Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.

This week, I spoke to rising YouTube sensation and softly-spoken-lovely-man, Danny McMahon (AKA, Dodford).

Dodford’s videos consistently outperform his subscriber count by an incredible magnitude, and… it’s easy to see why.

Particularly as a scriptwriter, I’ve been fascinated by his use of visual storytelling and the process by which he constructs his documentaries.

If you’ve ever seen one, you’ll understand.

With that said, I hope you’ll take some inspiration for your upcoming videos from our conversation…

Interview with Dodford

Me: How much does interaction with your audience guide how you make your content?

Dodford: Rule #1 of being a YouTuber is making things people care about. Being an artist means expressing yourself creatively. More often than not, those things do not align! It’s a lesson I’ve been slapped with a lot, which I’ll get into later.

If you want to succeed on YouTube, you can’t post whatever you desire and demand “ThEY jUsT dOn’T GeT iT, MaN…” But at the same time, create projects that speak to you, or you’ll go crazy.

I like to put feelers out there on what similarities my audience and I share. The more you create, the closer that’ll be! Those opinions matter.

Me: What does the process of turning piles of research notes into a complete script look like in your team?

Dodford: The ideation, research and scriptwriting workflow is about a four-week process. It’s twice as long as the editing, which I usually finish up at the ~6 week mark.

While two weeks can seem a hurry for the post-production, it’s only because we’ve oiled the scriptwriting stage down so much that everything clicks into place later down the line.

In short, it goes:

Subject ➡️ Preliminary Research ➡️ Angle Chosen ➡️ Quote Hunting ➡️ Categories ➡️ Unique Selling Point ➡️ Story Structure ➡️ Script Development ➡️ Paper Edit ➡️ Production ➡️ Post-Production

Me: Your Nardwuar video seemed to mark a change in both your content style and the trajectory of the channel. Can you talk through what happened at that moment?

Nardwuar: A Misunderstood Superstar

Dodford: Looking back, I think the Nardwuar video represented the shift from making video essays into making documentaries. Don’t ask me to define the difference!

Maybe it’s something to do with video essays tell you what I think, and documentaries make you think. But there are elements of that in my Sidemen, Logic and Try Guys videos too.

In reality, I think it was a culmination of several growing skills coincidentally falling into a great idea. It was also the preceding video after the Donald Glover video blew up, which helped it along.

Me: Two videos released in succession – Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore – were both, arguably, “outliers”. Is there anything you’ve identified about those videos that explains their performance?

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Dodford: I wish I had an easy answer for this.

The Drew Barrymore video is one of my favourites, but like I mentioned earlier, if your idea doesn’t overlap with your target audience, it won’t hit.

It was a tough one to swallow for me, actually. Especially coming right after the immense hype of that Sandler video! I was just getting used to showering in the YouTube Studio euphoria, when the platform reminds you that none of it is promised!

The Adam Sandler video had a curious concept and unique packaging — two things that can never be replicated twice, just the way it was.

There’s a lot of this system I’m confident with nowadays, but I can always use a hand with selling an idea.

Me: Is there anything you wish you’d spent more time doing sooner to hone your skills as a writer/editor?

Dodford: Learning After Effects elevated my game as an editor tenfold.

Having an extra couple pairs of hands is great for writing, too. But I don’t have any regrets or wishes about how I’ve gotten to become the creator I am.

I lost my mind a little on TikTok, resented a couple clients as a freelancer, and almost quit at least twice!

But I don’t really have any advice here, besides trust the process.

Me: Is there anything YouTube-related you wish you could nerd out about more?

Dodford: When picturing my future, I always saw traditional cinema and theatres. That if the opportunity came, I’d jump off YouTube in a flash.

But that’s certainly not true anymore!

I’m really falling in love with the creator that this website is making me become. I’d never have refined my craft as much as I have if there weren’t the affordances and constraints of YouTube.

The videos I’m making right now are truly, exactly what I want to make right now. And I have to thank YouTube for revealing that to me.

That process of chipping away the bad ideas in public is so fascinating to me. There’s something so endearing about building a YouTube channel in general. High risk and high reward, visible to all.

