By Justice Godfrey Okamgba
Writing is a skill that needs constant practice and writing for a tech blog may be easy or maybe not be easy. You can immediately spot tons of grammatical error in the first paragraph of any write-up; this is how terrible writing could be.
Most people suck at the beginning of their career, as a fact their articles at that point is usually horrible. Sometimes, we think we know how to write and feel very much talented. The truth is that you are likely less skilled in writing than you think.
Technology blogs are springing up here and there, but how many of these tech blogs have quality contents? Setting up a blog takes less than an hour, and I have seen people doing that, just for the sake of having a blog.
However, let me share with you some of the hacks you need to break through in the industry as a tech writer.
Read Technology Blogs
I would recommend reading first before practicing how to hone your writing skills. No matter how experienced you think, you are, you should be reading technology articles to understand certain topics.
For instance, it took me time to know and understand to an extent what tech experts discuss at forums. If you are hearing Artificial Intelligence for the first time as a tech writer, you won’t pen down an insightful piece on AI. You must have read and understood what AI is all about before you can start writing about it.
Even, when you attend forum or seminar whenever AI is discussed, you will easily comprehend, and that makes it easy for your reportage. Therefore, I recommend reading tech articles first before honing your writing skills.
Practice writing
This can be difficult to implement for someone aspiring to become a tech writer. You read other peoples article and try to follow their pattern. Try to analyze their first paragraph, then how the first paragraph is linked to the second. Study how they are dissecting topics for their audience. Look for your favorite and follow.
Get a Degree in Journalism
This may not be necessary but a leverage for you as a tech writer. Mingle with professionals and hone your skills alongside them. Significant technology blogs always look for professionals in tech writing and having a degree or graduating from a journalism school is a bet.
Start Small
If you can set up your blog, that’s okay. You can be a guest writer or contributor. Write for other blogs and start building your confidence in tech writing. You can ask for feedbacks and request folks to critique what you have written. Freelancing is another way of starting small; you can as well consider it.
Understand Basic Technology
As a tech writer, of course, you need to be digitally minded. Your knowledge about social media should be robust, that is, if you are planning to build a strong followership. Have knowledge about tools such as Evernote, Asana, Slack, One Drive, Drop Box, Google Products, Design, etc. When you can work using those tools, your writing becomes easier.
Network
Relationship building is paramount, especially in journalism. Mingle with editors, publishers, and reporters in the industry when you get an offer. You never can tell, some of them are in need of writers too that could contribute.
A lot of people that I know have had the opportunity to change their career direction due to relationship building. So, you have to network when you start as a tech writer.
Conclusion
I will end this piece by informing you about an opening for tech writers at one of the fast growing technology blogs in Nigeria.
All you need to do is to submit three interesting tech article that is devoid of copying and fill this form https://goo.gl/forms/uA5DAyvZjtIAC9Nm2