In the Information Age where words are reaching audiences faster, the need to disseminate and interpret data becomes increasingly crucial in the industry. Companies not only have to compete in producing quality products, but they’re also faced with the challenge of accurately selling it. This is why hiring a good technical writer is essential to your business.
If you’re a startup owner wanting to improve your company’s written materials or you’re considering hiring a technical writer, then read on to learn more about their work and how you can find the most suitable one for your business.
Writing means Business
Businesses, both big and small, have seen their downfall due to false advertising. One wrong claim on your product or service can lead to disastrous results and ruin your reputation in the market.
This is why accuracy is important. Unfortunately, so many startups make the common mistake of undermining the role of business communication in the company.
With this in mind, it’s safe to say that technical writers are essential in business to effectively and accurately explain your product or service to your audience.
What is a Technical Writer?
A technical writer translates complex data into simple, layman terms. Unlike the free-flowing nature of copywriting or editorial, technical writing follows a structure and remains objective in its context. A technical writer adheres to a strict standard of consistency, accuracy, and conciseness.
By definition, a technical writer’s output is highly informative, emphasizing on the effective and error-free delivery of the message rather than the creativity. Depending on their expertise, technical writers can create instructional manuals, journals, and documentations.
They are highly efficient and useful in the areas of technology, engineering, medicine, and the field of science. In order to simplify a wide range of raw, complicated data, a technical writer has to possess some level of experience and knowledge about a specific subject matter.
Technical Writer vs Other Writers
Unlike other kinds of writing, technical writers are less descriptive with their words. Technical writing doesn’t leave much room for creativity; it’s more about conciseness and accuracy.
Compared to content writers who cover a wide variety of topics, tech writers are more particular with the subjects they handle. Oftentimes, technical writers start from hand-on experience in the field they’re writing about to acquire knowledge and comprehension of technical jargon.
One way to distinguish a technical writer from the rest is through their output. Although they have a broad scope of write-ups, we can pinpoint some of the most common materials a technical writer creates.
Technical Writers are in charge of creating the following content:
- Instruction manuals
- Policy manuals
- Process manuals
- User manuals
- Competitor Analysis
- Product Specifications
- Summary Reports
- White Papers
- Design Specifications
Depending on the type of industry, a technical writer can also be assigned to create specific company materials. In software development, technical writers create software requirements, UI content, flowcharts, user instructions, and sometimes to document the development process itself.
How does a technical writer help your business?
Poorly written and error-filled write-ups can drastically affect how your brand is viewed, not only by your audience but even by your stakeholders. Producing clear, accurate, and coherent content is critical, especially if you’re offering highly technical products or services.
These are some of the ways technical writers can elevate your business:
- Accurate technical information – Technical writers ensure all materials publicly shared are accurate and meet legal requirements. This safeguards your company’s integrity, eliminating any chances of false claims and avoid content violations.
- Clear documentation – Technical writers create and follow a template to record all the necessary details of a product, a project, or a service. Documentation makes it easy to track processes and updates.
- Improved optimization – Search Engine Optimization plays a significant role in establishing a company’s online presence. Technical writers can include keywords in the copies they create to fully optimize your business website or social media platforms.
- Standardized communication – To establish content consistency at work, templates and rules should be created and imposed. Technical writers set the rules and standards in writing to ensure that your brand has a cohesive voice.
What kind of technical writing do you need?
Now that we’ve established how technical writing works, it’s time to identify what specific type of technical writing you need for your startup. Writing is a broad field, and just like other types of writing, technical writing also has its sub-categories. Technical writers choose a specific kind of material to specialize in and likewise study a certain field to write about. To find the right writer for your company, you need to identify what type of documents you need.
Process Documents
These are the kinds of written materials that record the development process. The technical writer transcribes the data collected from the project’s initial stages to its testing, review, and improvements. These documents require an in-depth understanding of industry-specific jargon and knowledge of how the process works.
User Documents
User documents are intended for customers. This type of write-up contains information to explain your product or service and help users understand how it works. With this in mind, these materials have to be written in a simple yet accurate way.
User documents should be comprehensible even to an average reader. A few examples of user documents are walkthroughs, user guides, manuals, FAQs, and troubleshooting documentation.
Keep in mind that these are just general classifications. Technical writers go even deeper into the subcategories, which is why you have to thoroughly assess their skills and experience.
How to Find and Hire Technical Writers
Technical writers are not easy to find, given how incredibly complex the level of knowledge they need to attain to effectively articulate information. The best way to find and eventually hire technical writers at an affordable rate is to offshore them.
If you intend to offshore technical writers for your business, Full Scale has the right people for you! We have experts who specialize in technology, software development, content and technical writing, graphic design, and QA to help startups scale their businesses. We have the competency and talent to help you maximize your time and resources.
The great thing about having your own offshore development team is that you don’t have to worry about managing and delegating each task. You can negotiate the type of set-up you’d like with the team.
Full Scale offers a wide range of services, from technical writing to web development, to help you create, maintain, and enhance your website. And for your convenience, our writers can work around your schedule to guarantee deadlines are met and they’re available when you have certain requests. Contact us and learn more about our services today!