Creating is psychology and YouTube is your psychiatrist. Yeah, they might be annoying sometimes, and you’re definitely paying way too much for them, but listen to them!

Dodford’s latest documentary, “The Redemption of Robert Downey, Jr.” is out now…

Click to watch ☝️

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Trying to make better videos can feel overwhelming.

It seems like there’s always more to learn 🤯

But there are some skills that are non-negotiable when it comes to YouTube.

That is… if you really care about creating engaging content that grows your channel.

So here are 10 scriptwriting fundamentals that I’ve learned across 2 years, dozens of scripts and 1,000,000s of views…

1/ Hook

If you’re struggling to write a strong hook, simplify it 👇

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2/ Stakes

While keeping it simple, the hook needs to give your audience an emotional reason to watch.

Remember, it’s about them, not you… 👇

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3/ Payoffs

Payoffs matter more than anything.

See last week’s newsletter for details about how to use them properly.

Not sure if your payoffs are positioned effectively? Highlight them in your script.

This makes it easy to see when you haven’t introduced new or exciting information for a while.

4/ Credentials

Unless the subject matter acutely calls for it…

Don’t give your full list of credentials in the hook. It’s boring.

If you’re the real deal, let your content speak for itself.

But before we move onto the second half of the list, I wanna show you something cool…

Screen recording for creators — simple and powerful ⚡️

As a heads-up, I recently switched to Tella!

I’m yet to find another screen recording software that looks this slick.

I’ll be using it to record my scriptwriting course… but you can also create demos, 1:1s for customers, promote projects on social media and more!

“Remarkable videos at high production speed — that’s what I get from Tella.” – Jay Clouse, Creator & Founder, Creator Science.

⚡️ Try it today!

7-day free trial — no credit card required!

*Proudly sponsored content

5/ Framing

Choosing a good topic is not enough.

You need to frame it properly.

Use my 4-point checklist to ensure you’ve framed your video in the right way.

6/ Study

If you want to understand why things work (and how to avoid what doesn’t)…

Spend time studying other people’s content.

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7/ Scripting

Scripting videos (where it makes sense) is the best way to ensure quality control over the final output.

See my FULL arguments for this in Creator Debates S02E01 🤩👇

Click to watch!

8/ Writing

Avoid task switching while writing.

This is a personal preference, but it makes writing 10x easier.

I use the 3-Hat Method 🎩👒🧢

An updated version of this is gonna be featured in my upcoming course…

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If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!

Sponsor Write On Time

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9/ Call-To-Action

Simplify it 👇

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10/ Ending

Once you’ve delivered the final piece of value…

Stop talking.

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This week I’ve got a super simple tweak for your next script.

But it’s the kind of adjustment that could have a big impact on retention once you start doing it.

The bad news? You’ll need to unlearn something you’ve been conditioned to do for years.

The good news? It’s not hard!

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Buy a bin. Like, right now.

I’ve got to admit something…

I still have no idea why Ali Abdaal keeps talking about how useful “owning a bin” is.

Ignoring the bizarre nature of the subject matter, it’s just… obvious 😂

But that’s not all.

We’re told, “you should own a bin” and then told, “here’s why”.

But if we care about audience engagement, the structure of this delivery is inefficient.

And once you understand why, you’ll learn exactly how to present information in a more engaging way…

Unlearn this…

The problem we’re trying to correct stems from how we talk to each other.

In conversation, it feels natural to present information like this:

“I’m cutting meat from my diet because X.”

“If you wanna make loads of cash, do X.”

“You should own a bin because X.”

This is fine in a casual chat.

But, in YouTube terms, it’s a retention disaster.

The problem with ordering information like this is simple:

It gives the audience permission to skip ahead.

Why?

Because you’re giving the answer first and the explanation second.

Let’s see how this looks in practice:

A few months ago I reviewed this video by the ex-Olympic Boxer Tony Jeffries (the chap who trained Michelle Khare recently!)

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But Tony fell into the “answer first, explanation second” trap.

At the start of each tip, he’d say:

“This is the tip.”

Then he’d demonstrate it.

The result?

Retention was shaky.

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The issue was that, as soon as Tony said:

“Tip number 9, throw a double or a triple jab!”…

…I’d completely understood the segment.

