SaaS Copywriting Secret: Let The Customer Write Everything

Today I wanted to write an article but couldn’t immediately think of a topic.

(Bear with me, I’m going somewhere.)

So instead of blinking at my flashing cursor, I opened Quora to spark some ideas.

I do this all the time.

Instead of waiting to think of a topic to write about on the spot, I look for common questions people have within my area of expertise. Instead of answering the question directly on Quora, I copy-paste the question into a doc and use it to flesh out a new article for my blog.

The cool part is, I use similar techniques to write some of my strongest website copy, advertising headlines, and lead magnet titles.

Instead of using those tactics to drum up today's topic, I'll break down my process for borrowing real customer language to write powerful copy.

Let’s dive in.

Customers write the best SaaS copy

The secret to writing powerful copy isn’t what you think.

Sure, it helps to be a strong and creative writer. But really, your ability to snoop around online to find what customers are already saying about your product — that's where the money's at.

I don’t need to sit around twiddling my thumbs imagining or making up audience pain points. Potential customers and readers have already given me that language somewhere else on the internet.

My job is to go forth, find their agitations and appreciations, and borrow that language to write powerful headlines and copy.

It’s a tactic that Joanna Wiebe famously coined with the phrase, “review mining.”

Here are some ways you can make this process work for your SaaS business:

Product review websites

Your competitors aren’t just other SaaS companies in your space.

Most SaaS products also compete with DIY YouTube videos, topical books, and non-software service providers.

In that case, you can browse customer reviews on Amazon, comments under how-to videos, and read Yelp reviews about professional service providers in your industry.

But the easiest places to start are software review sites like Capterra, G2, Product Hunt, and TrustRadius. These sites are virtual gold mines.

Take this Canva review I found on G2.com as an example: