Creating Outstanding Content For SaaS | Drive Qualified Traffic and Increase User Signups
We’re all trying to maximize the impact of our content so we can drive qualified traffic to our website and increase user signups.
You see other companies successfully writing online, and the business benefits that come with it and you want to start doing the same!
This article will teach you how to start:
· Publishing good content on the Internet
· Putting your SaaS business out there
· Sharing stories, insights, and perspectives - at scale
· Connecting with other tech partners
· Building a library of content that is useful for users and ranks on Google
Here are the steps to creating content that increases signups that we’ll cover.
Old school vs. new school writing
How to never run out of original ideas for content creation
Overcoming content creation roadblocks
Deciding where you should be distributing your content
1. Old school vs. new school writers
Some content creators are stuck in the past, and some embrace the future.
The ones that are stuck in the past can fondly be called old school writers (or content creators)
What’s an old-school writer?
Old school writers believe in the pureness of writing. You should channel your Hemmingway and dedicate yourself to the craft of writing.
They likely believe that you can’t write anything less than a cohesive body of well-researched work and consider it worthy of being read by people.
Every piece must be a ‘thought piece’
I’m sure you have encountered people like that!
This is in stark contrast to new school writers and content creators…
What’s a new-school writer?
Writers and creators of SaaS content understand that there are glaring inefficiencies of the old-school way of thinking.
These days people consume information differently. They want the same information in visual, written, and video formats.
They might want a tweet, a long-form Medium article, or a 9-second reel.
Digital content creators that want to improve the user experience and improve signups deliver content in the way people want to see it!
New school content creators and writers don’t guess what readers want to read about—they gather data, learn what works in real-time, and iterate on a daily basis.
What’s the difference?
The biggest difference is this:
Old-school content creation needs to be
perfect
deeply researched
come with a grand reveal
New school content creation is
a progression
continually testing and
iterative
With new content creation
Tweets become checklists
Checklists become eBooks
eBooks become YouTube videos
Videos become ultimate guides, books, courses, conferences and more!
New-school content creators in the SaaS industry
Move 10x faster
Build their audiences along the way
Uncover more ideas through reader and user feedback
Now let’s talk about how to take a new-school approach to writing, so you can bring your SaaS company to new heights. and become a prolific writer and creator who
2. How to never run out of original content ideas for your SaaS company
Let’s go through some simple ways for you to never run out of good content.
Decide what you want to write about
Look for a proven channel to deliver the content
Consider your credibility level on the topic
This might seem vague, but let’s go through these steps so you can see how this translates into ‘endless’ ideas.
Step 1: Decide what you want to write about
First things first. You have to ‘pick a lane’. Picking a lane will help you decide on the type of journey you want to take your reader and potential customer on.
Choosing a lane will help you determine where your user will end up. Here are some examples of lanes you can choose:"
Actionable Content (Here’s how, How to…)
Analytical Content (Case studies, here are the stats…)
Aspirational Content (Case studies, yes, you can…)
Anthropological Content (here’s why you can do X)
This is the classic “Begin with the end in mind” mentality.
You will be able to tell potential customers and users exactly where they will be by the end of engaging with your content.
Step 2: Look for a proven channel to deliver the content
Once you’ve chosen a direction, you’ll need to decide the channel you’ll use and how to organize your content.
Some ideas are better served through certain mediums.
For example, if you are looking to write a case study, you probably won’t make it a tweet thread.
If you have a ‘lessons learned’ idea, you should check to see if your past tweet threads have gotten traction.
Look to your past channels for ideas
Look to your past content delivery to inform how you deliver your new content.
This isn’t to say that you can’t mix it up, but you should start where you have proven results.
Why?
Because your potential users have TOLD you through their actions, that is how they like to consume their content.
Match your content to the channel
This sounds super simple, but you’d be surprised at how disjointed some content is. Be sure to have consistency in your content. If you are talking about lessons learned, be sure to make your headings
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3 etc...
Conclusion
Make sure that you make the information easy to digest for your readers and well organized for the channel.
