AspenTech’s Marketing Communications team is a high volume group, writing and creating brand-aligned content for targeted marketing campaigns throughout the year. After two writers left the company, the content creation team had one full-time writer, Principal Marketing Writer Daniel Kelly.
The team was able to leverage freelance writing resources as needed. They had high expectations for quality content, seeking writers with at least some relevant industry experience. This way, nDash could shorten the long learning curve and minimize the editing time required for drafts.
Kelly managed the nDash relationship for the marcom team, working with them to identify suitable writers, assign projects, and review copy.
This case study explores how nDash provided a solution to address the challenges of copying existing content. As a result, nDash was able to produce drafts that met expectations and were mostly on point.
Challenge: Producing Compelling Marketing Content for a Technical Audience
AspenTech’s primary challenge was the complexity of its content. Kelly noted, “Our industry and what we produce is very highly technical. It’s always been a challenge for us to find good writers that are not working in this industry daily.”
Finding external writers capable of distilling complex technical information into reader-friendly copy was challenging. Marcom often received content drafts that needed to be simplified and polished for an external audience.
Solution: Partnering with nDash for “Industry-Ready” Content Creation Resources
With the fast pace and high volume of projects, marcom needed a writing resource they could rely on. They turned to nDash, hoping they could provide additional support. Kelly praised nDash, stating, “Your team is very easy to work with.” He specifically appreciated their responsiveness, adaptability to changing schedules or priorities, and the overall quality of their pool of writers.
He went on to commend the team for facilitating communication with writers and for providing the additional layer of copy editing before delivering projects.
AspenTech, like many other organizations, faces the burden of administrative tasks such as writer training, tax management, and others. nDash eases this burden by managing all these tasks, making it a comprehensive plug-and-play solution. This holistic approach enables companies to focus on their core operations while ensuring access to high-quality content creation.
nDash’s platform provided AspenTech with access to writers who had relevant experience or knowledge—or could quickly grasp complex technical subjects. Kelly emphasized the importance of giving writers clear copy direction and objectives of the ask upfront to ensure quality output. He said, “We need to do a good job explaining to the writer what we’re looking for if we’re going to expect quality content.”
Results: Enhanced Content Quality and Communication
The collaboration with nDash has resulted in the production of several “freelance” pieces with high-quality copy. Kelly observed a more efficient process with fewer iterations needed, largely due to better upfront communication and writer expertise. He stressed the importance of writers getting the answers they need upfront, either on their own or by asking the right questions. This helps minimize the rounds of copy revisions required, even if it means coming back to the client for clarification.
On a recent call with nDash, the subject of how to incorporate AI-generated content came up. The overall sentiment seemed to be one of proceeding with caution. “Like anything new, there’s potential for great benefit at great risk,” Kelly said. “While I’ve only scratched the surface of ChatGPT and its capabilities, I believe that AI-generated content—at least in its current form—lacks the human emotion, the authentic, original voice that’s needed in good writing. Will that evolve? Only time will tell.”
The Value of Human Expertise in Content Creation
nDash’s human-centric approach and strategic communication enhanced marcoms’ technical content creation, demonstrating the indispensable value of skilled writers in transforming complex information into accessible and engaging material.
By partnering with nDash, AspenTech’s marcom team was able to overcome challenges in its content creation process, resulting in more readable, engaging, and effective outsourced communications. The partnership underscores the importance of collaboration, flexibility, and the irreplaceable value of skilled writers in tackling the complexities of technical content creation.
About Aspen Technology
AspenTech is a global software leader helping industries at the forefront of the world’s dual challenge meet the increasing demand for resources from a rapidly growing population in a profitable and sustainable manner. AspenTech solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation and maintenance lifecycle. Through our unique combination of deep domain expertise and innovation, customers in asset-intensive industries can run their assets safer, greener, longer and faster to improve their operational excellence. To learn more, visit AspenTech.com.
About nDash
nDash is the world’s first content community platform. Thousands of brands use nDash to build and manage elite writing teams comprised of in-house talent, freelancers, and thought leaders. With a rapidly evolving set of features, nDash helps marketers generate compelling topics, streamline the content creation workflow, and rise above the noise. Based in the greater Boston area, nDash was founded in 2016 by a passionate group of former writers, marketers, and crowdsourcing enthusiasts.