Why Hire a Lifestyle Writer for Your Tech Company
You’d think I was a techie what with all the past and present technology clients who have hired Message Sprout to help them with brand messaging and copywriting for their app, software, a new kind of crowdfunding platform or educational programs. The thing is, I’m not. I’m not even a technical writer. AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. Here’s why you should hire a lifestyle writer for your tech company:
Photo credit: Lifestyle
We Don’t Know Anything About What You Do.
Okay, I obviously use tons of apps and software and technology creations all the livelong day (who doesn’t?), and like to think that I’m savvier about the digital space than the average person since I regularly work within it. BUT, for the most part, I couldn’t tell you the difference between one line of code to the next or what a computer vs. an electrical engineer does (until I wrote Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering website, that is!).
The reason why, as a tech brand, you need your writer to be pretty far removed from what you do is that it prompts him or her to ask all the right questions. Unless you are speaking to other developers just like you (in that case, please don’t hire me), the audience that uses your app/software/tech brand likely needs some “dumbing down” to truly get what it does and why it’s a must-have. A good lifestyle writer is going to ask the right questions to get at the essence of who your brand is and how you want to communicate to your customer, whether they’re B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer), in order to deliver copy that your customer understands. Essentially, copy that the lifestyle writer herself or himself understands.
We Don’t Write In a Boring Way.
Techie stuff is techie enough as it is without sounding techie. You feel me? You picking up what I’m putting down? Let me explain further… There’s nothing all that sexy about technology. HOWEVER, there can be a whole lot of sexy about what technology brings to your life AND a brand can be made to look sexy. Apple products = sexy. Not because there’s anything sensual about a phone or computer, but because of what that phone or computer says about a lifestyle. A lifestyle writer is going to make your tech brand sound compelling rather than just matter-of-fact “here’s what we do and that is all” blah that no one wants to read (probably not even other techies).
Now I’m not saying that every lifestyle writer is going to be a good fit for brand writing. He or she should have brand marketing experience, too. Make sure to check out who your potential new copywriter has worked with in the past and feel free to request samples of his or her work. Just don’t be deterred if the content samples he or she sends you aren’t all relative to your own industry. A quality writer is also a good researcher, and that’s counts for a lot.
If your tech-industry business could use senior-level copywriting or content strategy, we’d love to work with you.
