# Notion auth template choice before empty install

> Offer a template during OAuth when the first useful setup is easier to duplicate than explain, so the user arrives in a working workspace instead of an empty permission grant.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/notion-auth-template-choice-before-empty-install/
- Source: [developers.notion.com](https://developers.notion.com/guides/get-started/authorization)
- GrowthDex source hub: [Notion Docs: Authorization](/sources/notion-docs-authorization-developers-notion-com/)
- Last checked: 2026-06-09T10:06:53.000Z
- Rarity: epic
- Budget: low
- Channels: Onboarding, Activation, Product-led Growth
- Stages: oauth, template duplication, activation path, first workspace


## Why this can grow

Permission prompts do not create momentum by themselves. Notion's authorization flow gives public connections a better opening move. If the connection includes a public template, the user can duplicate that template during auth instead of choosing existing pages. Notion then adds the connection to the workspace, duplicates the page, and shares the new page with the connection automatically. That means the team can turn a scary setup step into a concrete first artifact. For operators, this is useful because it replaces a vague promise with something the buyer can inspect immediately: a CRM shell, a content tracker, a research board, a vendor intake system. The template is not decoration. It is a first-use state.

## Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. My bias is to treat this as a small market test first. Make the audience narrow, make the promise concrete, and let the first real response decide whether it deserves more work. For activation, the useful question is not whether users liked the page. It is whether they got to the first meaningful win faster. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

## Action plan

1. Define one narrow startup segment where notion auth template choice before empty install can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Onboarding and Activation channel.
3. Use the evidence from developers.notion.com to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

## Source-backed example

Notion's auth guide says that when a public connection includes a template option, the user can duplicate the template during OAuth and Notion automatically adds the connection, duplicates the page, and shares the new page with the connection.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [Notion page picker full access before rollout video](/growth-ideas/notion-page-picker-full-access-before-rollout-video/) - same source, 1 shared channel
- [Stripe Apps post-install action opens the next job](/growth-ideas/stripe-apps-post-install-action-opens-the-next-job/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [Chrome Web Store Google sign-in when login is required](/growth-ideas/chrome-web-store-google-sign-in-when-login-is-required/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [Telegram menu button matches the user state](/growth-ideas/telegram-menu-button-matches-the-user-state/) - 2 shared channels

## Read GrowthDex essays

Browse the plain-English essay index at [GrowthDex Blog](/blog/).

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The Notion connection should earn the first workspace](/blog/the-notion-connection-should-earn-the-first-workspace/) - product-led growth, marketplaces, brand trust

## Advisory

If you want help turning this into a working growth system, Ian Goh offers advisory at https://iangoh.com/advisory.