12 Expert Tips [Plus Examples] for Better B2B SaaS Content Writing

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80% of B2B tech marketers expressed that writing skills are important. I'd argue that they are the number one foundational skill you should have.

It's this unique balance that you'll find no where else. How to write to a person, but while weighing out their business needs all at the same time.

It's an art and a science to build the emotional and rational sides of an argument into every single point.

Keep these 12 tips in mind and I think you'll be on the right track and be better than 99% of other content writers in B2B.

1. Know Your Audience

The first step in effective B2B SaaS content writing is understanding who you are talking to.

These aren't just job titles or demographics; they're individuals with specific challenges and goals. Your content should address these directly.

Remember, even though this is B2B - we are still people writing content for other people.

Don't write to the business, write to the people who make up a business.

The needs of your audience go beyond the typical "make more money for the business" and really need to address the actual desires of the reader.

Consider getting insights for this by the 5 why interviewing strategy. Basically, ask someone why they would buy from you, then ask them why again and again and again to get to the real answer of what they care about.

This is how you get to know your audience. Dig deep until you have real insights that are worth sharing.

Here's a catchy tune to keep this in the front of your mind at all times:

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2. Crafting a Compelling Value Proposition

This is where building the right brand comes into play.

79% of consumers develop deep connections with brands that share similar values with them. That's the trick, connecting with the same values your audience has.

In the B2B SaaS world, your content isn't just competing against other companies; it's often competing against the status quo (and AI as of late). Your writing needs to clearly articulate why change is necessary and beneficial.

Change is one of the hardest things for people to embrace, you have to make your audience feel like this change is going to make them into the person they want to become.

A effective approach is to start by highlighting the problem, emphasizing its impact, and then presenting your solution as the ideal way forward.

You have to teach them something while weaving your content into the solution.

3. Balancing SEO and Readability

I'm sure you know this, but 75% of users won't scroll past the first page of Google.

While optimizing for search engines is really important, it shouldn't come at the expense of readability.

The key is to incorporate keywords naturally while maintaining a flow that engages human readers.Write for the people who are reading your content and THEN optimize for the search engine (or social media platform algorithm you're dealing with).

Just make sure that Google and your audience like your content, that's the key here.

If you want a quick overview of what SEO looks like in 2023 (and still relevant in 2024), here is a great summary video that teaches you like 90% of what you need t know:

There are a million resources to get good at SEO, here are a few articles that you should know inside and out:

• The Complete SEO Checklist
• How to Learn SEO In 2024 (In Record Time)
• LINK BUILDING FOR SEO:The Definitive Guide
• The 18-Step SEO Audit Checklist

Those articles will cover what SEO is, how it works in 2024, how to get backlinks (aka offsite SEO) and your onsite SEO strategies as well.

4. Leveraging Storytelling

Even in B2B, storytelling is an underrated tool.

Use case studies, customer success stories, and relevant anecdotes to illustrate your points.

This approach can make complex ideas more relatable and memorable.

Storytelling is a superpower.

If you can tell the right story, you'll ALWAYS be needed by any business.

This book gets tossed around so much, but it's 1,000% worth the read if you wat to tell a better story. Check out Donald Miller's "Storybrand". It's a must read for anyone in B2B SaaS content writing.

Here is one of my personal favorite examples of a business telling a story.

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You can thank me later.

Btw, there is a whole series of these ads, but I'll let you go down that rabbit hole on your own.

5. Nail your One Liner

What good is your content if no one get's past the first line? it's like a present that never gets opened.

If you nail the hook, to your business, to your article, to your webinar, you are getting a shot at a reader's attention.

I know this is long, but in 30 minutes, you can learn everything you need to learn about how to write a hook and you'll be better than 90% of other writers if you can master this skill and apply it to every single piece of content you are a part of.

Donald Miller is the master of all things in business content, watch this entire clip and you'll thank us for it.

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6. Simplifying Complex Concepts

B2B SaaS solutions are often complex, but your content shouldn't be.

Strive to explain your product or service in simple, clear terms.

If you can't convey your message simply, it might be worth revisiting your core value proposition.

Learn how to use analogies or examples to distill these concepts into terms that make sense to the audience.

Also, visuals make a massive difference when it comes to telling complete ideas. Showing is sometimes better than telling.

You know the phrase, "a picture is worth a thousand words" - that's true here.

Infographic credit: Stanford.edu

7. Crafting Effective Calls-to-Action

Your CTA should be more than just a generic prompt. Make it specific and aligned with the value you're offering. For example, "Start Optimizing Your Workflow Today" is more compelling than a simple "Contact Us."

Just be specific - that's the main point here. Only have one CTA and it should tell your audience exactly what to do next.
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Here are some mind-blowing stats on performance improvements if your CTAs don't suck:

• Personalized call-to-actions perform 202% better than basic CTAs
• Emails with a single, clear CTA can increase clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%
  • You read that right - 1,617% increase in sales
• CTAs on the landing page increase conversion rates by 80%

8. Continuous Testing and Improvement

Companies have seen a 400% increase in conversion rates from A/B testing their content.

A/B testing isn't just for product development; it's works great for content too.

Test different aspects of your content, including headlines, formats, and CTAs.

What works best can vary significantly between different SaaS companies and audiences.Try just asking customers which piece of content they like better, it's simple, but super effective.

Ok, time for a personal story on this one.

I was working as the head of demand generations for a fast-growing tech company and we were launching our next promotion.

I had seen the results time and time again and thought I knew exactly what we should do.

