So, you need a freelance medical writer.
As a healthcare business owner or marketer, you have teams to manage, stakeholders to please, and patient experience to curate. The last thing you need is to worry about the quality of the writing that’s going to land on your desk.
That’s why knowing what to look for when bringing on a freelance medical writer is essential. Choosing the right person for the job first time around will save you both time and money. However, knowing where to start looking or what exactly makes a writer perfect for your needs can be challenging. Today, let’s discuss five qualities that can help you decide if your next freelance hire fits you.
Look For a Freelance Medical Writer with Industry Familiarity
This one’s a bit of a no-brainer, but an excellent freelance medical writer will be familiar with healthcare in some way, shape, or form. Medical writers, and more commonly freelancers, come into medical writing from all avenues. You’ll find writers with backgrounds in academia, clinical care, and medical communications, to name just a few.
What’s most important is that a writer can speak confidently about their areas of expertise, and write what you need well. Medical writers will have experience in different areas, so look for writers with knowledge suited to your job.
Do you need someone who can write sales copy or a whitepaper as part of their freelance work? Does the person need to have experience with a specific therapeutic area or have an in-depth understanding of regulatory writing?
These are all critical questions to remember as you look for a freelance medical writer.
Depth and Breadth of Experience as a Health Writer
Similarly, you can also consider their depth and breadth of experience.
Ask yourself these questions when looking for someone to do your freelance medical writing.
- How important is it that they’re experienced in my specific niche/industry/type of writing?
- Can I teach someone the ropes of my niche/industry or do I need someone with a high calibre of expertise?
- How important is it that they have many years of experience?
- Is the amount of experience they have more important to me than their ability to write?
- Will it be an asset to my project if they have experience in several types of medical writing?
While highly specialised freelance medical writers can be an asset, versatile health writers can be just as helpful if you want ongoing support with different projects. It’s also worth considering that years of experience aren’t the only thing that makes a successful medical writer.
Everyone starts somewhere, and if you have the bandwidth to teach someone the more minute specifications of your project, it may be well worth it to work with them if they have the raw talent you’re looking for and enough familiarity with the medical writing industry.
A Freelancer that Markets their Business Well to New Clients
“Good marketing” can look very different from writer to writer. It can look like being active on a social channel, doing cold outreach, or having a website that draws organic traffic. How does any of that translate to medical writing?
Well, a freelancer who markets themselves well demonstrates that they understand their target audience and how to speak to them effectively. Understanding the audience of a piece is inarguably necessary for any medical writer, no matter the type of writing they’ll be doing.
Working with a writer who is also a good marketer can have more direct benefits, too. Suppose you need a medical copywriter, a patient education writer, a PR writer, or even someone to write promotional whitepapers or other marketing materials.
In that case, you need someone who can market your business in their writing. If your potential freelancer can’t promote their own freelance business, how can they be expected to promote your business?
Confidence, Communication, and Adaptability
When a freelancer is confident in their ability to do what you ask in your initial discovery call, it’s a good sign that they’ll walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.
That doesn’t mean you need to take anyone at face value when deciding to work with them, as we’ll see in the next section. However, any writer who believes in themselves will naturally project genuine confidence. This can look like sticking firm to their price points or demonstrating confidence in their ability to achieve specific outcomes for your business.
Confidence also lends itself to adaptability. People who are confident in who they are and what they’re capable of are more likely to be open-minded to feedback on improvement, which is essential for any medical writing project to succeed.
Lastly, look for a freelance medical writer with good communication skills from the very beginning. Do they communicate clearly about their availability? Do they respond within a reasonable time frame? Are they open about anything preventing them from doing so?
Particularly in the age of remote work, communication is critical to a good workflow and good working relationships, so look for someone who’s a strong communicator.
A Strong Portfolio and Client Recommendations
If you’ve got a good impression of someone you’d like to work with, it’s time to back that gut feeling up with some hard evidence. This means looking into your potential medical writer’s work. Ask for work samples or a portfolio if they still need to supply one.
You may also look for testimonials. Many freelancers, myself included, have case studies or testimonials on their websites. You can also ask a prospective collaborator about their past work experiences or if they’d be willing to provide referrals from past clients. This is less common with freelancers, but it never hurts to ask.
Are You Ready to Hire Your Next Freelance Medical Writer?
With decades of experience in healthcare communications, I’ve written everything from healthcare PR materials to CME, whitepapers, and patient advocacy materials. If you’re looking for someone with expertise in a long list of therapeutic areas and expertise across several types of medical writing, it’s safe to say you’ve found your medical writer. Book a chat, and let’s talk about your upcoming writing needs!
My name is Rachel Pascal. I’m an accomplished and versatile freelance medical and health writer with more than a decade of experience writing content to educate healthcare professionals, empower patients, communicate research findings, and raise brand + disease awareness.
- Click CONTACT above to drop me a line
- Read some samples in my writing portfolio
- Check out my latest blog about how to write effective reports for patient advocacy group meetings.
