Picture this: your SaaS product is set to be the next big thing. You’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into this (not to mention countless resources)—and yet, when it launches, your traction is…less than desired. No waves of subscriptions roll in, no client base gets built, and you’re left with a very expensive product that no one wants to use.
The problem isn’t your product. It’s your marketing. And you’re not alone.
Succeeding in the SaaS industry takes more than just a solid app. You need to get your idea out to the world. They need to instantly see the value and want to learn more. For that, they’ll need content that engages, interests, and educates.
If you really want to succeed, you need a SaaS copywriter that’s worth their salt.
What Does a SaaS Copywriter Do?
A SaaS copywriter focuses on effective, targeted copy. They cover:
- Websites
- Blog posts
- White papers
- Advertisements
- Social media marketing
- And more
In short, it’s a SaaS copywriter’s job to sell your product in as many forms of content as possible.
Of course, it takes more than just solid writing to be an efficient copywriter. A truly skilled SaaS copywriter with a thorough understanding of your business, target audience, and competitors. They’ll know how to highlight your value prop so that your product stands out from the rest.
Consider a typical SaaS product like a CRM. Everyone has one—so why do some people pick HubSpot, while others choose Salesforce, while others go for Monday. But all of these companies have unique features—some focus on simplicity, others have robust, powerful integrations, while others are great for small businesses.
Each of these products had brilliant SaaS copywriters behind them—who understand how to highlight their unique vision and value.
What you need in a SaaS copywriter
It’s easy to say that you want a quality SaaS copywriter. The reality is that performing a simple Google search will leave you with nearly a million options, ads, and self-promotions each claiming to provide the best services.
Posting a detailed job listing can help narrow down this search, though you could still end up sifting through piles of slush applications just to find candidates that meet your qualifications. Even then, it can be difficult to decide on which applicants are best suited for the job—if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
To find the best quality SaaS copywriters for your brand, consider the following qualities.
1. Relevant SaaS copywriting experience
There’s no denying that relevant experience can bolster a candidate’s chances in the job market, and having an impressive portfolio to back up their resume certainly doesn’t hurt. Writers, especially copywriters, are not much different.
While a padded portfolio and past experience don’t inherently equate to quality of writing or skill in the trade, they’re usually a sign that your candidate knows what they’re doing and how to succeed in their field. Testimonials or recommendations from past clients or employers is also a plus. But make sure it’s relevant. Blockchain copywriters don’t necessarily know what IoT copywriters know, and vice versa. There are a lot of kinds of SaaS copywriters—you need to find the one that suits your needs.
When it comes to hiring SaaS copywriters, it’s also worth considering their talents in the world of content. If you’re after social media copy, for example, you would be better off hiring someone who knows how to grab people’s attention with clear, concise copy that both intrigues and informs. They need to know how to create SaaS content that won’t be drowned out by the noise or dismissed by users scrolling through.
While that doesn’t mean that a SaaS copywriter specializing in blog posts or newsletters will necessarily be a poor candidate for the job, honing in on candidates with experience relevant to your desired content can make your life a lot easier and simplify the content production process for everyone involved.
2. Strategic SaaS content mindset
As the old adage goes, “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Hiring a SaaS copywriter who specializes in a certain area of copy can be beneficial if you are only looking for that particular type and little more. However, a SaaS copywriter with a broader breadth of experience across different fields of copy can be invaluable for someone looking to promote their brand across multiple mediums.
Say that you’re looking to market a new workout app. There are lots of ways you’ll want to market this. For example:
- Web Copy: How can you explain your product and entice your audience within 5 seconds of entering the website? An expert in SaaS web copy copywriting can help you.
- Blog Posts: Organic traffic matters. A SaaS copywriter who specializes in blog posts can help bring in SEO-driven traffic, educate them on your product, detail its purpose, and convince them why they need it.
- Landing pages: It’s important to target specific SaaS audiences or highlight specific products or specific features of products to get your audience engaged.
A generalist copywriter doesn’t have the capacity to do this. You need to find strong SaaS copywriters who can engage, delight, sell, and educate people.
3. Voice and Language
A crucial skill for any writer is the ability to effectively relate and convey information to your target audience. Efficient SaaS copywriters will be able to tailor their voice, writing style, and language use to the demographics they are looking to appeal to most.
Take for example two of the popular CRM brands we previously mentioned: Salesforce and Monday. At first glance, their landing and home pages may seem similar. However, both the copy and the design of each website are fine tuned to each business’s own unique approach.
Take Salesforce’s home page, pictured below. The first things you may notice are two noteworthy headlines—one welcoming potential clients new to the world of SaaS, and another linking to demos on how Salesforce can help the client, i.e. you. It’s a welcoming, colloquial approach, one that seeks to appeal to the average or less SaaS-savvy consumers without talking down to them. The approach is simple and straightforward, with easy-to-read and easy-to-understand copy that helps guide the consumer along in order to both educate them on what they need, and hopefully convince them that Salesforce is the best choice for those needs.
Compare that approach with Monday’s. Their homepage is design heavy, focusing more on graphic displays of their content and product with relevant yet concise text sprinkled in where needed. Monday devotes an entire section of their page to their top-name clients, including Hulu, Electronic Arts, and even HubSpot, before launching into how their program will best help clients maximize their productivity with state-of-the-art technology and a fully-equipped digital toolbelt at their disposal.
Whereas Salesforce’s approach can better appeal to a smaller consumer still learning the ropes of SaaS and how it works, Monday’s approach takes on a tougher, more advanced approach, geared more towards established clients with an understanding of SaaS who want the best product possible and the most bang for their buck. That’s not to say that Salesforce’s methods are alienating more advanced or experienced clients, or that Monday’s is shutting out access to those with less SaaS knowledge. It simply shows that, through efficient and tailor-made copy, both sites are gearing their content to their desired target audience in ways that will be most effective.
Consider an Agency
Depending on your business needs, working alongside a copywriting agency could be a tremendous benefit to your marketing efforts. If you only have a few small projects or are working with a smaller budget, a freelance SaaS copywriter may be the better fit. However, if you are willing and able to invest heavily into your brand’s marketing and content, an agency can help manage all your projects in a timely and orderly fashion, while ensuring you receive the best quality content for your investment. Agencies are also helpful if you are pursuing multiple types of copy and need SaaS copywriters with a broader range of experience. Rather than hiring multiple freelancers at potentially different pay rates with no project manager, you can rest assured that a quality agency has skilled and talented writers capable of managing content across the board.