Step 3: Consider your credibility level on the topic
When your potential users are looking for answers on the internet - answers that are going to help their business - they want to know if they can trust you!
You should demonstrate why your readers should trust you.
FYI you don’t need to be a huge expert to be credible. All you have to do is this
Tell potential users and customers why you are creating this content
Why they should consider your perspective
How to build credibility with your users
Tell the people you are creating content for why you are the expert—explicitly.
Show your readers how you curated expert advice (links, quotes, etc)
Let the reader know that you AREN’T an expert, but have lots of personal experience.
How to never run out of ideas
Now you understand the steps to creating content that your readers will consume. So you’ll never run out of ideas for content creation!
You can have an idea and
quickly determine what format you are going to use
decide on the channel you will distribute it with and
establish the credibility you’ll need to convey.
This will make content creation 10x easier for you.
In case you still need some ideas, here are
5 types of content that are amazing for SaaS businesses
Product focused content
Data based content
Expert roundups
Long-form content
1. Product focused content
I’ve found that this is the easiest type of content to create.
Why? Because you can use your product to create content that truly solves your user’s problems.
You can weave in product screenshots and mini demos in this type of content.
2. Data-based content
If you already have a ton of user data or a large following, you can leverage data-driven content.
This is a really good way to boost your SEO.
How?
People LOVE to link to data-rich articles.
You can publish content like
polls
original research
statistics
surveys
and more!
3. Expert roundups
Expert round-ups are a great way to leverage partner relationships.
Klickly does a really good job of this.
Every month, they ask their partners to talk about a topic that is relevant to their merchants.
Then they ask their partners to share it on social.
Not only does everyone get a backlink, but users get relevant, timely info.
4. Long-form Content
While tedious, long-form content is a long-term winner for SaaS
When you write long content that is focused on your user’s pain points, you are likely to show you have the remedy to their pain, and some!
Recently SEMrush said that content that is 7000+ words long gets almost 4x more traffic than 900-1,200 words pieces.
Plus, people love linking to long-form content because it is more authoritative.
5. Opinion pieces
Do you know what is easy to write about?
Your opinion!
If you have an idea, flesh it out from your perspective.
As long as you are still writing in your brand tone and voice, opinion pieces can be a home run!
Bonus: Make each piece conversion-focused
At the end of the day, you still want to make content that converts.
If you want to get more, user sign-ups, leads, and customers try this:
sprinkle in free templates, or guides throughout
add a sign-up button above the fold
invite them to join a Facebook group
offer a webinar replay in a link
All of these things will get people in your funnel and help you create stronger relationships with them.
3. Overcoming content creation roadblocks
Now you have an idea about what you want to put out online so your SaaS customers can sign up or become a lead.
You might have a ton of drafts saved or rough cuts of video.
But they aren’t available to your customers!
Why could that be?
Let’s talk about some content creation roadblocks and how you can overcome them.
Having distractions
Perfectionism
Procrastination
Confidence
Idea generation
Impostor syndrome
Consistency
Platform choice
Time
Let’s go through them 1 by 1 and see how they can be overcome in a SaaS environment.
Here are the problems that hold writers back the most, along with some mental shifts to help you overcome them:
Distractions
SaaS marketers and content creators love distractions. After all, we are creatives and can get distracted by the next big idea or lament on how to organize our lives!
One way you can overcome distractions is by choosing to make your distractions inform your content!
How, you ask?
People just like you are being distracted.
You can write about how you overcome distractions in your life and give your audience tips on how to do the same.
Again, people want to connect with you. Even though you are creating for a B2B audience, they want to know you are human. Not just a big tech company.
No one likes big tech!
Perfectionism
Nothing will ever be perfect. Striving for perfection is an unreasonable milestone.
I tell my oldest child this all the time.
This is something I tell myself too.
Even if you put something out there that isn’t perfect. Something that bombs. You didn’t do it in vain.
You learned something.
You might have learned that people don’t love that subject.
Or you posted at the wrong time.
It doesn’t matter. You can learn from it.
Perfection is the enemy of done.
So how can you overcome procrastination?
