Yes, you can really drive SQLs with an effective SaaS content marketing strategy.
74% of companies that invest in content marketing see a boost in lead generation. [1]
And from that point, it is only a matter of refining the process to improve lead quality.
If you don’t want to be among the 26% of companies that don’t see MQLs or SQLs coming through at all, read this article.
We are sharing 5 proven SaaS content marketing strategies that will empower you to generate MQLs and SQLs in 2024 and beyond.
We’ll also show you how to use buyer personas, create types of content that convert traffic to SQLs and achieve measurable SaaS growth.
Buyer Personas As Guidance for SaaS Content Strategy
You can’t really do content marketing, let alone create a SaaS content strategy, without understanding your audience.
Buyer personas are detailed, semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers, created based on market research and real data about your existing customers.
Here is how to create & use them for content marketing:
Creating Buyer Personas
Start with your current customers and what you know about them.
Which industry do they come from?
What’s their role?
How many people do they communicate with to make a purchase decision?
Group these customers based on age, gender, location, industry, job title or any other demographic parameter that works for your SaaS product.
The next step is to personally contact a couple of the most successful customers who represent each buyer persona.
You can’t just send a generic email and expect them to devote their time to talk to you or fill out a survey. Take your time to personalize each email and aim for quality, not quantity.
Remember that their answers will be invaluable to set the foundation for your SaaS content marketing strategy and offer them something in return, such as a discount code, Amazon gift card or something else.
Once some of those customers agree to meet with you or fill out the survey, you can use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to facilitate the process.
Questions you should ask them are:
- What are the biggest challenges you face in your industry, and how do you currently address them?
- Which features of our product do you find most valuable, and why?
- How do you typically search for and consume information related to our industry?
- What type of content do you prefer? (e.g. blog posts, case studies, Youtube videos)
- Can you describe a specific use case where our product significantly improved your workflow or outcomes?
- What factors influenced your decision to choose our product over competitors?
Using Buyer Personas for SaaS Content Marketing
Equipped with information from your actual customers, creating a strategy is easier.
But you’re not in the SaaS business because it’s easy, so you’ll be happy to hear that this will also help you attract more SQLs than your competitors.
How?
- You won’t create generic content anymore. For example, you can write blog posts that address specific pain points or goals of each persona. If one persona is a “Tech-Savvy CTO,” create content around advanced technology trends and innovations.
- You won’t create common case studies that everyone relates to, but nobody really does. You’ll create success stories that resonate with the persona’s industry and role. For instance, a case study about how a similar company overcame a challenge using your solution.
- You won’t segment your email list based on assumptions but on customer data. Instead of segmenting based on meaningless demographic data such as gender, you can use tools like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign to send personalized content to different personas at various stages of the SaaS customer journey.
- You won’t create a non-specific landing page, “X Software,” but multiple dedicated landing pages for each persona, focusing on their specific needs and solutions. You can use Unbounce to test and see whether these focused landing pages perform better than your current ones.
- You won’t create all types of content just because you’ve heard it works for someone else. If your persona prefers visual content, create webinars or explainer videos. For personas that value in-depth information, produce comprehensive whitepapers or ebooks.
Let’s say your SaaS product is a project management tool. You might have the following personas:
Project Manager John:
Goals: Efficient project tracking, team collaboration.
Challenges: Managing remote teams, meeting deadlines.
Preferred Content: How-to guides, checklists, webinars.
CTO Jane:
- Goals: Integrating new tools seamlessly, improving team productivity.
- Challenges: Ensuring data security, managing IT budgets.
- Preferred Content: Case studies, technical whitepapers, product demos.
The better you know your buyer personas, the more focused and effective your content strategy will be to drive SQLs and support your overall marketing goals.
SaaS ICP Template
If you want to go through this exercise with your team, feel free to use the template below.
