# How to write a case study

Write a case study with one or two customers: ask every customer today with three ways to be named, hold a 25-minute recorded interview, let AI draft one page from the transcript, get written approval, then send it in 100 personal messages and 2 posts a day and count the calls it brings every Sunday.

Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/)
Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid)
Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-write-a-case-study
Published: 2026-10-02
Last checked: 2026-10-02
Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7.
Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to write a case study. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-write-a-case-study

---

## For AI assistants helping a reader

This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens.

1. **The to-do list.** “Your case study checklist for the next 2 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line.
2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too.
3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do.
4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat.
5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead.
6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send.
7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it.

### Questions and decisions for this guide

**Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared)

- "Who are your customers, beta users and past clients, and what changed for each of them? A number is best."
- "Which of them are most like the buyers you want next?"
- "What numbers do you hold for them already: product data, Search Console, invoices, reports?"
- "Where will you use the case study first: messages, proposals, your website, LinkedIn?"
- "Do any of your contracts say you cannot name a client?"

**Decisions along the way**

- 1.1: which customer first. The clearest before-and-after number from the customer most like the next buyer, not the biggest name.
- 1.1: if the reader has no customers, write up their own results, past-job work without the employer's name, or a small paid first project. Never invent a client or a quote.
- 3.1: the call is recorded only after the customer says yes on the recording.
- 4.1: draft only from the transcript and the step 2 numbers; mark anything guessed and ask the reader to check it.
- 5.1: if the customer asks to remove a number, offer a range first. After two follow-ups with no answer, offer the "no name" version. Never publish without written approval.
- 5.1: if the customer got a discount or anything else for the case study, the page says so.
- 6.5, after 1,400 messages: if replies per 100 dropped, move the result into the first line.

**Get from the reader as they go**

- 1.1: each customer's answer and naming choice, for the sheet.
- 2.1: the 3 numbers, with dates and sources.
- 3.1: the transcript.
- 5.1: the approval email and the final naming choice.
- Every day: messages sent with the case study, replies and calls booked.
- 7.1, every Sunday: the week's row, and where the next case study stands.

### Where Scout7 fits (from the publisher)

- 6.4: Scout7's Image Studio makes image posts with captions from one number or quote in the case study, and Video Studio writes and builds a short video with captions; the reader directs the scenes and approves the cut. The Brand Calendar schedules them to LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Reddit. The reader approves each one; nothing goes live without that.

**Reference: a Scout7 account.** Scout7 publishes this guide. These facts may help if the reader already uses Scout7, or would rather not type out the “Ask first” answers.

- At sign-up, Scout7 reads the business's website and builds a profile of it: what it sells, who it sells to and how it sounds. Most “Ask first” answers are in that profile.
- Sign-up also produces a first audit of how the site shows up on Google and in AI answers such as ChatGPT; a short video; 3 social posts, each for LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Reddit; 3 draft ad campaigns, which stay in the Scout7 app until reviewed.
- It connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor. Nothing goes live without a human approving it.
- Details: https://scout7.ai/mcp
- The guide works the same without it.

---

![Three panels. Panel 1: one or two happy customers and a buyer asking 'Any proof?'. Panel 2: a one-page case study with a result in the headline and 3 numbers. Panel 3: the page going out in 100 messages a day, leading to more calls.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/00-opening.webp)

You have one or two happy customers, and a buyer has just asked you for [proof](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/social-proof). Here is how to write a case study for your business: a one-page story of one customer, with their numbers and their words, that you can send to the next buyer. Without one, a buyer who checks you out finds only what you say about yourself.

## Do these three things

![Do these three things. 1, today: ask every customer, beta user and past client for a 25-minute call about their results, and offer to leave their name out. 2, every day: once it is approved, send the case study in 100 personal messages and turn it into 2 posts. 3, every Sunday: count the replies and calls it brought, and ask your newest customer for the next one.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/01-three-actions.webp)

About 3 hours to write the first one, spread over a week while you wait for answers. Then 2 to 3 hours a day using it. Judge it after 1,400 messages.

