The goal determines which customer to feature, what questions to ask, and how to frame the story. Zero in on the goal first, the customer second.

Common goals: demonstrating ROI, showcasing a specific use case, expanding into a vertical, or addressing a buyer objection.

Step 2: Select a customer who can tell a specific story

The best case study subject isn’t your happiest customer. The right one matches your goal, can back their story with specific data, and is willing to go through the full process — interview, review, approval.

Your customer success team is your best resource here. They know who fits.

Step 3: Incentivize the customer to secure participation

Free credits, a plan upgrade, swag, or early feature access all work. But in my experience, the most effective pitch is showing them how the case study increases their own visibility — company and personal brand alike.

If they don’t want to go public, ask if they’re open to an anonymous version.

Step 4: Set clear expectations

The approval process is where case studies go to die. Get ahead of it by sending a brief before the interview covering the scope, the questions, your timeline, the time commitment, and — critically — who on their side will review and approve.

The more stakeholders involved, the longer it takes. Know this upfront.

Step 5: Conduct an interview that produces real stories

The interview is the case study. Walk away with specific stories, vivid details, and at least one quotable number, and the writing is straightforward. Walk away with vague praise, and no amount of craft will save it.

Run it as a conversation, not a questionnaire. Probe for specifics: “You mentioned it saved time — can you estimate how many hours per week?” Record the call. Notes lose the exact phrasing, and exact phrasing is what makes quotes authentic.

Step 6: Structure and write the first draft

The Challenge–Solution–Result framework works because it mirrors how buyers evaluate products. Fill it with the customer’s actual language — not marketing copy.

The structure I use: title with results, intro, TL;DR block, before/after table, challenge, solution, results, future plans, CTA. Use the customer’s words. Aim for a quote every two or three paragraphs. Cut any sentence that could appear in a product brochure.

Step 7: Navigate review and approval without losing the story

Send the draft to your customer champion before their legal or PR team sees it. Get their buy-in on the story first. Use a shared document with commenting enabled, set a clear feedback deadline, and suggest alternatives rather than letting details get deleted outright.

The goal is to protect the specifics that make the case study credible.

Step 8: Publish in multiple formats and put it in front of sales

A finished case study should work harder than a single web page. Publish the full version on your site, create a PDF for sales to email directly, pull two or three standout quotes for decks and landing pages, repurpose the copy for social, and — if the interview was recorded — cut a short video clip.

The story is done. Now make sure people actually see it.

If you’re looking for help writing case studies for your B2B SaaS company, get in touch.

GEO and SEO strategies overlap. A lot.

SEO is the foundation, GEO just an extra layer.

We don’t have to reinvent the playbook, just tweak it.

In this substack, I unpack 16 GEO strategies that will help you rank in AI search. The established SEO principles and the tweaks.

Here they are

1. Divide text into independent semantically complete sections.

   To optimize for AI search, break your content into short, self-contained paragraphs of two to three sentences. Each paragraph should be cohesive and make sense even when taken out of context. Write in self-contained sentences.

   

2. Use clear H2/H3 hierarchy and dense headings to guide the AI bots (and readers).

   Structure your articles with a clear hierarchy of descriptive H2 and H3 headings that summarize the main takeaway of each section. This helps AI bots understand the content’s structure and locate relevant information.

3. Start sections with answers up front (BLUF).

   Begin each section with a clear, concise summary of the main point, a technique known as “bottom line up front” (BLUF). This “inverted pyramid” style of writing, where the answer comes first and details follow, increases the likelihood of your content being cited by large language models and improves the user experience.

   

4. Add lists, tables, and step-by-step guides.

   Presenting information in structured formats like lists, tables, and step-by-step guides makes it easier for AI to extract and reuse your content. Instead of parsing dense text, LLMs can lift these structured sections directly into their answers.

5. Optimize your content for conversational search queries.

   Structure your content around common questions that readers might ask, for example, by phrasing headings as questions or including a FAQ section. This mirrors the conversational nature of how users interact with AI assistants, who are more likely to ask questions than search for keywords.

6. Embed images and videos in your content.

   Including visuals like charts, screenshots, and videos makes your content more engaging for readers and more likely to be cited by AI platforms. Generative AI is increasingly multimodal and can process visuals - and use their content in their answers.

