technical writing

While more brands are wrapping their heads around the idea of outsourcing their content needs to professional writers, many have yet to understand the importance of hiring a technical copywriter. A technical copywriter who specializes in a specific industry can provide expert, well-written content that may be above the heads of standard copywriters. This, in turn, allows brands to access the quality, relevant content they need, while also ensuring that the information provided in a web page, blog post, or article is on-point, and informative enough to quell a reader’s needs. Read on to learn more about what a technical copywriter is, and why hiring one may be in your company’s best interests. What Does a Technical Copywriter do? A technical copywriter is virtually the same as a standard copywriter, except for the fact that he or she provides expert-level knowledge on a particular industry or topic. For example, a technical copywriter may work in the financial, legal, academic, medical, or script-writing fields. While many companies assume they don’t need professional knowledge in these areas, the importance of expert content is skyrocketing, and technical copywriters are currently in higher demand than they’ve ever been before. 10 Reasons to Hire a Technical Copywriter If you’ve ever considered hiring an expert industry technical copywriter, here are the ten top reasons to do so: 1. Expert industry copywriters have hands-on experience in your industry Even the best copywriter in the world will have a tough time getting to the heart of a complex topic if it’s something with which he or she has never had any experience. Because technical copywriters have often either worked or lived in a specific industry, they bring a depth of knowledge that’s difficult to find anywhere else. For example, a legal copywriter may be a retired attorney or paralegal, which means that the content he or she creates will be more relevant and more knowledgeable than someone who only knew about the industry from researching it. 2. Google wants expert content Last year, Google released its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. (We wrote about it at length here.) The Guidelines, which were designed to help the Google employees charged with ranking web pages determine what to look for in quality pages, specified the importance of expert-level content. E-A-T In section 3.1 of the Guidelines, Google says, “The amount of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) that a web page/website has is very important.” While the definition of “expert content” varies depending on the topic (humor vs. open-heart surgery) and distribution method (social media vs. scientific journals) of the content, it’s clear that the grandfather of all search engines now requires pages with a high rank to feature expert content. Luckily, one of the best ways to secure expert content is through the acquisition of a technical copywriter. 3. Technical copywriters are likely to work more efficiently While a standard copywriter may struggle to develop the level of understanding needed to craft a particular piece of content, a technical copywriter will have that base of knowledge from the get-go, which will allow them to craft quality content in less time and with less effort. In addition to saving you time, this will also save you energy, as a copywriter who is an expert in your industry will require less support and guidance than one who is not. 4. Hiring an expert copywriter can help you avoid Google penalties Depending on what industry you’re in, the pages you publish may be known as Y-M-Y-L pages. Y-M-Y-L, which is an acronym that was also discussed in Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, stands for “Your Money or Your Life” and refers to web pages that carry a high level of importance for readers. For example, a medical page that offers advice about what to do when you’ve just learned of a cancer diagnosis or a legal page that provides information on child custody agreement would both be considered Y-M-Y-L pages. Why? Because both contain critical information that, if riddled with inaccuracies, could have a dramatic adverse effect on the reader’s health, wealth, or happiness. Y-M-Y-L According to Google, Y-M-Y-L pages fall into the following categories: Financial transaction pages Pages with financial information Pages with medical information Pages with legal information Other (any page that contains valuable information that could have an adverse impact on readers if it is incorrect) If you work in an industry where you publish any of the following content on a regular basis, it’s critical to ensure that your content is always expert-level, and the most efficient way to do this is to hire a technical copywriter to help you. 5. An expert copywriter can help you mine new topics It’s tough to be the only one in charge of topic mining and creation. When you hire a technical copywriter, though, you can relax knowing that not all of this burden will land on your shoulders. A technical copywriter can help you develop new ideas for content and ensure that the content you are publishing is relevant, up-to-date, and directed efficiently at your target audience. This can help streamline your content creation process and ensure you’re getting the highest possible ROI from your content creation. 6. Technical copywriters can help produce the quality needed for high-profile content If you’re publishing anything in the way of campaign text, creative scripts, or marketing material, an expert copywriter can help you ensure that you get the quality you need from your content. While there are dozens of smart times to hire an expert copywriter, the decision is a critical one anytime you need high-profile content that will enjoy wide distribution. 7. Expert copywriters will optimize your content for SEO To help your content enjoy the widest possible reach, you’ll need to find a writer who also understands how to optimize it for SEO. This is a skill that technical copywriters have, and that, combined with an enhanced level of knowledge and understanding is a winning combination for your content. 8. Professional copywriting will help engage your readers If … Read more