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Show, Don't Tell

🤫 Show, Don't Tell #78 - Your demo embed doesn't have to look like one


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Welcome to our 78th edition of Show, Don't Tell. A newsletter to help you build REMARKABLE interactive demos...3 tips at a time.

This week, we found:

  1. a "demo" CTA that looks nothing like an embed
  2. a gate that does more than collect an email
  3. a section under the demo to answer questions a rep usually would

Let's get after it...

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Tip #1: Embeds Shouldn't Stick Out Like Sore Thumbs

Ever notice how most demo embeds scream "I'm a third-party widget"? They sit on the website and look like a total stranger.

Employment Hero's doesn't took matters into their own hands.

Instead of dropping in the raw embed, they built a custom "Take a quick look" CTA with their own branded image behind it. On the page, it reads as a big, designed piece of their site instead of a Navattic frame someone pasted in.

Here's why the extra styling is worth it:

  • the polish carries straight over to how people judge the product
  • when the entry point matches your brand, the whole thing feels premium instead of plugged-in

We banged this drum way back in Edition #27. And we’re glad to see someone else banging the drum with us. embeds shouldn't stick out like sore thumbs. Employment Hero just takes it up a level: the CTA itself is the custom art.

See the embed button Employment Hero built

Tip #2: Make the Gate Earn Its Keep

We’ve seen a ton of demo gates that are no more than a sad, little form floating in white space. Name, email, "gimme."

Bloomerang went the native route with a full-page embed, and because they own that page, they dressed the gate up.

You’ll see a big, bold header, a line of description copy, and a customer testimonial sitting right next to the form. (They even blurred what's behind it… so it’s hard to tell if it's the live demo or an image, and honestly it doesn't matter.)

Jason and I love this because:

  • the testimonial does a lot of convincing while you're deciding whether to fill it out
  • it turns "ugh, a gate" into "okay, this looks worth it"

See how Bloomerang dresses up the ask

Tip #3 - Put the FAQ Right After the Demo

Try to get in the head of someone deep in your demo. What are they doing in their head the whole time? Asking questions. (Can it do this? What about that?)

Coast must have done this exercise too. Their demo lives on a near-full-page embed… but underneath it, they dropped an FAQ.

Not the generic product-page kind either. It looks like the exact questions that come up during a demo, answered right there. They stopped treating it like a product page and started treating it like a demo with a rep standing next to it.

If people are already looking at the product, they've got questions. Don't make them go hunt for answers. Just put them a scroll away.

It’s not a big lift, either.

See what Coast tucked under their demo

Make AI-powered capture edits, without leaving your demo builder

Screen captures are the building blocks of your demo. But capturing screens is only step one. Editing is where the real magic happens.

Thing like removing UI clutter, blurring sensitive data, or updating tables with fresh data. And when something in your UI changes, just update it across all captures in one click.

All of this was possible in the Navattic, but they just made it easier.

Their new In-line editor now brings capture editing, and new AI editing capabilities, directly into your demo builder.

That means you can make edits just by talking to Navattic's Co-pilot. You just click on the thing you want to edit, describe the change you want to make, and boom, it's done.

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Ask the Dash Bros 🎙️

A live, FREE coaching session to help you build better interactive demos (and make them your top marketing asset.)

In these 45-minute coaching sessions, Eric and Jason answer your questions about demo strategy, distribution, sales enablement, and any other challenges you're facing with interactive demos.

The next session is Wednesday, September 23rd at 12PM ET.

→ Register now - It's 100% Free

So that’s it. Our 78th 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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