Writing content for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies isn't just about covering tools and software. SaaS content writing requires narratives that resonate with potential users, drive conversions and build trust while highlighting the benefits of the SaaS products or services.
What you will learn
- What SAAS content writing is and how it's different from other writing forms
- The different SaaS content writing types
- Content writing strategies for SaaS companies
In this guide, we’ll delve into the world of SaaS content writing, exploring its unique aspects, benefits, and strategies to attract and retain users effectively.
Let’s get started.
What is SaaS content writing?
SaaS content writing is the process of creating quality content tailored for SaaS companies to attract and convert potential customers via online channels.
It involves writing blog posts, articles, website copy, and other forms of content to establish thought leadership, engage readers, and drive traffic to the company's website.
Like other forms of content marketing, content writing can help improve a company's online presence and build brand awareness.
Because of its organic reach, producing high quality content for search engines is essential to a successful content marketing strategy.
How is SaaS content writing different from other writing forms?
The key difference between SaaS content writing and other types of writing is the content’s purpose.
Writing for SaaS aims to nurture leads into paying customers over time while writing for other niches often focus on educating, entertaining, or informing readers about a specific topic or subject matter.
Content writing for SaaS companies is tied to their overall business goals and is crucial to their marketing strategy.
It helps promote their products or services, generate leads, and drive conversions.
SaaS content tends to be long-form exceeding 1500 words and covers in-depth explanations and guides.
Long-form content can be essential to building industry authority and credibility with target audiences.
SaaS content writing is also used as a showcase to educate potential users about your SaaS product's capabilities in a way that helps solve their problems.
Unlike other niches that can use creative writing, SaaS content must incorporate data and references to support claims of performance and efficiency.
SaaS businesses will usually decide between hiring freelance SaaS writers or setting up an internal team with a content strategist.
It's also possible to have a hybrid model where you manage the SaaS content strategy internally, but outsource written content to a freelance saas content writer.
The main difference between traditional content writers and SaaS writers is the level of experience and expertise in the specific SaaS industry.
A SaaS content writer will be better informed of industry trends, and have a decent working knowledge of its tools. They will be able to understand specific terms and concepts better than a regular freelance writer.
Benefits of SaaS content writing
Investing in SaaS content writing can yield benefits for SaaS companies, leading to their growth and overall success.
Here are some of the key reasons why SAAS content writing is important:
Increased brand awareness
For individuals to purchase your SaaS product, they must be aware of your company's existence. High-quality B2B SaaS content can boost your search engine rankings, which boosts brand visibility, helping you expand your reach and attract leads to your website.
Build trust and authority
When you write helpful, informative content for your readers, you show potential customers that you're an expert in your field. This helps you gain and build customer trust, encouraging potential customers to choose your SaaS product over your competitors.
Increased ROI
SaaS content can be instrumental in bringing in potential customers at the top of your content funnel, but it can also play a leading role in converting decision makers in the final stages of their buyer journey.
7 types of SaaS content writing
SaaS content includes several different forms of writing for various purposes and mediums. Here are seven types of SaaS content for software companies:
1. Case studies
Case studies show how real customers have successfully used your SaaS product to solve their problems and achieve their goals.
By showcasing real results and featuring actual customers, case studies help convert potential customers and reassure existing ones.
Surfer's SEO case studies, for example help potential customers see how others have achieved success using Surfer's products.
Even though writing case studies can take a lot of time and effort, they are great for bottom-of-the-funnel content that will encourage people to buy.
If you are creating SaaS content, make sure that you cover case studies because they can improve your bottomline, and will rank much easier.
2. Checklists and listicles
Blog posts that list a number of items or things to do are a common type of SaaS content.
Checklist posts are step-by-step guides or to-do lists that help readers achieve a certain task or objective.
They're relatively easy to write and can be less competitive to rank in the SERPs.
Shopify's e-commerce checklist to launch an online store is an example of this type of SaaS content.
The step-by-step model makes checklist posts great for simplifying complex processes while offering actionable insights.
You can also create a listicle comparing your product against other alternatives. Here is an example from Planable, where they compare the top project collaboration tools.
3. Comparison and versus pages
Comparison guides offer a side-by-side comparison of your SaaS product with competitors or alternative solutions in the market, as GetResponse does below.
These guides help potential customers make informed decisions and understand the unique value of your SaaS product over others.
When you make comparison guides or "versus" pages, don't say that your product is the best in a way that's obvious.
Adopt a show and tell approach.
Show them what your product does and tell them how it helps solve their problem.
Making explicit claims about the superiority of your product without proof may result in the loss of customers' trust and conversions.
