for gifts.

New Chiropractic Art and More!

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:51:21 +0000

Hello everyone! We have been insanely busy here at ChiropracticPR.com and over at ChiropracticArt.com.
The past couple of weeks we’ve been busy catching up on a backlog of our custom spinal decompression marketing kits, designing Chiropractic yellow page ads, and writing and submitting several Chiropractic internet marketing articles for our Chiropractic clients.
In between we’ve also found time to release some new Chiropractic art and gift products both at ChiropracticArt.com and in our Zazzle store.
Perhaps our favorite new product is our set of 3 Framed Chiropractic cervical X-ray prints shown below.
ChiropracticArt.com: Framed Cervical X-ray prints
ChiropracticArt.com: Framed Cervical Chiropractic X-ray Prints
This incredibly popular design of ours is a set of colorful variations of a standard lateral cervical x-ray print. This design has been available in a smaller frame and on a variety of posters and coffeemugs in our Zazzle store. Many customers have requested a slightly larger and economical framed print version and this is our answer!
Each 8.5″ x 11″ print is done with the highest quality ink on high quality name brand gloss photo paper. It is then mounted under glass in a sturdy gloss black frame measuring approximately 9″ wide x 11.5″ tall. Each frame can be wall mounted or display free standing using the pull out stand on the back.
They are currently priced at $38.99 for the 3 print set. Check them out over at ChiropracticArt.com.
We’ve also recently designed some new chiropractic posters and coffee mugs over at our Chiropractic_4Health store. Check those out in the photos below.

Chiropractic Poster: Chiropractic Health Insurance by Chiropractic_4Health
More Chiropractic Posters

Chiropractic is Specific Coffee Mug by Chiropractic_4Health
View other Chiropractic Mugs

Lumbar Vertebrae Funk Coffee Mug. Fun Coffee Cup! by Chiropractic_4Health
View other Chiropractic Mugs

Lumbar Vertebrae Funk Coffee Mug 2. Fun Coffee Cup by Chiropractic_4Health
personalised mug with zazzle.com

World’s Greatest Chiropractor Coffee Mug by Chiropractic_4Health
View other Chiropractic Mugs
As always thanks for reading and feel free to let us know if there is a Chiropractic design or Chiropractic artwork idea you’d like to see brought to life. We just might be able to make it happen!

Chiropractic Product Review: Chiro-Squad Chiropractic Superheroes Trading Cards

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:04:25 +0000

About a month ago I requested and received a free sample of Chiro-Squad(R) Superheroes trading cards. Being a single dad of a third-grader I know first hand the challenges of communicating the Chiropractic message to children. That’s why when I saw mention of the trading cards on facebook, along with an invitation to receive a free sample pack, I decided to see what the cards were all about.
I was pretty amazed at how fast my free sample pack actually arrived. I expected to wait a week or two but actually received the free sample within 2 or 3 days! When I opened the package my pleasant surprise continued.
I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much in the way of quality. I anticipated some light weight stock or cheap paper used for the trading cards. I was shocked to see they are printed on an extremely high quality glossy and heavy weight card stock. The cards are glossy on the front and back. The bottom line is these are not the paper thin cards I was expecting. They are definitely designed to withstand daily practice life and the rigors of being collected and traded by children. You can clearly see the gloss and high quality of these cards in the digital photos I snapped of them:
Chiro-Squad(R) Chiropractic SuperheroTrading Cards
Chiro-Squad(R) Chiropractic Trading Cards

