Do you love a good story?
Even more importantly, do you love telling a good story?
If you do, you should consider adding case studies to the list of services you offer your clients.
Case studies have a lot going for them. They provide social proof… they give your client a chance to show the solutions they offer in action… they help the potential buyer see themselves benefitting from the solution… and they build credibility.
What’s not to love?
And, to get a little practice writing and using case studies, what better way to hone your skills than to start using case studies in your own marketing?
Now, maybe when you think of a case study, you think of a PDF someone can download to read. And, you can definitely use them that way.
But, you can also use case studies to market your digital-copywriting services in a lot of other ways. Let’s take a look at a few promising ideas…
#1: Even before you have clients…
You might be thinking, Yes, I love the idea of case studies, but I’m new to this, and I don’t have clients… how can I possibly use case studies to market my web-writing business?
It turns out there is a way, and a very effective way, at that.
Instead of doing a case study on how your work helped a specific client, you can do a review of how a company in your niche uses a certain marketing campaign. You can talk about how the marketing campaign is constructed and then reference general statistics to give an idea of the sort of results the campaign might expect from doing what they’re doing.
You can structure this in a similar way to a traditional case study.
Begin by identifying a problem a lot of companies have, which they want to solve.
Talk about a possible solution to that problem (your service).
And then, demonstrate that solution through a review of one or more sites using it, supporting their choices with industry data.
You can post the resulting case study in your blog and share it across social media.
#2: Do a special client feature story in your newsletter.
If you do have clients, whenever you finish a project that goes well, ask to do a case study with them.
Go through all the steps. Conduct an interview with them about the problem they were trying to solve and the difficulties they had encountered. Ask about their decision to hire you.
Detail the choices you made and the steps you took to help the client solve their problem.
And then, reveal the final outcome. Be careful as you write to cast your client, not yourself, in the role of the hero.
Once you’ve produced the case study, put it on your site for people to download like normal, but also consider writing a shorter version of it that you share in your email newsletter.
Doing this will give your client some extra publicity and help your readers to see how you might assist them with a similar problem.
#3: Turn your case study into a teaching tool.
Let’s say you go the most traditional route with your case study and create a downloadable PDF that you put on your website.
Why not give your readers a little more incentive to download it?
You can do that by adding some helpful takeaways at the end of the case study. Things like the highest impact part of the project and what they should keep in mind during a similar undertaking.
That might feel like you’re giving away too much, but the clients you want to work with aren’t really into the DIY thing. By showing them exactly how you do what you do, you build credibility and trust. And, for all the DIYers that use your insights, if even a fraction of them gives you credit, that helps to build your reputation and your reach.
#4: Turn it into a video.
Video is engaging, especially when you feature people talking to each other or to the camera.
In this case, use Zoom or another video chat program to conduct your case study interview with your happy client. Let them know you’re recording and plan to use sections from the recording in a video case study.
Once you have the interview, cut in together with slides and narration using a screencast program or movie editor. (There’s a learning curve here, that’s true… but being able to make your own videos is worth it!)
Once you have your video complete, run it by your client for their approval. Then upload it to YouTube or to another streaming service and share it far and wide, including on your own website.
#5: Start speaking publicly.
I know, I know… public speaking makes people nervous. But, it’s also such an effective way to demonstrate your expertise. And, once you do it a time or two, it gets far less scary, I promise.
To make use of case studies when speaking, take two or three you’ve put together around the same service.
Create a slide show with key details from each story. Really let your clients’ personalities come through, as well as the value each one brings to their customers.
And then, show how you helped each one.
Take your audience through the process of coming up with a plan, the execution, and the results. Share the key details you brought to the table that really helped make each project a success.
You’ll find a ton of potential when you start thinking about creative ways to use case studies to market your web-writing business. They’re a great way to demonstrate your expertise. And, they’re also an excellent service to offer your clients. Try these different ways of using case studies for yourself and for your clients, and you’ll really set yourself apart.
