Science Writing Services: Benefits for Editors and Content Managers

Science writing services are designed to help publishing companies with editing and content management for their online publications. The freelance revolution in the last two years, clubbed with the Great Resignation induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an exponential growth in the expert economy. Subject matter experts and specialists are now more easily accessible for independent consulting work than they were before.

The demand for science writers has increased in the digital publishing space, as content continues to be the driver of visibility and brand credibility online. Building a pool of on-demand science writers hosts a wealth of benefits for content managers and editors, who are always hard-pressed for time. Typically, the person in charge of hiring writers or sourcing articles for a publication include the:

• Editor-in-Chief
• Content Manager
• Senior Content Marketing Manager
• Managing Editor
• Editorial Director

… and so on. But why should editors consider freelance writers and how do they benefit?

Benefits of Freelance Science Writing Services for Editors

Publish Top-Quality Content Sourced From Experts

Good science writing helps editors publish top-quality content by ensuring that science content is engaging and audience-appropriate. Editors need science writers who will research science concepts thoroughly, accurately communicate science topics to readers in a way that relates to their interests. Based on the target audience, publications will need to take on a different tone of voice. An article in Nature, for example, which targets scientists, may not read the same way as an article on the same topic in the BBC, which is targeted at the layperson. STEM publishers like Jove and Technology Networks will need writers who can develop in-depth content about laboratory protocols and techniques. Working with freelance experts can help you pick the most suitable candidate with the necessary expertise for your project.

Accessing science writing services from freelancers also helps you get well-researched and fact-checked articles from established writers and reputable sources. During the pandemic for example, publishers were struggling to find accurate information on vaccine development and clinical trials status. Kolabtree provided a ready-to-use content bank of articles that publishers could use as a resource.

Avoid the Blinking-Cursor Syndrome

Content managers and editors often take on the task of writing articles and developing content themselves, especially in smaller organizations. However, this often leads to the blinking-cursor syndrome, as editors struggle to manage producing content alongside management and distribution. For a science publication that covers a wide range of topics, it is also not practical for a handful of people to be creating all the content from secondary research. Working with qualified subject experts who have authority in their domain is a great way of sourcing verified and reliable content.

Science writers can work to understand science publications’ audience, topics of interest, length requirements, deadlines and style guidelines.

Fill Gaps in the Editorial Calendar

Editors need science writers who will provide science article ideas that are related to upcoming science topics in their publications’ content calendars. For example, content in a specific month may be tied to a larger campaign like showcasing #womeninSTEM, and editors might want to source interviews with women scientists or report on women leaders of research projects and initiatives. Outsourcing this work to a retainer will help reduce the workload on an editor as a freelancer can take it on as a separate responsibility. Science news often reports on the latest clinical breakthroughs and discoveries. However not all publication will have in-house expertise across domains who can write about these topics. While planning the editorial calendar, the editor or content manager can set aside budget and allocate resources correctly so that they are able to publish the best content on a specific topic.

Build a Content Bank in Various Formats

Science writers can not only write articles but can also help you create new content and repurpose existing content into:

-Educational videos
-Social media posts
-eBooks and white papers
-Scientific Q&As
-Webinars

Science writers with a scientific background and a PhD can help improve research communication by making it accessible to not just researchers but also to a non-scientific audience.

Boost Your Credibility and Search Engine Rankings

In the eyes of search engines like Google, how well your content is written is #1 priority, but also who writes your content matters. According to Google’s E-A-T guidelines, your content is assigned a score based on expert level, authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your article. Sourcing science and research articles from qualified scientists helps your content rank higher than similar articles written by non-experts. It’s essential to have an author bio that accompanies each article, along with a note on the reviewer where applicable. Websites with a heavy focus on medicine, like Mayo Clinic or Healthline, will always put out content reviewed by a medical professional. This also helps Google understand the credibility of the content and decide what best to show to users searching for information on those topics.

There are many benefits for editors who hire freelance science writers instead of full time science staff members or interns to write science articles. Freelance science writers have science degrees or science publication experience, which is beneficial for science editors who want to strengthen the scientific credibility of their science publications. Freelance science writers can provide editors with science articles quickly, because they’re available on demand based on their own flexible schedules.

At Kolabtree, we provide access to a large pool of science writers with PhDs across subjects like genetics & genomics, immunology, cancer research, molecular biology and more. They provide science writing services on a per-project or hourly basis. View Kolabtree’s freelance science writers here>>