36 Best

User
The Paradox
Onboarding
Of Growing A
Examples
SaaS in 2024
Laura Kluz Ramli John
Director of Content, Content Director,
And what you can do about it
ProductLed Appcues

FROM ANALYZING 150+ COMPANIES

Why onboarding
matters
CAC is at an
Most product-led businesses focus
all-time
on high
signup conversion.

Although it’s important...

Optimizing user onboarding can be

way more impactful for your growth.
What we found

After analyzing 150+ user

CAC is at an
onboarding experiences, including:

all-time
Emails high
Product tours, and
Social proof

We've identified common traits

among the top product-led
companies.
Here are our
8 key findings:
CAC is at an
1) Successful onboarding leverages
social proof
all-time high
2) Email verification walls hinder
conversions.

3) Unnecessary steps deter

onboarding completion.

4) Product tours should prioritize

actions over information
Here are our
8 key findings:
CAC is at an
5) User segmentation boosts
onboarding completion rates.
all-time high
6) Emphasizing the "what" over the
"why" is crucial.

7) Helpful empty states prompt

users to take the next step.

8) Behavior-based emails effectively

re-engage users with the product.
#1 Leveraging
Social Proof
CAC is at an
Let’s look at the six basic types of
social proof:
all-time high
1. Expert's stamp of approval
2. Celebrity endorsement
3. Trust icons
4. Data
5. Customer testimonials
6. Reviews
#1 Leveraging
Social Proof
CAC is at an
You should use at least one of these
inall-time high
a business’ onboarding
experience.

Let’s see them in action.

Calendly

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Reiterates Calendly's benefit — simplified

CAC is at an
scheduling.

all-time high
10 million is a number that truly stands out.
They're saying this works.

They show several logos of companies that

have successfully used it.
ShipBob

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They use three types of social proof –

CAC is at an
testimonial, data, and a review.

all-time
Courtney's photohigh
looks professional and
not a stock image.
Calm

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

The data reinforces the reason visitors

CAC is at an
might be signing up for the app.

all-time high
The soft visuals and quotes set the
expectation of feeling "calm."
Lucidchart

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

The photo of Todd humanizes the quote.

CAC is at an
It reinforces the ease, functionality, and
all-time high
purpose of Lucidchart.
Monday

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

It includes well-known logos: Hubspot,

CAC is at an
Hulu, and NBC

all-time
127k+ teams use high
it already — that means it
must be good!
Deputy

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Showcasing reviews stands out and is

CAC is at an
different than using testimonials or logos
(at the very least, it’s worth an
all-time high
experiment).

Deputy shows their ratings and how many

reviews they have.
Wave

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They sell you how many invoices have

CAC is at an
been sent – worth $24 billion.

all-time
They tied it back high
to the benefit, “designed
to get you paid 3x faster.”
Loom

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They got their CEO (an expert in this space)

CAC is at an
to showcase the product.

all-time high
The story Jay shares is very personal.

It’s very meta! A Loom showing how Loom

works.
Shopify

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

It addresses the challenge for most

CAC is at an
ecommerce entrepreneurs:

all-time high
Lack of knowledge and resources.
SparkToro

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Each testimonial shows a different use

CAC is at an
case for SparkToro.

all-time high
They bold phrases in the quotes to show
the tangible outcome of using the tool.
Duolingo

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

It speaks to the desired outcome of people

CAC is at an
who signed up — completing a course and
learning a new language!
all-time high
#2 Removing
Email Verification

CAC is at an
We've found that 30-50% of signups don't
verify their email. Why?
all-time high
Maybe they're spammers.
Maybe they got impatient.
Maybe they're tire-kickers

Whatever the reason, it could be hurting your

growth more than you think.

Before we dive into examples of how to handle

this, let me tell you a story.
Snappa

CAC is at an
all-time high
The Problem

It was mandatory for every new signup to

CAC is at an
activate their email address before logging
into the product.
all-time high
But 27% of all Snappa’s signups never ended
up activating their email address.

These new users simply signed up and never

touched foot in the product, ever.
The Fix

Snappa removed the activation step right at

CAC is at an
the beginning of the onboarding process and
started to see their MRR grow substantially.
all-time high
Monday

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

If your email bounced after signing up, you're

CAC is at an
notified in a banner that they couldn't deliver
the verification email.
all-time high
This allows the user to try out the product
instantly.
PandaDoc

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

PandaDoc requires users to verify their email

CAC is at an
before they can begin sending a document.

all-time
However, high
they can play around with the
product without verification.
Snappa

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

If you're worried about spam, use

CAC is at an
RECAPTCHA.

all-time high
#3 Remove
Unnecessary Steps

CAC is at an
In our experience, well over 30% of required
user onboarding steps are rubbish.
all-time high
Every field, button click, and page is an
opportunity for users to abandon your app for
good.
Grammarly

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

In Grammarly’s signup process, they practice

CAC is at an
progressive disclosure so that necessary steps
don’t feel overwhelming.
all-time high
At first, only one field is visible.

The moment you tell them what team you are

on, a second field appears to ask how many
people are on your team, and so on.
Shopify

CAC is at an
all-time high
Shopify

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

On the first page, they ask for three pieces of

CAC is at an
information about your ecommerce business:

all-time
Once you complete high
these fields, the next page
appears with 10 additional questions related
to the business.

By using a multi-step signup process, users

only see a few fields on the page at a time,
rather than the 14 required fields needed to
complete it.
Wave

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works
During the user onboarding process, Wave
asks for a logo.
CAC is at an
Once they have it, they automatically identify
all-time high
the brand colors and update the invoice
template to match the branding.

Some may think that this step is unnecessary

and should be removed.

But, after doing customer interviews, the

team found that this step gets users excited
about the product and encourages them to
continue using it.
#4 Action-Focused
Product Tours
People don't hate product tours.
CAC is at an
all-time
People hate: high
One-size-fits-all guide
Being forced to the tour
Invasive pop-ups
Irrelevant steps

Ultimately, product tours should help put

your users on the right track.

Let’s take a look at companies doing it right.

Evernote

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Evernote ask users how they intend to

use the product to create a more
CAC is at an
personalized experience and help users
all-time high
achieve their goals.
Sprig

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Users typically don’t like being forced into a

product tour.
CAC is at an
Soall-time
ask users if theyhigh
would like to start as
Sprig does.
ZenDesk

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

The goal is to provide users with enough

information to experience the product’s value
CAC is at an
without being overwhelmed by too many
all-time high
unnecessary steps.

ZenDesk uses four steps in its product tour.

Hotjar

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Product tours should cover important step(s)

that set users up for success using the
CAC is at an
product.
all-time high
So ask yourself: What are the first few steps a
user needs to take to get value from the
product?
Hotjar

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

To get started with Hotjar, one of the first

questions they ask is: where do you want to
CAC is at an
install Hotjar?
all-time high
Then, Hotjar automatically generates a code
so users can install it on their website straight
away.
Airtable

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

AirTable asks users to select a template to get

them started with the product.
CAC is at an
all-time
Notice high
the background?

High-performing product tours often utilize

“focus mode,” where all unnecessary
elements like the navigation bar are stripped
away from the product until the user
completes the product tour.
#5 Segmenting
Users

CAC is at an
Context and segment matter.
all-time high
Most products have many different features,
and the majority of the time, a user arrives to
find a solution to one problem.

