Written by Lidia Vijga
I like to think that content marketing is a love language between your SaaS brand and your customers. Every single blog article, newsletter, and social media post is a message, crafted with care to deepen your connection and understanding. And this is the true power of SaaS content marketing – an opportunity to forge lasting bonds with your audience, one piece of content at a time.
At its very core, content marketing is all about creating value for your customers. It’s about sharing insights, solving problems, and building trust through a steady stream of helpful, engaging content. But for SaaS companies like ours, it’s more than just a marketing tactic – it’s a lifeline, a way to nurture relationships with our customers and foster a community of loyal advocates.
In today’s super competitive market, your customers aren’t just looking for a product; they’re seeking a partner who truly gets them and what they are going through. And I believe that through thoughtful content created in-house, you can and you will become that partner, by simply being for there for your customer.
Now, I’m not suggesting merely capturing your key audience’s attention only when they actively search for your product. Rather, I’m advocating for a consistent presence, being a reliable resource whenever they seek answers or insights. This is the type of commitment I’m talking about. And that’s how you showcase your customers your expertise and dedication to their success.
Why SaaS Companies Should Bring Content Marketing In-House
At my current startup, I wish we had brought our content marketing in-house much sooner than we did. So allow me to share my perspective on why I strongly recommend all SaaS company founders take their content marketing efforts in-house.
Only Your In-House Team Truly Understands Your Offerings
I know you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into crafting the perfect SaaS product, a solution that solves real problems for your customers. But here’s the harsh truth: no matter how talented an external agency or freelancer might be, they’ll never be able to articulate your offerings with the same depth of understanding as your in-house team.
Think about it – your existing team lives and breathes your product every single day. They’ve witnessed its evolution, navigated its complexities, and intimately understand the challenges it addresses. This firsthand experience is like a secret sauce, infusing their content with an authenticity that simply can’t be replicated.
Your Team Knows Your Clients Better Than Anyone Else
Your in-house team interacts with your customers daily, giving them an inside scoop and direct line of communication that is invaluable. No one understands your customers better than your existing in-house crew. I’m not talking about a typical target market analysis with demographics or psychographics. I’m talking about your audience’s pain points, hopes, dreams, and even the little quirks that make them uniquely human. And how would any external party know all these if they don’t interact with your customers on a daily basis?
With this level of understanding, you can craft content that doesn’t just scratch the surface – it dives deep into the heart of your customers’ needs, addressing their challenges with precision and empathy. Understanding the customer journey allows your in-house team to create content that addresses specific needs at each stage, ensuring a seamless and effective experience from initial awareness to post-purchase.
You Build Stronger Relationship With Clients Through Content Collaborations
It gets even better and we learned it when we brought our content marketing in-house at DeckLinks. By collaborating directly with your customers during the content creation process, you’re not just creating content for them – you’re creating it with them. This type of involvement breeds trust and loyalty that transcends mere transactions; it’s the foundation for building lasting relationships that can turn your customer into loyal fans for life.
Step 1: Identify Your KPIs
Do you want to increase brand awareness? Then your KPIs might include metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, and search engine rankings. Are you aiming to generate more leads? In that case, you’ll want to track metrics like form submissions, content downloads, and email subscriptions.
To effectively track and measure content marketing KPIs, you will need to use Google Analytics and Google Console. These tools help you monitor website performance, set up goals and funnels, and understand user behavior.
Whatever your goals may be, choose KPIs that are specific, measurable, and aligned with your overall business objectives. And don’t be afraid to adjust them as you go – just like any journey, you may encounter unexpected twists and turns that require a slight course correction.
Just like everything else in marketing, everything you do has to be measurable. So by clearly defining your KPIs from the start, you’ll have a powerful tool to track your progress and make data-driven decisions.
Step 2: Embrace the Power of First-Party Data
Alright, first things first, let’s talk about the fuel that will ignite your content marketing engine: first-party data. Infusing your content with actionable insights and authenticity can’t be matched by any external agency or freelancer.
You see, when you bring your content efforts in-house, you gain direct access to the heartbeat of your customer base. Every support ticket, every survey response, every interaction with your team – all of these insights can be uncovered and transformed into killer content.
Once we started adding first party data and firsthand insights into our content, we witnessed a significant increase in engagement as well as a higher number of sign-ups for our product.
