What Is Technical Writing? Everything You Need to Know

Technology is a high-speed train on the move. And as a business dealing with technical products or services, you want to update every stakeholder and customer about the cutting-edge innovations you’ve just rolled out.

You want to move with them into the promising future.

Usher in technical writing to make this happen.

And if you thought technical writing is just that old-school documentation of processes, we are here to burst your myth:

Technical Writing Defined Clearly

The traditional definition went something like this: Technical writing is documenting processes such as instructional materials and software manuals.

Frankly, this definition limits technical writing to user manuals of some sort. But we all know how technology flies swiftly.

So a new and up-to-date definition is needed. Here we go:

Technical writing is the art and science of conveying any technical piece of information in writing. It involves all documentation of complex technical processes, such as briefs, executive summary statements, and reports.

The profession encompasses many fields and industries: Think engineering, medical, energy, manufacturing, IT, finance, aerospace, and biotech.

Users are ever looking for well-distilled and presented information to help them understand a technical concept, process, or product. So today’s technical writing is no longer confined within the boundaries of lengthy user manuals.

Formats like technical briefs, emails, press releases, policies, and reports have taken the profession by storm. Readers are now happier, more engaged, and ready to take the next steps.

The bottom line: If you’re in a technical field, technical writing is most likely part of your daily tasks. But are you doing it the right way?

Relevant reading:

Your Ultimate Guide in How to Create Technical Content

How Technical Writing Affects Your Bottomline- The 3 Little-Known secrets

6 of the Best Techincal Writing Examples

The Must-Have Technical Writing Skills

It’s easy to crack your knuckles and put words together to describe a technical process or product. But you need to prepare yourself and possess specific communication skills and technical writing abilities. It's recommendable to take some technical writing courses to sharpen your craft. In order to understand the characteristics and intricacies of technical writing, you must be able to:

1. Research Thoroughly

Technical writing styles aren't one-size-fits-all stuff. You want to speak your unique brand language to slice through the internet clutter and noise.

Therefore, you should know your company and industry like the back of your hand.

What’s the trick?

Research.

Investigate your company or industry well with an eye on its:

• The products or services
• Value proposition
• Target audience
• Mission statement

Outsourced the work to a technical writer? You can brief them over the phone to equip them with these crucial pieces of information. That way, they can get heaps of knowledge quickly.

Technical writers that know their trade will take a tour throughout your website pages, dissecting your values, voice, services, and more. They must take note of such things:

• Content formatting and voice
• Common calls to action (CTAs)
• Customer comments in reviews
• The products or services that need copy written
• What differentiates you from the pack?

2. Understand User Experience (UX)

93% of company executives agree that boosting UX is a top priority. Understand the journey a user will experience interacting and navigating the product or service in question.

A hard-to-navigate content with many roadblocks scares readers. They won’t go beyond the first few sections, and they won’t share to their circles.

So how do you craft technical content that makes users happy?

First, strategically map it out before putting the pen into paper. The flow of sections and points should be logical.

Shopify’s user manual gives us an example of perfectly logical flow:

As seen, setting online store comes first before creating pages, menus, links, and optimization preferences.

A newbie looking to establish an eCommerce store isn’t thinking, “Wait, how do I bring in a currency converter extension?”

First, Shopify feeds them the milk (those basics they need) before fleshing out.

You, too, should map out the various units, sections, and chapters that will form your technical content. Be sure the next part plays off the previous one in a clear, sensible flow.

3. Understand Staple Copywriting Hacks

Copywriting principles are vital if you want your copy to stick.

But not all copy is crafted to drive sales. Your content goals and target audience are the compasses for this task.  

Technical writing’s primary goal is to educate your target audience.

For instance, if you’re crafting a user guide to a software solution, the reader has most likely purchased the product and wants to master it. Why sell too hard, yet they’re already paying?

Try to lay simple and clear steps for every section as much as possible. You don’t want to scare your customers away with heavy and unexplained jargon.

See where we’re going with this?

Excellent copywriters can blend into any industry and target market. You can call us “my chameleons.” J

Remember to spice up your content with relevant calls to action, such as signing up and grabbing a free resource. That way, you can push more leads further down the sales funnel.

That’s what Shopify (in our example above) did- they want people to give it a try for free.

