Do you sell technical products and services to a non-technical audience? Need to write about it in a way your customers will understand? Clear communication is always a must in any kind of writing, but writing about technical topics for a non-technical audience can present some added challenges.
Experts can often be too close to their subject. This makes it harder to explain something clearly to someone without insider knowledge and understanding. You might have the perfect product or service, but no one is going to buy it if they don’t understand what it is!
Let’s take a look at what you can do to translate technical information into easy-to-understand text that will wow your readers and inspire them to take action; whether that’s buying your latest gadget or software, or signing up for a financial planning session.
Understand your audience
Before setting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), it’s important to understand who you’re writing for. The needs and goals of your readers are going to differ between a technical and a non-technical audience.
Understanding what technical knowledge, if any, your readers have, will help you write at the right level. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming too much prior knowledge, which is a common mistake. You may know your industry and the technical details inside out. Your readers may not.
Consider:
- What’s your reader’s prior knowledge and expertise?
- How much technical knowledge do they have? E.g.:
- Are they industry insiders?
- Do they work in a field with a knowledge overlap?
- Is your topic completely new to them?
Writing for a technical vs. non-technical audience
Now you know who you are writing for, tailor your writing to your audience. For example, a technical audience with inside industry knowledge will be familiar with industry terms and acronyms and will understand certain concepts.
A non-technical audience might have difficulty reading a text full of industry jargon and acronyms. So you will need to break things down and explain or simplify technical concepts.
Create a clear outline
An outline is the skeleton of your article, often written in bullet points, but you can write it in any way that makes sense to you. Starting with an outline will help you to decide what you want to write about and organise your ideas. It’ll also help you decide and plan what information you need.
Additionally, writing an outline will help you to implement a logical progression of ideas, which is particularly important when writing about technical subjects as you want it to be easy for your readers to follow along. You’ll also be less likely to stray off-topic, which is easily done.
Use plain English
For techy people, it’s easy to fall into the trap of using lots of technical terms and acronyms as they come naturally. However, while technical terms are useful to communicate with experts, it’s not so fun for non-technical people who may be completely new to a subject.
To make a text easy to read, use simple everyday words and try to avoid using jargon and overly technical terms where possible. If you do need to use a technical term, make sure to explain it. Spell acronyms out the first time you use them. For example; Tone of Voice (TOV).
Write short, clear sentences. This will break up the text and make it easier to read. Also, remember to be concise. No long waffling sentences!
Use a conversational tone to engage readers. Speaking directly to the reader helps to make your message more relatable.
Further reading: 10 Words to Cut from Your Copy
Break down complex ideas into smaller, digestible parts
Breaking down your ideas into steps or sections will help readers to follow along with your text.
Additionally, avoid giving readers one big information dump as your message will get lost and the information overload will make them walk away. Instead, think about the needs of your audience. What is the goal of your writing and what will your readers get out of it? What information do they need? What can you leave out?
People often scan a text for the information they need. So make it easy for them to find what they are looking for by structuring your content in a way that is easy to scan. Also, remember to leave plenty of white space as this will also make your content easier to read, especially on a screen.
Use visuals
Where appropriate, add visuals to help illustrate complex information and concepts. Visuals make information easier to take in, are visually pleasing, and user friendly. Examples of visuals can include diagrams, infographics, illustrations, photos, screenshots, or flowcharts for processes and systems.
Tell a story
Let’s face it; while you may find a topic fascinating others may find it really boring. To make readers sit up and take note, you need to grab their attention and keep it. Storytelling can make a topic more interesting, engaging, and relatable. It can also help your readers to understand better.
There are lots of ways you can tell a story and make a text more relatable. For example, you could use anecdotes or write narratives using real-world examples. Or you could write case studies that show how you solved a customer’s problem from beginning to end.
Additionally, analogies and metaphors that relate technical concepts to everyday life can create memorable comparisons and show your readers how your solutions can work in their life.
Benefits first, features second
Your product or service may have lots of impressive bells and whistles, and as technical people, we love getting geeky about the details. But for the average reader, this isn’t really interesting. What they want to know is what’s in it for them?
Lead with the advantages your product or service brings to the reader. It’ll pique their interest and you’re more likely to sell the idea to them because you’re addressing a problem they want to solve.
Edit your work
Once you’ve got your draft, remember to put it through some good editing.
Self-editing
Starting with a self-edit is always the first step. Here are some handy self-editing tips to help:
Use your spell checker. Do a basic spelling and grammar check using the tools in your word processor. This is such an easy step, but one that people often miss. If you want to get fancy, you could also use a tool such as Grammarly or Scribens.
Read it out loud. Reading out loud can help you identify where sentences sound awkward.
Read it backwards. Not literally word for word, but start with the bottom paragraph and work your way up. Often we are so familiar with the text that we miss pesky little errors. Reading your text in a different order will de-familiarise the text and help you spot any errors.
Get feedback
Get feedback from non-technical readers. This will help you to identify anything that has not been explained clearly enough or where any unexplained technical terms have slipped in.
Hire an editor or proofreader
A professional editor or proofreader will do the hard work of getting your content into shape for you. Additionally, they can approach your project with fresh eyes and know what to look out for.
There are different stages in the editing process, so you’ll need to find the right kind of editor for your content. I go into more detail about this in my article The difference between copy-editing and proofreading.
In Summary
Clear writing is essential for business growth. When writing about technical subjects for a non-technical audience break it down and write as clearly and succinctly as possible. Consider the technical level of your audience and keep your writing goals in mind (i.e. what do you want your readers to do after they’ve read it?).
About the author
Hi. I’m Anita, a technical copywriter based in Wolverhampton, UK. I specialise in writing about technical topics for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Here’s where you can find out more:
How to get in touch:
- Fill in my contact form
- Email me at hello@anitacopysmith.co.uk
Anita CopySmith 