Skill #17: Branding Your Work

📣 Special announcement: The Not-Boring Tech Writer team (Kate and Chad) will be at Write the Docs Portland in May. Thanks to KnowledgeOwl's sponsorship, they’ll be wearing KnowledgeOwl and The Not-Boring Tech Writer t-shirts and giving out The Not-Boring Tech Writer stickers. If you're attending WTD Portland this year, please say hi to Kate and Chad, let them know what you think of the show, and swing by the conference swag table to grab some free stickers so you can flaunt your not-boring tech writer status with the world!_____________________________________________As a technical writer, you’ve likely not considered branding yourself and your work—and understandably so: your documentation—no matter how masterful and easy to understand—often isn’t associated with yourself. You don’t get a byline; you don’t get a image of yourself below the headline; instead, it’s just another piece of content created by “the documentation team.”However, that doesn’t mean there’s value in creating your brand as a technical writer. And you can do so in ways that align with your philosophy and perspective of the industry. Take Tom Johnson, for example, who’s built a brand for himself around his tech writing site, I’d Rather Be Writing (which, I highly recommend, as you’ll sense in this episode); or Sarah Maddox at Google Maps, who’s built a brand through her site, Ffeathers, combining her interests in technical writing and science fiction. You have a unique perspective on technical writing that could build your brand while helping your peers lead more fulfilling careers—and in this episode, you’re gonna learn how to do it. We have Ash Blankenship on the podcast: former fellow podcast co-host at Parskify podcast, where we first met, and today, is the founder at Acme Design: a web design agency that helps entrepreneurs and creatives build their brand. In this episode, Ash shares how you can find your unique perspective on technical writing to brand your work, including: How to use content to build your brandHow to choose the right platform to build your brandHow to build a tribe that believes in your approach to technical writingShow Notes: Acme DesignTom Johnson’s I’d Rather Be Writing Sarah Maddox’s Ffeathers Michal and Pawel’s new Polish tech writing podcastMediumTiny Letter