Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.

In December, a student of mine was about to launch a new channel.

Tim had three videos scripted, filmed, and ready to launch (following my “Whirlpool” strategy).

But, days before hitting publish… Tim’s computer died.

The scripts were safe in the cloud - but the footage was lost.

So today, I want to share how he turned this apparent disaster into an amazing opportunity…

…and the important lesson he taught me about scriptwriting.

Success from Disaster

So the videos were gone... but the ideas were still top of mind for Tim.

After all, he’d just spent weeks writing and recording them.

So rather than wallowing in misery (like I would have done), he got curious.

He decided to record some off-the-cuff podcast episodes covering similar topics.

This stripped away some of the more heavily scripted elements and allowed him to experiment with riffing.

And let me tell you something - I am secretly (although not actually) a teeny bit glad this all happened.

Because the resulting podcast is fantastic.

It’s called: “The Fiction Writer’s Toolshed: Practical Tools for Authors”

Check it out here!

Technically, it's aimed at fiction authors.

But every episode is full of wisdom for any type of writer - and that includes YouTubers.

I'll finish today's newsletter with my favourite lesson from Tim's podcast so far.

But first, let's take a moment to consider Tim's response to this tech disaster, and how we can apply it to our own YouTube videos.

Ask yourself this - how many times have you recorded an entire YouTube video only to find the mic wasn’t switched on, or the focus was playing up, or even that you never hit record?

I’ve experienced all these and more - and the funny thing is, the next take is nearly always much better.

Practice makes perfect, and - albeit unintentionally - mistakes like these force us to practice.

And this was a heck of a lot more than "forgetting to hit record".

Tim had put hours into filming, editing, and preparing for publish.

But who would bet that when he re-records these same YouTube videos...

...they'll turn out way better the second time around? ☝️

Technical disasters are often blessings in disguise.

Here’s how you could apply this thinking to your next video:

• Experiment with an alternate format - a podcast, a Short, or even a newsletter - and see whether this changes how you express your thoughts on the topic. Then rewrite the long-form piece.
• Allow yourself a “trial run” during each recording - hit record just in case, but work on the assumption that you’ll record the whole thing at least twice.
• Discuss a topic with a friend, and record the conversation - and notice the objections or questions your friend has. This could totally change how you approach the script.

Scriptwriting Lesson - Farming vs Cooking

So what have I learned from The Fiction Writer's Toolshed?

Well, a lot! But here's my favourite takeaway so far:

This is from episode 5: “Fiction Farming vs Fiction Cooking” (listen here).

Tim says:

“Writing is not the same thing as coming up with ideas. They are not the same process.”

What Tim’s describing are the two different “modes” our brains enter when writing.

In associative mode, you’re “farming”.

You’re researching ideas and throwing them into a document, without knowing exactly how they’ll fit together yet.

In analytical mode, you’re “cooking”.

You’re combining those ideas, narrowing your options, and working towards a final script.

The problem Tim identifies is this:

“As writers, we try to cook while we’re still farming […] judging seeds that could grow into incredible ideas by the standards of a finished meal. If you do that long enough, writing starts to feel bad.”

This resonated strongly with me.

How many times have you opened a new script full of excitement, but quickly found yourself stressed out and unable to make decent progress?

And the longer this goes on, the more you start to believe you’re just a bad writer.

This is part of the reason I switched my scriptwriting approach - using pre-existing material from my newsletters, and plugging in my setups and payoffs in a methodical, repeatable way.

That’s farming.

Then I switch to my analytical brain and connect each setup to each payoff using bullet points - and often write the hook later once I’m sure all ideas have been gathered and arranged.

That’s cooking.

Now, if the way I explained this feels a bit overwhelming, go check out The Fiction Writer’s Toolshed.

Not only does Tim have an incredible radio voice, but each episode explains a writing problem + solution simply yet elegantly - and you won't find it difficult to see how his ideas connect to YouTube.

Thanks for letting me share this, Tim!

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

Last week, we flew to Morocco for a little time away.

