Onboarding Video Script

Writes the script a founder or PM reads aloud to record a product onboarding video. The video's job is to walk a brand-new user from first touch to one aha moment and end with a habit-forming CTA that attaches the product action to an existing daily trigger ("tomorrow morning, do X").

Output is a two-column markdown deliverable — talk track on the left, on-screen action / click path on the right, with timing markers and production notes. Modeled on the demo-script two-column pattern; differs by being founder-owned (not sales-owned), single-aha (not feature-tour), and habit-CTA-terminated (not "next steps").

The body of this file holds decision-grade context (when to invoke, inputs, duration tables, the single-aha and TTV rules, anti-hallucination guardrails, integration). Step-by-step process, two-column output template, the aha-moment framework, founder narration craft library, duration templates, quality gates, and the feedback loop live in the premium reference.

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Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout)

Output complies with:

• output-tenets.md — the seven tenets
• output-simplicity.md — length caps, three-layer source placement, robot-tells ban
• Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]]

Refinements applied to this skill:

Code	Refinement	How it lands in onboarding-video-script
R1	Source placement (three layers)	Script is internal-reference (founder reads it aloud) BUT the video output is end-customer-facing. Talk-track column has no source attribution. Production-notes column carries internal cites for QA only. The video itself never carries a "Sources:" frame.
R3	Product-update tone	Founder narration frames as "we shipped X to fix Y" not "we are thrilled to introduce." Even on launch-day videos. Operator-direct founder voice.
R6	CTA hierarchy	The closing habit-CTA names the product-action tied to a daily trigger ("tomorrow morning, do X") — NOT a sign-up CTA (viewer already signed up to see the onboarding video). Per Step 6 warm-base = product-action rule.
R9	Action-oriented section names	"Hook / Land the aha / Habit-trigger close" — verb-led across script beats.

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Claude Code triggers

Invoke this skill when user says:

• "Onboarding video script"
• "Founder walkthrough script"
• "Product onboarding video"
• "Aha moment video"
• "First-run video script"
• "Loom script for onboarding"
• "Activation video script"
• "Walkthrough script for [product]"

Do NOT invoke when:

• User wants marketing channel video → /youtube-scripts
• User wants sales demo → /demo-script
• User wants written onboarding doc → handle directly
• User wants in-product tooltip / modal copy → out of catalog (product UX)
• User wants emails around the video → /email-nurture
• User wants a rendered onboarding MP4 (animated UI pieces, motion graphics) → /onboarding-video (sibling — the render counterpart to this script skill)
• User wants a generic brand MP4 (not onboarding, no stills) → /product-ui-frames

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Input requirements

Required

Input	Description	Source
Product URL	Live product website / pricing / feature pages	User-provided
Transcript	Founder walkthrough, customer call, or PM screen-share talk-through, processed through transcript-analysis	transcript-analysis upstream skill
Locked positioning	Primary anchor + differentiator the script must reflect	positioning skill output (status: locked)
Target duration	One of: 60s teaser / 3min onboarding (default) / 5min walkthrough / 10min full tour	User-specified
Target persona	One persona — multi-persona requires multi-script	User or icp-behavioural

Recommended (improve quality)

Input	How it helps
product-messaging	Aligns talk-track with locked messaging library
icp-behavioural	Persona-specific aha moment + pain points
tov-guidelines	Voice rules — conversational, founder-first-person
company-context	Firmographics + traction (used sparingly in talk-track)

Validation gate before proceeding

• Product URL is live and reachable
• Transcript exists (or transcript-analysis has run)
• Positioning is locked (not draft / review)
• Target duration chosen
• Target persona chosen (one)

If any required input is missing or positioning is not locked, ask before generating. Do NOT write a script against draft positioning — the script will be invalidated when positioning locks.

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Process at a glance

Phase	Purpose	Output
1. Discover	Pull product context from URL + transcript; identify candidate ahas	Aha candidate list (3–5 options)
2. Map aha	Pick one aha; map persona pain → TTV → activation metric → habit CTA	Aha + Hook-model decision (1 page)
3. Script	Write hook → setup → aha walkthrough → reinforce → habit CTA in two-column format	Draft script
4. Polish	Apply founder-narration craft rules; chunk for re-recordability; add B-roll cues	Polished script + production notes

Full step-by-step (with checkpoints, flowchart, review gate) in the premium reference.

