How To Write Web3 Technical Content Everyone Reads

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Every new technology primarily gains adoption through content; someone has to be preaching it. For example, Andreas Antonopoulos was advocating for Bitcoin with every opportunity and record has it that he was explaining Bitcoin to an empty class in 2013.

Indeed, there are several innovations in Web3. However, the general dispositions of readers have not been optimally impressive.

After keen research and interactions, I discovered these are the main issues:

• technically watery content

• grammatically porous content

• boring content

As someone who has professionally been a writer for many years now, this is my two cents to making Web3 a more colorful industry by giving an editorial exposé into writing technical content that people want to read.

You should diligently read this if you are a founder, an engineer, or work in the marketing team of a Web3 company.

Before Writing Web3 Technical Content

Imagine someone planning to woo a lady, but is neither smelling nice nor confident; you can determine the results from the start.

The same thing applies to writing technical content. You can already foresee how the content will perform even before it goes live.

Here is the thing: what makes your content unique and engaging isn't exactly how you write it. For example, if you write a Web3 technical content on something no one has ever bothered to know, don't be surprised if your analytics is low…

Without ado, here are the things to do before setting out to cook Web3 technical content.

Technical Knowledge Regarding the Topic

Have you ever read a piece of content that is so shallow you know you probably even know more about the topic than the writer that should educate you.

That's why technical knowledge is important.

We live in a world where LLM is the content engine of some; it's below the bar. Similarly, it's not the best thing to regurgitate what everyone else has written on the web.

No reader will read such content because it doesn't bring anything fresh to the table.

But have you ever read a piece of technical content where the writer really went low-level and nerd you out?

That is a case of indepth technical knowledge.

Perhaps you're working in the content marketing team of Chain Abstraction protocols like Biconomy or Aarc, you need to research more about paymasters, smart accounts, and ask thought-provoking questions.

In some other cases, you need to experience what you want to write about. Imagine you want to write about Vyper and you haven't built a simple program with Vyper before…

With that said, does it mean you can't write on something if you don't have sufficient technical knowledge yet?

Not exactly, this is where research and experimentation comes in. The more practical your research becomes, the more solid the content is likely to be.

In short, you should be technically knowledgeable to write Web3 technical content that everyone would love to read and find helpful.

Research What People Want to Read About the Topic

YC has a slogan of “build what people want.” If you want your technical content to be read by everyone, or at least your target audience, then you should research what people want to read.

Good internet readership rests on search volume, which is a good indicator of what people want to know. Once a piece of content is on keywords with some search volumes, many people will read it.

By the way, it's okay not to worry about volume sometimes, especially if you're writing for personal musings. But it's crucial on a content marketing level.

In addition, the most straightforward channel to know this is Twitter.

Recently, there have been more clamor for senior-level end-to-end blockchain-based application development recently.

AltVMs and Eigen Layer have also been gaining traction and curiosity as well.

Meaning if you write on these things, there is a higher likelihood everyone will want to hear what your content will proffer.

What fresh ideas are you bringing to the table?

There were times I wanted to know more about some technical smart contract development topics.

However, most of them seemed to be saying the same thing without anything unique. The reader left not gaining anything tangible.

Do you want your content to join this pile of loathed content on the web?

If not, bring fresh ideas to the table; more like contribution to knowledge.

This way, people will pause and gulp your content from the beginning to the end because they are learning something new.

For example, MixByte analyzed Web3 protocols with a level of technical details that are quite hard to find. Same with Rareskills.

If everyone is writing generically about Precision Loss in smart contracts auditing, go a step further to show about 5 examples of protocols that got hacked based on this vulnerability; showing the code and PoC.

This is how to bring something fresh to the table.

Great Writing is an Art; Learn It

Great writing is like carefully sculpting creativity on the mahogany of time; it's an art.

Any writer who loses this plot has missed the mark already.

Even if you're writing Web3 technical content, you should bear in mind that you need to know the art of writing.

How do you know it? The same way you learned to code: you learn it.

At the high-level, here are the key writing components to master:

• figures of speech

• parts of speech

• grammatical names and functions

• mechanics & style

• literature appreciation

• storytelling

Take time to understand these rudiments, then watch how they will spice up your content game.

Logic in Philosophy

Philosophy is quite an interesting course that forges great transgenerational writers. Think of Plato, Socrates, and Thomas Aquinas; they were all great philosophers and writers.

I did a couple of philosophy courses during my undergraduate program that help me write better and clearer today.

Particularly, “Arguments” is an aspect of logic that will make you write Web3 technical content that everyone wants to read.

This is where you learn how to present whatever you want to say in your blog or video in logical order, so that the readers can follow you and understand every step of the way.

Practical Guide on Writing Technical Content Everyone Wants to Read

Now that you're done with the pre-writing phase, these are the next lines of action.

