Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.

A video without stakes is a retention disaster.

But it's not always easy to figure out what your stakes are.

You don't wanna seem fake - adding something random and scary just to clickbait your audience into watching longer:

• "You need to watch this video or your business will maybe, probably, DEFINITELY collapse by next week!!"
• "And stick around to the end to learn how to make $10m per month running 79 faceless YouTube channels or you'll be miserable like I am. I mean was."
• "If you stop watching this video, I've taken your family and I will force them to scroll through Twitter for half an hour."

We don't want to invent awful-sounding scenarios like these... we want to get to the heart of what your audience really cares about so they keep watching.

Introducing: StakeBake

No, not the delicious British snack available from Greggs...

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"StakeBake" is my new, free GPT that'll take your video's title and suggest:

• What the stakes should be.
• How to make them more effective.
• Alternate title ideas that convey the stakes more strongly.

(And by the way, this GPT is trained on my entire 36,000 word scriptwriting course.)

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It helps you... "bake" stakes into your script 👀

First up - let's get a proven title

These days, 1of10.com makes this a tonne easier.

Because it's synced up with my channel, I have a list of ideas waiting for me when I log in:

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If I want to double down, I can use their AI to generate a bunch more ideas, too:

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Otherwise, you can spend time scrolling through your YouTube homepage to see which titles jump out.

Save them to a playlist and use them as inspiration for your channel.

You'll save so much time generating these ideas with 1of10 though, so feel free to use my affiliate link.

Now, let's find the stakes!

Once I have a title, I can feed it directly into StakeBake:

Let's go with this title:

"My Blueprint for Mastering YouTube Scriptwriting"

Assuming I haven't thought of my stakes yet, the GPT will automatically suggest them:

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This is literally a cheat code to help figure out what will make your viewers watch longer.

Or, if you do have some stakes in mind, it'll tell you how to make them even more compelling!

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It'll even provide some alternate title ideas based on those stakes:

That's all you need.

Now you have your stakes, you have your focus.

Include them in the hook, and your audience will be way more invested in your video.

To get access to StakeBake, click here:

Get StakeBake (free custom GPT)

That's all for this week.

If you have feedback on StakeBake, just let me know! I'd love to keep improving it.

Speak soon,
George 👋

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 👋

I just spent two weeks in France filming a new video about how to write scripts FASTER.

It was pretty fun, I guess 👀

But the biggest revelation I had while filming led to me tweaking my scriptwriting format in a small but powerful way.

Here’s a quick extract from the final script:

Today, I want to explain what’s going on with this format, and why I think you’ll find it incredibly useful when filming your next video.

The best way of explaining why this is so powerful is to break down the purpose of each column:

Column #1: Phase

• Easily label the “setup” phase, the “tension” phase, and the “payoff” phase.
• Setup and payoff phases should usually be 2-3 sentences max. See this article for some examples of setups and payoffs in action.
• Tension phases will usually be much longer… this is where you’re building to the payoff, so you want to keep viewers in suspense
• A brief glance at this column will indicate whether your phases are an appropriate length - e.g. Are my setups and payoffs taking too much time? Are my tension segments actually long enough… to create tension?!

Column #2: Script

• I’ve always been a fan of the “Spreadsheet” format. But while filming this video, I reformatted the script so every sentence had its own row.
• This meant I could be incredibly precise with editing direction and B-Roll notes specific to each moment:

• But do this after the script is written. As you can see below, I wrote multiple sentences per row in V1 to avoid breaking my writing flow:

Additionally, before shooting anything, I colour-coded the script.

• Voiceover = highlighted green
• A-Roll = highlighted yellow, then re-highlighted pink as I checked off filming each line.

Column #3: Notes

• For editing direction, B-Roll suggestions, and text.
• I used the same colour coding system as before, too. Once I filmed a piece of B-Roll, I'd highlight it pink.
• This made preparing to film way easier and kept me on top of which additional shots I still needed to film.
• You'll notice that, by the end, every single row included pink-highlighted text... which indicates I'd filmed either a piece of A-Roll or B-Roll for every single line.

Formatting your scripts like this is easy in either Notion or Google Sheets 💻

That's all for this week.

Speak soon,
George 👋

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This week, I'd love to shoutout my favourite tool for gathering testimonials, Senja. You can use my affiliate link here or head to their website for more info. If you need social proof to generate more sales, this makes the process totally frictionless.

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"What does a YouTube script actually cost?"

It's something I'm asked constantly - by writers trying to price themselves, and by YouTubers trying to hire.

I wrote this article showing the spread of what I've charged over the years...

...but today, I want to talk about some of the nuances.

A subscriber recently emailed me asking how pricing changes if:

1. The writer comes up with the idea, does all the research and writes the script.
2. The client (YouTuber) already has the idea and the research, so the writer only writes the script.