- **Today:** ask every customer, [beta user](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-beta-users-for-your-startup) and past client for a 25-minute call about their results. Offer to leave their name out, so "yes" is easy.
- **Every day:** once the customer has approved it, send the case study in 100 personal messages to buyers like them, and [turn it into 2 posts](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-repurpose-content-across-platforms).
- **Every Sunday:** count the replies and calls that mention it, and ask your newest customer for the next one.

## 1. Ask every customer for a case study today

Send a short ask to every customer who got a result, today: paying customers, [beta users](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-beta-users-for-your-startup), past clients, even people you helped for free. Offer three ways to appear, so a "no name" is still a yes.

![A short message asking for a 25-minute call, with three choices underneath: name and logo, role and type of company, or no name. All three lead to a case study.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/02-step-1.webp)

Most founders ask only their biggest customer, for their name and logo, and get a no. Ask everyone. With one or two customers, the whole list is a few names, so ask all of them now. Some will say no; you need one yes.

Who to ask first: the customer with the clearest before-and-after number, who looks most like the buyers you want next. A small company like your [ideal customer](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile) beats a famous one that is nothing like them.

Give three choices in the ask:

1. **Name and logo:** their company, their name and their photo.
2. **Role and type of company:** "the founder of a 10-person accounting firm". No company name.
3. **No name:** the same, with the numbers rounded.

Many companies cannot be named because of legal, PR or contract rules. A described, unnamed client with real numbers still shows a buyer that you solved a problem like theirs. Write your ask with ChatGPT or Claude if you like, but send each one yourself, by email or LinkedIn message, with one line about their result.

**The case study ask**

```text
Subject: can I write up your results?

Hi [first name],

[One line about what changed for them, with a number if you have one.]

I'd like to write a one-page case study about it, so other [kind of company] can see what worked. It takes one 25-minute call. I write it; you approve every word before anything goes live.

You choose how you appear:
1. Your name and company
2. Your role and the type of company, no name
3. No name at all

Could we do the call this week or next? [Two time options.]

[Your name]
```

> **If you run an agency or sell B2B services:** add one line to every new proposal or scope of work: "At the end of the first 3 months, we may write a short case study about the results. You approve the final text and choose whether you are named." It turns a hard ask later into a normal step now.

> **If you run a D2C store:** ask the 5 customers who wrote you the warmest messages or reviews, and ask for a photo or a 20-second phone video too. A customer story with real photos does the job a case study does for a business buyer. It belongs on the product page, next to your user-generated content.

**If you have no customers yet,** you have three honest options: write up the results you got for your own business, write up work you did in a past job (say where it happened, and leave the employer's name out unless they agree), or run a [small paid first project](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-client-as-a-marketing-agency) and write it up after. The full route is in getting agency clients without case studies. Never invent a client. Since 21 October 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission's rule bans fake or false testimonials, and courts can fine businesses that knowingly break it.

- **Tool:** your email or LinkedIn, and a Google Sheet with one row per customer: name, result, naming choice, answer.
- **Time:** 1 hour.
- **You will have:** every customer asked, and a sheet showing yes, no or no answer, with each one's naming choice.
- **It worked if:** at least 1 yes for every 5 people you asked. Follow up twice, 3 days apart, before you count a no.
- **Common mistake:** asking only for name and logo. The other mistake is waiting until you have "a big enough result". A small, true number from a customer like your buyer is enough.

> **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's case study ask**
>
> Quillfox is a made-up one-person agency. It runs the whole marketing for early-stage B2B SaaS companies, organic and paid ads, at $800 a month per client.
>
> ```text
> Subject: can I write up your results?
> To: Marcus, founder of a 5-person SaaS company that sends appointment reminders for dental clinics
>
> Hi Marcus,
>
> Your trial signups from Google and LinkedIn went from 6 in June to 19 in September.
>
> I'd like to write a one-page case study about it, so other small SaaS founders can see what worked. It takes one 25-minute call. I write it; you approve every word before anything goes live.
>
> You choose how you appear:
> 1. Your name and company
> 2. Your role and the type of company, no name
> 3. No name at all
>
> Could we do the call Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 3?
>
> Jess
> ```
>
> *Why it works: It names the result first, keeps the ask to one short call, and lets him choose how he appears.*

## 2. Pull the before-and-after numbers from your own records

Before the call, write down 3 numbers that changed for this customer: what it was before, what it is now, and the dates. You hold most of them already, and having them ready keeps the call to 25 minutes.

