Guide · Technology & SaaS · By the AutoScribble Team · Published 22 September 2026
How to explain a complex SaaS product with an animated sketch video
Short answer
Explain the product through the customer's problem, not its features: show the painful ‘before’, introduce one simple metaphor for how your product works, and end with the outcome. Give AutoScribble your website or one-pager, ask for 60–90 seconds in landscape, cut every feature that doesn't serve the story, and link to a screen recording for the detail.
Who this guide is for
Founders, product marketers and customer-facing teams at software companies. It's part of our technology & saas resources.
What you'll need
- Your homepage URL or product one-pager
- Your best customer's description of the problem
- One metaphor for how the product works
Step by step
- 1
Write the before
Describe the problem in your customer's words, not yours.
- 2
Choose one metaphor
A traffic controller for routing, a filing clerk for data pipelines. One is enough.
- 3
Limit to three capabilities
Only the ones that deliver the outcome in the story.
- 4
State the outcome
Time saved, errors avoided, decisions made — without invented numbers.
- 5
Hand off to detail
End with a CTA to a demo or a screen-recorded tour.
Illustrative storyboard: an API monitoring tool
| Scene | Visual | Narration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A developer asleep; a phone buzzing at 3am | Your app depends on dozens of outside services. When one slows down, you usually hear it from customers first. |
| 2 | A lighthouse sweeping over boats labelled with API names | Beacon watches every service you rely on, around the clock. |
| 3 | One boat flashing red; a calm alert on a phone | The moment one starts to struggle, you get a clear alert — with what's wrong. |
| 4 | The developer fixing it over coffee | So you fix problems before customers notice. |
Illustrative example written for this guide.
Copy the AutoScribble prompt
Complete prompt
Write a 75-second landscape whiteboard explainer for [product] aimed at [audience]. Start with the problem in the customer's words: [problem]. Use this one metaphor for how the product works: [metaphor]. Mention no more than three capabilities, don't invent statistics or features, and end with a call to action to [CTA]. Product details: [Paste one-pager or website URL]
Common mistakes
- Listing every feature
- Mixing several metaphors
- Showing a fake UI that will date
Review before publishing
- Claims match the product
- No invented numbers
- Metaphor is consistent throughout
Questions
When is a sketch explainer better suited than a screen recording?
When the viewer needs to understand why the product matters and how parts relate. Screen recordings are better for exact clicks in the current interface.
Can AutoScribble start from our website?
Yes. Paste the address and it drafts a script from your site in your own voice.