As a manager or developer at a technology company, you know your technology best – from the inside out, from the initial concept to the final product or service. You have a well-deserved passion for the performance of your company. But it can be misplaced when it comes to marketing. Writers with experience in marketing and technology will understand your technology but have empathy for your customers. Freelance writers will deliver your message to your audience with accuracy, clarity, and enthusiasm.
Why technical marketing writers work with…
…incredibly advanced technology
Freelance writers can help you deliver a message to your customers that they understand and value.
I often have conversations with developers of technology products and services that go something like this: “This is great progress,” I said, “but what’s in it for the customer? Will the customer know it exists?”
The answer: “The customer doesn’t care, it’s completely invisible anyway. Isn’t that cool?”
Cool is great, functionality is important, but the first customer wants to know, “How is it good for me?” They want to hear the benefits – things they can see and touch, solutions to their problems. Freelance marketing writers with strong technical backgrounds are wary of the difference between features and benefits.
In any industry it is difficult to write about your company and your achievements: are you saying too much or too little, are you objective or disagreeable, are your statements too complex or too simple, are you missing a selling point? Technology and science companies hire professional writers to gain objectivity and creativity and to build better relationships with customers.
…highly educated and experienced customers
Customers of technology products and solutions often have a PhD or postgraduate degree in their field, or have decades of experience. Yet your product or service is new to them. No matter how specialized your customers are in their field, they are new to your field. They are also subject to the same restrictions as customers everywhere: they don’t have time to view seemingly unrelated or overly complex information. Technical writers with strong marketing credentials allow you to connect with and quickly understand customers with clear, accurate language.
…writing resources
Once an engineer came to me looking for a word that meant ‘cheap, efficient and innovative’. (No.) After struggling for hours on his computer, another technician spoke to me for 5 minutes, gave a clear, exciting description of technological progress and asked, “How do I write?” (I wrote down what he said and advised him to use those exact words.) When engineers want to be technical and marketing writers, they become writers. Writing takes them away from their passion and their vital role in the business.
Writing takes time. If marketing material is sitting on someone’s desk waiting to be written, reviewed and produced, it can’t work. Hiring a freelancer or contract writer with the right credentials is an efficient use of resources.
How do you choose a freelance writer?
What is the right certification for a writer working in the technical field? You’ll hire the best writers for your technology or science company if you follow these three rules:
View the author’s bio. Technical writers may not have marketing experience and vice versa. You need people who write and edit websites, newsletters, blogs, articles, success stories and white papers for tech companies. While these companies may not operate in your industry, the resume should demonstrate that the author understands both marketing and technology.
View the author’s portfolio. If you like what writers have written in the past, you probably like what writers have created for you.
Talk to references. You want to make sure the writers you hire are flexible (with changing deadlines and scope), reliable, and responsive to your needs.
Make sure the author has a process. What software does the author use, how is the documentation sent back and forth, how many review cycles are acceptable, and how open is the author to criticism and change?