Step 3: Build Your In-House Content Marketing Team from Within
Now that you’ve defined your content marketing goals and understood the importance of 1st party data, it’s time to assemble your dream team – your very own content marketing Avengers, if you will. But where do you even start? The answer is closer than you think. Start with your existing team.
The true power of an in-house content team lies in their ability to tap into the collective knowledge and experiences across your entire organization. While a dedicated content writer is essential to craft compelling pieces, insights can come from anyone – your Customer Success Managers, Account Executives, engineers, and beyond. That’s right, anyone from your company can be a contributor and even become an irreplaceable member of your in-house content marketing team.
Step 4: Develop a SaaS Content Marketing Strategy
To develop our SaaS content strategy at DeckLinks, we broke it down into three key components.
First, we decided on the types of content formats to produce, but that evolved over time as we learned more about our audience’s preferences.
Next, we created an editorial calendar to plan and schedule our content releases. While sticking to this calendar is sometimes challenging, it helps us maintain a consistent publishing cadence.
The third and arguably most crucial component is content distribution. No matter how excellent your content is, it won’t drive results unless you promote it effectively across the right channels where your audience is active.
Let me go over our content strategy steps in detail.
Content Types and Formats
When it comes to content marketing, variety is the spice of life. Sure, blog posts are a tried-and-true staple, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box and embrace different formats. After all, your customers are diverse, with varying preferences and learning styles.
For instance, some might prefer the convenience of podcasts or videos they can consume on-the-go. Others might appreciate the depth and detail of long-form guides or case studies. And let’s not forget the power of visuals – infographics and data visualizations can be incredibly engaging and informative. Remember the step 2? That first-party data would be a great foundation for these type of visuals.
The key is to experiment and find the right mix of content types that resonates with your audience. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try new things – maybe interactive quizzes or webinars are just what your customers have been looking for. The more value you can provide through diverse content offerings, the stronger your connection with your audience will become.
Editorial Calendar and Publishing Schedule
You can’t just publish a brilliant piece of content one day and then disappear into the abyss for months on end. Nope, you need to show up regularly and deliver value like clockwork.
That’s where an editorial calendar comes into play. Pay attention to your audience’s habits and preferences. Maybe they’re more active on social media during the workweek, or perhaps they prefer diving into longer-form content on weekends. Whatever the case may be, tailor your publishing schedule to maximize visibility and engagement.
If you decide to focus on organic search, use keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner to help you plan and schedule content effectively.
Content Promotion and Distribution
You can create the most mind-blowing content in the universe, but if no one sees it, what’s the point? That’s why effective content promotion and distribution are crucial for driving organic traffic and are essential components of your overall strategy.
Start by leveraging the channels where your audience is already hanging out. Maybe they’re active on Twitter or LinkedIn. Perhaps they’re part of niche online communities or Slack groups. Talking about online communities, here is an organized list of thousands of Slack Groups if you need it.
Wherever your ideal clients are, make sure your content is there, too – share it, promote it, and engage with your audience directly.
But don’t stop there. Get scrappy and explore unconventional distribution channels, too. Partner with influencers or complementary brands. Repurpose your content into different formats or mediums. Heck, you could even print out some of your best stuff and hand it out at industry events.
The bottom line is this: embrace a resourceful, bootstrap mentality when it comes to content promotion. Get creative, think outside the box, and leave no stone unturned in your quest to get your killer content in front of your key audience.
Step 5: Involve Your Customers in Your Content Production Process
Now, here’s where the real magic happens – involving your customers directly in the content creation process. I know, I know, it sounds like a radical idea, but bear with me. After all, who knows your customers’ pain points, challenges, and aspirations better than they do themselves?
By collaborating with your customers, you’re not just creating content for them – you’re creating it with them. This level of co-creation breeds trust and loyalty that transcends mere transactions; it’s the foundation for building lasting relationships that can turn your customers into raving fans for life.
Creating valuable content is key here. By involving your customers, you ensure that the content you produce is not only relevant but also provides tangible results and unique insights that are more valuable and comprehensive than content from your competitors and other SaaS companies.
So, how do you make this happen? Start by opening up lines of communication with your customers. Encourage them to share their success stories or their struggles. The key is to actively listen and incorporate their insights into your content strategy.
At DeckLinks, we featured our customers’ expertise through guest blogs and created engaging video content with the industry leaders in the form of rapid-fire interviews.
Not only will this add an invaluable layer of authenticity to your content, but it’ll also make your customers feel like valued members of your community.
