“Most B2B content is boring”

The above line is a popular narrative used by industry experts who say that:

❌  Google’s first page is dominated by content that looks and feels the same (odd) way

❌ The web is filled with overused stats and buzzwords that no one wants to hear again

❌ It’s hard to find genuinely interesting data-backed content with unique insights from SMEs and thought leaders

Unfortunately, the same issues apply to B2B content writing in the SaaS industry. 

You see, the B2B SaaS market is full of great companies doing great things, but it’s also filled with mediocre content that nobody reads.

Now, here’s the big question — How do you wade through the boring stuff and get to write truly helpful B2B SaaS content that generates signups and converts leads? 

Here’s a quick answer — If you want your B2B content to stick around, you need to focus on solving problems, not selling products.

How? You ask. Continue reading as we explore in this article, what it takes to be a B2B SaaS writer and how you can produce engaging and relevant content with these 13 specific tactics and best practices.

Who is a B2B SaaS Writer? 

A B2B SaaS writer is a person who writes content for software as a service (SaaS) companies. These are companies that sell their software to businesses for a subscription fee regularly. 

The main job of a B2B SaaS writer is to create content that helps people learn about a product/service and make them feel comfortable with purchasing it.

Such content includes:

✔ Long-form content

✔ White papers

✔ Sales Copy

✔ Blog posts

✔ Technical Documentation

✔ Case Studies

✔ FAQs

✔ Landing Pages and so on.

Most Common Problems in B2B SaaS Writing

Let’s face it — Writing B2B SaaS content is tough. It’s often a challenge to write content that appeals to your target audience without being overly salesy or making them feel like you’re trying too hard.

That’s because you’ve got to cover all the bases clearly and concisely and communicate with your audience in a way that resonates with them, but not so much that they get bored or frustrated. And on top of that, you want your writing to be persuasive enough so that people will actually buy into your product (or service). 

Simple enough, right? Not exactly. Here are some common mistakes and pitfalls B2B SaaS writers make from time to time:

• Headlines are too boring or vague
• Content contains fluff, filler, or useless information
• There are no clear call-to-action (CTAs) in content
• Lack of specificity about your offer
• Weak messaging and value proposition
• Too much technical jargon
• Lack of a clear sense of audience and purpose
• Lack of focus on the buyer’s journey

We’ll address these mistakes in the next section.

13 Vital Tips to Ace your B2B SaaS Content Writing

To tackle the  large amount of fluff and weak content out there, I compiled 13 important tips any newbie B2B SaaS writer should focus on when creating content.

To capture these issues (and solutions) from a diverse view, I got to interview some expert writers in the B2B SaaS space— 

✅ Lily Ugbaja, Content strategist and freelance writer for B2B SaaS companies

✅ Precious Oboidhe, a B2B content strategist and writer for SaaS companies

✅ AbdulGaniy Shehu, Founder and Lead strategist at Your Content Mart

✅ Ayomide Joseph, a freelance B2B SaaS content writer

You can find their input below.

Here are 13 tips to make significant strides in your writing:

Write for Humans first, then Search Engines 

Having your content rank on SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) is not a guarantee for conversion. Crappy content stuffed with keywords can probably get you thousands of visitors but you’ll eventually end up with a trickle of signups or leads.

In the past, there was a lot of talk about how we should write for search engines. AJ Kohn in his 2011 post compared search engines to a blind 5-year-old as search engines then were a whole less smart and just used algorithms to help people find answers, not minding whether it was impactful or not.

However, SEO like other fields is evolving. For example, Google recently rolled out its Helpful Content Update which focuses on people-first content while also utilizing SEO best practices. This showcases the need to write for humans first, after which you ensure your content is optimized for search engines.

According to Lily, optimizing your article using tools like Clearscope and Marketmuse to add semantic keywords to the piece helps you rank fast, but honing in on the audience and writing great content helps you stay up there.

Identify the Holes (and Opportunities) out there

Before you delve into creating new content, take a step back to analyze available content on the web that has written on the topic(s). What did they get right? Where did they fall short? 

According to Ayomide, there are holes in every content. This could translate to a different approach, solution, or information as there’s always something missing. 

I’m a fan of this slide by Chima Mmeje at the BrightonSEO October event.  According to her, the SERP should guide your work.

If for your target keyword, the SERP is full of articles that have free templates, then add a free template to your piece. You could even make it better by increasing word counts, adding a checklist, or more useful takeaways. The goal is to create something far better than your competitors.

Precious has something to say about this:

“Thorough SERP analysis is key. I look for the angles taken by the existing content on page 1 for a keyword. For example, if every other piece doesn’t include expert insights, I can do that. If they don’t include original data, I can do that. The goal is not just to claim a coveted spot on page 1. The goal is to claim it and be instantly different. That’s how to earn the click.”

