How to Write Contributed Content: A Tech Marketer’s Guide

As the new year approaches, tech media outlets are soliciting year-end predictions from PR and marketing agencies. Contributed content can establish your tech company as a credible voice in your crowded industry while humanizing your company’s leaders. But tech executives must remember - outlets may be reaching out directly, but coverage isn’t guaranteed without a strategic approach.  

Engage PR is renowned by our clients for capturing their unique voice in contributed content while writing in a style that editors enjoy, thereby increasing the chances of high-value coverage. Contributed content in B2B tech outlets allows your leaders to share their hard-won insights with industry peers, making your target audience feel their problems are understood. Even better, these year-end opportunities are typically earned, meaning they’re free – you just have to earn coverage with valuable content that catches an editor’s eye.  

If you’re gearing up for year-end predictions or looking to strengthen your tech thought leadership campaign, check out these tips for crafting an emotionally resonant, insightful contributed article.

Provide vendor-neutral insight

Target audiences don’t click thought leadership articles to read your product pitch. This “pitching” approach only elicits groans and a quick click of the back button. Audiences turn to thought leadership articles for behind-the-scenes insights that inform their business decisions. Remember – stay vendor-neutral and focus on storytelling, not selling.  

Readers will sense your ulterior motive if your thought leadership content is too “salesy”. A promotional writing style will work against your thought leadership goal – establishing trust with audiences who can benefit from your product. Instead of selling to audiences, educate audiences on how your technological expertise solves their everyday challenges. Vendor-neutral thought leadership is a delicate, difficult balance that requires subtlety and creative framing. Most importantly, include a call-to-action within your content. A vendor-neutral call-to-action is difficult to pull off, so you must tactfully weave your messaging into your call-to-action without being overly explicit.

Substantiate your claims with research

When writing a thought leadership article for a B2B tech audience, contextualize industry trends through relevant research. Credible data supports your article’s main points, providing convincing supporting material that illuminates your industry's challenges while maintaining objectivity. Data-driven third-party validation is also valuable for emerging B2B tech companies that don’t have customers, or their customers won’t go on the record that they’re using a company’s solution.  

Through our extensive experience securing and writing contributed content for B2B tech clients, we understand that editors prefer that you link to research on the editor’s site instead of linking to external content that takes readers off the editor’s site. This is a win-win, providing an SEO boost to editors while substantiating your article’s claims. Contributed content is a two-way street that integrates creative and media relations skill sets – you must provide value to an editor before an editor provides value to you. That initial value establishes trust with an editor, improving your chances of securing future coverage.

Be yourself, be relatable

While B2B tech audiences are often technologically adept engineers or decision-makers, they still crave human connection in their industry content. When writing a thought leadership article, your content must reflect your unique voice and personality. You should display a deep technological understanding of your target audience’s pain points, but you must also humanize your company thought leaders as engaging, relatable industry voices. This strategy positions your thought leaders as real people with a deep emotional understanding of your customers’ challenges, not corporate mouthpieces itching for another sale.

Maximizing your end-of-year content opportunities

While it’s end-of-year prediction season, that doesn’t mean these opportunities are freebies. To maximize your thought leadership campaigns, provide value to target audiences and the outlets they rely on for timely, actionable insights. Securing these opportunities requires a delicate balance of technical and creative skills, which can be time-consuming to hone and implement amid the end-of-year frenzy and looming holiday season.  

Remember – your thought leaders’ insights must be educational, research-backed and, most importantly, human.

‍