Guides on Content Marketing, SEO, & Agency Growth
SaaS Content Marketing
Driving traffic and sign-ups for SaaS companies with content and SEO.
SaaS Content Contenders: 16 of the Best SaaS Content Marketing Agencies in the Business
SaaS content marketing isn’t just about updating your blog once in a while. (At least, strategic content marketing isn’t.) From research, strategy, and ideation to writing, designing, and distribution, there is a ton of work that takes place behind the scenes to...
SaaS Inbound Marketing: How to Build Your Organic Growth Engine
No matter where your company exists in the SaaS space, most marketing and business leaders share a common goal: to get more people discovering and signing up for their services. Ideally, without paying an arm and a leg for traffic that may or may not even...
SaaS Content Marketing Examples: 4 Successful Stories to Learn From
Picking just a few companies to present them as good SaaS content marketing examples was not an easy task. There are so many good examples out there, that this list could go on forever, but for now, let’s focus on 4 companies that really stand out....
How We Helped HelloSign Scale Their Traffic 1,308%
Optimist is a full-service SaaS content marketing agency and this case study is based on the content marketing strategy we executed with HelloSign’s team from 2017 to 2021. It was a frigid cold day in Des Moines on January 28, 2019. Like most January days, I was...
How We Grew a SaaS Company’s Leads by 571% in 5 Months
A while back, a SaaS client approached us about their content marketing and lead generation strategy. They recently launched their blog and already written some great content, but they weren’t getting any traffic. They’d discovered that great content isn’t...
How to Build a Growth-Focused Search Strategy for Every Stage of the Funnel
This post is about how to build a growth-focused SaaS SEO strategy. But first, a little story… Six weeks ago, I was struggling. I was trying to art direct some updates to our website. (Cue 🙄) But, I’m not a designer. So, I went to Google. “How to do web design for...
Startup Content Marketing
Building a sustainable growth engine for bootstrapped and venture-backed startups.
How Intercom Built a $50MM ARR Empire Using Strategic Content Marketing and SEO
When it comes to building a startup, growth is king. Close second? Recurring revenue. Especially in the world of SaaS companies, having a steady stream of monthly and annual revenue is the hallmark of success. So, imagine building a business and scaling it to $50MM...
Content Marketing Secrets from Buffer’s Rise to 4 Million Users (And Beyond)
If you’ve been on Twitter at all in the last half decade, then you’ve likely heard of Buffer. The social media sharing and scheduling app has been a catalyst for a new paradigm in social media marketing. It allows users to find content or schedule messages to be...
SEO for Startups: How Content Marketing Drives Organic Growth
If you’re a startup, you probably already know that one of the best marketing channels you can master is search. With the right SEO for your startup, you can bring in hundreds or even thousands of targeted visitors looking for your product or service every day and...
How We Scaled a Startup from 0 Organic Traffic to 100,000 Visitors/Mo (In About One Year)
A few years ago, I was tapped for a startup content marketing opportunity that quite literally changed my life. This is the story... My friends at College Raptor had just raised a Series A round for their incredible college matching technology. And the CEO asked me to...
B2B Content Marketing
Using content marketing and SEO to drive demand and generate leads.
How We Helped HelloSign Scale Their Traffic 1,308%
Optimist is a full-service SaaS content marketing agency and this case study is based on the content marketing strategy we executed with HelloSign’s team from 2017 to 2021. It was a frigid cold day in Des Moines on January 28, 2019. Like most January days, I was...
The Only B2B Lead Gen Strategy that Matters for Technology Companies Right Now
There’s a paradox of opportunity happening right now for B2B technology companies. Many teams are being forced to cut back on marketing and lead generation efforts due to uncertainty. According to a survey from the B2B Marketing Zone, more than 60% of marketers expect...
How Our Team Built a $1.5MM Agency in 3 Years with No Managers
Over the last three years, Optimist has grown tremendously. We started as an outgrowth of my personal freelancing work. Within a year of launching, we reached a $500,000 annualized run rate. By the end of year 2, we had doubled in size--building a seven-figure...
How to Build a Growth-Focused Search Strategy for Every Stage of the Funnel
This post is about how to build a growth-focused SaaS SEO strategy. But first, a little story… Six weeks ago, I was struggling. I was trying to art direct some updates to our website. (Cue 🙄) But, I’m not a designer. So, I went to Google. “How to do web design for...
