Lesson 3 of 3 · 8 min
Length, pacing and where to cut
How long a demo should be, and what to remove first.
The thirty-second maximum is folklore. Our data puts the conversion sweet spot between ninety seconds and four minutes, which is substantially longer than most advice suggests.
Why very short demos underperform
They complete beautifully and convert poorly. A thirty-second demo can establish that something exists; it rarely establishes that it works. Viewers finish it with no objection answered and nothing to be convinced by.
Where the time goes in a bad demo
| Section | Typical share | Should be |
|---|---|---|
| Intro and context | 22% | 8% |
| Navigation and setup | 31% | 12% |
| The actual capability | 28% | 55% |
| Edge cases and proof | 9% | 20% |
| Close and CTA | 10% | 5% |
Roughly half of a typical demo is spent getting to the point. That is the material to cut, and it is almost always cuttable — the viewer does not need to watch you navigate.
The cutting order
- 1Everything before the first interesting frame.
- 2Navigation between screens that the viewer does not need to learn.
- 3Any sentence that describes what you are about to do rather than doing it.
- 4Repeated explanations of the same concept in different words.
- 5The summary at the end. Nobody needs a recap of a three-minute video.