A lot of YouTube videos look and sound great on the screen. When we watch them, it appears that the YouTubers who have made them have put in a lot of thought, effort, and research. Videos that are well-detailed and planned out are engaging and leave us wanting more of the channel's content, and this is where the role of a good YouTube script comes in handy.
A script forms your video's framework — you need things to talk about in the video, and thus a script plays an essential role. Here are some of the reasons why writing a YouTube video script is really important if you want to become a successful YouTuber whose videos are engaging.
Planning things on the go might appear to save more time until you actually start doing it. If you leave the script and just start filming the video, you might realize that you are confused and aren't too sure about what could go in the video. This might result in a lot of takes and eventually a lot of editing. Besides, the viewer could easily say that you do not appear to be sure of yourself in a video.
Writing scripts beforehand can save lots of time and energy as you know what you are working with. Your thoughts feel organized, and you feel more confident on the camera. You also spend less time editing.
Scripts can help you brand your video and channel, and you might even discover a unique narrative style to your channel in the process. It will also have a definite introduction and conclusion that your viewers and subscribers will become familiar with as they start following you more.
You can spend some time thinking about what will make your channel unique and spend that thought while writing the script to get that extraordinary touch that your fans will keep coming back for. Let that unique touch be the brand identity of your videos!
A good script flows like water. It's smooth and engaging and provides enough clarity for the audience to follow. The video's ideas connect well, and the examples you might use to showcase an idea also work well. A good script helps your viewers understand your videos better, leading to more watch time, which ultimately results in better audience engagement and increases revenue.
Now that we know why a good script is essential, it becomes necessary to understand what makes a good YouTube script before we get into its details.
Here are some of the features that a good YouTube script has.
The key to audience-engagement is ensuring that what you are serving is to their taste and is easy to follow. You should try to make your script crisp and precise so that your audience doesn't feel that they are stuck between lengthy introductions, and the flow of ideas is filled with thoughts and narration that you could do without.
The more value you offer in your script, the better your video will turn out to be, and the more your audience will feel engaged.
The video's introduction is its most important part. Your YouTube video script should ensure that the opening is gripping and invites users to watch the video. You could start by asking a couple of questions that define their interest in the video. However, ensure that you do not make the intro too long as it can be quite annoying.
Conclusions are similar. They should be written in a way that makes the audience feel that they had a lovely time watching the video and that you are grateful to them for doing so.
You could lead-out the video by providing a CTA which asks them to like, subscribe and share the video. They might just do so if they really liked your video and care about it.
A good YouTube video script is written in a way where it includes multiple points of view around a subject, an idea, or a product. It offers everything — the good, the bad, and the ugly — so that the audience has more room for thought and comes up with an informed decision.
A good script also invites the audience to participate in the discussion so that the video becomes a thoughtful space for individuals who are passionate about the subject.
Every YouTube video provides you with an opportunity to tell the audience what else you have been working on or have worked on. If you realize that two videos are connected, ensure that you point it out in your video. Writing a well laid out script is crucial in achieving that. Once you have segmented the information, it's easier to gather your thoughts around the videos that you have made around a particular subject.
A good YouTube script needs to be unique as that's when it will help you leave a mark on the audience. Besides being unique, it also needs to offer value — there's no other reason a viewer might want to stick around long enough for that.
To achieve this, ensure that you have done plenty of research around the subject and have presented them thoughtfully and engagingly with a clear flow of ideas.
Learning how to write a good YouTube video script takes time and effort, and there's undoubtedly a process to it. Here are the steps to writing YouTube scripts that can help ease the process for you.
So, what's your next YouTube video going to be on? Do you have an idea — have you thought about something? If no, then you might brainstorm for a bit to figure it out. If you are out of videos, then look at how your past videos have performed. If your views have liked a particular topic, then you might want to make another video around it to play it safe.
Otherwise, you could just wait for the right idea to come in — an idea that makes you feel that it's worth the time and effort you put into it by being a hit with your audience.
