Advice line: how to contribute to the CSP members’ magazine

The CSP’s chief executive frequently tells members to promote themselves more. Frontline is a great platform for that, with debate, discussion and information reaching all 54,000 society members. It’s also a great way of getting commissioners’ attention.

 

But how should you approach the magazine with an idea – and, given we have a limited amount of space, how can you improve the chances of getting your proposal accepted?

 

First, make sure you’re familiar with the sections in the magazine: have a clear idea of what you want to write about then think how it could fit into the existing format.

 

Is it about something unusual you do in your job? Then maybe it’s a 3 minute profile. Is it a novel approach to treatment and you have enough evidence to prove it works, it could be a longer, three-page feature. Think about what other CSP members are likely to want to read.

 

We want Frontline content to be interesting, engaging, informative and attractive. Ideally, it shines a positive light on the profession as a whole. It is not just about the internal machinations of the CSP as a professional body.

 

If you’re from one of the clinical networks, you have space in the Networks and networking pages, at the back of the magazine, to reach your members with news about your events.

 

But if you’ve just published new guidelines that other physios might want to know about, it might make a short item for our news digest pages at the front of the magazine. If you are not sure, get in touch and ask.

 

But before you do that, distil your idea down to the ‘top line’ message. It needs to be something that will grab the attention of the person reading it.

 

What is it you want to write about? Why do members need to know about it? Does it work? If it’s a new clinical approach, what evidence do you have that it’s better than what happened before? When do members need to know about it?