We drove through the Atlas Mountains, hiked the Todra Gorge, and eventually made it to the edge of the Sahara.

All the while, I was carrying precious cargo - my copy of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic, Dune.

And, at sunrise, I sat on the sand and read a few pages.

In that moment, I was so focused on the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's nefarious scheming, I didn't really have time to process the brilliance of the situation.

But in the days since, and looking back at the photo captured by my partner, Julia, I've realised how lucky I am.

To be able to take a random week off in February, and to pursue dumb little ideas like reading a book about a big desert while sitting in a big desert... it's wonderful.

The freedom and flexibility we're afforded by the type of work we do is amazing, and I want to thank you for making that possible.

Simply by having subscribed to this newsletter, you're contributing to the continued existence of my business - and I appreciate it!

So, this week, I'll leave you with my latest video - feel free to check it out if you'd like to learn how you might be using curiosity wrong in your videos:

Watch Here

Speak soon,
George 👋

Your hook can make or break your video's performance.

But... you already know this.

Yet most YouTubers end up damaging their retention by making a (completely logical) mistake in the first 30 seconds.

To help you identify it, take a look at this hook extract:

I assume you can see the problem.

The hook reads like a resumé, rather than a promise of value.

In fact, I used Claude to compare the instances where the YouTuber spoke explicitly about something the viewer would get from watching the video vs something they had done...

...and the results were pretty stark:

15 moments about the speaker. Their achievements. Their credentials. Their journey.

Just 1 about the viewer, and what the video would do for them.

But honestly… I understand why this happens.

YouTubers often front-load credibility because it feels like the logical way to earn trust.

But think about your own behaviour on YouTube. How many pieces of relevant credibility do you need to hear before deciding a video is worth your time?

Sure, the credibility needs to be relevant to the topic. But in the above example, if I’d simply heard...

“I grew [channel] to quarter of a million subscribers and over 650,000 euros in revenue, and in this video…”

...I can't imagine I'd be sitting there saying:

"Oh yeah, but what can you really tell me about YouTube growth and entrepreneurship?!"

No. I'd say: "Fantastic. You seem legit. Now what's in this video for me?"

Your hook only needs one piece of credibility. After that, talk to the viewer.

So... check your next hook for this totally logical - but ultimately harmful - mistake.

Or, for speed, paste your hook into an LLM using the prompt below.

Analyse the following YouTube hook transcript. I want you to identify every moment where the speaker refers to something they have done, built, or achieved (speaker-focused) versus every moment where the speaker describes something the viewer will get or learn (viewer-focused).Then produce a single HTML file that visually highlights these in two colours within the transcript, includes a bar chart comparing the counts, and ends with a short verdict summarising the imbalance.

Here is my hook transcript to analyse:

[PASTE YOUR HOOK TRANSCRIPT HERE]

(I started using Claude a LOT recently - it turns analyses like these into beautiful presentations.)

That's all for this week!

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

“Be super specific - with everything."

I wrote that feedback to a student yesterday.

In fact, I rewrote six hooks in my scriptwriting community this week…

…and five of them needed the same fix.

Because non-specific language in your hooks is a big problem for both retention and gathering a loyal audience long-term.

Let me show you why:

Examples of non-specific language, and why it matters:

Example 1:

One student sent me a hook about nutrition for fitness. It started like this:

"Everyone is talking about the nutrition pyramid these days. As always, where attention goes, energy flows. If you're a career-driven human over 40..."

But here was my re-write:

"If you're over 40 and trying to [get down to X% body fat], you already know that nutrition is important. But after [X] years [doing relevant thing], I discovered that…"

Notice what changed?

• I cut the generalised opener ("Everyone is talking about...") entirely.
• "Over 40" became “over 40 and trying to [get down to X% body fat]”
• I added a placeholder for their specific credibility, where there had been none.

In this case, the added specificity makes it clear who the exact target audience is, what their goals are, and why this creator is the person to help them.

Without it, I have no reason to watch this fitness channel over any other.

Example 2:

Another student was writing about the dangers of having a fatty liver. One line said:

"If fat builds up on our liver, it can destroy it."

