Specialisation, positioning, and growth: A few reflections after the ‘Ask Me Anything’ session

Yesterday, I hosted a subscriber-only Ask Me Anything on specialisation, positioning, and growth in medical translation. So, this edition is a little different because, instead of focusing on one single topic from my side, I wanted to build on the questions, concerns, and reflections that emerged during that session.

Different situations, similar questions

Some people were just starting out. Some were restarting. Some were trying to move into medical writing. Some were trying to get more established in medical translation. Others already had years of experience behind them, but were still wrestling with questions around rates, clients, positioning, visibility, and what to do next.

 So yes, the situations were different. But the underlying questions were often (unsurprisingly) close.

That was actually one of the reasons why, before opening the floor to live questions, I structured the first part of the session around a few broad themes instead of moving from one isolated question to the next: specialisation and professional education, marketing and client acquisition, business operations and positioning, and growth and career longevity.

On specialisation and building direction

One of the strongest threads was specialisation. Not in the simplistic sense of “pick a niche, and everything will magically fall into place,” but in the more real sense of trying to work out where to focus, how specific to be, and how to build a path that makes sense.

The choice is not only between being a generalist and becoming an ultra-niche expert. There is a lot in between.

That was especially relevant in the questions from people without a life sciences background, or from those trying to move into medical writing. “Feeling ready” is not really the best benchmark. A better question is: what kind of work do I want to do, and what knowledge do I need to build in order to do that work well and responsibly?

Sometimes that means translation training, yes. But often it means going beyond the translation world and looking directly at the subject matter itself to address knowledge gaps, whether that is pharmacology, clinical research, regulatory affairs, or another area.

On visibility, credibility, and proof of fit

Another big theme was visibility: how do I prove myself in a field where I cannot simply put half my work on a website? NDAs, confidentiality, copyright restrictions, agency workflows... all of that makes the idea of a traditional portfolio much less straightforward than people sometimes pretend.

That is why I keep coming back to case studies. In many cases, they are far more realistic and useful. They let you show the kind of client, the type of text, the challenge involved, the reasoning behind your decisions, and the value you brought, without disclosing anything you should not.

We also talked about publicly available materials, volunteer projects, and carefully chosen sample work as ways of building proof of fit when experience is still limited.

On clients, outreach, and making marketing part of the job

From there, it was very natural that the conversation moved into client acquisition.

A lot of people are asking specific (difficult) questions: how do I find direct clients? What do I say to pharmaceutical companies? How do I make time for marketing when there is already too much to do? How do I communicate value without sounding artificial or self-important?

Many people try to improve outreach before they feel clear on the foundation. If you are not yet clear on what you do, who it is for, and why it matters, outreach tends to feel awkward, vague, or forced.

The same applies to visibility more broadly. It helps to stop treating marketing as something that only happens when work dries up. It is part of the work. Relationship-building is part of the work. Making space for those things is part of the work too.

On value, positioning, and what clients are actually buying

This is also linked to one of the points I kept returning to during the session: clients are not only buying words.

They are buying judgment. They are buying context, risk awareness, audience awareness, and the ability to make informed decisions in high-stakes content.

That is one of the reasons why I think medical translators increasingly need to present themselves not just as translators in the narrowest sense, but as medical communication specialists and language consultants. Not as a fancy label. As a more accurate reflection of the work.

That thinking also shaped the discussion around pricing and service structure. For direct clients, hourly or project-based pricing often makes much more sense than per-word pricing, especially when the work goes beyond straightforward translation and includes adaptation, coordination, feedback, multiple deliverables, or revisions.

But that only works well when the scope is clear, and the proposal is clear. Otherwise, it quickly becomes messy.

And yes, peer revision came up too. My answer there was simple: when I work with direct clients, I include it. Not as an optional extra, but as part of a professional workflow.

On unpredictability, AI, and staying relevant

The final thread running through the session was really about sustainability.

Unpredictability came up a lot. So did reduced work from agencies, lower rates, disappearing clients, and the growing pressure around AI.

I do not think there is a magic answer to that. But I do think it becomes much harder to navigate when your positioning is unclear, your client mix is fragile, or your value is still being described in ways that undersell what you actually do.

That is why I keep seeing these topics not as separate issues, but as connected ones:

Deeper specialisation supports better marketing. Better marketing supports stronger positioning. Stronger positioning supports more resilience and longevity.

Final thought

So that is probably the main thing I hope everyone took away from the session.

Not that people need more motivation. Not that they need another generic list of tips. More often, they need clearer thinking around where to focus, how to describe what they do, how to make better business decisions, and how to build something that feels more coherent and sustainable.

And in many ways, that is also where the Medical Translation Mentoring programme begins. Not with formulas, but with these kinds of questions: where to focus, how to position yourself more clearly, how to communicate your value, and how to make more intentional decisions about your next steps.

If that is where you are right now, just a quick reminder that the 2026 edition of Medical Translation Group Mentoring starts on 30 April, and registrations are open until 28 April.