4. Guides and walk-throughs
How-to guides are a great way to show readers exactly how your software addresses their pain points in a step-by-step manner.
Think of the PAS approach: problem, agitate, solution.
A good piece of content will start by outlining the problem to resonate with readers.
Then, agitate the reader by discussing how serious the problem is. Finally, show them how they can use your software to resolve the issue effectively.
This Help Scout article is a good example of addressing a pain point by showcasing their product as a potential solution.
Identifying with users' struggles and offering solutions can help establish your SaaS business as a problem solver.
5. Statistics posts
Statistics posts are list posts that compile and present relevant industry figures. These are often used as link-bait because you can get backlinks from high-authority sites without needing to hire a link building agency.
Here's an example of social media stats from Hootsuite.
With statistics posts, you don't always have to conduct the actual research, unlike in reports. Instead, you can depend on other companies and refer to them in your blog post.
This ease of writing a stats post makes them lucrative content for businesses looking to establish themselves as industry experts.
6. Template posts
Template posts are another type of popular content that will bring you relevant search traffic. They provide ready-to-use templates that save users time and effort.
For example, Surfer has a bunch of articles offering free SEO templates to help readers with their content workflows.
By offering users these templates, Surfer demonstrates its SEO expertise and can introduce users to their SEO tools.
7. Reports
Reports present data-driven insights or market trends relevant to your SaaS product's niche.
In order to produce reports, you must devote time and resources to your own research.
Influencer Marketing Hub, for example, has an annual report on the state of the influencer marketing industry.
Studies like this can enhance the producer's credibility in the industry and among their target audience. Besides being shareable, a valuable report can also score multiple high-quality backlinks to increase your domain authority rating.
10 strategies for SaaS content writing
You now understand the various types of content you can create for your SaaS company.
But you won't get the great results that each one promises if your content can't draw people to your website and keep them there long enough to show them how great your product is.
Here are 5 SaaS content writing strategies for your business:
Recognize your readers
To write relevant content, you must first understand who you’re writing for—your target audience.
Take your time to research and fully visualize them with the help of a buyer persona.
When creating your buyer persona, consider factors like demographics, psychographics, and your target audience’s pain points.
Also, look at the problems they're trying to solve, where they go to look for solutions, and what kind of content and brand they prefer.
Browse social media communities like Reddit and Quora, and speak to your customers to get a firsthand view of their preferences and opinions.
Understanding your target audience makes it easier to create content that speaks to them, from the topics to the types of content and examples.
For instance, if your target audience is small business owners, don't write content for large enterprise companies.
Doing so will alienate your target audience and affect your SERP positions for keywords you want to rank for.
Use keyword research to identify important topics
The most crucial step in content writing is keyword research. Thorough keyword research will help you identify relevant, high-traffic keywords related to your SaaS product that users are searching for.
You don't have to be an SEO expert to implement an effective content strategy.
In fact, tools like Surfer Keyword Research can generate a year's content plan in minutes.
The search volume (MSV) is the number of searches for a certain keyword in a month.
Keyword difficulty (KD) refers to how hard it will be for your website to rank for a particular keyword. You can choose target keywords with a high search volume and low keyword difficulty.
Even identifying which topic you should use as a pillar page and related keywords to create content hubs.
If you are relatively new, you can focus on long tail keywords.
These tend to have less search volume than the short-tail keywords but are easier to rank for in search results.
They’re also more specific and have higher business potential for conversions.
So instead of “document management software,” use the long-tail keyword “best document management software for accountants.”
You can then personalize your brand's tone of voice to create fully optimized articles with Surfer AI.
SEO has a lower cost of acquisition and can bring in organic traffic for a long period of time with little maintenance.
Optimize for organic traffic
Search engine optimization is crucial to SaaS content writing. Well-optimized content will rank higher, meaning more visibility for your target users. High-ranking content can also lead to increased trust, especially if readers follow the actionable advice in your article.
Title tags
The title tag is displayed as the clickable headline in search engine results. It should accurately represent your content and encourage users to click through to your page.
Meta descriptions
A meta description is a short description that appears under the title in the search results and provides a summary of your content. These also tell search engines and searchers what they will find in your content, so ensure it’s enticing and also include your target keyword.
Your meta description should be under 160 characters.
Header tags
Use headers (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.) to structure your content logically and boost readability for both users and search engines.
Google uses your headers to gain context on your content and also determine whether it’s relevant to searchers’ queries.
So keep your headers concise, and include secondary keywords and phrases to help search engines understand what your page is about.
Write to satisfy search intent
Finally, to find the best keywords for your content, analyze your keywords’ search intent.