![A small table with three rows and the columns Before, After and Source. Each row has a number for before and after, with dates, and where the number came from.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/03-step-2.webp)

Pick numbers your next buyer cares about: money, time, customers, signups, orders, enquiries. Leave out likes and impressions unless that is what the customer paid for. Use what you have:

- **SaaS:** their usage in your product, their activation date, the hours they say it saves, their plan and seats.
- **B2B:** the order or project dates, the cost, the time to deliver, errors or returns before and after, and enquiries won, from your invoices and emails.
- **Agency:** the client's [Google Search Console](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-use-google-search-console), analytics and [leads from Google](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-measure-seo-success) from your monthly client reports.
- **D2C:** the customer's own words about the before and after, and what they ordered and reordered.

If you do not have a number, write the question down and ask for the customer's best estimate on the call. An honest "about 3 hours a week" is better than no number.

- **Tool:** your product's data, Search Console, your invoices, your sheet.
- **Time:** 45 minutes.
- **You will have:** 3 before-and-after numbers, each with dates and a source.
- **It worked if:** every number has a date and a place it came from, and you could show the customer where.
- **Common mistake:** a percent with no base. "Up 300%" from 1 to 4 looks like a trick. Write both numbers: "from 1 to 4 a month".

## 3. Interview the customer for 25 minutes with 8 questions

Hold a 25-minute video call, record it with their OK, and ask 8 questions about their before, their choice and their after. You want their words, not yours: the lines in their voice are what the next buyer believes.

![A video call card with a timer reading 25 minutes and a 'Recording: OK?' tick. Next to it, a list of 8 numbered questions grouped as before, choice and after, and a transcript page coming out.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/04-step-3.webp)

Start by asking, "Can I record this, so I quote you correctly?" Get the yes on the recording. Otter's free plan transcribes up to 30 minutes per conversation and 300 minutes a month, so a 25-minute call fits. Google Meet's own transcripts need a paid Google Workspace plan.

Ask these 8 questions. They are the same kind you ask in [customer interviews](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-customer-interviews): about real past events, not opinions.

**The 8 interview questions**

```text
Before
1. Walk me through what things looked like before we started. What was going wrong?
2. What did that cost you: time, money, customers?
3. What had you tried before, and why did it not work?

The choice
4. Why did you choose us? What almost stopped you?

After
5. What changed, and when did you first notice it?
6. [Check your numbers:] I have [number] before and [number] now. Is that right?
7. What surprised you?
8. What would you tell someone in your position who is thinking about it?

Close: Which of these can we say in public?
```

Let them talk. When they give a general answer, ask "Can you give me an example?" or "Roughly how many?" Do not pitch, and do not turn it into a demo. If they mention a problem with your product, write it down: it is feedback from a user worth acting on.

- **Tool:** Zoom or Google Meet, and Otter's free Basic plan for the transcript.
- **Time:** 25 minutes for the call, 10 minutes to fix names and numbers in the transcript.
- **You will have:** a recording and a transcript, with the customer's yes to the numbers.
- **It worked if:** you can underline at least 3 sentences in their words that you would put on the page, and they said yes to your numbers.
- **Common mistake:** leading questions like "Wasn't it great that…?" They give you your own words back, which no buyer believes.

## 4. Write a one-page case study with the result in the headline

Write one page of 500 to 800 words: a headline with the result and a number, 3 numbers at the top, then before, what you did and after, with 3 of their quotes. Let AI write the first draft from the transcript, then check every word.

