Your Scriptwriting Partner

Hey everyone!

I’ve been helping YouTubers write better scripts for almost three years.

Something I hear all too often? “I don’t know where the heck to start.”

Maybe you’ve only got a couple of hours per week to write.

Or perhaps scriptwriting just feels like a drag.

So let’s talk about how to write highly engaging scripts when you’re time-short and stuck on what to prioritise.

The good news? There are literally only three things to focus on.

(And I'll cover them all over the next three weeks.)

Today, let’s focus on…

The Hook

If writing a hook is proving mind-boggling… then stop.

Instead, take a step back and write down the following components:

Education/edutainment channel:

1. Target: This is my target audience.
2. Transformation: This is their desired transformation.
3. Stakes: Here’s what’s at stake.

Entertainment channel:

1. Character: These are the characters.
2. Concept: This is the concept.
3. Stakes: Here’s what’s at stake.

Here’s an educational example from a video I’m working on:

Target

• Creators struggling with YouTube scriptwriting. They feel constantly overwhelmed and don't know many best practices. Their retention is usually pretty bad and they don't know why. Biggest fear - their channel will never grow.

Transformation

• They'll learn a systemised approach to scriptwriting that makes their scripts more engaging and faster to write. They'll have go-to frameworks they can use if they feel uninspired or overwhelmed.

Stakes

• If writing doesn't become easier and videos keep underperforming, they'll probably give up. Their dream of going full-time on YouTube will collapse.

Why is this useful?

Well... now the pressure's off.

You’re no longer trying to "write a banger hook". You’re just writing down some info you already know intuitively.

This short-circuits your brain’s tendency to overthink and waste time.

Without even trying, I’ve already got 70% of my hook by following this exercise.

I'm now working with all the building blocks I'll need, rather than a blank page.

Combining the components involves a bit of trial and error, but it'll be way easier now you've got those components.

My hook turned into this:

Writing YouTube scripts is hard. There are a million choices to make every minute, it takes flippin' ages, and at the end, your retention still looks like this [B-Roll: bad retention graph.]

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But I've seen what scriptwriting can do for channels time after time... [Supercut channel growth graphs.]

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...and the reason most YouTubers give up on it is because they overlook the actual thing that turns scriptwriting into a superpower. [Blurred out "system" graphic.]

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So let's talk about what it is, and how to use it to get retention graphs more like this [show amazing graph] so your dream of going full-time on YouTube becomes a reality.

Yes, the hook is super important.

But the best way to reduce the pressure and make fast progress is to break it down like this.

Wanna make this even easier?

I’ve created a custom GPT called “ScriptHook”.

Give it your the three core components, and it'll combine them into a finished hook.

It’s not perfect, but it can produce some pretty decent hooks.

Use ScriptHook - 100% Free

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If you do give it a try, send me your feedback so I can keep improving it!

That's all for now! Any questions, just let me know.

Next week, we’ll cover the second part of scriptwriting to focus on if you don't have much time.

Speak soon,
George 👋

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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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I know I'm technically supposed to be on a newsletter hiatus this month...

But I wanted to let you know about something cool.

The reason I'm taking a few weeks off is because I've been completely revamping my scriptwriting system, The YouTube Scriptwriter's Playbook.

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Some of the new content in V2 will honestly be game-changing for how I write YouTube scripts... and I think it could be for you too.

Here's what's coming...

With over 300 students inside the YouTube Scriptwriter's Playbook, I was absolutely spoiled when I asked for feedback on the course:

I had so much amazing feedback from everyone, and implementing it has been super exciting.

Overall, I had some big realisations about V1:

• I overintellectualized a lot of stuff - I thought making things "sound clever" was how I should create value 😆
  • So the focus of V2 is to simplify everything, use more visual aids, etc.

• I assumed everyone had TIME to write word-for-word scripts. But a lot of students asked for best practices when time is limited.
  • So V2 has a big focus on this (with a TONNE of new cheatsheets to make life 10x easier).

• Many lessons made sense "in theory", but were sometimes hard to apply.
  • In V2, I've added a bunch of practical exercises to help students hone specific skills (rather than having to apply EVERYTHING to a working script).

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But this is just the beginning. I've made some huge changes to YTSP and I cannot wait to share it all soon!

Existing students get all this for free.

Once you've made the investment in YTSP, any future updates are yours automatically.

More details to come, but I can confidently say now is the most cost-effective time to dive into my complete scriptwriting system, if it's something you've been considering - you can learn more about it here.

Then YTSP V2 will launch in July... so keep your eyes peeled 👀

That's all for now!

I'll be making some more noise about this in July, so remember to opt out of further YTSP updates if you'd rather not hear any more about it - you'll stay signed up to the newsletter.

Any questions, just let me know!

Speak soon,
George 👋

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