TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Alas, once you start down that path, forever will it control your
destiny. Or something like that. <g> The first advice I always give to
budding marketeers is to take a large step back and recall what
offends and annoys you about marketing, and compare that with what
piques your interest and encourages you to examine a product more
closely. Avoid the former, and emphasize the latter, remembering of
course that you may not be the same as the target audience, and they
may have different preferences.
<<I am a tech writer in my bones and want nothing more than to give
people the information they need as concisely (not to say *tersely*)
as possible.>>
Always a good start. But the approach must change. Bullet points are
fine in a features table, but not necessarily the best solution in the
"catch your interest" message that all good marketing begins with.
<<But marketing pieces, on the company web site, are trying to lure
someone into a relationship with the product, right? They're more in
seduction mode. Correct?>>
Sort of. Think "persuasion" instead, of which "seduction" is only one
form. Also think "honesty", which is so rare in advertising that it
represents a refreshing change. You do have to engage in a bit of
hyperbole at times, but if you establish a sense of trust, readers
will forgive you an occasoinal stylistic excess.
<<What advice would you give a tech writer who wants to do better this
time? What's the difference, after all? When you put on your Marketing
writer hat, how do you write differently?>>
As always, "know your audience", and as always, there are two
audiences: the ostensible audience for the marketing, and the people
who will approve your efforts before they are unleashed upon that
audience.
The former are relatively easy, because this kind of audience analysis
is relatively familiar to us. Just remember that except for the techie
subset of your audience, most readers want to know "what's in it for
me?", not "what are the cool features?" The former type of information
relates to their goals and context and needs; the latter is how they
do the tasks that get them to their goals, in their context, based on
their needs in that context.
The latter are typically the most vexing, since they're usually
managers of some sort, and exist in a reality far removed from ours.
One effective trick I've used over the years is to ask for examples of
what they consider good and bad marketing; they can usually tell you
what they like and dislike, but not why, and with a little work, you
can figure out what characteristics they're looking for or want to
avoid. Balance that aspect of the design with the needs of the real
audience and you're doing well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoff Hart (www.geoff-hart.com)
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effective Onscreen Editing: http://www.geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
