Technical writing is a lot more than just manuals and user guides. It’s a broad spectrum of written content, which can be anything from a schematic diagram to “how to” content.
Still, they all serve the same purpose: to make technical information easier to understand.
Technical writers are the unsung heroes of the industry (Yes, I just overpraised myself). Armed with their trusty thesaurus, understanding of the reader’s mindset, and extensive knowledge of grammar rules, they make complex ideas easy for their audience to understand.
If you want to become a technical writer or improve your existing skills, this guide will help you learn more about what technical writing is, what it involves, and how you can develop these skills.
What is Technical Writing?
Technical writing is the process of taking technical information and translating it into language that non-experts can understand. That information can be anything from how to use an app to how IoT in commercial transportation works.
Technically, anything that uses words to convey complex technical information could be considered technical writing, but the term is more commonly applied to blogs or eBooks that explain how to do something.
These forms of content are often created as part of a marketing strategy, engineering, or product design process, but they can also be for regulatory compliance.
Who is a Technical Writer?
A technical writer is someone who writes marketing material for technology companies as well as technical documents, such as manuals, instructions, user guides, or other types of documentation.
Most technical writers work in an environment such as engineering, IT, medical, or scientific research. They create documentation and other types of written content to help others use equipment or understand particular processes.
The technical writer’s job is to take complex information and make it easy to understand. For example, they may be responsible for creating documentation or other written materials that explain how a product or machine works or how to perform a procedure.
Popular Types of Content Technical Writers Produce for Marketing Teams?
If you scroll through the internet, you’ll find claims that technical content writers produce dozens of content types, such as service-level agreements.
I’ll not go into such rare content-type requirements as in most organizations; sales teams do handle them. We’ll stick to the technical content a marketing team would require for the top of the funnel as well as bottom of the funnel, aka TOFU and BOFU.
Let’s start with the most popular one – blog posts.
1. Technical Blog Posts
Honestly, the major chunk of my monthly earnings comes from this medium only. I make decent money by writing technical blogs for IT and digital product companies. So, what are technical blog posts?
Technical blog posts are a form of content that are intended to educate readers on a specific topic. The key to writing an awesome technical blog post is to explain the topic in detail and make things easy to digest for the reader.
Here is an example of a technical blog post written by me: How to Migrate your eCommerce Store to Shopify
Glance this one out and come back because we have much more to discuss.
2. EBooks
EBooks are another content form that companies use to educate their customers and suppliers.
These are downloadable content forms and are mostly curated via email campaigns and landing pages.
Here is a recent eBook written by me. Have a look at this to get an idea of this technical content form:
Is Your E-Commerce Store Ready for the Holiday Season? (just focus on the content; the client sucked with the design part)
3. Case studies
A case study describes the achievements of a firm with certain items or services. A case study describes how a certain item helped one client achieve his or her business objectives.
It provides an account of how a product or service may benefit you and your organization. Examples, testimonials, and customer reviews are all part of case studies. For instance, you might want to look at the case study I’ve written in the past: Real-Time Machine Uptime Monitoring Powered by Intellia IoT Business Solution
4. Brochures
Many companies require assistance in writing brochures to promote their products. Brochures clearly and concisely emphasize key benefits and features to entice customers to purchase products. A technical writer can assist a company in producing sales letters, brochures, and other marketing materials of this type.
You, as a technical writer, should inform potential customers of the offer and also include a call to action urging them to take action.
5. Press Releases
Press releases are formal announcements of new information for consumers of a company. These releases are part of the marketing communications category, which includes articles, white papers, case studies, and press kits, among other types of technical writing.
6. White Papers
A white paper is a non-promotional document that provides information about a solution or product. A white paper is often used to advocate that a certain position or solution is the best for a particular problem. A white paper for commercial purposes may affect the decision-making process of current and future clients.
7. Web Page Content
Although it’s a part of copywriting, as most digital marketing team roles merge with each other, technical content writers often need to produce web page copy for technical products or services.
Why is Technical Writing Important?
In today’s increasingly technical world, we are all confronted with complex questions that can’t be answered by a quick internet search. We need to be able to go to a trusted source for the information we need.
The best way to do this is to have it available in written form. This is where technical writing comes in.
Whether you’re a scientist trying to communicate your research or a student who needs to understand the instructions for using a scientific instrument, having a written resource will help you understand more quickly.
As a technical writer, you could be tasked with creating complex instructions for a piece of scientific equipment. Or you could be asked to write a user guide for an app. No matter what the task is, your role is to make the information understandable to readers.
What Does a Typical Day Look Like for a Technical Writer?
This varies greatly based on the type of writing you do and the organization you work for. For example, if you work for an engineering company, you may spend your days working on design documentation or software analogies.
If you work for an IT organization, you might be creating user guides for the company’s computer system. You might also be responsible for creating training materials or documentation for new or updated products.
For instance, as a technical content writer, I produce a couple of articles (of around 2k words) a day. I also get requirements for email campaign copies, web page content, employee story, etc., from my clients.
Skills Required to Be a Good Technical Writer
Good technical writers are excellent communicators. They must be able to take complicated topics and break them down into simple language that anyone can understand.
They must also be able to recognize when more explanation is needed and be able to add it without interrupting the flow of the content.
Technical writers must have excellent grammar and spelling skills. This is particularly important in scientific documents, where even a single spelling mistake could drastically alter the meaning of a sentence.
Lastly, technical writers must be able to pay close attention to detail. They must be able to notice any errors or inconsistencies in their own work as well as in the works of others.
You Can Become One
Technical writing is a broad term that encompasses many different types of content. At its core, every technical document has one main goal – to make complex information easy to understand.
The best approach to becoming a technical content writer is to stop contemplating and start working in the field.
You can either join an organization that has a vacancy for a technical content writer, or you can seek freelance writing assignments.
If you have any trouble, feel free to reach me out. I can help you a little bit.
Also Read:
I’m a marketer turned into a content writer. I go the unconventional paths of content writing to explore the horizon of possibilities and novel approaches to help brands communicate.
If you’ve loved reading this blog, hit me a ‘Hi’ on LinkedIn.
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