Amelia Ibarra, SaaStr’s SVP and GM, did a great deep dive with Alyce on the future of content and events post-Covid.
Take a listen here if you do content, marketing and/or events:
A few key learnings for us at least:
- Great content is a lot of work. A lot of work. SaaStr has to say a nice “No” to every public company CEO if they aren’t able to meet our standards in terms of content and inclusion. We have a 6 person, cross-functional team that works on every single session, digital or IRL.
- SaaStr content started so strong at 2015 Annual (the first one), that most everyone now “gets it”. The first speakers included Stewart Butterfield, David Sacks, Aaron Levie, and other “stars of SaaS”. It got easier to attract more stars thereafter.
- Go where your audience is. SaaStr has tried many events platforms (and we appreciate our partners there), but the majority of our community still wants to watch content on social media.
- Know your audience — and their and your core values. SaaStr’s content North Star rules out a lot of types of content, but the benefit is everyone knows the goal: help the next generation. Without it, the experience will be lackluster.
- Know your “North Star” metrics. And have 1 for every functional area. Even content has KPIs and a North Star, too. Everyone at SaaStr has a quantitative goal, and it informs everyone’s decisions. Does it help the goal — or not?
- Marketer turnover is tough on orgs, but they bring you to their next startup. Marketers have short stints at many SaaS companies. But if you make them happy, they’ll bring you into their next company.
