In 2011, Marc Andreessen published his famous piece, “Why Software Is Eating the World.” Ten years later, Andreessen’s prediction is truer than ever. Companies ranging from Microsoft and Amazon to TradeGecko and Intuit QuickBooks now function primarily as software companies.
Unlike the former two, the latter two are considered SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies, which deliver applications over the internet as opposed to software that needs to be installed. Statista shows the SaaS market reached a worth of about $157 billion in 2020.
For freelance writers, this trend is increasingly important to track, as more and more writing opportunities open up in the SaaS niche. But freelance writing for SaaS companies carries its own unique requirements and challenges.
Generally, it’s similar to writing for eCommerce, but with an added layer of technical writing and know-how. Below are some tips and tricks to help you jump into writing freelance for SaaS companies.
The importance of content in SaaS
Most SaaS companies want to hire a professional with a mastery of communication to simplify technical jargon. Words like “data structure” and “cloud computing” don’t typically sell (unless your target users are coders and techies).
The role of the writer is to translate that language for the average consumer, and to excite them about the benefits of using that technology. Writing needs to be easily digestible and engaging, as strong content marketing is essential for SaaS companies to convert today’s consumers.
The average length of a SaaS sales cycle is nearly three months. During that time, customers engage with various forms of content, visit multiple sites, and consult influencers. They are constantly exposed to content that educates, attracts, and persuades.
Customer journey and content: How to create memorable experiences that lead to conversion
You as the writer provide the buyer with top-quality content at every touchpoint. You ensure every outreach serves a purpose, and that the buyer views your client as an industry expert in addition to a trustworthy service provider.
Challenges of writing for SaaS vs. consumer goods
Now that you know what you’re getting into, you need to prepare for the unique challenges of writing for SaaS companies. Keep in mind that…
Customers can’t physically touch the product
You can’t rely on screenshots or other media to do the selling. Rather, your content should connect the dots between an intangible platform and the real-life benefits customers can experience.
It needs to be accurate, illustrative, and straightforward all at the same time, taking into account that customers can’t physically examine the product themselves.
SaaS solutions can be complex
Along those same lines, identifying the most important benefits of a software program (especially enterprise platforms) can be challenging, as they’re not always obvious.
Your client may be building a suite of tools for multiple user types and purposes, so you’ll need to segment marketing messages and CTAs appropriately. Generic answers won’t cut it in SaaS; you need to hone in on the specific advantages of each solution.
You may not be the core user
The most difficult assignments tend to involve platforms that you yourself don’t (or wouldn’t) use on a regular basis.
To overcome this roadblock, you need to train yourself on how to use the platform and think from the perspective of the intended user, who may have years of experience in a role or industry you’re unfamiliar with.
You’ll need to ask lots of questions and be proactive about receiving demos or other training from your client.
SaaS tends to rely on long-form content
If you’re used to writing for B2C companies, you might find the transition from writing short, punchy product descriptions to 1,500+ word articles to be difficult.
B2B marketing utilizes longer, well-researched pieces to educate readers prior to even mentioning the service or product.
Keywords are more intricate
A SaaS conversion funnel is not as straightforward as the CPG conversion funnel. It involves multiple decision makers (usually six to 10, according to Gartner) with multiple “jobs” throughout the buying process.
Each decision maker gathers information independently before conferring with their group, so your content strategy must appeal to their various needs, values, and search queries.
For example, a SaaS startup might have a primary use case for scheduling meetings, with a secondary use case for booking speakers at an event. A writer should be able to identify and target these different cases, using the language, keyphrases, and related keywords surrounding each alternative topic.
Why you should freelance for SaaS companies
With the extra demands, it begs the question: Why even bother freelancing for a SaaS company? Despite the added complexity it poses, there are some benefits to consider.
Broaden your skill set
If you like solving abstract problems, you may enjoy the challenge and creativity SaaS marketing invites.
The buyer journey is nonlinear, and SaaS marketing requires lots of trial and error, whether you’re working on the keyword strategy, site experience, or client messaging. You’ll learn as you go, and your skills will grow along the way.
Accrue long-term clients
It can be a challenge for SaaS companies to find writers with the right level of experience, grit, and versatility to represent a suite of tools and software properly.
