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Welcome to Volume 111
Here’s what’s to come:
- Evernote is getting acquired
- Your content calendar is not a strategy
- And more…
Let’s dive in.
SAAS ACQUISITION
Evernote is getting acquired!
Early this week, Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Evernote for an undisclosed amount. Evernote plans to leverage Bending Spoon’s “proven expertise and wide range of proprietary technologies” to improve its product for users.
The 22-year-old note-taking and task management software has had a roller coaster journey. When it first launched in 2000, the company made handwriting recognition software for Windows.
Eight years later, Evernote expanded to the web, Mac, and smartphones. Here’s what the user growth looked like between 2009-2017:
Between 2015 and 2018, the tides turned for the brand.
Evernote had to lay off staff and shut down 3 out of its 10 offices worldwide. It became even more difficult to keep up, especially with Notion on the scene.
As a result, Evernote’s market dominance waned, especially because Notion was more than a note-taking app. Notion’s freemium version also wasn’t as restrictive as Evernote’s. That’s why it dominates the collaboration and productivity tools market.
So what does this mean for Bending Spoons?
The Italian technology company gains Evernote’s paying customers. As of 10 years ago, they had 1.4 million users, and 220 million users in 2017. As of right now, it’s hard to tell how many users they have, as there is no new information.
The acquisition seems like a win for Evernote, especially since Bending Spoons has some successful apps that have gained up to 100 million users. Perhaps, the company can use its expertise and tools to improve Evernote and restore it to its glory days.
The deal will be completed in early 2023. Until then, let’s keep our fingers crossed.
B2B OPINION
Your content calendar is not a strategy
What’s one trap most marketers fall into every year?
Living and dying by their content calendar and calling it a strategy.
While a content calendar is super handy for planning and scheduling content pieces way in advance, it is not a content strategy.
Your content strategy is a roadmap that shows how you plan to generate demand and increase sales of your SaaS products. It includes existing content audit, target audience and competitor research, keyword analysis, creation and distribution plans.
A solid content strategy goes beyond blog posts, white papers, infographics, case studies, and reports. It also includes free tools your audience is looking for. Shopify’s free toolkit attracts more than 2 million people every year. API documentation is another content marketing gold for SaaS brands.
If you missed Ross’ last email that breaks down how to create a strategy that scales, you should read it here. Also, send it to your content team 😉.
Want to sponsor our next issue? Reply directly to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS founders and marketers today.
B2B NEWS OF THE WEEK YOU SHOULD KNOW:
- Twitter alternative, Hive, has hit 1 million users since Elon’s takeover.
- HubSpot is moving away from API keys. Here’s what you need to know.
- Buffer is testing a feature that will allow for Twitter thread scheduling.
BRAIN FOOD OF THE WEEK:
What do you do when you join a company with no formal onboarding process?
You onboard yourself 😉.
You shouldn’t wait for information to trickle down. Instead take charge of the process. That’s how you set up for success from the get-go.
Maven’s cofounder Wes Kao shares six ways to self-onboard:
- Be proactive and self-directed. Ask questions to get access to the information you need to start contributing to the company’s success.
- Bring a fresh perspective to the company by sharing your observations
- Show up to meetings prepared with a solid idea of what you want to accomplish
- Assume you’ll be asked to make recommendations, so you should identify the biggest gaps at the moment, how you can fill them, and what the company should start/stop/continue doing.
- Assume you’ll lead a meeting and always show up prepared
- Identify the kind of decisions you’ll need to make in your role
Following these principles will help you start your new role confidently, show your value to the company, and make an immediate positive impact on the team.
TWITTER THREAD OF THE WEEK:
13 learnings every marketer should know to improve their conversion rate in 5 min by Alex Garcia
NICE FINDS YOU SHOULD BINGE
- How to Survive in a Competitive Market with Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund and Divvy CRO, Sterling Snow
- Blog Distribution Strategies for Growth
WHAT WE’RE WIRED INTO THIS WEEK 🎧:
This charcuterie board of insights is brought to you by me, Jessica Tee O. ✌🏾!
