by Michelle Guillemard
Describing what your medical writing business does in 20-30 seconds harder than it seems.
Having a clearly-defined elevator pitch
Your elevator pitch also plays an important role in helping you to achieve your business goals – this is particularly important in the medical writing industry, where business offerings overlap and clients can be confused by the variety of similar offerings.
What’s an elevator pitch?
A short, convincing spiel that describes what you do in a compelling way, lasting no longer than your average elevator ride – 20-30 seconds, or 1-2 sentences.
Does your medical writing business already have an elevator pitch?
It’s okay if it doesn’t. Mine didn’t for a long time.
I’m a rambler at heart, so I know how hard it is to be succinct in conversation. Give me a pen and paper and I’m able to slash unnecessary words to the nines, but when quizzed (in an elevator) then my response could last thirty floors.
“Well, I’m a writer….but I specialise in health and medicine. So I work with clients who need health or medical writing and copywriting for websites about anything to do with marketing, conditions, health topics – oh, but I can also provide white papers, medical journalism, literature searches, email newsletters, help clients with their healthcare marketing challenges – and I’m technical, so I can write code in html, CSS and edit images…but I’m also a journalist, so, in a nutshell, anything to do with health, medicine and digital, really!”
After months of producing this incessant babbling when quizzed about my work, I realised something.
If I couldn’t explain what my freelance medical writing business did in a more succinct manner, I didn’t have a hope in hell of convincing potential clients that I could provide a reliable, credible and professional service.
Plus, I began to think that I wasn’t 100% sure of what I was actually offering. Was I a health journalist, writer, copywriter, web designer, WordPress whiz, or was I offering all of the above?
Was there a neat way of explaining what I did?
I knew I needed to get more specific about my medical writing business model.
Be specific…be-be specific
Firstly, I set about refining my business goals. This was a great way for me to get clarity on exactly what it was I wanted to specialise in – as well as how I wanted to communicate my business offering to others.
When I’d finished refining, I took a look at the health copywriting on my website, which I realised was a little inconsistent. I quickly went about standardising it, based on my newly-crafted elevator pitch ideas and the details I’d decided I wanted to focus on.
Something else that’s great about precision wording online: it’s helpful for Google searches. So, the more specific and targeted your web content can be, the better.
What if you can’t be specific?
You might be an amazing therapist who specialises in pregnancy as well as general women’s health – two massive areas of health. How can you whittle down all your fantastic experience into a simple elevator pitch without sounding vague, boring and generalist?
Plus, anyone who’s looked into keyword research in both of those areas will know that both are virtual minefields attracting thousands of local and global searches.
Pregnancy can include pre and postnatal health as well as fertility and miscarriage, and women’s health can include anything to do with PMS, stress, hormonal problems as well as general health.
To be specific, you need to uncover what makes you unique
Find your unique selling point. I’ve written about this before. It’s your number one way to sell yourself, and you can do this through your voice. Your voice isn’t just language and tone: it’s a combination of details that reveal your true identity.
Find it, and make sure it radiates throughout your elevator pitch. Because a pitch is exactly that. A pitch. It’s not called an elevator sentence, or an elevator monologue. A pitch is the presentation of an idea that convinces the listener it’s worth their time.
Remember: your offering is not your goal
For medical writing businesses just starting out, great minds always advise thinking big and starting small. So while your elevator pitch can’t say that you’re the most popular writer in your area, goals that you’re working towards can help shape your business offering and narrow your focus.
Does your medical writing business have an elevator pitch? Share it below.
Image credit: © Daniel L. Balogh | Dreamstime.com