Although I was very satisfied with the cards I decided to move on to the real test, my eight year old son. As I am reminded on a daily basis. . . there are few things as critical and brutally honest in this world as my eight year old boy. (I can only imagine what the teen years will be like.) With that in mind I was prepared for the worst.
I announced that I had ordered him a sample of Chiropractic Superhero trading cards. I expected some eye rolling and groaning but as he flipped through them he instead uttered the single word phrase, “cool!” That may not sound like much, but if you have ever interacted with a grade school aged male, you’ll recognize it for the glowing positive testimonial that it really is.
He further confirmed his love for the cards later that evening when we had to run some errands. My son had to take his Chiro-Squad trading cards with him in the car. Another very good sign! The ultimate compliment for the Chiro-Squad trading cards came a few minutes later when he was describing details he was READING on the back of the cards. Yes you heard me correctly: An eight year old was voluntarily reading!
He proudly informed me Cervico is his favorite character “because he is from Davenport”. (My son fondly remembers our days at the Palmer College of Chiropractic campus in Davenport, IA and often requests to move back there someday). He went on to describe some of the body parts supplied by the third cervical spinal nerve.
Although he occasionally needed help with reading some of the words on the back of the cards, he was genuinely excited about learning the information. The few times he had difficulty with reading or pronouncing a word provided a great opportunity to educate him. What a wonderful way to assist him with understanding Chiropractic philosophy and human anatomy!
Overall these cards were a hit with me, and most importantly, with their target audience. My son has already requested (ok. . . DEMANDED) that I purchase the remaining two packs so he can complete the entire 30 card set.
I currently don’t see a ton of pediatric patients in my Chiropractic practice but I’m hoping these Chiro-Squad trading cards will help change that. I think they are a great way to reach out to children of existing patients and their families. I plan on ordering more of the trading cards and the Chiro-Squad practice marketing kit which consists of stickers, tattoos, office posters, and even Chiro-Squad Kids’ Club membership cards.
I think the trading cards are a fantastic idea and a great way to communicate the Chiropractic wellness model to entire families. I want to thank Dr. Vic Naumov, D.C. for creating such a great product at a great price. I’ll wrap up my review with our “what’s hot” and “what’s not” breakdown. After that I’ll conclude with some more information about the trading cards and where to buy them online.

What’s Hot:
Very high quality glossy stock
Durable
Very affordable
Colorful and attractive designs
Variety of purchase options: Buy individual packs or buy in bulk
Internal marketing kits to support the trading cards
Positive and Principled Chiropractic and wellness messages
Both Male and Female Superheroes avoid alienating either gender
Extremely easy to introduce and implement in the busiest of practices
What’s Not:
There really isn’t much to NOT Like about the Chiro-Squad cards but here are the few negatives we could come up with:
Not for all ages. (Probably most effective for the 5-12 year age range)
Although both male and female characters exist, the cards still will generally probably appeal more to boys than girls.
Due to the nature of the topics addressed, some of the words can be a little challenging for early readers, but that’s where the Doctor and parents come in!
And the final potential negative “What’s Not” comes from my son:
“No fully poseable Chiro-Squad action figures!”

The Chiro-Squad(R) Superheroes
“Connecting Kids & Chiropractic Across the Globe!”

Let’s look at the Chiro-Squad Superhero trading cards in a little more detail.
The Chiro-Squad was created by New Jersey Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Vic Naumov. The squad consists of a team of 5 Chiropractic superhero characters:
Cervico
Lumbardo
Thoracico
Thoracica
Sacra
The Chiro-Squad Chiropractic superhero trading card set consists of 30 total cards available in 3 separate packs of ten cards each. There are 24 cards representing each of the spinal levels and six bonus cards. Each of the 24 individual spinal segment cards features a Chiro-Squad character on the front and valuable chiropractic patient education on the reverse. The back of the card features a description of background information on the Chiro-Squad character, a spinal nerve chart, a description of the body areas supplied by the spinal nerve in question, and possible health conditions associated with the spinal nerve highlighted.
Each individual card also discusses a Chiropractic Principle and features a notable Chiropractic related quote from Dr. Vic Naumov. The bonus cards feature additional bonus information. For example, the back of the “United” card in our sample describes the origin of the Chiro-Squad.
For more information, or to order your Chiro-Squad trading cards, visit the official website at:
http://www.chirosquad.com
You can also use the contact information below:

Chiro-Squad Enterprises, LLC

P.O. Box 206

New Milford, NJ 07646

(201) 265-8688

New Chiropractic Gifts and Products on Zazzle

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:31:05 +0000

We’ve had a lot of requests for more of our unique Chiropractic gifts, ties, posters, and other Chiropractic products on Zazzle.
We’ve heard your demands and we are in the process of working on some new designs in our “free time”. I use the term “free time” loosely since our free time seems to amount to about 12 minutes at 3:00 am before we collapse from sheer and utter exhaustion. Well….I can’t speak for everyone but that’s my “free time”!
Have something in mind for a great Chiropractic message on a product but don’t have the time or know how to pull it off. Post your thoughts or comments in the comment section below or email us and we might be able to bring your idea to life!
Anyway sit tight and stay tuned for some great new Chiropractic products. Here is just one of many new products to come. Our new “Chiropractic is specific” coffee mug! You can choose which color and type of mug you want this design on and preview it before you buy. Very cool!

Chiropractic is Specific Coffee Mug by Chiropractic_4Health
Make personalized photo mugs on zazzle.com