Search intent is basically the reason people are searching for a specific keyword. There are four key types of search intent:
Informational: The searcher is looking for information on a particular topic
Navigational: The user is looking for a certain web page or website
Transactional: The person is searching with the intention of making a purchase at that moment.
Commercial investigation: These people are still conducting research but fully intend to make a purchase in the near future.
Surfer's Keyword Research tool labels keywords with their associated search intent to help you with your blog's content writing.
In the example below, the search intent has been identified as customer investigation.
You have to ensure your content matches your target keywords’ search intent.
For instance, if you're targeting a keyword with commercial investigation intent, your content should be like a buyebuyer'sde or a comparison post.
Link to relevant pages
Internal refers to when you link your SaaS content to other relevant pages on your website to enhance the user experience.
Internal linking helps Google understand the context of your content and how it relates to other articles on your blog page.
In addition, internal links can keep people on your site longer and establish virtual silos for topical hubs.
Use contextual anchor text to encourage readers to click through your links and avoid generic ones like “click here.”
Meaningful anchor text optimization can also communicate context and relevance to search engines.
External links refer to other relevant pages on external websites. They indicate credibility, and you should include external links in your content to related websites.
Use an attention-grabbing headline
Your content’s headline is the first thing your audience sees in the search engine results. It largely determines whether they'll click through to read your content.
Create a clear, concise, and attention-grabbing headline that conveys the main benefit of your SaaS content.
Ensure that it includes your target keyword and is concise but effective. Enhance your headline by including a meta description that supports the title.
Note that Google can change the title and meta description in the SERPs, like it has done below.
Keep your titles within 50-60 characters to ensure they’re well displayed in the SERPs.
Create a compelling introduction
Your content's introduction will set the general tone for your SaaS content. A strong, powerful introduction can engage the reader, encouraging them to read more.
To write a compelling introduction, start with an attention grabbing hook to draw the reader in.
This could be a surprising fact, a question, or a bold statement.
Take the example of The Points Guy, a website dedicated to helping people with their travel experiences.
Their article's introduction on maximizing free nights at Hyatt addresses the key point immediately and lays down expectations for the remaining content.
Address the pain points of your reader or pose a thought-provoking question to them.
A brief outline of what the blog post will cover can help readers know what to expect from the rest of your content.
Write in a conversational tone
Your content should not only be readable but also approachable and relatable, which is why you should write in a conversational tone.
Readers don't want to be preached to. They want to feel like they're having a friendly conversation with someone who understands them.
Write as if you’re having a direct conversation with your audience.
Use “I” and “you” instead of third-person “he/she” or “they,” which makes the audience feel like you’re speaking to someone else.
This can help you connect better with your readers.
Take a look at the friendly tone used by The Motley Fool, a popular investment website, for example.
Finally, avoid jargon and overly technical language to make the content more accessible to a wider audience.
Show your product in real world situations
Don’t just list your product’s features and specifications.
Instead, highlight the benefits of your SaaS product in a native environment. Show readers how your features solve their problems in a real-world scenario.
Video editing platform Veed, for example, shows how easy it is to make gifs from videos using their platform in a blog post that addresses the same query.
Focusing on benefits will help you make a compelling case for why your solution is the best choice for potential users.
Keep your writing scannable
Even if your content is relevant, informative, and of high quality, most people won't read it if it isn't readable and easy to scan. A well-organized structure ensures readers can quickly grasp the key points and understand your content’s value.
How do you do this?
- Ensure your paragraphs don’t occupy more than four lines
- Use proper spacing to enhance readability and legibility.
- Insert headings and subheadings to organize your content, mostly H1, H2, and H3
- Include numbered lists and bullet points to break up the text and make it more digestible
- Employ comfortable text fonts
- Provide the most important details upfront
- Add relevant visuals like images, screenshots, infographics, charts, and interactive videos to break the monotony of the body.
Following these guidelines will allow readers to quickly grasp key points while skimming and may even encourage them to read further.
Key takeaways
- SaaS content writing is specialized writing aimed at attracting and converting potential customers for SaaS companies. It's not just about discussing tools but also building narratives that resonate with users
- Unlike other types of content writing, the primary goal of SaaS content is to nurture leads into becoming paying customers. It is closely tied to the company's overall business and marketing strategies
- Investing in SaaS content writing can lead to increased brand awareness, trust, and ROI. It plays a significant role through the different stages of the customer journey
- To be effective, SaaS content writing should focus on understanding the target audience, SEO writing practices, well composed articles and engaging the reader
Conclusion
Content writing is essential for SaaS companies who want to attract organic traffic and build credibility. Although you should explore other marketing channels, long form content has been proven to be more credible, and has a higher return on investment.
If you think about it, the most popular SaaS companies - all have a strong organic presence of SaaS content.