| Parameter | Details |
| Persona Name | [Unique name for the persona, e.g., “Tech-Savvy Tom”] |
| Demographics | |
| Age Range | [e.g., 30-45] |
| Gender | [e.g., Male/Female/Non-binary] |
| Location | [e.g., North America, Europe] |
| Professional Information | |
| Industry | [e.g., Technology, Healthcare, Finance] |
| Job Title | [e.g., CTO, Marketing Director, IT Manager] |
| Company Size | [e.g., Small Business (1-50 employees), Mid-Market (51-500 employees), Enterprise (500+ employees)] |
| Annual Revenue | [e.g., <$1M, $1M-$10M, $10M+] |
| Decision-Making Process | |
| Role in Decision-Making | [e.g., Sole Decision-Maker, Part of a Team, Influencer] |
| Number of Decision Makers | [e.g., 1, 3-5, 10+] |
| Behavioral Insights | |
| Key Challenges | [e.g., “Struggling with integrating new tech solutions”, “Lack of in-house expertise”] |
| Current Solutions | [e.g., “Using competitor software”, “Manual processes”] |
| SaaS Product Features of Value | [e.g., “Automation capabilities”, “User-friendly interface”, “Scalability”] |
| Information Sources | [e.g., “Industry blogs”, “Professional networks”, “Webinars”] |
| Preferred Content Types | [e.g., “Blog posts”, “Case studies”, “YouTube videos”, “Webinars”] |
| Customer Insights | |
| Use Case Example | [e.g., “Using our product reduced their operational costs by 20%”] |
| Decision Factors | [e.g., “Ease of use”, “Comprehensive support”, “Competitive pricing”, “Integration capabilities”] |
| Personal Outreach Plan | |
| Email Personalization Notes | [e.g., “Mention recent successful project”, “Acknowledge their industry expertise”] |
| Incentives Offered | [e.g., “10% discount on next purchase”, “$25 Amazon gift card”] |
| Contact Plan | [e.g., “Send personalized email”, “Schedule follow-up call”] |
| Survey/Interview Questions | |
| Industry Challenges | “What are the biggest challenges you face in your industry, and how do you currently address them?” |
| SaaS Product Features | “Which features of our product do you find most valuable, and why?” |
| Information Consumption | “How do you typically search for and consume information related to our industry?” |
| Content Preference | “What type of content do you prefer? (e.g., blog posts, case studies, YouTube videos, webinars)” |
| Use Case Scenario | “Can you describe a specific use case where our product significantly improved your workflow or outcomes?” |
| Decision Influences | “What factors influenced your decision to choose our product over competitors?” |
Now that you know who you’re writing for, let’s see what type of Content works for that audience.
Create Types of Content That Work
What type of content works for SaaS?
We’ll tell you the types of content that are guaranteed to work for SaaS businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s up to you to determine which of these types better corresponds with your buyer personas.
If you don’t have enough “field” data, we still recommend you test & try each type and measure its performance.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are great at tackling different problems your personas face and tailoring content to the stage of the buyer journey they’re currently in.
Because they are so versatile, blog posts can both build brand awareness and drive SQLs. If you want to execute a scalable SaaS marketing plan, these are the types of blog posts you need to publish:
- How-to Guides
These are detailed instructional posts that help users solve specific problems. For example, “How to Optimize Your Sales Process with CRM” will attract sales managers looking to enhance their workflow.
Great for: Infusing your product into content to provide an easier way for readers to solve their problems. Works great for driving signups.
- Industry Insights
Posts that discuss trends and news in your target industries can position your company as a thought leader. For instance, “Top CRM Trends in Retail for 2024” will draw in retail professionals.
Great for: Building brand awareness and positioning your company as a thought leader so that readers come back when they’re ready to buy.
- Comparison Posts
Compare your product to key competitors to highlight your unique advantages. For example, “Our CRM vs. Competitor CRM: A Detailed Comparison” will help prospects make informed decisions and convert them into SQLs.
Great for: Positioning your product as the best choice to solve readers’ problems and encouraging them to sign up.
Feature-Specific Landings
Creating dedicated SaaS landing pages for each major feature of your product will highlight its unique benefits, build topical authority for SEO, and convert readers into sales-qualified leads.
For example:
- Task Management Software
A landing page that details how your CRM’s task management feature helps teams stay organized and on track. Include customer testimonials and specific use cases.
- Sales Analytics Software
Showcase how your analytics feature provides valuable insights that drive sales growth. Use data visualizations and case studies to illustrate its impact.
What makes this type of content successful is the fact that people who search for “task management software” have high-buying intent. It’s on you to convince them that you offer the best product.
These topics also have a high search volume, and ranking for these types of keywords will continually bring you qualified leads.
However, you can also see that these types of keywords have extremely high keyword difficulty and cost-per-click. This means you’ll need a hands-on approach and a SaaS content marketing agency that knows what they’re doing.
At Nuoptima, we work with businesses to lower their customer acquisition costs and bring SQLs at scale with SaaS PPC, SEO content, and inbound marketing.
When you book a call with our SaaS experts, we deeply analyze your current position, suggest the best course of action, and give you a free blog post to get you quick and tangible results.
Industry-Specific Landings
It’s hard to rank when you have a single page per feature. That’s why, based on keyword difficulty, it’s smart to also create industry-specific landings.
