Hate Selling? Try Helping!

You cannot succeed in any business without selling. Delegating or ignoring selling skills is one of the worst things you can do. How to develop your sales skills, even if you think you hate it. Wendy Peck explains.

Peck, Wendy. Wise-Women (2004). Careers>Business Communication>Marketing

How to Break into Marketing Communications  

Many technical writers, editors, illustrators, graphic designers, managers, and others would like to break into technical marketing. But how to do it? This mini-workshop gives technical communicators some practical tips for making the transition without the requisite “experience required”. As an added bonus, it shows that marketing jobs in general pay more than similar ones held by traditional technical communicators.

Vaughan, Caroleen L. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Business Communication>Marketing

The Last Ditch Sales Pitch

I recently encountered a young web entrepreneur who understands that in business, 'no' doesn't necessarily mean 'never,' and that a last ditch sales pitch can pay off - maybe not today or tomorrow, but some day. It's a wise investment because one sales letter can be adapted and personalized for many different uses over time. And it can help you retrieve prospects you thought you had lost!

Reimer, Heather. Write Thinking (2002). Careers>Consulting>Marketing>Business Communication

Marketing Yourself as a Marketing Writer  

Technical communication consultants may find that marketing writing makes an excellent second line of business. Technology companies, marketing services firms, and advertising agencies often use freelancers to write marketing documents. They particularly need good writers who understand technology. This paper discusses the business of freelance marketing writing and how it differs from independent technical writing. Topics include the kinds of projects that marketing writers work on, how development cycles typically differ from those of technical documents, and how to effectively market yourself as a marketing writer.

Massa, Jack A. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Marketing>Business Communication

Making the Transition From Tech Comm to Marcom

At first glance, technical communication (techcom) and technical marketing communication (marcom) appear to be very different genres. Where traditional techcom strives to help people use products, marcom seeks to make people realize they need products. Techcom instructs, while marcom persuades, and this distinction affects everything from the genre’s focus, to its content, and medium.

Simard, Christy. TechCom Manager (2004). Careers>TC>Business Communication>Marketing