Cancer Survivors To Find Community Through Heal Magazine Blog

CURE Magazine, a quarterly publication for people coping with cancer on a daily basis, will launch Heal: Living Well After Cancer this May.

"While CURE focuses on helping readers get well, Heal is about staying well in mind, body and spirit. Heal takes readers to the heart and soul of the cancer survivorship experience with powerful, in-depth coverage of survivors, family, health care professionals, advocates, and others who are intimately tied to recovery and life after cancer."-Heal website

This semester, my class is offering ideas to the magazine for building an online community for its audience through blogging.

GIVING HOPE
After spending time trying to understand the mindset of a survivor and what they need, hope seems to be an important theme. Heal's community blog has tremendous potential to deliver this. Keeping content realistic yet optimistic will be important in meeting survivor needs.

GIVING COMMUNITY
Here are some thought's on what I imagine "community" looking like for Heal:

1. Sharing Stories

One great tool Heal can take advantage of is the power of a video blog. The blog should offer its community the option to document their lives, tell their story, and motivate others. Heal readers would submit their videos to Heal for posting in a regular spot on the site. One great example I found of a survivor story is actually a news clip but it touches on important content for Heal Audiences.



2. Creative Contests

Survivors everywhere have differnt ways of self-expression and coping with life after cancer. Creative outlets may include writing poetry, painting and photography among other things. Why not use contests in these areas to draw people to the Heal blog? Getting people involved in self-expression can help Heal foster a greater sense of community among its readers.

REACHING OUT. UNDERSTANDING.
Introducing Heal: The Power of Film

One of the greatest examples Heal can look to in growing it's community is the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The communication strategies LAF uses are noteworthy and impactful. One specific way the LAF communicates its message effectively is through its "Manifesto".



How would Heal benefit from producing such a film?
Words are powerful, but the combination of elements in this video grasps you in a way that could not be achieved otherwise. If Heal could put it's mission into video format, there would be tremendous potential to grow community. Today's online resources allow anyone to share what Heal is about with the click of a button. This means potentially greater reach to Heal's audience and those who could contribute their expertise to the blog.

These are just a few ideas for Heal. More posts will follow on this topic.