How To Write the Plot Of YouTube Videos

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If you’ve recently started uploading content on YouTube for viewership, entertainment, publicity, engagement, or simply to make money, you might notice that there’s fierce competition among content creators on the streaming platform.

After all, a whopping 500 hours of content is being uploaded every minute, taking the total to 720,000 hours in a single day.

If you’re new to this gig and haven’t given much thought to writing the script of your videos beforehand then this blog is for you!

One of the primary reasons why script-writing is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the world of YouTube is that it streamlines the whole process, giving you time to plan ahead, organize your thoughts into a structured outline, and save a lot of your valuable time.

It also helps you find answers to some of the essential questions pertaining to your target audience, their preferences, interests, and requirements, and the value that you bring to the table through your content. Looking at these various spectrums of content creation will further help you achieve your goals as a content creator.

Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced content creator looking to make some changes in how you approach content creation, learning how to write a script for your YouTube videos will significantly change things for the better.

So, without further ado, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty details of writing the plot of YouTube videos!

The Five Essential Questions To Ask Yourself Before Getting Started

Before you get started with the scriptwriting process, it’s vital that you ask yourself some basic questions that will help you lay the groundwork for what needs to be done.

The following are the five basic but essential questions that will help you decide which direction your content should be headed:

  1. Who is my target audience?
  2. What does my target audience require?
  3. What message[s] do I want to deliver?
  4. What emotions do I want to represent?
  5. What kind of actions do I want my target audience to take after watching my video?

Once you’ve determined the correct answers to these questions, you can move on to discovering the key elements that should be added to your video script.

The Key Elements To Add To A Video Script

There are a few basic elements that you can include in your script to make the filming process more straightforward and relatively easier. Let’s take a look at what these few basic elements are:

Camera Cues

How should your video be filmed? Answering this question will help you lay out all the recording instructions beforehand.

Stage Directions

How will you perform in the video? Stage directions not only include the lighting and sound effects but also instruct on the tone, position, or movement that the actor will carry during the shots.

Scene Description

What’s the action, feel, and look of a particular scene? Scene descriptions are typically paragraphs that are right below the scene heading and they offer context for filming a scene.

Dialogue

What content or message will you deliver in the video? Every scene or shot typically includes a spoken or written exchange of words. Write them down for a smooth delivery during the filming process.

Callouts To B-Rolls

Will you be using supplemental footage? If your video includes B-rolls or supplemental footage that will be inserted into the main footage or the A-roll, you will have to write down the callouts to such B-rolls beforehand for clarity and precision.

Post-Production Notes

Which audio and visual materials will be edited into the video? Notes pertaining to everything that’s a part of your post-production, such as adding sound effects, dubbing, editing in music, and cutting and assembling raw footage, will offer a guideline as to how the video will be edited during this process.

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How Can You Write The Perfect Script For Your YouTube Videos?

Writing a script for your YouTube videos will make the pre- and post-production process as well as everything in between marginally easier for you and your team. Whether you’re working in a large group or have a one-person team, a minimal, as well as a descriptive script, will help you serve the purpose of the video.

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Here’s a list of all the steps to follow when attempting to write the perfect script for your YouTube videos:

1. Determine Your Target Audience

Before you begin writing your script, it’s essential that you determine who your target audience is and what their needs entail. Identifying your target audience will help you decide the length, pace, tone, and language, of the video. Such elements should be tailored to cater to your specific target audience in order to build trust and connections and create reliability.

2. Begin Brainstorming

Take some time to jot down all the ideas that you have in your mind and then shortlist the ones that you think would make the most sense for your channel as well as your target audience. Your primary focus should be on delivering the key message in a manner that’s easily understandable and digestible for your target audience.

3. Identify Your Emotions And Narrative

Which emotional responses do you want to evoke and what’s your primary narrative? When determining your narrative and emotions, you can experiment with various marketing formulas, such as AIDA, PAS, etc.

4. Choose Relevant Keywords

You’ve shortlisted a few ideas for your video. Now, it’s time to validate those ideas. Your primary purpose should be to look for keywords related to the topics you’ve shortlisted and pick the ones that are popular, meaning they have a significant search volume.

You can further divide this step into three parts as follows:

Option # 1: SEO Tools

SEO tools, such as Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, and Semrush, can be used to identify the difficulty and search volume of the keywords you’ve selected for your YouTube video.

While you can also check other insights with SEO tools, such as clicks, bounce rate, and impressions, it’s best to only stick to difficulty and search volume in the beginning. 

Option # 2: YouTube Suggestions

YouTube suggestions are similar to Google Suggest and it’s one of the easiest ways to determine relevant keywords for free. Type the search term in the search bar on YouTube and the platform will show you a list of relevant and related queries.

These queries are generated on the basis of what people from around the world are searching for and thus they’re a great resource for finding the best keywords for your videos. Alternatively, you can also use an asterisk [*] to find variations to your search term.

