You’ve seen them. In fact, you can hardly miss them because they are so poorly written. I’m talking about the average technical brochure, a piece of work that’s often either regurgitated geek-speak, or a droning list of the same old specifications.

Whose idea was it that you do not have to sell engineers on a product? Or that selling to them means providing a dry-ice list of mind-numbing technical specifications? I’ll grant you, no technical brochure or data sheet is complete without the technical data, but isn’t your product more than an assemblage of specifications? Let’s hope so, or you’ll never compete.

What if engineers didn’t have to work so hard to get the information needed to make a purchase? What if you presented the information in a way that was accurate, uncluttered, AND compelling? Here’s a look a what doesn’t work — and what does — when creating technical marketing copy.

What Doesn’t Work:

• Cute headlines or catchy leads that have no relationship to the product.
• Irrelevant data. There’s no need to describe standard technologies or concepts to your audience, so forego the urge to explain the way the Internet works and get on with what’s special about the product.
• Speaking exclusively about specs. Everybody has specs. In a competitive marketplace, the specs for products in the same category are much the same. Work hard to identify the product’s edge and tout the benefits. Does the product’s design reduce development time? Is it easy to install and maintain? Does the company’s reputation for customer service set it head and shoulders above its competition? Find the unique selling points, and shout them to the world.
• Forgetting that a primary audience for the product may not be the engineer at all, but the engineer’s corporate purchasing agent. Benefits clearly stated with supporting specifications sell products to purchasers, who are under constant pressure to reduce costs. Make it easy for them to see the cost savings associated with your product.
• Trying too hard to sell. Back off on the hard sell, because it’s the wrong tactic in the tech market. Write copy that sounds natural.

What Works:

• Good headlines that are relevant to product benefits.
• Clean, attractive design with colorful, accurate illustrations, photographs, and diagrams.
• Knowing the product well enough to write compelling copy. I can spot technical copy written by a regurgitator a mile away. This is an area in which technical writers with marketing savvy can excel and deliver exceptional collateral. The fact is that knowing what the product does, understanding something about how it works below the surface, enables you to write about the applications of that product. In the end, benefits and useful applications sell products, not flashy copy.

Approach your next technical marketing piece with a little geek and a write-to-sell attitude, and you’ll come up with winning collateral.

Michael Knowles is a writer, business communications coach, and marketing specialist who helps small businesses and professionals increase profits and better serve their customers and clients. Michael publishes WriteThinking (http://www.WriteThinking.net/) and is author of the highly praised ebook “You CAN Take Credit Cards Online!” youcantakecreditcardsonline.com. For a no-cost personal consultation, e-mail coach@mwknowles.com.