Advantages of Doing Content Marketing for SaaS (And Why Should You Focus On It Early-on?)

“I dunno, everybody’s doing it, I guess?”

I mean, sure, but why? This answer isn’t wrong, but it somehow just doesn’t cut it, does it?

Well, everybody’s doing it for a reason — in fact, a couple of rock-solid reasons.

Expert-made SaaS content will bring you:

• A steady stream of high-quality leads;
• Increased visibility and trust from your audience;
• Astounding ROI years after you publish the content (yes, years!);
• Position yourself as an authority and thought-leader in your industry.

In short, these are the reasons so many SaaS (and other) marketers invest time and effort to woo the audience with unique content that’s equally as useful as it’s entertaining.

However, this story deserves to be told in full. Below you’ll learn about the content marketing advantages and processes behind some of the most successful SaaS companies and how their content makes them stand out.

Content marketing is not a sprint — it’s a marathon

Having the right state of mind from the start will make things easier in the long run, and the run is long. So, best prepare yourself for continuous effort so it pays off.

If we imagine content marketing as a sports activity as simple as running, it will reveal a lot about the approach you should have.

SaaS content marketing activities and strategy shouldn’t be:

• A one-time activity;
• A race to the end, where award awaits the fastest marketers with the fattest budget;
• A chase for the vanity metrics you can show off.

Pumping tons of cash into your content marketing once and then leaving it to chance will only bring short-term benefits.

A sustainable business model depends on less impressive day-to-day activities.

Here I’d like to seemingly divert from the topic and introduce you to two authors whose work will change how you make plans and strategies for so much better.

Angela Lee Duckworth is now an acclaimed author, known for her NYT bestseller: “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”.

Before she dedicated herself to psychology, Angela used to work as a math teacher. During her work with middle schoolers and high school students, she examined their traits over the years.

Angela noticed something intriguing.

The best results rarely came from the most intelligent and naturally gifted students. She concluded that high-achievers had one thing in common; not talent, not intelligence, but grit (or grittiness).

Grit is a combination of passion and long-term perseverance. It is a trait that makes seemingly average people, unlikely to achieve remarkable results, go far in life despite their talent levels.

Now, let’s jump to James Clear.

James Clear is an author and entrepreneur best known for his book “Atomic Habits”.

In this book, he explains how tiny changes and their compound effects bring incredible results. By dissecting how he overcame adversities in his personal life, James gives compelling arguments in favor of starting small and then building better habits day after day.

Both Angela and James argue that persistence and good habits matter more than spurs of inspiration, irregular money influx, or even natural talent.

How does this relate to content marketing?

To conclude the previous chapter: if you focus on completing small tasks day after day and stay persistent, not only you’ll improve, but you’ll achieve what seemed impossible.

Now, back to SaaS content marketing. Applying this philosophy would look something like this:

• Following the industry news and publishing them to your audience daily. Short status updates on social media keep you on their radar, make you a great source of information, and may even inspire a debate in comments — revealing more about the pain points of your potential leads.
• Updating your old content to match the current situation. After you do, it remains relevant and retains the SEO value without you having to delete the page which attracted site visitors for months (or years). While the news is still fresh, you can reshare the content and distribute it again.
• Reusing and repurposing blogs and whitepapers. Infographics are a popular and palatable way to present information, much like short TikToks. One blog post can also be repurposed in many other content formats, such as videos, podcasts, images, ebooks, lead magnets, checklists, and more.

All of the actions mentioned are low effort, but their compound effect will surprise you!

Blog posts are just one piece of a puzzle

Blogs are still one of the best formats for content marketing. Readers can bookmark them for future reference, link to them, and (if they’re well written) skim them to get what they need fast and easy. Authors can easily access and edit/update blogs, and they don’t require expensive equipment and tech knowledge to be produced.

However, relying solely on blog posts makes for an incomplete content marketing strategy. The good news is that you can use them as a base for other forms of content: TikToks, YouTube videos, podcasts, guest posts, infographics.

So, you can start with blogs and distribute them all over your social media.

By using that very same blog, you can then:

• Create a short video for TikTok to illustrate the main points of your article;
• Film a couple of minutes long YouTube video going through the topic;
• Make an infographic with essential info from the article research;
• Discuss the topics in your next podcast with a guest who will bring his audience, multiplying the number of people exposed to your work.

You can share each of these new pieces of content and boost the traffic as the means to reach out to the right people for your product.

Content marketing brings ROI like ‘roids (without adverse side effects)

The best thing about content marketing? The initial investment is low when compared to what you get.

First results will be visible instantly as your content spreads and more people learn about your SaaS. Think of it as planting a tree: it takes some time until it grows and starts giving fruits of your labor, but it will indeed happen. While you’re waiting, enjoy the shade.

Real results will show in 2-3 months, with a higher ranking on Google and qualified leads that bring real money. Again, a traffic boost is nice to have, but it’s not that relevant. What matters is content that entices the right people.

Your content makes you recognizable

Have you ever heard of HubSpot? Or Ahrefs?

Of course you have.

Their articles will almost certainly pop up on the top whenever you start researching a related topic. When I was just starting as a writer, seeing their blog on the first page brought instant relief: hey, if it’s signed by Tim Soulo, I know I’m safe!

Learn from industry experts and their marketing strategies, but don’t copy their content. Think of your product’s purpose and how you can make it a core part of your ID and “public persona”.

Being recognizable for your content comes from different aspects: from visual identity, language, and communication style to the topics you cover with your content.

The goal is to be the first thing that comes to mind for a specific issue you solve.

It is much easier to opt for a service provider you’ve already heard of. People opt for honest and trustworthy experts; bonus points if they’ve already spoken to them.

It’s a lean, mean lead machine that keeps giving

A single piece of content will keep paying off for years after you publish it.

We wrote this article for our client about three years ago, and we charged around $1000 – $1500 to write it. To this day:

• It brings around 50 high-quality leads each month to Userpilot.
• The average close rate goes from 20% to 30%, meaning that about 10 to 15 of those leads become users;
• This article brought Userpilot over $500k in ARR so far

The bottom line

Content marketing is effective and rewarding, with each investment paying off day after day, year after year.

It demands continuous effort and daily involvement, but it’s irreplaceable.

At Contenthorse, we employ the exact content marketing strategy to deliver you the most high-quality leads from the content possible.

Now when you understand the advantages of doing content marketing for B2B SaaS brands, let’s see what’s the first step towards crafting a bulletproof content marketing strategy for your brand.