How to Make a Tutorial Video: A Step-by-Step Guide

Video tutorials accomplish something that no other learning content can do: show users, step by step, how to complete a specific task or process.

Whether you’re teaching veteran sellers how to use new customer relationship software or helping new hires figure out how to add an email signature, a video tutorial will help. These how-to videos, which are typically only a few minutes in length, have applications for employee onboarding, customer engagement, internal communications, and eLearning programs.

The good news is that you don’t have to have any video production experience to make a tutorial video that achieves your goals. All you need is the right preparation, video tools, and approach.

In this guide, you’ll find out how to create tutorial videos that are clear, accurate, and, above all, easy to digest. You’ll also learn how to ensure that your videos are effortless to update as needed, which will save you time and money and guarantee a longer shelf life for your content.

Table of Contents
What is a video tutorial?
Benefits of video tutorials
How to make a tutorial video in 8 steps
Tips for making an effective video tutorial
The best software for making tutorial videos
FAQs

What is a video tutorial?

A video tutorial is a type of training video. Also known as a how-to video or instructional video, a video tutorial a recorded, step-by-step guide showing how to perform a specific task. Video tutorials are especially useful for self-guided learning because viewers can see exactly what to do at each step of the process.

Video tutorials are incredibly popular: in the first quarter of 2024, over 25% of internet users watched how-to videos at least once a week — on YouTube and other websites. Learning tasks through video is more effective, as well. Users retain 95% of what they learn from watching a video compared with 10% from reading text.

Popular video tutorial styles include animated videos, live action videos, and screen recordings accompanied by an instructor’s webcam commentary.

Benefits of video tutorials

Video tutorials are more effective and engaging learning tools than lengthy text content. Benefits of video tutorials include:

• Flexibility: Video tutorials are uniquely suited to asynchronous learning, allowing users to view content on their own time — and as many times as they need. Unlike live instruction, users can adapt how-to videos to fit any schedule.
• Engagement: Users prefer video to instructional manuals by a 3-to-1 margin. Video tutorials meet users where they live, providing easy-to-digest information in a format that they prefer.
• Retention: Users retain more information when watching a video than when reading a static script. The main reason for this is that videos engage multiple senses simultaneously. The combination of visuals, sound, and animation provides a more immersive experience, helping to clarify and reinforce concepts.
• Personalization: Video content is simple to update, customizable for various audiences, and easy to translate into multiple languages. You can add elements like text pop-ups, onscreen footage, or screen captures as needed.
• Accessibility: Features like language translation, captioning, and text pop-ups make it trouble-free to ensure accessibility for all audiences. Because video content is convenient to update, you can even make changes on the fly as you receive feedback from your users.
• Pacing: Learners can return to video tutorials as needed. No more scrambling through notes or taking up power users’ time with easy-to-answer questions.

Tutorial videos are effortless to digest, engaging, accessible to users, and encourage self-directed learning and problem-solving. They’re also quick to make — even for creators who don’t have video production experience.

How to make a tutorial video in 8 steps

If you can make a PowerPoint presentation, you can produce your own tutorial videos. It’s as straightforward as following these steps:

1. Define the purpose

What do you want your video to achieve? To nail down this first step, you need to decide on a few factors:

• The topic of your video tutorial: This is the easiest part of the process because (hopefully!) you already know what you want your how-to video to teach your users. However, it’s a good idea to state this outright. It will help you double-check the scope of your tutorial to ensure that you’re sharply focused on one particular task, skill, or process.
• Your goals: What do you hope users will get out of this? Be as clear as possible.
• Your target audience: Depending on the scope of your video tutorial, you may be speaking to one user type or many. For example, everyone from the newest intern to the most seasoned executive needs to know how to make an email signature, but only content marketing folks need to understand how to upload documents to your content management system.

If you can’t name it, you can’t measure it. Defining the purpose of your tutorial video ensures that you target certain goals, such as learning discrete tasks, developing skills, and training new staff.

2. Make a storyboard

A storyboard is a visual framework for your instructional video. It demonstrates how your video will tell the story, frame by frame.

