Why I Pivoted from Engineering to Copywriting

I was comfortable in my engineering bubble—writing code, provisioning cloud infrastructure, building APIs. But I realized something crucial: I could build products, but I couldn’t sell them.

When I decided I wanted to launch a SaaS one day, I knew technical skills weren’t enough. Too many brilliant engineers fail because they can’t communicate their product’s value. They build beautiful systems that nobody understands.

So I did something unexpected: I spent three years writing copy for SaaS companies.

What I Did

From 2019 to 2022, I crafted:

• Landing pages and website copy
• Technical blog posts and user guides
• Product documentation and tutorials

My engineering background became an asset. I could translate complex technical concepts into clear messaging. I became the bridge between developers who built the product and marketers who sold it.

One of my key projects was ghostwriting technical content for XLAB Steampunk’s blog—an Ansible automation specialist working closely with Red Hat. Writing about enterprise Ansible collections, automation deployment, and DevOps practices deepened my understanding of how to communicate complex infrastructure concepts to both technical and business audiences.

I even built my own copywriting website at rashidma.com (now archived at rashidma-react.vercel.app). While the formatting got mangled during migration, it serves as a memento of this pivotal career chapter.

Five Key Lessons

1. Features ≠ Benefits

Engineers list features. Customers buy solutions to problems. “Built with microservices” means nothing to someone trying to reduce churn.

2. Clarity Beats Cleverness

The best copy disappears. If readers notice your writing instead of your message, you’ve failed.

3. Customer Language > Technical Jargon

Use the words your customers use, not the ones in your documentation.

4. Marketing Is Just Another System

Like engineering, marketing has patterns, frameworks, and best practices. It’s learnable.

5. Proximity to Customers Changes Everything

Writing marketing copy forced me to understand customer pain points in ways backend development never did.

Where It Led Me

Those three years of copywriting led directly to my role owning API documentation at Palo Alto Networks. I could work with engineers on technical details, then create docs that actually helped users.

More importantly, I gained a complete view of product development:

• Engineering: Build the product
• Copywriting: Explain the value
• Documentation: Enable success
• Marketing: Drive adoption

The Real Value

This wasn’t a career change—it was an expansion. I’m still an engineer who ships code and wins hackathons. But now I also understand how to:

• Position products effectively
• Write copy that converts
• Create documentation users love
• Bridge technical and business teams

When I launch my SaaS, I won’t just build a great product. I’ll know how to sell it too.

That’s the advantage of being T-shaped: deep expertise in engineering, with broad skills across the business.

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Are you a technical founder who struggles with messaging? Let’s talk. I’ve been on both sides.