7. Replace vague claims with sourced stats.

   Back up your claims with specific statistics from reliable and authoritative sources to increase the chances of your content being cited. Content with referenced statistics is more likely to be picked up by AI than vague statements, and it also strengthens your position in search engine results.

8. Use expert quotes and clearly attribute them in the text.

   Including quotes from experts and attributing them directly in the text can significantly boost your content’s visibility in AI-powered search. This practice reinforces trust and creates clean, standalone quotes that AI can easily cite.

9. Add unique insight from original research or case studies.

   Publishing unique insights from original research or case studies can increase your AI visibility indirectly. Search engines reward originality with better rankings, and LLMs pull data from ranking content.

10. Show E-E-A-T inside the article.

    Demonstrate your experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) within your content to increase credibility with both readers and AI. You can do this by highlighting your achievements, sharing personal experiences, and optimizing your author bio to showcase your credentials.

11. Publish listicles and comparison articles.

    Create “bottom of the funnel” (BOFU) content like listicles and comparison articles, as LLMs often pull information from these formats to answer user queries for product or service recommendations.
    

    

12. Update content regularly.

    Refreshing your content regularly increases its chances of being cited by AI systems, which tend to pull information from newer pages to supplement their training data.

    

13. Publish articles covering the topic from every aspect to build topical authority.

    Signal your authority on a topic by covering it in-depth with a series of articles, including pillar pages and supporting articles, all interlinked together.

    

14. Invest in content promotion to increase your chance of being cited.

    Promote your content across various channels to increase its visibility and the likelihood of it being cited by AI engines. Your ideas need to be referenced across the web, so use PR campaigns, guest features, social media, and answer-first platforms to promote your work.

    

15. Implement schema markup to make your content machine-readable.

    Use structured data, or schema markup, to make it easier for AI systems to parse, categorize, and reuse your content.

16. Make sure AI crawlers can access your content.

    Ensure that AI bots can crawl your pages by allowing them in your robots.txt file and using HTML instead of JavaScript for important content to make your content visible.

Have you tried these yet? What else would you add to the post?

And if you’re looking for a writer who knows how to make content rank in AI search, get in touch!

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Step 1: Upload top search results to NotebookLM

I drop the top 5–10 SERP results into NotebookLM to get an overview and keep them all in one place.

Step 2: Analyze competitors for search intent

The format of ranking articles reveals what readers expect.

Step 3: Dissect competitors for patterns and gaps

I summarize, extract questions, flag assumptions, and highlight unique angles.

Step 4: Search Reddit for pain points

Reddit threads surface the questions SERPs fail to answer.

Step 5: Send SME requests

I ask in-house or external experts for quotes early, so I know what insights to chase.

Step 6: Tap into client resources

Internal case studies, templates, or data create content no competitor can copy.

Step 7: Use Google Advanced Search for primary sources

Operators and filetypes help me find original reports and PDFs quickly.

Step 8: Run Deep Research with AI

I use Perplexity, Gemini, and ChatGPT to expand research beyond the first page.

Step 9: Check peer-reviewed studies

Tools like Semantic Scholar and Consensus help me find and synthesize academic work.

Step 10: Look for evergreen insights in books

Books are overlooked but full of timeless frameworks and quotes.

Step 11: Scan industry newsletters

Newsletters often share exclusive insights and case studies you won’t find elsewhere.

Step 12: Test the tools yourself

Free trials and hands-on use uncover details and screenshots competitors miss.

Step 13: Scan review sites

G2, Capterra, or Clutch reveal real customer pain points and language.

Step 14: Listen to podcasts and YouTube

Audio and video interviews give fresh perspectives many writers skip.

Step 15: Scan LinkedIn and X for expert takes

Social posts often contain unique insights worth saving to your swipe file.

Why This Works

This process:

• Surfaces insights competitors miss.

• Balances SERPs, data, and practitioner voices.

• Saves hours when drafting.

👉 Want the full article with screenshots, pro tips, and tool workflows? You’ll find it on my blog: How to Research a Blog Post That Ranks (and Gets Cited by AI).

