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Product-Led Onboarding: How to Turn New Users Into Lifelong Customers
" Product-Led Onboarding is a must-read for anyone embarking on the critical activity of improving their user onboarding. " - Sean Ellis, Founder of GrowthHackers.com and Author of Hacking Growth " Product-Led Onboarding provides a detailed, practical, how-to guide to crafting the perfect user onboarding experience. " Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable
Just like dating, your company's growth depends on first impressions.
If you've been in the SaaS space for some time, you're probably all too familiar with these Let’s face it. Today’s users are impulsive and easily distracted. They don’t have the time (or patience) to try and figure things out by themselves. They expect the product to be intuitive. Easy. And fast. What’s more, they want more than they paid (or didn’t pay) for, and they want it now. So, if their first date with your product is anything but silky-smooth, you risk losing out to the competition. Add to that a few, unfairly poor reviews and you’ll be more than just stuck. In this book, you’ll learn the simple 6-step strategy used by giants like Mixpanel, Ubisoft, and Outsystems that will get you more loyal clients in a fraction of the time. Best of all, it’s a process that will easily become second nature. Learn how Get this right and your new users will thrive with your product, and become lifelong customers.
Just like dating, your company's growth depends on first impressions.
If you've been in the SaaS space for some time, you're probably all too familiar with these Let’s face it. Today’s users are impulsive and easily distracted. They don’t have the time (or patience) to try and figure things out by themselves. They expect the product to be intuitive. Easy. And fast. What’s more, they want more than they paid (or didn’t pay) for, and they want it now. So, if their first date with your product is anything but silky-smooth, you risk losing out to the competition. Add to that a few, unfairly poor reviews and you’ll be more than just stuck. In this book, you’ll learn the simple 6-step strategy used by giants like Mixpanel, Ubisoft, and Outsystems that will get you more loyal clients in a fraction of the time. Best of all, it’s a process that will easily become second nature. Learn how Get this right and your new users will thrive with your product, and become lifelong customers.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2021
434 people are currently reading
911 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 2, 2022
Life is too short for bad books. However, sometimes your company assigns the book and so you must slog through.
General notes: this blog post cum book is replete with typos and grammatical errors. It's incredibly simplistic and the author uses mainly one example (Slack) to guide the argument. The word for "eureka" or "a-ha" moment is "epiphany".
Content notes: this book details what a product led company looks like. For those who don't know, product led is code word for freemium, but sounds cooler. Companies should understand their users' desired outcomes and make the on-boarding process smooth. There are several milestones along the way that should be measured: sign up, engagement, and adoption. Sales should act in a consultative mode and not use aggressive sales tactics.
If you're really desperate to get the very obvious, simplistic content of this book, I would recommend watching a youtube video of the author on double speed, thereby saving time and money.
General notes: this blog post cum book is replete with typos and grammatical errors. It's incredibly simplistic and the author uses mainly one example (Slack) to guide the argument. The word for "eureka" or "a-ha" moment is "epiphany".
Content notes: this book details what a product led company looks like. For those who don't know, product led is code word for freemium, but sounds cooler. Companies should understand their users' desired outcomes and make the on-boarding process smooth. There are several milestones along the way that should be measured: sign up, engagement, and adoption. Sales should act in a consultative mode and not use aggressive sales tactics.
If you're really desperate to get the very obvious, simplistic content of this book, I would recommend watching a youtube video of the author on double speed, thereby saving time and money.
August 20, 2021
Full of a-ha moments is the best description of this book. Altough it's content is at moments an exact copy from Product-Led Growth, it's a really valuable & enjoyable book. Highly recommended.
July 15, 2022
This is actually a great book! I thought it was going to be very salesy as it derived from a company, however the tools and tips are more general and applicable for any company that wants to look at their onboarding.