Step 6: Analyze Results and Connect the Dots
To truly unlock the power of your in-house SaaS content marketing efforts, you need to embrace a mindset of continuous improvement.
The first thing I do in the morning, I open all our analytics, check our website traffic, engagement rates, and conversions. This is how I know what’s working, what’s not, and where we can double down for even better results.
It’s crucial to optimize your content for search engines to improve performance and make it easier for potential customers to find your solution.
I also encourage to share results with everyone on your team and go over the reports together. During these check-ins, take a step back and really examine the numbers. What content formats are resonating the most? Which channels are driving the most engagement? Are there any surprising trends or anomalies that you can learn from?
And don’t just look at the numbers in isolation – connect the dots. Try to identify patterns and correlations between different metrics, and use those insights to refine your strategy. Maybe you’ll discover that your long-form guides tend to drive more conversions, or that your audience is particularly engaged on a specific social platform. Whatever the case may be, use these learnings to double down on what’s working and course-correct where needed.
This is what I really like about creating our content in-house – the ability to pivot, adapt, and continuously improve based on real-time feedback and data.
Step 7: Develop the Most Effective Method for Handling Conversions
Alright, let’s talk about the thing that keeps the lights on – conversions. After all, what’s the point of creating killer content if it doesn’t drive real business results? Here’s the thing, though: conversions aren’t just about sales numbers. They’re about nurturing relationships and cultivating trust with your target audience.
When someone signs up for your newsletter or downloads a piece of gated content, they’re not just giving you their email address. They’re inviting you into their digital space, granting you permission to keep the conversation going.
So how do you capitalize on this opportunity? Well, it all starts with understanding your audience’s journey. Where are they in the funnel? What questions are they asking? What challenges are they facing? By mapping out this buyer journey and creating content that speaks directly to each stage, you’ll be able to guide your prospects seamlessly from awareness to consideration to decision.
But let’s not stop here. Once someone converts, that’s when the real work begins. You need to continue nurturing that relationship, providing value at every turn, and positioning yourself as a trusted partner, not just a vendor. Share case studies, host webinars, offer personalized support – whatever it takes to demonstrate your continued commitment to their success.
Also read: PR for Tech Startups: How to Do It Yourself
What challenges we faced after bringing Content Marketing in-house
The most challenging tasks we faced were mastering search engine optimization (SEO) and deciding on the best approach to building a high-performing, in-house content marketing team. Additionally, optimizing existing content for organic search presented its own set of challenges. But we knew we had to learn it and do everything ourselves if we bring content marketing in house. From learning how to conduct a thorough keyword research and structuring blog post URLs to creating SEO-optimized content, we’ve become our own SEO specialists and professional SaaS content marketers.
The Painful Experience of Learning Search Engine Optimization
When we brought content marketing in-house at DeckLinks, one of the biggest initial challenges was mastering the art and science of SEO. It felt like learning an entirely new language from scratch! The process was arduous, requiring immense time, dedication, and an unwavering willingness to keep learning and improving. We pored over countless guides, attended workshops, and watched probably all the YouTube instructional videos ever created on SEO (admittedly, some of the advice was quite controversial). Nevertheless, we persisted, practicing and experimenting relentlessly until crafting SEO-optimized content became second nature to our team.
After this painful experience I even started my own bootcamp to teach others our SEO process in the easy and practical way to save them from the pain we went through ourselves.
Building Our In-House Content Marketing Team
Scaling our content initiatives was another mountain to climb. As our audience grew, so did the demand for fresh and actionable content. We quickly realized that a one-person content team simply wouldn’t cut it. But finding the right talent to join our team hard and we made a huge mistake.
Initially, we focused on hiring writers skilled in SEO and content creation. But we soon discovered that while technical skills are essential, it’s not the be-all and end-all. True content marketing success requires a deep understanding of your industry, your audience, and the challenges they face. This realization led us to shift our hiring strategy, prioritizing candidates with direct experience and expertise in our field.
After all, with the right talent on board, I can train them on SEO and our content creation process. It’s easier to teach SEO skills than impart the in-depth industry knowledge that only comes from hands-on field experience.
The True Goal of SaaS Content Marketing
In the end, SaaS content marketing should cultivate a mindset shift – moving beyond one-off transactions to focus on nurturing deep, long-lasting relationships with your audience. Building those connections is a core function you can’t outsource. It’s your bond with customers, and only your in-house team can truly forge it. When you earn a loyal, engaged following that trusts your expertise, the conversions will naturally follow.
