Meet the Writer: Hacker Noon's Contributor Jon Evans, Tech Copywriter & Content Specialist

I’m Jon Evans, a copywriter and content specialist for tech. I help startups (mostly SaaS) to grow by understanding their customers better, creating content to solve customer pain points, and using smart messaging to stand out from the competition.

There are tons of marketers putting out content, and I think at least 50% of them are bullshitters or just recycling other content without really understanding it. My goal is to break that trend a little bit by only creating content that’s based on my experience or a genuine interest in the topic - like my piece on How to write comparison pages for SaaS.

Interesting! What was your latest Hackernoon Top story about?

How SaaS companies can diagnose positioning and messaging problems. I wrote it because I noticed that a lot of specialists are creating content on how to SOLVE these problems. But a lot of SaaS/tech companies don’t realize they have them in the first place. So I wrote a guide that will help SaaS companies piece together the ‘clues’ about what’s going wrong.

Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about?

Most of my writing is for my clients’ businesses, so I’m often writing about SaaS and martech topics. But I’m also writing advice for other writers. Very meta, I know.

Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?)

Research is always the foundation. If I’m creating copy for a client, I’m starting with research into their product, market, and competitors. If I’m writing for Hackernoon, I’ll usually interview an expert to build on what I know already.

Then I’ll write down a quick outline of what I want to say and get to work on a crap first draft. Once I get started, the ideas flow. From there it’s just a case of iterating and editing.

To anyone struggling with the dreaded blank page: just give yourself permission to write something crap to start with!

Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing?

I like writing, but it’s incredibly draining work. You’re using your creative and logical muscles at the same time, often while focusing on very challenging and complex topics. It takes a lot of mental energy and you can only do it for so many hours a day.

What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career?

Figure out a way to offer my skills ‘at scale’ to clients.

Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice?

I live in a beautiful Spanish town. So I just like sitting outside bars, enjoying some good company and working on my sunburn.

Do you have a non-tech-related hobby? If yes, what is it?

I’ve been playing the guitar for maybe 25 years and I still love to just sit and jam. But recently I’ve been obsessed with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a very complex and challenging sport, and you can really go down rabbit holes with it and create your own style, just like you can with music.

Also because I live in Spain, I get to train BJJ and practice my Spanish at the same time - two passions with one stone!

What can the Hacker Noon community expect to read from you next?

I’m cooking up some interesting content initiatives for clients right now. If things go to plan (and my clients agree to it), I’ll be able to share some examples of what to do in 2023 to kickstart growth with content.

What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers?

Trying to get guest posts published is super time-consuming. So I love that Hackernoon makes it easy to submit posts and get them in front of a relevant audience.

Thanks for taking time to join our “Meet the writer” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words?

See more of me at Electric Copy.