- In this video, I'll show
you how to write a script for a YouTube video that increases YouTube watch time, drives more viewer engagement, maximizes the value for your audience, and helps you make videos faster. It's a super simple YouTube
video script template that we use here at Primal
Video on every video. So you'll learn how to make YouTube videos using the exact same
scripting process that I use. Plus, once we've covered how
you can use the template, I'm gonna share with you an
incredibly simple secret sauce that you can use in combination to dramatically improve your
watch time on your videos. Now, as we're getting into this, there's one really important thing that I want you to remember
when you are scripting out and structuring out your videos and that is to remember the viewer. There is a real live person on the other end of your
videos consuming them, so you wanna make sure that
you're packing in as much value for them as possible, that you're keeping them in mind, that you're not dragging
your video out unnecessarily to try and make a longer
video to increase watch time. No. Make your videos as long as
they need to be, and no longer. That means that if it
takes you five minutes to give your viewer everything they need, then make a five-minute video. If that's 20 minutes,
then make it 20 minutes. But come from that place of
what does the viewer need? What do they expect? What do they want from this content? And give them that. They're gonna see straight through it or they're gonna lose interest if you're just padding a
video out unnecessarily. So this is our video script structure. The first thing you want
to do, most important, is to hook the viewer in immediately. Don't worry about introducing
yourself and who you are and about your channel or asking them to subscribe
or any of that stuff. You need to hook the viewer in. Let them know that your
video is the one for them, that they're in the right place. And you want to do that immediately so that people will start
to relax into your content and not wonder if they should have clicked one of the other videos that YouTube was presenting for them. And you can do that with
an example like this. In this video, I'm gonna share with you the top five video editing apps on iOS to help you decide which
is the best one for you. That's it, short and sweet, just letting them know
what the video is about. Now, from there is when
we move into our intro and this is where you
can introduce yourself, introduce your channel, introduce more about the topic and how the video is
going to be presented. So an example of an intro line that we've used a lot on this channel is, "Hey, it's Justin Brown
here from Primal Video, where we help you grow an audience and scale your revenue with online video." So that's a quick introduction
to me and to our channel. Now, from there, that's where
I will share a little bit more about the topic of the video and how the content is
going to be presented. So that's where I'd say something like, "So if you've ever looked for
video editing apps on iOS, you'll understand there's
a lot of different options. So I've spent a ton of time trying and testing all the top options, and in this video, I'm gonna
share with you my top five to help you decide which
is the best one for you." So that's your intro section. Now, in this section, this is where you'll see
a lot of people out there throwing in a quick call to action, and it's not a bad idea, but again, I want you
to think of the viewer. How many times have you
just clicked on a video and very early on in the video, you're being told to
smash the Like button, hit the Subscribe button, ring the notification bell
so you don't miss anything? But the problem with that is that you haven't built up
enough value for the viewer that why would they
subscribe at that point if they've never heard of you before? They haven't even got
to the content piece, the meat of the video, where that's where they'll decide if it's a good video or not. That's really where they're
gonna wanna subscribe if it's a fit for them. So I'm not saying don't do this, but I'm saying experiment
to see what works for you. For us, we don't have a call to action very early on in our videos anymore. But if you are gonna have one, what did work well was
asking for a thumbs-up. It is a lower commitment. Instead of getting someone
to hit the Subscribe button and ring the notification bell, you could ask for something
that's lower commitment, like, "If you're finding
value in this video, give it a thumbs-up. It really makes a huge difference." It does really make a huge difference and it's a low commitment
from their end as well. But it still sends a
positive indicator to YouTube that they liked your content, that they interacted with it. So whether they subscribe or not, they're gonna be more likely to see more of your videos
on the platform later. Now, this is where as well something that we are
experimenting with right now in this intro section, and only now that we're
past a million subscribers, is that we're actually
shortening this piece down and I'm no longer introducing
myself and the channel. I'm really just using
this intro section now to give more context to the video and, again, let the viewer feel like they're in the right place and that I am actually gonna help them. So that's the intro section, and once you've delivered that, we then move on to the content. Now, this one is pretty self-explanatory. This is where you want to
deliver on what you promised in your hook and in your intro. And again, in this section, it's really important not
to just drag things out. You want to keep it short, sharp, concise, to keep it engaging and to
keep your viewers engaged. So some good ideas for delivering this
content piece of your video can be to use lists, like
top five, top X videos. Those are really great
for viewer engagement because people will
inherently wanna stick around to hear out all the steps or all the options through to completion. So even if they knew step
one, two, three, and four or options one, two, three, and four, option number five could be
the game changer for them. So they'll likely want
to stick around for that. Now, from there we move into
what we like to call the bonus, which is essentially an overdeliver. Based on the title,
the topic of the video, you know what your viewers are there for. What else can you give
them in this bonus section that you know they're
gonna be interested in that you know that they'll
wanna stick around to receive? So in the case of our video
editing apps on iOS example that I'm sharing here, I would usually share
some video editing tips that are going to be useful for anyone no matter which app they end up choosing. But what you wanna do here is tease out that bonus a
little earlier in the video. So where I like to do that is at the end of the intro section just before we move into the content and I'll say something like, "Make sure you stick around to the end 'cause I'm also gonna share with you my top video editing tips to help you edit faster in any iOS app," or something similar like that. So they know that then