With this B2B SaaS content marketing strategy, you’ll:
- Build topical authority and rank higher. Not only for one single page, but for all your pages.
- You’ll tailor content to different buyer personas and industries which will increase your conversion rates.
For example, create a page about how your task management software helps accountants organize client tasks and streamline administrative workflows. Include industry-specific testimonials and compliance information.
As you can see in the image above, “task management software for accountants” is much easier to rank, but you’ll still get decent traffic and conversions. Plus, you’ll boost rankings for your main “task management software” page because you’re building topical authority.
Ebooks & Whitepapers
Developing comprehensive ebooks and whitepapers provides insights and solutions to your audience while helping you capture leads with gated content.
You can use HubSpot or Leadpages to create and manage lead capture forms effectively.
Email Newsletters
SaaS email marketing is powerful because you can include a mix of educational content, product updates, and promotional offers. When you segment your email lists based on personas each newsletter will be relevant and personalized.
For example, a newsletter for “CTO Jane” should include technical updates and integration tips, whereas “Project Manager John” will prefer content about product features tailored to remote teams.
Interactive Content & Free Tools
We’ll exemplify this section because Veed.io provides a great case study you can adjust and use as your SaaS content marketing strategy.
Their approach centers around two main parts of their site: free tools and a blog, which contribute around 80% and 11% of their total organic traffic.
These free tools not only attract visitors but also provide value, encouraging users to explore other features and services. Since they did a great SEO job, all of their free tools are interlinked to serve the user flow better.
All of these free tools achieve significant growth because:
- Users can experience firsthand how the product solves their problem.
- Having so many landing pages boosts their SEO performance and topical authority.
- They are all interlinked and use breadcrumbs structured data, which improves rankings.
How Do You Get Readers from Skimming Your Content to Signing Up?
How do you move readers from merely skimming your content to taking actions you want them to take?
Product-led content is the right answer.
It integrates your product into educational and valuable content, making it an intrinsic part of the reader’s journey rather than an afterthought. This approach achieves two important goals:
- It demonstrates the practical application of your product.
- It positions it as a necessary tool for achieving the reader’s goals.
When discussing a topic relevant to your audience, introduce your product’s features in a way that feels natural and beneficial.
For instance, in an article about effective keyword research strategies, Semrush doesn’t just talk about general techniques. They introduce their keyword research tool as a practical solution, illustrating how it can simplify the process, save time, and yield better results.
You also want to create step-by-step tutorials that walk readers through using your product to solve specific problems. You should include screenshots, step-by-step guides, and specific examples of how others use your tool.
To maximize signups, you should include call-to-actions encouraging readers to sign up and experience the benefits immediately. You should also add links to product landing pages for every image and screenshot of the product.
How to Use SEO To Convert Readers Instead of Collecting Useless Traffic?
We can’t really talk about content marketing without SEO because 51% of content consumption comes from it. [1]
But driving traffic to your website is only half the battle; the real challenge is converting that traffic into SQLs.
Target High-Intent Keywords
High-intent keywords often include terms like “best,” “reviews,” “top,” or “comparison.” For example, instead of targeting a broad keyword like “CRM software,” aim for more specific terms like “best CRM software for small businesses” or “top CRM tools for sales teams.” Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you identify and analyze these high-intent keywords.
Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that users are likely to search for when they’re closer to making a purchase decision. These keywords may have lower search volume but often have higher conversion rates.
For instance, a long-tail keyword like “how to improve customer retention” attracts users who are actively seeking solutions and are more likely to convert.
Use Structured Data
Implement structured data (schema markup) to help search engines understand the content of your pages better. For example, using schema markup for product reviews can display star ratings directly in search results, increasing your click-through rates.
Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper is a useful tool for implementing schema markup on your website.[2]
Example
Consider how a company like HubSpot optimizes its blog posts for SEO. They target high-intent and long-tail keywords, such as “how to create an inbound marketing strategy” or “best CRM software for small businesses,” ensuring that they attract readers who are likely to be interested in their products.
Additionally, HubSpot’s content is well-structured, with clear headings, optimized meta descriptions, and internal links to other relevant articles and landing pages. This approach drives organic traffic and guides readers towards taking actionable steps, such as signing up for a demo or downloading a resource.
They also use structured data as part of their SaaS technical SEO strategy.
Tracking User Behavior to Inform SaaS Content Strategy
Now that you’re deep into producing content based on your strategy, you need to find out how it performs. This will help you refine your content strategy and drive more SQLs.
