Why So Many Talented Medical Writers and Editors Struggle to Get Clients

You know how to communicate complex science. But explaining why a client should hire you can feel much harder.

That’s because marketing is a skill most freelance medical writers and editors were never taught.

Medical writing and editing are about informing and educating. Marketing requires a different mindset. It’s about helping clients understand the problems you solve, the value you provide, and why you’re the right person to help them.

For many freelancers, that feels uncomfortable. And when you’re trying to figure out where to find clients, what to say, and which marketing strategies are worth your time, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

Marketing coaching can help you avoid years of trial and error. It can help you:

Cure imposter syndrome
Conquer procrastination
Recognize the value of your experience
Create marketing messages and tools that attract the right clients
Develop the confidence to market your business consistently.

The result is a clearer path to building a stable, successful freelance business—faster and with far less frustration than trying to figure everything out on your own.

Avoid Trial and Error

Maybe you’ve spent hours trying different marketing tactics and wondering why nothing seems to work. Or maybe you’ve been putting off marketing because you don’t know where to begin.

Rather than spending months or years experimenting, making avoidable mistakes, or wondering what to do next, a coach will provide personalized guidance, honest feedback, and practical advice you can trust.

“I tried for years to figure out marketing. With marketing coaching from Lori De Milto, I got the help I needed to make my marketing effective and efficient,” says Heidi Sawyer, PharmD.

For nearly 20 years, Heidi Sawyer, PharmD, built a successful freelance business, Formulary Resources, LLC without doing much marketing. Then the market changed. As larger companies entered her specialty, AMCP and global value dossiers and P&T monographs, attracting new clients became harder.

With marketing coaching, Heidi created a LinkedIn profile and website content that clearly showed clients her value and learned how to make networking comfortable and effective by shifting her attitude from selling services to getting to know people.

With two new steady clients and a third that is likely to become a steady client, Heidi was on track for her highest-income year ever. Three more clients showed interest in working with Heidi but haven’t needed freelance help yet. To help Heidi with her increased workload and continue to expand her business, she has hired four subcontractors.

Lori has been a freelance medical writer since 1997 and a marketing teacher and coach since 2014.

Cure Imposter Syndrome

Many freelance medical writers and editors wrestle with imposter syndrome—a feeling of severe self-doubt and insecurity that doesn’t go away. A marketing coach can help you see your strengths.

When Jerm Day-Storms, PhD, MWC launched his freelance medical writing business, he had everything he needed to be successful. But he doubted himself and his ability to show the world what he could do.

“The tailored advice and encouragement I received helped me shift my mindset from questioning my abilities to recognizing and celebrating my strengths and potential,” says freelance medical writer Jeremy Day-Storms, PhD, MWC.

Through coaching, Jerm was able to voice his concerns and work through them in a safe space. After Jerm focused his freelance business and developed client-focused marketing to communicate his skills and expertise, his feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy went away.

In less than a year, Jerm got five ideal, steady, high-paying, clients. He now approaches his work with more confidence and a clear understanding of the value he brings to clients.

“The one-on-one coaching sessions helped clarify my goals and refine my marketing strategies,” says Jerm. “They offered tailored advice for my unique challenges. This personalized approach was crucial in developing a more focused and confident business strategy.”

Create Marketing that Attracts the Right Clients

Marketing coaching helps you focus on what matters most, so you can stop wondering what to do next and start making steady progress. Your coach will create a practical action plan based on your experience, your strengths, and the kind of freelance business you want to build.

That plan will include clarifying your services, identifying the clients who are the best fit for your background and expertise, and developing marketing messages that clearly communicate your value. You’ll use those messages to strengthen your LinkedIn profile, website, and outreach emails, while learning how to network in a way that builds genuine professional relationships and leads to future opportunities.

Like many freelance medical writers, Adrienne (Addie) Nagy worried that marketing was sleezy or salesy. Through marketing coaching, she learned that effective marketing focuses on communicating her value in helping client meet their needs.

“Lori’s honesty and insights have helped me refine my message and showcase my work in a way that feels authentic and true to who I am,” says Addie, owner of Wordsmith Medical Writing Solutions.

Addie needed to find new clients after work from her only client slowed down. With the help of a marketing coach, she clarified her message and developed marketing tools that showed clients her value.

The result was six new clients, most of whom gave her steady work and paid her what she was worth.

Heidi also appreciated the help refining her marketing messages and tools.

“I struggle with evaluating my own marketing work,” Heidi says. “I know something is off but can’t pinpoint it. When Lori helps me, I can see that the output is much better.”

As a “science person,” Kathy Adamson, DVM, had no idea how to find clients. She was so uncomfortable with being pushy that she almost didn’t become a freelance medical writer.

“Once I learned the way Lori approaches marketing, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I realized that I can market myself in a genuine, respectful, tactful way, confident that I am providing my clients with a service that will help them,” says Kathy, owner of KMA Medical & Veterinary Writing.

After refining her specialty to focus on the types of work best suited to her background and experience and identifying the clients that were most likely to hire her, Kathy used direct email and LinkedIn to build her business. “Marketing has become kind of fun—something I thought I would never say,” she says.

