Content marketing (CM) is a well-accepted method of generating sales: According to HubSpot, 82% of marketers worldwide actively use it, while over 60% measure their CM strategy’s success through sales[i].
Technology enterprises in particular can benefit from content marketing, as they have many opportunities to grow thought leadership, brand image, recognition and credibility by generating informative content about the multiple complex issues relating to high technology products.
But if you decide to initiate a CM strategy, someone has to write the content! It could be you or one of your colleagues, or it could be an external agency or freelance copywriter. As a freelance copywriter myself, I naturally think the last choice is a great one; but let’s look at why, so that you can judge for yourself.
Points to consider
The first point is about productivity and efficiency. Depending on your experience and inclination, you could no doubt develop your own content. However, it can become very time consuming, using time that could be better – and more profitably – spent on your core business activities. An experienced copywriter could produce a better result more quickly, because they would have had plenty of practice in collating information from different sources, organising, filtering, and prioritising it – and then writing it up as grammatically-correct, well-structured, SEO friendly content. The result is a compelling and logical argument which delivers the required messages effectively and accurately.
There is also the question of understanding the topic. If you don’t have copywriters in your business, you could ask one of your technical colleagues to help. That’s assuming they are willing to be diverted from what they would regard as their real role for any significant time. However, their deep understanding of the complexities of your product technology can be a hindrance more than a help. Being so close to the product can make it hard to understand how prospective buyers will view it, or what they will need to know to appreciate its key features. And most engineers aren’t experienced in promotional copywriting.
Alternatively, you could use someone from Marketing or Sales – but they are often concerned that they have insufficient technical background to inform their writing.
The advantages of a good technical copywriter
By contrast, a good technical copywriter has both the technical background and the copywriting experience needed to produce content that provides true insights into your technology, your products, and their role in the marketplace. And if the copywriter has experience in your industry, they can use that experience to come up with suggestions for article topics.
A copywriter is also useful merely through being an external third party who needs to ask questions to inform their writing. Hearing and responding to these questions gives you an outsider’s perspective on your product, and what your external audience would like to know as they weigh up the benefits of your company and your product offering.
[i] 2022 Marketing Statistics, Trends & Data — The Ultimate List of Digital Marketing Stats (hubspot.com)