Improv can be great, but rambling doesn’t always make for great viewing. Here’s how to write a YouTube script that will make your content stand out!

The best YouTubers are the ones that approach their content with a clear plan and know exactly what they want to say. If you’ve created a channel, and want to land the holy grail of earning money through YouTube, there are a number of ways to do this.

You could get to know YouTube analytics and SEO, in order to get your videos to rank better. Or you could make use of scroll-stopping thumbnails to increase views and gain subscribers. All this is very well and good, but if the content itself is all over the place, people aren’t going to stick around.

It may appear from the outside that making YouTube videos is just a bit of fun, and pretty simple to do. In reality, there’s actually a lot of juggling involved and many plates to spin when embarking on a career as a YouTuber. Writing a YouTube script can take some of the pressure off, and help your videos to stand out amongst the crowd.

Why Write a Script?

You don’t have to write a script for every video you create. The type of content you’re producing will determine how helpful a script will really be to you. For instance, if you’re filming a reaction video, or a casual chat between people, the more organic and natural the better.

When we talk about YouTube scripts, we don’t necessarily mean those uber detailed Shakespearian texts you had to ruthlessly annotate at school. Nor are we talking about a giant stack of pages filled with director’s notes that you might find on a film set. A simple list of bullet points and talking points can constitute a handy script for YouTube.

Keeping a list of key points you want to include in your video can make all the difference, and save you heaps of time. If you go totally off the cuff, you’ll likely have to spend far more time sifting through footage, making the editing a bigger job than it needs to be. Furthermore, you’ll be able to feel confident that you won’t miss out any topics or points that you had planned to include in your video.

So, how exactly do you go about writing a decent YouTube script?

How to Write a YouTube Script

The world of content creation is incredibly varied. YouTube plays host to a huge variety of channels, with just about every topic you can imagine covered. As a result, there’s no “one size fits all” approach to scriptwriting.

The idea of having a script is to make your life easier and the recording process go smoothly. So, if your channel is all about interviewing people, it may be best to just keep a list of questions and topics you wish to cover, along with some interesting facts about your guest. Whereas, a documentary style video or travel vlog would benefit from a more detailed and creatively written script.

Lock In The Concept

First thing’s first, you need to know the concept for your video before you start on the script. If you go into the scriptwriting with only a vague idea of what your video is going to be about, the script is going to end up a bit all over the place.

Once you’ve solidified the concept, you can start considering how to reel viewers in. Coming up with a catchy, intriguing intro will act as a great jumping off point for the rest of your script. Note – this intro is different to the YouTube intro you’ve created to use on each of your videos (if you haven’t done this, we strongly recommend!)

Sound It Out

Whilst writing, it can be quite tempting to do a deep dive into descriptive language and complex sentences. But, what looks impressive on paper doesn’t always sound great out loud.

As you write your script, practice saying it out loud and even record yourself as you go. This will enable you to hear how the script flows, and whether it’s entertaining enough or has captured the tone you are going for. If you keep tripping up on certain words, that’s a good sign that another edit may be required.

The more you can run through your script out loud, the smoother the recording process will be. Being familiar with the script will allow you to deliver it in a more natural and conversational way, avoiding a stilted or forced feel.

Sell Yourself

Don’t forget to pick effective but organic points in your script to pitch yourself and your channel to viewers. You’ve probably noticed YouTube cards appear throughout other people’s videos. This often happens when they refer to other content of theirs, or when they encourage viewers to subscribe.

Including these calls to action (CTAs) is a fantastic way to promote your channel whilst giving you a different angle to approach your content from. What do I mean by this? Well, your video needs to be engaging, and the concept should remain at the centre of everything. Simply jamming a plea for people to subscribe to your channel would be boring and not very convincing. So, keeping your video concept in mind, you can weave the topic you’re covering into a CTA. Getting creative with it will only make it more irresistible!

Get Inspired

Ever heard of the metaphor, “standing on the shoulders of giants”?

Any great, well, anything, has taken inspiration from successful predecessors. It’s the same story for YouTubers. A fantastic video idea might come to you out of thin air, but the truth is it’s a product of things you’ve already seen. Inspiration seeps into our brains, sometimes without us realising. There’s no harm in taking a conscious look around at what other brilliant vloggers and content creators are doing, and how they structure their scripts.

Taking aspects from different YouTubers will help you to get a feel for what works for you. Eventually, you’ll plump for a process and style that feels just right. Remember, practice makes perfect!

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