How to choose the best companies for technical writers. Things to consider

Is your business looking for finding the best companies for technical writers?

But you are lost how to go about the process and things you need to consider while taking the decision?

Then you are at the right place!

This write up aims to help you understand the basics of technical writing and how you can ensure you have chosen wisely!

Read along!!!

Table of Contents

What Is Technical Writing?

Until a few years ago, technical writing was confined to the documentation of processes like ‘how to use instruction’ materials or software manuals.

But technology is a superfast jet, always moving quickly!

Today the term ‘Technical Writing’ encompasses a broader arena. The format of such content is not bound to the old style lengthy documentation. Information presentation needs to be unambiguous and confined.

Today, the creation of documentation for all complex technical processes is referred to as technical writing. So, apart from the creation of user manuals, even executive summary statements, reports, briefs, case studies etc., all come under technical writing!

Documents A Technical Writer Creates

Each industry has its own set of requirements and regulations to take care of. Likewise, the content a technical writer is expected to create varies from industry to industry.

Let us take you through some types of documents a technical writer creates-

Website content
Instructions
Technical Reports
Memos
Emails conveying technical information
User Manuals and Guides
User Interface Text
Press Releases
Newsletters
Case Studies
Proposals
Executive Summaries
Product Descriptions
White Papers & Proposals
Reports
Balanced Scorecards
Reviews
Presentations
Handbooks
Style Guides

Yes, that’s a vast set of things to create. But worry not, most of these documents have a similar writing procedure and call for a similar skill set to create. Once your business develops a standard process, the task of creating all technical documents is easier and clear!

Industries That Need Technical Writers

Certain industries call for more technical writing material than others. Some of such industries include-

Financial Services
Biotech
Energy and Chemical
Information Technology
Insurance
Engineering
Consulting
Manufacturing
Supply Chain
Pharmacy
Government & Non-profit

What Technical Writing Involves

Although the industries that fall in the software, cloud computing, and hardware sectors, need a lot of technical content to be created, doesn’t mean technical writing is not required in other industries. Almost all industries require technical writing in some form or the other, to a little extent at least.

The need of technical content can be categorised into two types-

Support content

Such content is created with the intent to help buyers navigate the features of the product/ service. It also includes assembling instructions, operating techniques. This content is something like user guides.

Corporate guides

Such content is created with the intent to help employees of an organization understand procedures and technical concepts that assist them to perform their job.

What A Customer Wants!

Do you as a business know about a frustrating moment for a customer?

It is when they buy a product offered by your business, and the instruction manual that comes with it is not providing the expected help. Either it is

Incomplete
Inaccurate
In poor English(or any other language)
Not well explanatory
Too technical and jargon loaded for an ordinary person to comprehend

Can you imagine the level of frustration of a customer in such a scenario?

Most of us have been through at least once such bad ‘user manual’ experience in life…

And, such bad experiences are not just limited to technologically advanced products. We at Towards90 take you through 2 such scenarios-

Scenario 1

Suppose you buy a washing machine and its base trolley stand. The stand doesn’t come assembled, it comes in a flat box. It is just 4 rods and 4 wheels and a couple of screws and bolts. With assembling directions in broken English you can’t decode the message and take up more than two hours of getting to know the trick of assembling the thing that could have been possible in ten minutes had you got proper support from an ‘assembling instructions manual’.

Scenario 2

You order the latest ‘DSLR Camera’. This is your first ever professional camera.

This time the instructions are in good, readable English. But the problem is the manual was written with an assumption that the reader has a basic knowledge of such cameras and has probably used something similar before. It was loaded with terminology and jargon. So again your setup process doesn’t sail smoothly as you are a newbie!

Both cases leave a bitter experience in the minds of a customer.

Would you want such a thing to happen to the customers of your business?

Reason for the Sudden Rise In The Trend Of Technically Written Documents:

Today the world has gone online with its shopping.

There was a time when products were purchased from local stores, and the staff would put it together or demonstrate the products. But with online website purchases, such a thing is no more possible!

So as a business, the best practice is to tie up with technical content writing services to create content for you that aids your customers in the best possible way to be able to enjoy your products!

Why Your Business Needs To Look Out For Best Companies For Technical Writers?

Are you of the thought that a task like technical writing can be carried out in-house?

This could be because you feel the insiders– the owners, managers, and employees are the best people to know about, understand, and then explain about your company’s products and services.

All of us understand the importance of well-written technical documents like-

Instruction manuals
Software installation guides
Standard Operating Procedures
Service Level Agreements
Legal disclaimers
Other company documents like annual reports etc.

All such documents are crucial and need to be written in a particular way.

And like it is in most of the cases, people who know in detail about your business and its industry of work, may not be the perfect kind of ‘writers’ required to do justice to technical writing of important documents like a product instructions manual. Maybe they are too jargon oriented in their language or over experienced to be able to explain it out to naïve customers.

Read along, as we at Towards 90 give you strong reasons to outsource all your business’s technical writing needs to our team of experienced and professional writers, one of the best companies for technical writing services.

Reasons For Outsourcing Technical Writing Services Of Your Business

Area of expertise

Let your personnel do what they are good at. It benefits the business multi-fold if they are more focused on doing their most-value adding activity- their usual work. Technical writing calls for research, which in turn calls for the dedication of a lot of time and effort. Getting your employees involved in something like this would take a toll on your business’s productivity and output.

For example, asking a production manager to write a manual would not result in an optimum output, not in the eyes of a naive customer!

