Do you ever find yourself with an itch to write but end up staring at a blank screen until you eventually give up and do something else? We’ve been there, and we’re ready to help you get started. Sharing your expertise with the developer community online through thought-leadership articles and tutorials has many benefits, including becoming known as the go-to expert for a topic, building connections with others who share a passion for your topic, and enhancing your case for a promotion. In this workshop, we’ll guide you through: - Brainstorming and selecting a topic - Optimizing your content for search engines (SEO) - Leveraging best practices as you write your article or tutorial - Reusing your content on other platforms By the end of this workshop, you will publish an article or tutorial online and have a topic for your next piece.

1. Intro to Technical Writing
Creating content that Google and readers will love ❤
@MeganGrant333 and @Lauren_Schaefer

2. Who Cares?
● Google
● The readers
🧐

3. Who Cares?
● Google
● The readers
🧐

4. Benefits of
Writing
- Become known as an expert on a
topic
- Demonstrate scope (promotion at
your current company)
- Get your name out for future roles
- Reinforce your learning
- Traffic is measurable
- Content lives on for years
✍

5. Meet Megan ● Las Vegas, NV, USA
● Developer Relations @ MongoDB
● Writing and editing for ~13 years
● Hobbies: Fostering dogs, reading,
writing, lifting weights, being
outside
● https://www.mongodb.com/dev
eloper

6. Meet Lauren ● Pennsylvania, USA
● Career
○ Software engineer at IBM
○ Developer advocate at SugarCRM
○ Developer advocate at MongoDB
○ Developer advocate at Grammarly
● Love traveling, doing jigsaw
puzzles, reading light fiction, and
hanging with my husband and
daughter
● https://linktr.ee/lauren_schaefer

7. What are your
goals for this
workshop?

8. Our Goals
🙌
Each person will:
● Publish something 📝
● Have ideas for their next piece of
content 💡
● Learn a new writing best practice ✍

9. What has held
you back from
writing?

10. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

11. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

12. Please ask
questions!

13. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

14. How to Brainstorm
Topics 🧠⛈
Think about you

15. How to Brainstorm
Topics 🧠⛈
● What do you enjoy?
● What do you know a lot about?
● What is something you want to
learn?
● What is something you failed at
or messed up?
● What is something that surprised
you?
● What is going on in pop culture
that you can tie to technology?
● Consider technical topics as well
as soft skills
Think about you

16. How to Brainstorm
Topics 🧠⛈ ● Who are they?
● What do they already know?
● What topics are hot right now?
Think about your audience

17. How to Brainstorm
Topics 🧠⛈
● Answer the Public
● Ubersuggest
● Google
● Auto-complete
○ People also ask
○ Related searches
○ People also search for
Tools you can use

19. Time to Brainstorm Topics 🧠⛈
In this workshop, youʼre going to create a blog post
from start to finish! Write down every topic that
comes to mind, so you will have a list for future
content.
● Whatʼs something you already know a lot
about?
● Whatʼs something that wonʼt require you to
write a lot of code?
● Whatʼs something you will be allowed to
publish tomorrow (without your companyʼs
approval process)?
● Consider articles (e.g., best practices,
thought leadership, soft skills) and tutorials
Individual brainstorming (20 min)
Partner brainstorming (20 min)

20. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

21. Keywords ● Clarity for the reader
● Clarity for Google
Why bother? 󰤈

22. Keywords
What to look for 👀

23. Keywords
What to look for 👀
● High-traffic, low-competition
keywords
● At least 1,000 searches a month

24. Keywords
Tools you can use 🛠
● SEMrush (free)
○ Keyword Magic Tool
● Ubersuggest (free with limited
access)
● Keywords Everywhere (lowest
tier is $10 and it goes a long way)

25. Keywords
● Determine what the user is trying
to learn when they search for
your topic
● Search your keyword incognito
and look at the top three results
Determine user intent 🤔
(a.k.a. search intent)

26. Pick Your Keyword
Take 15 minutes to:
● Make a list of possible keywords.
● Use one of the tools we discussed to identify the best keyword for your topic.
● Determine user intent for that keyword.

27. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

28. Research &
Build 🧱
This is the fun part!
● Research your topic
● Take notes–especially things that
surprise you or trip you up
● Write your code–all of it

29. Create an
Outline
Donʼt skip this!

30. Create an
Outline
● Identify your key points
● Hint: Look at what content is
already ranking
● Outline your entire series
Donʼt skip this!

31. Sample Outline
Topic: data lake // Keyword: data lake architecture
● Introduction
○ Tell the reader what theyʼre about to learn.
● What are data lakes?
○ Supporting point #1
○ Supporting point #2
○ ...
● The benefits of data lakes
○ Supporting point #1
○ Supporting point #2
○ ...
● What does data lake architecture look like?
○ Supporting point #1
○ Supporting point #2
○ ...
● Conclusion
○ Recap what the reader learned.

32. Get to Work! ✍
You have the next hour (ish) to:
● Research
● Build any code (if applicable)
● Write your outline

34. Stop and Get
Feedback ● Code review
● Outline review
🛑

35. Stop and Get Feedback 🛑
Share your outline with a partner! (~30 min)
As your partner shares, consider:
● Are they covering the main pieces of the topic?
● What other questions do you have about the topic?
● Are they addressing any common objections?
● Is the flow logical?
If you have time, do a code review.

36. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

37. Writing Your
Content
Get in the zone

38. Writing Your
Content
Get in the zone
● Block your calendar
● Silence notifications
● Write the first draft in one sitting

39. Writing Your
Content
● Identify your audience
● Provide as much value as
possible, including links to learn
more
● Use inclusive language
○ Google Developer Documentation
Style Guide
○ Grammarly Premium
● Make it skimmable
○ Turn your outline points into headers
○ Write in short paragraphs
○ Break up the text
○ Example
Best practices 🏆

40. Writing Your
Content
● Strong introduction
○ Start with a hook
○ Identify the audience
○ Tell readers what theyʼll learn
● Conclusion that recaps the key
points
● Call to action (CTA)
What to include 📝

41. Writing Your
Content
● Optimize your title
○ Sharethrough Headline Analyzer
● Donʼt plagiarize anyone, including
yourself
○ Grammarly plagiarism checker (free)
● Use your keyword in the :
○ URL
○ Title (as close to the beginning as
possible)
○ Introduction
○ At least one H2
○ Sprinkled throughout the post
● Optimize your URL
○ Use the title as your URL
○ Make all words lowercase
○ Convert spaces to dashes
○ Remove stop words
SEO best practices 🔍

42. “Data Lakes vs Data Warehouses: What’s
the Difference and Why Do We Care?”
mongodb.com/blog/data-lakes-vs-data-warehouses

43. Get to Work on Your First Draft! ✍
Use your outline to write your first draft. Tomorrow you will share your draft with a
partner, so we recommend using Google Docs.
Ask Lauren for a Grammarly Premium free trial code if youʼd like one.
You have until about 4:50 p.m.

44. Agenda
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 1

45. What We
Covered Today
● Selecting Your Topic
● Selecting Your Keyword
● Researching Your Topic and
Making an Outline
● Writing Your Content
Wow!

46. What We’re
Doing
Tomorrow
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
Youʼre going to publish! 🎉

47. What did you find
most interesting
and why?

48. Intro to Technical Writing
Creating content that Google and readers will love ❤
@MeganGrant333 and @Lauren_Schaefer

50. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

51. Any questions?

52. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

53. Self Review
Donʼt skip this one!

54. Self Review
Donʼt skip this one!
● Wait at least a day after your first
draft
● Use a tool like Grammarly or
Hemingway App
● Eliminate fluff
● Get your post into the best
possible shape before requesting
a review from someone else

55. Self Review
Checklist ✅
❏ I have tried the steps from top to
bottom in a new environment
❏ All images have alternate text and
(optionally) captions
❏ The post contains all relevant
links
❏ The post lists any prerequisites
❏ The post includes a call to action

