The gig economy has been a big employer to people from all walks of life, and estimations indicate that it will generate a revenue of 455.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. The gig economy refers to a set up where employers hire freelancers on a short-term basis or through contracts.

Content writing has been one of the most popular subsectors of this set up where employers hire freelancers on a short-term basis or through contracts. Content writing is extensive and encompasses creative writing, copywriting, academic writing, article writing, eBook writing, blog post writing, and technical writing, among many more others.

Technical writing is the art of writing process documentation or instructions. Technical writers provide clear and concise information to the readers. How does this happen? Do you need to be a techie to succeed as a technical writer? Must you use the said products or interact with them to produce compelling content? These are some of the common questions among people who are new to technical writing. The short answer is no. Let us explore what it takes to become better at technical writing:

Choose a niche

The technical world is broad, and you cannot cover everything. Some of the most common subsectors you can pick include artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, blockchain, and cloud computing. Do not follow the crowd but choose something you are passionate about and learn the basics. You can also select a few niches that are closely related. However, overstretching yourself is not a good approach as employers want experts on various topics.

Create a portfolio

Bearing the title ‘technical writer’ is not enough. You need to prove to people that you are knowledgeable and can deliver to their expectations. But how do you go about this if you are just starting and haven’t built a portfolio yet? You can use platforms such as LinkedIn and Medium to publish technical content. Some companies will let you publish content under your name, which helps a lot. Ensure that you always give your clients the best and get stellar reviews.

Use plain language

This point seems to be contradictory as you are writing technical content. However, the end-user is not always a techie. For instance, when you write a guide for the newest smartphone in the market, the target market will be the average buyer in the market. It helps to write in such a way that it is understandable even for people who are not tech-savvy.

Focus on the task

Every technical writing assignment will be different. There are days that you will write guides, review products, create opinion pieces, or compare products. Each of these tasks requires a different writing style and presentation of ideas. Understand what every project requires, do some research and then give it your best.

Create a persona

What is the target market for the content you want to produce? If it is technical department heads then your content will have to be different from what you create for consumers. Analyse the age, educational background, gender, and even social status of the target group. Write and review your language with this persona in mind.

Use attributions

it is always a good idea to add references to your articles and make it easy for your readers to get the whole picture. This approach allows readers to research more relevant details. Readers who want to get extra information can check the references, while those who do not, can read the content without interruptions.

Use illustrations

Communicating complex details using simple language is not that easy. Consider using graphs, diagrams, charts, and infographics to explain and clarify. For instance, if you create a user guide on how to change the operating system of your computer, it makes sense to include screenshots. Developing technical information does not have to be technical. Familiarise yourself with the niche, focus on the topic at hand, and then use simple, short, and clear sentences. Make learning a continuous process and follow industry leaders.

The tech industry is huge as it is estimated to be in the excess of 3,212 billion U.S. dollars. As a part of this, the Information technology (IT) sector employs millions of people from different parts of the world.

However, techies are not that necessarily experts in marketing. To complicate matters even further, the tech market attracts a unique set of customers which calls for a different marketing approach compared to other industries such as entertainment or fashion.

The solution is that SEO is one of the best marketing strategies that Tech and IT companies can use to reach new customers. These companies need a powerful SEO strategy to:

• build a competitive web presence
• leverage powerful content
• adjust to the changing audience preferences
• sustain success in the ever-changing environment
• learn and take advantage of buyer intent.

The following are 5 the best SEO tips for tech companies:

1. Know your audience

We have already stated that tech customers are not the same as those you find in a fashion house. Understanding your buyer persona will help you plan the nature of the content to share with them. Address their pain points instead of focusing on a sales pitch. Customers in the tech and IT industries are looking for specific, detailed and highly technical information.

Identify the areas of interest of your target audience and then research the keywords they use on the internet. Technology is an ever-changing world where new terms are coined daily. This means that keyword research is a continuous process if you want to remain relevant over time.

2. Push regular and fresh content

Once you identify the audience and their keywords, then it is time to create content. This content will help you build a solid reputation, and this will only happen when it is valuable and consistent. Search engines will recognise your site as an authority when people spend a significant amount of time perusing your content.