By tracking user behavior, you can gain insights into what’s working and what’s not and how to optimize your content for better engagement and conversions.
User flow analysis helps you understand the paths users take through your website. This can reveal how visitors navigate from one piece of content to another and where they drop off.
For instance, if you see that users frequently exit after visiting a specific page, it might need more engaging content or a stronger call to action (CTA).
Tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity provide heatmaps and session recordings that show where users click, scroll, and spend the most time on your pages.
This data will help you identify which parts of your content are capturing attention and which are being overlooked.
For example, if heatmaps reveal that users rarely scroll past the first few paragraphs, you might need to make your introductions more compelling or adjust the layout to keep them engaged.
You can also monitor the performance of your CTAs to see which ones are driving conversions.
Use A/B testing to experiment with different CTA designs, placements, and copy. Tools like Optimizely help you run these tests effectively.
For instance, you might test whether a CTA button saying “Get Your Free Demo” performs better than “Try Our Software Today.”
Bonus: Content Repurposing As Vital Element of SaaS Content Strategy
You’ve seen by now how time-consuming and resource-intensive it can be to create high-quality content.
But still, content marketing costs 62% less to launch and maintain compared to other types of SaaS marketing campaigns. [1]
Still, you want to maximize the value of your efforts, and the best way to do that is to repurpose and distribute your content across multiple channels.
Repurposing involves taking existing content and transforming it into different formats to appeal to various audience preferences and consumption habits.
- Turn a series of related blog posts into a comprehensive ebook or whitepaper.
For example, if you have several posts on improving sales efficiency with a CRM, compile them into a detailed guide.
- After hosting a webinar, repurpose the content into multiple formats.
Write a blog post summarizing the key points, create an infographic highlighting the main takeaways, and share snippets of the webinar video on social media. This not only increases the lifespan of your webinar content but also reaches audiences who prefer reading or visual content.
- Break down case studies into bite-sized pieces for social media.
Share key statistics, quotes, and outcomes in a visually engaging format. Platforms like Canva or Buffer can help you create and schedule these posts.
- If you have a podcast, transcribe the episodes and turn them into detailed articles or show notes.
This makes the content accessible to those who prefer reading over listening and improves your SEO by adding more keyword-rich content to your site.
Repurposing content can also be a powerful GTM strategy for SaaS businesses that want to tap into new customer segments or markets. How?
You can repurpose content you know performs well and adjust it to new segments and markets.
Conclusion
All these strategies will support your marketing goals and drive SQLs long-term.
Buyer personas are the first step for a reason, as you really need to conduct thorough research and gather data to create accurate personas. If you don’t, your content marketing efforts won’t be as effective.
High-impact content will get you a long way and bring SQLs in the years to come.
- Write how-to guides, industry insights, and comparison posts tailored to your personas.
- Develop feature-specific and industry-specific landing pages.
- Focus on high-intent and long-tail keywords using Ahrefs or SEMrush.
- Implement structured data to improve search visibility.
Once you have a fair amount of content, you have the opportunity to understand your audience even better. And needless to say, you’re directly losing money if you don’t capitalize on that.
- Use Google Analytics and Hotjar to monitor user interactions.
- Conduct user flow analysis and utilize heatmaps.
- Perform A/B testing on CTAs for better conversions.
But why stop there when you can get even more SQLs?
- Transform content into different formats (ebooks, infographics, videos) to attract wider audience.
- Use HubSpot or Leadpages to manage lead capture.
- Distribute content across social media and email.
If you need expert guidance and support to maximize your SaaS content marketing strategy, consider partnering with Nuoptima. As a leading SaaS content marketing agency, Nuoptima will help you create high-impact content at scale that ranks high on SERPs and drives signups.
Book a call with our SaaS & content experts today to receive a comprehensive analysis of your current strategy, tailored recommendations, and a free blog post to jumpstart tangible results.
FAQ
A SaaS content strategy involves creating, distributing, and optimizing content to attract, engage, and convert potential customers for a SaaS product, aligning content with the buyer’s journey to drive growth and customer retention.
B2B SaaS content is tailored specifically for business audiences and includes blog posts, case studies, whitepapers, webinars, and other content formats that address the unique challenges and needs of businesses using SaaS solutions.
To write content for SaaS products, focus on addressing the pain points and needs of your target audience, provide valuable and actionable insights, and seamlessly integrate product features and benefits to demonstrate how your solution solves their problems.
Creating a B2B content marketing strategy involves understanding your target audience through buyer personas, setting clear goals, developing a content plan that includes various formats and channels, and using data analytics to measure performance and refine your approach over time.