56. Review Your Work 👀
Use the checklist below to review your work (~45 minutes).
❏ I have tried the steps from top to bottom in a new environment (if applicable)
❏ All images have alternate text and (optionally) captions
❏ The post contains all relevant links
❏ The post lists any prerequisites
❏ The post includes a call to action

57. Technical
Review
Checklist ✅
❏ I have tried the steps in the post
from top to bottom in a new
environment
❏ The code is idiomatic to the
programming language, follows
best practices, and is easy to follow
❏ The post uses technical terms
correctly
❏ The post is complete and easy to
understand
❏ The post contains all relevant links
❏ The post lists any prerequisites

58. Copy Review
Checklist ✅
❏ The post is grammatically correct
❏ The post is engaging and easy to
follow
❏ The post uses inclusive language
❏ All images have alternate text and
(optionally) captions
❏ The post includes a call to action

59. Tips
💡
● Your name will be on the post, so
you are the decision-maker
● Donʼt get too many reviews
● Give reviewers a deadline
● Be kind in your reviews

60. Review Your Partner’s Work 󰰁
Technical Review
❏ I have tried the steps in the post from top
to bottom in a new environment
❏ The code is idiomatic to the programming
language, follows best practices, and is
easy to follow
❏ The post uses technical terms correctly
❏ The post is complete and easy to
understand
❏ The post contains all relevant links
❏ The post lists any prerequisites
Take about 45 minutes to review your partnerʼs work. Do your best to act as both the
technical reviewer and the copy reviewer. Remember to be kind and say what you like.
Copy Review
❏ The post is grammatically correct
❏ The post is engaging and easy to follow
❏ The post uses inclusive language
❏ All images have alternate text and
(optionally) captions
❏ The post includes a call to action

61. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

62. Where to
Publish
● Your own blog
● Company blog
● DEV Community
● Medium
● LinkedIn
Youʼve got options

63. Republishing
Content
Donʼt forget to set the canonical
URL

64. It’s time to publish! 📰
Pick a site and publish your work. Share your URL in Slack once your work is live. If you
have a Twitter handle, include that in your Slack message. (~1 hour)

65. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing
Your Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

68. Promote 📣
Especially in the first 48 hours
● Tweet
○ Once a day for 3 days
○ Tag any relevant pages mentioned in
your blog, like @nodejs or @java
● LinkedIn
○ Pick 3-5 hashtags based on the topic,
like #Tech, #MongoDB, #Java, #SwiftUI,
or #Nodejs
○ Tag any relevant pages, like @nodejs.
● TikTok
○ Make a video about your content
● Instagram
○ Share in a post, story, or reel
● Company Slack or Teams
○ Share the link to your post and your
Twitter handle

69. Post-Publishing Promotion

70. Repurpose ♻
● Twitch stream
● Podcast
● YouTube videos
● Graphics/infographics
● GIFs
● Conference talk
● GitHub repo
Because not everyone learns the
same way

71. Repurpose ♻
Because not everyone learns the
same way

72. Repurpose ♻ Cross-link between the original
content and the repurposed content
Because not everyone learns the
same way

73. Repurpose ♻
Because not everyone learns the
same way

74. How Can You Promote & Repurpose Your Post? ♻
● Brainstorm ways you can promote and repurpose your content. Start drafting as time allows. (15
minutes)
● Share your ideas with a partner. (20 minutes) Consider:
○ What other ways can your partner promote or repurpose their content?
○ How can they improve what theyʼve drafted?
● Promote and start repurposing your content. (15 minutes)
○ Share links to your social media posts in the Slack channel, so we can amplify them!

75. Agenda
● Editing
● Publishing
● Promoting and Repurposing Your
Content
● Wrap-up
Day 2

77. What’s your
biggest takeaway
from this
workshop?

78. You did it! 🎉
Consistent publication leads to:
● Larger scope and influence
● Becoming known as the expert
● More traffic
● Improved Google rankings
(Donʼt stop here!)

79. Any questions?