So let the employees do what they are best at doing while justifying their reason for being with your business works best for all!

In-house teams are not cost-effective

The cost that comes with having an in-house technical writing team is not worth it – for most small or mid-sized organizations.

Having a technical writing team on your business’s payroll would mean taking care of remuneration, training, insurance, bonuses, and all other benefits you provide to all your other employees.

This would mean a substantial expense for say 3-4 products that your business may launch in a year!

Outsourcing to companies for technical writing services would definitely mean a lot of savings!!!

Value-added services

When you tie-up with a professional technical writing agency, you get a lot of things at a single place. Right from

In-depth research on the product,
The actual technical content in proper grammar, style, readability parameters, and branding rules,
Editing,
Reviewing,
Professional perspective.

Being an insider, your employee may not be able to convey the message required in the technical content, that has to be

Simple yet full of information
Easy to understand yet not elementary
Positive effect giving and helpful
Helpful yet concise

With expertise in their kitty, a professional and experienced technical writer is the best person to handle such tricky matters!

Time-Saving

Hiring an outside professional from one of the best companies for technical writers ensures the work gets done faster. They are professional, experienced, and most importantly up-to-date regarding the industry trends!

Companies that specialize in technical writing have knowledge and experience that ensures they can identify, vet, and extract all the required information in a decent time frame.

Also remember, you don’t need to look out for companies that have pre-existing knowledge of your industry as they are quick to learn about any kind of industry they work with. This along with their ability to create clear and concise technical content works out as not only an economical option for your business but also a better result giving option!

Having an in-house technical writer on your regular payroll generally proves worthwhile if you are an extremely large business organization. But all said and done, outsourcing technical writing services is definitely the more attractive option. Not only does your business get clear, accurate, and useful documentation, but it also comes at reasonable costs.

Things to Consider When Choosing Among Best Companies For Technical Writers

A business needs to consider loads of factors before it hires a company to take care of its various kinds of technical writing needs. Check out for these key abilities-

Their persona speaks of integrity and professionalism

The technical content writing services company’s website, resume, and samples are professional, well organized, and well prepared. Ask for references and check out their previously published work. You might even want to consider contacting the existing clients to get some feeders about the company.

Excellent writing and grammar skills

You must be wondering why we have such a basic thing like writing skills and grammar, which anyway is supposed to be a prerequisite?

We did this because the importance of these two qualities cannot be emphasized enough! As a business, you need to ensure that the technical writing company you hire should be a team of writers who not just write well, but write in simple, clear, and concise terms.

Talk to the masses

Being able to write well and being able to write such that the created content is extremely easy to understand and comprehend even by ‘uneducated ‘ masses is the key difference between content writing and technical writing.

The content that comes out of a technical writer’s desk is as effective as depicted in images.

Chameleon adaptability!

Once the first process of scrutinizing portfolios from amongst the best companies for technical writers is done with, you might want to consider if the values and vision of your business and the technical writing company matches. Once you are through the initial talking process, do you picture them to be able to adapt to your business ideology? A good technical writer needs to be like a chameleon- adapt and accustomed as per the needs of clients!

Industry-specific skills and knowledge

When your business belongs to a very specific industry, choosing one of the best technical writers near me with pre-existing knowledge of the industry proves to be beneficial! Although, rejecting or not considering a company that hasn’t worked in your niche is not a wise thing to do. Past technical writing experience coupled with satisfied former employers are enough parameters to prove their ability to do a good job.

Interpersonal skills

Exceptional communication skills ensure a writer can communicate well on numerous levels and to diverse groups of people.

Extracting technical information from “specialists” and converting it into easily understandable information is a skill and the most essential one you should look for when outsourcing technical writing services for your business.

Designing skills

Apart from technical writing, most of the time technical documents also require illustrations that help to convey the content more effectively. Ensure the writing company can handle such requirements.

Willingness and aptitude to learn over ‘qualifications’

Even a basic graduate can prove to be a great technical writer. Technical writing is something that is basically an inbuilt ability and the rest can be picked up by a writer on the job! Having a curiosity to observe things is a skill that ranks over qualifications. Such skill ensures that the writing company takes an interest in absorbing your business’s technical information to create content that they convey in simple, clear, and brief words.

Ask for previous work samples from companies for technical writing services. These are great sources to be able to get an idea of the company’s proficiency and quality of work. People who personally believe in taking challenges are the ones that can glide your business to sky-touching levels!

Logical and organized

Well, this is a basic requirement for any writer. It includes grammatical skills, language skills, aptitude for organizing, and capability of logically presenting precise information.

User-friendly documentation is a vital component contributing to customer satisfaction. So as a business you need to check if the portfolio presented by the technical writing company fulfills all the above-discussed pointers!

Parting Words Of Wisdom

Technical writing is both an art and a science! The end result of technical writing is creation of simple, succinct and clear reading material; but ironically the process to achieve it is fairly complex. A technical writer is the perfect person to take up this challenge of transforming complicated information to simple and easy to understand details.

The job of a good technical writer is being able to express even a complex idea in simple, plain words so that it is understood by most of its audience. Businesses looking for companies for technical writing services wish to find someone who can create content that goes into manuals, white papers or guides that the business intends to send out with their products so as to educate their customers about the product in the most complete, concise yet simple terms.

So, what is stopping you? Just find the best technical writers near me and outsource your business’s technical writing needs to them.

We at Towards90 have the right set of skills and knowledge to handle all sorts of content needs your business may have!