So, if you can deliver quality work for a SaaS client, they’re more likely to hire you back for additional projects, instead of finding and training new freelancers every time. This could yield lucrative, long-term contracts.
The longer you work for a company, the harder it will be to replace you and bring another writer up to speed.
Expand services
If you work for SaaS startups, you’ll find many of them have a one-person marketing team — or none at all.
As you build trust, you’ll have the opportunity to suggest new initiatives and/or help manage other marketing aspects for your client.
This can range from rewriting a homepage to recommendations for a new landing page. You could graduate from strictly producing blogs to managing email marketing for the company (services that could potentially be sold at higher price points because they’re more conversion oriented).
3 Tips for succeeding as a SaaS freelance writer
1) Get to know your clients
SaaS companies deliver a diverse range of technical products, some of which require their own jargon and industry knowledge. It’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the industry, the software, and its customers.
Understand the product
You need to know the product to write about it compellingly and with any authority. Understanding how the product works allows you to write honest product copy without overselling, explain clearly how things work, and highlight the top benefits.
During onboarding, ask for a product tour. Ideally, you can also get a demo account for long-term use and reference it throughout your tenure with the company. The more you learn about the software, the easier your writing will come.
Learn the industry
A large percentage of SaaS writing doesn’t focus on the product. Instead, you’ll create marketing content, ads, sales copy, and more.
Here, you have to understand the industry and the market. SaaS companies cover almost every imaginable niche. For example, if you were a writer for Dropbox, you would cover different topics than if you wrote for Adobe. Both offer SaaS, but their industries are unique, and you need specific knowledge to write for either.
Understanding SaaS requires strong technical and industry research skills. If you can enter a company and quickly acquire industry knowledge, including an understanding of competitors, where the industry is headed, and how the product works, you’ll be able to deliver real value across the platform.
2) Master technical writing
Technical writing is the process of writing clear, concise copy about software and applications. If you’ve ever clicked a “Next” button as part of a wizard, you have technical and UX writing to thank.
While you might not end up writing technical copy for your SaaS company, being able to offer it will add to your value within the company. Technical writing involves three basic functions: understanding the technology, being able to simplify the concepts, and keeping your explanations concise.
Make the technology approachable
A new SaaS company likely won’t have much in the way of copy. Even existing companies will deliver new updates and features with little more than developer notes inside the application.
It’s crucial for you to walk through those features and quickly grasp how and why they work, without extensive training and information.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have a few interviews with developers and some notes to work with, but be ready to hunt for more information as you need it.
Simplify ideas
Software can be complicated. You need to be able to simplify those ideas into clear, easy instructions. This holds true for technical writing in the SaaS application and in the help and support material.
Write with brevity
Application and supporting text must deliver a great deal of value in as little space as possible. You might be asked to translate relatively complex processes into a simple series of button pushing and next steps.
Technical writing may not be a major freelancer responsibility in a SaaS company. If you onboard with a larger company, they’ll likely have an in-house copywriter to handle technical and internal content, and will use freelancers to manage marketing and sales copy instead.
3) Empower marketing and sales
SaaS heavily relies on content marketing, including social media, blogging, email, and landing pages. Here, you’ll likely start out writing blogs or web pages.
You’ll also either work with the marketing team (if the SaaS company is large enough to have one) or develop a content marketing plan.
This means delivering cross-channel material based on the sales funnel, buyer demographics, and ad marketing campaigns.
Build multi-channel campaigns
SaaS employs cross-channel marketing campaigns to touch base with customers throughout the buyer journey.
That includes delivering consistent and cogent branding across platforms, for blogs, social media, guest posts, news platforms, and other portals. You’ll have to develop a range of content writing skills to meet these needs.
SaaS writers commonly write web copy, blogs, landing pages, whitepapers, case studies, email campaigns, PPC ads, and software copy. You might also have to write the occasional support piece or helpdesk. This necessitates a diverse portfolio, a strong understanding of marketing tactics, and the ability to comprehend and implement market and demographic data.
Leverage sales funnels
Understanding how a sales funnel works and how to write for it is crucial. You need to know which stage customers enter the funnel and how to move them along. This includes knowing their business model, demographic, and the job they want your company to accomplish.