I no longer needed to watch the demonstration and, if I were short of time, I could happily have skipped ahead.

So… how do we fix this?

The joy of this problem is that it’s an easy fix.

Here’s what I suggested for Tony:

Why not simply reverse the order of information?

Rather than naming the technique, then demonstrating it…

He could begin the segment by demonstrating the technique.

Then he could ask the audience to observe his actions (e.g. “can you see what I’m doing here?”)

Lastly, he could clarify what the technique was…

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By reversing the order of information, we’re now doing something audiences LOVE.

We’re making them feel smart.

Because now they have to interpret what’s happening before they get told.

We’re no longer giving them the answer on a plate, but asking them to engage and figure it out themselves.

In my experience…

It pays to assume your viewers are intelligent.

So don’t spend ages dissecting something that’s easily understandable in seconds.

If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!

Sponsor Write On Time

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⚡️ Action Item

1. On your next video, try “Explanation first, Answer second“.
2. Buy a bin.

If you want to see me talking about this (and more!) at length, check out this interview I did with Jamie Whiffen 👇

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That’s all for now!

Speak soon,

George 👋

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Today, we’re doing something a little different!

I recently sat down with YouTube strategist and Twitter pal Dabi to discuss something that scares a lot of creators.

Storytelling 📚

So what can we learn from somebody who’s worked on some incredible, story-driven content that’s gained millions of views?

Videos like this…

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and this…

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It turns out… storytelling isn’t as scary or difficult as you might think.

In fact, you’re probably already using it in ways you hadn’t even realised 🔥

But, with Dabi’s expertise, I guarantee you’ll learn something from this conversation that you can easily apply to your next video.

Discussing Storytelling With Dabi

​Watch Now

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What was your biggest takeaway from the conversation?

That’s all for now!

Speak soon,

George 👋

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Every YouTuber wants filming to be stress-free.

You wanna sit down, hit record, and get into your flow.

But there’s a significant barrier to this freedom that most creators endure.

And it’ll consistently impact your stress levels while filming until you take steps to overcome it.

So let’s talk about what that barrier is and the 1-step technique to solve this problem forever.

Showtime!

I’m gonna show you this technique in context to illustrate how powerful it is.

So…

This is me and my pal Ollie.

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In this photo, we’re about to go on stage to perform our new hour-long comedy show, “Framed”.

But, little did we know, we were also about to completely miss out an entire scene.

Yep.

We literally just forgot to perform it and skipped ahead by about a page of dialogue.

Sounds like a disaster, right?

Actually… it was the best thing that could have happened to us.

And the reason for that has to do with the technique I mentioned in the intro.​

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So, the show ends, and we realise we completely skipped an entire scene.

But what the audience told us afterwards shocked us…

They hadn’t noticed.

Despite missing two huge flashbacks that provided “crucial” context for the rest of the show, nobody in the room had realised.

(Except our director who was probably the silhouette I saw frantically waving at me).

The next day, we re-read the script and realised something totally unexpected.

The dialogue we’d missed out was actually a repetition of some information we’d introduced earlier.

In a nutshell…

It wasn’t necessary.

That meant something pretty mindblowing had happened…

The natural momentum of the performance had caused our brains to recognise the repetition and cut it out.

(Or we just suck at learning lines 🤦 But go with me here!)

If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!

Sponsor Write On Time

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Why this matters

When you actually speak the words you’ve written, it casts them in a whole new light.

• You recognise when you’re giving loads of exposition without any payoffs.
• You notice things that looked good on the page but feel awkward to say.
• You realise when you’re repeating yourself because you can hear it.

Which brings me back to you.

And the absolutely invaluable step you need to take with your scripts from now on:

Read them aloud.

It might feel OTT, but I promise you this…

There’s at least one thing in the script you’re working on right now that you would delete if you heard it read aloud.

The thing is, you already know this.

In the past, you’ve probably had to make these edits while you’re trying to record.

But catching this stuff early, rather than discovering it while the camera’s rolling, makes filming scripts 10x easier.

But this only works if you commit to it.

Say the words as if you were performing them on camera.

Because you won’t know how it feels unless you really go for it.

And it doesn’t have to be boring either.