Which is true. But the impact of this is not made clear.

So I suggested adding this line right after:

"And long-term, this can lead to terrible side effects like [X] and [Y]."

(Again, I left placeholders for the YouTuber to add the specifics.)

But the point here?

Being specific helps the viewer truly picture what's at stake.

Yes, I know that a “destroyed liver” is bad. But I can’t really picture it.

But naming specific, day-to-day side effects it can lead to?

Now it feels urgent. Now I have to keep watching.

Example 3:

A third student was writing a video about menopause after breast cancer.

Can you spot the non-specific terminology in here? (It’s not super obvious.)

"So when women are frightened into thinking this is the rest of their life..."

It was only small, but there’s an important change to be made here too. See my re-write:

"So if you've been frightened into thinking this is the rest of your life..."

In this case, being more specific means talking directly to the viewer, as opposed to the general audience.

Your videos should be designed to address just the person watching, not a large crowd.

The Fix

To make sure your hook doesn’t fall into the non-specificity trap, ask yourself these three questions.

1/ Who is this for, specifically? (Target)

• Not "people who want to get fit" → "over 40s trying to build 10lbs of muscle"

(And, where possible, referring to them as “you”, instead of "they".)

2. What's the specific outcome you're promising? (Transformation)

• Not "grow your channel" → "hit 100k subscribers in 6 months"
• Not "write better scripts" → "cut your writing time from 6 hours to 90 minutes"
• Not "improve your fitness" → "get down to 15% body fat"

3. What's the specific consequence if they don't fix this? (Stakes)

• "It can destroy your liver…" → "…which leads to [X] terrible side effects"

This all ties back to my “target, transformation, stakes” hook framework (more info).

That's all for this week!

​Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

Sponsored by:
​1of10.com

Since launching my channel in October, the priority has been consistency.

I took a break over Christmas, but otherwise I haven't missed an upload.

But now it's time to get strategic.

Because, even at a glance, I've started to notice some interesting takeaways from my first 10 videos:

1. Listicles have consistently underperformed.
2. Riffing personal stories led to stronger retention and my most-viewed video. Riffing scripting advice led to extreme retention dropoff.
3. Text-only thumbnails (i.e. no fancy design) won the majority of A/B tests.
4. My "whirlpool strategy" for end-screen CTAs was highly effective at launch, but is becoming less effective over time. I have theories, but I'll need a full newsletter to discuss!
5. My most effective lead magnet came from this video where I pushed viewers to download a template I'd been subtly showcasing throughout the video.

I'm yet to do a full analytical breakdown of every single video, but this gives me a clearer direction for how to approach upcoming scripts.

I encourage you to take stock once every few months, too. Spend just an hour looking at your views + retention, and it'll be hard to miss the more obvious patterns.

But there's an even bigger change I'm about to make...

The Plan

Until now, every script has been directly converted from an old newsletter.

This was a useful approach, and I encourage you to repurpose other written material to increase your writing and uploading consistency, if that's something you struggle with.

The downside was - and don't tell anyone shhh - I was committing the cardinal sin of creating my packaging *after* writing the script.

But now it's time to strategically build every video from the packaging first.

To show you how I'm going to do it, I want you to check out this thumbnail:

What if I told you that this thumbnail was made in under 60 seconds entirely using AI.

Specifically, 1of10.com's mindblowing new idea and thumbnail generation tool.

For context, I've been using 1of10 for 2+ years, and their old thumbnail generation tool was... ok.

Good for some light inspiration, but ultimately not really usable:

Now? It's a whole different boardgame.

Not only does their idea generator create some great title inspiration...

...but the thumbnails themselves are, in many cases, 90% ready to use:

Now you probably had the same reaction as me:

An initial "wow, COOL!", followed by "wait, that diagram doesn't quite make sense".

Well, the coolest part is, you can prompt it to make any changes you want.

And let me tell you, if you've ever spent hours wrestling with ChatGPT's image generator and watched an *almost* perfect image slowly descend into dark mush the more you prompt it...

