Almost three years ago, we launched Minuttia.
The goal was simple:
To become one of the most respected and trusted content marketing agencies in the world, specifically for SaaS companies.
Even though many things have changed in these three years, our initial goal remains the same.
Somewhere along the way, we understood that our assumptions as to what the SaaS industry (which we proudly serve) needs weren’t exactly right.
One of these assumptions was that design is something companies are very bullish about—having strong convictions and opinions on the subject—and generally don’t need as it’s covered in-house.
We were wrong.
In this post, we’ll explain why our assumptions were wrong and why the SaaS industry calls for great design, integrated with our knowledge and expertise in content marketing and SEO.
Let’s begin.
Why We Launched a New Service
The decision to launch a new service as a growing agency isn’t taken lightly.
Focus is very important, especially in the stage we’re at.
I always stress the importance of staying focused and separating the noise from the signal to my senior team.
When it comes to design, the signals were just too numerous to ignore and, ultimately, we had to take action.
So, why did we choose to launch a new service?
Here are the four most important reasons.
1. Addressing client demand
Serving our clients and helping them reach their goals is a top priority for us.
A common theme in our discussions with our clients was the need for design in the context of…
- Blog designs or redesigns
- Hub designs or redesigns
- Landing page designs or redesigns
- Page template designs (e.g., for programmatic SEO purposes)
Often, even though the execution at our end was delivered as requested and on time, projects were falling back due to reasons beyond our control.
Excuses such as…
- I can’t get/request design time from the company.
- My CMO promised me that we’ll get design time sometime in Q3.
- We used to have a design agency but we weren’t so happy with the results so we’re open to suggestions.
- I asked our designer for that infographic but they didn’t have the time to do it and I decided to publish the post without it.
… were too frequent for us to ignore.
At the same time, our ever-expanding client base was consistently asking for design services (which tends to happen when you establish a relationship of trust with a partner) in our catch-ups and through emails, as a way around the excuses listed above.
Addressing and meeting these requests and needs was—and always will be—the first and most important reason for us to take action.
2. Service integration
The second reason why we decided to launch a new service is obvious, too.
Our design service seamlessly integrates with existing (spoiler alert: and future) services, including Content Creation, Content Strategy, Content Audit, etc.
For example, we often had to draft a mockup on Figma to communicate the basic layout of a new page template identified as an opportunity through our Content Strategy service.
In our Content Audit service, we often had to design mockups that serve as visual representations of our suggestions and recommendations (e.g., how an author page should look).
And, of course, our Content Creation service needs high-quality and aesthetically appealing visuals to accompany the content our team produces.
These are just a few cases but the point is that design integrates perfectly with what we already do and what we plan to do in the future.
3. Bridging the gap between design and content marketing
One of the primary motivations behind our new service is to bridge the communication gap between designers and content marketers.
While we know how a page should be structured and what content is required, we often find ourselves providing guidelines to designers, resulting in a disconnect between the intended message and its visual representation.
Designers tend to approach projects primarily from a design perspective, focusing on aesthetics and visual appeal.
On the other hand, our approach encompasses design, content marketing, and SEO.
We understand that effective design goes beyond aesthetics and must align with specific content marketing objectives and SEO best practices.
By combining these perspectives, we can achieve a harmonious marriage of exceptional design with content marketing and SEO expertise.
This isn’t a capability a design agency or freelancer can have.
Our approach is designed to offer a great user experience and (in plain English) please the eye, but always by integrating best practices regarding content marketing and SEO; expertise which our team possesses and constantly improves and updates.
4. Streamlined (content) project execution
At Minuttia, we understand that our clients often have brilliant ideas they want to bring to life but face challenges such as limited internal resources and competing priorities.
This goes back to what I mentioned earlier about certain excuses we heard many times before we realized that they weren’t just excuses but issues we had to address.
We recognize that time is of the essence, and delays in content project execution can hinder clients’ overall business objectives.
By offering our design services, we provide a solution that not only overcomes internal capacity, communication, or other issues but also expedites the launch of content projects.
We take on the design aspect of the project, allowing our clients to leverage our expertise and focus on other critical tasks.
This enables clients to launch new content projects (e.g., hubs, glossaries, blogs, landing pages) more quickly and efficiently without compromising quality.
5. Rising competition in text-based content
Let’s face it:
Competition for text-based content is on the rise.
At the same time, with AI content taking its spot at the bottom of the content quality scale, we (collectively, as content marketers) have to do better.
We have to go beyond just spitting out words, even if those words make sense and serve their purpose.
One of the ways to aim higher than the new bar (enter: AI content) is by integrating topically relevant, aesthetically appealing, and on-brand visuals.
The rising competition in text-based content will push us all to do that and it’s better to start now than later.
What Are the Best Use Cases?
Now that we covered the why behind launching our new design service, it’s time to present some of the best use cases behind it.
