8 reasons why medical writers need blogs and websites

In today’s world, having your own web presence is essential.  If you do not have online presence these days, you might as well be invisible.

1. Showcase your skills

Since you may write and edit confidential documents, you may want to have a forum to display your non-confidential work; to showcase your medical and scientific writing skills.

2. Showcase your passions

Even though you are a medical writer, your blog does not have to be about writing.  Pick any topic you feel passionate about.

3. Personal development

You can use the website to facilitate your personal development as a communicator during the age when paper, printed journals, and books have been replaced-to a large extent-by electrons, PDFs, and tablets.

4. Advance your career

You can use your blog or website to advance your career, build your own brand, enhance your credibility, and to expand your professional and social networks.

5. Market your skills

Blogging may also be a very valuable marketing tool for freelance medical writers.  Search engines, such as Google, love blogs because the pages are frequently updated.  High ranking in searches will drive more readers to your website and attract new clients for you medical‑writing business.

6. Enhance your identity

When you own your personal website, you can print the domain address on your business cards, add it to your email signature, and post it on your LinkedIn profile.  Your own website gives you identity, visibility, credibility, and status.

7. Stand out

A standard cookie-cutter Facebook page or LinkedIn profile may not provide enough features and flexibility for your purposes.  However, WordPress provides more opportunities for you to stand out.  Thanks to WordPress, an attractive website is now within your reach if you are willing to invest a fraction of your time-and little or no money at all.

8. Expand and grow

WordPress is now the world’s most popular web publishing tool; being able to use it is becoming a valuable skill.  By building your website on WordPress, you will own the content.  You can take the website to nearly any hosting provider and continue to build on and expand the content over many years to come.

Do you have your own website or blog? Share it in the comments below.

Jukka Hartikka made a career transition into clinical research and medical writing a few years ago. Inspired by online courses on WordPress, Jukka recently created his own website which will allow him to venture into the exciting world of blogging–whenever time allows.