How can you just get your content done and get it out there!?
Be okay with 80%. Your 80% is better than 100% of 0.
Publish and come back to it. Sometimes, you can hit publish and then revise it later. Most of the time, it is good enough and people will like it!
Look at everything as a learning opportunity!
Banish impostor syndrome
Often perfectionism and impostor syndrome go hand in hand!
B2B marketers feel the need to be better than their competition. More technical. Have better graphics.
But that isn’t the case! You have to connect with your potential users.
As a content creator and writer, you have to figure out how you can be different.
You are 1/1.
Your company is 1/1.
You solve the problems that your users have in a 1/1 way!
Don’t consider yourself competing with anyone else.
Think of how you and your unique user are going to connect in a 1:1 manner through your content.
Improve your self-confidence
You see mediocre B2B SaaS content raking all the time, don’t you?
Procrastination
You should build content creation into your daily habits.
I love to use Sunsama to plan my day and create daily rituals that help with content creation.
The only saying is that “tomorrow never comes,” so don’t put off for tomorrow what can be done today.
Be consistent
Even if you only do 5 minutes of content creation, you will have started a productive habit that banishes procrastination!
Most writers and creators don’t have a talent problem. They have a consistency problem. Look around on Instagram Reels or TikTok, most businesses that are doing well are consistent.
Their followers or readers understand what to expect from them.
Heck, even Google is looking for consistency.
If you can be consistent, you’ll have won half the battle.
Find the time to write
Writing and content creation is hard.
It is time-consuming.
But if connecting with your users and getting more signups or leads is important to you, you’ll find the time.
Or if you don’t have the time, you’ll find the money!
If you are writing yourself, find out what time you are most focused or inspired.
Right now, I’m writing this at 11:46 PM.
My kids are in bed and I know that I can get some good, uninterrupted writing in!
Whatever your ideal hours are, make sure that you schedule the time to create them.
4. Deciding where to distribute your content
There are so many places to publish your content
Social media
Quora
YouTube
Medium
Your Blog
The list is endless. When you only have 1 or 2 mediums to write and create for, content creation becomes much easier.
You have to understand where your ideal client or user is hanging out online and choose the platform.
If you accept signups on your website, your blog might be the best place to publish.
This all depends!
You have to connect with your potential users where they want to be connected with!
Common places to distribute your content
Email
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
< 60 sec video (on all platforms)
One of the best ways to distribute your content is to send it to your highly engaged users. Just remember these tips:
Use a read sender’s name
Ace the subject line (use language your users use)
Add a call to action
Use UTM codes
Twitter is not just a place to park your links! It’s a place to have a conversation.
So how can you balance promotion and conversation?
Add a few of these:
A question
Benefit
Stat
Quote
Trending hashtag
Mentions!
If you have a business page and a personal page, share from both and get your employees to do the same!
Be sure to follow all the best practices for Twitter, but create a unique image. Mentions work here too!
60-second video
One of the most effective ways to promote content on social media is through video.
Sure, it’s 10x the effort, but can drive 100x the results.
Think trending reels and TikToks when you make videos promoting your blog post.
Use everything in the Twitter suggestions, but be sure to include
Captions
UTM code
How to get engagement on social posts
Ask friends and family to like, comment, share, or all three
Leverage employee advocacy
Help your sales team share it with prospects
Mention people
Post at high-traffic times
When a post gets early engagement, the algorithm is more likely to show to more people!
I like to ask people on Snapchat to like my Instagram posts when they drop to get an early boost in engagement :)
Conclusion
Creating content that drives qualified traffic and increases user signups for your SaaS business is essential. Taking a new-school approach to writing can build an engaged audience, uncover more ideas through reader and user feedback, and move faster. To ensure you never run out of original content ideas, follow these steps: decide on the type of content you want to create, identify the best channel to deliver it, and consider your credibility level on the topic. Additionally, be prepared to overcome any roadblocks while creating content by setting realistic timelines, being flexible, and adapting your approach. With these tips and strategies, you can start creating content that will drive success and growth for your SaaS company.