You can be creative, like Jake…

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Trust me, when you actually say the words…

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…you’ll see every sentence in a new light.

⚡️ Action Item

When you finish your next script…

1. Read it aloud after 24 hours without looking at it, or…
2. Record it and listen back to it 24 hours later.

Look out for: repetition, awkward phrases, boring bits.

That’s all for now!

Speak soon,

George 👋

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There’s a vital step when making any YouTube video that most people think is simple.

Yet creators I work with frequently get it wrong.

If you’re making this mistake, your audience will not watch your videos to the end.

In this newsletter, I’m gonna give you a 4-point checklist to make sure this vital stage of video prep never gets overlooked again.

‘I want to make a video about X!’

To show you what I mean, let’s take a look at this video…

(I’m deliberately not giving you the title yet)

It’s about the bombing of Hiroshima during WWII.

Imagine you’d decided to make this video.

Your first thought would go something like this:

“I’m gonna make a video about the events of Hiroshima.”

This is how prep starts for most videos, right?

“I wanna make a video about X!”

But then you run into your first vital decision.

You need to decide how to frame it.

After all, a topic like the bombing of Hiroshima sprouts many potential questions.

Angle #1

An obvious question to frame the video around would be:

• Why was the Nuclear Bomb dropped on Hiroshima?

It’s a poignant question with some facts to unpack.

But there’s a problem with making this particular question the big question.

Why?

Because the answer can be simplified fairly easily.

Google “Why was the Nuclear Bomb dropped on Hiroshima?” and you’ll come away with a succinct, satisfying answer in seconds.

A viewer is not likely to commit 10 minutes to something they think they could find out in 10 seconds.

Let’s try another angle then…

Angle #2

What if the video was a play-by-play of the historical events, framed by the question:

• What happened before, during and after the bomb was dropped?

Again, it’s a decent enough idea.

But the question feels vague.

There aren’t any specific curiosity gaps that have been opened for the viewer.

This way of framing the content is too surface-level and doesn’t evoke an instant need to click the video and watch to the end.

We need to find a more compelling way of framing it, then.

But first, I’m super excited to tell you about this…

YouTube Storytelling For 1M+ Views

I’m partnering up with Twitter pal and YouTube strategist Dabi to bring you his YouTube storytelling course at a huge discount!

​

Dabi has worked with multiple YouTubers to achieve 1M+ views on their longform videos. Through YouTube-specific storytelling techniques that he reveals in his course, he even helped an 18K sub channel get 6,300,000 views on a single video!

No matter how big your channel is, improving your storytelling will boost your views and speed up your channel growth. Dabi’s course has 30+ lessons on retention editing, case studies, and years of original YouTube research distilled into one place

For a limited time, you can get $200 off the usual price!

Get It Now! ($200 Off)

*Proudly sponsored content!

Alright, so now I’m gonna show you the actual angle this video used:

Angle #3

• Why isn’t Hiroshima a Nuclear Wasteland?

Click to watch

So why is this so much more effective than the options we discussed above?

The key reason is this:

The title (and framing) opens up a plethora of curiosity gaps.

Seeing this title, I’m instantly asking things like:

• How did they rebuild an entire city so fast?
• How can people still live there?
• Isn’t there a problem with radiation?
• If people can live in Hiroshima, why can’t they live in, say, Chernobyl?

In fact, the questions we briefly considered earlier could (and do) fold into this video too:

• Why was the Nuclear Bomb dropped on Hiroshima?
• What happened before, during and after the bomb was dropped?

There’s just so much more to unpack with Angle #3.

But why is this relevant?

Something I spend a lot of time doing with clients is figuring out what the grand payoff of their video is.

The ultimate question/focus/topic that the audience needs to find out before they leave.

And, trust me, it’s usually not your first idea.

Some clients I’ve worked with have ended up picking an angle that’s too simplistic… or not picking one at all.

But unless you clearly identify a grand payoff that is deeply interesting to both you and your viewers…

…something which opens multiple curiosity gaps and provokes an emotional response of some kind…

The video is gonna feel hollow to your viewers.

If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!

Sponsor Write On Time

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So spend time identifying the grand payoff that’s gonna keep the most number of people watching to the end.

