Best Practices for SaaS Copywriting A software as a service (SaaS) business is only as good as its copy. In order to convince customers to try your product, you have to present your offering in a compelling manner. This article explores best practices that business owners should follow to make their products shine brighter than the competition.
By Thomas Smale Edited by Joseph Shults
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As the saying goes, software as a service (SaaS) product owners are often expected to "wear every hat"—but the journey to becoming an entrepreneurial jack-of-all-trades is a long and winding one. Successful founders need to create products with market-fit, find the right pricing strategy, and master the art of copywriting, to name just a few.
Many SaaS entrepreneurs don't realize copywriting skills are crucial to their success until they make a marketing pit stop, but by then they may have driven straight past an opportunity to convert more customers.
Effective copywriting provides you with the means to increase reach, ease customer hesitations, and truly evangelize your business. While writing great copy is a skill that takes time to build, here are a few best practices that will get you headed in the right direction.
Related: The 5 Rules of Killer Copywriting That Will Hook Prospects at 'Hello'
Speak your audience's language.
It's important that you meet your audience where they are. Technical jargon is rarely what entices customers, unless you operate in a heavily scientific space. A more natural tone is usually your best bet. Avoid acronyms where possible (a lead who's made to feel ignorant or inferior is unlikely to make it to the customer stage) and cut out language that isn't empathetic to your audience's needs.
Think of how you'd speak to a customer in a face-to-face conversation. Would you employ verbiage typically reserved for behind-the-scenes chats, or would you make the conversation easy and approachable? Rybbon, an e-gift managing platform, demonstrates this principle well: their website utilizes casual language that every facet of their diverse audience can understand. As a problem-solver-turned-entrepreneur, you've probably been in your ideal customer's shoes before. Write like it!
SEO isn't always king.
Similar to the point above, natural copy will always win. Yes, it's important to optimize your copy for search engines, especially when it comes to landing pages and the blog posts you write to bring people to your site. But copy that's ultra-optimized for algorithms isn't always human-forward copy. In fact, if you overuse keywords or short sentences, your copy may look like it was written by a bot.
Related: The Secret to Super Successful SEO
Livestorm, an enterprise-level video engagement platform, offers a fantastic example of what it looks like to create web copy that's human and search engine-friendly. While their landing page takes advantage of the keywords that will ultimately bring people to their site, it's also approachable. Their copy doesn't assume a specific knowledge level, and it speaks to their platform's benefits in a way that the average person can appreciate. It reads smoothly and isn't choppy, which is crucial to the reader's understanding.
Focus on what's in it for them.
While it's nice to know that you have a decade-plus of experience in your field or that you've helped thousands of customers, these are just "comfort stats"—numbers that make the customer feel good about their purchase, but not ones responsible for conversion. Most likely, your ideal customer is coming to you with a problem they want to solve, and they want to know how you can help fix it.
Consumers' attention spans are short, especially in the digital age, and your copy shouldn't spend a significant amount of time focused on your expertise. Instead, it should point to how you can alleviate your audience's pain point. Does your product save time? Does it streamline an incredibly repetitive and monotonous process? Does it make a certain practice more accessible? Mobiniti, a mobile marketing platform, does all three—and it's visible in their web copy. Mobiniti's copy gets right to the point by telling site visitors that their marketing process could be both simpler and smarter, then points to its impressive engagement and opportunity rates to convert those who are wary.
Speak in positives.
When possible, avoid speaking in negatives and instead pivot toward the positive. Think of Disneyland: Instead of saying it closes at midnight, Disneyland will tell guests it's open from 8 a.m. to midnight. Instead of telling kids Sleeping Beauty isn't available for photos, Disneyland will say she's on a picnic with Prince Phillip. It's all a part of maintaining a magical and pleasant experience.
Most potential customers seeking a SaaS solution are familiar with the negative—it's what brings them to you in search of a solution. You can help your audience associate your product with positive feelings by electing to use positive language. Identify your strengths and capabilities. Don't talk smack on the competition. Userlist, an email marketing automator, is a prime example of this: Its concise copy incorporates feel-good words like "nurture," "loyal," and "engage," and focuses on what the brand is capable of doing versus what it can't do. Reinforce how you can provide the circumstances and feelings your audience is looking for: peace, success, support. Doing so will create a sense of trust, even among those who are new to your brand.
Though writing great copy may feel clunky at first, these tips are key to making the process as natural as the copy on your web page. Only you have the power to make your content shine!