By helping users accomplish their desired

outcome from the start, they’re more likely to
see its value and adopt the product.
Miro

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Miro asks users what they want to do with

CAC is at an
the product.

all-time
This allows them tohigh
segment and tailors
their onboarding experience to the
intended outcome of each user.
Typeform

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Same with Typeform – they ask what you’ll

CAC is at an
mainly be using the product for.

all-time high
Airtable

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Instead of asking about a users’ challenge

CAC is at an
or goal, you can simply ask what team
they’re on.
all-time high
Airtable

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Users then see popular templates based on

CAC is at an
their chosen team to help them experience
the First Strike as quickly as possible.
all-time high
#6 Focus On
The User’s Goal

CAC is at an
Often, teams approach the content of
signup screens and onboarding elements as
all-time high
a low priority.

You must show users how the product can

help improve their lives.

Use content to amplify the solution to their

current pain points, calm their anxieties,
and help them to overcome their existing
habits.
Wave

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

The third step in the signup process

CAC is at an
reminds new users of the value of their
invoicing software.
all-time high
To the left, it reads: Designed to get you
paid 3x faster.

It’s not only great social proof but a great

boost of motivation.

After all, who doesn’t want to get paid three

times faster?
Sprig

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They call out a leading solution to the right

CAC is at an
as you set your account up:

all-time
“We’ll high
automatically customize your
company name to increase response rates.”
Dropbox Paper

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They don't say, "You have ZERO files."

CAC is at an
Instead, they describe the value of Dropbox
all-time
Paper with a CTA tohigh
get started:

Create and edit docs without leaving

Dropbox.
Grammarly

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Grammarly takes an approach of “learning

CAC is at an
by doing.”

all-time
Users high
see a document already filled out
with highlighted grammar mistakes so that
they can see the program in action from the
get-go.
#7 Show helpful
empty states

CAC is at an
Most SaaS products are relatively boring
when you first log in.
all-time high
When you first log in to an application, what
do you show people? Do you show them
dummy data?

Instead, use the empty state to show people

what they need to do to successfully set up
their account and experience meaningful
value in the product.
Gmail

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Gmail uses an empty state to help the user

CAC is at an
set up their account.

Asall-time high
you can see, each of the items listed in
Gmail's empty state guides users to set up
and personalize their accounts.
Story Chief

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They personalize the empty state and

CAC is at an
encourage users to craft their first story.

all-time high
Buffer

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

They use an empty state to encourage users

CAC is at an
to connect their social media accounts.

If all-time high
you think about it, nobody is ever going to
use Buffer unless they complete this step.

So the Buffer team has done a great job

ensuring that people connect their social
media accounts right from the beginning.
#8 Behavior-
Based Emails

CAC is at an
It’s best to avoid a purely time-based email
all-time high
flow.

To avoid coming across as annoying and

spammy, trigger emails based on users’
actions they have or have not taken inside
the product.

This ensures that the communication is

both timely and relevant.
Soapbox

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

This is a perfect example of a usage-based

CAC is at an
onboarding email.

all-time
After high
users create their first video, they send
a usage-tip email to encourage them to
share it with someone.
InVision

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

Another type of onboarding email is a case

CAC is at an
study.

all-time
This could include ahigh
video testimonial,
customer story, or old-fashioned case study.

InVision does this by showcasing some of the

incredible designs their customers have
created with the product.
Fiverr

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works
‘Welcome Emails’ typically have high open
rates, and they should only have two purposes.
CAC is at an
First, you need to train your audience to open
all-time high
your emails. Second, you need to set the
expectation of what's coming next.

Fiverr does a great job at this.

It's a creative dude who looks like someone I

could hang out with at a bar.

This email is full of character and personality.

It’s likable!
Databox

CAC is at an
all-time high
Why It Works

The best time to send out your sales touch

emails is as soon as someone experiences
CAC is at an
something meaningful.
all-time high
For Databox, this is when you create and
customize your first dashboard.

Notice how the email doesn't come across as

"salesy," and the goal of the message is to help
me get more value out of the platform.
 Optimizing your onboarding is just
one key component.

There are plenty of free resources on our

CAC is at an
website to help you master all the nine
all-time high
key areas needed to fuel growth.
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CAC is at an
all-time high
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