For example, by identifying pain points, you can write more targeted blogs to draw in top-of-funnel readers. If you know what they need to solve their problems, you can make promises that elicit conversion to email lists, demos, and free trials. If you know the audience’s most common objections, you can address them in your content before they become obstacles.
Writing for SaaS requires understanding the software, being able to write technical content, and using branding and marketing tactics to sell solutions to customers.
SaaS copywriting: How to build your content portfolio
Freelance copywriting can be a lucrative and enjoyable career, offering relative freedom to work when and how you want, often without a commute. Your chances of finding reputable, well-paying work as a copywriter are only increasing as more businesses move online, digitization takes over, and remote work becomes the norm.
At the same time, locating projects as a freelance writer isn’t always easy. You need work to build a portfolio, but you need a portfolio to get work. Luckily, there are several ways around this chicken-or-the-egg problem, many of which can help you earn money while you create your content portfolio.
A portfolio forms the basis of your digital work; it shows experience, style, skills, and range. Now that we’ve gone over the keys to SaaS copywriting, let’s discuss how to put together your SaaS content portfolio.
What to include
When building your content portfolio, be selective about what you include and determine if you want (or need) more than one type of content.
Content types
Freelance copywriters craft web content, ad copy, blogs and articles, in-app text, and more. Your portfolio should reflect the work you specialize in and want to pursue.
Most online writers eventually create content spanning various industries, and operate in dynamic roles to write content as needed. Others specialize in one type of content such as UX or email copywriting.
Strategic displays
You should have your own website to host your portfolio. However, be careful about republishing content you write for clients, since this can introduce duplicate content SEO issues.
For certain types of content, such as any YouTube videos you wrote scripts for, you can embed samples of your work directly into your website while keeping the original source. For others, like web pages, I recommend linking to them and including screenshots.
Tip: Download PDFs of your key portfolio pieces. This ensures a copy of your work to showcase even if something happens, like a company going out of business or a blog being taken down. You can keep these in a Google Drive folder for easy access, and opt to link to this folder from your website instead.
Highlight reels
What content will help you get the roles or gigs you want now? Look at the type of jobs you’re applying for and highlight the content that best reflects the types of work you want in the future.
It’s generally a good idea to pick a specific niche or content type and then build a portfolio around that.
Getting published
Your portfolio will be strongest when you can display live, published work you’ve completed for other companies. Published work shows you can follow instructions and guidelines, write for a brand’s style, and collaborate well with businesses.
If you don’t have enough live content pieces to showcase, here are a few tips to bump up your numbers:
- Volunteer to write web content for friends or charities.
- Build your own website and blog.
- Offer introductory rates for the first X number of blogs.
One of the best ways to build a portfolio is through guest blogging, where you reach out to publications with an article pitch to write for them. Some of these publications pay, others don’t. However, most will link back to your website, and, more importantly, you’ll be able to add it to your portfolio.
Find your niche
It’s important to establish where you want to be published and what industry you’ll focus on. Most writers eventually specialize in one industry they know well. This might be digital marketing, eCommerce, cooking, knitting, psychology, politics, etc.
By narrowing your focus, you can target your portfolio and showcase your knowledge, research, and skills in that specific area. Over time, you can expand into other niches and diversify as needed.
Choose your target publications
Where do you want to be published? Which companies do you want to write for?
Start small and work your way up. You should look at factors such as quality, traffic, and activity. You can also use SEO tools to review website stats, including Alexa rank, backlinks, domain authority, and website age.
Create a list of dream websites you’d like to be published on, and why. Then, research similar sites, competitors, and other publications in the niche. Start pitching articles to those first.
Master your outreach
Making contact may be the hardest part of this process. After you research each publication, check their content and style, and review what content they already have, it’s time to craft your guest post pitch.
Tip: Check their website for guest post pitching guidelines. Some of your target sites won’t accept guest posts, and others may require you to fill out a specific form to be considered.
Your email should include a few title pitches, samples of your work, and answers to any questions an editor might have, such as:
- Has this person read our blog?
- Why are they contacting me?
- Is their knowledge relevant?
- Do they know our audience?
- Can they follow guidelines?
Writing your guest post
Once someone accepts your pitch, you can start writing. Don’t forget to follow their editorial guidelines, or ask for them if they haven’t been shared with you.
