At the moment, Google receives over 1 billion health-related searches per day. So it’s no surprise that the 2023 marketing scene for medical practice looks more like a digital undertaking than ever.
Here are some insights into medical copywriters with expertise and marketing strategies you can start today.
First steps in medical writing: a full guide for medical experts
An important prerequisite is the ability to write. Since the main requirement of medical copywriters is to convey scientific information to the target audience, a certain degree of language proficiency, reflected in the ability to write grammatically correct text, as well as the ability to clearly and concisely express and present information, is most important.
In addition to the above basic requirements, domain knowledge, and language skills are required.
Topic knowledge
- Medical and therapeutic knowledge. Since medical copywriters convey scientific information related to the field, it is needless to say that they understand the terminology and concepts. Writing technical papers related to a particular therapeutic area, such as cardiology or neurology, can be greatly facilitated by knowledge in that area. However, because medical copywriters rarely work in a single therapeutic area, it may not be possible to have prior in-depth knowledge of each area of therapy. It would be nice to have a basic knowledge of various medical specialities and build on this when writing papers in various areas of therapy.
- Drug development process, pharmacology, drug safety. medical writing involved in the preparation of clinical trials and regulatory documents such as trial protocols, investigator brochures, clinical trial reports of various phases of clinical trials, efficacy, and safety summaries require a deep understanding of the drug development process, clinical trials and various guidelines associated with them
General knowledge and skills
- Language and grammar. Using grammatically correct language, simple and short sentences, active voice, appropriate punctuation, and a logical flow of ideas can make information understandable to medical blog readers.
- Interpreting and presenting research data. Writing scientific papers involves reviewing and interpreting research data, presenting that data in text, tables, and graphs, and developing logical discussions and conclusions about what the data means for the content of the health website.
- Ethical and legal issues are issues of concern to medical copywriters. Providing truthful and complete information, including negative findings, complying with copyright laws, not indulging in plagiarism, following authorship criteria for research manuscripts, and respecting the peer review process of journals.
Tips for patient-focused medical copywriting
Remember your audience
Your patients probably do not have a medical degree, so as much as possible avoid using medical jargon without further explanation.
Some things will require a proper name, such as conditions and procedures, but be sure to provide additional explanations on them so that there is no confusion. Always include the full name of something in medical writing and include abbreviations so you can use the abbreviated form.
Balance of information and promotional materials
Striking the right balance with your patient marketing can be difficult. You want to make sure you provide enough content to help your patients make informed decisions and not take a difficult approach to sales.
Use patient testimonials to demonstrate your experience and the success of your approach. Hearing about current or past patient experiences can be more valuable to a new patient than anything you can offer.
Put yourself in the position of the reader. If they found your content by searching for answers about their symptoms, or if a patient is reading a patient guide in preparation for a diagnostic test, they may be in a fragile state.
Why hire a medical copywriter?
You already have a team of employees or practitioners who understand the intricacies of your products or services and write the content for the health website. If you’re confident in their writing and communication skills, you might be wondering why to hire a medical copywriter at all. Wouldn’t it be easier and more efficient to do content creation and marketing in-house?
Although your team is most knowledgeable about your company’s offerings, they have enough to develop new products, improve existing offerings, and maintain relationships with customers or patients.
This is where medical copywriters come in. Content marketing – producing high-quality content that informs, engages, and transforms – is a full-time job in its own right.
Here’s what to look for when hiring a medical copywriter
Basic knowledge of content marketing
Any copywriter can create a compelling story and a compelling call to action. But an experienced medical copywriter knows everything about healthcare and medical technology. They can create content so effectively for the medical blog audience.
Equally important, medical copywriters understand the business of content marketing. They can create quality content and deliver that content to your audience. Search engine optimization (SEO), inbound marketing skills, and social media marketing strategies are all essential for content marketers who get readers to take action.
They have outstanding portfolios
One of the most important tools in a medical copywriter’s arsenal is versatility. While mastering one form of content is great, a true professional will showcase their skills and experience in a variety of media types.
This versatility will be evident in their portfolio. The right medical copywriter will have many samples of different types of results, from long blog posts and white papers to concise, eye-catching one-liners and web copy. Their patterns should reflect adaptability in tone and voice, effectively conveying each client’s unique brand and message.
They have reviews
Another way to gauge the skills and work ethic of a medical copywriter is to go straight to the source – ask for testimonials and referrals from past clients. After all, any quality medical copywriter will be happy to put you in touch with satisfied clients.
Lack of feedback, or unwillingness to provide it when asked, can be a major red flag. Some copywriter clients may indeed request confidentiality. However, being chock full of excuses – “I would have to ask for permission to share samples” or “my clients are confidential” – is usually a good enough indication that you should look elsewhere for a medical copywriter.
Final thoughts
If you are looking for a volume of medical content, consider working with an agency. Agency authors have invaluable experience working with large clients on many different projects. And agencies will not only create the effective, quality content you’re looking for, but they can produce a high volume of work with fast turnaround times. After all, the success of their business depends on professionalism, industry knowledge, and quality of work.
Ellen Diamond, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