Main takeaways:
- onboarding is a team effort (don’t leave it to one person/team)
- great onboarding is many times a better investment than widening the funnel
- most users won’t open your app more than once
- users typically have a high barrier to convert to paying
- free trials leads to 60% opt out
- set the correct metrics to track onboarded customers. For slack it was 2000 messages
- decrease the sign up flow and put it as step 1 step 2 by marking the steps together in the onboarding team
Main takeaways:
- onboarding is a team effort (don’t leave it to one person/team)
- great onboarding is many times a better investment than widening the funnel
- most users won’t open your app more than once
- users typically have a high barrier to convert to paying
- free trials leads to 60% opt out
- set the correct metrics to track onboarded customers. For slack it was 2000 messages
- decrease the sign up flow and put it as step 1 step 2 by marking the steps together in the onboarding team
July 4, 2024
Overall I found this book very strong, and even though its subject matter is very narrow, it happens to be directly related to what I do professionally so it’s right up my alley. It’s structured well and it is to the point. It makes a great case for the importance of user onboarding which I fully agree with. Consider this thought: “When a product onboarding is neglected, it’s like throwing a massive party with balloons, fireworks, and a bouncy castle in your backyard, yet no one can get past the front door. It’s a waste of time and resources for everyone involved.”
So what is user onboarding? According to Ramli John, “User onboarding is the process that takes people from perceiving, experiencing, and adopting the product’s value to improve their lives.” I love how he takes it broader and makes us think about the impact of the product on the user’s life. With such a perspective, you start to really question how to connect the initial user onboarding to the ultimate goal of your potential customer.
The main content of the book has been organised in a framework John has chosen to call EUREKA. While I’m not a great fan of forcing things into abbreviations, I felt that the six points of EUREKA are spot on and critical for any good product team dealing with user onboarding. Here they are:
1. Establish your onboarding team.
2. Understand your users’ desired outcomes.
3. Refine your onboarding success criteria.
4. Evaluate and optimise your onboarding path.
5. Keep new users engaged.
6. Apply to changes in repeat.
I especially liked number 3 and spend a good amount of time reflecting on how i’ve been measuring onboarding with my teams for the last few years. It’s easy to get lost into minute vanity metrics simply because they are easy to measure and give us the perception of doing well. Nailing this part down is the most difficult in my experience, and the art of attributing retention-related indicators to how good your onboarding is can be time & effort heavy.
Two last things i want to highlight as valuable takeaways for me. First is the basic but thought-provoking model of Value Perception > Value Realisation > Value Adoption. I admit I never thought about user onboarding that way and i found it to be a revelation. Second and last, the author references the BJ Fogg Behavioural Model which explains every Behaviour as the product of Motivation x Ability x Prompts. Simple and highly relevant for any digital product, I found this relevant and useful.
Good book - recommended for any digital product manager, designer, analyst, and i suppose for any startup enthusiast. While the book is set in a context of startup entrepreneurship, i find all of its teachings applicable to any established software product too.
So what is user onboarding? According to Ramli John, “User onboarding is the process that takes people from perceiving, experiencing, and adopting the product’s value to improve their lives.” I love how he takes it broader and makes us think about the impact of the product on the user’s life. With such a perspective, you start to really question how to connect the initial user onboarding to the ultimate goal of your potential customer.
The main content of the book has been organised in a framework John has chosen to call EUREKA. While I’m not a great fan of forcing things into abbreviations, I felt that the six points of EUREKA are spot on and critical for any good product team dealing with user onboarding. Here they are:
1. Establish your onboarding team.
2. Understand your users’ desired outcomes.
3. Refine your onboarding success criteria.
4. Evaluate and optimise your onboarding path.
5. Keep new users engaged.
6. Apply to changes in repeat.
I especially liked number 3 and spend a good amount of time reflecting on how i’ve been measuring onboarding with my teams for the last few years. It’s easy to get lost into minute vanity metrics simply because they are easy to measure and give us the perception of doing well. Nailing this part down is the most difficult in my experience, and the art of attributing retention-related indicators to how good your onboarding is can be time & effort heavy.
Two last things i want to highlight as valuable takeaways for me. First is the basic but thought-provoking model of Value Perception > Value Realisation > Value Adoption. I admit I never thought about user onboarding that way and i found it to be a revelation. Second and last, the author references the BJ Fogg Behavioural Model which explains every Behaviour as the product of Motivation x Ability x Prompts. Simple and highly relevant for any digital product, I found this relevant and useful.
Good book - recommended for any digital product manager, designer, analyst, and i suppose for any startup enthusiast. While the book is set in a context of startup entrepreneurship, i find all of its teachings applicable to any established software product too.
