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Best Practices for Creating Instructions on Dux Platform
Hey there đ we wrote this short white paper to help you with the most boring part of creating products - the instructions!
Dux is an all-in-one platform to create, share & follow digital product instructions. Digital instructions are cheaper to create, versus printing out millions of pieces of paper that most customers will throw away. We've created a way to monetize product instructions. Cofounders, Arnab Barua & Martin Gagne, spent the last 12 months learning about instructions and user manuals from the people that use them - consumers! Read on to find out what we learned from them.
â1. Keep it simple. No one likes to read long boring documents, and your customers are no different! They simply want to learn the basic functions of your product, start using it, and continue on with their lives. Often times, technical writers prioritize getting the most information out of their heads, onto paper, but they don't prioritize the consumer experience. Always keep your end users' experience in mind!
â2. Use helpful images and media. With Dux, it's easy to create instructions from our template library (always expanding with new templates). You can quickly insert helpful media, like diagrams, images, and videos to explain a step in the process. Consumers quickly pick things up by watching others (it's why TikTok really blew up over the last 2 years).
â3. Keep it fun! Yes, I know what you're thinking, "what's fun about instructions"? Truthfully, not a lot. BUT, you can change that. We built Dux to really prioritize the consumer experience, and consumers love fun things like emojis đ€©, GIFs, memes, you name it! The old way of doing business is boring and the new way puts a light airy spin to something as boring as instructions. With Dux, you can embed GIFs and memes. You'd be surprised how many Fortune 500 CEOs use emoji's in professional emails to convey a message!
â4. Make them digital and social. Here's an excerpt from an interview we had with a consumer:
â
âDux: As a consumer, what do you typically do with instructions after?
ED: Throw them away.
âDux: Why?
âED: Well, I just don't have the space or the want to keep them anywhere. Sometimes I keep them in a drawer or box somewhere, but they start piling up and I end up purging them sooner or later... so yea, end's up in the trash.
âIt's no secret, paper instructions are wasteful! Over 90% of people we spoke to said that they discard instructions after one-time use. That's a lot of paper waste that affects our planet.
Dux makes digital instructions easy to save and come back to at anytime at the tap of a button. Your customers can save instructions to their collection and can like, comment, and share with others. Dux can tie in cross-sell and other monetization features for your product instructions, this creates more revenue and awareness for you. After all, the more people that know about your products, the better!
Founders with Purpose Podcast
In this podcast, join Arnab Barua, cofounder & CEO of Dux, as he explains why we set out to build Dux and what we're accomplishing in the world of instructions!
Founders with Purpose is hosted by Darian Parrish, as he interviews with early stage founders about their mission, why they choose startup life, and how they will get where they are going.
https://www.podpage.com/founders-with-purpose/episode-5-arnab-barua-co-founder-of-dux/
Disadvantages of Paper Instruction Manuals
They take up space, theyâre confusing to read, can be torn easily, they cost a lot of money to print, and they harm the environment.
These are just some of the disadvantages of paper manuals. In this new age, documents and businesses are embracing digital and everyone is joining in on the sustainability trend. Paper printing is slowly becoming a thing of the past â some might even say âobsoleteâ - and we are turning to our device screens.
They Take Up Space
Manuals can take up space, especially if you have been collecting them from all the items you have bought that came with paper instructions. They may come in just a few pages or an entire book. Either way, they just pose further inconvenience. Not to mention, they can easily become misplaced, never to see the light of day again. How do you keep your instruction manuals? Do you keep them in a drawer, or some sort of filing cabinet? Or are you like me, and throw them away right after one use?
They Are Confusing to Read
Have you ever read an instruction manual back-to-back? I donât think anyone has. They are the extremely confusing to read, especially if they are text heavy, and come in multiple language formats.âIâve actually talked with some companies about how their instructions are written, and itâs like talking to technical writers who speak in Dothraki or some other language from Game of Thronesâ.
People are more willing to view simple images or a few bullet points. Â But when you open a hundred-page booklet printed in black and white and small fonts, you know youâre in for a world of hurt. Digital manuals are easier to read and more convenient to use.
Expensive to Create
One of the drawbacks of paper manuals is the cost that comes along with it. When you factor in the cost of tons of paper to print out, numerous industrial printers running 24/7, gallons of ink, and a team of humans to supervise the entire process, the costs for companies to create paper instructions continue to outweigh the benefits. It just isnât worth it anymore.
Not Environmentally Friendly
Paper manuals arenât helping the environment at all. Companies will cut down hundreds of trees just to print out hard to read boring manuals. Â Not to mention, the labor and equipment required to process each tree to produce paper. Greenhouse effect anyone?
Using digital instructions will reduce the amount of paper used and will increase the effectivity of the operation and productivity. Most consumers of products end up throwing instructions away after one use, so why bother printing them out? It seems like a redundant and unnecessary evil.