And there’s a hidden trap: Rumbling on about your product’s excellent features without stressing the benefits.

But readers are selfish- They don’t care about your excellent features. All they care about is their desires, pain points, and wishes.

So bring in the emotional aspect in your writing by highlighting benefits.

Sure, online software gifts people an eCommerce storefront and sell tools to run their businesses. But those facts aren’t enough to win an avalanche of subscriptions.

Throw in the spicy benefits, and you’ll see skyrocketing results. For instance, show readers that they can make money online and run their lives like bosses.

Your readers are asking:

“What’s in it for me?”

“What and how can these specs and features help me?”

Answer these questions right, and the users will continue digesting your content piece up to the last word.

Documents That Technical Writers Craft

Technical writers aren’t hermits who work in isolation. The craft encompasses a family of diverse technical documents and experts.

To ensure the document ticks all boxes, they liaise with a train of professionals: Content managers, product developers, product designers, instructional designers, graphic designers, editors, editors, trainers, illustrators,

document specialists, product influencers, and analysts.

Here are some of the common types of technical writers' deliverables:

Technical Writing Document Development Life Cycle (DDLC)

Contrary to popular belief, writing is more than just putting words together to form sentences and paragraphs. It involves research, creating the draft, editing, publishing, tweaking, and more.

Recall that product development lifecycle that software developers follow. The technical writing process also has a professional development lifecycle that closely mirrors that of the product in question:

1. Analyze and Plan Your Route

Failing to plan is planning to fail. This age-old adage still holds even in technical writing.

So first, identify the document’s scope, target audience, and pain points. Be sure you know your audience’s level of technical knowledge. You don’t want your external end-users to contend with the high-level technical content meant for your engineers.

Also, plan for tools of work. The market is awash with a wide range of them, such as:

• An authoring and writing software like MS Word
• Translation tools like ClickHelp
• Screenshot solution
• Diagramming or image editing software
• Video capture and screencasting software

2. Document Design

Decide on the document type and how it'll. First, work out your logical structure: The entire content should be broken into interrelated sections.

Your product and target audience are the main determining factor here. Ensure top-in-class user experience in your chosen formats, visuals, and illustrations.

Branding is another crucial factor. Inject your fonts, corporate colors, and fonts to reinforce professionalism and trust. That’s how you stand taller from the crowd.

3. Develop and Review Content

Writing is the technical writer’s most enjoyable stage. Planned, strategized, and gathered crucial information? If you answered “Yes,” the writing should be a breeze.

But the reviewing and editing part can be demanding. Don’t worry- the trick is to employ a technical writing collaboration tool. That way, reviewers and writers can keep track of comments and changes even from their remotest location.

4. Publish Your Copy

It’s now time to let the audience get your content wherever they are. That’s where online publication channels step in.

Think blog posts, email newsletters, social media platforms, whitepapers, web pages, etc.,

And the best part? You can always repurpose the same content to fit a specific channel.

Why choose online platforms as homes for your document?

• Accessibility: The content is available 24/7/365. Plus, users can access it from any device.
• Case deflection: If product users can get answers to their questions on their own, your support team can focus on other things
• Boost marketing and sales: If you sprinkle the right keywords into your document, your content can entice potential users into your sales funnel. Prove that your solution is ultimate, and most leads will eventually grab it.

5. Tweak and Maintain

The technical writing process isn’t a set-once-and-forget-it thing. Product upgrades spring up every day.

So your content should stay fresh and updated too.

What if you have a heap of topics to update? Also, you may not have that luxury of time, resources, and technical staff.

Stay calm and take things stepwise. First, update the most loved topics. Online analytics and reports can come in handy to help you identify them.

But that doesn’t imply it’s time to throw poor-performing content pieces out of the window. Some tweaks here and there can do wonders. For instance, you may polish the confusing points and add some GIFs to boost engagement and shares.

Let’s Take the Stress Out of Crafting Technical Documents and Content

Technical communication is as crucial as developing and designing your product. If done right, your customers will grab your offering off the shelves.

But you’re already busy designing and tweaking your cutting-edge technology. Why not team up with Zoey technical writers for content marketing?

Photo by Testalize.me on Unsplash: Thanks @Testalize.me