Give them that “A-Ha” moment that’s gonna leave them satisfied and keep them thinking about your video after they close YouTube.

⚡️ Action Item

Use this 4-point checklist to identify your grand payoff.

• I’m passionate about it.
• My audience will care deeply about it.
• It evokes emotion.
• It opens multiple curiosity gaps (and can’t be answered with a Google search).

Look back at the video we discussed today. The first idea doesn’t check box 3, and the second idea doesn’t check box 4. The third (and real) idea checks all 4.

That’s all for now!

Speak soon,

George 👋

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Hey!

I’ve written a lot of scripts that never got made.

But one sticks out in particular because the lessons it taught me affected my life as recently as last week.

By the end of this newsletter, your content plan for the next 3-6 months may have changed.

Backstory

It was the early days of scriptwriting for Ali Abdaal.

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​For two weeks, I’d been working on a script about productivity in Denmark.

In fact, I was hoping to send Ali there to shoot the video.

(And, yes, I was 100% trying to write myself into a free trip as well).

We’d gone through a few re-writes for the video, and things seemed to be getting there.

But I remember a particular moment Ali turned to me after reading draft 3 or 4.

Something was different. He had that look in his eye. And I knew what he was about to say.

I feared it, yes.

But I also craved it.

He opened that devilishly productive mouth of his, and said the words:

“What if we just… allow it?”

Translation for non-UK folks: “What if neither of us ever have to think about this script ever again?”

Confirmation: the video was not happening.

But why?

Well, before I tell you that…

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But worried about high ad spend and low conversions?

Ammar will help turn your audience into loyal customers using story-based emails.

You can book a free strategy call here. *Sponsored content

So… why did the script go from 90% completion to 100% scrapped?

The idea seemed perfect when we thought of it.

Ali was Mr Productive UK, so why not ramp it up and become Mr Productive Worldwide?

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It was something we felt we “ought” to try.

But the reality was this…

Ali just wasn’t passionate about the video.

And I had 0 enthusiasm left for writing it.

When it comes to creativity, you can plan everything to a tee…

But if you don’t have the fire in your stomach to go and make it, there’s no point.

The wider problem is this…

It’s easy to fall victim to repetitive creative behaviour, especially on YouTube.

We start making something that performs well, but stop checking in with ourselves about what we actually want.

And that brings me to… well, me.

(And soon, you.)

My whole thing was being “the guy who reviews retention graphs”.

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That’s how I marketed myself. It’s what my products were centred on. And it was how I grew this newsletter from 100 subscribers to 1000+.

But, after 9 months of doing the same thing every week…

I pretty much dreaded sitting down to write it.

The reason I ploughed on was because I thought this would all come crashing down if I ever stopped.

Then, something hilarious happened.

I wrote to you last week and asked…

“Do you actually care that much about the retention graphs?”

Turns out… no you do not 😂

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So this week’s newsletter marks a change in my approach.

From now on, I’m gonna be sending out an actionable piece of advice from a scriptwriter’s POV, after 2+ years writing for these YouTube juggernauts.

Oh and by the way…

If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!

Sponsor Write On Time

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So here are a few questions for you…

1. When did you last check in with yourself about your creative direction?
2. If you don’t enjoy making a certain type of content, what would it look like if you just… stopped?
3. Have you ever asked your audience how they’d feel about a change of direction?

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You might be surprised to find that their relationship is with you, not just the content you make.

So thank you for your support on this newsletter over the last year.

Reviewing your retention graphs was a fun first season.

But we’re back on air for season 2, and I’m more excited than ever.

⚡️Action Items

List every different type of content you create. Rank each one from Low → High on these metrics:

1. How much enthusiasm do I have?
2. How stressed do I get?
3. How long does it take me?
4. (Optional) How lucrative is it?

Ask your audience what they want to see from you (community tab, email, Twitter).

Then, let the results guide where you take your content next.

That’s all for now!

Speak soon,

George 👋

Sooo this happened last week…

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And, as a result, this week’s newsletter is gonna be a little different.

The thing is, you’d have thought a follow from the Beastie Boy would have been the coolest moment of my career.

(Which it was lol).

Buuuut it also prompted an absolutely classic existential crisis.

*pause for celebratory scream into the void* (join in!)