Decide the Writing Persona

Every piece of content is communicated from a point of view, and there are 4 variants of literary perspectives:

• first person

• second person

• third person

• hybrid

Take this blog for instance, the point of view is first-person because I am talking to you directly; and as you read this, you subliminally imagine me telling you everything you've read so far.

For protocols and projects, it's probably better to utilize the third-person PoV as it is more professional.

But there is a rule to follow, decide the PoV you want to use and stick with it, don't mix it up. If you do, you'll confuse your readers.

Build an Outline for Coherent Messaging

Earlier in my career, I worked at content marketing agencies and my editors then will either give me outlines or request that I built mine.

Back then, I believed outlines were mere formalities. But I discovered it's not the case later on.

Building an outline helps you map the progression of your communications as well as the scope of it.

If you want to write on the Superchain Ecosystem, for example, you should draft an outline of the main subheadings you want to touch and in what order.

Create an Attention Grabbing Title

Titles are the first thing readers will see on the search engine. Rich content with poor title won't fly. This is why you have to invest time at this stage.

Your title shouldn't be bland, it should be creative and attractive.

For example, compare these two headlines:

1. How to Write Prod-level Smart Contract

2. Write Production-Grade Smart Contracts with These Secrets | Insights from Experts

The second headline gives more detail and is more catchy.

You'll also find headline analyzers useful in optimizing your headlines. You can use them to optimize and test your titles for higher chances of ranking.

Spark Curiosity in the Intro

Your introduction is the stage where readers scan and decide to read your work or bounce-off.

If you are reading to this point, the intro of this blog impressed you. If not, you'd have left within the first few seconds.

Generally, writing coaches will tell you to be “creative,” but that might not sit well with you because “creativity” can make technical content watery.

Well, it is the case that creativity in this parlance might mean something different.

For example, if you're writing about Bitcoin L2s, a good opening will be to push out statistics that show how Bitcoin L2s are more capable of handling onchain transactions.

Once the readers see the spark behind the content, they'll connect and be interested.

You have one job in your intro: make them curious.

Build Logical Points

Earlier on, we discussed the need for having an outline; that is structure on a wider level.

In the instant case, logical points relate to your paragraphs and sentences.

One word must connect with the next; sentence to the next; and paragraph to the next paragraph.

Logicality enhances clarity, and these make readers comprehend your work faster.

Stats Give Your Points Credibility

Humans have a thing with numbers, use this to your advantage.

While writing technical content, give stats and relevant references to back up your claim.

You are writing to an intelligent audience. Therefore, any major point you introduce must be backed.

For instance, you cannot simply say Solana is faster than Monad without providing concrete stats.

Give Good Examples and Tell Stories

I wrote a blog for Quicknode some years back where I explained reentrancy this way:

Imagine a bank that doesn't update balances until after the end of the day.

Then John withdrew from his account in the afternoon. Since his withdrawal has not reflected, he kept drawing checks to different people to withdraw on his behalf.

This means John was reentering his account without being detected.

Even though there are different ways of reentering contracts, this story gave an exposé into how it works.

This way, everyone who read the content can have an idea of how it works, and this prepared their minds for the technical implementation that followed in the blog.

You see, people relate more with stories. If you can incorporate stories into your content, everyone would love to read it

Include Relevant High-quality Visuals

Most technically-inclined talents don't know this, but great visuals help your audience picture what you are saying.

For smart contract engineers and auditors, your content audience will get your points faster if you use mermaid diagrams.

Pictures say what you could have said with 1000 words in a simple glance.

Once readers comprehend your content quickly, they'd have the subliminal impression that they are gaining value and will keep on reading.

Optimize for Scanability

This is a simple hack for technical blog content.

There is an unwritten rule of scanability called 2-3 sentences per paragraph.

I've been doing that since the start of this blog, if you noticed. It makes people get the main point you're trying to communicate faster.

As an editor, I've realized that this is sometimes the only minute reason many readers bounce off.

What happens after drafting?

Now, you are done drafting your technical content, what next?

Cut Out Every Unnecessary Words and Lines

This is the time to edit without mercy. Here is a litmus test to know what unnecessary things to cut:

• what value does this line bring to the content?

If the answer is no, cut it.

The whole point of creating impressive content is not multiplicity of words, but cogency of communication.

If you can pass your points within 500 words, no need to stretch beyond that.

Review with Peers

No one knows it all, especially in technical disciplines like cryptography.

Vitalik has a custom of always reviewing his personal blogs with friends for fluency and technical accuracy.

Once you are done drafting your blog, bounce it with some colleagues to check out and give you feedback.

This is an integral aspect of writing Web3 technical content that everyone wants to read.

Share It with Everyone Who Should Read It

Do you believe in writing and forgetting about it, then expecting people to suddenly find and read it?

That works, but not all the time.

Now that you've written this brilliant technical content, share it with the target audience.

Again, Twitter is a great place to start. Share it across your socials and generate engagement for it.

Generally, the search engine crawlers pick it from here.

Thanks for reading so far. I encourage you to tweet about this and tag @jofawole if you found it helpful!