after the content piece, there's something else to stick around. So then after we've delivered
that content section, then that's when we're
gonna deliver that bonus. So I would say something
like, "Earlier in the video, I said I'm gonna share with
you my top video editing tips to help you edit faster in any iOS app. So tip number one is," and I would share some
amazing tip to help them. So again, this piece is so powerful because it's coming from
that place of adding value. It wasn't expected from the viewers that you're gonna help them
with their editing tips as well as their editing
apps, in this case. So what can you add in
as quick bonus value designed to help your viewers based on the topic or the title of the video that they're watching? What else can you give them? So this is something that really
helps with your watch time because people wanna stick
around to hear this out, but also, it helps with
the great experience you're giving the viewers and the goodwill and the reciprocity that you're building up from
adding so much value for them. Now, after that bonus section is where we move into our call to action. This is the last piece of your
video for the action takers that have made it to the
very end of your video. This is where you tell them
what you want them to do next now that they've consumed this content. Is it to subscribe to your channel? To go and check out the resources that you've linked in the description? To go over to your website? To subscribe to your email list? To download one of your free PDF guides? To watch another video
that's linked onscreen? What is the best next step for your viewer now that they've made it
to the end of your video? And again, you're coming from that place of how do I add value to the viewer? If they like this video, what is the next best thing for them to do or the next best video for them to watch? Even if you don't have the next best video for them to watch, then link them to another
channel that does. It's obviously got to be a good video that you're linking them to, but this can help your channel grow because you're creating
these ties between your video and another video and YouTube's gonna see that, that if people do make it
to the end of your video, they click on what you've recommended, they go over and watch another video, that YouTube's gonna see
that the audience is similar. So it could be that your video might start to show up off
the back of their videos and vice versa. It's more information that
you're providing YouTube about the types of content
that your channel is producing, but also the types of
audience that would like it. Now, earlier in the video, I said I'd also share with you the incredibly simple secret source that you can use in
combination with this template to dramatically improve your
watch time on your videos. And what this is is opening loops, and I've actually been doing it throughout this video as well. So an open loop is essentially
a statement or a promise or when you're teasing something out that's going to happen a little later. So we're opening that loop. We're saying something is going to happen. When that thing happens is
when the loop is closed. Now, this isn't just something to keep people engaged for videos, this works for stories and
for written content as well. And this is where the
most engaging stories are really opening some
big loops towards the start that you want to hear
closed out towards the end. You just gotta know what happens
in the end of that story, in the end of that movie. Is the main character okay? That's the concept of
opening and closing loops. Now, if you do these
in your YouTube videos from that perspective of adding value, what value can you add to your viewers that you know they will be interested in a little later in the video? So teasing out that bonus
section in our video is a great example of opening the loop. So back in the start of the video, I said make sure you
stick around to the end 'cause I'm also gonna share with you the secret source, right? That was opening a loop
until now in the video, I'm closing that loop. So it's coming from that
place of adding value. It's something that's going to help you with your video creation, but it's also something that
can keep people watching or consuming your content as well. But we're also not doing this with the primary piece of content. We're not holding anything back. We're not delaying the answer for people. The content piece is the content piece and that's delivered in
a fast, efficient way. It's this bonus or an overdeliver is where we're adding
extra value to people and it just so happens it also keeps them
watching the video longer because it's not what they came for, but it's something else that they're going to be interested in. But this is where you're also able to open and close much
smaller, more subtle loops inside your videos as well. If you're structuring
your videos using lists or top X, top five tips, people will wanna stick
around for that entire list. But by saying that you're
gonna break this down and share the top five tips, then people will wanna
stick around for number five because that's the complete loop. So they will want to watch that
video through to completion to hear out all five of them. If you stopped at number four and didn't close out the loop by promising five and delivering five, the viewer's gonna feel
like you ripped them off, that you've left them hanging. So this is where it's really important that if you open a loop, it's really important that you close it. And again, it's not just about dragging things out unnecessarily. It's all about keeping the viewer in mind, being respectful of their time, but also pack in as much value as you can. Now, for a bit of fun,
why don't you go back and start this video
again from the beginning and you'll be able to pull apart exactly what I've just taught you? When I'm in the hook, the intro, when I'm opening loops, when I'm teasing out the bonus, when I'm delivering the bonus. And I can't stress this enough. This stuff really works to make it easy for your
viewers to follow along, to watch, to consume your content, but it also helps them be
more engaged in it as well. Now, having this structure
all thought out and in place before you get in front of the camera is actually gonna make the
filming process easier as well because there's less
mistakes when you're filming because you know what you want to say and when you wanna say it, which means that there's
less footage to edit, which means faster editing, which means faster video creation. So by following this, you're actually gonna speed up your video creation time as well. Now, if you're interested in how we manage our entire
video creation process from coming up with ideas to keyword and topic research right through to upload and release, then check out the video
that is linked onscreen and I'll see you in there.
