Why Content Marketers Should Tap Into The Power Of Self-Service Documentation
They're doing half your job already. And they're doing it well.
If you work in content marketing, you're probably exhausted. You're trying to create engaging content that builds trust, proves your brand knows what it's doing, gets people to stick around, and—if all goes well—eventually convinces someone to buy something.
All while battling the algorithm, the inbox, and the legal department.
But here's a little secret: Your technical documentation team—the folks who write the help articles no one claims to read? They're doing half your job already. And they're doing it well.
Let's Talk About Your Job
You want to:
Attract people
Keep them interested
Make them trust you
Get them to take action (buy, sign up, ask for a demo, tell a friend, whatever)
Make your brand more visible
Generate leads
Keep customers happy
Show up in search results without mortgaging your soul to Google
Now, let's talk about technical documentation. It does all of that, too.
Documentation Is Content Marketing For People Who Don't Want To Be Marketed To
Have you ever Googled a product question and landed on a help article that just got you?
It answered your question. It didn't try to upsell you. It was factual, well-organized, and surprisingly calming. That's documentation.
And guess what? That content often gets more traffic than your blog posts. Why? Because it's what people search for.
Think about it:
"How do I connect X to Y?"
"What's the difference between plan A and plan B?"
"Can I cancel without crying?"
These are real questions asked by real humans with real intent. Your docs team is already writing answers. You, meanwhile, are trying to figure out how to turn a white paper into a TikTok.
Docs Build Trust The Slow, Boring Way (The Way That Works)
Documentation doesn't hype. It helps. And helping is what builds trust.
Marketing often tries to prove expertise by discussing innovation, leadership, and synergy. Docs prove expertise by telling you exactly which button to push and what happens if you push the wrong one. That's trust, baby.
Want to be seen as a thought leader? Link to the doc. Better yet, be the doc.
Self-Service = Self-Sell
Here's the part where it gets juicy: good documentation sells—but in disguise.
When someone finds your documentation, they're already halfway down the funnel. They're not wondering if they need a solution. They're wondering if your solution will work for them. And your help content is the difference between "add to cart" and "back to search."
SEO Without The Sadness
Docs rank. They do. Long-tail queries. Voice search. "I'm about to rage-quit" moments. Documentation is there, whispering calm instructions while your beautifully branded landing page flails in a sea of bounce rates.
Your tech docs team uses structured content. Metadata. Schema. All the things search engine optimization (SEO) pros love, are already baked in. You don't have to teach them—just copy their homework (with permission, please).
Retention, Loyalty, And The Magical Land Of "I Figured It Out Myself"
Want to improve customer retention? Make people feel smart. When they solve their own problems using your documentation, they feel powerful, capable, and like they've leveled up.
That feeling is sticky. It's also the foundation of customer loyalty.
You could send them a nurture email or give them a search bar that actually works. It's your choice.
So… Now What?
Talk to your documentation team. Bring coffee. Ask to see what content gets the most traffic. Ask the team what customers complain about. Ask them if they'll help you turn that dry but brilliant troubleshooting guide into something you can use upstream.
They've already built the library. You just need to put it in the front window.
Taking Advantage of Content Marketing’s Sensible Cousin
Content marketing doesn't have to do everything alone. Technical documentation is content marketing's shy, sensible cousin—who writes the manual, remembers a laundry list of style guide rules, and never brags about being right (even when they usually are).
It's time you collaborated.