Video Customer Onboarding for Startups: How to Use Tella
Learn how startups and solopreneurs can use Tella to create customer onboarding videos, tutorials, and screen recordings that save time and reduce support.
VIDEO FOR STARTUPSSAAS GROWTH
9/30/20267 min read
How Startups Can Use Video to Improve Customer Onboarding and Reduce Support
Getting someone to sign up for your product is only half the job.
The next challenge is helping them actually use it.
For startups and solopreneurs, this can quickly become expensive in terms of time. New customers ask the same questions. You write the same emails. You schedule another Zoom call. Your support inbox fills with questions that you've already answered dozens of times.
This is where screen recording can make a surprisingly big difference.
Instead of explaining everything individually, you can create short customer onboarding videos that show people exactly what to do.
I use Tella for this kind of video because it combines screen recording with simple video editing and flexible layouts, making it easy to create polished tutorials without a complicated production process.
The goal isn't to replace customer support.
It's to make sure customers don't need to ask for help with things you could have shown them from the beginning.
Why Customer Onboarding Matters
A successful marketing campaign might bring people to your website.
Your sales process might convince them to start a free trial.
But what happens next?
If a customer signs up and immediately feels confused, all that marketing and sales effort can unravel surprisingly quickly.
Customers need to reach their first meaningful result as quickly as possible.
For a SaaS startup, that could mean creating their first project, connecting an integration, inviting their team, or completing a specific workflow.
The easier you make that journey, the more likely customers are to understand the value of your product.
Video can help you get them there.
Why Use Video for Customer Onboarding?
Written documentation is useful, but some things are simply easier to show.
Imagine explaining where someone needs to click inside your software.
You could write:
"Go to Settings, select Integrations, choose your platform, enter your details, and click Connect."
Or you could record your screen and show the entire process in 30 seconds.
That's the advantage of a screen recording.
Customers can see your screen, follow your actions, pause the video, and replay anything they don't understand.
And unlike a live onboarding call, the same recording can help hundreds of customers.
1. Start With a Welcome Video
Your first onboarding video doesn't need to be a full tutorial.
Keep it simple.
Welcome the customer and explain:
What they should do first
Where they should begin
What result they should aim for
Where they can get help
Think of it as giving someone a map before sending them into the forest.
You don't need to explain every tree.
You just need to show them the path.
For solopreneurs, this works particularly well for coaching programmes, digital products, memberships, and online courses too.
2. Record the First Important Action
What's the first thing a new customer needs to accomplish with your product?
Record it.
If you run a SaaS startup, this might be:
How to create your first project.
If you sell an online course:
How to access your course content.
If you're a consultant:
How to submit your onboarding information.
Your first tutorials should focus on helping customers get a result rather than teaching every feature your product offers.
Nobody wants a 47-minute tour of your settings menu on their first day.
3. Turn Frequently Asked Questions Into Videos
Your support inbox is a content research tool hiding in plain sight.
Look for questions customers repeatedly ask.
Every recurring question is a candidate for a tutorial video.
If five customers have asked:
"How do I do this?"
there are probably another fifty wondering the same thing.
Use Tella to record your screen and answer the question visually.
Over time, you'll build a library of short videos customers can access whenever they need help.
This can reduce repetitive support while giving customers faster answers.
4. Keep Each Video Focused
One of the biggest mistakes with onboarding content is trying to explain everything in one video.
Don't create:
The Complete 58-Minute Guide to Everything Our Software Does.
Create:
How to Create Your First Project
How to Invite a Team Member
How to Connect Your Account
How to Export Your Report
How to Change Your Settings
Short, focused recordings are easier to watch, easier to update, and easier for customers to find later.
They are also easier to record.
5. Use Screen and Camera Strategically
You don't always need your face on screen.
For detailed tutorials, the product itself should usually be the star.
But showing your camera can make welcome videos, introductions, and important explanations feel more personal.
With Tella, you can record your screen and camera and change the layout depending on what you're explaining.
You might begin with your camera larger while introducing the topic, then switch to a full-screen product demonstration.
That small change can make a basic screen recording feel much more intentional.
6. Make Your Videos Look Like Your Brand
Customer onboarding is part of the customer experience.
If someone has just purchased your product or service, you don't want their first interaction to feel like a hastily recorded internal Zoom call.
This is one reason I like using Tella.
Tella allows you to change the background, crop your screen, adjust your camera, and use different video layout options.
You can create something professional-looking without opening a complicated video editor.
For startups without an in-house video editing team, that's useful.
7. Don't Re-Record the Whole Tutorial Because of One Mistake
We've all been there.
You're six minutes into recording the perfect tutorial.
Everything is going beautifully.
Then your brain briefly leaves the building.
With a traditional recording workflow, you might start again or move everything into a separate video editing tool.
Tella makes this easier because you can record multiple clips.
If one section goes wrong, re-record that part of the video instead of starting from the beginning.
This is particularly useful when you're creating a large library of customer onboarding or course videos.