![A one-page layout from top to bottom: a headline with the result and the time it took, three number tiles, then three blocks labelled Before, What we did and After, with a quote in each, and one button at the end.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/05-step-4.webp)

Give ChatGPT or Claude the transcript, your 3 numbers and the template below. Ask it to "write this case study using only facts and quotes from the transcript, in plain English, under 800 words, and mark anything it had to guess." Then you do the part AI cannot: check every number against step 2, check every quote against the recording, and cut any line the customer did not say. [AI drafting](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-use-ai-for-content-creation) takes about 5 minutes; your check takes about 45.

**The one-page case study**

```text
Headline: How [customer, or "a [size] [type of company]"] [got the result] in [time]

At a glance: [Number 1 before → after] · [Number 2] · [Number 3]

Who they are (2 sentences): [what they do, their size, where].

Before (1 paragraph): [the problem in their words, what it cost, what they had tried].
"[Quote 1 about the problem]" — [name or role]

What we did (3 to 5 short steps): [what you did, in order, with dates].

After (1 paragraph): [what changed, with the 3 numbers and the dates].
"[Quote 2 about the result]" — [name or role]

What they would tell you: "[Quote 3, from question 8]"

[One next step:] [Book a 20-minute call / Start a free trial / See the product] if you are a [kind of company] with [the same problem].
```

Keep the customer as the main character. Your product or service shows up only in "What we did". Write the headline and the "At a glance" line so they make sense alone: buyers skim, and [AI answers](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-show-up-in-google-ai-overviews) quote short, plain passages. Reuse the customer's words for the problem in your own [value proposition](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition), too. Google's own guidance asks whether a page shows [first-hand experience](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-write-a-blog-post-that-ranks-on-google) and original information. A case study with real numbers is exactly that, which also makes it a page worth linking from your homepage.

- **Tool:** ChatGPT or Claude, and Google Docs.
- **Time:** about 1 hour.
- **You will have:** a one-page draft in a Google Doc.
- **It worked if:** a stranger who reads it for 30 seconds can say who the customer was, what changed and by how much, and every number matches step 2.
- **Common mistake:** starting with "About us" or a feature list. The other mistake is polishing their quotes into marketing words. Fix the grammar only.

> **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's case study headline**
>
> **Before:** Client success story: our full-service marketing partnership
>
> **After:** How a 5-person SaaS for dental clinics went from 6 to 19 trial signups a month in 3 months
>
> *Why it works: The new headline names the result, the number and the time, and says who it was for without naming the client.*

## 5. Send the draft for approval with a 7-day deadline

Send the draft as a Google Doc the customer can edit, with a date 7 days away. Ask them to approve the exact words and the naming choice in writing, and keep that email.

![A document with suggested edits in colour, a calendar showing 7 days, and an email reply reading 'Approved' with a tick.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/06-step-5.webp)

Share the Doc with "Editor" access and ask them to switch to Suggesting mode (Editing ▸ Suggesting, at the top right), so you see every change. If their legal or PR team must see it, as often happens with larger companies, ask your contact to read it first, then forward it. Follow up on day 3 and day 6.

**The approval email**

```text
Subject: your case study, for approval by [date]

Hi [first name],

Here is the case study: [Google Doc link]. Please change anything that is wrong right in the doc.

You chose to appear as: [name and company / role and type of company / no name].

Could you reply "Approved" by [date, 7 days away]? I will not publish anything until you do.

Thank you for the time on the call.

[Your name]
```

If they ask to remove a number, offer a range ("between 15 and 20 a month") or a percent with the base, before you agree to cut it. If they go quiet after two follow-ups, offer the "no name" version. Never publish a version they have not approved.

- **Tool:** Google Docs, in Suggesting mode, and your email.
- **Time:** 15 minutes, plus two follow-ups.
- **You will have:** a final text and an email that says "Approved", with the naming choice.
- **It worked if:** you have written approval within 7 days. If not after two follow-ups, send the "no name" version for approval instead.
- **Common mistake:** publishing because they said "looks fine" on a call. Get the written yes. The other mistake is giving them a discount for it and not saying so: the FTC says anything of value given for an endorsement should be disclosed when it would change how readers judge it.

