LIVE BOOT CAMP · LIMITED TO 4 STUDENTS
Learn pharma copywriting by doing
A live, 4-session course taking you through a real-world pharmaceutical advertising assignment—from creative kickoff to final approval.
What does a pharma copywriter do?
At the intersection of science, creativity, and advertising sits pharmaceutical copywriting.
You’ll help pharma marketing teams inform healthcare professionals and patients about their medicines. But you’ll need to know how to do it in a highly-regulated environment.
That changes the job, and makes the people who can do it more valuable.
You need to know:
How to write
How to work off a creative brief
How to read clinical data
Support claims with references
Annotate your work
Respond to Med/Legal/Regulatory comments
Move your projects through an agency
These are the basics you need to start doing the job.
One job. Start to finish.
Here’s a little secret: When I got started in pharma advertising, I had no idea what I was doing. I learned everything I know by doing the job.
So that’s how you’re going to learn, because it’s the best way to make the connections you need to cement your understanding.
We’ll take an assignment through a typical job flow process:
KICK OFF
FIRST DRAFT
THE REVIEW CYCLE (CREATIVE / INTERNAL / CLIENT REVIEW)
ROUTING
REFERENCING & ANNOTATING
MLR (Medical-Legal-Regulatory) REVIEW
FINAL APPROVAL
Along the way, you’ll learn which skills you need for when.
What we’ll cover
Session 1: Start up the job
First, we'll do an overview of how pharmaceutical advertising works and where the copywriter fits. Then your first job kicks off.
You'll learn:
How pharma advertising agencies work with brand teams
The basic regulatory environment
Who does what at an agency
How to read a creative brief
How to understand the objective of an assignment
Where to find the information you need
How to start your first manuscript
You'll leave with your first assignment: Draft V1.
Session 2: Develop the work
Next we’ll work through creative review, internal reviews and basics of taking comments and routing.
The first draft is just the beginning, you’ll take your manuscript through the internal review process and routes, learning how to:
Review and interpret comments
Incorporate feedback
Edit and tighten copy
Work with Copy, Art, Account and Editorial
Proof your work
Compare old and new rounds
Maintain version control
Prepare a clean round for client presentation
You’ll finish this session with a revised client ready version of the job.
Session 3: Support the work
The we’ll go through the process of client review, referencing, and annotating the work.
Following client review, the job comes back with a new set of comments. You’ll learn how to work through them, revise the piece, and prep it for MLR review:
How to interpret client feedback
What promotional claims need support
How to find the right source
How to use Prescribing Information as a source
Know how to navigate a clinical reference
How to reference and annotate promotional copy
Learn to annotate a layout
Prepare the job for MLR submission
You’ll have an annotated, reference submission for MLR review.
Session 4: Final Approval
Last step is to satisfy MLR comments and finalize the job for AFD (Approved for Distribution).
Following MLR review, you’re in the home stretch. You’ll work through a realistic set of comments and clean the job for final approval and release:
What Medical, Legal, and Regulatory reviewers are looking for
How to interpret their comments
Revising claims while maintaining your communication point
Updating references and annotations
Final proofing and routing clean
Final approval
What happens next: production, development
What happens to you manuscript and layout after approval?
Not only have you experience the lifecycle of a job, you have a sample to share with recruiters for a gig.
What you’ve learned
By the end of the boot camp, you’ll understand the basic working skills of a pharma copywriter. You’ll be able to:
Write on strategy
Understand the assignment before you start writing
Proof and edit
Know how to clean your own work before others see it
Find sources
Know where to look for the information to support your copy
Reference and annotate
Connect promotional claims to the evidence supporting them
Understand job flow
Know where your project is, where it’s going next, and how to keep track
Present your work
Explain what you did, why you did it, and how it answers the ask
Who this course is for?
The boot camp is designed for anyone who wants to get started in pharmaceutical advertising.
Whether your just starting out or looking to make the switch for a more stable, higher income potential job:
Aspiring copywriters
Near-term college grads
Consumer writers interested in healthcare advertising
Science and healthcare graduates interested in a creative career
Junior copywriters on the job who haven’t received any formal training
You don’t need any prior pharmaceutical advertising experience. You should be comfortable writing, learning new information, and getting feedback on your work.
Meet your instructor
Hi, I’m Will Beck, a pharmaceutical copywriter and creative director with over 25 years of experience in the industry.
I've spent a career developing pharmaceutical and healthcare advertising. I’ll give you a real perspective on what it’s like working with creative teams, account teams, strategists, clients, MLR teams.
At different points in my career, I’ve managed up to 30 MM in brand billing with a staff of 40 people. I’ll help you understand what the boss is looking for and how you can be successful.
It can be difficult to break into pharma advertising, because it's hard to learn how the job actually works until someone gives you the job.
This course will help you close that gap, and get up and running.
My goal isn’t to teach you everything with this course, it’s to give you the core skill set you’ll need to get started.
Ready to work your first pharma job?
LearnPharmaCopywriting Boot Camp
4 live Zoom sessions
Next cohort: 10/20, 10/22, 10/27, 10/29
[DAY/TIME]
Tuition: $999 $295 Founder’s Cohort
Your enrollment includes:
Four live instructor-led sessions
Complete simulated job materials
Creative brief
Product information
Clinical reference materials
Client and MLR review exercises
Working manuscripts and layouts
Course reference materials
Questions?
Do I need pharmaceutical advertising experience?
No. The course is designed as an introduction to doing the job.
Do I need a science degree?
No. You need to be willing to work with scientific and medical information, but the course does not assume an advanced scientific background.
Is the course live?
Yes. All four sessions are taught live via Zoom.
What if I miss a session?
Sessions will be recorded so you can review that way.
Will I have work I can use in my portfolio?
You’ll have the work you complete as an example of your work + extra assignments you can finish on your own.
Not ready for this session?
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