Since the moment wee Jimmy’s face popped up in my notifications, I’ve been in a weird business limbo.

But that’s where you come in.

Because you can help me escape it by answering a single “YES/NO” question.

First, though, I wanna take 30 seconds to reflect on how we got here…

One Year Ago…

I had 200 followers.

I was venturing into the freelance YouTube world with 0 clients.

I had no idea whether this was gonna be a sustainable career…

Or whether everyone who “warned me” about leaving my normal, boring, soul-destroying, life-shortening job might be right.

Maybe this was too risky.

But last week (almost exactly 52 weeks later) was truly a remarkable one.

One of those rare weeks where, with hindsight, you notice everything went right.

The first video I worked on with a new client did this…

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…and my girlfriend Julia and I watched that video on our TV together.

One thing I’ve learned…

Treat the release of your latest video like a frickin movie premiere.

You worked hard on it and you deserve to feel flippin great when it comes out!!

Even more excitingly, I got to meet a bunch of awesome YouTubers IRL at a Creator Now event👇

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A few people even knew me from Twitter!

​Ricardo (on the left) actually received my newsletter while we were talking! 😂

AND, since I originally wrote this email, we crossed 1000 newsletter subscribers! 🥳

All this to say…

I could not have imagined being in this position a year ago when I went freelance.

Let alone two years ago when I quit my “real job” to work for Ali.

In a future newsletter, I’d love to talk more about how I got to this position with 0 experience and 0 contacts.

But… now comes the question:

Who… Am I?

The surprise appearance of Mr Beast contributed to an already unsustainable amount of inbound requests for my scriptwriting services.

Trust me, I recognise that it’s an incredible problem to have!

But I’ve realised I need to spend some time thinking about exactly WHO I want to serve with my content and WHERE I’m going with all this.

And that means…

I need to figure out which way to take this newsletter.

Transparently, sometimes I ain’t so excited about reviewing YouTube videos.

Some weeks I wanna write an email like this, or talk about specific scriptwriting tips that I’ve learned working on 1/10 videos for cool channels.

So, I want to know:

Do you open this newsletter just to check out the retention graphs?

Or is it for something else?

You can let me know here.

It’s just one box – a Yes or No answer. It should take 3 seconds.

There’s the option for leaving a suggestion too, but all I really need is your vote on that first question.

You’d be helping me out more than I can say!

Click here to answer!

Plus, if you answer the form, I promise I’ll get you a shoutout from my new best friend**

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**this promise is not guaranteed, nor is it likely.

As always, a huge thanks for reading!

I’m very lucky that this is my job. And it’s down to you that I get to do it 🥰

That’s why I wanna help you live out your YouTube ambitions with whatever nuggets of wisdom I can pack into these emails.

Speak soon,

George 👋

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One of my most actionable scriptwriting frameworks has been doing the rounds again this week on Twitter.

Whenever I apply it to a script, it tends to 4x a particular metric that we’ll discuss later.

We’ll talk about it later, but first, let’s get straight into the script reviews! 💪

Video #1

Title: AI Copyright Law in June 2023: What it Means For AI Artists

Creator: Samson Vowles​

Average % viewed: 42%

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In this review:
​The important difference between “momentum” and “pacing”.

Read it now

Video #2

Title: China Built 20,000 Houses In 3 Days In Africa | Megaproject

Creator: Megaprojects​

Average % viewed: 27.9%

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In this review:
​The critical mistake that will always make people click away.

Read it now

Video #3

Title: 4 Super Easy Ways To TRANSFORM Your After Effects Projects

Creator: Motion by Scott

Average % viewed: 34.7%

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In this review:
​The smart setup that gives viewers a strong reason to watch.

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Scriptwriting tip of the week

There are no YouTube “hacks”.

But this is the closest thing I’ve ever found to one 👇

Check out that tweet for a reminder of my 3-step CTA formula.

Every time I use it, the endscreen CTR goes 3-4x the channel average.

An awesome creator sent me a screenshot from their video which got a 19% CTR vs their average of 4.3% when they adapted the formula for their channel, so it’s worth using!

If you try it out, I’d love you to send me the results 💪

That’s all for now 🙂

Speak soon,

George 👋