The Framework We Used to Generate $1.5MM in Sales Opportunities in Our First Year
One year ago, we launched Optimist. The vision was pretty straight-forward: A full-service content marketing agency that works with clients on a monthly retainer. Our goal is to grow it to $1.5 million annual run rate in 2018. In our first year, we made a pretty big...
How Intercom Built a $50MM ARR Empire Using Strategic Content Marketing and SEO
When it comes to building a startup, growth is king. Close second? Recurring revenue. Especially in the world of SaaS companies, having a steady stream of monthly and annual revenue is the hallmark of success. So, imagine building a business and scaling it to $50MM...
Content & SEO
Articles, lessons, and takeaways on content marketing and SEO.
Hiring a SaaS Content Marketing Agency
Content marketing is a journey. While many startups (and even some agencies) take a "spray and pray" approach to blogging, the truth is that good content marketing requires careful planning, strategic thinking, and plenty of patience. Content isn't created overnight,...
Outsource Content Marketing vs In-House Teams: A Guide for Marketing Leaders
You’re in the hot seat. Perhaps you’re a founder who needs to impress investors with organic growth. Perhaps you’re a newly hired marketing director assigned to create organic growth. Or maybe you’re somewhere in between. The point is… You need to obtain...
SaaS Content Contenders: 16 of the Best SaaS Content Marketing Agencies in the Business
SaaS content marketing isn’t just about updating your blog once in a while. (At least, strategic content marketing isn’t.) From research, strategy, and ideation to writing, designing, and distribution, there is a ton of work that takes place behind the scenes to...
SaaS Content Marketing Examples: 4 Successful Stories to Learn From
Picking just a few companies to present them as good SaaS content marketing examples was not an easy task. There are so many good examples out there, that this list could go on forever, but for now, let’s focus on 4 companies that really stand out....
How to Measure & Track Content Marketing KPIs Without Getting Distracted
Bryan shares his real-life experience in building a successful business and the content marketing KPIs that he uses to stay focused on the metrics that matter. Blanketed by darkness in the eerie solitude of a desolate Oakland Coliseum, Athletics General Manager Billy...
Strategic Content Marketing: A Recipe for Growth
Content marketing without a strategy is a lot like throwing spaghetti at a wall. (Stay with me here.) When you're cooking spaghetti, one way to tell if it's done is--supposedly--to simply fling the noodles at the wall. If the pasta doesn’t stick, it's said to need...
Agency Journal
Stories from our journey building a multi-million dollar content marketing agency from scratch.
Tackling Mental Health For Distributed Teams
Even the greatest strengths, especially when they get over-used, eventually perform as weaknesses. One thing to love about remote work is the (relatively) no-drama, no-bullshit work environment. I rarely engage with my colleagues about religion, politics, family...
Introducing Top of the Funnel
For a long time, the Optimist team has been looking for ways to share knowledge and help connect those in our network and our expanded universe with opportunities for growth (and money). The idea is nearly as old as our agency itself. Like most teams, we've gotten...
How Our Team Built a $1.5MM Agency in 3 Years with No Managers
Over the last three years, Optimist has grown tremendously. We started as an outgrowth of my personal freelancing work. Within a year of launching, we reached a $500,000 annualized run rate. By the end of year 2, we had doubled in size--building a seven-figure...
How to Build a Growth-Focused Search Strategy for Every Stage of the Funnel
This post is about how to build a growth-focused SaaS SEO strategy. But first, a little story… Six weeks ago, I was struggling. I was trying to art direct some updates to our website. (Cue 🙄) But, I’m not a designer. So, I went to Google. “How to do web design for...
The Deal Is in the Details: Reflections On My First Year as a Principal at Optimist
The email came in last St. Patrick’s Day. You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I’m very Irish. Approximately 55% according to Ancestry.com. But I digress. All of that to say, it was a particularly auspicious day for multiple reasons. I had put in my time—roughly...
Optimist Year 2: Building a $1 Million Content Marketing Agency
Well, it’s the new year. That means it’s time to think back and reflect on the last 12 months. It’s time to figure out what I learned, what I got right, and how I screwed up (again). But first: It’s time to eat crow. Yes, I failed miserably at keeping our site and our...