Wendy Covey
Do you have what it takes to be an excellent technical content writer? Expert Lance Looper shares how resourceful conversationalists, trusted SME partners, and thorough-but-succinct composers are top on his team.
Lance Looper, Brand and Content Strategy Director at TREW Marketing, is no stranger to creating technical content engineers love. Throughout his career, he's managed teams of writers as well as been a writer himself. And through his brand strategy work, he knows the importance of connecting a company's core messaging to each piece of content downstream.
In this episode, Lance and I dig into common traits that set apart an excellent writer from the pack. While there are key principles all good writers should master, some additional skills are unique to writing technical content. As Lance describes his own writing process, you learn how technical content development requires research to learn about the subject and gain context for the point of view of the piece.
Sourcing interviews with subject-matter-experts (SMEs) are a make-or-break step. Writers who are conversationalists do well with sourcing, as they tend to build rapport with the SME and extract information in a nice flow. Excellent writers are also thoughtful about prioritization, are careful with potential "rabbit trails" and take extreme care with details. A top technical content writer masters all of this, in addition to the table-stakes of error-free, wonderfully flowing, engaging material.
Throughout the episode, Lance shares numerous resources and tools he uses to help work efficiently and strengthen his writing (see the list below). What I loved most is hearing how Lance knows he's hit the mark on the piece of content -- when the SME not only loves the piece, but feels that it it is communicated in their own unique voice.
If you are tasked with writing technical content, we are here to help! In addition to the resources below, be on the lookout for a new Content Marketing, Engineered Writing online training course coming in late July 2020! Be sure you've subscribed to our mailing list to be the first to know when registration opens up for this in-depth training.
Resources
- AI-based transcription: Trint
- Grammer Assistance: Grammar Girl, Grammarly
- Writing Structure: Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
- Technical references: IEEE, Newton's Telecom Directory
- Book: Content Marketing, Engineered (section two is specifically for you, writers!)
- Blog: 5 Steps to Set SMEs Up for Content Creation Success
- Lance on LinkedIn
Wendy Covey
Wendy Covey is a CEO, a technical marketing leader, author of Content Marketing, Engineered, one of The Wall Street Journal’s 10 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs in America, and she holds a Texas fishing record. She resides in a small Hill Country town southwest of Austin, Texas, where she enjoys outdoor adventures with her family.
About TREW Marketing
TREW Marketing is a strategy-first content marketing agency serving B2B companies that target highly technical buyers. With deep experience in the design, embedded, measurement and automation, and software industries, TREW Marketing provides branding, marketing strategy, content development, and digital marketing services to help customers efficiently and effectively achieve business goals.