# 019: Show Me The Money—How Docs Drive Revenue
Issue N. 019 is brought to you by… GitBook’s State of the Docs Report 2025
Great docs don’t just support users—they enhance the entire product experience.
But without clear success metrics, proving their value can be tricky.
That’s why GitBook is gathering insights from tech writers, product managers, and developers to uncover the best ways to measure and integrate documentation.
Help shape the 2025 State of the Docs report and show why great docs are essential!
¡Hola, Tech Writing Friends!
We all know great docs = better user experience.
But let’s be real…
How do we prove docs bring in money? 🤑 💵 💷 💴
When budgets get cut, Documentation is one of the first things on the chopping block.
Why? Leadership sees it as a cost center, not a revenue driver.
But that’s just plain wrong. Let’s talk about how to measure real business impact.
The Docs Revenue Formula: Why It’s More Than Traffic
If leadership only tracks pageviews to measure documentation success… ay ay ay ay 🫠
We need to have a little chat.
Docs contribute to revenue in 3 major ways:
1️⃣ Customer Retention (Keeping Paying Users Happy)
Good docs reduce churn because customers actually understand the product.
Self-serve content increases feature adoption, keeping users engaged (aka not canceling).
Metrics to track: Customer retention rate, feature adoption rate, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT, NPS).
2️⃣ Support Deflection (Saving Money on Expensive Tickets)
Support costs a LOT. The fewer “how do I…?” tickets, the more $$ saved.
Docs are 24/7 support agents that don’t sleep, quit, or need PTO.
Metrics to track: Ticket deflection rate, time-to-resolution, cost-per-ticket.
3️⃣ Pre-Sales Enablement (Docs as a Sales Tool)
Users read docs before they buy. (70% of buyers self-educate before talking to sales.)
Well-structured API docs & onboarding guides = faster conversions & larger deals.
Metrics to track: Leads from docs, sales cycle length, demo-to-conversion rate.
What SaaS Companies Actually Measure (Hint: Not Just Traffic)
Want to prove documentation drives revenue? Show leadership these key KPIs:
Metric Why It Matters Churn Rate
Lower churn = users find value faster (thanks to good docs).
Support Ticket Deflection
Fewer “how do I…?” tickets = cost savings.
Time to First Value (TTFV)
How fast users realize product value (great onboarding docs = faster adoption).
Sales-Assisted Conversions
Prospects read docs before talking to sales—track their impact.
Feature Adoption Rate
Shows if docs actually help users discover & use product features.
If your leadership doesn’t track these, they’re leaving money on the table! (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
How to Make Leadership Care About Docs ROI
Tie docs to real dollars.
Connect documentation improvements to customer retention, support cost savings, and sales conversions.
Use analytics (but the right ones).
Pageviews are not enough. Track time spent in docs, searches, and actions taken.
Show how bad docs = lost revenue.
Highlight where confusing docs lead to churn, high support costs, or lost sales.
Your Action Steps: Measure Docs Like a Business Asset
Want data-driven insights into your documentation’s impact?
Find your company’s churn rate & feature adoption rate: See if better docs could improve these.
Ask support (customer success) for top recurring issues: If docs answer them, track ticket reduction.
Get sales data: Ask if prospects mention docs in the buying process.
Tech writers, we need to start thinking like business strategists.
Docs make money. Let’s start proving it. 📊
Happy documenting,
Quetzalli
