dragoon0x case-study-writing
a case study is proof, structured. its job is to give a future customer reason to believe the same outcome is possible for them.
inputs you need
before writing, gather:
- customer name, industry, company size
- the specific situation before they adopted the product (what was the pain, with numbers if possible)
- what they tried first and why it fell short
- how they found you and what made them switch
- what implementation actually looked like (timing, who was involved, what was hard)
- the outcome (specific metrics, time frame, who benefited)
- one or two quotes from real humans on the customer side, approved for use
if any of these are missing, gather them before writing. case studies without specifics are testimonials with extra steps.
the structure
title
specific. claim + brand. avoid superlatives.
- bad: "transforming the future of work with [product]"
- good: "how [customer] cut their billing close from 12 days to 3 with [product]"
opening (1-2 short paragraphs)
who the customer is, what they were up against. don't open with the brand. open with the customer's situation.
before
the specific bottleneck. numbers when you have them. what made the work painful.
example: "the finance team spent 12 days closing the books each month. by the time numbers were ready, the quarter was a third over. leadership made decisions on stale data."
the switch
why they chose this product over alternatives. what convinced them. include the alternatives they considered.
the work
implementation. the messy middle. acknowledge what was hard and how they got through it. this is the part most case studies skip and it's the part that makes the rest believable.
the outcome
specific results. time frame. who benefited. quantified where possible.
example: "within 90 days, their monthly close dropped to 3 days. the finance team got their evenings back. the cfo now reviews results before the first board call of the month, not after."
the quote
one strong human voice. specific. attributed.
- bad: "[product] has transformed how we work."
- good: "we used to dread the second week of every month. now i'm planning the next quarter instead of chasing last quarter's spreadsheets." — name, title
what's next
one line about how the relationship is evolving. what they're trying next.
the rules
- numbers do the work that adjectives can't
- name names (people, teams, tools the customer replaced)
- include the friction, not just the wins
- read it aloud — does it sound like a marketing piece or a story?
- check every claim with the customer before publishing
output
a single markdown case study, 500-1200 words depending on the depth of the story. include:
title
dek (subhead, one sentence)
opening (1-2 short paragraphs)
before (1-2 paragraphs)
the switch (1 paragraph)
the work (1-2 paragraphs)
the outcome (1-2 paragraphs)
quote
what's next (1-2 sentences)
pull-out box: results at a glance (3-5 bullet points with the most important metrics)
what to avoid
- "transformed", "revolutionized", "game-changing"
- vague results ("significant improvement", "increased efficiency")
- the implementation being described as effortless (no one believes it)
- quotes that sound written by marketing
- mentioning the product in every sentence
- making the customer sound like they had no agency