'Don't Tase Me, Bro!' Or, How I Got an Engineer to Write a Whitepaper

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Comments

• by Jon-Mikel Bailey Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  This is hilarious and brilliant!

• by Carmen Hill Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  I love this! People are always asking how to get subject matter experts to contribute content, and this is a very proactive approach. A couple of others that I often suggest are: 1. If they don't feel comfortable (or aren't good at) writing, ask them to do a video or podcast. 2. Interview them and use the transcript to create one or more assets, including white paper, Q&A, blog post, etc.

• by Roy Young Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  I am so happy to see an article like this in MarketingProfs. What other source of marketing know-how is going to give marketers the practical suggestions and wisdom from someone as knowledgeable as Ari?

• by Bob Williams Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  You must be following me around. Working with engineers it a true challenge. Using the name as a lever is a great idea.
  
  But what do you do when they make endless changes and drag out a simple project into a 3-month effort?

• by Tim Orr Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Why not "interview" these folks, from the point of view of the intended reader, then create the draft? Generally, engineers know neither *what* content is relevant to the reader, nor *how* to write it. And, as you point out, their ability with English has usually not matured beyond third grade grammar class and what Churchill called "errant pedantry." Encourage them to write and they invariably become cocky, in my experience.

• by Rachel Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Thanks for the great post, Ari - I do a lot of writing in the medical field and this is *exactly* how I get my doctors to contribute!

• by Karen Bacot Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  I agree with Roy! As a matter of fact, I complained to Roy a couple of years ago that all the stuff on Marketingprofs was "best practices" and did not give any practical advice for those of us who do not work in ideal enviroments for marketing excellence. Ari, I have used that tactic in the past as well., with CEOs. Executives will never tell you what they want ,but they love to tell you when you're wrong! And if you do wait them out, you are bound to get a crappy draft, and then you are commit political suicide if you try to change one word. So shoot off that draft. It will come back with the same brilliant structure that you crafted, but with a few "change happy to glad" revisions.

• by Alana Schwartz Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Please do not give out this advice. You will put me out of a job. My job *is* to translate engineerspeak into English prose. OTOH, when applying for jobs where knowing a technical subject was crucial with the requisite degree, and already having a writing degree, I was turned down as underqualified.
  
  You really don't want 99% of engineers to have access to anything except a mechanical pencil.

• by Kyle Hendren Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Great article. It is amazing how the red pen comes out after a first draft is written on their behalf. I would rather work this way and recraft my text from feedback than trying to make another's content flow. And the "change happy to glad", so true.

• by Kelly May Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Great article! An old boss taught me this years ago...I thought he was nuts, but he was right! Its always easier to edit than it is to create. Great insight and advice. Love the tactic of using the byline...I will definately give it a try.

• by Michelle Horn Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Outstanding article and the first one I've seen on MarketingProfs that I can put into practice! I enjoy reading the articles here, but I agree with Karen. Much of what I've seen on the site would fall under "best practices" and isn't applicable to my particular situation; however, Ari was right on target. I am a lone English major in a sea of engineers and scientists (even our Director of Marketing is an engineer) and, like everyone else, I have a difficult time getting written work out of them. I'm going to enjoy trying this!

• by Denise Ferbas Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Too funny, and too true. Definitely agree that giving people a draft to respond to usually works better for everybody. I also interview the subject matter expert before writing and ask them for any source materials they may have handy. (It's important to do homework first so you'll ask smart questions that get your subject matter expert talking.)
  
  Another thing I've found is that a fear of writing stops some subject matter experts who would actually contribute otherwise. Others simply don't have enough time to polish a draft on their own. Content starts flowing from these folks when you give them a professional writer to discuss ideas with, or to refine their content.

• by Angela Barbosa Thu May 5, 2011 via web

  Ari, thank you for the hilarious (and so true) take on this age-old marketing issue. As someone with a long history of marketing for professional services firms, I've tried virtually every carrot and stick known to man and God. I came to the same conclusion you did ... but you said it so much better! I really appreciated the reminder and the laugh!

• by Todd Wheatland Fri May 6, 2011 via web

  Excellent article Ari - unique, true and very well written.

• by Patty Swisher Fri May 6, 2011 via web

  Great article! I agree with many of the comments included here. I have been begging for content for months from similar professional 'experts' and have gotten nowhere. I'm going to begin employing this technique, ASAP.
  
  Thinking about it, I have used this technique in the past successfully, but never made the connection with the path and methodology. Your article crystallized the "How to." Thanks.

• by Spencer Broome Fri May 6, 2011 via web

  Entertaining. Having worked with the tech sector before, I know exactly what you mean. A phrase or sentence that doesn't fully represent a capability in the right terminology elicits the same response as the jock who points and laughs at the non-athlete who can't put two hands together to catch a football. Kinda ironic.

• by Ari Fri May 6, 2011 via web

  @Bob,
  I promise I'm not following you (nice shirt!).
  
  Regarding the project that lasts three months, I don't have an answer. I recently completed a mailer that took 12 drafts. Once again, a taser springs to mind. Anybody have any brilliant ideas to stop a runaway editing orgy?

• by Michele Aymold Mon May 9, 2011 via web

  hahaha I could have written this! Funny how well this "method" works!

• by Todd Colburn Wed May 11, 2011 via web

  Great article.
  I had a similar experience getting engineers to write a white paper that I wanted to publish on our corporate facebook page to support a product launch, but, the fact is, a white paper written by the engineer that designed the actual new product (to defined, consumer driven performance objectives) is more compelling (and authentic) to core consumers than anything we marketers could write.

• by Todd Colburn Wed May 11, 2011 via web

  It is important to note that some editing to make the white paper more consumer friendly was typically needed.

• by Kimberly R. Thu May 12, 2011 via web

  This was an excellent article. Thanks for the laughs and the "Aha!" moment. I too work with engineers and scientists and my colleagues are always lameting about their writing style or lack of time to provide web content. I've always been fearful to do this method for fear I would look stupid. After reading this article, I don't care. If it gets me content, then the egg on my face was well worth it. Thanks Ari.

• by David Keith Daniels Thu May 12, 2011 via web

  Wonderful article Ari, I thoroughly enjoyed it and shared it with my friend on my blog. It reminded my of how many times I could have used your suggestions in the past. Sadly most whitepapers are collateral printed on white paper.

• by Barbara Reed Thu May 12, 2011 via web

  Great article. I found myself laughing and nodding my head throughout the whole thing. Like you, it took me a long time (and a lot of similarly lame tactics) to come to this conclusion. I love the byline idea though. I'm going to have to put that one in my arsenal.

• by Jared Broussard Mon Mar 12, 2012 via web

  Thank you, Thank You, Thank You. I am an upstart Inbound Marketing company that just partnered with a forensic engineering company. This will give me the guidance I need to get started. Thank you.

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