Copywriter for Engineers

For years you’ve worked to build your engineering firm. You do quality work and you’ve been involved in many good projects. But you don’t feel you’ve maximized your potential.

If you’re like most engineers, you rely on word-of-mouth to obtain new clients and learn about new projects. But with the growing number of engineers on the market all competing for the same jobs, some of whom may be more established and better connected than you, referrals may not be enough.

An engineering copywriter can help you create marketing tools that attract customers.

Maybe you’d like to accelerate your company’s growth. Perhaps you’d like to have more opportunities to bid on projects. Or maybe you’re landing clients, but they’re not the most interesting or profitable projects. Effective copywriting will help prospective customers learn about your company and recognize the value you bring to the table.

An engineering copywriter can help you create marketing tools that help you achieve those objectives. Let’s take a look at some of the tactics you can use to grow your engineering firm.

Five Strategies for Marketing Your Engineering Company

1. Create or upgrade your website to impress clients.
2. Write a blog to be top-of-mind with prospects.
3. Develop case studies to present your work.
4. Craft press releases to gain exposure.
5. Compose a sales letter to meet new prospects.

Word-of-mouth referrals aren’t sufficient to grow a business in today’s highly competitive market.

Strategy #1: Create an Exceptional Website

Your best marketing tool should be your engineering company’s website, as all other marketing tools should include your URL and drive traffic to it. Your website must accurately represent your brand.

You want to be confident that when prospects look at your website, they’re impressed with your professionalism and interested in possibly hiring you. Ask yourself these questions about your website:

• Does your website communicate what makes you distinctive in your industry?
• Does it showcase your accomplishments, such as some of your best projects?
• Does it push prospects to contact you for more information or a meeting?

Write a positioning statement that defines your engineering firm.

Done right, your website will help your engineering firm gain recognition in the industry. According to Xcellimark Marketing, “An online presence is essential in order to expand your engineering firm’s footprint and to establish yourself as the ‘thought leader’ or ‘expert engineer’ among your challenging competition.”

Among the pages your engineering firm should include in its website are the following:

• About Us – Who founded the company? How long have you been in business? Who are its officers/key people? In what geographic area do you practice?
• Services – What services do you offer? What are your capabilities? What are your specialties? What types of projects do you seek out? What makes your firm unique and different from other engineering firms?
• Your Work – What does your portfolio of projects include? If possible, include photos and descriptions.
• Testimonials – What do your clients say about you? Why do they like working with you? If possible, include actual quotes from clients along with their name, position and company.
• Contact – Provide your name, phone, email and mailing address at a minimum. Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. The mailing address lets people know where you’re based and having a physical location helps build credibility. Don’t make visitors complete a detailed form requiring information you don’t really need at this point. Nobody likes filling out a form, particularly if they don’t yet know and trust you.

A website is the best investment for marketing engineering firms, according to Hinge marketing. It allows you to “show off your brand, demonstrate your expertise.” It also “has the ability to attract leads, nurture them and convert them into opportunities.”

If writing your website feels like a chore to you or perhaps isn’t the best use of your time, consider working with a website copywriter who understands engineering firms can easily put into words all of the wonderful reasons why clients should hire you.

Your website is your most important marketing tool. Be sure it accurately reflects your professionalism and experience.

Strategy #2: Write a Blog or Newsletter

Many engineers use a blog to maintain contact with their existing clients and attract new ones as well.

A blog makes you look like the authority you are, a leader in your industry. It also allows you to promote your expertise in a non-pushy way. A blog becomes a place where you can share information about your company’s achievements, developments in the profession, identify trends and educate others on engineering.

“When you combine your content marketing strategy with your traditional sales tactics, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with,” says Doug Crescenzi, founder of Hack Upstate, a marketing firm. “The engaging content you consistently publish will complement your referrals as well as the conferences and networking events you attend. It will tee up more productive face-to-face meetings, strengthen your reputation, and foster closer professional relationships based on trust.”

As examples, you can write an article about the benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, green technology in construction, or the digital transformation taking place in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.

No matter what content you choose to write, your blog will help give your firm visibility and keep it top-of-mind for upcoming architectural jobs and referrals to others.