...this is not that.

When you request changes, it *does what you ask* with a high degree of accuracy... and fast.

Notice the small tweaks I asked for from my earlier example - like changing the main heading, removing duplicate words from the diagram, and swapping two boxes for "?" boxes.

Wait, sorry... did I say we'd already covered the coolest part?

Nuh uh. Check this.

Here's a quick thumbnail mockup I drew:

After uploading it to 1of10's thumbnail generator, I got THIS after just 60s 👇

Does this mean I'll stop using my thumbnail designer?

No.

I really care about the little details, and my thumbnail designer is not just an "artist", but also a strategist who I value highly.

But for many, thumbnails are a massive barrier to entry.

It's bloody hard to find someone both affordable and skilled.

That's why 1of10's idea and thumbnail generator will be lifechanging for thousands of YouTubers.

And as my channel strategy pivots from consistency to, well, actual strategy...

...I'll be using 1of10's idea and thumbnail generator to drive things forward.

Thanks to Richard and the team at 1of10 for partnering up with me again!

If you're interested in trying out 1of10 with 20% off, click here:

Try 1of10 [20% OFF]

I'll keep you updated on how these new strategic ideas perform...

...and how starting with the packaging (like a good boy) impacts my scriptwriting.

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

If you need to pack a lot of information into one script, how do you structure it?

For example, a script that includes 2-3 main topics, but which also includes several sub-topics within the main topics?

No matter your niche, this will have happened to you at some point, or it will in future.

So let me show you how to structure this properly. Get it wrong, and your video will be so boring even you won’t want to watch it back.

Key Structure:

As you may know, I break every script into segments.

And each segment follows the same structure:

• Setup - where we introduce the segment and what the viewer will gain from it.
• Tension - where we deliver the bulk of the information in an interesting way.
• Payoff - where we fully reveal the information we got the viewer curious about during our setup.

Most scripts between 8-15 minutes tend to have somewhere between 5-7 “segments”.

That’s 5-7 times we repeat the process of “setup, tension, payoff”.

Simple.

But how would you approach a script in the following scenario?

Let’s say you’re making a video teaching how to create and sell digital products using AI.

There are 3 “main” parts of this video.

1. Deciding which digital products to make.
2. Learning which AI tools are needed to create them.
3. Discovering how and where to market them.

But within each of these topics… there is still a lot to cover.

For example, within “Learning which AI tools are needed”, we’re probably going to discuss:

1. What the tools are.
2. How to set them up for this project.
3. How to use them step-by-step.
4. How they integrate with any marketplaces covered in part 3.

So that begs the question - how do we apply setup, tension, payoff?

Do we use it only on the main topics, or for each of the subtopics?

Well, let me show you what I see happen all the time when YouTubers do the former…

The "Bad" Way (avoid this):

Setup:

During the setup, YouTubers often feel compelled to summarise everything that’s going to be covered in the segment.

“This second step can be broken down into 4 simple ideas:

- First, we need to learn what the tools are.

- Second, how we’re gonna set them up for the project.

- Third, how to use them to create your digital product.

- And fourth, how to upload them directly to Gumroad.”

This is bad for retention, because:

1. I’m not going to remember these, so you’ll have to re-introduce them again later. Functionally, this is wasted time.
2. It risks feeling overwhelming.
3. It also doesn’t sell the result of this part of the video, which is what setups are designed to do.

Tension:

This is the biggest problem area.

Because we’re now having to try and list multiple ideas, principles or steps all within the umbrella of a single “setup”.

And the most common outcome of this is that they feel rushed.

For example:

“First, which tools do we need?​

Honestly, ChatGPT is the best bet here because of it’s projects feature. But if you want a bigger context window, go for Claude.

Second, setting them up. Let’s say you’re using ChatGPT. You’re gonna want to make sure you’re uploading a style guide to each custom GPT you create, so if you don’t have one of those, go ahead and create it now.

Third, to create your product using ChatGPT, upload the style guide to a new custom GPT, and explain in natural language the digital product you decided to create earlier. Let’s say you were trying to code a new app, you simply tell ChatGPT to express itself using your preferred coding language.

