How Writers Can Earn Up to $300 an Hour Telling Stories
By Lisa Christoffel

Picture for a moment …

You’re looking for a water filtration system for your kitchen. Just the right one. After all, they’re an expensive investment, often $500-plus.

Some sit under the sink and need to be hooked up … Some sit on top of the counter but take up valuable space … Some filter certain things out, and others use a different type of filtration system to protect you against other contaminants.

Because this is costly and will be used daily, you want to make the best choice. So, you do your research. You look at the features of each type of system. How it works. What it protects you from. Which doctor or professional endorses it.

Eventually, you’ve narrowed your options down to two brands.

But how do you decide?

If you’re like most consumers, you’ll look at the reviews and comments about each system. How reliable is it? How easy was it to install? What needs to be replaced on it and how often?

You’ve already read everything the company had to say about its product — now you want to see how people just like you are using it and if it’s working for them.

Other people’s experiences with each system can help you make a more informed decision for yourself. You can see what they complain about and assess whether you’ll have the same complaint. You’ll read what they love and compare it with the problems you’re trying to solve.

Social proof is very powerful when someone is considering making a purchase. And the more expensive the purchase, the more proof you’ll need to justify the investment.

B2B buyers making decisions about how to spend their company’s money have the same concerns.

In fact, they may have even bigger concerns. Because if you’re an employee who authorized spending $50,000 on a product for your company and it doesn’t do the job, you may be looking for another job yourself.

So B2B buyers need to be as sure as possible the product is going to work for them and for their company before they agree to buy.

That’s where case studies can help.

They’re short reports, normally just one to two pages, following a specific formula. They persuade by telling a before-and-after story, illustrating how a product worked out for the company that invested in it.

Case studies are very similar to testimonials or product reviews, but they have a specific structure to them. With a case study, you get to see what the client was struggling with before they bought the company’s product … and how well they’re doing afterward.

So, Who Uses Case Studies?

Mostly B2B companies, some B2C companies. Case studies work well when a product is either complex or expensive.

They’re perfect for industries with products and services like medical devices and equipment, software as a service, cloud computing tools, corporate training, transportation and logistics options, corporate financial instruments, accounting and tax software, convention centers and other event spaces … the list goes on and on.

And case studies get used a lot. In the Content Marketing Institute’s 13th annual B2B content marketing report, their insights for 2023 show that content marketers feel having high-quality content (83%) and unique stories (72%) are key ways to differentiate themselves.

Case studies tick both those boxes. No other company can share the same story since it’s specific to that company’s product and their customer.

And 67% of content marketers say they created and used case studies in the past year. That’s third behind only short articles and videos in the latest report.

Why Do Case Studies Work So Well for Companies?

Case studies reduce the risk that someone making a buying decision at a company is going to make the wrong choice. Because they show how another company just like theirs has successfully solved their problem with that purchase.

And they’re told in a story format, so they’re more memorable and more engaging. They draw you into the story, helping you see yourself in the role of the hero, slaying the “problem” dragon, and winning the approval of company management.

Finally, they provide ”independent” proof of customers getting the benefits promised in the company’s brochures and marketing materials. Yes, case studies are commissioned by the company. But they showcase real customers whose real problems have been solved by using the company’s product or service.

What’s Involved in Writing Case Studies?

A typical case study involves an interview with your client to help understand what their goal is for the case study: How will they use it? Who is it intended for?

Then — my favorite part of writing case studies — talking to happy customers and hearing their before-and-after stories. You’ll interview the customer and ask them a bunch of questions to understand what they were facing before they found your client’s product or service. And how are things going now?

Finally, you’ll write up what you learned using one of a few formats for case studies, creating a story around the information you collected. After you get approval from the customer and from your client, you collect your $1,500 to $2,000.

At one to two pages per project, a case study can be completed in a few hours — typically five to seven hours. So, you can fit it around a full-time job or as an extra weekend project to bring in additional income. It has the potential to earn you a cool $150 to $300 an hour for a fun, rewarding project filled with positive news and good feelings.

And case studies are not hard to write. Nor are they hard to learn. There are standard formats all case studies use and formulas you can follow so you’re writing case studies that deliver maximum impact.

Bonus — once you turn in that positive, good news case study, you can propose other ways to help your client promote it, leading to more work. (Think social media updates, blog posts, emails, and articles, for example.) And maybe another case study or two for your client.

Of course, knowing how to manage case study projects well will ensure you can turn them around quickly and boost your earnings.

There has never been a better time to add case studies to your services portfolio. These marketing pieces continue to grow in importance. Many clients can’t get enough of them, and they often lead to other related projects, making them a great vehicle for getting in the door with new clients. Find out more here.