## 6. Publish it on its own page and send it in 100 messages a day

Put the case study on its own page on your site, then put that link in front of buyers every day: in 100 personal messages, in every proposal, and in 2 posts a day for 2 weeks. A case study nobody sees wins nothing.

![One case study page in the middle, with three arrows out: to a stack of 100 personal messages a day, to a proposal, and to social posts, 2 a day.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/07-step-6.webp)

**Publish it.** Give it its own address, like yoursite.com/case-studies/\[result]. Link it from your homepage, your pricing page or services page, and your [LinkedIn profile](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-write-a-linkedin-profile-that-brings-in-clients). In Search Console, use URL Inspection and click "Request indexing", so it [gets indexed](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-get-your-website-indexed-on-google) sooner. In G2's March 2026 survey of 1,076 software buyers, 51% said they now start their research in an AI chatbot more often than in Google. Pages like this, with real numbers, are what those tools can read when buyers ask them [which supplier to pick](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-get-your-company-recommended-by-chatgpt-as-a-supplier). Save a one-page PDF of it for your proposals and your sales deck.

**Send it in 100 personal messages a day** to buyers who look like this customer, from your lead list. AI drafts each message from the template; you add one true line about the person. That is about a minute a message. Send one at a time from your normal email, never in bulk. Gmail requires every sender to have [SPF](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spf) or [DKIM](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/dkim) set up and to keep [spam reports](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spam-complaint-rate) below 0.3%. If you email more than about 50 strangers a day, set up and warm up a second domain first. On LinkedIn, message people you are already connected to: if you hit LinkedIn's invitation limit, you can be blocked from sending invitations for about a week, so send the rest by email instead of sending fewer. Send the case study to people already in talks with you, too: after every discovery call, send the one that matches their problem.

**The message with your case study**

```text
Subject: [the result], for a [kind of company] like yours

Hi [first name],

[One true line about them.]

We just helped [customer, or "a [size] [type of company]"] go from [before] to [after] in [time]. The one-page story is here: [link]

If [the same problem] is on your list too, would a 15-minute call next week be useful?

[Your name]
[Your company, postal address]
Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again.
```

**Post it 2 times a day for 2 weeks.** One case study gives you at least 10 posts: each quote, each number, the before, the mistake you fixed, one step of what you did, and the whole story as a LinkedIn document post (Start a post ▸ the document icon; PDFs up to 100 MB). Spread them across your [content calendar](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-plan-a-content-calendar), add your other posts, and [post as the founder on LinkedIn](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-grow-on-linkedin-as-a-founder) as well as on your company page. A 30-second [short video](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-make-short-form-videos-for-your-business) of you telling the before and after is one more post.

> **If you run a D2C store:** skip the 100 messages. Put the customer story under the product description it is about, use the photos in your posts, and add a line with the result most customers get if this one is better than usual. The FTC asks for that when a result is not typical.

- **Tool:** your website, Google Search Console, your email and LinkedIn, ChatGPT or Claude to draft.
- **Time:** 1 hour to publish, then about 2 hours a day for 100 messages and 30 minutes a day for 2 posts.
- **You will have:** a live page, and after 2 weeks, 1,400 messages and 28 posts that carry it.
- **It worked if:** after 1,400 messages, you get at least as many replies per 100 as your messages without it, and at least one buyer mentions it on a call. If replies drop, rewrite the first line around the result and send the next 100.
- **Common mistake:** putting it under "Resources" and never sending it. The other mistake is one mass email with the link to your whole list. That is spam, not volume.

