Company
Date Published
Author
Jane Callahan
Word count
2911
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

There's a new help desk app in town: it's called Groove. The company started publishing stories about their path to success, attracting readers from all over the world, many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves. Today, more than 30,000 people visit the blog each week, helping attract 3,000 paying customers in just two years. The team has trended towards total transparency, writing about failures as well as successes on their journey to earning their first $100,000 then $500,000 in monthly revenue. They expect some complaints about the product, but have been pleasantly surprised by the positive comments from readers. Groove's marketing strategist attributes this to the fact that they put their whole self out there, being honest and vulnerable. The company believes that brand journalism is the future of marketing, where companies use in-depth articles to tell a story about their brand. They've built their company on the blog, with around 65% of new business coming directly from it. Groove's approach to writing quality content consistently involves brainstorming ideas from all over, planning an editorial calendar two months in advance, and having everyone on the team offer input. The team has turned their idea-to-post process into a well-oiled machine, with more than 100 ideas waiting. Every post should solve a problem for the reader, otherwise it's a path to no one caring. Groove's blog has attracted many reader-turned-customer success stories, including Proposify founder and CEO Kyle Racki. The company's unique approach, tons of ideas offering readers value, and smooth editorial process are key elements that can be learned from their stand-out blog. Good writing is at the core of it all, with reading being a crucial part in improving writing skills.