A typical storyboard contains rough sketches of each shot and a brief description of the action, dialogue, and special effects in each frame. Each panel of the storyboard represents a shot in the completed video.

Storyboards are typically hand-drawn, but you can use software to speed your process (especially if you’re not a great artist). The important thing is to focus on what each frame needs to convey: the visuals, the action, and the text or verbal dialogue.

Writing a storyboard also helps make the next step easier: writing your script.

3. Write a script

The script outlines the action and content of your video tutorial. Everything that happens in your video will be included in this text-based document.

A good video tutorial script follows a simple structure: the beginning, middle, and end (otherwise known as the intro, body, and conclusion). It should begin with a clear call to action that sets up the goal, scene, and characters.

The script outlines the journey your characters take to achieve the goal. For example, if your tutorial video shows how to write a cold sales email, you would start with a call to action — writing an email that builds customer relationships and ultimately converts to a sale. Then, you would show, scene by scene, how to write each part of the email and how it results in hitting sales targets.

4. Determine your recording approach

Next up is figuring out exactly how you want to bring your ideas to life. When it comes to recording your video tutorial, you have three main options:

• Record real people. Opt for real people, either as talking heads or experts explaining tasks, and record them against a backdrop or location. Or, consider using a realistic AI Avatar to serve as the host of your content.
• Share your screen. Record yourself or an expert doing the task with screen capture, either with voiceover or an inset video. Ensure that you’re appropriately zoomed in, that your mic works well, and so on.
• Use animation. The animation option enables you to zoom in, zoom out, and create any environment you want, from your office to the surface of the moon. Use your own or another expert’s voice, or opt for a realistic-sounding AI voice narrator. Regardless of your choice, animation lets you save money on a video shoot.

Versatile AI video creation platforms like Vyond enable all three options. You can even upload real video footage to the platform and customize it from there.

5. Rehearse until you’re confident

Just as when you’re giving a presentation or conducting a job interview, the secret to sounding confident is practice. Start by reading your script out loud to ensure that your language sounds as smooth when spoken as it looks when printed on the page. Tweak as necessary and continue practicing until you feel comfortable.

If you choose to record yourself live, pay attention to your body language. Watch your posture, hand movements, and gestures. You’re looking for an open, confident, positive vibe. If you opt for a voiceover, make sure your language is simple and clear.

(Note: Just as there are AI alternatives to a host, there are now AI voices you can choose to narrate your script. One benefit of using AI voiceover is that you don’t have to rehearse as much or worry about your presentation to the same extent. However, you will still have to ensure that your written words translate well into speech.)

6. Record

Regardless of which approach you take — live action, screen capture, or animation — the recording step begins by making sure you have the appropriate equipment. Ideally, use a high-quality microphone and camera (or video creation software that replicates both in-screen). Video creation software can also make it easier to integrate multiple sources like audio tracks, visual assets, and text pop-ups.

Be sure to double-check requirements for your video-sharing platform. For example, if you’re uploading your video to YouTube, you’ll need to shoot in landscape mode to ensure the content fits your viewers’ screens appropriately.

7. Edit

Editing is the stage that will make or break your video. A well-edited tutorial will look professional, engage viewers, and convey your message effectively.

The exact steps you take during the editing process will depend on your equipment, medium, and goals. If you use a video creation platform, you may even be able to create, edit, and share from one dashboard, depending on the product you choose.

Regardless of your tools and goals, your editing process will include some of these to-dos:

• Cutting scenes: With your message in mind, look for opportunities to tighten transitions, improve cuts, add zoom shots, or otherwise improve the narrative flow.
• Adding text: Decide where you want text to appear in your video. Common uses of text are titles, subtitles, captions, and pop-up text. Make sure your font choices are consistent and legible.
• Balancing audio: This step will be especially important if you’re using live recording, but even if you opt for AI narration, you’ll need to decide on background music, sound effects, etc.
• Boosting interactive elements: Add arrows, callouts, shapes, and highlights to draw attention to important points.
• Toning down excessive Fx: As a last step, rewatch your video with a critical eye. Are the bells and whistles getting in the way of your message? If so, cut anything that seems distracting or unnecessary.