> **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's message with the case study**
>
> ```text
> Subject: 19 trial signups a month, for a small SaaS like yours
> To: Priya, founder of a 4-person SaaS that sends booking reminders for physiotherapy clinics
>
> Hi Priya,
>
> I saw your post about trial signups going flat after your launch.
>
> We just helped a 5-person SaaS for dental clinics go from 6 to 19 trial signups a month in 3 months, from Google and LinkedIn. The one-page story is here: [link]
>
> If trial signups are on your list too, would a 15-minute call next week be useful?
>
> Jess
> Quillfox, [postal address]
> Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again.
> ```
>
> *Why it works: It opens with something true about him, then shows a result from a company his size, in one line with the numbers.*

## 7. Count what it brought every Sunday and ask for the next one

Every Sunday, write down how many messages carried the case study, how many replied, and how many calls or deals mentioned it. Then ask your newest customer for the next case study, so you always have one in progress.

![A weekly table with the columns Week, Messages with the case study, Replies, Calls that mention it and Deals. Next to it, a message to the newest customer asking for the next case study.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-write-a-case-study/08-step-7.webp)

Ask every new buyer on the first call, "Did you read anything about us before this call?" That is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution), and at this size it tells you more than any tool. Once the sheet gets slow, move it to a CRM. Tag the case study link with UTM parameters, so its visits show up by source.

**The Sunday row**

```text
Week | Messages with the case study | Replies | Calls that mention it | Deals | Case study page visits
Next case study: [customer] — asked / call booked / draft sent / approved
```

Ask each new customer for a case study once they have a result: about 30 days in for SaaS, often just after they pay at the end of the trial, and for D2C; after the first 3 months for agency and B2B work. Update each case study's numbers after 3 months, and look at all of them together in your monthly marketing review. A newer, bigger number is a new post and a new reason to message.

- **Tool:** Google Sheets.
- **Time:** 20 minutes every Sunday.
- **You will have:** one row a week, and one new case study in progress at all times.
- **It worked if:** you can say which calls and deals the case study helped with, and you have a second case study in progress by week 4.
- **Common mistake:** stopping at one. Buyers trust a story most when it matches them, so a second customer of another kind or size reaches people the first one cannot.

## Where Scout7 helps

Scout7 speeds up step 6: turning the approved case study into posts.

**Step 6.** Image Studio takes an idea, such as one number or one quote from the case study, and makes an image post with a caption in your brand's voice. Video Studio builds a short portrait video about the case study: it writes the script and splits it into scenes, you direct each scene, and it adds captions, in your own recorded voice or a preset one. The Brand Calendar schedules them to LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Reddit. You approve each post and video; nothing goes live without your approval. You still ask the customer, hold the interview, write the page and send the messages yourself.

## Your case study checklist for the next 2 weeks

> For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next.

### Step 1 · Ask every customer for a case study today

- [ ] **1.1** Ask every customer for a 25-minute case study call, with three ways to be named. *Done when:* Every customer, beta user and past client with a result got the ask, and the sheet shows each answer and naming choice.
- [ ] **1.2** Follow up twice with everyone who has not answered. *Done when:* Everyone who has not answered got two follow-ups, 3 days apart, logged in the sheet.

### Step 2 · Pull the before-and-after numbers

- [ ] **2.1** Write down 3 before-and-after numbers for the customer from your own records. *Done when:* 3 numbers are written down, each with a before, an after, dates and a source.

### Step 3 · Interview the customer for 25 minutes

- [ ] **3.1** Hold a 25-minute recorded call and ask the 8 questions. *Done when:* The call is recorded with the customer's yes, the transcript is saved, and the customer confirmed the numbers.

### Step 4 · Write a one-page case study

- [ ] **4.1** Draft the case study with AI from the transcript, then check every number and quote. *Done when:* The draft is under 800 words, has the result and a number in the headline, and every number and quote matches the call.

### Step 5 · Send the draft for approval

- [ ] **5.1** Send the draft in Google Docs with a 7-day date, and get written approval. *Done when:* The customer replied Approved in writing, with their naming choice, and the email is saved.