For example, you can search “How to * a car” to see all the other variations to your search term and use the provided data to determine the correct set of keywords for your video. 

Option # 3: Check Google Trends

Google Trends can be used to determine famous and current trends on Google and it is one of the most reliable platforms to collect data for your YouTube videos. When you type your search term, the platform will provide a graph representation of the interest in that term within a one-year duration.

Here’s what the ranges reflect:

  • A range of 0-50: Low interest in the search term
  • Around 50: Moderate interest in the search term
  • Above 50-100: High interest in the search term

5. Create An Outline

Like any other piece of content, creating an outline is essential and beneficial for scriptwriting. This is the part where you will actually start writing and create an outline that will help you determine the flow and structure of your video.

After creating the outline, go through it a few times to ensure that you’ve covered all the relevant topics.

6. Divide And Write Your Script

You can start writing your script at this point. However, it’s pertinent to note that the scriptwriting job will become marginally easier for you if you divide it into different sections. We recommend dividing the script into the following four sections:

1. The Hook

Your hook will play a significant role in grabbing your viewers’ attention and enticing them to watch the video till the very end. An impressive hook could entail a short teaser, a striking visual, an attention-grabbing line, or a brief summary of the video content.

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2. The Intro

The intro is one of the shortest parts of the script and it’s best to keep it that way in order to keep the viewers interested in watching the entire video. Don’t beat around the bush and clearly and precisely introduce yourself, offer a glimpse of what your video is about, or show an example.

3. The Content

This is the most in-depth and detailed portion of your script, so ensure that you’re including all the essential points that have to be addressed in your video.

However, it’s important that you avoid making this part too lengthy because, nowadays, viewers typically have a short attention span and they are likely to get bored quickly and leave without watching the entire video.

4. The CTA [Call to Action]

Your CTA will reflect the action[s] that you want your viewers to take after watching the entire video, so it’s vital that you add this toward the end of your video.

You can customize your CTA according to the direction where you want to lead your target audience. For example, you can ask them to subscribe to your email list or channel, share the video, or leave a like.

5. Edit Your Script, Format It, And Repeat

Once you’ve written the entire script, it’s time to read it thoroughly and start the editing, rearranging, and cutting process in case the script doesn’t read as well as you want it to.

If there’s anything in the script that you believe to be outside of your goals, remove it. After making the necessary adjustments, give your script a final look to ensure everything is perfect.

6. Ask For Feedback

It’s best to ask someone who wasn’t involved in the editing or writing process to ask for their unbiased opinion on your script.

Share your script with a trusted colleague, friend, or sibling, ask them to share their suggestions, and revise the script based on their input. It’s best to share it with someone who matches the description of your target audience.

Additional Tips To Help You Prepare For The Scriptwriting Process

How does one improve their scriptwriting process and outshine their competitors? 

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By learning, observing, and collecting relevant data.

If you’re using macOS, we recommend downloading a YouTube downloader for mac or a YouTube downloader for Windows, if you’re using a Windows PC, and download related videos of your competitors and past videos you’ve posted on your channel for off-platform and offline usage.

By doing so, you will have a plethora of data to study and prepare for excellent script writing. You can watch unlimited videos without the internet and even without YouTube, which will offer uninterrupted time for you to determine how you can improve your YouTube videos’ scripts and learn from your competitors.

We use Softorino YouTube Converter PRO [SYC PRO] by Softorino on our Mac, which comes packed with numerous useful features, such as playlist and batch downloading, script downloading, and smart technology to streamline the process.

You can convert YouTube videos to macOS- and iOS-friendly audio or video formats and save them on your Mac or wirelessly transfer them to iOS devices for increased accessibility. The following are some other tips and tricks that will prove advantageous:

  1. Run an off-camera, verbal run-through 
  2. Create and experiment with various script templates
  3. Determine the optimal length for your video
  4. Remember to keep it short
  5. Include pattern interrupts
  6. Always include a CTA
  7. Be as conversational as possible
  8. Find a nice spot for scriptwriting

Why Should You Have A YouTube Video Script?

As we mentioned, scriptwriting will help you plan things in advance and streamline your entire video creation process. You can arrange your thoughts in a structured outline and avoid wasting time on things that are unnecessary. 

The following are some of the reasons you should have a YouTube video script for the video creation process:

  1. You’ll be better equipped to avoid unnecessary edits
  2. Your viewers won’t get bored with unnecessary rants
  3. You can visualize how your video will look in advance
  4. Scripts reduce the number of retakes
  5. Your entire production team will be on the same wavelength

Concluding Thoughts

We now know the essential questions, elements, steps, tips, and benefits of writing a script for YouTube videos. We hope this blog has helped you understand why and how you should write a script for your YouTube videos. Stay tuned for more information on related topics!

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