In our first few meetings, we exchanged niceties.
Those evolved into elaborate introductions š¤ And before we knew it, we were chatting for long minutes.
Until one day, after months of knowing her, this aunty that I now meet regularly on my long evening walks, told me she runs a kitchen.
She delivers sandwiches. And other party food items.
And she only told me about it when I mentioned a nice small business I order fresh hummus from.
But guess what? I was genuinely surprised.
How come Burger Aunty (yes, thatās what I call her ā donāt worry, she knows it š) didnāt tell me about her small business until we became good friends?Ā Ā Ā
She could have sold first, like most SaaS businesses do in their top-of-the-funnel content. But she didnāt.
Which is why I love ordering from her now.
Since sheās local and only delivers in nearby areas, I canāt refer her to you.
But Iād sure recommend you pick a page from Burger Auntyās book: donāt sell your tool out of the blue.
Letās see how a lot of SaaS blog content makes this mistake. Weāll use a guide on work management that I read the other day as an example. But I donāt want to name no names so I wonāt be linking it here.Ā
The teardown:
Some context: The guide starts with a definition of work management (WM). Then outlines its benefits. Next, itt lays out the steps involved in the WM process. And finally, it closes with a CTA to sign up.
A few things to note here:
The guide gives a DIY vibe. Thereās no mention of the need for a tool for WM.
It shoehorns the sign-up CTA. It doesnāt make a case for their (time tracking) tool in the guideās body š¤¦āāļøĀ
The CTA tear down:
ā A subheading to sign up
Live reader (me) reaction: Hang on, where did your software X come from?
Thereās literally no mention of it in the narrative.
ā Shallow link to the topic at hand
The conclusion dedicates only ONE LINE to building the link: āRemember that the intent of work management is efficiency.ā
Reader reaction: yeah, so āā
āThatās why you should rely on software where you and your staff can perform all necessary processes that enable productivity.ā
Reader reaction (if theyāre still reading š„±): Iām really not convinced ā why do I need a tool out of the blue? You didnāt say so in the rest of the guide. I could just do everything manually.
Ā āThrough X software, you can ā¦ā
Reader reaction: Oh, so thatās what it was all about ā you were selling to me instead of helping me. Not impressed š
ā Now comes the unbacked, unproven claim
āSoftware X is the ideal work management tool to support your mission of improvingā¦ā
Reader reaction: Huh, why would I believe that? š
āWith our platform, you will not need to look any further for tools to enhance your business operations.ā
Reader reaction: Really? But WHY?? š¤
The correct way to write this type of product-led content
Since this example piece forced a product CTA, Iām willing to bet the conversion rate is poor.
To increase conversions though, Iād have done the following:
ā Explain the āhow,ā not just the āwhatā
Iād completely rewrite the section that covers the steps involved in work management.
Hereās how:
Lay out each step
Then explain how to do it
Some steps will be done without your toolās help. Others, with your toolās help.
Elaborate on both. So that youāre empowering readers with the exact steps to take = youāre giving them an actionable value-packed roadmap to work management.
This makes them appreciate your help.
Plus, it positions you as the authority by showing that you really do know about the topic at hand.
ā Include product screenshots
In the same process section, Iād add screenshots to show what to do in each step.
In some of these steps where I mention the product, Iāll add a clear product screenshot.
The aim here: give an insider peep into the product youāre marketing to tell people how exactly it can help them.
ā Include social proof
Iāll weave in a case study on one of these points.
Like this: X people who use this feature for Y step, have saved Z number of hours.
Why? Because itāll help them quantify the specific benefit of using your tool + tell them their peers are using it (meaning: we arenāt just tooting our own horn).
ā Change the conclusionās subheading
Because this piece isnāt a full product-led content piece, Iāll neutralize the subheading to make it more reader-centered.
ā Tie in a product CTA
Iāll recap the key points about work management.
Then, tell the reader, if youāre looking to save X number of hours as you improve your work efficiency, take our tool for a spin.
If youāre visualizing this new piece as I write this newsletter, you can see how the content is now more reader-focused.
It also establishes:
Your credibility
Gives a peep into your product
Adds a friendly, for-your-benefit product CTA
Want to explore more of such mistakes that we intentionally or unintentionally make in producing product-led content?
Join me for a masterclass on creating high-converting product-led content on June 1, 12 pm EST (9 am PT).
Weāll not only look at the mistakes to avoid but also dive into:
How to balance promoting your product and providing value
Real-life examples of SaaS brands executing product-led content strategies effectively
āWays to scale product-led content
So you coming? Hereās the link to sign up for free (we already have about 90 people whoāve registered š)
Really well detailed critique
The real life experiences really drew me in as a reader. I've signed up and look forward to it.