Why Most SaaS Content Misses (And How to Fix It)
Over the past year, I’ve worked with early-stage SaaS founders — bootstrapped and VC-backed — and I’ve noticed a pattern.
No matter how good the writing is, how well the blog is structured, or how “SEO-optimized” the content becomes…
Some SaaS content just doesn’t land.
It looks fine. It checks all the boxes.
But it doesn’t move anyone. No engagement. No shares. No inbound leads.
I used to think it was a marketing problem.
But in many cases, it’s a founder–market fit problem.
You Can’t Outsource Insight
Founders who’ve lived the problem — who’ve sat in the buyer’s seat, felt the friction, and tried to fix it before building a product — write (and speak) differently.
Their words feel earned.
They don’t describe the product — they describe the problem in 4K detail.
They preempt objections because they’ve heard them dozens of times.
Their landing pages don’t just “convert” — they click with the right people.
Meanwhile, when a founder hasn’t deeply lived the problem:
The language feels recycled.
Pain points sound generic.
Every piece of content needs heavy editing or repositioning.
Even with good copywriting, the ceiling is low — because the inputs are weak.
Signs of Strong Founder–Market Fit in Content
From recent projects, here’s what I see over and over:
They can sell without a product. One founder had 5 pre-orders for a tool that didn’t exist yet.
They speak the customer’s language, not the industry’s.
They write with conviction. It’s not written to “rank,” it’s written to rally a tribe.
When this foundation is in place, content strategy becomes straightforward.
When it’s missing, even great writing feels hollow.
The Simple Test I Use
Could you sell this with just a Notion doc and a few calls?
If yes → content is a force multiplier.
If no → you’re either too early, or too far from the problem.
This doesn’t mean “stop marketing.”
But it does mean you may need to revalidate the problem, talk to more users, or reposition before scaling content.
The Hard Truth
Content is not a shortcut.
It amplifies what’s already working.
It exposes clarity — or confusion.
Before you optimize for traffic or ramp up production, ask yourself:
Are you writing from experience, or reverse-engineering other SaaS sites?
The answer usually predicts whether your content will convert — or just exist.
Do startups need marketing services? (Insights from a seasoned marketing team)
Your SaaS Doesn’t Have a Traffic Problem — It Has a Trust Problem
Week 4: Moved to SF, Won a Hackathon (Almost), and Discovered My Biggest Churn Problem
Totally agree — a lot of SaaS content ends up being too product-centric or generic, which makes it easy to tune out. The fix is focusing on the customer’s pain points and jobs-to-be-done, then weaving the product in as part of the solution. Add real examples, data, and a unique voice, and suddenly the content feels valuable instead of forgettable. 🚀
agree — customer pain > product pitch.
This has been my experience for the past 5 years. I have mostly worked with bootstrapped startups, and they often blamed me and my marketing skills, or lack thereof, for minimal shares, engagement, and sign-ups, even though my writing, social media posts, and design all ticked the boxes.
Exactly .....when founder–market fit is weak, marketing becomes the scapegoat. Without deep insight or conviction from the top, even great content can’t fix a hollow product.
How much of an effect do you think authenticity has on the quality of the content?
Authenticity really makes or breaks content. Indie creators on YouTube or Substack often get more engagement with minimal editing just because their voice feels genuine. People connect with honesty and personality far more than polish—studies even show over 75% prefer content that feels real.
Woow! @Sonu_Goswami , this is a great insight. We're doing Marketing but it's not easy.
We need to always learn. Thank you
Thanks Ahaz 🙏 totally agree.....marketing is a constant learning curve.
This is spot on. I've been working with several of our customers to develop content, specifically case studies. I've been making a conscious effort to avoid the fluff and really allow the voice of the customer to come through in sharing their experience (challenges, what worked, measurable results, etc.).
Yeah I noticed this too. When you only know the solution you don't talk about the problem too much. And when you do, it'll be a generic description.
If you don't know too much about the pain, for me it was best to just talk to customers and leads and basically ask them what their pain is.
exactly maurizio ....that is the key customer conversations bring out the raw unpolished pain points that no amount of desk research can replicate the best saas content often comes directly from those calls not from a keyword tool
Well unless the founder is the only one with such pain haha
True :)
but usually the best content resonates because the founder has lived the pain firsthand and that’s what makes it click for the wider audience too.
Founder Market Fit can skyrocket the potential of the product. I’ll share an example of a client we worked with. Sebastian Night, CEO, Co- Founder of onetake.ai and most importantly the founder of Free Entrepreneurs Movement. He is a public speaker and celebrity with a background in business growth and entrepreneurship.