Research! Research!! Research!!! 

A lot of people think that writing content is a straightforward process — Just type some random words on your computer and hit publish. Viola! The traffic starts coming in. Well, that’s a fallacy.

If you’re not doing enough research to understand your audience and their problems, then it’s all for naught. Especially when you can’t figure out what makes you better than your competitors and how you can outrank them on SERPs.

Precious considers content quality dependent on deep research and gives some practical advice:

“Don’t be the writer who regurgitates what’s on page 1 of the SERPs. Dive into relevant subreddits to uncover what professionals are saying about your topic. Read research reports. Use advanced Twitter search. Directly ask experts experienced about your topic to share their takes. Need even more expert insights? Take advantage of Qwoted, HARO, Help a B2B writer, and other websites that aggregate expert insights. Don’t forget large communities on Facebook and Slack. Drop your keyword in these search boxes and you could unearth golden ideas that’ll make your piece stand out. “

A final note: Research is the foundation of all good content marketing efforts.

Get to the Point (Avoid Bland Intros)

One of the biggest mistakes that can kill your content is intros. I’m talking about the generic and boring intros you see all over the place.

You see, B2B SaaS writing is like making a movie. If you’ve ever written a screenplay, you know that the most important thing is to hook your audience right away. You need to get them interested in what’s going on—and it doesn’t take much.

If they’re not getting enough information or if they’re bored with one paragraph or section of text, chances are that they’ll stop reading altogether. So make sure to start with a bang (could be a shocking stat or unbelievable story) and then proceed to ensure that every sentence is spicy enough to flow nicely into the next one.

Please, don’t make the common mistake of starting with fluff. The first sentence of your content needs to be something that will keep a reader engaged and interested in what you have to say. 

You should use the intro of your article as an opportunity to show why your audience should care about what you have written and how they will benefit from reading it.

Write with Empathy 

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It’s an essential part of any sales process as it helps you understand your audience better.

If you can write with empathy (and I mean really dig into what makes your readers tick), then this will help you create content that resonates with them on a deeper level. If they relate to what you say, they’ll be more likely to buy from you — especially if they see themselves in one of your examples or experiences.

To write with empathy, you have to be genuinely curious about your readers. That’ll make you ask yourself questions like: 

• What do they need right now? 
• How can I help them? 
• What else do I not know about this topic or industry? 
• How can I learn more to better understand my audience and their needs, challenges, and concerns? 
• How can I take what’s already been written on this topic as a starting point for something new and valuable for my audience?

For Lily, focusing on your audience means:

☑ Knowing what they want

☑ Knowing where they are in their journey

☑ Understanding their knowledge level 

☑ Figuring out what examples will be relatable to them

AbdulGaniy believes that the mistake that most B2B SaaS writers make is creating generic and basic content that doesn’t resonate with the target audience. He gives the example of this tweet  by Brooklin Nash:

Someone searching Google for “how to change an oil filter” already knows what a car is. So, starting your content piece by defining what a car is shows that you’re out of sync. In most cases, the reader would bounce immediately after stumbling on your content which describes why it’s important to write at the required level of your target readers and get to the point fast.

Focus on Pain Points

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when writing B2B SaaS content is to focus on your product. This is a mistake because it makes your audience feel like they’re being sold to, and if they don’t like what you’re selling, then why should they even read it?

Instead, focus on their problems and goals. What are their pain points? Think about their biggest complaints. How do they feel about them? These are the problems that your product solves and what your customers care about. Once you’ve figured that out, create content around it.

For AbdulGaniy, a common problem with B2B SaaS writing is creating content that doesn’t help your target audience in any way. 

“Based on my agency’s ROI-driven content marketing process, we recommend that B2B SaaS companies focus on topics that address their readers’ pain points.

SaaS companies that focus on this not only create better content but can also see its impact on their business.

Here is why: When you write about your audience’s pain points, you’ll be solution-driven. And a key part of that is to show readers your expertise in the niche and how your software can help them solve their problems.

A great example of a company that does this really well is Ahrefs.

 If you check the Ahrefs blog, you’ll rarely find them writing about a topic where they do not have expertise in, or where they can’t mention and show their reader how their product works.”

Great content speaks to the user’s emotions, not the features of your product.

Don’t Overcomplicate Stuff

As a B2B SaaS content writer, you should always strive for brevity and clarity.

Write clearly so readers know exactly what it is you’re trying to convey without having to read between the lines too much or spend too much time decoding your meaning (or worse yet, getting confused).

Here are some useful tips:

• Keep it brief and engaging
• Use bullet points and subheadings
• Use visuals like charts, maps, graphs, and tables to help you tell your story in an engaging way that doesn’t require a lot of text. Sites like Semrush do very well at this.