Confirm a timeline they can expect a draft in, and the number of edit requests you’ll accommodate. If you haven’t already, read some of their blogs to get a feel for their voice and tone.
Once you send your draft, ask for a rough publication date, and offer to share it within your own network.
Tip: Always check that you’ll get an author bio beforehand, and confirm you’ll be allowed to add a backlink to your own website.
Freelance writing FAQs
We’ve gone over plenty of information, but there are always common questions that reappear. This freelance writing FAQ section will cover some of the questions I hear most often about how to promote yourself, how much you should charge, skills needed to succeed, and more.
What is SaaS copywriting?
SaaS, or Software as a Service, copywriting combines copywriting (writing web and ad or product copy) and blogging. To be a successful SaaS freelance writer, you should aim for a diverse set of skills that include SEO, website copywriting, blogging, ad writing, and building sales funnels.
Key SaaS copywriting roles typically include:
- Writing web pages and blogs.
- Building marketing funnels such as landing pages or emails.
- Creating in-depth content like whitepapers and case studies.
- Writing ads for use in PPC and social media.
- Aligning content with a social media or video strategy.
Depending on the SaaS company in question, you might also work as a technical copywriter for the product itself.
What do you do as a freelance writer?
Freelance writers work in diverse roles across many industries. As such, your role and responsibilities will change dramatically depending on your industry, niche, and specializations. A fashion blog writer will have a significantly different day than a technical writer or a SaaS copywriter.
However, you’ll normally:
- Research content.
- Communicate with clients and sources.
- Write and edit content.
- Manage projects.
- Research your audience and topics.
- Write marketing material.
- Pitch new topics and content.
- Align with a marketing and/or sales team.
Depending on your clients, top-down management may guide your role and hand you work to complete. Or you might have to take the initiative, taking a rough idea of what the client wants to achieve and why, and shaping it into compelling content.
What skills should a freelance writer have?
There are many types of freelance writers. Depending on how and why you choose to write, you might need a range of skills. However, there are some key abilities every good writer should master.
Research
As new topics and angles come up in your writing, you should research different viewpoints, options, strategies, and other pertinent information.
You need to be able to perform basic research, establish reliable sources to reference and link to, and, for more complex topics, do a thorough deep dive to understand the subject. As a writer, your ability to research topics quickly, take notes, and write accurately about new topics will be crucial to your success.
Deep-dive research: How to get to the heart of a topic without losing your audience
SEO
Much of the modern world’s information is digitized, which means your writing will likely end up online in one form or another. Knowing how to select high-rank keywords and phrases and craft content that’s easily discovered in search makes you a valuable asset to your clients.
Learn how backlinks, bounce rate, page authority, blog structure, and other factors contribute to search prominence. This will help you create content that lands in front of your target audience and drives leads.
Clear and organized communication
Many SaaS freelancers take on more than just content creation. You’ll likely have to speak with customers, manage colleagues, request edits, set up interviews, and send regular updates.
Many freelance writing jobs will also require you to reach out to other sites for guest blogs and co-marketing opportunities.
Knowing how to keep all of these communications clear and organized will ensure nothing slips through the cracks or is misconstrued.
Project management
As a freelance writer, you’re responsible for ensuring all work is researched, edited, submitted, and published by your deadlines.
If you’re running a large content operation, you’ll have to manage multiple moving pieces. Some of the most rewarding results come from the most complex projects with unique restrictions, timelines, and bottlenecks.
Good project management skills will help you execute projects well, even while juggling multiple responsibilities.
Tip: Use a tool like Trello or Asana to keep track of your deadlines, stages of content creation, and all communications relating to a particular task.
Writing and editing
Back to basics: to be a great freelance writer, you need to be a great writer and editor. Every client will have their own idea of what “great” writing looks like, along with different tones and styles.
You should know how to structure an article so it’s easy to skim, optimize for search, and summarize and simplify complex concepts. As an editor, you need to be able to catch any spelling or grammar errors and ensure clarity, cogency, and accuracy.
Some tools that can help include:
- Yoast — A WordPress plugin to check your SEO and Flesch reading ease score.
- Grammarly — Spelling and grammar check available as a Chrome extension.
- Hemmingway Editor — Web-based readability editor and grammar/spellchecker.