He shares experiences faced in his past careers because he's seen the struggles of entrepreneurs. Helping people grow and market their business is what he handled as his job. The contents and talks all about helping them with their journey, giving a very convincing story. Additionally, being a celebrity and public speaker with a TV personality gained many audiences. The agenda emphasizes money being a secondary factor as to helping out fellow entrepreneurs. Even if the product isn’t mature yet and needs more features, early adopters will still pay for the subscription and look forward to the benefit.
Blending his own experiences with the product. That’s speaking the customer's language. His audience is his product's audience. Over all customer retention worked out in his favor because of the loyalty of his audiences and because he’s got the Founder Market Fit.
Exactly ... when the founder is the customer, their story naturally sells the product. Sebastian’s case shows how foundermarket fit builds loyalty and retention long before the product is perfect.
Right...the impact of a founder led story telling feel more like an alignment than marketing. Such cases can pull in the right customers and alongside the right hires.
Thanks :)
‘You can’t outsource insight’ is gold ..
Thanks :)
“Their words feel earned.”
“they describe the problem in 4K detail”
“It’s not written to “rank,” it’s written to rally a tribe”
Love these! Every time I come up with an Idea someone might have content requires many cycle of revisions and research.
Every time I have a problem that I experienced over and over myself, landing page copy is done in hours, and content just flows out of me. I also engage with my own frustrations and talk about it with other people to seek for solutions. When a problem is real you seek help first, when you can’t find proper help then you realize you’re onto something if other people experience it too.
Good insight, thanks for sharing!
exactly ....when you have lived it, the copy’s more remembering than writing. the earned words show.
thanks :)
I belive this can be helpful for lots of founders of SaaS!!
glad you think so .....have you seen this play out in your own projects or with other founders you know?
this is true, the posting content should create a tribe of people trusting the founder. I will change my way of thinking.
Glad it resonated!
100% agree that founder–market fit seeps into the writing. I’ve noticed the same with sales calls—when you know the pain, prospects feel it in your voice before you even hit the slide deck. Curious—have you ever seen a team fake that successfully long-term?
true, you can hear (or read) it instantly when someone’s lived the pain. i haven’t really seen anyone fake it for the long haul....maybe for a launch or two but eventually the gaps show. the questions get deeper, and if you haven’t been in the trenches, it’s hard to keep up.
Exactly, it’s like battle scars, not just badges. The real test is when hype fades and you’re stuck answering the tough ‘why’ questions without a script. That’s where most founders crack or pivot.
exactly, when the hype fades, the truth shows.
Love the point that content isn’t just about writing well — it’s about living the problem. Makes total sense why generic pain points never click with an audience.
Most SaaS content misses the mark because it focuses too much on product features rather than solving customer problems. Many pieces are overly generic, lack a clear target audience, or fail to show real-world use cases. To fix this, content should be customer-focused, data-backed, and value-driven. Using case studies, actionable insights, and relatable examples helps build trust. Consistent SEO optimization and a strong content strategy ensure visibility. Ultimately, effective SaaS content educates, engages, and guides potential customers toward solving their challenges.
i get what you mean but i have actually seen value-driven, customer-focused content still flop when the founder hasn’t truly lived the problem. in those cases, even with case studies and data, it still reads like a report, not a rallying cry. that’s why i push for founder–market fit first — content becomes a multiplier only when the insights are hard-earned.
I am struggling with this, Hopefully I can get better.
Totally normal .... most founders go through that stage. The more you talk to real users, the more naturally your content will start hitting the mark.
You are right!
:)
Saas product are supposed t be failed or succeed that can be identified with Market size targeted audience and positioning of brand
True ..... market size, audience, and positioning set the outer limits.
From what I’ve seen working on SaaS content, even inside a big market, weak founder–market fit makes content feel invisible. When the founder’s lived the pain, positioning and messaging sharpen almost by default.
This resonates so deeply with our experience. That crucial insight about "speaking the customer's language, not the industry's" completely changed our approach.
When we built Accio, we realized procurement teams at smaller companies didn't want another complex system - they just needed to express their needs simply:
"Find suppliers for custom packaging under $2/unit with fast turnaround"
The Notion doc test you mention was revealing. We secured early adopters just by demonstrating how we'd solve their problems in spreadsheets - true validation of founder-market fit before writing a single line of code.
When you strip away the jargon and truly understand users' daily struggles, both your content and product become infinitely more valuable.
That approach of testing the concept in spreadsheets before writing a single line of code is pure founder–market fit in action. Solving the problem in its simplest form gives you the kind of clarity that makes both the product and the content almost write themselves
So true. The spreadsheet phase is where the real magic happens!
Correct :)