Fourth, open Gumroad and…”

I cannot tell you how many scripts I’ve read that look like this.

It somehow manages to feel both rushed and bloated at the same time - like I’ve heard a lot of noise, but I couldn’t confidently implement anything I heard.

Payoff:

These end up becoming bloated as well, because now it feels like we need to summarise a huge chunk of information in one place.

The "Good" Way (do this)

As you’ve probably guessed by now, my advice is to treat each subtopic as its own segment.

That means going through the cycle of setup, tension, payoff multiple times within a single main topic.

It might feel a bit weird, but let me show you why this works.

Setup:

Rather than having to waste our setup explaining the structure of the next four sub-topics…

…now we can simply focus on the benefit they’ll receive by watching.

For example:

“Now it’s time to cover exactly which AI tools you’ll need to create your digital product, starting with understanding which tool has a track record of creating the most lucrative products…:

The first clause indicates that we’ve moved onto the second main topic, and the second clause focuses in on what step 1 is and why the viewer should be excited about it.

Tension:

Not much explanation needed here.

In a nutshell, all those details we had to breeze over before…

“Third, to create your product using ChatGPT, upload the style guide to a new custom GPT, and explain in natural language the digital product you decided to create earlier. Let’s say you were trying to code a new app, you simply tell ChatGPT to express itself using your preferred coding language.”

…can now be explored in more detail, leaving the viewer feeling equipped to actually take action:

Step 3 is where we're actually going to build your product using ChatGPT, and as you might have guessed, that means we're going to need our style guide we created earlier. Head into the custom GPT's settings, scroll down to the "knowledge" area, and upload your PDF. Anything you upload to this area will be referred back to by the GPT before it builds anything.

Payoff:

Now we have one of these at the end of each sub-topic, designed to pay off one specific thing.

(Rather than an enormous paragraph trying to tie together all the takeaways of the much larger, main topic.)

That's all for this week!

If you'd like to grab one of the remaining spots inside the YouTube Writer's Room and receive direct feedback on your scripts from me, click here.

Any questions? Reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

Before recording your next video, I want you review your script and ask this question:

“How easily can I picture this?”

Or, to be precise, “how easily can my viewers picture this?”

The truth is, this question has a significant impact on retention, yet I’ve worked with dozens of clients, students, and agencies who ignore it.

So, using some simple examples, let me show you why this matters, and how easily you can implement it.

But before we get into it...

LAST TICKETS LEFT

Get 6 months of YouTube strategy in 8 hours.

We’re running an intensive, one-day event for entrepreneurial YouTubers to help you nail the 3 core aspects of a successful YouTube channel:

1. Strategy & Packaging (hosted by Jamie Whiffen)
2. Scriptwriting & Retention (hosted by me!)​
3. Systems & Production (hosted by Gwilym Sims-Williams)​

Our goal?

To help you make more strategic YouTube progress in one day than you would in 6 months.

Last Tickets Left, Grab Yours Here

In addition to our keynote sessions, Q&As and implementation sessions, I'm excited to announce our sponsor!

​Justin Moore: Author of Sponsor Magnet​

Attendees will receive a free copy of Sponsor Magnet plus the following exclusive offer from Justin:

Join a "sponsorship diagnosis call" with one of Justin's team:

• Assess your channel/socials/business.
• Pinpoint roadblocks preventing you from landing lucrative deals.
• Identify opportunities to drive more revenue through sponsorships.

Thanks again to Justin for sponsoring the YouTube Breakthrough Intensive!

To learn more about the event and claim your spot, click here:

Last Tickets Left, Grab Yours Here

So, back to that key question...

"Can my viewers easily picture what I described?"

First, let’s see what happens when the answer is "no" in a hook:

“If you’re a business trying to grow on YouTube, you can’t afford to make videos that don’t resonate.

They need to appeal to customers fast… but it’s difficult to achieve this when you’re so focused on the day-to-day of running your company.