Tella vs Loom for Customer Onboarding
If you're considering Tella vs Loom, both can handle customer onboarding videos.
The better choice depends on what you're creating.
Loom is excellent when speed matters. You can quickly record your screen and webcam, share videos, and send simple explanations to customers or team members.
Loom offers a Chrome extension, desktop app, mobile app, AI features, and an easy sharing workflow.
For quick support responses, Loom is hard to fault.
Tella, however, is the one I prefer when the video will become a permanent customer-facing resource.
Its editing capabilities, multiple clips, backgrounds, and layout options give me more control over the finished video.
If I'm answering one customer's quick question, Loom and Tella can both work.
If I'm creating a tutorial that might be watched by hundreds of customers, I prefer Tella.
Turn Your Onboarding Videos Into Marketing Content
Here's where things get more interesting.
Not every onboarding video needs to stay behind a login screen.
Some tutorials can become part of your content marketing and lead generation strategy.
Suppose potential customers frequently search:
"How do I automate X?"
You could create a tutorial showing how to solve that problem using your product.
Publish it on your website or YouTube.
Now the video isn't just helping existing customers.
It's attracting potential customers too.
You can repurpose useful tutorials into:
Blog posts
YouTube videos
Social media content
Email campaigns
Knowledge-base articles
Sales follow-ups
Lead-generation content
One recording can serve multiple parts of your marketing funnel.
Use Video During a Free Trial
If your startup offers a free trial, onboarding becomes even more important.
Those first few days are your opportunity to demonstrate value.
Instead of sending a generic sequence of emails saying:
"Have you tried Feature X?"
show people how to use it.
Your email campaign could include a series of short videos:
Day 1: Get started.
Day 2: Complete your first important action.
Day 3: Discover a useful feature.
Day 5: See an advanced use case.
Day 7: Here's what to do next.
That turns your onboarding emails into a guided product experience.
Video Can Support Your Sales Team Too
Good onboarding content isn't only useful after someone buys.
Your sales team can use the same videos during the sales process.
If a prospect asks about a particular feature, send the relevant tutorial.
If someone wants to understand a specific use case, send a demonstration.
If a decision-maker needs to share your product with colleagues, give them a video they can forward.
Suddenly your onboarding library becomes a sales resource too.
This is particularly valuable for B2B startups where several people may be involved in the buying decision.
How to Start Your Video Onboarding Library
Don't try to record 50 videos this weekend.
Start with the questions you're already answering.
Look at:
Customer support emails
Sales conversations
Free-trial questions
Customer feedback
Frequently asked questions
Product analytics
Identify the five things new customers struggle with most.
Record those first.
Then add new videos whenever you notice a question appearing repeatedly.
Your library will grow naturally around what customers actually need rather than what you assume they need.
A Simple Recording Workflow
When you're ready to create a tutorial:
Choose one problem.
Decide exactly what the customer should know or be able to do by the end.
Record your screen.
Use Tella to record your screen, camera, or both.
Keep it concise.
Remove unnecessary explanations.
Edit the mistakes.
Re-record individual clips where necessary instead of starting again.
Share the video.
Add it to your onboarding emails, knowledge base, website, or course.
Then move on.
The goal isn't cinematic perfection.
It's clarity.
Final Thoughts
Startups spend enormous amounts of energy generating leads, improving conversion rates, building sales funnels, and convincing people to try their products.
But growth doesn't stop when someone clicks Buy.
You also need to help customers succeed.
Screen recording gives startups and solopreneurs a scalable way to do that.
Record your most common explanations once.
Turn them into short tutorials.
Use them throughout your onboarding process.
And build a video library that helps customers even when you're not available.
That's one of the reasons I use Tella.
It's not simply a screen recorder.
For a small business, it can become a practical tool for customer onboarding, content creation, sales, marketing, and education.
And every time one of those videos answers a question before it reaches your inbox, you've bought yourself a little more time to work on growing the business.
🧰 Creator Tools Worth Knowing (and Using)
These are the tools I genuinely use to run and grow my business. Whether you're building content, managing projects, or streamlining how people connect with you, this stack has been essential. A few include partner links with exclusive discounts.
1. Tella
Create polished screen recordings and video presentations quickly. Great for demos, tutorials, and sharing ideas with clarity.
2. CapCut
A free, intuitive video editor that’s surprisingly powerful. Ideal for both short-form content and more in-depth edits.
3. Dub
Perfect for startups looking to grow through affiliate programs. Set up, manage, and scale your affiliate strategy—get 20% off with my link.
4. Cal.com
Easy, free and customizable scheduling that integrates with your workflow. A professional way to make meetings seamless.
5. Notion
Your all-in-one workspace for notes, project management, documentation, and collaboration.
Some links are affiliate partnerships, which means I may earn a commission if you choose to sign up. I only recommend tools I’ve tested and actually find valuable in my own work.
5. Buffer
Convert video into powerful blog articles.
5. Video to Blog
Your all-in-one social media management tool.
I’m Novie, I become your marketing arm — content, video, positioning, and systems — so you can focus on building the product.