Boosting Your Confidence

Confidence influences how you present yourself and helps you attract the right clients. It comes from recognizing strengths you may have overlooked, knowing what to do and doing it consistently, and seeing that it works. A marketing coach helps you with all of these things.

Like many new freelance medical writers, Margaret Johnson, PhD, lacked confidence when she launched Mackenzie MedWrite shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Because she didn’t recognize the strength of her experience, she only had two low-paying clients and wasn’t making a living.

And like many new freelance medical writers, Margaret didn’t know much about medical writing. So she called herself a freelance medical writer. But medical writing includes many sub-specialties, and each one requires different knowledge and skills. Clients aren’t looking for someone who does everything.

They’re looking for someone who understands their type of work and can solve their specific problems.

After refining Margaret’s specialty to focus on her relevant experience and knowledge and the types of clients that were most likely to need her services, Margaret created marketing messages and tools to attract them.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Margaret got seven new high-paying clients, three of whom become steady clients. Most of these clients came from referrals from people she met at professional associations. The others came from LinkedIn.

“My confidence increased greatly, from 10% to 100%. Lori is a true expert who shares her knowledge generously,” says Margaret.

Kathy also boosted her confidence by working with a marketing coach. “My confidence in my ability to succeed as a freelancer skyrocketed after working with Lori,” she says.

Combatting Procrastination with Accountability

Finding time for marketing is a big challenge for many freelancers. When you’re busy with client projects, meeting your deadlines is your priority. Marketing gets pushed to tomorrow, then next week, and before you know it, your pipeline has started to dry up.

“I really appreciate you offering firm deadlines to help keep me accountable. It’s very easy to get caught up in client work and leave the unpaid, but necessary, work for “another time,” which inevitably never comes,” says Addie.

Knowing you’ll discuss your progress, review your marketing activities, and plan your next steps with your coach creates accountability that’s hard to achieve on your own. Also, you’ll build a consistent marketing routine that keeps your business visible and creates a steadier flow of opportunities.

“Without having a coach to hold me accountable, I would not be doing very well on my own to keep working on marketing,” adds Heidi.

Investing in Your Freelance Business

Building a freelance business alone is hard. A marketing coach can help you avoid years of trial and error, create marketing that attracts the right clients, and boost your confidence.

“The best way to succeed is to seek out people who are considered thought leaders and have mastered what I want to know,” says Addie. “Lori is the best marketing coach. She provided so much value it just blows me away.”

If you invest in marketing coaching, you’ll have a clear plan for attracting the right clients you can implement with confidence and a sustainable marketing system you can continue using to grow your freelance business.

“Marketing coaching really accelerated the growth of my business and set a good precedent for investing in my business,” says Heidi.

Marketing Coaching Options: An Eight-Week Online Course or a 12-Month Program

Both my course, Finding the Freelance Clients you Deserve, and my coaching program, Freelance Flow, are built for freelance medical writers and editors. And both combine my proven step-by-step marketing system with coaching.

Is Finding the Freelance Clients You Deserve Right for You?

Jerm, Margaret, and Kathy took Finding the Freelance Clients you Deserve, an eight-week online course that includes two coaching sessions and review of assignments to help you show clients your value in your marketing messages and tools. I offer the course three times a year: Winter, Spring, and Fall.

Email themightymarketer@comcast.net
Type Clients VIP in the subject

Is Freelance Flow Right for You?

Heidi and Addie participated in Freelance Flow, a 12-month coaching program for freelance medical writers and editors who want to build a stable, sustainable business. It’s part of a proven marketing system that will help you identify and attract the right clients by communicating your value clearly, focus your marketing on what works best, and market consistently.

If you want deeper support, more accountability, and faster progress than you’d get with an eight-week course, consider Freelance Flow.

The first step isn’t enrolling in Freelance Flow—it’s having a conversation.

During a free 30-minute virtual coaching session, we’ll discuss:

Where your freelance business is today
The marketing challenges you’re facing
Your goals for your business
Whether Freelance Flow is the right fit for you.

After our conversation, I’ll send you a brief written report that summarizes my recommendations, along with ideas you can use to strengthen your marketing. If Freelance Flow appears to be a good fit, I’ll also include additional information about the program so you can decide whether you’d like to move forward.

The coaching session is designed to help you gain clarity—not to pressure you into making a decision.

Apply for a free coaching session.

Learn More About Marketing Coaching

Content from The Mighty Marketer

From Too Much Competition to a Steady Pipeline of High-Value Work: Heidi Sawyer’s Story

How Jerm Finds His Ideal Freelance Clients on LinkedIn

The Proven Way Margaret Grew her Freelance Business in a Recession

How Kathy Turned Fear to Fun and Grew Her Freelance Business

Last updated August 14, 2026.

Lori De Milto is a freelance medical writer and marketing coach who has helped freelance medical writers and editors get the clients they deserve since 2014. Through her proven process, she teaches freelancers how to market with clarity and confidence so they can build stable, successful freelance businesses.