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Show, Don't Tell

🤫 Show, Don't Tell #34 - Do you even have a demo if no one can find it?


Read Time: 4.4 minutes

Welcome to our 34th edition of Show, Don't Tell. A newsletter to help you build REMARKABLE interactive demos...3 tips at a time.

This week we:

  1. Set expectations in the CTA
  2. Show empathy through design choice
  3. Teach you how to promote your demo

Let's get after it...

Supported By:

We are Navattic fanatics.

We had the idea for this newsletter after hundreds of hours spent building Navattic demos for our past companies and current clients. We love making remarkable interactive demos, and want to share helpful tips and examples so you can too.

A huge thanks to Navattic for helping make this a reality. If you want to create a better experience for your buyers, go check them out.

They have a free plan you can start using today!

→ Try Navattic

Tip #1 - Tell Them How Long It Takes

Time is precious. So when prospects see your content, they deserve to know how long it’s going to take. Especially after years of being tortured by 5000-word blog posts and emails that are 7-paragraphs long.

Hike seems to have figured this out and realized a simple truth. Adding “2-minute” to your usual “Start Demo” CTA can make all the difference.

They absolutely crushed any uncertainty by setting the expectation right in the button text.

This worked on us because it:

  • Removes the "how long is this going to take?" hesitation
  • Two minutes feels manageable to anyone
  • Shows respect for people's time upfront

If you want to get cheeky, try an even more specific time like "2 minutes and 13 seconds." The oddly specific number can actually make it feel more human.

So next time you build a demo, think about taking a Hike. 😉

→ See how to set expectations

Tip #2 - Show The Right Experience

DailyPay has two audiences: employers who buy their product and employees who actually use it. Naturally, you’ll want to build separate demos.

But here's what Jason and I love…they deliberately use a mobile experience for the "For Employees" demo because they know that's how employees will actually interact with it.

Shoutout to DailyPay because it:

  • Demonstrates empathy by saying "we get how your employees will use this"
  • Creates authenticity instead of forcing everything into the same format

DailyPay shows they're thinking about the entire ecosystem, not just the buyer.

SIDE NOTE: We're starting to see a ton of mobile demos out there. Not sure if it's a trend, or if people are becoming more familiar with the feature. Either way...we love it.

→ See DailyPay's dual-audience approach

Tip #3 - Promote Your Demo Like It’s the Only Thing That Matters

If no one knows where your demo is, why even put it on your site?

Mutiny is prioritizing their demos and we love to see it. Jason was on their website for about 15 seconds and found a demo in two locations.

One as a secondary CTA in their hero section, and another pleasant surprise in their navigation menu.

You should be pushing the demand team to do this because:

  • Different visitors get interested at different points in their journey
  • Some people look in the nav first, others start scrolling
  • Bad fit leads have a higher chance to disqualify themselves

Most companies act like one demo link is enough. So shout out to Mutiny for knowing that good demos deserve even better promotion.

→ See all of Mutiny's demo CTAs

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So that’s it. Our 34th edition of Show, Don’t Tell.

3 useful tips to help you build remarkable interactive demos.

Tune in next Tuesday for more advice from DemoDash.

P.S.

If you know anyone else who would love these tips, please consider sending them this edition so they can subscribe 🙏

Jason and Eric
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Show, Don't Tell

Learn how to create remarkable interactive demos that make your SaaS product easy to understand and buy. 3 practical tips and examples every Tuesday.

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