It is a good idea to develop a content calendar that will highlight what to post and when. You can have different types of content such as blog posts, videos, illustrations and infographics. Look out for the trending topics and give your thoughts on the same.

3. Work on website design

What is the average time spent on your webpages? How easy is it to navigate through your website? When search engines realise that people don’t stay for a very long time on your site, then that is an indication that you are not resourceful. Another aspect to consider is the load time, as web surfers are somehow impatient, and make sure you have a search button so it is easy to navigate your services and products.

4. Invest in on-page SEO but use it wisely

Having lots of keywords may look like it will attract a lot of traffic. However, keyword stuffing is a grave mistake that can cost you a better ranking on search engines. Weave your keywords naturally in areas such as page title, meta descriptions, URL titles and alt tags for images. The content you share should resonate with the readers and solve problems that your target market faces, and not purely be written for search engines

5. Take advantage of social media

About 3.8 billion people use social media in the modern world. Your potential customers could be hanging on these social streets. Social media helps you create a family that will always look forward to your content. Find out some of the most famous platforms among your target market and share content consistently. You can share links to your blogs and videos on these platforms and lead them to your sales page.

Using the above tips makes it easy to win more prospects and eventually convert them into paying customers. Having a dedicated marketing team can help you keep up with the competition. Be on the lookout for new trends in SEO and tech world and make your platforms a resource where your customers and followers can get valuable content.

Software as a Service, abbreviated as Saas, is a market that has been growing steadily over the last decade and has hit highs of 157 billion in 2020. Also known as service in the cloud, SaaS, in the simplest terms, is the connection and subscription to IT services that are built on a shared infrastructure, hosted and shared on the cloud. 

Such services are thus deployed over the internet rather than the traditional approach where applications are purchased, downloaded, and stored locally. The applications are managed and delivered remotely, and you can easily access them through your web browser, either on your personal computer or mobile phone.

Software as a Service covers a wide range of companies such as those in sales CRM, marketing automation, document signing, and SEO tools. Most of these companies charge a recurring fee, which can be monthly or annually. However, there are thousands of such companies and products which make the market quite competitive.

Link building has proven to be one of the most effective approaches to ensure that SaaS companies attract organic traffic. It is this organic traffic that will eventually convert into paying customers. How can SaaS companies get those crucial links? We explain this below.

Develop valuable content

What value will people gain when they interact with your content? This is the first question to ask yourself before you hit the post button. For instance, if you are a marketing automation company, you can share insights on marketing and educate your followers.

Keyword research is the first step towards creating killer content. You want to ensure that people are actually searching for the keywords you want to create content around. Using a tool such as Ahref can give you the exact keywords that are in demand. Look for the trending topics as people are likely to link to you when you are up-to-date and resourceful.

Guest posting

A guest post simply refers to publishing content on another person’s platform. For instance, if you sell SEO tools, then you can create and publish an article on a marketing blog. Such platforms allow you to link back to your site naturally. It is a win-win situation for both your site and the target site. The rank of your site gets a boost and more exposure while the target sites get free content.

Prospecting is the first step in the guest posting journey. You need to find sites that not only relevant but also accept contributors. You can reverse-engineer the links from your competitors to find sites that are likely to accept guest posts. Once you have created a list of prospects, then you can select the ones that are most suitable and then contact the target sites.

Answer questions on forums

SaaS companies provide solutions to problems that face humanity. If you deal with marketing automation, then you can get a question such as “How will blockchain change marketing?” on a platform such as Quora. Take your time to answer that question if you are knowledgeable and then link back to your site. You can also join your industry forums and be a contributor on various topics. Some of these platforms allow you to create a profile that highlights what your company does.

Join roundups

The successful brands you see out there are not mean with information. They know how to network with other brands and penetrate new markets. You can spare perhaps one hour a month to join other experts in your field and share your knowledge. Don’t shy away from participating in roundups organised by small companies as it is one of the best approaches to create a name out there.

Keep in mind that SaaS companies are different from other business models, such as e-commerce shops. The latter applies a self-service model, which also affects how you can collect links. SaaS sites, in contrast, have fewer product pages, which means that the links will focus on the specific products and not the entire site.