How to Make a Tutorial Video Your Customers Will Use

James Crawford

Published September 21, 202611 min readUpdated September 21, 2026

Your phone rings. It's a customer asking the same thing the last five people asked: how do I clean this, how do I set this up, what do I do tonight after my treatment? You explain it again, and you know they'll forget half of it by the time they hang up.

A short video fixes that. When you make a tutorial video for the one question you hear most, your customer can watch it at the exact moment they need it, as many times as they like. This guide shows you how to pick the right topic, film it on a phone in eight steps, keep it short, and get it in front of customers. Here's the quick answer first.

To make a tutorial video for customers, pick one task they ask about often, write the steps down as you do it, and turn them into a short script. Film each step on a steady phone with good light, add captions and step numbers, then test it on one real customer before you send it out.

What is a tutorial video, and why do customers want one?

A tutorial video is a short video that shows a customer how to do one task, step by step, so they can copy you at home. For a small business, that task is usually aftercare, setting up something you sold them, or using a tool like your booking app or client portal.

Customers like to learn this way. According to Wyzowl's 2026 State of Video Marketing survey, as reported by Vidico, 78% of consumers prefer to learn about a product through a short video. Only 9% prefer to read a text article.

A tutorial helps you too. HubSpot's 2026 marketing statistics, citing the same Wyzowl survey, report that 57% of video marketers say video has cut the number of support questions they get.

Think of a dentist sending a "what to do after your filling" video, or a gym showing members how to set up the rowing machine. The customer gets a clear answer at 9 p.m., and you don't get the call.

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Which customer questions should you turn into tutorials first?

The best first tutorial is the question your customers ask most often, especially one where a mistake costs them money, comfort or safety. You find it by listening to your own phone and inbox, not by guessing.

For one week, keep a sheet of paper by the phone. Every time a customer asks "how do I...", write it down and add a tick when it comes up again. At the end of the week, the question with the most ticks is your first video.

If two questions tie, pick the one where a wrong move hurts. A client who picks at a healing tattoo, or a homeowner who can't find the water shut-off valve, needs help fast. Those videos earn their keep the first time someone watches.

Here are ideas to get you thinking, by type of business:

Business	First tutorial	When to send it
Dentist	Caring for your mouth after a tooth is pulled	In the text that confirms the visit is done
Med spa	What to do and avoid in the first 48 hours after treatment	Same day, before the client gets home
Plumber	How to find and turn off your main water valve	After the first job, and on your website
Gym	How to set up and use one tricky machine	In the welcome email for new members
Accountant	How to upload your documents to the client portal	A week before tax papers are due
Small SaaS founder	Your first login and the one setting to change	Right after sign-up
Restaurant with meal kits	How to reheat or finish the dish at home	On a card in the bag, with a QR code

Notice that each row is one task, not a whole topic. "Aftercare" is too big for one video. "The first 48 hours after a peel" is the right size.

How to make a tutorial video in 8 steps

You can make a tutorial video with a phone, a window and about an hour of your time. The steps below work for a physical task, like setting up a product, and for a screen task, like logging into a portal.

Step 1: Pick one task and one viewer

Choose a single task from your tally sheet and picture one person who will watch it. A first-time customer who has never seen the product needs more detail than a repeat client.

Step 2: Do the task and write down every move

Do the task yourself, slowly, and write down each move as a short line. Include the moves that feel too small to mention, like "take the cap off first", because those are the ones people get stuck on.

Step 3: Turn your notes into a short script

Turn each line into one or two spoken sentences, in the words you'd use on the phone. According to Breadnbeyond, people speak about 150 words a minute, so a 60-second video needs about 140 to 160 words.

Step 4: Plan what the camera shows for each step

Next to each line of script, write what the viewer should see: your hands on the valve, the screen with the upload button, the close-up of the label. If you can't say what the viewer sees, the step isn't clear yet.

Step 5: Set up light, sound and a steady phone

Face a window so the light falls on your hands or face, and put the phone on a small tripod or a stack of books. Turn off fans and radios, and record in a quiet room so your voice is easy to hear.

Step 6: Record one step per clip

Film each step as its own short clip instead of one long take. If you fumble step four, you redo one clip, not the whole video.

Step 7: Add captions, step numbers and a clear ending

Put the clips in order in a free phone editor, add captions, and show "Step 1", "Step 2" on screen. End with what "done" looks like and who to call if something still seems wrong.

Step 8: Test it on one real customer

Send the video to one customer, or a friend who has never done the task, and watch them follow it. Wherever they pause or frown, fix that step before you send the video to everyone.

For more on light, sound and backgrounds, our guide on how to make phone videos look professional goes into each fix in detail.

How long should a customer tutorial be?

A customer tutorial should be as short as the task allows, and for most single tasks that means under two minutes. If the job takes longer to show, split it into a short series instead of one long video.

Viewers agree. Per HubSpot's 2026 marketing statistics, Wyzowl found that 51% of people say 30 to 60 seconds is the best length for a video, and 91% said under two minutes.

Even short videos lose people along the way. Wistia's research on video length found that videos under a minute average a 52% engagement rate, which means viewers watch about half. So put the most important step, or the safety warning, near the start.

