Startups Looking for a Technical Writer? 6 Tips for Success

I’ve started two technical writing departments from scratch, been a sole writer and consultant in a small org, and integrated content and processes into larger companies after acquisitions three times! Besides the jobs I’ve had, I’ve interviewed with and been offered roles at several other startups. Sometimes I see a disconnect on what companies need (or think they need) and what a writer can offer, which can delay hiring the right person and risk their effectiveness when they are hired.

I’ve put together some tips for startups looking to hire their first writer so they can be efficient and effective in this process.

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

Tip 1: Prioritize your needs

While this may seem basic, you’d be surprised how startups say they need a writer to do one or more of these things without considering the others. So, it helps if you can identify and prioritize your needs.

Do you need:

• Someone to come in and be productive and write content?
• Someone to make the content “look good”?
• A single location for your content?
• Cleanup of existing content?
• Help with the copy in the Product, UI, or UX?
• Marketing content?

Which of these is the most important? What can you live without or already have resources working on? And, what is the urgency for these and why? Eliminate the ones you don’t need or want. Prioritize the rest. Make sure you discuss this with potential candidates before you hire.

Tip 2: Identify tolerance for change

The first writer in a startup will always implement new processes. But startups vary in their ability to adapt and incorporate those processes.

If you are ready to hire a technical writer, the organization must be ready to accept the process changes that come with it. Again, it sounds basic, but I’ve seen product and engineering departments resist modifying their processes to make space for a writer. Prepare them. You can read up on best practices for change management for more on how.

Product and engineering processes must adapt for a writer to be successful (for example, you’ll have to involve them early in the product lifecycle, build time in the release schedule for reviews, etc.). If you’re the hiring manager, be prepared to have frank and open conversations with the writer about what will work for the company. Some writers prefer to be involved early and attend meetings. Some prefer to test and research on their own and avoid speaking to humans. Writers can be effective in a number of different ways.

For the writer to ultimately be successful, the hiring manager (and their managers, too) needs to understand proposed changes, the reasons for the changes, and drive process adoption with appropriate groups and stakeholders. If you feel strongly about keeping a specific process (for example, if you will not allow writers to attend sprint planning meetings), be clear about that during the interview process so you find the right fit.

Tip 3: Enable credibility

Technical writers need time to build credibility. The fastest way to build it? Learn the product. The fastest way to do that? Write content.

Caveat: to write and publish content, you need effective tools. One startup I worked at had a need for new content, but the existing method of publishing created severe barriers for content consumers.

Content can’t help users if they can’t access it. And a writer can’t write content if there is no tool to write with.

Before I could write, I determined it was critical to first implement reasonable writing and publishing methods. That delayed my learning about the product, which hurt my credibility. You can avoid this by building in time for onboarding and letting the writer know if you’d rather they write content, even if no one can find it, before implementing an effective delivery method. And then, make sure leadership and others understand and agree that learning trumps tools (or vice versa).

I don’t recommend choosing tools without the writer’s input, but if you want the writer to use a specific tool or type of tool, tell them before you hire them to make sure they have experience with it so they can be productive right away.

Tip 4: Hire a writer earlier than you think

I can’t tell you how many startups I’ve seen that have just “gotten by” with engineers and product and customer success and support having written pages and pages of content, much of it conflicting and out-of-date, all while spending time and money duplicating efforts.

Do yourself a favor and hire a content professional, even a contractor, to write documentation for you early and often. Store and publish it in one location. Don’t fall into the trap of maintaining many versions of documents written by many people, thinking you’re saving money by not hiring someone. The cost of writing and maintaining content by many people duplicating efforts over time is very high. “Fixing” this later with content audits and rewrites often takes more time than writing from scratch, driving costs higher. Save the headache and do it right from the start. When you eventually hire a full-time writer, they will have a head start.

Tip 5: Know what a writer can do

What’s the point of hiring a technical writer? To enable users to be successful using your product.

There’s a strange misconception that technical writers write about products. Stranger still, writers are often supposed to do this after the product is done (code complete or close to complete). Even more bizarre, some teams won’t involve a writer until close to (or God forbid after) product release time.

Technical writers write to enable user success. Period. Waiting too long doesn’t just make it more expensive to go back and fix things, but a writer can name fields, buttons, windows, and modals. Writers can write better error messages (in plain language that localizes well!). Writers can suggest help text and more intuitive wording, write onboarding tours, and ask questions from a user point of view that you may not have considered.

What can a writer do? Enable your users. A less confusing product means less need for documentation. Involving a writer early can reduce or eliminate the need for a writer later.

Tip 6: Keep an open mind

After examining priorities, understanding the process changes and credibility needed, involving the writer early, and understanding how writers can impact product success, you might find that you don’t actually need a technical writer after all. Here’s how it breaks down from my POV:

• Content strategist is an umbrella term for a content professional. They look at existing and future content needs and make recommendations. They can unify voice and tone in marketing, product, and documentation content, and can recommend process changes across the entire company. If your startup has written customer-facing content for more than two years without an official writer, consider hiring a content strategist.
• Technical writers write. Typically, technical writers want to dive in, research, and write content. They consult on processes and style. They may or may not want to create processes and publishing platforms from scratch. You’ll need to be more hands-on in enabling a technical writer through process and planning.
• UX writers enable users in the product with words. They examine the user journey, user flow, and suggest ways to help users from the beginning with copy inside a product. This can look like onboarding flows, well-named UI elements, and in-product help.
• All of the above. Maybe you want all the things. In that case, label the role “Content Strategist” and be clear in the job description that you need someone who can perform all of these roles.

In my opinion, any of these roles should be able to do most of these things, but if you label the role technical writer when you actually want a content strategist or UX writer, you will be looking at a lot of resumes and interviewing a lot of candidates before you find one with the right skill set. Similarly, if you want someone to write and not suggest changes to the process or product, make sure you look for a technical writer, not a content strategist or UX writer.

Being clear about what you need and want will help you hire the right person and allow them to be effective right away. Good luck!