Today an entrepreneur said to me, “I’ve been interviewing writers, but how can I expect these people to understand my business and my technology without spending a ton of time getting them up to speed?”
For tech companies, not just any writer will do. These organizations need someone who is already familiar with both their technology and their customers.
I hear your protests now. “But isn’t a writer’s job to learn those things quickly?”
Yes, but you’re going to have to help a writer who lacks relevant experience more than you probably want to. A generalist who isn’t familiar with APIs or HDC or whatever acronym you’re selling isn’t going to know enough to ask the right questions in the first discovery meeting, and probably not in the second or third, either. You’ll end up with content that’s too general, and your customers don’t need a broad overview that they could find on Wikipedia. They want to know how your product is uniquely suited to solving their business problem.
Finding a good writer isn’t an insurmountable problem. You just have to know how to sort through your options.
First, find a writer who has experience in your segment or one close to it. Finding writers with specialized experience isn’t easy; a quick Google search for various versions of ‘freelance technical content writer’ mostly turns up job hunting websites. Freelance marketplaces will give you lots of names, but you’ll have to sort through dozens of portfolios to find a writer with proven B2B skills in the tech area. That leaves referrals, which are great if you can find them; your peers who work for your company’s partners are your best bet.
Once you have two or three names, check out their portfolios. A typical portfolio will include a range of styles because a typical freelancer serves a range of customers, so don’t just glance at a sample or two; look for samples in a style that makes sense for your own brand. Or, if you like what you see but none of it is quite right, call the writer and ask for samples along the lines of what you need. An experienced writer is likely to have something to show you.
A writer with specialized experience and a good portfolio isn’t going to be the least expensive. You’re paying for the years they’ve spent accumulating the knowledge that’s going to result in a high-quality ebook or white paper. You’re also paying for the time you won’t spend on the phone explaining your solutions, and for the worry you won’t have to suffer between the time you issue the deposit and see the first draft.
Another reason not to flinch at a more expensive quote is simply practical: writers, regardless of how good they, cannot stay in business if they undercharge. You don’t want to go through the painful process of finding and qualifying a new writer every three months. In addition to wasting your time, the deliverables from a parade of writers won’t be consistent in style or quality, and you’ll lose the benefit of historical knowledge.
You’ll know if you’ve got a good candidate on the first phone call (and if the candidate is really good, that will be the only phone call needed). Find out what to expect from that first conversation in the next blog.
Jay Gitomer of Machines & Words helps companies selling complex technologies expose the real business value of their solutions and shorten their sales cycles with white papers, case studies, and slicks written in plain English. Over a decade of marketing experience in the tech industry has given her an understanding of strategy, technology, and B2B markets that translates into content that connects with your customers. Jay teaches digital marketing at the graduate level and is certified in inbound marketing by HubSpot. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and has an MA in English Literature and Creative Writing from NYU. In the cats vs. dogs debate, Jay is firmly on the side of dogs.