“Remember that the content that goes onto your blog represents your company,” explains Red-Fern marketing. “Your customers will judge your writing skills and the relevance of the content you provide. So if writing isn’t your area of expertise, consider hiring a blog writer and outsourcing your content.”

Writing a blog is an excellent way to stay in touch with customers and attract new business.

Strategy #3: Produce Case Studies

Case studies offer you an opportunity to tell the story behind the structures you design and build. They showcase your ability to develop solutions to complicated engineering problems.

Case studies are the perfect format for describing your accomplishments. And they’re not difficult to write. Just answer these questions:

• Challenge – What made this job difficult? What were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome?
• Solution – How did you meet the challenges this engineering project posed? What solutions did you develop? What variables did you have to consider and what pitfalls did you manage to avoid?
• Results – Did your solution work? What was the project’s outcome? How did all the components of the project come together to result in a very satisfied client?
• Testimonial – If the client was pleased with the results, ask him to weigh in. Can he write a brief statement that explains why he was pleased, what impressed him the most, and how he enjoyed working with your engineering firm? Alternatively, he can tell you what pleased him, and you can put it into written words for him to approve. (Some people really hate to write.)

Written case studies tell the story of how you solved a difficult problem for one of your clients.

Written case studies demonstrate how you solve problems and provide value to your clients.

Case studies are extremely effective in persuading new clients to hire you. Every time you complete a significant engineering project, think about creating a case study. Eventually, you will have an extensive portfolio that immediately says to clients that you’re an expert in your field and have significant experience in handling a wide range of projects.

If writing case studies yourself isn’t a job you relish, then establish a relationship with a case study copywriter who you can call each time you complete a project. If a case study helps you to land a single project, your return on investment in professional copywriting will be substantial.

Press releases should be written in a news style, offering the facts about your achievement.

Strategy #4: Publish Press Releases

When you’ve completed a sizable project, there’s no reason not to let the world know. A press release is a great way to toot your own horn without looking like you’re bragging. Written correctly, they sound like news stories that state the important facts.

Press releases help grow your brand and extend your reach to bigger, better clients. Much as a story you might read in the newspaper, they should include the following elements:

• Who – Who built this project? What entities were involved?
• What – What was the project all about? What role did you play in getting it done?
• When – When did the project begin and when was it (or will it be) completed?
• Where – Where is the project located?
• How – What approach did you take to the project? What factors did you consider?

Once you’ve answered those questions and perhaps tossed in a quote or two from the parties involved, bring all the facts together with some creative copywriting. You can distribute your press release to the media using a distribution service and send out to your own mailing list. Don’t forget to also post the release on your website where it can inform prospective customers of your accomplishments.

You can distribute press releases to the media and also post them on your own website for added visibility.

If writing press releases isn’t your thing, a press release copywriter can get the job done right.

Strategy #5: Send Out Sales Letters

You might think sales letters are only necessary for new companies just starting out. But they have value for existing engineering firms as well and could help you land new business.

It’s best if you can come up with a niche to target. For example, if you’ve been involved in several engineering projects involving hospitals, write a sales letter about your special talents in this space and mail to other hospitals in your geographic area. You could easily substitute hospitals for schools, prisons, residences or any other specialty.

Sales letters introduce your firm and its capabilities to new prospects.

Consider working with a sales letter copywriter to create your targeted email. Invest in writing the letter once, but send it out to dozens or even hundreds of prospective clients.

Sales letters are an effective way to get your company’s name in front of potential customers.

When to Call a Copywriter for Engineers

When you write and publish useful information, you position your engineering company as subject experts and build your reputation. You open the door to new clients finding and hiring you.

As an engineer, writing your own copy probably isn’t the best use of your time and talents. Fortunately, you can easily find freelance copywriters who can take on those responsibilities, leaving you to stay focused on your engineering projects.

Freelance copywriters can be hired for specific projects. You don’t have to pay a retainer fee for a full-service marketing firm or ad agency. Identify the work you want done, request a quote, and then let the copywriter get to work. In just a few days you’ll have completed, professional copy ready to generate visibility for your engineering firm.

Consider working with a freelance copywriter to produce marketing materials for your engineering company.

A freelance copywriter can provide content for your website, blog, case studies and other promotional items. Ultimately, what you spend on hiring a professional copywriter should come back to you many times over in the form of new business.

* * *