TKO writers (a.k.a ‘business writers’, ‘technical writers’, ‘marketing writers’, ‘instructional designers’ and ‘content developers’) are quite different from creative writers, authors or journalists (although many of us do dabble in these additional and enjoyable areas on the side). Put most simply, TKO writers are dedicated to writing within the strictly defined parameters of your specific "business message”. We document what is fact about your technology, product, service or message (or what is about to become fact, if you are still in the development stage).
We're not in the business of creating stories. Rather, we take pride in helping you to simplify the businesses messages and imperatives you’ve created so they are clear, compelling, effective… and most of all, memorable!
It is important to also understand that TKO writers may also function as ‘copywriters’ and ‘marketing writers’ (when we develop corporate intranet content or sales & marketing collateral, for example). Yet there’s one key difference. TKO writers bring an enhanced skill set to the table – we have the technical expertise to handle and dissect complex subject matter (distilling its essence and simplifying it for easy comprehension), while also crafting your selling points or motivational messaging. Unlike a traditional advertising copywriter who takes business direction from an account manager and focuses mainly on developing memorable, creative ways to describe, sell or spin your message, we take quite the opposite approach - with your defined business goal in mind, the only ‘spin’ we place on your message is simplicity.
Technical writing is a specialized branch in the field of communications. Its purpose is to convey information accurately and efficiently to a specific audience. The information may treat any technical subject: the operation of a machine, the behaviour of a circuit, the development of a theory, the explanation of a process or procedure. It may take any expository form: an instruction, a definition, a summary, a survey, a comparison, an enumeration. The audience may also vary. One publication may be addressed to a technician, a second to an engineer, a third to a salesperson, a fourth to a VP. A fifth might go to a mixed audience of specialists and non-specialists.
- ‘Growth of the Technical Writing Profession’ by Robert R. Rathbone
Want to know more? Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the field of Technical Writing...
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TKO - Free Your Audience.