### Step 6 · Publish it and send it in 100 messages a day

- [ ] **6.1** Publish the case study on its own page and request indexing. *Done when:* The page is live at its own address, linked from the homepage, and indexing was requested.
- [ ] **6.2** Add the case study to your proposal and your sales deck. *Done when:* A one-page PDF is in the proposal template and the sales deck.
- [ ] **6.3** Every day: send 100 personal messages with the case study to buyers like this customer. *Done when:* 100 personal messages with the case study link went out today, each logged in the sheet.
- [ ] **6.4** Every day: post 2 times from the case study: a quote, a number or one step. *Done when:* 2 posts from the case study went out today, or are scheduled, on each channel you use.
- [ ] **6.5** After 1,400 messages: compare replies per 100 messages with and without the case study. *Done when:* Replies per 100 with the case study are compared with before, and the first line is changed if they dropped.

### Step 7 · Count what it brought every Sunday

- [ ] **7.1** Every Sunday: fill in the week's row for the case study. *Done when:* This week's row has messages, replies, calls that mention it, deals and page visits.
- [ ] **7.2** Every Sunday: ask your newest customer for the next case study. *Done when:* The newest customer with a result has been asked, and the next case study's status is in the sheet.

## Frequently asked questions

### What if I have no customers yet?

Write up results you got for your own business, or work you did in a past job, saying where it happened and leaving the employer's name out unless they agree. Or run one small paid first project and write it up after. Never invent a client or a quote. Getting agency clients without case studies shows the full route.

### Can I publish a case study without the client's name?

Yes, with their written approval of the exact text. Describe them by size and type, such as "a 10-person accounting firm", use their role instead of their name, and round the numbers if they ask. Keep the real problem, what you did and the result. Buyers mainly want to see a problem like theirs solved.

### How long should a case study be?

One page: 500 to 800 words for the web page, with the result in the headline and 3 numbers at the top. Buyers skim, so the headline and the numbers must work alone. Keep the longer story for a sales call. Short testimonials of one or two lines are a different job.

### Should I give a customer a discount for a case study?

You can, but say so on the page. The FTC says that when something of value is given for an endorsement, and knowing about it would change how readers judge it, it should be disclosed. Most customers will say yes for less: a [link to their site](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-get-backlinks-for-a-new-website), their name in front of your audience, and a 25-minute call.

### Should I make a video case study instead?

Start with the written page. It is faster to get approved, easy to send in a message, and readable by Google and [ChatGPT](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-get-your-brand-mentioned-by-chatgpt). If the customer is happy on camera, record a 30-second [phone clip](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-make-short-form-videos-for-your-business) of them saying the result, and use it as a post and on the page.

## Sources

- [Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers). Federal Trade Commission, checked 2 October 2026.
- [FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking). Federal Trade Commission, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content). Google Search Central, updated 1 October 2026.
- [New G2 Research: Half of B2B Software Buyers Now Start Their Research With AI Chatbots](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-g2-research-half-of-b2b-software-buyers-now-start-their-research-with-ai-chatbots-302742807.html). G2, via PR Newswire, 15 April 2026.
- [Otter.ai pricing](https://otter.ai/pricing). Otter.ai, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Use transcripts with Google Meet](https://support.google.com/meet/answer/12849897). Google Meet Help, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Suggest edits in Google Docs](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6033474). Google Docs Editors Help, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126). Google Workspace Admin Help, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Invitation limit reached](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a550555). LinkedIn Help, checked 2 October 2026.
- [Share documents in posts](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a564109). LinkedIn Help, checked 2 October 2026.
- [The ultimate guide to writing case studies that drive leads](https://www.articulatemarketing.com/blog/writing-case-studies-that-drive-leads). Articulate Marketing, updated 2026.
- [How do I write a case study when I can't name the client?](https://www.pravinkumar.co/blog/webflow-case-study-anonymous-client-solo-practice-2026). Pravin Kumar, 8 July 2026.
- [How to write anonymous case studies](https://proofmap.com/insights/how-to-write-anonymous-case-studies). Proofmap, updated 4 July 2026.
- [How to write a B2B SaaS case study that buyers actually trust](https://tatarek.co.uk/b2b-saas-case-study/). Tatarek, 2026.