So in this video, I’ll show you how to make more content that attracts your ideal clients, without getting overwhelmed.”

When you read this, how do you feel?

To me, this sounds extremely flat. After all:

• What does a video that “doesn’t resonate” actually look like?
• I don’t know what “appealing to customers” means, except in the broadest sense. And how “fast” do I need to do this?
• I’m not even sure the issue is that I’m too busy “running my company”, but even if it were… what sort of tasks might I be doing that get in the way?
• “More” content? How much more?
• “Overwhelmed” is buzzword-y. How does this look and feel?

Compare that to this re-write:

“If you’re a business trying to grow on YouTube, you can’t afford to make videos that look like this anymore. [Show a visual example; grounds the explanation in something I can picture.]

Because the truth is, if your viewers aren’t hooked by your videos in the first 30 seconds, they’ll never become customers and you’ll struggle to make consistent sales.

So in this video, I’ll show you how to 2x the number of videos you make per month to generate more leads… without spending hours brainstorming new video ideas.”

How did that feel by comparison?

To me, I found myself imagining much more specific imagery:

• By showing what we meant in the first sentence, we leave the viewer in no doubt what we’re talking about.
• I can picture a viewer being “hooked” by a video, and there’s now a specific timeframe as well.
• I can feel the pain of “not making sales”.
• I can picture making “2x” the number of videos per month.
• I can picture the stress of having to spend hours I don’t have “brainstorming new video ideas”.

So that was a hook.

But what does this look like during your “setups”?

Setups:

A "setup" is effectively a re-hook every 1-2 minutes as you begin discussing a new topic.

Just as your main hook is designed to convince viewers to watch the video…

…your setups are designed to reinforce this, giving the viewer clarity about what they’re going to learn next.

And the keyword there? Clarity.

Imagine if I started a segment like this:

“Imagine playing rock-paper-scissors with a monkey. Who’s more likely to win - you, or it? The truth is, it’s more likely that the monkey won’t understand the rules and will probably just scream in your face and throw faeces towards you. And this teaches us something very important about making videos on YouTube…”

Ok, I had some fun with that one. And, sure, I can picture the monkey throwing its poo at me.

But can I picture the benefit of this segment?

Do I have clarity about what I’m going to learn?

Have I stopped thinking about the reason I actually clicked the video because now all I can think about is monkeys?

No. No. Yes.

Now, I’m not saying metaphors don’t have their place (and, as you’ll see below, we don’t even have to cut this one out).

But we do not want to use a metaphor during a “setup”.

Check out this re-write and you’ll see why:

“First up, we need to understand the main reason most business-focused YouTubers struggle to upload consistently, because it’s probably what’s holding you back too. And until we unpick this habit, I guarantee you’ll never start to make more sales.

To explain this, I want you to imagine you’re playing rock-paper-scissors with a monkey…”

Do you see how different this feels?

We can still use the exact same metaphor, but we simply move it until after the setup.

This means we kick off the segment using stake-heavy language that I can easily picture.

Now, our viewers can clearly understand what they’re going to learn in the next 1-2 minutes.

And the metaphor becomes a vehicle for explanation, rather than curiosity.

Try this, and see what happens to your retention during both the hook and each time you begin a new topic.

That's all for this week.

Speak soon,
George 👋

The most important “strategy” your YouTube channel needs this year is stupidly simple.

And you don’t need to:

• Dig through your YouTube Studio analytics.
• Spend hours brainstorming
• Or “study the top 1%, bro.”

It's as easy as this:

Make it extremely obvious who your videos are for, every single time.

And the #1 place people fail at this? The hook.

Here’s a recent Matt Gray hook that does not make it clear who the target audience is:

What if I told you that ChatGPT can 10x your output with four simple systems?

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said the first billion-dollar solo business is coming, and it's going to be powered by AI.

We're living through the David versus Goliath moment of our generation, where one person with AI can do far more than 50, 100, or even 500 people.

So today, I want to show you four ChatGPT systems that you can go and leverage to make real money in the new era of AI. Let's get into it.

