Kiki gets talking to Ana Reisdorf about transitioning to a Freelance Health Writer as a Nutrition Professional

You’re going to love this episode if...

You’re a Health Professional who yearns to take your passion for writing and sharing research to help people and in turn have the job of your dreams. This week Kiki is joining Ana Reisdorf, based in her fun hometown of Nashville, to hear about her 14 years of experience as a Dietitian and building her career as a Freelance Health Writer to inspire any of you with the same dream.

Ana’s story of becoming a Freelance Health Writer

Ana was a Dietitian who had a varied career but writing always called to her. She tells Kiki that her first thought was to write a book or get published in a magazine, but she didn’t know where to start. So, in 2012, she went on an exploratory life mission to Brazil to figure out what she was going to do. Whilst there she connected with another Dietitian who was writing for LiveStrong and writing articles for what’s called a content mill. Basically, websites that churn out super cheap content. She decided to sign up with the same content mill and started getting paid to write. Even at $25 per article, she was so excited to write.

Wow, I’m a paid writer.

— Ana Reisdorf

After coming back from Brazil, she carried on writing, one article turned to two, to three, to four. Her client base grew until she was able to build her own content marketing agency with six writers working for her.

Do you need a passion for writing to succeed?

Ana thinks so, “I think to some extent, you have to love the process of writing. I love this work, because, while I do enjoy writing, what I really enjoy is the freedom that it provides. You can write at 2 am, or you can write at 3 pm. I like the flexibility of not having to be tied down to patients or schedules or anything like that. That's what I really like about it.”

What are the opportunities to get into freelance writing?

Thankfully there are actually lots of opportunities to get paid to write. According to Ana, Google really wants articles in the health and nutrition space to be written by experts. They don't want to promote content in that area that is not written by an authoritative person and that's becoming more and more true over time. So, the opportunity for any health professional to write is extremely high, and there are companies willing to pay big money for this service because it helps improve their search rankings.

What would be the first step in actually finding one of these clients that will pay you to write?

There are a lot of different places you can start, Ana suggests:

Write some sample articles or blog posts because any potential client will want to see a sample.

• Write about topics that you feel comfortable writing about and show your authority on the subject.
• Apply to freelance websites like Upwork or Problogger, which have lots of writing jobs to start you off.
• Once you get into a rhythm and understand your process and are comfortable writing, reach out to companies that you would like to work with whether they are a health brand, a supplement brand, a food brand, or anyone you find interesting.

What Ana is saying is that just put yourself out there and find the opportunities that interest you. It is so accessible which is really exciting for any Healthcare Professional looking to get into freelance healthcare writing.

What type of writing can you expect to be doing as a Healthcare Professional?

With the digital world being so huge, you can expect to be writing blogs and articles for websites, email opt-ins, and newsletters. Brochures are another huge area with companies coming out with new food products or supplements that need brochures to sell their products. Other opportunities could be long-form content such as case studies or reports.

Are there any resources or courses for people who want to build their skills or best practices for writing?

For Ana, practice is the best thing you can do. Keep writing and keep reading. Read other online articles in the healthcare sector and find your own style. Another top tip is to write in blocks. Have you heard of the Pomodoro method? You focus for 25 minutes then take a break. This focussed time purely on your task is a great way to get things done.

Connect with Ana

As with all our wonderful podcast guests, Ana would love for you to get in touch if you have any questions. Just go to her website, Instagram or LinkedIn to say hello.

That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed the podcast and don’t forget to subscribe so you get alerted when our next episode drops!

P.S

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