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Victoria Casal-Data 7/7/15 12:23 PM 3 min read

The 5 Most Important Tips for Creating Impressive Case Studies

 How-to-Write-A-Case-Studies3

Clients don’t just come to you; they do their research—and a lot of it. They are looking for results in your past projects. While testimonials are a solid way to show them your value as a company, case studies do so differently; they show tangible results and processes.

An effective case study illustrates real-life examples of how you were able to satisfy your client’s needs and goals. Case studies are also a great way to boost your authority in your industry. Ultimately, an impressible case study should make the prospective client want to hire you.

Here are some tips and examples on how to prepare extensive but fun and powerful case studies (or repurpose the ones you already have). Check them out below:

1. Know Your Buyer Persona 

The hardest part here is picking out the one client you’ll want to do a case study on. It's essential to determine which buyer persona you’ll be targeting. Will it be Oil & Gas Executives or SaaS Business Owners? Always look at your project repertoire and pick from all successful projects.

For example, we know that we like to work with SaaS companies of any kind, not only because they are exciting but also because we know them well. Therefore, one of our study cases features EZTrackIt— an app that streamlines all aspects of a corporate mailroom.

When you are trying to target a buyer persona who is at the top of the funnel, you’ll want to impress with results and knowledgeable explanations.

When determining which industry you want to focus on, think of the following:

  • Am I comfortable with taking in more clients for this industry?
  • Is my knowledge of this industry sufficient, so that I can turn these clients’ businesses around?
  • Do I understand their needs and can I fulfill them?
If you answered yes to all, then you must go ahead with that industry. Once you're certain on the buyer persona you want to build case studies around, don't forget all the aspects of SEO so this audience can find you when they begin their online research. 

2. Design With Purpose 

No one likes a colorless, long piece of text. Make your case study pop with:

  • Colorful, fun headers, subheadings and CTA's
  • Customized Images
  • Bulleted Lists

By giving the piece a little visual variety, you’ll make it more accessible to the reader by breaking it up this way.

3. Talk Strategy, Talk Numbers

Empty claims won’t sell. If you’ve ‘doubled’ conversion rates, you need to show some tangible examples. Even if your potential clients are entrepreneurs, be sure to display numbers (and explain them) in a clear and concise way. It’s best to use the ‘show and tell’ tactic, meaning that you should first show the numbers, and then explain the process you went through to get to those numbers.

For instance in our case study for EZTrackIt, we claim that our work “led to an increase of 144.28% in lead quality while saving $8309.56 on ad spend”.

How did we talk strategy?
First, we showcased the numbers:

Screenshot_2015-06-30_20.20.39

Then, we dug into the 3 things we worked on to generate change:

Screenshot_2015-06-30_20.28.48

 For the full success story, click here.

4. Designate A Place For Them

What’s the point of having great case studies if no one will ever find them? Generating a tab for only case studies is a good idea. If not, making a blog post out it, like we did, works well too.

Idea: Tying all your case studies into a neat eBook, will serve as a great 'portfolio' for future pitch meetings.

5. Repurpose Your Old Case Studies

If you already have case studies, consider repurposing them by converting them into:

  • A podcast
  • A YouTube video
  • A thread on an Inbound Marketing community

These are fun ways to not only attract other potential clients, but also gain a more insightful look at the already existing information.

Want to see what we do for our clients? Send us an email or comment below, and we'll share their case studies with you. 

Or get started on your SMART marketing goals to plan what kind of case studies you want to create. 

 

SMART Marketing Goals Worksheet Download  

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Victoria Casal-Data

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