I reverse-engineered how Loom onboards new users—here’s 3 tactics you can steal

Loom is impressive: It went from nothing in 2016 to a $975m acquisition in 2023. And it’s one of the few B2B tools that became a generic term: Even for non-Loom screen recordings, people say “Send over a Loom”.

One reason for that: The product is inherently viral. You receive a Loom video, watch it and can then sign up yourself.

These flows are great, but they only work if your onboarding is on point. There’s no salesperson showing you around. The product itself needs to do all the heavy lifting.

That’s why I analyzed Loom’s onboarding screen by screen. Here are a few cool tactics you can steal:

Outcome-based copy

It’s easy to think you’re done with the needing to convince users once they’re on the signup screen. But you’re not. Users drop off at every stage of the signup process.

That’s why I love that Loom doesn’t just use “Sign up” or something generic as the headline—but leads with the outcome users want. Instead, they use: "Record your first Loom video in seconds".

Too many companies write/design for someone who takes their time and is highly motivated. But a lot of the time, users are stressed, on the way home or have a screaming baby next door.

You need to design for THOSE users—and that includes keeping their motivation high by putting their intent front and center.

The pre-filled checklist

You’ve seen onboarding checklists. Maybe even shipped one. Loom has one too. But they use a little hack here: They pre-fill a few things you’re required to do during onboarding.

Instead of looking like this:

1. Step 1
2. Step 2
3. Step 3

It looks like this for new users:

1. Step 1

1. Step 2

2. Step 3

It’s a quirk in human psychology that we’re more likely to complete something we’ve started than we are to start something new (nerd alert: This is called the Zeigarnik effect). Loom leverages this by pre-checking some of the fields.

The optional product tour

Ever sign up for a new product and be forced to take a 20-step, 5-minute product walkthrough before using the 30-second feature you signed up for? It’s annoying and users hate it.

Users are more likely to complete experiences they initiated (obviously). Loom does this well. When you’re in the dashboard for the first time, they offer you a tour instead of forcing you to take it.

When you first get into the dashboard, you get a choice:

a) Explore by yourself

b) Take a product tour
I love this onboarding practice because they let users self-direct their experience instead of forcing them on experiences some product manager decided they should see.

If you want to see more of Loom’s onboarding tactics (and a visual breakdown of the full flow), I created a public, interactive Miro board with each screen annotated: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKSfiBv8=/ I also wrote an in-depth article if you prefer that format: https://commandbar.com/blog/loom-onboarding-case-study