Check out some simple proofreading tips here.
How do I promote myself as a freelance writer?
You have many creative options to promote yourself as a writer, including mailing out professionally designed “engagement invitations” to work together, or building a website to pitch yourself and then advertising it directly to a company’s hiring team.
Here are some of the most common ways to pitch yourself:
- Build a portfolio – Make sure it aligns with your specializations, niche(s), and industry. This is typically a website, but can also be a freelancer profile on a site like Upwork.
- Establish an online presence – Choose a few places online to establish your presence. The key is to provide value to different communities, from answering questions on Quora to posting helpful content in Slack groups. You should also keep your online profiles, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, updated.
- Guest blog – Guest blogging is one of the easiest ways to get involved in your community and put your name out there. Check out the section above for some tips on how to find websites for this.
Tip: Set up a Google alert for websites launching roles for part-time freelance copywriters.
How to build specialized writing profiles to stand out in different niches
Do freelance writers need a website?
No, you don’t need a website — but how much do you like landing clients? A website functions as your branded online presence, allowing you to showcase your portfolio, writing skills, and client testimonials.
Your website will promote new client discovery as you optimize for SEO, as well as land a referral from showcasing your work. You can even add a payment portal to make it easier for clients to reserve your time.
A website is valuable for freelance writers because it will:
- Showcase your services and previous work.
- Drive traffic and generate new leads with SEO.
- Provide an easy way to contact you.
- Help leads self-qualify by showing availability, specialization, and rates.
- Establish authority and credibility.
However, if you aren’t ready for a website, you can establish an online presence on social media or job boards as well.
How much should you charge for a 500-word article? (And other standard pricing tips)
Pricing is tricky, and all I can tell you for sure is that it’s different for everyone. Writers who contribute to Forbes can charge a much higher premium than freelancers who are just starting out, even if their writing quality is more or less equivalent. Some of the factors that determine your pricing include your portfolio, past clients, quality, experience, and demand.
There are three common ways writers charge: set rate per article, hourly rate, and per-word rate.
Set rates per article
Some content mills charge pennies for a 500-word article, but with these, you get what you pay for. Then, there are writers who can command thousands of dollars for a 1,000-word article and companies won’t bat an eye, because they know quality content generates sales.
Hourly rate
According to PayScale.com, the average hourly rate for a freelance writer is $25 to $30. In actuality, this ranges from minimum wage to well over $100 per hour depending on experience, skills, and services offered.
Rate per word
This is not the wisest method to charge clients, because a great writer should get their point across in as few words as possible.
Tip: Look for trustworthy clients, and the money will follow.
If you need a starting point, look at job boards and review what companies are offering for your experience and skill levels.
For example, if you have no portfolio, but a PhD in a relevant topic, you can still command high rates. On the other hand, if you don’t have any skills or experience, you should start out with introductory rates and increase them as you gain experience and clients.
What’s the rule of thumb? Work out how much you need to live comfortably off your job and never accept rates lower than that.
How do freelance writers succeed?
Success for a freelance writer can mean many things. It can be the ability to earn a comfortable living wage with a four-hour work week, or earning six figures. But it all starts with putting the work in, creating a portfolio, and developing your credentials.
Here are some tips to help you on your journey:
- Continuously improve your content marketing skills. All the best writers constantly learn and adapt to stay relevant.
- Focus on long-term clients. Working with a brand consistently means less time learning a product and more time perfecting their content. It also makes for more stable revenue.
- Hone your outreach skills and build your network. Most of my long-term clients came from referrals, not applications.
- Keep your portfolio up to date, and stay on top of your major online profiles like LinkedIn.
- Use tailored portfolios to appeal to different clients. Consider putting together a folder and specific pitch for every new client instead of using a general portfolio for pitches.
- Establish a network of other writers in case you don’t have time to take on a new client or need help scaling up.
Wrapping up – Breaking into freelance SaaS copywriting
Building a career as a freelance SaaS writer takes time. Even if you’re starting from a relatively strong position, with experience as a professional writer in an organization, switching to freelancing is demanding, time consuming, and requires significantly more outreach.
However, with a robust portfolio, consistent quality, and ongoing learning, you can build a comfortable and stable career as a freelance writer.