I began my career in medical copywriting over two and a half years ago, delving into an industry I never expected to be part of – advertising. It’s easy to assume that advertising is all about pretty pictures and showy words, but there’s far more depth to the process than meets the eye, especially in healthcare.
From a young age, I always loved writing. I started writing fiction books when I was still at school and have continued writing these further into adulthood. After school, I attended the University of Reading and studied pharmacy, graduating with a master’s degree in 2016. However, I knew my passion lay in writing and after my training year decided to self-publish my book series. It was also at this point I began to investigate careers where I could use both my love of writing and my pharmacy background, combining my two passions into one. Whilst I assumed that medical writing could be a good fit for me, I was encouraged to instead explore medical copywriting by a family friend who had been working within the industry for twenty-five years. I was offered an internship at a medical advertising agency and progressed through to become a healthcare copywriter, and recently I’ve joined a much larger agency as a medical copywriter.
One of the most common questions I get asked is ‘what does a copywriter do?’ Most people assume it involves copying someone else’s work, but ‘copy’ actually relates to the words that are created when you’re writing, to encourage action in a reader. A good example is mailing list emails – every word on those is ‘copy’ and has been specially crafted to get you - the reader - to carry out an action, whether it be for awareness, to sign up for something or to visit a website. It may seem subtle, but every bit of copywriting has a purpose, and that is to encourage you to do something.
So, what about medical copywriting? A medical copywriter’s job is to create clear and compelling messages that can help to educate, raise awareness, or sell a healthcare product. From websites to detail aids, email blasts and white papers, the requirements of what needs to be written are broad. But why is medical copywriting so important? To open the eyes of the healthcare professional stuck in their prescribing habits. To break down the barriers between a GP and their patients. So those suffering with conditions no one is talking about finally get their voices heard. Because at the heart of worthwhile medical copywriting is one thing: people.
To be a medical copywriter, it is necessary to have a strong scientific background, especially since a lot of medical copywriting does involve understanding the science and being able to extract and utilise it. I still use my pharmacy background daily and seeing the other side of that world is fascinating, especially since I can use my prior interactions with patients to really emphasise with how they’re feeling, and bring that into my writing. For example, writing detail aids for new medicines requires me to use my background in pharmacy to really understand the science and advantages to patients, writing about the unmet needs in the area, the efficacy and safety data, as well as dosage information to show the advantages the drug can have on a patient’s quality of life.
That empathy stretches into more creative projects where you have to really understand how people feel and how to make a difference to their lives. I was involved in the creation of the ‘HappySkin’ brand – clothing designed with a special polymer to helps children with eczema feel more comfortable. It involved creating a new brand from scratch, developing their website and promotional materials. For World Immunisation Week I also worked on the social media-driven campaign ‘Mums with a Message’ which involved sending personalised clothing tags to new mothers, advising them to get their children vaccinated.
There’s a saying in the agency world that ‘everyone’s a copywriter’, but in fact a lot of people underestimate what is necessary to write good copy. Of course, everyone can write, and write to persuade, but copywriting is both a science and an art. It can be both formulaic and creative. It’s not just about writing whichever words convey the message, it’s about crafting every word specifically in its right place to fulfil a purpose. It takes hard work to ensure the way you’re writing your message is the best way possible, and the one that’ll action the most results. Because if your words aren’t strong enough to sell on their own, then you’ve missed the whole point of why they needed to be written in the first place.
There’s a quote in the film ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ that goes like this: "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world" which I believe completely sums up exactly what copywriting is about. Copywriting is about encouraging change, and medical copywriting is about encouraging change that can help lives. That’s why I’m a medical copywriter: because there are people out there who need my words to be their voice, and that’s how I can change their world.
Comments
If you are a British Pharmacological Society member, please
sign in to post comments.