SaaS Copywriting Tips to Improve Your Sign Up Rates
According to SaaS marketing agency MADX digital, the average conversion rate for website to free account sign-up is generally 2-5%, with top-performing SaaS companies typically achieving 10%.
As more SaaS companies rely on product-led growth strategies to remove friction from the sign up process, copywriting is playing an increasingly important role in improving SaaS conversion rates.
A lot of the factors that make good SaaS copywriting are also the factors that make good copywriting in general. However, copywriting for SaaS is somewhat unique in that it’s a very competitive sector. According to Statista, the global SaaS marketplace is growing at an annual rate of 7.69%, and will be worth $374.50 billion by 2028.
For SaaS companies to achieve high conversion rates, they need to stand out, which means having their customer pain points, selling propositions, and tone of voice nailed.
As a copywriter who specialises in writing for tech and software-as-a-service companies, I have a few insights into what makes SaaS landing pages and emails convert well.
So, without further ado, here are my top SaaS copywriting tips to improve your sign up rates.
Identify Your Customers’ Pain Points
As much as you might be able to anticipate your customers’ pain points, there’s no substitute for speaking to them directly and learning about their issues first hand.
A good SaaS copywriter will take the time to interview your customers and get to the core of what problems they’re facing.
When you have a solid understanding of what your customer need, the more effectively you can develop your unique selling points, and better position your SaaS products in relation to your competitors’.
Another way of identifying your customers’ pain points is to analyse reviews of your product on third party websites (where people are more likely to be honest).
Take note of what they say about how your product helped them. What issues were they having before, and what frustrations were they having with competing products?
One SaaS company that addresses its customer pain points effectively is MeisterTask. By asking a simple question in the standfirst section of its Home page, the company grabs the reader’s attention and gains their trust.
By asking ‘Let down by tools that talk about value…but leave you with the check?’, the copy builds empathy by showing that the company understands the reader’s frustrations. It also suggests that the product’s price point is more reasonable than the competition, which in turn, is more likely to encourage the reader to sign up for a free trial.
Strike the Right Balance of Features and Benefits
It’s true that benefits do a better job of selling than features. However, in the SaaS marketplace, even just one specific feature could be the factor that drives a sign up.
If your product exists in a saturated market, where there are several similar offerings, then the benefits of each offering are likely to be similar too.
In this scenario, the product features become the differentiating factors, so they may need to be given more focus in the copy, rather than simply being listed as a bullet point towards the end of the page.
Here’s an example of this in action on TravelPerk’s Home page:
Rather than simply making a list of the product’s features, the company expands on each one individually. It uses graphic elements to demonstrate the features in action, and it makes use of numbers and statistics to reinforce their value. This section is placed towards the top half of the landing page too.
Develop Clear Selling and Value Propositions
A unique selling proposition (USP) explains what makes your product or service different from others in the marketplace. Whereas a unique value proposition (UVP) describes what your product does and how it does it.
To write a truly effective SaaS landing page or sales email, you need to have both, and they need to work together.
On a SaaS landing page, you normally find USPs front and centre, in the hero section. This is because in a crowded marketplace, it makes sense to first explain what makes your product different than to describe what it does.
Here’s an example of a USP being used as a landing page headline:
In four words, cloud content management company, Box explains what makes its product different from others – it offers simplicity.
Typically, UVPs are found further down a landing page, reinforcing the product’s positioning in the marketplace and driving home its value.
Here’s an example from software company Intuit:
This UVP explains what the platform does, i.e., it helps you ‘achieve financial confidence’, and how it does it, i.e., by accessing ‘TurboTax, Credit Karma, Mint, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp’. The proposition is placed around half way down the landing page and explains the platform’s value in one sentence.
Include Testing and Customer Data
Numbers and statistics can help quantify the value of a product and make an offer more compelling.
For example, internal testing data can be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a product. Phrases like ‘improves productivity by up to 50%’ can be persuasive to customers who are looking for maximum efficiency in their business.
Better still, ask your customers if they can quantify the results they’ve seen from using your product and ask to use that data alongside a quote.
Social proof is one of the most powerful psychological influences in marketing and can help drive sign ups.
One company that uses data to demonstrate value is DocuSign.
By using real customer data to quantify the value of the product, DocuSign creates a compelling sales message that builds trust.
Speak Your Customers’ Language
Just because your product is technical, it doesn’t mean that the way you communicate with your customers has to be.
As a SaaS company, it can be tempting to demonstrate your technical knowledge by using complex language. However, your readers are far more likely to sign up if you explain what your product does in a concise, simple way.
I’d always recommend keeping jargon to a minimum, explaining technical terms in a human way, and avoiding acronyms without first explaining what they mean.
The tone of voice you adopt is also important. Even if your product is in the business-to-business marketplace and aimed at corporate companies, you can still inject some personality into your tone. Remember, even in B2B transactions, you’re still communicating with people. And as people, we generally respond better when we read empathetic, human writing.
One SaaS company that nails its tone of voice is Evernote:
Unlike other productivity apps, Evernote embraces the lighter side of organisation. It’s conversational, friendly, aspirational tone stands out in the SaaS marketplace and provides the reader with reassurance that it can improve their productivity. By using short, concise sentences, contractions, and quickfire questions, the company understands how copywriting can be used to inform tone of voice and increase brand awareness.
Include Product FAQs
According to FastSpring, 74% of SaaS companies include FAQs on their website. Well-structured FAQs can boost conversion rates by addressing pre-purchase questions and common buying objections.
For example, if your product is more expensive than the competition, you could draw attention to your pricing plans in an FAQ.
FAQs can also serve as educational resources, which maximises the value that readers derive from your software.
One company that uses FAQs effectively is digital commerce company Bolt:
In these FAQs, Bolt cleverly uses questions to demonstrate its value and to highlight its unique features. By mentioning its ‘74% lift in conversion’, the company uses data to create a loaded question that entices the reader to learn more about its one-click checkout feature. Likewise, by asking how much faster its checkout system is, it invariably highlights one of its USPs.
The Bottom Line on SaaS Copywriting
In short, SaaS copywriting is playing an increasingly important role in helping software companies increase their conversions. It serves as the bridge between the technicalities of your software and the minds of potential customers.
Copywriting isn’t just about weaving words together, but about crafting a narrative that resonates with your target audience and addresses their pain points. Compelling SaaS copywriting influences customer engagement, trust, and ultimately, conversion rates.
In the SaaS marketplace, where innovation is constant and customer needs are ever-evolving, copywriting is becoming the driving force that propels products towards success.
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