10 Holy Rules of Writing Great SaaS Content (Without Sales Pitch)
The excitement of signing up for a new SaaS product is real; after all, it is the culmination of months (and even years) of planning and strategising. But, one fine morning, you log in and suddenly, there’s confusion storming your head—with a voice echoing: What do I do now?
A flood of features, technically-written menus, and complex dashboards can do that to a user. And there’s also a high chance they would shut down the software once and for all. That’s why you write effective SaaS content, a clear and helpful piece that guides the user through the tool (minus the tech jargon). 55% of SaaS companies use content marketing as their primary marketing effort. More than sales, it is about making sure the audience understands the value of the product they have signed up for. And SaaS content marketing helps right with that.
Keep reading to know more about SaaS content writing—and the powerful practices to write effective SaaS content.
What is SaaS Content Writing?
SaaS content writing refers to the practice of turning complex software concepts into concise, engaging content pieces that your audience can relate with. It is not only about discussing the list of features and benefits of a product; it is about explaining how the product works and how it will solve the various problems someone may face.
The goal of SaaS content writing is to educate, engage, and connect with the target audience. The right SaaS content informs the reader, and at the same time, nurtures trust in the brand, making them come back for more.
Get, Set, Read: Effective SaaS Content Writing Practices
Here are 10 surefire ways to to make your pieces of SaaS content stand out from the crowd:
Understand Your Product
Before you start writing, ask yourself:
Do I know this product in and out?
If the honest answer is no, perhaps it’s time for you to learn all that you can about the product. SaaS content marketing strategies won’t be effective if you don’t get what, why, and how of the product you are promoting. You must know where it stands out in the market, and how it will benefit the users. Without complete knowledge, It’d be like writing about a car, but not knowing whether it is gas-powered or electric. And hence, there is a risk of making a mess.
When you are writing Saas content, here are some of the things you need to understand about the product:
- Key features: What exactly does the product do and how; be very clear about this.
- USP: Why would your customers invest in this over similar tools available out there? What sets it apart?
- User Experience: How easy or challenging is it to use this product? Are there any complexities your user might face, and how does the product solve them?
Think from the user perspective. In fact, you should use the product yourself. Nothing beats firsthand experience when it comes to crafting compelling content that your audience can relate with.
Speak to YOUR Customer, Not Everyone
SaaS products are often developed to meet the needs and preferences of certain sectors, teams, or businesses. So? So, you have to first acknowledge the fact that you are not writing for the entire world, but a group of customers, your customers, who will be potential buyers of your product. Narrowing down your focus on the customer base will push you to craft SaaS content marketing strategies that speak directly to the customers’ needs, pain points, and goals.
A SaaS tool—for example—designed for an enterprise-level marketing team will speak differently than one focused on small business owners. Understanding the audience of your SaaS content enables you to choose the most suitable tone, language, and benefits to highlight—preventing any vagueness or other challenges.
So what should you do? You can start with creating customer profiles, based on factors like:
- Demographics: Your customers’ age, job, geographical location, industry, and more.
- Behaviours: What tools or solutions are they currently using? How do they make purchasing decisions?
- Psychographics: What are your customers’ goals, challenges, and pain points?
After you know your target audience group, you will be able to tailor Saas content writing plans to meet their requirements in a rather personalised manner.
Focus More on Benefits
Cool, you know what are API integrations, or dynamic analytics, or cloud-based security!
But will your audience get that?
Caution: tech jargon can serve a huge barrier with your well-curated SaaS content piece—and can blur everything for your customers. Remember, SaaS content marketing is aimed to make your customers feel smart for choosing your product.
Thus, you must stress upon the benefits of SaaS tools rather than features. Instead of talking about the technical attributes of a product, explain how it will make your customer’s life easier or solve a specific problem. When explaining the benefits of a SaaS tool, keep in the mind the possible problems the product solves and how it would help your audience.
Show, Don’t Just Tell
No one wants a piece of dry, impersonal discussion about your product. We repeat—no one. People tend to get bored with this faster than you might like to believe. It is stories that keep them scrolling.
Enter real-world cases.
You can show exactly how your product functions and what solutions your customers can expect—all by using real-life examples, and even case studies. The most ideal way to demonstrate the prowess of your offerings is through success stories that can illustrate the benefits in action better than any straightforward essay-like write-up.
Here are a couple of examples of this approach:
- X, a small business owner, saved 4 hours a day on administrative tasks just by using our tool.
- Company Y witnessed a 30% boost in customer satisfaction scores in 3 months after using our platform.