1. Blog design or redesign
Our content-driven design service can help clients create a new blog or revamp their existing one, ensuring it is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and reflects the brand’s identity.
You may not have a blog yet and want to get started with content marketing, in which case we’ll design a new blog for you.
Or, you may have a blog already but need to refresh it as part of a broad brand identity refresh or a content audit.
Our team is here to help you with that as well.
Example: Auto365
Here’s an example of the design and build of the main blog page and blog post template for Auto365.
Auto365, as Greece’s leading car rental and leasing platform, sought to enrich their digital presence with a dedicated blog, serving as a hub of valuable information for their audience.
Image Source: Dribbble
Our team brought to life the main blog page, crafting an intuitive and engaging space for visitors to explore a diverse array of articles.
Through our design, the wealth of information hosted on Auto365’s blog is now easily accessible, encouraging exploration and interaction.
For the blog post template, our focus was on creating a perfect canvas for Auto365’s rich content.
Paying close attention to typography, layout, and interactive elements, we’ve designed a template that frames each blog post in a visually pleasing and reader-friendly manner.
2. Design or redesign of hubs, glossaries, and other content initiatives
Our service focuses on designing or redesigning content structures like hubs, glossaries, topic clusters, and other content initiatives to enhance user experience, improve content discoverability, and facilitate seamless navigation.
Example: SwagDrop
For example, we recently helped SwagDrop, one of the fastest-growing online platforms for branded swag, launch a glossary for HR professionals.
Image Source: Dribbble
Our team designed the glossary’s hub page, where visitors can find all the terms included in the glossary and access the pages behind those terms.
We also handcrafted the term pages, ensuring readability, easy navigation, and consistency with the brand’s identity.
Image Source: Dribbble
Visitors to the term pages can access detailed definitions and examples of each term, helping them gain a better understanding of the HR industry.
Our design capabilities go beyond glossaries, hubs, or other content initiatives and meet the needs of SaaS companies where they often need us most: feature pages.
3. Design or redesign of feature pages (aka use case or product pages)
Feature pages (for SaaS companies) and Service pages (for professional services companies) are an essential part of the customer journey.
One way or another, a user (prospective customer) will end up on one of these feature pages and may or may not engage further with your brand.
The reason for having a content marketing agency like Minuttia design such a page is simple.
A design agency or freelancer will give you something that’s aesthetically appealing.
But we’ll give you something that’s not only aesthetically appealing but also integrates best practices regarding content marketing, SEO, and conversion optimization (depending on the scope of the page).
Simply put, our designs live at the intersection of several different skills and are the outcome of years of experimentation and accumulated experience specifically for SaaS companies.
4. Interactive content design
Static content is no longer enough to capture and retain users’ attention.
To truly stand out and create a memorable experience, interactive content is key.
With our design service, we focus on creating visually engaging and intuitive interactive content that not only captivates users but also encourages them to participate actively.
After all, active engagement with a page’s content is a positive signal—one that indicates that the user is having a positive experience on your website.
Our team leverages cutting-edge design techniques and technology to develop interactive elements that communicate your message in a visually appealing and interactive way.
From interactive calculators and quizzes to engaging forms and other interactive tools, we create experiences that go beyond the passive consumption of information.
Not every content project can be turned into an opportunity for interactive content design but when the opportunity is there, our team will definitely leverage it.
5. Blog posts graphic design
The last use case of our new design service is graphic design for the blog posts our team creates.
With pre-approved mockups in most cases during the outline review phase, our clients know what they can expect in terms of visuals that go with the content we put so much time and effort into creating.
Example: Vowel
Here’s an example of a set of on-brand, high-quality graphics designed for the blog posts we created for one of our clients, Vowel.
Vowel is a tool designed for remote teams to host, summarize, search, and share video meetings—no add-ons required.
As part of a content creation project for 50 pieces of content that resulted in a 10x increase in the number of daily clicks the website’s blog was receiving, our team created beautiful and on-brand visuals that served the purpose of creating high-quality content that performs on search even better.
Image Source: Dribbble
Our content team identified opportunities for visuals, communicated them, and got approval from our client regarding placement during the outline review phase (e.g., the location in which each graph will be placed) and ultimately created beautiful visuals that make Vowel’s content stand out.
Image Source: Dribbble
These are only some of the use cases we’ve identified so far for our new design service.
We’ll update you on new use cases as they emerge.
For now, let’s wrap this up and close with a few final thoughts.
What’s Next for Minuttia?
If you made it thus far you may be wondering:
Ok, what’s the pitch?
There’s no pitch.
This post was all about introducing our new service, explaining why we decided to launch it, and presenting some great use cases.
We know there’s value in that service, as we knew the SaaS industry was underserved three years ago when we launched Minuttia.
If you’re interested in learning more about our design service and if any of the reasons or use cases resonate with you, then feel free to reach out to our team.
The first step would be to submit a form request on our website.
We’ll discuss the rest after that.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and for following and supporting our journey.
