— Hi, I’m Shanice. 👋

My name is Shanice Jones, and I’m a techy, nerd, and copywriter from Chicago.

For the last five years I’ve helped over 20 startups building B2C and B2B content strategies that have allowed them to scale their business and help users around the world.

As your professional B2B copywriter, I’ll create powerful, concise marketing materials
that instantly convey what your brand is all about.

Notable Clients

Technical writing.
Reimagined,
with a bit of flavor.

Technical copywriting falls somewhere between the glossy, high-concept, general capabilities brochure and the down-and-dirty “spec”
or data sheet. The middle ground between these two extremes can be perfect for persuasive sales writing, even if the subject is technical.

The prospect needs to understand, in a clear and compelling way, how the technical product will improve her job like no other product; that is, its unique value proposition. This is the job of the technical copywriter.

Let’s first look at the main target of technical copy:
engineers. Skeptical engineers.

Engineers are an intelligent bunch. But they don’t like being sold to — at least not on a conscious level. Instead, your typical skeptical engineer expects a rational case to be made for a technical-industrial product, system, or service.

The problem is, engineers are information junkies. They’re overloaded with data. To make your rational case, you must first break through their information overload. And it had better be with an on-target, problem-solving message that both “hooks” their imagination and is technically admired.

Do technical companies
use enough
technical copy?

Usually not.

Many technical companies have just a general brochure and product spec or data sheets, with nothing in between. Or, they have very short “sales flyers” with maybe an ad reprint on the front and some technical specifications on the back, never fully developing a case for a unique value proposition.

Many of these companies honestly believe that “our product’s technical specifications speak for themselves.” They don’t. They need the support of a business case, and that can only be done using either a flesh-and-blood salesperson or through technical copy.

Some of my work

Harnessing User-Generated Content for Authentic Brand Building

Published on Scoop.it

Maximizing ROI With Advanced Segmentation in Google Analytics 4

Published on TechWyse

Revitalizing Email Marketing with a Curated Approach

Published on Scoop.it

Converting Customers Into Buyers: 5 Effective eCommerce Tips

Published on POWR Blog

How
a technical copywriter
works

No matter what the technical product is, frequently the copywriter has to start with raw data.... or even less! Often the information needed for comprehensive marketing materials exists only in the minds of several different product engineers.

A good technical copywriter extracts that information —patiently, methodically — through interviews. Another situation is when a company has written dozens and dozens of bulleted features and benefits, thinking this is technical copywriting.

It isn’t. There’s a time and a place for such lists, maybe next to the specifications tables. But a technical copywriter uses a feature/benefit list as a starting point.

My own technical copywriting work primarily focuses on:

1. Technical Marketing Content
- What good would your products be if everyday consumers don’t understand them? The technical marketing content that I create serves as a bridge between products/developers and everyday consumers.
- The main goal of technical marketing content is to help everyday people both understand and appreciate highly technical products. To accomplish this, I avoid using inside information while still zeroing in on the key specifications of a product or brand.
- Since I began freelance copywriting more than eight years ago, technical marketing content has been the bulk of my copywriting work. Beyond the hundreds of articles I’ve written for Upwork clients, I’m also honored to have written content for websites such as Marketing Mag, Flipping Book, and Jscrambler.
2. User Help Guides
- Users of software products rely on user help guides to help them solve their questions. And keep in mind, user help guides are not just for new users. Experienced users may also need to refer to guides to help refresh their memories.
- Beyond my writing capabilities, I’m qualified to create user help guides due to my experience as an Information Technology Specialist. While working at Trianz for over four years, I learned how to assess the functionality of company systems, review diagnostics, install or update software and hardware, monitor security certificates, ensure company compliance with requirements, and offer technical support to staff.
3. End User Documentation
- These more in-depth how-to guides contain concise, end-user instructions on product installation or maintenance. I’ll work with your team to gain an in-depth understanding of your product and its documentation requirements.
- From this I can create high-quality documentation that meets applicable standards and is appropriate for its intended audience. I can also analyze existing and potential content, focusing on reuse and single-sourcing opportunities.
- For six years, I’ve worked with the internal teams at 3Q Digital and then at Cision on documentation and product requirements. Specifically, I’ve produced product documentation, easy-to-understand user interface texts, and developer guides.

About me

I wasn’t always a copywriter, though looking back it seems pretty natural I’ve become one. I fell in love with literature and writing at a young age, before taking a long tangent through the world of computer science. After majoring in computer science at Harper College, I started working for a local IT company.
The work was pretty repetitive, so I started a blog on Japanese anime.

Before I knew it, that blog was more popular than my code 🙂

I decided to branch out, and started offering my services as a freelance copywriter. After writing hundreds of articles for clients on Upwork, and getting pretty damn good at B2C copywriting, I was offered a writing gig at Audible. Since then, I’ve been writing for major corporate blogs in the tech sector.

Building a writing career as a black woman has been difficult, and probably more so because I’m writing about technology. To my mind, there is still too little attention paid to the role of minority voices in catalyzing change in the tech world. I’ve experienced this first-hand, and don’t want the next generation of black and minority women to have to repeat those experiences.

That’s why I’m now going out on my own. I’ve been told that my writing is as technically rigorous, as readable, and as inspiring as any other tech writer out there. But – more importantly – I’m also acutely aware of the social and cultural issues that still plague the tech world.

In other words, I think I’m the complete package: able to write Python tutorials as well as exposees
on discriminatory hiring practices.

That might sound a little ambitious, but I’m determined.