Imagine you just registered for a new web app. You're in the main view and… now what? It's empty. What should you click? There's either no buttons or too many calls to action. How do I use this? What does successful use look like? Can someone tell me what to do?

The biggest vulnerability of your funnel is that first moment when you've converted the user but they have yet to directly experience the value of your product first hand.

You need to usher your user to *as fast as possible* to that experience.

This is not the time to tell them about cool features, hidden gems, or awesome little things you're proud of. You need to cut straight to the value. Later in the experience you can add hints and tips in various places but right now cut right to that one thing that matters most and why you built your app.

You're in a delicate situation and act as if you have a few seconds before the user gets frustrated and leaves. Give a very very clear call to action - don't give a full tour of all the cool things someone can do. Don't give the user options to decide or think about if you can avoid it. Be in charge as if you're standing over their shoulder, pointing at the screen.

The best way to think about this is think of the in-person demos you do. What do you show first? What do you notice makes people light up and excited? Cut to that as soon as possible.

Finally, read "The Blank Slate" - what pre-populated data can you put in so that users can envision the app in full swing?

With a great onboarding process you can dramatically increase your engagement and retention - just give users that little push so no one falls through the cracks.

Monitor your funnel and improve this over time based on the data you see from those who clearly use the value to those who ended up paying.