The Science-based Playbook of SaaS Optimization

🎓 Improve your SaaS marketing with the latest science

SaaS marketing is not easy: How do you get more trials from your homepage traffic? Or more conversions from your free plan? While also minimizing churn?

Scientists from the world’s best universities work tirelessly to answer these questions.

For example, their findings tell us how to design:

• CTA buttons for maximum clicks (Biswas et al., 2023)
• ‘Decoy’ plans that nudge free users to buy (Gu et al., 2018)
• The optimal free trials (Yoganarasimhan et al., 2022)

But only very few giant businesses (e.g. Microsoft, HubSpot) have the resources to analyze thousands of papers and apply the most useful discoveries. 

Everyone else is left to rely on opinions, weak or sketchy data, or to reinvent the wheel.

Not anymore.

The Science-based SaaS Optimisation playbook brings you the latest research condensed into easy, actionable, and straightforward recommendations that you can apply in minutes.

📘 What’s in the Playbook

1) 62 SaaS recommendations, based on the latest scientific research.

2) Practical instructions on what to optimize and why

3)  $1,800 and 1,000+ pages worth of research papers, summarized

Everything condensed in just 47 pages.

📈 How to use it

Use these recommendations to prioritize your optimization experiments, or as a guide when launching new SaaS products.

Always test any changes on a small scale before implementing widely. Differences in the context of your business can make these effects unexpectedly weaker or stronger.

A (non-exhaustive) list of the areas the playbook helps you optimize:

1. Messaging and descriptions
2. Homepage design
3. Colors and layouts
4. Using social proof
5. Pricing page design
6. Plan pricing tips
7. Free trials
8. Freemium
9. Churn prevention
10. Referral optimisation

❌ What you should not expect

• Built on opinions or “advice from experts”. This is science.
• Generic, vague information. It’s actionable and straight to the point.
• A beginner's guide to SaaS marketing. These are advanced optimization techniques.

❓ FAQs

Q: Can I find this research elsewhere?

Yes, you can analyze the research papers yourself (and should, if there’s one you’re deep diving into) in scientific journals such as the Journal of Marketing or Marketing Science. All studies are referenced and linked.

But unless you are someone who reviews the 10,000+ marketing studies published each year, buys each research paper for $30+, and knows how to interpret academic research - you will have never heard of most of these techniques. 

Q: Is this for new or established SaaS?

These recommendations are useful for any SaaS, whether already established or just starting out and looking for ways to set up optimized operations. 

If you are just starting out, apply some of the most crucial recommendations (e.g. how many plans you should have and how to price them) before moving on to more advanced ones (e.g. setting up a bulletproof referral program). If you’re already advanced, experiment with new plans (e.g. a just-below decoy or a high-priced decoy), heavily A/B test variations of the recommendations (e.g. different messaging and designs, referral rewards, affiliate commissions).

Q: Is this just a collection of insights covered in Science Says newsletter?

No. Many of the insights in the playbook have been covered in the newsletter, others are brought in from new research papers. Science Says insights in the playbook are enriched with more examples, focused on SaaS, and explained so that you can rapidly apply them to your business.

You can subscribe to Science Says Platform to access the library of 250+ insights.

Q: What kind of research is included in the playbook?

All the studies covered in the playbook have survived rigorous statistical analyses, peer-review (i.e. picked apart and challenged by other scientists), and been published in a reputable scientific journal (e.g. Journal of Marketing Research).

Research that has not been published in a journal may not have been peer-reviewed, so it is not included.

Q: What if I don’t see any results?

You get your money back. If you tested techniques and didn’t see a statistically significant lift in conversions you will get a refund (within 90 days of purchase).

I’d appreciate it if you can share how you applied what didn’t work, so academic researchers can use the learning to advance our scientific understanding, but this is optional.

Q: Considering all the above, the price seems a bit low

The mission of Science Says is to close the gap between the latest science and practice. I try to keep the pricing accessible while generating enough margins.

The majority of revenue is spent on salaries (marketing PhDs who help analyze and verify the research, designers, and writers). The rest is invested in growing Science Says' reach and developing new products to be a sustainable business.

Note: If you become a Platform Member member, you get an additional 10% off!

🎓 About Science Says

• Science Says turns the latest science in marketing into 3min practical recommendations. You can join thousands of research-based marketers getting new insights every week here - at no cost.
• And I am Thomas McKinlay, the founder of Science Says. Before starting Science Says in 2020, I was a product marketer at Google. I found it crazy how little we use the latest discoveries from the brightest scientists in the world, so I decided to do something about it.

Playbook bundle offers: Looking to buy one of the bundles of Playbooks? You can find info about each Playbook on their individual pages: Pricing & Promotions ⏺ Ecommerce Optimization ⏺ Ad Creatives