The problem? This video is aimed at helping businesses make more money with AI.

Sure, he mentions “business” once.

But the parts in red sound either extremely vague (”10x your output”) or aimed at individuals who want to make more money (”systems you can go and leverage to make real money”).

To show you how to fix a hook like this, I re-wrote it.

But a quick announcement first...

14/20 TICKETS SOLD

Join me in London for an in-person YouTube strategy day!

We’re running an intensive, one-day event for entrepreneurial YouTubers to help you nail the 3 core aspects of a successful YouTube channel:

1. Strategy & Packaging (hosted by Jamie Whiffen)
2. Scriptwriting & Retention (hosted by me!)​
3. Systems & Production (hosted by Gwilym Sims-Williams)​

My co-hosts, Jamie and Gwilym, have generated millions of views working with channels like Bryan Johnson, Gordon Ramsay, and Ramit Sethi... to name just a few.

Our goal?

To help you make more strategic YouTube progress in one day than you would in 6 months.

To learn more about the event and claim your spot, click here:

6 Tickets Left, Grab Yours

We're grateful to our event sponsor:
​Justin Moore: Author of Sponsor Magnet​

Ok, back to the business-focused re-write:

What if I told you that ChatGPT can 5x your business’s revenue with four simple systems?​

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said the first billion-dollar solo business is coming, and it's going to be powered by AI.

We're living through the David versus Goliath moment of our generation, where even a one-person business with AI can do far more than teams of 50, 100, or even 500 people.​

So today, I want to show you four ChatGPT systems that you can leverage to increase both your business’s efficiency and its bottom line profitability. Let's get into it.

Small changes, but it’s now crystal clear who the video is for.

So this year, before you publish any video, check that you’ve made it extremely obvious who it’s meant for.

And, if you want direct feedback on your scripts from me this year, you can join the YouTube Writers' Room.

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋

How's your year been?

Have things gone as you planned? Or better?! Or... worse? 😬

After all, it's the ideal time of year for a bit of R&R - reviewing and reminiscing 🤓

And in that spirit, I decided to review not just this year... but the last four.

All the way back to the very start of my career as a YouTube scriptwriter.

Because the way I write YouTube scripts - and my entire business model - have changed a lot in that time.

So, to save you the four year learning curve, here's how my approach to scriptwriting has changed since 2021...

Watch it as a video...

Watch Here

Or, if you prefer to read the highlights + takeaways, I've extracted these below, broken down by the different "eras" of my business...

Full-Time Scriptwriter for Ali Abdaal:

The truth is, I learned close-to-nothing about scripting for YouTube while working with Ali.

There was no training, our systems changed constantly, most video ideas were scrapped - and the result was that I never got to study what had and hadn’t worked with my scripts.

Ergo, every new script felt like I was back to square one, blindly writing in the dark.

This is not the way to become a good writer for YouTube.

Takeaway:

• Spend time reviewing your videos post-publish, otherwise you’ll never learn what’s working, or what’s holding you back.

Freelance Writer; various clients:

Getting to write for multiple channels at the same time was eye-opening.

This not only exposed me to new niches, but new formats as well.

Plus, unlike working full-time where there had been a long feedback loop between videos, now I was writing 1-2 scripts per week, every week.

Takeaway:

• Try different formats for your videos to expand your scriptwriting skills - from listicles, to detailed explainers, to more story-driven content like the video I linked above.
• Write consistently. We run weekly group scriptwriting sessions in the YouTube Writer’s Room for this reason.

Started building an audience:

While working freelance, I began writing this newsletter.

At first, I had no strategy. But I promised myself I’d write something every week.

Eventually - more through statistical probability than strategy - I hit on a topic that really resonated: reviewing retention graphs.

For the next 6 months, every single issue of this newsletter was devoted to reviewing 3 retention graphs my readers had sent in.

Not only did this help me grow my own audience, but it rapidly accelerated my understanding of scriptwriting and retention.

