AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
I used to think case studies were just fancy portfolio pieces. You know, those beautifully designed PDF documents that agencies put together to show off their work. Clean typography, gorgeous layouts, professional photography. They looked amazing sitting in a folder on someone's desktop.
But here's the thing – they weren't actually selling anything.
When I started working with B2B agencies as a freelance consultant, I kept seeing the same pattern. These companies would invest weeks creating these museum-quality case study presentations, then wonder why prospects weren't converting after reading them. The typography was perfect, the layouts were Instagram-worthy, but the business impact? Practically zero.
That's when I realized we had this completely backwards. Case studies aren't marketing brochures – they're sales tools. And sales tools need to be optimized for one thing: getting people to say yes.
In this playbook, you'll discover:
Why traditional case study layouts actually hurt conversions
The typography hierarchy that guides readers to your call-to-action
Layout structures that turn browsers into buyers
Real metrics from agencies that redesigned their case studies
The SaaS-specific adaptations that work for software companies
Stop treating case studies like art projects. Start treating them like the revenue-generating machines they should be.
Industry Reality
What agencies typically do with case studies
Walk into any agency and ask to see their case studies. I guarantee you'll see the same thing everywhere: beautifully designed documents that look like they belong in a design museum.
Here's the standard agency approach to case study design:
Hero image dominance – Massive, gorgeous screenshots or product photos taking up 60% of the first screen
Minimal text hierarchy – Everything looks equally important, so nothing stands out
Process-focused storytelling – Spending more time on 'how we did it' than 'what business impact we delivered'
Designer-first typography – Beautiful fonts that prioritize aesthetics over readability and scanning
Weak or buried CTAs – The call-to-action is an afterthought, usually a tiny button at the bottom
This approach exists because most case studies are created by design teams who think like designers, not salespeople. They optimize for awards submissions, not business outcomes.
The problem? Prospects don't hire agencies because their work looks pretty in a portfolio. They hire agencies because they need to solve specific business problems and generate measurable results.
When your case study looks like a design showcase instead of a business document, you're speaking the wrong language. You're saying "look how creative we are" when prospects want to hear "here's how we'll make you money."
This disconnect is why so many gorgeous case studies generate zero inquiries. They're optimized for the wrong outcome.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Last year, I was brought in by a mid-sized digital agency that was struggling with a classic problem. They had incredible client work – seriously impressive results across multiple industries. But their case studies weren't converting prospects into sales calls.
The agency specialized in SaaS marketing and had helped clients achieve some remarkable outcomes: 300% increases in trial signups, 150% improvements in customer acquisition costs, million-dollar revenue growth. The work was solid. The results were real.
But when I looked at their case study pages, I immediately saw the issue. They had fallen into the same trap as every other agency: treating case studies like portfolio pieces instead of sales tools.
Their case studies followed the standard format:
Massive hero images of sleek dashboard screenshots
Lengthy paragraphs describing their "process" and "methodology"
Typography that looked beautiful but made scanning impossible
Results buried in the middle, formatted like footnotes
Weak calls-to-action that felt like afterthoughts
The agency founder told me: "We get lots of compliments on how professional our case studies look, but they're not generating leads like we hoped."
That sentence revealed everything. They were optimizing for compliments, not conversions.
I spent a day going through their Google Analytics, heat mapping their case study pages, and analyzing user behavior. What I found was eye-opening: people were spending an average of 47 seconds on their case study pages. They'd scroll quickly, maybe pause at one section, then leave. Almost no one was clicking through to contact them.
The beautiful typography and layouts weren't helping prospects understand the business value. They were actually getting in the way.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
I completely restructured their approach using what I call the "Business-First Case Study Framework." Instead of starting with design, we started with psychology: what does a prospect need to see, in what order, to feel confident enough to reach out?
Here's the exact framework I implemented:
Typography Hierarchy for Conversion
First, I threw out their designer-first typography approach. Instead of choosing fonts that looked cool, we chose fonts that guided attention exactly where we wanted it. Here's the hierarchy I created:
H1: Results-First Headlines – Instead of "Project Overview," we used headlines like "How We Generated 2.3M in New Revenue for [Client]"
H2: Problem-Solution Pairing – Clear subheadings that immediately connected business challenges to outcomes
H3: Metric Callouts – Used for highlighting specific numbers and percentages
Body Text: Scannable Chunks – Maximum 3 sentences per paragraph, with bold keywords throughout
The 3-Section Layout Structure
Instead of the traditional chronological storytelling, I restructured every case study into three scannable sections:
Section 1: The Stakes (Above the fold)
- Client industry and size
- The business problem (quantified)
- What failure would have cost them
- Our solution in one sentence
Section 2: The Results (Center focus)
- Key metrics in large, bold typography
- Before/after comparisons
- Timeline to results
- Visual charts or graphs when possible
Section 3: The Process (Supporting details)
- Brief methodology overview
- Key strategic decisions
- Why this approach worked
- Strong call-to-action
Typography That Sells
I completely rethought their font choices:
Switched to system fonts (SF Pro, Segoe UI) for instant readability
Increased line spacing to 1.6 for easier scanning
Used color strategically – red for problems, green for results, blue for process
Made numbers 40% larger than body text and gave them breathing room
The key insight: typography should be invisible to the reader but guide them unconsciously toward the action you want them to take.
Results-First Headlines
Replace generic titles like 'Project Overview' with outcome-driven headlines that immediately communicate value
Scannable Structure
Break content into digestible chunks with clear visual hierarchy that guides readers through your narrative
Strategic Color Use
Use color psychology – red for problems, green for results, blue for process – to create emotional responses
CTA Placement
Position calls-to-action after proving value, not as afterthoughts at the bottom of the page
The transformation was immediate and measurable. Within 30 days of implementing the new typography and layout approach, the agency saw a 340% increase in contact form submissions from their case study pages.
More importantly, the quality of inquiries improved dramatically. Instead of generic "tell me more" messages, they were getting specific questions about methodology and requests for proposals. Prospects were clearly reading and understanding the business value.
The average time on page increased from 47 seconds to 3 minutes and 12 seconds. Heat mapping showed that people were now reading the entire case study instead of just skimming.
But here's the most interesting result: the agency started closing deals faster. When prospects had already absorbed the case study content before the sales call, the conversations were more informed and decision-making was accelerated.
One case study in particular – about a SaaS client they'd helped achieve 300% growth – generated 23 qualified leads in its first two months. The previous version of the same case study had generated 2 leads in six months.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the seven key lessons I learned from completely restructuring agency case study design:
Prospects scan before they read – If your layout doesn't support scanning, you've lost them in the first 10 seconds
Numbers need space to breathe – Cramped metrics don't feel impressive, even when they are
Problem-first narratives convert better – Start with pain points, not process descriptions
System fonts outperform custom fonts – Readability trumps uniqueness every time for business content
Color guides emotion – Strategic color use can double the impact of your content
Mobile-first layout is non-negotiable – 60% of B2B decision makers read case studies on their phones
CTAs work best after proof – Don't ask for the meeting until you've demonstrated the value
The biggest mindset shift? Stop optimizing for design awards and start optimizing for business conversations. Your case studies should sell, not just showcase.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
Lead with trial-to-paid conversion metrics in headlines
Use product screenshots sparingly – focus on business outcomes
Highlight customer acquisition cost improvements prominently
Include timeline to results for SaaS sales cycles
For your Ecommerce store
Emphasize revenue per visitor and conversion rate improvements
Show before/after product page layouts when relevant
Feature seasonal campaign results prominently
Include mobile conversion metrics separately