August 4, 2025
El onboarding es una etapa crucial y clave en un modelo Product-Led Growth, y este libro logra ahondar en ello con un enfoque claro, combinando teoría con ejemplos concretos, lo cual facilita la comprensión de cada concepto y te permite reflexionar activamente sobre tu experiencia de onboarding actual, entregando herramientas claras y accionables para mejorarla.
El libro se estructura en 3 partes:
1. The onboarding funtamentals: esta primera parte plantea el reencuadre que el onboarding no es solo una simpre etapa posterior al registro, sino un proceso continuo que comienza en el primer contacto y que influye directamente en la adopción, la retención y el crecimiento del producto.
3. The EUREKA framework: en esta sección el autor va de lleno a desglosar el framework en pasos claros que abarcan desde la conformación de un equipo de onboarding que incluye diferentes áreas, hasta la identificación de los "desired outcomes" del usuario, la definición de hitos de éxito, estrategias para mantener el engagement y un enfoque iterativo para la mejora continua.
4. The next steps: en esta última parte el autor amplía la mirada e incorpora el rol de Sales en un modelo PLG como una forma complementaria para maximizar el valor entregado a los usuarios.
La verdad me pareció un libro muy clarificador para reflexionar sobre el onboarding no solo desde la UX o ideas concretas, sino desde una perspectiva de crecimiento estratégico. Me voy con varias ideas para aplicar en mi día a día porque, tal como dice el autor: el onboarding no es una etapa, es una estrategia de negocio.
El libro se estructura en 3 partes:
1. The onboarding funtamentals: esta primera parte plantea el reencuadre que el onboarding no es solo una simpre etapa posterior al registro, sino un proceso continuo que comienza en el primer contacto y que influye directamente en la adopción, la retención y el crecimiento del producto.
3. The EUREKA framework: en esta sección el autor va de lleno a desglosar el framework en pasos claros que abarcan desde la conformación de un equipo de onboarding que incluye diferentes áreas, hasta la identificación de los "desired outcomes" del usuario, la definición de hitos de éxito, estrategias para mantener el engagement y un enfoque iterativo para la mejora continua.
4. The next steps: en esta última parte el autor amplía la mirada e incorpora el rol de Sales en un modelo PLG como una forma complementaria para maximizar el valor entregado a los usuarios.
La verdad me pareció un libro muy clarificador para reflexionar sobre el onboarding no solo desde la UX o ideas concretas, sino desde una perspectiva de crecimiento estratégico. Me voy con varias ideas para aplicar en mi día a día porque, tal como dice el autor: el onboarding no es una etapa, es una estrategia de negocio.
January 22, 2023
After making the case for why onboarding is critical to growth and revenue, the author introduces the "EUREKA" framework.
E - Establish an onboarding team
U - Understand your users' desired outcomes
R - Refine your onboarding success milestones
E - Evaluate your onboarding path
K - Keep your users engages
A - Apply the changes and repeat
The bulk of the book walks through those steps, providing tips and real-world examples. It's easy to read and follow along.
However, I did not feel that it warranted 5 stars. Here's why:
1. Framework and acronym overload. The author likes to suggest frameworks and models almost every step of the way. It's dizzying.
2. The book is almost entirely about onboarding for individuals (not for enterprises). The last content chapter of the book does discuss sales-led onboarding, but it feels thrown in and somewhat out of place. I was hoping for some discussion on how enterprise onboarding differs from individual onboarding, but that never came. Oh well, maybe someone can write a book specifically on that topic.
For me, 4 stars feels about right.
E - Establish an onboarding team
U - Understand your users' desired outcomes
R - Refine your onboarding success milestones
E - Evaluate your onboarding path
K - Keep your users engages
A - Apply the changes and repeat
The bulk of the book walks through those steps, providing tips and real-world examples. It's easy to read and follow along.
However, I did not feel that it warranted 5 stars. Here's why:
1. Framework and acronym overload. The author likes to suggest frameworks and models almost every step of the way. It's dizzying.
