Not bothering to hire technical writers can be a huge mistake for small businesses. Most small businesses leave the task of writing a user manual to their in-house developer. Technical writing needs a specialized set of skills. It is actually a challenging form of writing. A technical writer is someone with varying backgrounds, knowledge, experience, and ability. The writer should be able to explain facts in the most understandable manner. Any successful high-tech product and/or service has high-quality technical documentation. It is not worth it to sacrifice its quality to save a few bucks. Hiring a superior contract technical writer yields invaluable benefits.
Clearer communication
High-quality, well-versed documentation, and manuals show a lot about your organization. The level of competency of your organization reflects on the documentation. Complicated concepts are not easy to grasp and contract technical writers clarify these. They translate developer jargon into a more simple language. They help the organization to meet the needs of your target audience.
Awareness
Good technical writers consider content from the user’s perspective. They have the special talent of understanding complex content from two viewpoints. That of the industry-experts and that of the average consumer. They have the awareness and ability to connect to any audience.
Reduced costs
Spending money on technical writers are worth it. They have the necessary skill and knowledge to complete a coherent end-product faster. It will result in a reduction of service calls to your technical support department. Investing money in people is not about philosophy but being reasonable. An average salary of a technical writer is only around $57K per year. A software engineer or developer has an average annual pay of $73K. Hiring a technical writer is an excellent investment.
Professional formatting
All technical documents have similar structures and same elements. They help technical writers organize their documents in a clear manner. Documentation not only helps users but is also a crucial part of your brand. Technical writers also work with designers to present a manual in a professional way. The designers help in choosing the right size, color, and fonts. Users consider companies with pretty and logical manuals more trustworthy. Customers’ decisions depend on every detail. A handy manual also builds your brand loyalty.
Impartial
An in-house developer tends to create superfluous descriptions and overstated benefits when writing. It is crucial to maintain a high level of detail but it has to be concise and impartial. A contract writer does not let personal interest alter the end product.
Contract technical writers are professionals. They can develop documentation fast for an affordable price. Most developers will spend many hours trying to describe one feature. Technical writers look at the big picture and only describe key points which users need to know.