These examples tell how a product is solving problems for real—and can make the audience relate to the benefits seamlessly. You can craft your SaaS content using case studies, customer testimonials, and success stories—wherever possible—to talk about the effectiveness of your product.
Be Transparent
Honesty can be the game-changer when it comes to SaaS content writing—given you let it be.
By over-promising and under-delivering, you can lose your audience’s trust. We get how tempting it is to paint your product as a miraculous solution that fixes all the problems your customers are facing; however, being transparent about what your product can, and cannot do will get you more respect in the long run. So..
Don’t add features that aren’t there.
Don’t promise 10X productivity, when you know it’s 5X.
Be bold and be upfront about any limitations your product may have. Address potential concerns or objections early in your content to demonstrate honesty and transparency.
Use CTAs
You planned a great party, but alas, forgot to invite anyone!
Yes, that’s what writing SaaS content without implementing Call to Action (CTA) is like.
SaaS landing pages with a strong CTAs boost conversion rates up to 80% and drive 34% increase in sign-up forms. A great CTA tells your readers what to do after they have read your SaaS content piece; whether it is exploring the product more, or signing up for a trial or contacting sales. For example:
- Ready to streamline your business operations? Start with a 14-day FREE trial.
- Want to know more about our product? Book a demo with one of our experts.
Note, your CTAs should be clear, actionable, and compelling enough for users to click on it.
Keep It Simple
It’s a busy world, where most people won’t stick to the screen just to read long, dense paragraphs published by you.
Especially if it’s SaaS content.
When you are writing about SaaS, you have to ensure it is easy to skim, and has clear, concise information that’s digestible by your readers. All you need to do is avoid long explanations. Instead, break your content into bite-sized chunks.
- Incorporate headings and subheadings to divide your content and make it easy to skim.
- Use short paragraphs.
- Bring in lists, images, etc.
Don’t shy away from using humour and add a layer of personality to your SaaS content. In fact, doing this can make the content more fun to read, while keeping complex tech-ish discussions more approachable.
Utilise SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial part of SaaS content writing. 57% of SaaS companies that use content marketing give credit to SEO for bringing 14.3% of leads from organic search. No matter how great your writing is, it won’t do much if people can not even find it. Thus, you must make the most of SEO.
Now this doesn’t mean that you will go on with the optimisation and keep stuffing your SaaS content with too many keywords. Go naturally. Integrate SEO in flow, making the content both valuable and engaging for humans and search engines.
Here’s what you can do:
- Do your keyword research: Use SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or more to find the most relevant keywords and phrases your audience is searching for.
- Use keywords strategically: Place keywords evenly throughout your content; in your headlines, subheadings, and within the body of the text. Also, make sure it reads naturally.
- Optimise images: Include alt text with keywords for your images to help with ranking.
- Mind the density: Aim for around 1–2% of keyword density. Over-stuffing can hurt your content readability, and it can also harm your SEO rankings.
Incorporate Visuals
Here’s a truth pill: most people would rather binge on Netflix than read a great wall of text. When writing about SaaS products, you can spice the cones flow up simply by bringing in the visual elements. Visuals help explain complex concepts, show how your product works, and can also break up the monotony of a text-stuffed page.
You can add these flavours to your SaaS content writing:
- Videos to show the product in action
- Screenshots of the different features of products in use
- Infographics to explain the complex ideas simply
You can make the best of it by investing in high-quality visual elements that reflect the style and tone of your brand. Note, well-designed images or videos can make a stark difference in engaging your readers all through the content. It will also help them understand how your product works.
Moreover, visuals also contribute to readability by breaking up the content, making it more digestible and compelling.
Be Fun
When writing SaaS content, the last thing you would want for your effort to end up looking like a corporate brochure! In order to engage your audience and give them space to resonate with your tone, you have to keep it light, and FUN.
You can make the reader’s experience all more enjoyable by writing in a rather conversational tone; something that forms a connection between your brand and your customers. Not to mention, this can help you make sure your customers know that you understand them, their choices, and their frustration.
Instead of writing:
Our X software offers robust features, including data analysis, for efficient decision-making.
Write:
Need to make more effective decisions? Our X software will help you with the numbers.
This cool-headed approach will make your content read less like a sales pitch and more like the talk. However, you have to be careful with the intensity of the fun, and know where to draw the line. You can always strike the balance between fun and professionalism, keeping the brand image intact.
Final Thoughts
The crux of SaaS content writing is blending education and engagement, and the process involves:
- Understanding your product
- SEO practices
- Fun elements mixed up with professional tone
and more such flavours that we discussed above. By implementing these basic yet power-packed efforts into your SaaS content writing, you will not only push your write-ups to the top of search results, but will also witness boots in lead generation and nurturing.