Your Scriptwriting Partner

A lot of my readers ask questions like:

• How long does it take to write a script?
• Which scripting format works best?
• What do YOU do in a writing session?

So I'm gonna show you a script in progress.

I've written scripts for multi-million subscriber YouTubers like Ali Abdaal and Mike Shake, and recently had the privilege of working with Colin and Samir too.

That being said... here's what I actually achieved during a 100 minute scriptwriting session with my community members:

(20 min) - Packaging Brainstorm

First, I brainstormed a bunch of title ideas:

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Next, I jumped over to 1of10 for my packaging inspiration.

When I searched "YouTube scriptwriting", it was nice to see the first outlier result was one of my own 👀

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I also spotted this tasty looking outlier that was absolutely huge for a small channel (my scriptwriting channel is still tiny as well).

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Next, I sketched my own packaging to make sure there was a "clickable" angle for this video:

(10 min) - Bullet Point Brainstorm

Every script starts like this.

It's basically a free-for-all where I try to let my imagination run wild:

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Once I've brainstormed the content, it's time to start scripting.

Here's why I'm obsessed with table-format scripts:

(70 min) - Scripting

Rather than staring at a blank page, a table-format script lets me plug my bullet points into a pre-established structure.

That means I can quickly see where there are gaps in the script, and where I need to spend a bit more time thinking about the content.

When I'm plugging my bullet points in, I do payoffs first:

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...then setups:

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But before filling in the tension section, I go back to the hook.

After all, now I know all my setups and payoffs, it's way easier to distill the video's value in the hook:

And by the way... I don't need to nail the hook yet.

My priority is making continuous progress, rather than getting hung up on a single task for too long.

With the hook drafted, I go back to the body of the script and start expanding the tension segments to link all my setups to my payoffs:

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In this session, I:

• Ideated the packaging (made easier with 1of10).
• Brainstormed the script contents.
• Transferred my brainstorm into a pre-structured script (setup, tension, payoff).
• Drafted the hook.

Next time, I will:

• Re-write the hook.
• Re-write all setups and payoffs word-for-word.
• Write/expand all tension sections.
• Write my end-screen CTA.

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In my experience, spending 2-3 sessions on a single script is ideal.

It gives your brain time to keep ruminating on the ideas in the meantime.

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

George 👋

I recently worked on this video for a client:

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It's a 6.8x outlier for this relatively small channel, and is still growing nicely.

The funny thing is... this was the video that made me want to pitch working with the channel in the first place.

The idea came to me in a dingy New York hotel room back in September, and I was just convinced that if we could work together and make it... it would do well.

So, having been proven right (yay!), let's talk about:

1. How to ideate and package a “big swing” idea for a channel of any size.
2. Why it’s (sometimes) ok to break one of the most fundamental rules of scriptwriting.

Full Video Explainer (19 min)

I talk about the process of ideating, packaging and writing the hook for this video here:

Click to watch!

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However, if you don’t have time, here’s the written summary…

What is a Big Swing idea?

• A standout piece of content that you don't want to remake for at least 2-3 years.
• It should represent your core beliefs, on a topic that is fundamental to your brand or philosophy.
• It should have a higher view ceiling and act as a vehicle for growing your channel.
• It might require more time or resources.
• However, it's riskier. You need to be confident in the idea and its packaging before taking a big swing.

So let's talk about how to feel confident your big swing idea will perform well...

1/ Find your spikey POV

• This is a unique, strongly held opinion that challenges conventional wisdom.
• It must be a sincerely held POV - not controversial for the sake of it.
• It should provoke thought and discussion because it goes against the norm.
• Paddy Galloway spoke about using this approach with Ramit Sethi - his spikey POV is that owning a house is not the right choice for a lot of people:

• I took the same approach with ‘Notion Failed You’ - I knew that my client genuinely didn’t use (or like) Notion, contrary to the glowing endorsements of most productivity influencers.

So... what's your spikey POV?

2/ Framing inspiration

• The idea needs to be framed, i.e. given a specific "direction". It's a video about Notion, yes - but what's our specific angle?
• Start by noticing the framing of videos you see on YouTube. Ask yourself: what sticks out to me?
• For example, the framing of this Bryan Johnson video stuck out to me. It's a video about AG1, but the specific framing is "[X] Failed. Here's Why." I just loved it the moment I heard it. (And this video was also an outlier!)

• I use 1of10 to keep track of videos that inspire me - whether that's the framing, the topic, or the packaging (which we'll come on to next).
• I also have playlists on YouTube so I can easily add inspiration to a list when I'm scrolling.

So keep an eye out while on YouTube - ask yourself "why did the 'framing' of that video make me want to click it?"

3/ Find packaging inspiration

• This is where today’s sponsor, 1of10, was essential to the process. It filters for the best-performing content in literally any niche to help you decide what to make, and how to package it.

