It’s late, 1:15 a.m. to be exact, and Mary Thomas, who was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, is facing another sleepless night.

Like most Americans, she uses the Internet on a routine basis. Tonight she types in a Google search—"help for fibromyalgia and poor sleep." Her search takes her to a page with several free articles as well as Google ads for fibromyalgia and poor sleep. One ad, "Fibromyalgia and Sleep," catches her attention and she clicks my Google AdWords ad. After visiting my opt-in page and reading my article on fibromyalgia, she elects to get my free report—"Fibromyalgia and Sleep: How You Can Finally Get a Great Night's Rest." Mary’s e-mail address is automatically entered into my autogenerator e-mail system. The system will send Mary an educational e-mail newsletter every few days until Mary elects to opt out.

At any given time, I may have 1,000 to 20,000 prewritten e-mail letters going out to folks like Mary. Within seconds of supplying her e-mail address, Mary receives the free sleep report in her e-mail box.

Mary spends the next half-hour reading the 35-page report. Over the next few weeks, Mary learns a great deal about fibromyalgia, poor sleep, and other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. My letters, while mostly educational, also provide ways for Mary to order the products (books, CD’s, supplements, etc.) I recommend for treating fibromyalgia and poor sleep.

After a bad experience with Ambien and another night of no sleep, Mary uses the link in my last newsletter, visits my online store, and orders the supplements and book I recommend—the Fibromyalgia Super Jumpstart Package for $149.95.

Mary does great on the products and, the next month when she receives my newsletter, she uses a link and requests to become a member of my Dropship Club. She now has her supplements automatically sent to her on the first of each month.

Mary happens to be a member of a large fibromyalgia support group and tells others about my recent e-mail newsletter, where I report that I’ll be doing a free call-in teleconference on Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia. Dozens of her fellow support group members call in and several elect to become new patients or purchase a product from my online store.

Every teleconference I give, I record the program and post it on my website: www.treatingandbeating.com. Dozens of folks listen each month and many elect to order products from my online store, or call and schedule a new patient visit. I also have a link in my online ads and newsletters alerting folks that they can listen to this free call-in program—they simply supply their e-mail address and have instant access. At that point, their e-mail address then goes into my autogenerator system and they begin to receive my prewritten newsletters.

Tammy Johnston found my website and asked to receive my weekly e-mail newsletters. Her third newsletter mentioned the fibromyalgia teleconference. After calling in and listening to my prerecorded teleconference on fibromyalgia, Tammy decided she, too, wanted to order my Fibromyalgia Super Jumpstart Package.

Tammy has turned out to be a great customer. She usually buys several additional items each month like melatonin, CoQ10, and other items after she receives my weekly "One Day Sale" e-mail alerts, which helps educate my growing list of online subscribers.

Charles Jacks was looking for a chiropractor to help with his chronic back pain.

Someone handed him my business card which listed my website address. Charles visited my website, read about what I was doing in the clinic, and decided to call the clinic and make an appointment. Additionally, his wife, Janet, who suffers with high blood pressure, made an appointment with me after reading my online article "The Medical Myths of Heart Disease".

I’ve learned that education is the key for my practice’s success. If I can educate people on why they need chiropractic care, nutritional supplements, or even chiropractic pillows, then I stand a good chance of gaining a new patient or selling an item from my online store.

My competition is not the chiropractor or medical doctor down the street—it is ignorance.

If people don’t know glucosamine sulfate can help their osteoarthritic knee pain, then I cannot hope to sell them glucosamine sulfate. If the public doesn’t know chiropractic care is great for carpal tunnel syndrome, then the chances are slim to none that I’ll have any of these patients call my office for an appointment. The key is education. Educate yourself on being the best chiropractor and/or nutritional specialist you can be, than educate your community on why they need your services and products.

The Internet allows you to leverage your educational efforts—community talks, radio interviews, newspaper ads, newsletters, business cards, and brochures. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night people visit my site or store—it’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.