Fix the structure before you write. Moving bullets around is easier (and faster) than cutting polished copy.

These are the questions I use to stress test the outline:

• Is the outline MECE (no overlaps, no gaps)?

• Does it deliver on all promises you make in the title, intro, and headers?

• Does it prioritize the “how” over the “why” or “what”?

• Does it BLUF each section (bottom line up front)?

• Do the headers communicate value at a glance?

Stage 2: Edit the Draft at a High Level

When I start from a draft (not an outline), I still run those outline checks first.

Then I make sure the big picture holds up.

At this stage, I:

• Verify facts and fix weak reasoning.

• Anticipate and address reader objections.

• Match the content to the reader’s knowledge level.

• Show empathy and avoid talking down to the reader.

Stage 3: Line Edit the Copy

Once the arguments are solid, I zoom in on the sentences. This is where a decent draft becomes sharp and enjoyable to read.

This involves:

• Cutting unnecessary words.

• Replacing weasel words with specifics.

• Removing repetition.

• Limiting hedging to genuine nuance.

• Varying sentence length and rhythm.

• Changing passive voice to active.

• Replacing clichés with fresh language.

• Match the client’s brand tone and style.

• Check against past client feedback.

Stage 4: Proofread the Draft

At this stage, the content is strong. The final step is to clean up the mechanics:

• Fix spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

• Correct compound word usage (e.g., setup vs. set up).

• Ensure parallelism in lists and headings.

• Check pronoun and subject-verb agreement.

Final thoughts

That’s the process that I use to write content that requires minimal revisions and makes my editors happy.

in a nutshell!

👉 Want the full version with ready-to-use AI prompts for every stage? You’ll find it on my blog: How to Edit Blog Posts (with AI Prompts).

💬 What’s your biggest editing blind spot — structure, logic, or line edits? Hit reply and tell me.

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1. ChatGPT

My sidekick. And yours probably, too. I use it for brainstorming, research, editing, crafting social media posts, and even scripting my YouTube videos.

2. Gemini

Google’s answer to ChatGPT. It doesn’t have all the same features, but it shines when it comes to deep research.

3. Consensus

A search engine for scientific literature. Great for finding peer-reviewed sources quickly.

4. Semantic Scholar

Another academic research platform I use to dig up studies and academic papers.

5. NotebookLM

A Google research tool that lets me upload sources, summarize them, and pull insights. It saves me hours connecting the dots across articles.

6. GigaBrain

A Reddit-focused research tool. Perfect for market and audience research, especially when I’m hunting for unanswered reader questions.

7. Napkin AI

A quick diagram and chart creator. It helps me build visual prototypes for designers, speeding up briefs and cutting down on rework.

8. Canva

My go-to for creating visuals for my website, social posts, and YouTube videos.

9. NeuronWriter

An SEO optimization tool (similar to Surfer or Clearscope). I use it to analyze competitors and uncover secondary keywords.

10. Ahrefs

The SEO powerhouse. Keyword research, backlink analysis, performance tracking—plus I use its screenshots in how-to articles.

11. Grammarly

The classic grammar checker. I stick to the free version now—it’s enough for catching typos and small mistakes.

12. Trello

My simple project management tool. The Kanban board keeps me on top of tasks without unnecessary complexity.

13. Clockify

A time-tracking app I’ve used for years. Super helpful for tracking hours on client projects and improving estimates.

14. Notion

Once my all-in-one tool, now mostly my knowledge base. I use it to store notes, resources, and client feedback.

15. HubSpot

I use the free CRM plan to manage client details and keep track of the subject matter experts I collaborate with.

16. Buffer

A social media management tool. I schedule posts and track performance—and now that I’m more active on LinkedIn, I’m using it even more.

17. Sembley AI

A transcription tool I use for client calls, interviews, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

18. Calendly

The easiest way to schedule calls — no more endless email back-and-forth.

19. QuickFile

An accounting platform that handles my invoices, expenses, and payment reminders.

Wrapping Up

That’s my 19-tool freelance stack. Each one either saves me time, keeps me organized, or helps me deliver better work for clients.

What's in your tech stack that I should try? Leave your recommendations in the comments!

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