Make your Content Customer-centric 

Think about the problem you’re solving for your audience and focus on the benefits of what they are going to get.

Be specific about the benefits of using your product or service—not just “We’re awesome!” or “We solve this problem better than anyone else.” 

You should explain why they should consider using it and how it uniquely solves their problem. Follow one of the best copywriting tips out there: “Sell Benefits, not Features“

Specificity Wins

Be specific with your wording. Avoid generic words, clichés, and passive voice.

Use active voice when possible to make your writing more engaging and lively. Rather than say “Sam likes me”, turn it up to “I like Sam”. Active sentences make for happier readers because they get straight to the point—no unnecessary buildup or other filler information required.

Be detailed with figures. Instead of saying something like “my product has been used by millions,” say something like “we have served over 2 million users since we launched our product last year.” This way you’re giving them more context around how much impact this particular service has had on its users’ lives (which will hopefully motivate them enough).

Adopt Product-led Storytelling 

Product-led storytelling is a new approach to content marketing. It focuses on the product and its features, not just the company behind it.

Instead of talking about your company, focus on how your product solves real-world problems for customers who use it every day. Showcase customer success stories—in fact, any story that highlights how well a particular feature works can be used as an example of product-led storytelling.

If you have enough data from working with customers over time, share more than one successful case per article so people know they’re not alone when they hit roadblocks along their journey toward success with your solution.

Consider sharing some statistics about what makes your solution unique among competitors’ offerings; these will help people see why they should choose yours over theirs.

Take your audience on a journey—not just tell them what they need to do and then leave it at that, explain why they should do it. 

This is where storytelling comes into play—you have to build trust and credibility by telling stories that make sense to your product or service, which helps illustrate how the solution works for your customers’ problems (and therefore helps them understand why you should care about those problems).

Lastly, show, don’t just tell. This is a rule of thumb that applies to every aspect of your writing. If you’re going to tell someone how something works or what it does, show them instead. Screenshots, demos, and videos are incredibly useful resources to nail your points.

Prioritize Data-Backed Content 

The more you can use data to create a compelling story, the more likely your audience will be to engage with it. Data-backed content is not just about facts and figures; it’s also about how those facts and figures can be used in different ways.

Ayomide highlighted the problem of finding quality data to back up your research as a common problem in B2B SaaS writing. 

“Most of the content marketers I’ve interacted with don’t necessarily have problems going above and beyond researching. But they’re mostly slapped in the face with lack of quality data. Half the market is dominated by big companies who hardly run tests to validate previous results. So, since there are hardly “new” results out there, content marketers are taking longer to create top-notch content. And when the circle keeps repeating, it breeds poor content that coincidentally ranks and that’s what some B2B companies prefer.”

One way to stand tall amongst your competitors is to prioritize the use of original and useful data to drive your point(s).

Write to Educate, not Wow 

Don’t try to get too cute (or clever) with your writing. You don’t need to impress your audience with your literary skills or how well you grasp industry buzzwords. 

Be clear and concise in explaining complex topics in plain English; avoid jargon-heavy language unless necessary (and even then only sparingly). And never hesitate to use analogies if it helps clarify something for readers.

If the reader doesn’t understand what you’re saying or how your product works, they won’t be able to engage with the content or take action on it.

What does it take to write educative content? 

Lily gives some tips to write amazing content just like this piece for Literal Humans:

• Present Unique Examples
• Be Authentic
• Have a Strong Recognizable Writing Voice. 

Go the Extra Mile

If you can, it’s best to interview subject matter experts (SMEs) to come up with unique insights and additions to your content (just like I did for this piece).

Ayomide explained how he did this to come up with one of his favorite SaaS content. It was a piece on “How B2B Sellers Can Close inbound Leads more Effectively” for Nutshell CRM which ended up on the Editor’s picks of the week.

Why was this piece special? Aside from the fact that he wrote it to relate with B2B Sales professionals, made it different from available content on the web, switched the intro into an unconventional one, 

He also got to spice it up by interviewing industry experts such as  Gaetano DiNardi, the then VP of Growth at Aura, and Pavel Beinia, the CEO of BuzzGuru. Talk about getting all you need from the right sources!

Another way of getting valuable information is by reaching out directly to internal sales teams. Knowing their biggest challenges can give you content ideas and where to place your focus.

Concluding thoughts:

We’ve looked at 13 different ways to write amazing B2B SaaS content. Here’s a takeaway for you — The secret to great B2B SaaS content is identifying your audience’s pain points, knowing what they need, and showing them how you can solve that problem.

If you found this useful, do well to share with your friends and drop a comment below.

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