Takeaway:

• As above, write consistently. You only need one idea to pop off, and your channel’s trajectory may change significantly. It happens with YouTubers all the time, and it happened with my newsletter. Keep placing bets.
• Study your own retention graphs, and look for patterns that arise across multiple videos. Diagnose; test; repeat.

Started building frameworks:

“The retention stuff is cool. But I think people want to see more of George.”

This is what Dodford said to me at a London meetup in mid-2023.

The truth is: I had become so entrenched in the retention graph “thing”, I’d become too scared to write about anything else.

But he was right. And I was getting bored. So I started to write newsletters much more like this one.

Not only was this creatively liberating, but I started to explore the connections between the patterns I’d noticed in all those graphs.

Suddenly, I was creating frameworks for scriptwriting - repeatable structures I could lean on every time.

Takeaway:

• Whether you use mine, someone else’s, or create your own - use frameworks for scriptwriting. It’s what I wish I’d had when I worked for Ali.

Launched my complete scriptwriting system:

After 6 months of work, I codified and combined my scriptwriting frameworks into a complete system.

Originally launched as “The YouTube Scriptwriter’s Playbook” (now renamed “The YouTube Scriptwriting Playbook”), this system allowed me to follow the exact same steps every single time I wrote a script.

No second-guessing. No overthinking.

This was everything I had wished I’d had for the previous two years.

(And, of course, you can join the 600+ students who have learned the system here.)

Takeaway:

• Whether you use mine, someone else’s, or create your own - combine scriptwriting frameworks into a repeatable system. This takes 90% of the guesswork out of every script, and allows you to focus on creativity.

Grew my scriptwriting community:

Last minute, I decided to add a scriptwriting "community" upsell to my course.

Now, not only could students learn my system, they could also get direct feedback from me (and each other) on how to implement it properly.

I won't bang on about it, but after two years running the community, I finally kicked the imposter syndrome on this one - I think it's a truly valuable place to be if you want to write better YouTube scripts.

(If you're interested, you can join the YouTube Writer's Room here.)

Takeaway:

• Whether it's in my community or elsewhere: get feedback from trusted peers on your scripts. You'll learn your blind spots way faster.

Had an identity crisis!

Lol. Let me try and explain why.

In January 2024, I had launched:

• My course.
• My community.
• An agency (for some reason).

This led to me making over $100k between January-March, which was the kind of money I might previously have made in 2-3 years.

But, in March, I also closed my agency because I hated running it.

The net result was that all the big projects I’d been working on for months were either launched or in the bin.

Plus, making good money quickly came with some truly unexpected feelings of guilt and even something like apathy.

• I no longer had a “North Star”, or any specific goals.
• I was making more money the less I actually wrote YouTube scripts for clients (imposter syndrome central).
• I no longer felt like an “underdog” - a feeling that that had spurred me on in 2022-23.

At the exact moment things were better than ever, I felt completely lost.

Ok, that got heavy, but there is a…

Takeaway:

• Prepare for crazy mental swings as a YouTuber. You might have a video go viral, then struggle to get decent views for the next 3 months. So...
• Think in "longer time horizons". Acknowledge that every flop (and every win) is just another data point across a long time period. Hashtag YouTube is a hashtag marathon not a hashtag sprint.

So... 2025.

These days, things have smoothed out a bit.

A lot of my biggest business worries were calmed after time being coached by a lovely guy called Craig Shoemaker.

Ergo, I've finally landed on a cadence of work that I mostly enjoy, and that feels valuable to my clients and students.

In 2025, my time is divided between:

• Lower-contact client work (1-1 calls + script reviews).
• Running my awesome scriptwriting community.
• Writing scripts for my own channel.

Financially, I had a poor Q1 and Q2… but a much better Q3 and Q4.

Looking back over the last four years has helped me see the many mistakes I’ve made - both as a writer, and a business owner.

But it’s also given me renewed appreciation for you.

When I wrote my first newsletter on July 15th 2022, I had no idea where it would take me.

So the fact that I’m able to have these little interactions with you every week, three and a half years later, means a great deal.

With that said, I’m looking forward to writing to you again in 2026.

Let’s see where we all end up this time next year!

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