• In my case, I literally searched the word "Notion", and filtered for videos with over 200K views. I wanted to know what type of packaging in this niche had a high view ceiling.

• If you find a video you like, you can filter by similar topics, thumbnails or channels for endless inspiration (in this case, I filtered by similar thumbnails).
• You absolutely don't have to use 1of10 for this - it's just a lot faster and 1of10 has been an integral part of my workflow for well over a year.

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So, find your thumbnail inspiration, and prepare to create your own...

3.5/ Packaging creation

Step 1: By Hand

It's a lot easier for me to draw ideas on paper first:

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Step 2: Mockup

Then mock it up in Canva, Photoshop, etc:

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Step 3. Designer

If you have the desire/budget, hand it over to the professionals:

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Now, we come to the hook... and it's time for a bit of rule breaking.

4/ Packaging → Hook Flow

• While it's important for a hook to convey information efficiently... it's also about creating the mood viewers are expecting upon clicking.
• Having framed and packaged our spikey POV... I felt like this video needed to feel like a Netflix Trailer when you clicked it.

• So, while the usual advice is that hooks should be under 30 seconds…
• …this “conspiracy” style packaging inspired a very different type of hook - which was 100 seconds long.
• Awkward Amy (our editor) elevated this concept even further. For example - notice how, because we had the packaging first, she was able to include the key thumbnail asset in the hook itself.

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So, while rules and frameworks are super helpful for making YouTube videos (I mean, I literally spend my life coming up with them)...

...sometimes, it's ok to break a rule if the video demands it.

Summary: Why was I convinced this video would do well?

1. Spikey POV.
2. Proven framing.
3. Proven packaging.
4. Packaging-hook flow.

Keep these in mind, and you're safe to take a big swing 🏏

Huge thanks to Efficient App for letting me go behind-the-scenes with this video.

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That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

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This week, I'd love to recommend my favourite screen recording tool, Tella. See how it works here - and if you're excited to try it, you can use my affiliate link here.

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Every video needs “stakes”.

I mean, that goes without saying, right?

Remove the stakes, and your audience has no reason to watch.

Educational content needs to tell the viewer why their life will be worse unless they take your advice.

Entertainment content needs to show the viewer why your characters are motivated to do whatever they’re doing on-screen.

Next time you feel yourself getting bored with a video, you’ll notice you probably can’t identify any stakes.

(Heads up, I’m about to add stakes to this newsletter…)

So unless you learn to add stakes to your content…

…your viewers will always get bored and click away, meaning lower retention, fewer views, and slower channel growth.

But what happens when the stakes aren’t obvious?

This week, a student of mine was working on a video called:

“How To Make 100 YouTube Shorts In 1 Day With AI.”

But they had a problem.

When trying to add “stakes” to this concept… it felt “forced”.

This video wasn’t targeted at businesses that use short-form content as a sales funnel.

If that were the case, the stakes would have been easy to figure out.

“Short-form content is essential to your sales funnel. Therefore, if you don’t make loads of YouTube Shorts, you won’t get in front of your customers and you won’t make sales!”

But my student was targeting “creators” in general - not "business owners" specifically.

Now, on one hand, we could talk “niching down” here… but that isn’t what my student needed.

Because, no matter how much you niche down, certain videos will appeal to a broader audience.

Which means you need to feel confident identifying the stakes when that happens.

But how?

Finding stakes for ANY video

So... my student was struggling to find stakes for a broad-appeal video.

This was my advice:

“This is the #1 problem that comes with having labels like “stakes” - it adds pressure to find something like “your business will collapse”, or “you’ll stop making sales!”… but stakes can be something super low-key. In this example, my brain does this:

• Why do we need to make shorts FASTER? Because otherwise it’s hard to get a shorts posting cadence underway.
• Ok, so, why do we need to get a shorts posting cadence underway? Because the best creators have both a long-form and short-form strategy.
• Therefore, what’s at stake here? Most creators probably sleep on making shorts for months because it feels impossible to churn out quality short-form content alongside long-form content, resulting in massively reduced opportunity for channel growth.

Your video is the solution to creators not making shorts and therefore wasting potential channel growth.”

The secret is simple:

Keep. Asking. Questions.

First, ask yourself what the video will help the viewer achieve.

Next, ask yourself why that matters.

Then, keep asking why, why, why… until you reach a satisfying stake.

In this case, it only took two questions to unearth the stakes.

Sometimes, it might take 3-4.

But the process is always the same… and it’s surprisingly simple.

Then, once you have your stakes, you must include them in your hook.

Remember, stakes are what make the video feel urgent… so if you don’t call them out early, they’re wasted.

Get them in before 00:20 (or earlier, if you can).

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know and I'll get back to you!

Speak soon,
George 👋