TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Switch hitting (was TW and Marketing From:Ron Sering <sering -at- ECENTRAL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 29 Oct 1998 18:50:39 -0700
It's kind of funny to see the raps on marketing writing, because I hear
just as many-more, actually-raps on technical writing. It kind of seems
like a minor holy war, similar to the PC/Mac jihad.
It is true that marketing writing can be content-challenged, but I don't
think that that particular genre has a monopoly on drivel.
I am writing increasingly more marketing material these days, and I
think the basics don't change. _Good_ marketing writing informs,
entertains, and if it's really good, tells a story of what is possible
with a given product. Your purpose is to inform and persuade.
Documentation guides and teaches. In both cases, you must understand
your audience and what they need to know.
As far as the skills required, I can draw on the recent thread about a
tech comm degree versus a liberal arts background. I am grateful for the
diverse background of my English major/history and economics minor, and
the variety of writing I've done. I've written a variety of things, from
user docs to magazine articles to a smattering of fiction to (yes)
marketing material. This is just a thought, but: does a specialized tech
comm degree provide the kind of diverse study that would enable them to
switch to the slightly different genre of marketing writing?
