Here's what I learned at VidSummit

Hey!

It's great to be back! Thanks for your patience while my 3-week hiatus became... *ahem*... 3 months :P

But I've got some super exciting newsletters coming in the next few weeks, so I hope it'll have been worth the wait.

First, though, I just spent three days at VidSummit - and I've gotta share my raw, unfiltered thoughts before I hop on my next plane.

As a scriptwriting nerd, I think you'll find this interesting!

1/ My readers are incredible

An unbelievable number of folks came over to talk about this newsletter.

My VidSummit experience was 10x'd by the conversations I had with my readers. I'm thrilled that this old rag actually has an impact on your YouTube channels.

You and I spend our lives behind a screen, so the opportunity to physically meet people who take value from what we do - there's nothing quite like it.

If you ever get the chance to meet your viewers - DO IT.

2/ People struggle with a teleprompter

This was a common topic 😆 If you can relate, you are so not alone.

My quick thoughts:

• If it ain't working, stick at it.
• If it still ain't working, try reverting to bullet points.

One bullet at a time, peek at the sentence, then turn to camera and riff.

As long as you're guided by the structure, it's ok to ease off on scripting and talk naturally.

My next three newsletters will go into more detail on the non-negotiables of scriptwriting (if you don't wanna script word-for-word).

3/ Phase in new video ideas

If you're not enjoying your content or are in a views slump, I saw some great advice from Hopescope in her keynote.

You can "phase in" new types of 'experimental' content, gradually.

Initially, make an "experimental" video... 1 video in every 4.

Identify which experimental videos land with your core viewers.

Then, increase the cadence of this new, experimental video type to to 2 in 4, etc.

Many of your core audience will go with you if you do this gradually.

This approach applies to scriptwriting too.

If you're not enjoying the process of writing scripts, phase in something new.

Doing WFW? Try bullet points.

Bullet points still feel constraining? Try 90% riffing.

It's a combo of: what feels good x what your audience enjoys.

Review the data. Decided you wanna maintain your new writing process and, therefore, a slightly new video style?

Phase it in, initially in 1 video every 4, then 2 in every 4, etc.

4/ Commit

Some creators I spoke to said they try to avoid scripting where possible because it's hard and takes longer.

Yet most creators I spoke to about scripting said they experience a strong positive correlation between spending more time on scripting and video performance.

My takeaway - creators who are willing to put the time in (again, not necessarily WFW, maybe just spending more time thinking about their audience + video structure) are more likely to succeed.

If you put in 20% more effort here than others in your niche, the compounding effect on your channel will become significant.

5/ You're already ahead

As you'd expect at a conference, the networking was the best part.

I met hundreds of people who, until this week, I've only ever seen on a screen.

(Ok fine quick hightlights...)

Candidly, many of the actual talks were a little surface-level, because they were designed to appeal to the average creator.

It made me realise how far ahead of the game you are simply by being here and taking every element of your channel seriously.

We're thinking deeply about an part of YouTube that, I promise you, the majority of creators are still barely aware of.

So, even if you land a 10/10 next video, head up.

You're more equipped than most to bounce back and make something awesome next time around.

Alright, I had to draft this on my phone en route to the airport, so I hope you'll forgive me that it's a little brief.

My brain is bursting and I wanted to get some thoughts down while I've got momentum.

Over the next three weeks, I've got a 3-part series on the 80/20 of scriptwriting.

That is, the 20% effort that’s gonna get you 80% of the results.

(Plus how to carry out these steps faster.)

So excited to be back! I hope you're doing well.

Headed to NYC for a vacation now - if you have any questions or thoughts you'd like to share, I'll get back to ya when I return!

Speak soon,
George 👋

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