By Bryan S. Adar
The scope of technical writing is expanding to include several new components. All these components are a result of the proliferation of the internet. Knowledge of this expanded technical writing scope will give you a significant edge over other technical writers.Before I tell you what these new components are let's look at why companies all across the world are flocking to the internet.
The World Wide Web offers five significant advantages over traditional marketing mediums:
1. Low cost of entry
It's relatively cheap to set up a professional looking website and direct targeted traffic to it.
2. Wider reach
The internet spans physical, cultural, social and political barriers. It's created a global marketplace crowded with prospective buyers. This global audience will increase as major population countries such as China and India enter the online bazaar.
3. Unlimited shelf space
Traditional brick and mortar operations are restricted by the amount of shelf space in their retail locations. The internet lifts this restriction. A company's website can display hundreds or even thousands of products with nearly zero inventory costs. It's not uncommon for a company to have an online catalogue with dozens of pages.
4. Constant contact
With email marketing, the cost of communicating with future and existing customers is nearly zero. Compare this to the printing and mailing costs associated with brochures, flyers, and sales letters and the cost savings are substantial.
5. Online documentation
The benefits of the internet are not limited to marketing of products and services. Creating online technical and customer support documentation results in significant cost savings for organizations. Imagine the amount of money saved by not having to print thousands of manuals, guides and instructions. Plus it saves trees and creates a greener planet.
As a technical writer, it's important you know these benefits. Mention them when talking to potential employers or clients. This will show them that you care about their businesses and will increase your value as a technical writer. By caring for your client's needs and business outlook you are creating a bond with her. A bond that will be mutually rewarding.
The New Components of Technical Writing
The expanded role of technical writing can include the following:
* Websites
* Auto Responders
* Landing Pages
* Email Marketing
* E-Newsletters
* Blogs
* Online Product Descriptions
* Online Catalogs and Brochures
* Article Writing
Most of these involve leveraging your technical writing skills to create them. The good news is that by offering to write the above online documents you can increase your income. From a client's perspective, you offer a convenient one stop shop for his writing needs.
In future issues of TWTK we'll look at each one of these components in detail.
For now, start improving your knowledge in the above areas. You will also be increasing your value as a technical writer.
If you can write a simple sentence and organize your thoughts then technical writing may be a rewarding field. You can easily make it an extra income stream.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average salary for technical writers is $60,380. Freelance technical writers can make from $30 to $70 per hour.
But to succeed you must learn how to market yourself to clients. That's where ProTech - Your Fast Track to Becoming a Successful Technical Writer can help. It's a technical writing course that does two equally important things:
1. It teaches you the skills to become a technical writer in the shortest time frame. You'll learn to create manuals, procedures, tutorials, processes, proposals, spec sheets and other documents that businesses need.
2. It shows you how to market yourself to clients so you can start your income stream as soon as possible.
In fact, you'll get a complete marketing toolkit which has templates and technical writing job sites to get started immediately!
