Why Every SaaS Company Needs an Onboarding Video (Before the Product Is Finished)
A lot of SaaS teams delay onboarding content until everything is polished.
They’re waiting for the UI to be final. The messaging to be refined. The roadmap to stabilize.
Meanwhile, users are signing up, then ghosting.
The Product Isn’t the Problem. The First 10 Minutes Are.
Trial users don’t leave because your platform is broken.
They leave because no one told them where to start.
A clear onboarding video fixes that.
In under a minute, it can show:
What they should do first
What they’ll get out of it
What happens next
That’s not a walkthrough. That’s momentum.
A Good Onboarding Video Makes You Harder to Leave
There’s another reason to invest early. Stickiness.
If your onboarding helps the user embed something—like a widget, form, or video—they’re now tied to your platform.
Uninstalling you means breaking their site, their process, or their team’s routine.
You’ve probably done it yourself:
Vimeo: You keep paying because those embedded videos are everywhere
Calendly: You don’t switch because the link’s already in your email footer
Loom: Your team won’t stop using it because “just send a Loom” is habit
Your product can do the same.
If onboarding leads to something that integrates your tool into their workflow, leaving becomes inconvenient.
Related: SaaS Customer Retention Videos
What to Put in a 60-Second Onboarding Video
You don’t need to overthink this. A solid onboarding video does four things:
Welcomes the user in a way that feels human
Points to the first step and shows it happening
Names the payoff, not all the features, just the next win
Sets up what’s next so they stay on track
If the product is even halfway decent, that’s enough to keep them around.
Related: Free Trial Welcome Videos
Don’t Wait for Perfect
Perfection delays progress.
A rough screen recording or founder welcome video with clear direction will outperform polished silence every time.
You can always re-record later.
What you can’t do is win back the people who left on day one.
Heads Up: Free Landing Page Video Offer Incoming
If your product or site doesn’t use video yet, or the one you have isn’t doing much, I’m working on something.
Next week, I’ll open up a free landing page video offer.
Not a funnel. Just something useful you can plug into your homepage, onboarding flow, or campaign to test results.
If you want a nudge when that goes live, book a strategy session or keep an eye on the blog.
Frequently Asked Questions About SaaS Onboarding Videos
Q: How long should a SaaS onboarding video be?
Most onboarding videos should be under 90 seconds. Focus on a single task or moment of value. If it takes longer than that, break it up.
Q: Should the onboarding video show the whole product?
No. Show one clear outcome or first step. Save the full tour for later. The goal is forward motion, not comprehension.
Q: Can I just record my screen and talk through it?
Yes. You don’t need animation or voiceover to start. A clear, confident screen recording with audio is enough to test whether video improves your activation rate.
