A lover of words from way back…

I’ve always loved words. As a child, all I wanted to do was read books and play Scrabble. I was about five or six when I decided I’d like to write for a living.

When it was time to head off to university I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts and graduated with Majors in Journalism, Communication Studies and Australian Literature. But I didn’t want to enter the cut-throat world that journalism seemed to be. Instead I used my writing and communication skills in a variety of roles at: 

• the Cancer Council of Victoria
• a Victorian public hospital
• Melbourne and Monash Universities.

The things I loved to do most were creating publications, writing newsletters, and writing web copy (back before SEO was really a ‘thing’). 

When I had my son, I decided to take a break from working. And two and a half years later my daughter came along. Life with a baby and a toddler became extremely busy. But as much as I loved it I was restless, and wanted something a bit more challenging than wrangling two kids into car seats and coordinating nap times with the kinder run.

How I fell stumbled into the health arena

I came across a job ad for a ‘Work-at-Home Writer’. I got the job and started writing health copy for a corporate wellness company. I loved the work, became really good at it, and stayed with them for 3½ years.

During that time I learned a lot about: 

• key health concerns facing the Australian population
• how to write for the health and wellness industry
• how to be a great Australian health writer
• how to turn complex medical gobbledygook into digestible health copy
• where and how to research to ensure my copy was credible
• how to read boring scientific studies, which actually aren’t that boring.

When this part-time role was made redundant I was offered a full-time job in the office. But I politely turned it down because I wanted to work and still be there for my kids.

Guess what I did next?

The first, exciting but naive step 

Yep! I launched my freelance copywriting business.

In the early days I didn’t even have a website. I didn’t even call myself a copywriter. All I had were a Facebook page and two sets of business cards. (The first run had a typo on them.)

Referrals trickled in slowly from family, friends and friends of friends. But my first breakthrough came when I successfully pitched an article for Fitness Australia. It was my first byline. I was even called a ‘Health Writer’. It was thrilling. I ended up writing a few more articles for them, and slowly began building my health brand portfolio, which included a number of national organisations. But I continued writing for industries outside of the health sector.

A new Australian health writer brand is born 

There came a time when I could no longer deny that writing health and medical copy was my true love (at least when it came to creating copy).

But I didn’t want to write just any health copy. It had to be credible and backed up by research. It also had to speak to patients with authority and empathy.

You see, I had experienced first-hand the damage (both physical and emotional) caused by being given incorrect health advice. This incorrect advice that was not grounded in scientific research led me to develop a weight problem, poor metabolism and compromised mental and emotional health. You can read more about my experience in my blog The real reason I have no time for bullsh*t health information. Fortunately, I am now healing from this damage. Unfortunately, incorrect and dangerous health information still does the rounds, and even more alarmingly, is promoted by celebrities, influencers and ‘wellness warriors’.  

I wanted to take a different approach. I wanted to write copy that consumers could not only rely on but also understand and use to change their lives for the better. I wanted to create health and medical content that would help and not harm the consumer.

So, I re-branded, and became The Melbourne Health Writer. I studied SEO in depth, built my own website (which began ranking on page 1 of Google), and wrote heaps of health content for small businesses, health institutions and national brands. 

While I’m incredibly proud to be crafting useful health messages that speak to end consumers, the piece I am most proud of is Immunotherapy Cancer Treatments: The European Perspective. This was an in-depth piece about immunotherapy drugs, the difficulty Australians have in affording them, and what we can do to increase affordability and access. Having family members affected by cancer, this was incredibly interesting and meaningful to write.

Remembering that patients are people…in a digital age

With digital health now playing a more involved role in health care in Australia, I’m even more excited to write health content that helps patients, their families and their carers navigate what can be an overwhelming and scary journey when dealing with a health condition.

This means ensuring the content is well-researched, draws on evidence-based, best-practice information, and is delivered in a way that supports, educates and empowers consumers.

Digital health, and its ability to electronically connect health providers to manage patient care, has many advantages. However, I believe we’re in danger of forgetting that patients and their families are real people often fearful or concerned about their diagnosis.

I’m committed to ensuring those who need quality healthcare content the most aren’t forgotten amid the excitement to digitalise many health practices.

If you want to deliver credible health care information that will truly help your consumers, get in touch. I think we’d be a great team.

Nerissa