What comes first in PLG onboarding
+ The catch 22 of ungated products 🤔
Hey there, it’s Yaakov from Valubyl. Welcome to another edition of Product Led Growers, my newsletter that simplifies product activation and adoption + curates the best PLG resources.
In this week’s newsletter, we cover:
✅ Product-led onboarding: The first thing you need to do
🤔 The catch 22 of ungated products
✚ The best new PLG resources
Let’s dive in!
Your product's onboarding matters A LOT.
(so here's a powerful tip that can help you improve yours)
Over the last year, I've helped many teams optimize their onboarding
↳ leading to higher activation and conversion.
And let me tell you, it's easy to get caught up in quick fixes and tricks like
1. Trendy checklists.
2. Fancy product tours.
3. Complicated personalization.
4. Or a million other activation "hacks".
But the ones that succeed, are the ones that get the basics right.
The first thing you have to do is get really clear on where you're guiding new users to.
If you don't know EXACTLY what you want them to achieve in your product.
→ You won't be able to build the path for them to get there.
When you know exactly what you need them to do.
→ Then it's easy to build the path.
To sum up:
Before you start building the journey, get clear on the destination.
The catch 22 of ungated products 🤔
On one hand 🫲
Getting users straight into the product is ideal.
The product should speak for itself.
But on the other hand 🫱
Requiring a certain level of commitment/investment can actually seriously boost motivation and the level of effort new users invest into trying out your product.
This will apply across all steps in the user journey - Requiring email or ungating completely, onboarding profiling questions, integrating with data sources, downloading extensions, etc...
Sometimes, even a small investment like giving your email, or adding a team name to your new workspace, can psychologically and practically increase the motivation you have to explore the product properly.
+ To quote Henrique Cruz:
"My rule of thumb for going loginless is that if:
1. your product has a large audience;
2. that can get value from the product on their own;
3. you don't need to monetize everyone;
4. the product has a strong ‘single-player ’,
Landing page Land in product"
What do you think - is less friction a good thing?
The best new PLG resources ✚
Every week I’ll be updating you with new PLG resources I discover 👏
🚀 Playbooks vs. Lead Scoring by Pocus
Level up your PLG strategy by mastering the art of Playbooks over traditional scoring— transform how you prioritize and engage leads.
💡 Where the Freemium Business Model Thrives and Dies by Wes Bush at ProductLed
Unlock the secret to mastering freemium for product-led growth and see how solving beginner problems can catapult your user base and market reach.
💸 Improving Trial Conversions Using Loss Aversion by Ben Williams
Dive into how the power of loss aversion can transform your trial conversions and unlock new growth strategies for your SaaS product.
🎤 Adding Growth Marketing to a PLG Brand with Rachel Hepworth, Co-Marketing Lead, Notion by Lindsey Groepper & Rachel Hepworth
Listen as Rachel walks through how to develop a growth engine inside a PLG company and how brand and demand can work seamlessly together.
🔎 Why Hubspot acquired Clearbit - buying defensibility in AI markets by Leah Tharin
Dive into Leah Tharin's sharp analysis on HubSpot's Clearbit acquisition—a visionary step toward data-driven, product-led sales supremacy in B2B.
See you next week! :)