8. Share and promote your video tutorial

Save your final product and share it to your internal eLearning site, YouTube, or social media as appropriate. Pay attention to file requirements and test your video before announcing it to your users.

When you’re ready to roll out your tutorial, make sure it’s easy to find. Consider pinning it to appropriate Slack channels, making it searchable in internal systems, and linking it to related content.

Also, keep in mind that users need a good reason to click — and “it’s mandatory” isn’t as persuasive as we might like to think. Remind your learners why it’s in their best interests to watch this tutorial and engage with it. How will this content help their career?

Tips for making an effective video tutorial

So, now you know how to make a video tutorial. But how can you ensure your how-to video really lands with its intended audience? Keep these tips in mind:

• Invest in the planning stage. Do your research before committing to a vision. Ask for input from multiple subject matter experts and stakeholders — don’t just go with one expert’s vision of how to do a task.
• Think in images. Users will be more persuaded by what they see, not by what you tell them. Resist the temptation to overwrite your script.
• Provide road signs. During the storyboarding phase, signal where your story is going with visual cues such as facial expressions and actions.
• Keep it simple. Don’t overload your viewers with multiple stimuli at the same time.
• Vary shots. Simple doesn’t mean boring, however. Take full advantage of the video creation software’s capabilities by mixing up shot types and angles.
• Consider a video host to boost engagement. Whether you go with AI avatars, animation, or real people, having a host for your tutorial helps people connect with the content.
• Inject moments of humor. Funny moments give your viewers a chance to pause, which will help them re-engage with the material.
• Consider multiple distribution streams. Incorporate your video tutorial into onboarding, pin to appropriate Slack channels, or distribute through the company eLearning platform.
• Set metrics for success. What do you hope to achieve with your video? Know what success looks like, whether it’s a certain level of engagement or increased retention for employees who interacted with the tutorial.
• Update your video tutorial as needed. Perform regular audits, updating steps when necessary. Animation makes this process easier because there’s no need to reshoot with live participants.

Remember that your video tutorial is a living document. Be ready to listen to and incorporate feedback and make changes when appropriate.

The best software for making tutorial videos

Learning how to make tutorial videos can seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t have much (or any!) video production experience. But today’s tools make it easier than ever for users with all levels of knowledge to produce effective, engaging videos quickly and easily.

Vyond’s all-in-one AI video creation platform is uniquely well-suited to help both new and experienced video creators make effective tutorial videos, easily, in a wide range of styles. With Vyond’s versatile set of tools, you can create animated explainer videos, mixed media tutorials that incorporate live action footage you upload, webcam and screen recordings, and dynamic text and animations — and more.

Also, with the Document to Video feature in Vyond Go, you can convert PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, as well as .doc and .txt files into tutorial videos in less than a minute. And our selection of over 90 AI Avatars offers you a quick and easy way to add an instructor’s commentary to any footage you want to explain.

To find out how Vyond can make tutorial video creation effortless, sign up for a free 14-day trial.

FAQs

How long should a video tutorial be?

There’s no ideal length for a video tutorial, but keep in mind that it’s usually best to break down tasks into smaller steps. Users are more likely to engage with learning in small bites.

What is the best software for making video tutorials?

Vyond is the best all-in-one platform for making video tutorials because it enables users with no production experience to create professional videos in a wide range of styles quickly. Use Vyond Go to create a quick script and video in minutes. Or use Vyond Studio’s library of templates, styles, scenes, and characters to make engaging tutorials with just a few clicks.

Can I make a video tutorial for free?

You can find free video tutorial tools as easily as performing a simple Google search. However, if you want top-quality videos with customization options that are tailored to your needs, you’re better off paying for a video creation platform that really works. Professional video generation tools come at a variety of price points, and even the least expensive tier will provide you with significantly better results.

What equipment do I need to make video tutorials?

You can make video tutorials using your webcam and a decent microphone as long as you have the right video production software. There’s no need to pay more for studio-quality equipment.