Task	Suggested length	Format
One quick action (turn off a valve, reset a device)	30 to 60 seconds	One video
A short routine (aftercare for one night)	60 to 90 seconds	One video
A setup with several parts (new product, new portal)	3 to 5 videos of about a minute	A numbered series

A series has one more plus. When one part changes, like a new button in your portal, you reshoot one short video, not the whole set.

Should you film your hands, record your screen or use animation?

The right format depends on what the customer needs to see. Film your hands for physical tasks, record your screen for software, and use animation for things a camera can't show, like what happens inside a tooth or a pipe.

Format	Best for	Watch out for
Filming hands or a face on a phone	Aftercare, product setup, anything the customer does with their hands	Shaky shots, bad light and noise make it hard to follow
Screen recording	Booking apps, client portals, software setup	Moves too fast if you click without talking
Animation (whiteboard or 2D)	Things you can't film, or ideas that need a simple picture	Costs money and takes days, not an afternoon

Filming is free and fast, and it shows the real product in the customer's hands. A screen recording is the clearest way to show a portal, as long as you slow down and say each click out loud.

Animation earns its place when the camera can't help. Pexo's 2026 guide to explainer styles calls whiteboard animation the budget-friendly workhorse for step-by-step teaching and professional services. A lawyer explaining what happens after you sign, or a chiropractor showing what the spine does, can say more with a drawing than a camera.

If that's you, our 30-second animated explainer for $297 covers the script, a human voiceover and the animation. You can also mix formats: animation for the "why", phone clips for the "how".

Where should customers find your tutorial videos?

Customers should find your tutorial video at the moment they need it, not buried on a page they'll never visit. That means sending it with the job, putting it where the product lives, and making it easy to find later.

Here's a short checklist:

In the follow-up message. Add the link to the text or email you already send after a visit or a sale.
On a printed card. Put a QR code (a square barcode a phone camera can open) on your aftercare card, invoice or box.
On the product or service page. Wistia's 2026 State of Video Report found that videos on homepages, video galleries and product pages get the highest play rates.
On a help page. One page on your website with all your tutorials, in order, makes it easy for returning customers.

For the website side, our guide on where to put an explainer video on your website walks through each spot. And if a tutorial shows off your work, you can also add the video to your Google Maps listing.

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What makes a tutorial video hard to follow?

A tutorial video is hard to follow when it skips steps, hides the action, or saves the warning for the end. Most of these problems come from knowing the task so well that you forget what a beginner doesn't know.

The first mistake is skipping the "obvious" step. You know the cap comes off first, but your customer might not. Step 2 in the list above, writing down every move, is how you catch it.

The second is the wrong camera angle. If you face the camera and hold the product up, the customer sees a mirror image. Film over your shoulder, from where the customer would stand, so left is left.

The third is burying safety. "Don't get it wet for 24 hours" belongs right at the start and again at the end, not in the middle of step five.

Quality matters here too. According to the same Wyzowl 2026 survey reported by Vidico, 87% of consumers say video quality affects how much they trust a brand. A dark, muffled tutorial makes your whole business look careless.

How can you tell a tutorial is cutting repeat questions?

You can tell a tutorial is working when the question it answers comes up less often in calls, texts and emails. Count that question for a month before you send the video, then count it again for a month after.

Use the same tally sheet from the start of this guide. Say a dental office got the "can I eat tonight?" call most days. If those calls mostly stop after the video goes out, the video is doing its job.

You can also ask. When a customer calls with a question the video covers, ask if they saw it. If they say "what video?", the problem is where you put it, not the video itself.

Lastly, keep the video current. When your product, price or portal changes, reshoot the step that changed. An out-of-date tutorial causes more calls, not fewer.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make a tutorial video with only a phone?

Yes, a modern phone is enough for most customer tutorials. Add a cheap tripod, face a window for light, and record in a quiet room. Those three things matter more than a better camera.

Do tutorial videos need captions?

Tutorial videos should have captions, because many customers watch with the sound off at work or in a waiting room. Captions also help people who are hard of hearing, and they let a viewer read a step again. Most free phone editors can add them for you.

Should you be on camera in your own tutorials?

You don't have to be on camera, since the task is the star. Show your face for a few seconds at the start so customers know who is helping them, then keep the camera on your hands or the screen.

Should tutorial videos go on YouTube or stay private?

Tutorial videos can go either way. Put general how-to videos on YouTube, where new customers might find you. Keep videos about your client portal or a private treatment plan unlisted, which means only people with the link can watch.

How often should you update a tutorial video?

Update a tutorial video whenever the steps change, such as a new product version or a new button in your app. Check each video once a year, even if nothing seems different.

The short version

A tutorial video answers the one question your customers ask again and again, so they can watch it when they need it and you can stop repeating yourself. Start with a week of tallies to find that question. Then follow the eight steps: pick one task, write down every move, script it, plan the shots, set up light and sound, record one step per clip, add captions and step numbers, and test it on a real customer.

Keep it under two minutes, or split a big job into a short series. Choose the format that shows the task best: hands, screen or animation. Then send it with the job, print a QR code, and put it on your website.

Your goal is simple: when you make a tutorial video for your top question, you get fewer "how do I" calls and customers who get it right the first time. If you'd like help with the animated side, our 30-second explainer is $297, and custom videos start at $1,299.

Ready to get your own video made? Order a 30-second explainer for $297 and have it in 7 days, or book a free call if you want a custom video from $1,299.

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