The Template for Success: How Miro Uses Free Templates to Drive Growth

Happy Thursday!?

In this week’s newsletter, we cover:?

• ?? The Template for Success: How Miro Grows Using Templates
• ?? Writer’s Checklist for Evaluating Generative AI Vendors
• ?? What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week?
• ?? A Distribution Master Class with Conversion Cast
• ?? This Week’s Brain Food?
• ? The Best Content Across the Web?

Let’s get into it.

B2B MARKETING STRATEGY

The Template for Success: How Miro Grows Using Templates

If you’ve been following us for the past few years, you know we’re big fans of Miro at Foundation. The company’s journey from its early days as RealtimeBoard to becoming the leader of a $17.5-billion industry involved a successful rebrand and masterful product-led growth. But there’s a key ingredient to this success that we haven’t covered yet:?

Miro’s masterful use of templates.?

Our very own Chris Meabe recently chronicled the Miro team’s strategy of transforming each template into an informative article. Not only is this tactic a great value add for freemium users and potential customers, but it also boosts SEO, engages users, and enhances overall digital marketing effectiveness.?

The customer journey map template alone brings in 1,600 organic visits a month while saving the company $8,400 in paid ads and ranking for over 1,000 keywords.?

In addition to the deep dive on how content-rich templates drive organic success, Chris also explores how Miro builds off of its template for success by:?

• Focusing on template-related keywords to establish its authority in the domain and capture valuable SERP real estate
• Embedding clear, compelling CTAs in each template to make the lead-capture process more effective and user-friendly
• Expanding its template library by encouraging enthusiastic users to contribute their own templates to the Miroverse

This insightful case study is a must-read for SaaS brands looking to build their online presence with user- and SERP-friendly content. You can check out the full case study on the Foundation Labs page.?

Oh, and if you’re not an Insider yet, do yourself a favor and sign up today!

?? Learn How to Create Like the Greats ??

Looking to build out your company’s content marketing and distribution engine? Interested in learning how leading brands like Loom, Toast, and Calm create winning content? Or just want to hear conversations with the likes of Tamara Dworetz, Dave Gerhardt, and Dr. Julie Gurner?

Have we got the podcast for you.?

In Create Like the Greats, Foundation CEO Ross Simmonds discusses marketing, the creative process, life, and everything in between. Here are some of the most recent episodes you can catch up on:?

• How Ross prepares for a big keynote presentation?
• Debating the value of long-form vs. short-form content
• How Ross successfully maximized his time on a 48-hour trip to New York
• Marketing frameworks, mental models, AARRR pirate metrics, and B2B buyer journeys

Kickstart your creative journey today by checking out the podcast on the Foundation website or listening through Apple and Spotify!

B2B SAAS INSIGHTS

Writer’s Checklist for Evaluating Generative AI Vendors

There are few things taking up more space in the C-suite thought process than generative AI. Navigating the arms race in a rapidly growing, dynamic industry like AI is no easy feat. While much of the focus is on how to use these platforms, not as much goes into determining which tools to use.?

The strategic selection of Large Language Model (LLM) and generative AI vendors is more than just a business decision—it’s a move that could define the future trajectory of your enterprise. In this context, understanding the nuances and critical aspects of this selection process becomes not just beneficial but imperative for staying competitive and innovative.

The team over at Writer, with an AI offering of their own, have a lot of experience dealing with (and hearing from) enterprise executives on this topic. They recently released a blog post that outlines how decision-makers should evaluate LLM and generative AI vendors and make a choice that aligns with enterprise-level requirements.?

It even includes a checklist with key questions to help you during the evaluation process, covering everything from integrating with enterprise architecture to legal and regulatory compliance of outputs:

• Is the technology behind the LLM open source or proprietary?
• What computing resources are required to deploy the model, and does the vendor provide hosting services?
• How does the vendor handle customer data? Is it used to train or fine-tune models??
• Is the product compliant with consumer security and privacy standards like SOC2, HIPAA, and GDPR?
• Can the product scale performance to handle enterprise demands and data sets?

For a full understanding of how you can evaluate AI vendors, read the full article on Writer and download the checklist.

Become a Foundation Insider today to access the full BRICK report, which covers exclusive B2B SaaS growth, SEO, content case studies, and other resources.?

The BRICK report is a goldmine for C-suite executives and marketers. We cover critical issues such as the importance of product vs. brand, the impact of social media channels on revenue, and the relationship between blog posts and traffic. The full report is only available to Lab Insiders.

With a membership, you’ll also get access to some of our latest and greatest case studies:

• How Miro Turned the Whiteboard into a $17.5-Billion Valuation?
• The Future of Digital Marketing—2024 and Beyond?
• How Linktree Became Worth $1.3 Billion [A Product-Led Marketing Case Study]?
• How 5 Simple Words Pushed Figma to a $20B Acquisition

Become an Insider today to get full access.?

?? What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week?

?? Google launches its latest LLM AI model, Gemini, and claims it outperforms GPT4 across a number of performance benchmarks

?? Velt, a startup backed by Y Combinator, raises over $2 million in seed money to make more collaborative apps?

??? Nvidia- and Google-backed video AI platform Runway ML partners with Getty Images, targets Hollywood and major advertisers?

?? Data storage platform Vast Data raises $118 million Series E to help companies handle increased AI workloads

?? Traffic & Conversion Summit 2024 ??

Better get those 2024 calendars out because your January just got busier. You can ring in the New Year with Ross and a panel of amazing speakers—including Sir Richard Branson—at the Traffic & Conversion Summit from January 9th to 11th, 2024. The event will be full of can’t-miss insights from experts on the most pressing topics of digital marketing, including:?

• The high-ROI, low-CPA channels you need to target?
• Improving acquisition and retention rates with customer-centric marketing
• The results from thousands of A/B tests on landing pages, emails, and social posts
• Unlocking a new level of productivity by producing high-quality AI-generated content

So, what are you waiting for?!

Get your tickets for the Traffic & Conversion Summit 2024 before it’s too late!

?? This Week’s Brain Food

We have about three and a half weeks left in 2023. People are busy trying to wrap up projects before the holidays or get a head start on the new year. And that’s just on the professional side—there are also social events, shopping (so much shopping), and personal planning that goes on this time of year as well.?

With that in mind, I think it’s the perfect time to take a momentary pause. Breathe. Relax. (Or not, that’s cool too.)

In the relentless pursuit of progress and growth, we often forget the importance of stepping back, digesting our experiences, and recharging. Remember—there’s lots of time for growth hacking and self-optimization. Those Andrew Huberman podcast episodes will be right there when you’re ready to dive back in. But for now, give yourself permission to relax and reflect.?

Unlike those EOD or EOW deadlines, EOY doesn’t have to be a mad scramble. Enjoy it.?

?? X Post of the Week

Google releases Gemini—there’s no turning back now By Linus Ekenstam

??? LinkedIn Post of the Week

The AI competition is really about the cloud and chips by Conor Grennan

???? Nice Finds You Should Binge

• YouTube Search Engine Optimization: What Is It and How to Do It??
• The copyright case against AI art generators just got stronger
• Generative AI Trends for Marketers and Creatives Going into 2024
• Spotify Is Screwed
• OpenAI Cofounder Reid Hoffman Gives Sam Altman a Vote of Confidence

?? What We’re Wired Into This Week:

Post Malone: Tiny Desk Concert