Until someone on the team purposed an idea I had never heard of before.

To be honest, I thought my idea was better and was 100% convinced.

But I agreed to do an A/B test.

My idea got creamed.

Zero chance we would have learned that had we not taken the time to test.

If it can be tested, it probably should be.

9. Developing a Content Journey

Great B2B SaaS content supports the entire customer journey.

Create a series of content pieces that guide leads from awareness through consideration to decision.

This nurturing process is crucial for complex B2B sales cycles.

Gartner did a study that showed when B2B buyers are considering a purchase, the majority of that time is spent researching independently online.

Funnels were a cool idea back in the day.

You'll still hear loads of people talking about them now. But the sad truth is that buyers do not follow the same path each and every time.

Write your content accordingly.

Realize that someone is going to be at a unique part of the journey, but make sure your content embraces that and nudges them towards the next step you want them take.

If you're reading this article for example.

It doesn't mean you're in the market for an amazing tool that centralizes content and knowledge for businesses in one place so you can have internal and external alignment that brings amazing success. (I had to slip that in there).

But me just saying that may get a couple of you, who have made it this far, to actually look into our solution.

But if you're not there, no worries, it was just a nudge.

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10. Get the Entire Company Involved

One of the weirdest parts about being a part of a B2B SaaS business is that knowledge is spread out across a ton of teams and individuals.

B2B has a million moving pieces, so to get the full picture, you kinda have to get everyone involved.

Don't be afraid to reach out to co-workers and get them to share their knowledge and insights. They are going to know why you built something in a certain way and help you know enough to properly tell that story.

Most of the time, you as the writer aren't going to be the expert at writing on a subject in your space.

That means you need to reach out to the people in your company (you should have some internally or else your company is probably in bad shape) that do know the space.

Take time to get to know them.

Find out how and why you all do something a certain way.

Find out how comfortable they are at helping you learn and write.

Take those insights and help tell the broader story and share that in a meaningful way.

As a B2B writer, you're going to have to quote sources all the time, learn how to do it internally and then you'll be well on your way to getting info externally as well.

We had an interesting interview on our podcast about this subject, feel free to listen here.

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11. Don't Make Stuff Up!

You're at a B2B company and you see a great keyword to rank for.

BUT... it's on a subject you don't know anything about.

"How hard could it be to make something up and stuff some keywords in there?" - WRONG 

First of all, people who actually know something about that subject will see that a mile away.

Google will probably see that a mile away.

But even if Google got tricked by you, no one will want to read your content.

If no one wants to read it, please don't make it.

Here's what you do instead.

• Go to an expert in your company
  • If there are none, find a customer
  • If you don't have any of those, go find someone on LinkedIn who knows what they are talking about
• Interview them for 30 minutes on your article
  • Ask REALLY good questions.
  • Do your homework, know a basic outline of what other companies have written about
  • Make sure you ask them for a unique perspective.
    • Content is just better when you have a perspective. (see the next section for more)
• Record the conversation

THEN and only then, can you write the article.

And then double check with the person you interviewed to make sure it actually makes sense and is good enough to share.

Trick: Ask them if they would be okay with having them be the author of the post. If they don't like that idea, your content isn't good enough to be published.

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12. Have a Unique Perspective

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." — Dr. Seuss

If you don't have a unique insight or perspective on a subject, don't write about it.

Your business should have a unique outlook and perspective on the world.

Include that in everything you write.

Content is interesting because it has a different take on something. You can share the same boring news, but if you put your spin on it - that's an entirely different story.

Your brand should have clearly-defined ideals and outlooks on your market that inform everything the business does.

• The products you build
• The way you sell and market those products
• How you hire
• How you fire
• How you train
• etc...

Take that and make sure it shines in your contnet.

As you can see, my personal take is that business content doesn't have to suck. That's just one of my personal beliefs and by extension, business, principles.

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Examples of World-Class B2B Content Writing

It sucks to hear someone rant about all the tips of how to write well, but doesn't actually show you a good example.

Here are some of the best examples of B2B companies (and their employees) nailing how to speak to their audience.

(btw, none of the people/companies are paying me to talk about them, I just really like their content).

• Demand Curve
  • Pay attention to the tone of voice in these newsletters. Also, look at how many examples and images they use. You hardly feel like you're reading very much, but then suddenly you're at the end and realized how great that contnet was.
• Mailchimp
  • Look at how the content is perfectly adjacent to great imagery. They show the story as much as they tell the story.
• Tim Davidson
  • Okay, Time is great and testing forms of video content (zero budget stuff with his phone), but his written contnet is just as good.
  • Look at his LinkedIn post and see how he breaks up his text into good chunks with numbers and really strategic bolded words. Makes the whole thing super easy to consume.
  • Also look at his tone of voice -> you can see he's a person. Doesn't matter if you're a business, you should talk like normal people talk.

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Need Help Writing Amazing B2B SaaS Content?

Here are some good freelancers and agencies that I can personally vouch for.

• Comma Copywriters
  • I know their owner, Crystalee, fairly well and nothing but glowing reviews for her and her company.
• PJ Howland
  • PJ is amazing when it comes to writing quality content that will actually get you ranking on Google.

Those are two great places to start. I'm sure there are tons more in my network I could recommend, but as I'm sitting here eating salt water taffy, those are the first two that come to mind.

If you're interestiedi more resources here, click on my link in the bio and send me a LinkedIn DM and I'll connect you with more people.

Good luck in your content writing journey!