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Duration templates (decision-grade)

Duration	Use case	Hook	Aha by	Total sections
60s teaser	Public landing page video, ad pre-roll	0:00–0:05	0:30	Hook → Aha → CTA
3min onboarding (default)	First-run experience, post-signup welcome	0:00–0:10	1:30	Hook → Setup → Aha → Reinforce → Habit CTA
5min walkthrough	Mid-funnel conversion video, product page	0:00–0:15	2:30	Hook → Setup → Aha → 2nd use case → Reinforce → Habit CTA
10min full tour	Deep walkthrough for evaluators, sales-assist	0:00–0:20	4:00	Hook → Setup → Aha → 3 use cases → Reinforce → Habit CTA

Full templates with section-by-section talk-track/click-path/timing in the premium reference.

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Aha moment framework (decision-grade)

The differentiator vs. generic video script generators. Six rules govern the script:

1. One aha rule — pick a single aha moment. Most onboarding videos try 4–5 features and miss all of them.
2. TTV ceiling — aha lands at or before 50% of total duration (40% for 10-min tour).
3. Hook model — every script must hit Eyal's four steps: trigger → action → variable reward → investment.
4. Activation metric mapping — the script drives one specific in-product action (the leading indicator of retention).
5. Persona-specific aha — same product, different aha per persona. Multi-persona = multi-script.
6. Habit ladder CTA — the CTA attaches the product action to an existing daily trigger ("tomorrow at standup, do X").

Full framework with worked decision tables in the premium reference.

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Founder narration rules (decision-grade)

Seven hard rules that distinguish founder-recorded onboarding videos from polished YouTube content:

1. Conversational — read-aloud test: "would I say this in a Zoom call?" No "leverage", no "synergize", no marketing-deck cadence.
2. Re-recordable — chunk script into 30–60s segments with clear cut points so founders can re-record sections without redoing the whole video.
3. Screen-paced — talk-track timing matches click-path. A 4-second click gets 4 seconds of talk track.
4. Single-take feasibility — minimize cuts. Founders aren't editors; script for one take per segment.
5. First-person founder voice — "I built this because…" not "Our platform offers…". Personal anchors trust faster than corporate.
6. Length discipline — if the script overruns, cut features, never the aha.
7. One CTA — single habit-forming action. Not three CTAs, not "and follow us on LinkedIn".

Full craft library with anti-examples in the premium reference.

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Anti-hallucination guardrails

1. Don't invent features. Only script features verifiable in the URL or transcript. Mark unconfirmed click paths with [CONFIRM: click path].
2. Don't invent metrics. No "saves you 10 hours" claims in talk-track unless the founder gave you the number with a source.
3. Don't fake testimonials. No "users tell us…" without a real quote in the transcript.
4. Persona-specific voice, not generic-buyer. Adapt language to the actual persona; flag generic phrasing.
5. Time-realistic. Verify timing aloud — read the script with a stopwatch; if it overruns, trim before delivering.
6. No invented aha. If the transcript doesn't surface a clear aha, ask the founder before assuming one. Confirmation > confabulation.

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Integration with other skills

Skill	Relationship	Usage
positioning	Provides input (required)	Anchor + differentiator the script reflects
transcript-analysis	Provides input (required)	Structured aha candidates, quotes, click-path hints
product-messaging	Provides input (recommended)	Talk-track aligns with locked messaging library
icp-behavioural	Provides input (recommended)	Persona pain → aha mapping
tov-guidelines	Provides input (recommended)	Voice rules (founder first-person)
case-study	Sibling	Different artifact: customer story vs. founder walkthrough
storytelling	Sibling	Narrative arc craft library — pull patterns when needed
webinar	Sibling	Different format: longer, multi-speaker
demo-script	Related	Sales walkthrough vs. user onboarding (different audience, different goal)
email-nurture	Downstream	Emails before/after the video — script feeds into the nurture sequence
onboarding-video	Sibling (script ↔ render pair)	Same flow, different artifact: this skill writes the founder-read script; /onboarding-video renders the animated UI variant. Often produced together — script first, then render.
product-ui-frames	Related	Generic brand-bound MP4 engine. /onboarding-video inherits from it; this script skill is a separate lane (script vs. render)

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MCP data integration

Level: 2 — PM Execution

Source	What to pull	Tool	When
Product URL (web)	Pricing / feature / docs pages for grounding click paths	Exa web_fetch_exa per .claude/rules/exa-protocol.md	When transcript context is thin
Product URL (clean extract)	Full structured page content for dense pricing / feature tables	mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape	When Exa fetch returns insufficient detail
Transcript	Aha candidates, quotes, persona pain markers	transcript-analysis upstream skill	Always

Fallback (no MCP): Founder-provided narration outline + manual product walkthrough notes.

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Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.

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Persuasion & stickiness pass

Output complies with persuasion-and-stickiness.md — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate.

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