Once you have an idea in your head, you know where to start, and that's a great beginning.
Researching is a crucial aspect of writing good YouTube scripts. When you have an idea, you might want to look at what else has been covered on the subject. Try to ask these questions to yours: is there something new that you are offering? Are there multiple perspectives? How can you make a boring subject better?
Your research should come from verified and unbiased sources. You must credit them if you need to. With adequate research in place, you will know where to pull out information from, and you won't be at a loss for ideas.
Keyword research holds a bit of value in good scripts, especially when deciding on the video's description. A topic has specific keywords that define it — help discover more about it. If your viewers are searching for a bunch of keywords around a topic, make sure to include them in your script as a point of focus and talk about them in your videos.
To find keywords, simply put in the query in Google and check out the related searches section at the bottom of the page to find out what people have been searching about.
A video script has three basic parts — introduction, body, and conclusion.
The introduction is where you begin the video. It's a great place to briefly greet your viewers and let them know what to expect in the video. However, do not drag out the introduction part as it may be annoying for people. You might also want to include a CTA, asking viewers to like and subscribe if they have loved your videos in the past.
It's always advisable to begin the video with something gripping — you need a solid hook to ensure that your viewers stay beyond the first 30 seconds. For some, it's a joke, some sort of humor; for others, it's an interesting fact. Keep experimenting and see what works best for you over time.
The body of the script is where the juice is. You should break down the body into subsections — each section could talk about different things in the video. For example, if your YouTube video is on five PS4 games that everyone loved in 2020, then you might want to break the body into 5 sections for each of these games.
Breaking the body into different sections helps ensure a smooth flow to the video and keeps the audience hooked. It also leaves room to refer to other videos.
The conclusion of the script is where you end things. It's an ideal space to summarize the whole thing, invite viewers to like and subscribe and let them know what's coming next — another cool video next week, maybe some new merchandise?
Keep the introduction short and sweet, as a lot of viewers even choose to just skip it.
Yes, you get better with scripts as you practice them more. However, some tips can help you ensure that your script-writing process goes smooth and yields effective results.
YouTube videos are much like a conversation. You are watching someone on screen talk about a subject or an idea. As a YouTube scriptwriter, you would want to write your dialogues and points like conversations — write as you talk. If you are too confused about how this works out (and if it is working out at all), try to read out the script when you are done and figure out how natural it sounds.
While long-sentences and powerful phrasing might work for an academic essay, YouTube scripts are best when they can be understood by everyone. Make it for the people!
It's okay to feel distracted. However, you might not want to be distracting in your video. Your audience's time is valuable, and you would like to respect that while writing a script for YouTube videos.
Avoid using many fillers and jokes that don't add much value to the script (unless that's your niche). Keep things simple and to the point. Remember that your ideas' flow is essential, and it's equally important that your audience stays with you while you are trying to do that with narration and storytelling.
If you are confused about your script's flow and subject, then one of the best ways to deal with it is to try to get into the audience's shoes. This means that you have to think from their point of view and perspective. Why did they come to this video? Are they looking for some information, if so then what kind? What is the best way to explain an idea while not burdening the audience with information? The subreddit Explain Like I'm Five is a great source to understand complicated ideas.
While writing your script, try to leave some room for feedback at the end of it. That way, you will know if the scripts and videos are working for your audience or not. Ask them if there's something else they would like you to do or if something was missing in the video. Ask them to engage as this will help drive your channel's growth and give you ideas on your next big video.
The ideas above will help you write better scripts with time. You can never be perfect, but you will always get better with scriptwriting. Remember to watch other videos on YouTube for inspiration and see what difference you can make with your own video — what value could you add.
Practicing consistently will help you build your own style, and then things start flowing smoothly. Before you even realize it, you would have become an excellent scriptwriter. Your audience would be loving every word that flows out of your pen, every sound of your keystroke, every creak in your voice.
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