How NOT to write a case study

From Reads to Leads is a newsletter for writers who want more. It's about marketing. Strategy. Positioning. Operations. Results. And yes, it talks about writing too. But through a marketing lens. If this was sent to you, subscribe here so you don't miss the next email.

In today's newsletter:

• That case study was a disaster
• 3 tips on what not to do when writing a case study
• Draw your outline
• Want a template?

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It's a disaster

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One of my clients is about to start an outbound sales campaign for AI development services. For it to work, they need a landing page with an offer, an ICP, and a couple of case studies showcasing how they helped their clients build AI-powered products. 

They have none of that ready. Except, they have a case study. 

My team and I had just revamped their positioning a week ago. So when I heard they had a case study done, I jumped in:

"Send it over. I’ll review it and make sure it aligns with our messaging."

A Google Doc lands in my inbox. I open it.

It’s a disaster.

I message the team: “Guys… what exactly are you hoping to sell with this?”

We hop on a call. That case study is a no-go.

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I know exactly how that case study flopped

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The writer had a call with the tech team and asked the usual questions: What problem did you solve? What challenges did you face? What tech did you use? The team answered. In their typical, hard-to-understand, deeply technical, chaotic way, with no business angle.

And that was it. No follow-up questions. No “stupid” questions either. Because, of course, no one wants to admit they don’t understand a thing about multi-modality.

They finished the call without a case study. They didn’t understand shit about the project. So they relied on ChatGPT to understand it for them. It did a bad job, obviously.

Then, to disguise their poor job, they turned the case study into a long-winded article, sprinkled some code snippets for “expert” vibes, and wrote a generic intro:

"When implemented correctly, artificial intelligence can help businesses achieve great results."

No wonder the team didn’t bother reading it. I’d have to pay you to get through it.

So, if you don’t want to write a case study that’s dead on arrival, here are a few tips on what not to do...

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How NOT to write a case study

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Mistake #1: Walking away without a case study

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Don’t leave the call until you understand these three things:

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1. Client's business challenge

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What was happening in the client’s company that made them realize they needed a solution? Not just what they bought from you but why they needed it.

Did they scale from 30 to 100 vehicles overnight and suddenly need a way to manage their fleet?

Did they just hire a new CIO who secured stakeholder buy-in and now needs to deliver a digital transformation project in three months?

This is the foundation of your case study. 

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2. The result

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Your result needs to connect to the business challenge. If those two don’t align, you don’t have a case study.

If the challenge was fleet management, the result may sound like this:
[Client Name] Saved X Hours Per Week Managing Their Fleet or [Client Name] Cut $X in Fleet Management Costs.

If the challenge was delivering a high-stakes digital transformation project, the result may sound like this:
[Client Name] Shipped a High Stakes Project in Just 3 Months

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3. The solution

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This is how you got them from the challenge to the result. Every feature, approach, or tech stack you mention should tie back to the problem.

For example, your solution might be:

Introduced a fleet management system with real-time tracking, job monitoring, and performance reports.

Built an AI-powered PoC in three months, achieving an optimal balance between cost, time, and business value.

If you don’t have these three things locked down, you’re not ready to write. Keep asking questions until the story is clear.

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Mistake #2: Transcribing the call and expecting AI to fix it

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This is what writers do when they don’t really understand the subject matter. They dump a conversation into a doc, clean it up a little, and then hope ChatGPT will magically turn it into a case study.

It won’t.

A case study needs clarity. If you don’t understand what you’re writing about, neither will your audience.

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Mistake #3: Being long and fuzzy

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A case study isn’t the place for long copy. Keep it short, sharp, and easy to scan. Your prospects don’t have time to wade through fluff. They want quick proof that you can solve their problem.

• Write for decision-makers who need evidence, not doers looking for step-by-step details. If your ICP is a doer, save the deep dive for a blog post.
• Stick to the three-act structure – problem, solution, result. A case study isn’t an article. It’s not a landing page. It’s a structured story with headings to help make your point.
• Make it skimmable. Use bullet points, subheadings, and bold text to make key takeaways pop. If someone can’t get the idea in 30 seconds, it’s too long.

We wrote a piece about how to write a case study for Zmist & Copy. You can check it out here: How to write case studies 

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When in doubt, draw it out

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If you're struggling to connect the dots, don't just stare at a blank screen. Sometimes, the best way to organize your ideas is visually.

Draw it out.

Use tools like Figma to map out the structure. Visualizing the flow between the business challenge, solution, and result can help you see the gaps and make the story clearer.

Like this:

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Grab a template

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I have one for case studies. 

If you want to structure your case study properly, here is a doc with the problem, solution, and result. I also added optional elements like CTAs, customer quotes, and project highlights. Customize it to fit your needs ↓

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Access the template here → https://www.zmistandcopy.com/templates/case-study-template 

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See you next week

We’re going to rewrite that case study I told you about at the beginning of this newsletter. I’ll share the results with you in my next newsletter.

Want to see it?

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Kate

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P.S. If we aren't connected already, follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you like this newsletter, please refer your friends.

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P.P.S. Need a hand with content? Fix your mediocrity problem with Zmist & Copy

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