2. The book is almost entirely about onboarding for individuals (not for enterprises). The last content chapter of the book does discuss sales-led onboarding, but it feels thrown in and somewhat out of place. I was hoping for some discussion on how enterprise onboarding differs from individual onboarding, but that never came. Oh well, maybe someone can write a book specifically on that topic.
For me, 4 stars feels about right.
August 7, 2021
Product-Led Onboarding was full of a-ha moments for me.
Never before have I bookmarked or highlighted so many sections in a book.
The great thing about this book is that it doesn't only apply to onboarding new users. There are also interesting ideas for copywriters or and even for authors.
I interviewed Ramli about this writing process and we discussed how to apply onboarding to writing a book. You can read about it here: https://coffeeandpens.com/ramli-john/
Never before have I bookmarked or highlighted so many sections in a book.
The great thing about this book is that it doesn't only apply to onboarding new users. There are also interesting ideas for copywriters or and even for authors.
I interviewed Ramli about this writing process and we discussed how to apply onboarding to writing a book. You can read about it here: https://coffeeandpens.com/ramli-john/
September 7, 2022
End to end Framework for improving User Onboarding, which is really Customer Acquisition. A lot of useful tips, and systematization techniques to create a continuous onboarding improvement process.
- Chapters summary and my notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w...
- Youtube video "Product-Led Onboarding: How to Turn New Users into Lifelong Customers with Ramli John
": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzgH1...
- Chapters summary and my notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w...
- Youtube video "Product-Led Onboarding: How to Turn New Users into Lifelong Customers with Ramli John
": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzgH1...
March 8, 2022
Good summary for a great user onboarding improvement process
Good read for a quick step by step summary of things to be done while improving the onboarding process. Good that it touched on customer retention to be thought as part of onboarding itself. Content and tools are great. Good read.
Good read for a quick step by step summary of things to be done while improving the onboarding process. Good that it touched on customer retention to be thought as part of onboarding itself. Content and tools are great. Good read.
January 20, 2025
In my current organisation I am working in PLG team for the last two years. This book is a good explainer for the difference between PLG approach and Sales driven approach. The author gave quite a good of market examples to stress the importance of PLG approach. The author gave a summary after each chapter. This helps to revise the important points.
June 5, 2025
nice follow on from product led growth. definitely better if you’re a little established and have some data to go on as he says in the beginning but still worth reading if you’re going through the motions for the first time. will definitely try to implement some of the eureka (don’t get the name) framework
January 10, 2026
Short book with very specific instructions (ie if opportunity arises to take a rook with a bishop, do it). But it lacks explanation to understand the reasoning, not a single reference to some research or data just bundle of author anecdotes. While a lot of recommendations are intuitively sounding like good advice, it won't help you build the foundation skills to excel in nuanced situations.
September 24, 2022
Great examples and useful templates for PMs to reference
Great examples and useful templates. Great for product managers who would like to specialize in product growth. One remark - there can be fewer words between sessions just for transitioning.
Great examples and useful templates. Great for product managers who would like to specialize in product growth. One remark - there can be fewer words between sessions just for transitioning.
January 22, 2023
The natural next step after reading Product-Led Growth. What this book does even better is to go more into the practical part, providing more frameworks, and defined action steps to put into practice after (and during) your read. Another must-read piece for anyone covering a position in SaaS.
February 18, 2025
Product-Led Onboarding offers valuable insights into user onboarding, especially for those new to the concept. The book presents clear frameworks and examples, but it tends to be repetitive and could be more concise. A good read, but not groundbreaking.
December 9, 2021
This is fine. A mix a UX with some marketing approach. Also too basic.
June 7, 2022
There’s a lot of good onboarding info in here.
April 17, 2023
This and the original Product-Led Growth book are 100% critical reads for any founder or product / marketing / sales / revops leader. All killer and very clearly written.
June 21, 2023
Another book that should have been one pager. Too shallow and… just a bad writing
September 9, 2023
The book has some good points but the amount of repetition is huge.
November 11, 2023
Es bueno, si es tu primer acercamiento al tema. Llega a ser un poco repetitivo.
July 8, 2025
I covered it as part of the company training but it really helped clear many concepts!
June 13, 2021
Got the chance to beta-read this great work from Ramli. Packed with actionable insights for those who would like to improve their user's onboarding experience and drive further product activation and engagement.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews