Business and Technical Writing

A common thread across almost all activities I have been involved with is being able to communicate in concise and simple to understand ways.  The need for good written documentation spans industries and disciplines.  From business plan writing to sales collateral to technical writing to email campaigns - the quality of the written documentation often plays a huge role in determining the effectiveness of the activity.  In business terms, complete and well written documentation can directly translate to profitability of the activity.

In addition to properly organized (and conveyed) thoughts and ideas, the choice of media needs to match the application.  Some of the more common media types I have worked with include:

  • Portable Document Format (PDF): the preferred format for documents that either need to be available offline, or printed.  Adobe PDF format is an industry de facto standard, with free readers readily available.  When properly indexed, large documents such as manuals or books can be easily navigated (see writing samples below for examples).  PDF documents are simple to exchange via email or to publish on the web.
     
  • Print: documents needing professional printing often require special formatting and handling.  Bound documents such as manuals and books have special margin handling needs.  Depending on the style chosen, they may need special header and footer handling.  Preparation of electronic files to be submitted to printers need to take into consideration tools available to the printer, including proper fonts.  Other issues include paper and document cover types and materials, and packaging.
     
  • Web: the preferred format for documents that need to be displayed on the world wide web.  Advances in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and CMS systems (such as the one this site uses) allow for rich formatting with minimal fuss.  Should the document requirements be more  sophisticated than current web techniques allow, PDF can always be used as a backup strategy.
     
  • Electronic Mail: rich (HTML) formatting of documents is often needed for customer communication.  The formatting of HTML email has its own set of issues specific to common email clients.  An example application is the automated email submission system built into the Jade Connections website allowing for the website to send email on behalf of the user (the Digital Photo Frame page is a good example).  Other tools can be built depending upon client requirements.
     

Writing Types

Different writing styles and approaches need to be taken depending on who the target reader is.  A sales brochure for consumer electronic products is written in a completely different way than a complete business plan targeting the business investor community.  Technical writing targeting corporate system engineers will be written in the language familiar to them (technical jargon).  A university thesis will target the educational community as well as professionals in the given area of study.

Regardless of the target audience for a given document, there are many issues common across most document types.  These include:

  • Know your readers
  • Proper organization of thoughts and ideas
  • Concise and simple to understand wording
  • Correct spelling and grammar

Some of the more common writing types that I have been involved with are business plans, marketing and sales literature, technical writing, and educational.   Each is described in more detail below.

Business Plans

Business plans are special documents used for planning and monitoring a business.  They are often also used as tools for obtaining loans and/ro investment funding for a company, although strictly speaking, this should be their secondary role.

In-depth knowledge of the relevant products or services, competition, market factors, marketing plans, internal resources, sales projections, and complete financial information are just a few of the areas that need to be well understood.  An external consultant can be quite helpful for teams not experienced in complete business planning to ensure that all the basic areas are covered.  This includes proper financial modeling of the business.

Marketing and Sales Literature

Sales writing is directed towards the customer of the business.  This goes for direct sales letters (either print or email) as well as brochures or any other written correspondence.  In the case of letters, the message must be direct and personal, as well as simple and to the point.  Key selling points directly related to the buying decision must be made obvious, and a sense of urgency established.  Other sales collateral, such as brochures or data sheets, are focused on providing the customer with enough product information to make a knowledgable buying decision.  They must be complete and accurate.  Inaccurate of incomplete information can often result in a poor impression of the company in the eyes of the customer, hurting the sales process rather than helping.

Technical Writing

As I have been working in the Internet area for the past 25+ years, involvement with technical writing has been a constant part of all projects.  While in the USA, I worked with technology companies to produce both internal technical documentation as well as user manuals for their customers.  This work was extended during my IMA days, where I was responsible for all technical documentation, including user manuals, release notes, white papers, and all sales literature.  This was not actually by design, but made necessary as finding skilled technical writers with the engineering expertise to understand what they were writing about was almost impossible to find in the region.  Some of the resulting documents can be found at the bottom of this page.

Educational

Local universities and secondary schools often require detailed material be prepared in English.  This can range from school papers to thesis work.  While I do not provide research assistance for such projects (students are always responsible for their own work), I can help in formulating and organizing ideas and the conveyence of these into written documents.   This is similar in nature to copy editing (described below) with the exception that the process is done hand in hand with the student.

Copy Editing

Copy editing is the task of taking existing draft documents and improving them for the purpose of evenual publication.  Copy editing generally does not result in any basic changes in content, but rather focues on formatting, style, language use, and grammar.

Copy editing is extremely important for documents that undergo translation by somone not intimately familiar with the subject material or whose language skills are not native.  Typical examples are product manuals, sales literature, and email correspondence.
 

Translation Services

Total business and technical writing translation is available from English to Chinese as well as Chinese into English.  I work with proven translation services companies in China.  For Chinese to English translations, I provide final copy editing.
 

Off-Site Intensive Training / Collaboration

Do you have a time critical project needing your exclusive attention?  Do you need to be able to work on a project without the normal interruptions of your work or home?  If so, I have full facilities for short term projects, including desk space, high speed Internet access, and the ability to work together interruption free.  The space is located in the new coast area of Bao'an district in Shenzhen (Shenye XinAnXian).  The area is known for its good air quality and open spaces.  In addition to the office environment, outdoor areas can be used for a relaxed work environment, weather permitting.  Overnight accomodation is also available if needed.  For photos, see the photo album section at the end of the China Trade and Tours page.  For more information contact Tim and I can answer any questions.
 

Sample Works

Web Sites

PinoyTalk - this site was developed as a proof of concept for social networking in 2004.  The graphics work was done by a colleague in the Philippines, but all other content and application integration done by myself.

RegainAmerica - this is a work in progress.  Responsible for all site design and implementation.  Based on Drupal 5.  Articles written by site contributors.

Jade Connections - responsible for all site design and content.  Based on Drupal 5.

Jade Networks - responsible for all site design and content.   Based on Drupal 5.

Tim's Place - this site - responsible for all site design and content.  Based on Drupal 6.

International Messaging Associates - this is an archive of the site as it appeared at the end of 2003 when the company was shut down.  Site design (graphics and css work) done by external consultant.  Responsible for all other content.  This is a static site written in HTML.

Connie's Corner - Personal website for Connie Lucendo.  Based on Drupal 6.

User Manuals, Release Notes and White Papers

Documents provided here are from the work done with International Messaging Associates.  The IMA products were designed for technical datacenter managers, and were written with them in mind. Additional documents can be found on the IMA Archive Site.

Sales Documentation