4 years of YouTube scriptwriting in 26 minutes

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 👋