Check out this 9 min video where I answered these questions (and more) - all related to pricing and client-writer relationships 👇

Click To Watch

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Or, if you want the answers QUICKLY...

...here are all 5 questions from the video, and my answers summed up in a sentence:

Should the CLIENT provide the video's framing?

Ideally, yes - but even if they do, the best scriptwriters will assess the framing in relation to the channel's target audience, and challenge the client's choice of framing if necessary.

Do I (George), prefer it when the CLIENT provides the framing? And how does this affect the price?

It makes no difference because I'll think about the framing either way and incorporate this into my pricing.

How is pricing affected if the CLIENT provides the research vs the WRITER doing the research?

If trawling through a massive research pack (or doing a tonne of research) adds a non-trivial amount of extra time and effort to the writer's job (i.e. 4-8 hours), they should add ~50% to their pricing (in either case!)

What does it cost to pay a WRITER to ideate, research, and write a script?

Depends on experience (and the client's price sensitivity), but a fair range (from a Eurocentric economic perspective) is ~$200-$800... although on some bigger scripts, I've been paid as much as $1500, and friends of mine have charged $2000+ in some cases.

What does it cost to pay a WRITER to write a script (no research or ideation)?

Again, somewhere around the $200-$800 mark for a 10-15 minute video is usually reasonable for a writer with 0-2 years' experience.

Pleeeeeease note - take everything with a pinch of salt. Money is a funny topic, and the list of caveats to these opinions is as long as my arm! The more experience you get paying/charging, the easier it gets to figure out your "hell yeah" numbers.

That's all for this week.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

To make scriptwriting faster…

1. Write hooks, setups and payoffs word-for-word (nothing else).
2. Increase or decrease the amount you script to make filming easier.
3. Use a simple hook formula (target, transformation, stakes // character, concept, stakes).
4. Write “Blob Scripts” to maintain momentum.
5. Templatize and reuse script segment structures.
6. Know your audience to prevent overthinking.
7. Set a timer so you have no excuses.

If you’re a busy bee, that’s all you need to know this week.

Or, read on for more detail…

Full Video Explainer (12 min)

I talk in detail about these strategies in a video I recently posted in my scriptwriting community:

Click To Watch

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If you prefer to read the info, here’s an expanded summary of all 7 points:

1/ Write hooks, setups and payoffs word-for-word (but nothing else).

• Don’t feel obligated to script every word. Do always write hooks, setups, and payoffs in full (and use bullet points for the rest).
• The hook is important for obvious reasons (more on writing these below).
• Plot your payoffs first… then it’s easy to write your setups.
• See 4 examples of setups and payoffs in action here.

2/ Increase or decrease the amount you script to make filming easier.

• “Fully scripted” or “totally unscripted” are not your only two options.
• Treat your script like a dial - if 90% riffing felt too hard, dial the scripting up.
• If it felt stilted or “not how you’d really say it”, dial the scripting down.
• More time scripting will save you time when filming and editing... but it's a balance. If spending 10 hours scripting saves you 1 hour when filming... is it worth it?

3/ Use a simple hook formula.

• Write the components of your hook first... and only then try to combine them into a hook.

4/ Write “Blob Scripts” to maintain momentum.

• Don’t get stuck searching for the perfect word.
• Write a "blob script" instead (and fix it later):

5/ Templatize and reuse script segment structures.

• Once you've structured your script's first segment, re-use that structure across the entire video.
• Simple example of how easy + effective this is here.

6/ Know your audience.

• The #1 source of analysis paralysis is not knowing who you're talking to in your script.
• So get to know your audience... what they like, what they want to achieve, and why they watch you.
• Now, you’re no longer second-guessing every sentence.

• You already signed up to my YouTube Scriptwriter's Compass email course, so you're ahead of the game here 👊

7/ Set a timer.

• Ideally, do this with a buddy.
• Look each other dead in the eye and promise... "I WILL have written a YouTube script when this timer runs out."
• I do 2-hour sessions (with a 5 min break in the middle), but do whatever suits you.

That's all for this week.

Next week, I'm opening up about pricing, and the nuances of how much to charge/pay in different scenarios.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

This week's newsletter was made possible by my favourite screen-recording app, Tella* 🥰

Hey,

Let’s talk about the most important retention lesson I’ve ever learned.

To do this, I’ll show you the retention graph I used to test potential scriptwriters when hiring for my agency (90% got it wrong).

By the end, you’ll understand the massive retention problem most YouTubers miss, and how to fix it at the scriptwriting stage.

For my full thoughts, check out this 12-minute video:

Click To Watch

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If you prefer, here’s the lesson in just a few paragraphs:

Retention dips are often the symptom of an earlier mistake.

