A Diary of the Lessons I've Learned as a Healthcare Copywriter
A few lessons I've learned working for healthcare brands.
Hi, I’m Ben Watkins 👋 Thanks for joining another edition of La Vie Ben Rose. Every week, I unravel copywriting examples from the most recognized brands.
As a 5-year-old boy, I never dreamed of becoming a healthcare copywriter.
A doctor? Sure, that would be cool. Even a firefighter sounded cool. I didn’t even learn to write a coherent sentence until my late teenage years, so copywriting was not at the forefront of my mind.
At last, as a 35-year-old, I’ve worked with awesome brands like DexCare, Tomorrow Health, Laguna Health, Ayin Health Solutions, and Sycle on emails, landing pages, and websites.
Of course, the road to healthcare was far from easy. And yet, I’m still here, doing the work, consuming loads of coffee.
My path to becoming a copywriter was perilous. I’ve survived many lessons along the way. So why not share it with you?
Healthcare Is Only Complicated When You Don’t Understand It
Whenever I work with a new company on a new project, I feel this overwhelming sense of chaos entering my eyeballs into my brain.
It’s only when I start diving into the marketing material, like pitch decks, one-pagers, interview recordings, persona classifications, and demo recordings, that I feel a sense of relief.
It reminds me of my 7-year-old and 9-year-old boys, who just started playing for a basketball team for the first time. They felt overwhelmed, not knowing the flow of the game or when to dribble, pass, or shoot.
They felt defeated and intimidated in the first game. I encouraged them to keep playing because we all start somewhere.
The more they played, the more you could see their confidence grow. That’s all we can ask of ourselves: be confidence, show up, and put your best forward.
That’s how I approach healthcare.
There’s a reason a lot of copywriters and marketers run away from healthcare — it’s complicated and messy. But I’ve learned to love that process because I’ve made that process, and I’m diving into it with confidence and experience.
Healthcare Emails Are Still Underrated. By a Lot
Every time I’m on a call with a healthcare founder, I ask them about their emails. And every time, I’m shocked that they don’t segment or build out flowcharts.
Email is still the most powerful marketing strategy. When you write emails that follow these principles, your audience engages with your brand:
Segment your audience based on clicks or no clicks
Know where your audience is coming from (whitepaper or lead magnet?)
Write emails that bring audiences from unaware to most aware
Know the personas you’re targeting in your emails
Don’t treat long sales cycles as unchangeable standard
I’ve done this for companies like Sycle and DexCare, helping drive MQLs to SQLs. I’ve worked with sales teams to write better demo sequences.
You also have to consider the call to action, design placement, and whether your subject lines are actually getting opened. More importantly, you need to know if your deliverabilty is hurting your emails.
Great emails from understanding the journey of your audience. You can create an email strategy that looks like a tangled spider web or a beautiful flowchart.
The Best Messaging Is Rooted In Market Research
Market research is so underdeveloped across industries, especially in healthcare.
When you do your research on your audience of patients, payors, clinics, or whoever you’re targeting, you need to know the voice of the customer.
The voice of the customer is about understanding how your audience feels, what they think, what they think of your competitors, and how they actually talk. You have to listen to demo call after demo call. Do interviews. Talk to the founder and sales teams.
This is the hardest thing to do in healthcare, at least for me. Because it’s not about one specific audience; it’s about serving multiple audiences in different parts of the journey.
It’s taken me forever to master this process. A process that is not my favorite part of whenever I take on a new project.
Keep Perfecting Your Craft
I’m always noticing a new shiny penny.
Maybe I should start a course. Maybe I should teach new copywriters. Maybe I should try to be a cool influencer that gets million-dollar sponsorships.
All that sounds cool. The truth is, a lot of it becomes a distraction from what I’m really doing — helping healthcare companies develop data-driven messaging in their emails, landing pages, and websites.
Working as a healthcare copywriter, building a micro-agency for healthcare brands is always challenging.
I’m also still here, improving my craft, and having fun along the way.
When you're ready, here are a few ways I can help you 👇
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Thanks for reading!
Ben Watkins