How to Create a Case Study for Your Website
A case study is a unique content marketing tool that can be used effectively to drive leads and sales. In a B2B Marketing survey, case studies were found to be the most effective content format. Not surprising at all, because we know that everyone loves a great story! While there is so much emphasis on storytelling in online content, case studies are not as common as blog posts or video in content strategy. Let’s talk about case studies and how to write one that works for your business.
What is a Case Study?
A case study is a ‘story’ about a customer who used your product to solve a problem. It focuses on the customer, who is the protagonist. Just like a good story, a case study will have a beginning, middle and end. Don’t write a case study just to talk about your products. A good case study isn’t an advertisement. It’s the customer’s journey about why they needed to find your product and how they achieved their goals by using your product. It’s more than a testimonial, but it is a real-life example of how your product really fits into someone’s life to solve a problem.
How to Write a Case Study
Writing a case study is a little different than writing a blog or a whitepaper. You’ll want to find the right angle. Your story needs to be compelling. It needs to sound real. The easy part is, you’ll be working on a real story, so you don’t have to be good at creating fiction!
Choose a Customer that Others Can Relate to
Not every customer has a story that is relatable. Think about your favorite books and what makes the characters so captivating. Because your business will be taking a supporting role, the customer needs to shine. You’ll want to let the customer tell the story as much as possible. Use direct quotes to give the customer’s perspective.
Use a Story Framework
- Act I introduces the customer and the problem. You want to draw the reader in by giving them enough information to keep them reading without overwhelming them.
- Act II introduces the solution. This is the meat of the story where you want to explain the customer’s goals and needs, which in turn leads to how your product solved the issue.
- Act III includes the resolution. This is where you may want to include hard data that supports the customer’s decision to use your product.
Make Your Case Study Easy to Read
Case studies need to be formatted like you would format a blog post or article on your website. Break up long chunks of text with images and bulleted lists. Use headers to hold the attention of readers that skim content (almost all of them). You may even want to appeal to customers who don’t like to read, by creating a case study video or podcast.
Share Your Case Studies
Once you’ve done the hard work of creating a case study, don’t just put it on your website and hope people will read it. Promote it on your home page. Share it through social media. Use analytics to determine its strength in your SEO strategy. Learn what works and replicate your success by creating more case studies.
Grow your business through effective content marketing, including building a portfolio of online case studies. Discuss your content needs with the MintCopy team to find solutions that help you convert more leads into sales. Ask us how our SEO writers can support your business.
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Resources:
- https://neilpatel.com/blog/creating-a-great-case-study/
- https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/04/03/how-to-write-a-case-study
Sheetal Pinto is the founder of MintCopy, a content agency that has been helping businesses communicate effectively since 2008. With a passion for words and a knack for SEO, she’s worked with companies around the world to craft copy that not only engages but ranks. Whether it’s blog posts, website content, or social media updates, Sheetal has a talent for turning complex ideas into compelling stories. When she’s not optimizing content or editing for clarity, she’s probably daydreaming about the perfect headline or debating the Oxford comma. With over 16 years in the business, she’s seen the digital marketing and SEO content landscape evolve and grow. Sheetal’s mantra? Fresh copy, refreshing results!