• When you see a dip, you probably assume that’s where you screwed up.
• But the real problem often happened earlier.
• Overpromising, under-delivering or failing to set audience expectations can cause them to lose patience later.
• So, to diagnose and address these issues, you must study the graph in its entirety.
• If you can't find the problem in the dip itself, two possible mistakes you made earlier in the video might have caused it...

First... a quick word on the app I used to record the video above:

Let me tell you something you might not wanna hear:

I love Tella.

There, I said it. I won't take it back. You simply can't make me.

I've tried a couple of different screen recording options over the last two years, and this has ended up being my favourite because of how flipping good the recordings look.

Check out this quick video if you wanna see all the cool stuff Tella can do 👇

The good news? Their affiliate program is offering new users 30% off forever when you sign up through my link.

You'll literally be paying less than I am to use it lol.

Highly recommend trying it out if you do a lot of screen recording 👇

Try Tella (1 week trial, then 30% off your first year).

*Because I'm an affiliate, signing up through this link will result in a small kickback for me at no extra cost to you :)

Now, where were we...?

Mistake #1 - Payoff in previous segment damaged viewer trust.

• Failing to deliver a satisfying payoff in an earlier segment can cause viewers to disengage and stop watching during the current one.
• If your payoff was vague, misleading, or outright boring, the lack of closure breaks the trust you’ve built with your audience, making them less likely to stay for future segments.
• Clear, decisive payoffs make viewers feel rewarded for the time they gave you... so they're willing to give more.

Mistake #2 - Viewers MISSED your setup (because you didn’t explain it clearly).

• A clear setup for each new segment keeps viewers oriented within the structure of the video, while a vague or abrupt transition make the overall flow difficult to follow.
• When transitioning between segments, it’s crucial to communicate what’s coming next and why it matters.
• Otherwise, even if the segment itself is interesting, well-edited, and well-told... viewers will gradually stop caring because they've lost the overall thread of the video.
• Convey every segment’s purpose explicitly to help viewers stay oriented.

So, remember...

...although you might think the problem lies here…

…it could be a symptom of something you did here:

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Any time you're struggling to diagnose a retention dip, go back and study the graph in its entirety.

And, once you've identified the problem, ensure your next script includes clear setups and satisfying payoffs.

That's all for this week.

Next week, I'm dropping my 7 favourite tips for writing scripts faster.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

Hey!

Yesterday, I drove for an hour to ask a man in his 50s to insult the shape of my feet... on camera.

Because “YouTube”, ok?

Seeing as I’m finally making my own “scriptwriting advice” YouTube videos this year, I want to make sure they’re as fun to make as they will be to watch.

So I’m taking my time and going the extra mile for moments like this (which will probably only be in the video for around 3s).

But in the meantime, as I’m busy scripting and filming my 2025 content…

…it pays to keep an eye on what my scriptwriting peers are making, too 👀

So, in the spirit of making all our scriptwriting better this year, here are 3 videos from other creators whose content I think you’ll enjoy:

1. John Dorman - “killer youtube scripts, explained” - incredible advice + insane use of props and set design. A joy to watch!
2. Aprilynne Alter - “how to edit a killer youtube video (for the 2025 algorithm)” - technically about editing, but watch this (especially the first half) with your scriptwriting hat on and you’ll find a ton of stuff to apply.
3. Bryan Ng - “How To Script YouTube Videos 10x Faster (This Changed Everything)” - I’m all about making scriptwriting sustainable, and these 5 tips from Bryan will get you writing YouTube scripts way faster.

Don’t Get Left Behind

Yes, you’ve got to have your own style...

...but it’d be silly not to watch what your friends are doing and identify what’s working really well.

For this, and to find videos like the ones I linked above...

...I use a “channel tracker”:

This channel tracker is one of the most useful features inside 1of10.

In my case, I've created a specific tracker for “YouTube Scriptwriting”.

I add channels like the ones above, so whenever they upload a new video, it'll appear on my tracked list.

(But only if it's an outlier! So I’ll only see videos from those channels that are outperforming their recent channel average.)

This makes it incredibly easy to see the best-performing, new content from channels I admire... in a single place.

Before 1of10:

• Open 100 tabs for every channel I want to take inspiration from.
• Sort by “Most Viewed”.
• Manually review each video to check whether the “most viewed” videos are recent... or from 10 years ago.

With 1of10:

• Open one tab.
• Add inspirational channels to my channel tracker.
• See all their best-performing videos in one place.

You know I’ve been a huge fan of 1of10 for more than a year, so I’m super grateful to Richard and the team for partnering up with me these last few months.

You can get access to 1of10’s suite of tools with 50% off using the code "GEORGE50".

That's all for this week.

For now, I'm practising filming with my new 360⁰ camera for the video I'm working on right now 😆

Speak soon,
George 👋