SaaS moves at a mile a minute and evolves almost infinitely as the user's needs and expectations evolve. It's an exciting process, but when you're focused on building a fantastic product, it's easy to forget that quality B2B SaaS copywriting and marketing must be equally engaging and user-friendly.
In this article, you'll learn:
If your SaaS startup wants to provide a truly end-to-end experience for your customers, this post is for you.
SaaS Inbound Marketing Basics: The Difference Between B2B SAAS Copywriting and Content Writing
Folks often think the two are interchangeable terms, but B2B Saas Copywriting and Content writing are not the same. They're both invaluable assets to your brand—and copywriting best practices should be applied to both styles—but they have two distinctly different purposes.
Copywriting
Copywriting is meant to do one thing: compel the reader to perform an action. The strategy of using words to inspire action comes into play when trying to get someone to subscribe to a newsletter, click on an ad, and (of course) buy something.
Content Writing
The intention of effective content writing is to provide information in an engaging and helpful way. Content writing usually encompasses blogs, infographics, ebooks, white papers—basically anything with the main goal is to provide value without any type of reciprocation.
PS: If you wanna enhance your B2B SaaS inbound marketing for FREE—check out my "All-In-One" blog writing template! I stuff 10+ years of professional content writing experience into an easy-to-use checklist, template, and ebook that helps your SaaS inbound marketing efforts:
Drive more organic traffic
Establish your expertise
And entice prospects to dive headfirst into your sales funnels!
3 Reasons B2B SaaS Copywriting Is So Important
Effective and strategic copywriting matters because it blends psychology, research, and technical skill to help businesses reach and exceed their revenue goals. When it comes to SaaS, the quality of your copy can have a huge impact on the success of your product.
From the ability of your website to convert visitors into customers, to maintaining a good reputation, a technologically impressive product can struggle if it can't effectively convey its value.
As mentioned earlier, great copy can take complexity and transform it into a simple and accessible insight that showcases how your SaaS helps your customers reach their goals.
How does B2B SaaS copywriting (or really any copywriting) work?:
We learn everything we can about your target consumer, from their deepest desires to the daily struggles that your product helps solve.
We use this information to develop a language manipulation strategy that resonates specifically with them (via speaking to them with empathy, and understanding—and even using words and phrases the way they would. (For example: writing copy for a social media ad targeting a 25-year-old marketing assistant who lives in California will look wa-a-a-ay different than writing copy for a mailer targeting a veteran lawyer with a firm in Kentucky.)
This carefully crafted concoction of psychology and research creates a compelling message that speaks so intimately to your ideal customer that they can’t help but invest in your offer.
When Copywriting Can Be Dangerous
There’s a very understandable disdain amongst almost everyone when it comes to “marketing”. We’ve all been on the receiving end of some ad, commercial, etc that uses ugly and unethical tactics to compel someone to make a purchase. Some of these scummy tactics include:
Reason Number 1: Using a customer’s insecurities about themselves/their lives to trigger an impulse buy.
Reason Number 2: Using FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) to compel someone to make a (usually) huge investment in a product/service/course. FOMO is usually applied through big, scary blinking countdown clocks. Not saying you can’t use countdowns ethically, they just frequently aren’t used ethically.
Unethical copy
“Tired of feeling ugly in every outfit you wear? Buy [insert diet program] and have the supermodel body you’ve always dreamed of!”
Ethical copy
“[Insert product] helps you feel energized, satisfied, and excited to go jeans shopping again!”
Notice the difference? The first version just rips the reader’s every insecurity apart. It doesn’t make them feel empowered or excited, it just makes them feel desperate to stop the pain stop.
The second version addresses the deeper benefits of adding this product into your routine, and it touches on a common struggle that almost every person has faced (jeans shopping), in a light-hearted and respectful way. It helps the customer feel motivated and excited- it even makes them laugh a little.
As you can see, you can sell the exact same product to the exact same person in 2 very different ways… and the way you choose to sell to your customer will have a lasting effect on how they
These sleazy myths about what ‘marketing must be’ leave many business owners with a bad taste in their mouths. In many instances, we can even be compelled not to market at all because we’re afraid of coming off sales-y or pushy.
But the landscape of marketing and copywriting is evolving (as well as the average consumer), and there are very effective ways to use copywriting to make a profit without sacrificing your conscience or someone else’s feelings.
What Are Copywriting Benefits
Now that we know why copywriting matters, and that it is an irreplaceable asset to any business in any industry and any size, let’s go over some of the specific copywriting benefits.
Grabs attention
Effective copy grabs the attention of the ideal customer and draws them into your product or service. Most of the best copy in the world is just a few words and has led to worldwide brand recognition, trust, and success.
Think “Just do it” by Nike, or “I’m lovin’ it” by McDonald’s
Resonates and connects with the reader
Copy is all about knowing the customer on the deepest level possible. Taking time to understand their struggles, their goals, their lifestyles, etc dictates every word of copy.
When you understand your customers are individual human beings, you can relate and empathize with them. Customers who feel understood and respected inevitably connect better with your brand- and are much more likely to invest in it.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com
Inspires people to take action
Ethical copy doesn’t feed on insecurities, and instead inspires the idea that things can be better! Now, it’s absolutely okay to address a struggle your customer is having- after all, that’s where the empathy comes in… however, it isn’t okay to dig and rip and tear at it.
Establishes Trust
Another often overlooked benefit of copy is how it can help shape the identity of your brand. When your copy is consistent in tone/voice, it helps people trust you. That trust is, ultimately, what brings customers back to you time and time again.
Should you hire a freelance B2B SaaS copywriter? (And what you can do instead)
Yeah, you should hire a SaaS copywriting specialist to handle your content marketing for the same reason you hire a specialist for anything else. They're experts in what they do, and the amount of money they save in workflow, convenience, and quality far outweighs the cost of their services.
It's funny how, when it comes to marketing, many folks perceive it as a "DIY". But, in reality, marketing is a blend of so much more than graphic design and a word processor. It doesn't mean you can't do it on your own, but it takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to be effective at it.
Can Anyone Learn Copywriting?
Depending on the copywriter you ask, you’ll get a different answer. In my personal opinion, the (very) short answer is:
Yes, absolutely, anyone can learn how to be a great copywriter…
But as I said above, it’s not easy—and it takes a lot of time and effort (as with any skill.)
And if anyone tries to sell you a course by telling you that it’s easy… they’re not being completely honest with you.
Then you have to decide if the effort is worth it instead of outsourcing. For most business owners, marketing managers, and VPs... you're strapped for time as it is. And if want copy that connects with readers at a soul-nurturing level, then you'll have to commit to developing the skill.
Learning the fundamentals
Learning the psychological principles that drive people to make decisions
Practicing by studying great copy and creating your own
Learning how to conduct research effectively
How to format and why
The list goes on and on and on
It's a worthwhile skill to learn—especially if you love writing (like me). However, it may be more efficient and cost-effective to hire a specialist. If you don’t like writing, then learning how to write copy is a hell of a chore. It’s not worth driving yourself crazy trying to learn how to write copy unless you enjoy doing it. And if you don't enjoy it... it shows in the copy.
When you hire a skilled copywriter:
You save tons of time
If you hire a freelancer you save a ton on employment costs and recruiting
You have the best chance of yielding the results you want
Your content is always relevant and valuable to your audience
All of your marketing assets are consistent and harmonize
Every word written for your brand serves a purpose
The list goes on and on ;)
Free Tools For DIY Copywriting
If you're not ready to hire a copywriter, that's totally okay. There are plenty of resources to help you get started until you are ready to delegate the task. Here are my favorite B2B SaaS Copywriting tools to help you conceptualize and execute your copy projects.
Creative Briefs
While this isn't an app or website, creative briefs are absolutely crucial to a successful project. In marketing, you need a creative brief to:
Keep schedules on track
Keep everyone on the same page
Outline the specific goals of the campaign
Identify the audience you're writing for
Note specific elements to include or exclude
Etc...
You can build one from scratch using a Google or Word doc, or download free templates to help you get started.
It's super easy and quick to use, and it'll help make all of your future creative projects more efficient, effective, and enjoyable.
Grammarly
An excellent tool for intuitive spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and plagiarism proofing. It has a free and paid version (I paid because I like the plagiarism checker), and it’s a massive help in spotting sentence structure issues and giving stronger autosuggestions.
Hemingway Editor
This is a text editor that helps you make your writing more clear and more concise. It comes as both a browser-based app(free) and a desktop app($19.99.) I prefer the desktop version because I can save my progress without worrying about losing my progress if my internet goes down. In addition, it’s hugely helpful with readability; and gives you a “score grade” to let you know how difficult your content is to read.
Quetext
This website checks for plagiarism on web pages. It offers free and paid subscription tiers, and uses a simple copy-and-paste UI. Full disclosure: I haven’t played around MUCH in it, but it comes highly recommended by several professional peers I trust.
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer
This one analyzes and scores the strength/efficacy of headlines. Copy and paste your post title or email subject line. The analyzer then returns a headline score and SEO score indicating its effectiveness. Below your score, it offers suggestions on how to improve both scores. It provides a free and premium subscription, but the free one has served me very well.
Word Hippo
A good ole’ fashioned thesaurus. I swear I have this webpage open almost the entire time I write anything. Whenever I feel lost for words or want to find a synonym with more oomph, I visit Word Hippo and find TONS of brilliantly delicious synonyms. It’s free, too. I love that cute hippo.
BlogAbout
Generates blog topic ideas based on the keywords entered. I love BlogAbout because you can punch in a keyword or two, and it’ll start generating topic ideas. Of course, not all of them will be winners, but what’s nice is you can “favorite” one, and it gets added to a bullet list below the search bar—saving time and finger strain from copy-and-pasting.
Canva
Great content isn’t just about words. Images are essential for breaking up text, increasing readability, and providing a generally better experience for the reader. Canva is a phenomenal graphic design platform I use for every post (including this one!) It’s got a free and “pro” version that gives you access to assets and some additional features. Honestly, the free version is so comprehensive you really don’t need the pro—mainly because it lets you purchase “pro” assets individually.
It’s easy to use and elevates the quality of your content marketing. It recently released many new features, including a word processor, website builder, and even an AI tool.
Pixabay
Free stock photo and video website. I also use this site for blog or webpage images. I like it because they make it super easy to credit the photographers with a quick-copy link (you aren’t legally obligated to, but it helps the artist generate more attention to their work in exchange for the royalty-free content they provide.)
LoseTheVery.com
This helps strengthen your copy by helping you eliminate the word “very” from your sentences. Just type in a word, and the site generates more impactful words that mean the same thing. It’s a new (and free) platform, so its language base is still growing, but this is a great tool that I use a lot when my brain feels like mush.
What to do next when it comes to copywriting for your SaaS product
Copywriting is important because it helps you communicate what matters most. That is the most powerful thing you can do for your business. Every business, whether hiring a professional copywriter or not, should learn the fundamental basics of copywriting.
Understanding the basics helps you select the best copywriter for your brand, as well as helps you communicate more effectively with copywriters.
Mastering a surface-level understanding of copywriting helps every word of copy written for your business (be it by you, or a professional copywriter) has the highest chance of resonating with your target audience and compelling them to invest in your product.
If you’re interested in exclusive tips about copywriting and marketing...