Most of us recognize poorly written tech content when we see it. It overexplains elementary ideas while underexplaining the concepts that matter — all in complex, rambling sentences long enough to rival an early 19th-century author.
No one intentionally seeks to write heavy technical content and wear out their readers along the way. But for some reason, diving into complex topics brings out the inner Dickens in many of us, and we find ourselves writing verbose pieces by instinct.
This approach might have worked for content marketers in the past when ranking for the right keyword was simply a matter of using it the correct number of times, and landing on the top of a SERP was a guaranteed way to gain readers.
But now, thanks to LLMs like ChatGPT, the SEO landscape is very different. Kyle Byers, Growth Marketing Director at Semrush, predicts an unprecedented volume of low-quality content in 2024, raising readers’ expectations and increasing their interest in accurate, genuine content.
Today, more than ever, readers value clear, concise writing and won’t invest time in an article that they believe won’t be helpful to their needs. To stand out from the crowd in the tech world, today’s content marketers need to use foundational marketing best practices and think critically about making genuine human connections and differentiating their storytelling.
3 Ways to Write Compelling Tech Content
According to Kyle Byers, competing against AI is all about creating compelling and unique content experiences;
“Content marketers should provide experiences that can’t be easily replaced by simple AI summaries. Your work needs to be more compelling to users than ever.”
Here are three ways to make your tech content stand out from the crowd and facilitate this winning experience for readers:
*Really* Know Your Stuff Before You Start Writing
Technical audiences can “sniff out BS” from a mile away. They can catch small nuances, such as over-defining a basic concept in the industry. Your credibility is shot once you’ve tripped up, so technical accuracy and tone are crucial.
To understand what matters to your audience and what doesn’t, start by genuinely getting to know them and the technology you’re writing about.
Here are some questions to answer about your audience:
- What is your target reader’s role in a company?
- What are their goals? What is their definition of “success”?
- What challenges are they facing in reaching those goals?
- What’s their level of technical expertise, and which technology are they probably already leveraging in their everyday work?
Here are a few questions to get you started in getting to know the technology:
- Can you give a 30-second explanation in your own words of how this technology works and why it matters? (Try explaining it out loud to an inanimate object sitting on your desk. No judgment here)
- What is its UI, and how would a user interact with it? (demos are helpful here)
- What are some concrete examples that illustrate each of its selling points clearly?
Focus on Clear Storytelling
It’s easy to slip into complex writing to describe complicated subjects. But today’s readers want skimmable, compelling content that sounds… well… human.
You can start by tightening up your content with a few foundational writing practices, such as:
- Avoiding passive sentences as often as possible.
- Picking precise verbs that describe what your technology really does (not all technology “facilitates” or “drives” something).
- Varying sentence lengths.
- Leveraging real-life examples of the concepts you’re discussing.
In addition, consider ways to visualize elements on your page and clearly guide your readers through a story. Here are a few ideas for adding visual elements to the page:
- Highlight a definition or summary in a text box, or turn a bulleted list into a chart or infographic.
- Tap in your graphic design department more often, offering readers valuable screenshots and diagrams to explain complex technology.
- Consider using video to complement your content writing efforts.
Find a Unique Angle
AI has nothing on human writers when it comes to creating unique, new ideas. After all, technologies like ChatGPT are just regurgitating existing content. So, use this fact to your advantage when tackling technical topics.
Here are a few ways to find unique angles for your next piece of content:
- Talk to the subject matter experts at your organization. The engineers and technical folks will likely have unique perspectives on industry tides and helpful/interesting aspects of the product that deserve recognition. Salespeople can also bring expertise to the table, offering details about the different pain points and pushbacks that potential customers have brought up in conversations.
- Establish a unique brand voice. Your writing can lean “punchy,” “humorous,” “cool,” or anything in between. A unique brand voice makes it clear that there’s a human writer behind a potentially dry and dense subject.
- Brainstorm some BFIs (big fun ideas). Give yourself the freedom to think about the craziest and most outrageous ideas for future content. You might surprise yourself with how well some of the ideas work with your brand. Your next content piece could be yet another variation on your product page, OR it could be an interactive space adventure in which the crew solves a dire situation with your product. The choice is yours!
Megawatt Can Support Your Marketing Strategy by Writing Engaging Tech Content
Here at Megawatt, we specialize in creating high-quality content that drives your marketing goals and draws in new audiences. We love diving deep into technology and turning complex concepts into informative, insightful content that converts. Ready to transform your highly technical ideas into actionable content that drives growth? Let’s talk.
