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What does a business writer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Business writers draft proposals and plans for a company, reports on the stock market, financing, and other economic happenings for publication. They write reports about remodeling projects and contribute to annual financial reports. In any case, they explain facts about the business to audiences who need background information to understand the proposal, plan, or report in a better light. It is important that business writers research their topics to better understand what they are working on. After their research, they organize the materials they gathered and use words to present the information to their readers.

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Business writer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business writer resumes:

  • Lead all RFP projects and bid teams from initial strategy call through proposal submission to client.
  • Manage social media and collaborate on editorial calendars.
  • Assist in nightly proofreading and editing of the daily newspaper pages.
  • Proofread and edit team members' proposals, offer constructive feedback and suggestions.
  • Provide RFP writing services for institutional and retail sales departments for the firm.
  • Create summary business plans in PowerPoint to secure capital funding for biotech ventures.
  • Maintain company blog; update posts, perform SEO, monitor and approve visitor posts.
  • Create SharePoint sites, document libraries and lists for multiple departments, and provide user and group permissions.
  • Implement strategic search engine optimization (SEO) to content to increase website traffic and search engine placement.
  • Edit and update PowerPoint presentations for national meetings.
  • Prepare internal, web-base communications, create automated SharePoint taxonomies and document templates.
  • Support both new and establish businesses in the healthcare administration, education and technology management and property management fields.
  • Post social media and hospital promotional/patient testimonial YouTube videos.

Business writer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 48% of Business Writers are proficient in Market Research, Business Development, and Proofreading. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Teamwork, and Technical skills.

We break down the percentage of Business Writers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Market Research, 48%

    Conducted market research and interviews with Government trade organizations and developed reports pertaining to export law and policy updates.

  • Business Development, 29%

    Collaborated with financial, marketing, IT and business development executives.

  • Proofreading, 5%

    Performed logging of daily tasks into Excel utilization report and maintained accuracy in documents through proofreading and due diligence.

  • Subject Matter Experts, 2%

    Interviewed customers and subject matter experts to produce complex documentation at Microsoft.

  • Press Releases, 2%

    Formulated, wrote and edited SEC compliance-critical venture marketing brochures, business plans, disclosure documents and press releases.

  • Web Content, 1%

    Review and edit the work of, and provide feedback to, contributing writers of web articles and web content.

Common skills that a business writer uses to do their job include "market research," "business development," and "proofreading." You can find details on the most important business writer responsibilities below.

Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a business writer to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "technical writers create instructions for others to follow." Additionally, a business writer resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "conducted detailed market research and built strategies based on this information that placed clients in the best possible position to succeed. "

Teamwork. Another essential skill to perform business writer duties is teamwork. Business writers responsibilities require that "technical writers must be able to work well with other writers, designers, editors, illustrators, and the technical workers whose procedure or product they are explaining." Business writers also use teamwork in their role according to a real resume snippet: "created and delivered training programs including customer service, teamwork, conducting employee performance evaluations, and business ethics. "

Technical skills. business writers are also known for technical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to business writer responsibilities, because "technical writers must be able to understand complex information." A business writer resume example shows how technical skills is used in the workplace: "compose technical information required for preparation of user manuals, training materials and video scripts for auto and heavy truck manufacturer. "

Writing skills. For certain business writer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "writing skills." The day-to-day duties of a business writer rely on this skill, as "technical communicators must have excellent writing skills to be able to explain technical information clearly." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what business writers do: "fulfilled multiple marketing writing assignments from press releases to website content. "

See the full list of business writer skills

The three companies that hire the most business writers are:

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Compare different business writers

Business writer vs. Operations coordinator

An operations coordinator's role is to oversee the progress of various departments in a company or organization, ensuring that all operations meet the set goals and adhere to the company's policies and regulations. An operations coordinator may also be responsible for supervising the procurement of supplies, contract negotiations, sales monitoring, and even maintenance operations within the company. Furthermore, they can also perform administrative duties such as communicating with clients through telephone and email, arranging schedules and appointments, producing reports and evaluations, training new employees, and serving as the bridge of information between different departments.

If we compare the average business writer annual salary with that of an operations coordinator, we find that operations coordinators typically earn a $36,029 lower salary than business writers make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both business writer and operations coordinator positions are skilled in business development, sharepoint, and process improvement.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a business writer are more likely to require skills like "market research," "proofreading," "subject matter experts," and "press releases." On the other hand, a job as an operations coordinator requires skills like "customer service," "logistics," "excellent organizational," and "data entry." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Operations coordinators tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $43,723. In contrast, business writers make the biggest average salary, $83,253, in the real estate industry.operations coordinators tend to reach lower levels of education than business writers. In fact, operations coordinators are 8.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Business writer vs. Operations specialist

An operations specialist is responsible for optimizing the business' daily operations, ensuring smooth process flow to provide the best services to clients. Operations specialists' duties include analyzing business procedures, identifying opportunities for business improvement, tracking the department's metrics and activities, providing assistance to colleagues, suggesting strategies for operations efficiency, and managing customer's inquiries and complaints. An operations specialist must be an excellent team player and detail-oriented, as well as proven time-management and decision-making skills to meet clients' needs and support the business' objectives.

On average, operations specialists earn a $23,211 lower salary than business writers a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both business writers and operations specialists have skills such as "sharepoint," "process improvement," and "powerpoint. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that business writer responsibilities requires skills like "market research," "business development," "proofreading," and "subject matter experts." But an operations specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "logistics," "basic math," and "customer satisfaction."

Operations specialists may earn a lower salary than business writers, but operations specialists earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $65,446. On the other hand, business writers receive higher pay in the real estate industry, where they earn an average salary of $83,253.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Operations specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than business writers. In fact, they're 9.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Business writer vs. Operations internship

Operations interns learn the management techniques on how to lead and supervise others. Interns usually gain experience by being an unpaid employee in the operational department. They should possess skills like attention to detail, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and strong phone presence. The operations internship objectives include career path exploration, work experience, skills development and refinement, and confidence buildup. The majority of the activities interns are absorbed by the company where they serve an internship.

An average operations internship eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of business writers. The difference in salaries amounts to operations interns earning a $44,606 lower average salary than business writers.By looking over several business writers and operations interns resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "market research," "sharepoint," and "process improvement." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a business writer is likely to be skilled in "business development," "proofreading," "subject matter experts," and "press releases," while a typical operations internship is skilled in "operations intern," "customer service," "work ethic," and "patients."

Operations interns make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $40,232. On the other hand, business writers are paid the highest salary in the real estate industry, with average annual pay of $83,253.When it comes to education, operations interns tend to earn lower degree levels compared to business writers. In fact, they're 7.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Business writer vs. Specialist-small business

A small business specialist develops new business programs to meet changing customer demands. They are responsible for ensuring integrity and consistency in the domain of business. They analyze causes of a business issue, obtain business data, and make enquiries. They are responsible for making purchase agreements, confidentiality arrangements, and joint venture arrangement.

Specialist-small businesses tend to earn a lower pay than business writers by an average of $5,645 per year.According to resumes from business writers and specialist-small businesses, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "business development," "financial services," and "real estate. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between business writers and specialist-small businesses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a business writer might have more use for skills like "market research," "proofreading," "subject matter experts," and "press releases." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of specialist-small businesses require skills like "customer service," "customer relationships," "business portfolio," and "business administration. "

In general, specialist-small businesses hold lower degree levels compared to business writers. Specialist-small businesses are 8.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of business writer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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