Writing Engaging Video Scripts

Most short-form content today follows the same structure: Hook → Message → CTA. But the best-performing ones follow a story arc, which keeps viewers engaged. This is what it looks like: → The setup: Introduce a relatable situation or challenge. Make your audience see themselves in it. →The conflict: Highlight the struggle or problem. Build curiosity to the peak. → The turning point: Introduce an insight, realization, or a sudden twist that changes the perspective. → The resolution: Deliver the solution, takeaway, or transformation in a way that feels rewarding. For example, instead of saying: Here are 3 ways to make your reels go viral. → Try something around this: I made five reels last month. Four flopped. One blew up, just because of these 3 reasons. One makes you read/listen. The other makes you feel. Save this and try this next time you're writing! P.S. What type of content do you prefer reading? Short form or long form?

As a B2B creator myself, I always start by storyboarding my content. Visually outlining all the elements—shots, graphics, scripts—makes filming much smoother later. I used to jump into recording, but taking that extra planning time (usually only 30-60 minutes) pays off tremendously in better quality and fewer do-overs. Now, my average project time is down 30%, and I can reuse templates across videos. The post I'm sharing (🔗⬇️) outlines a few easy storyboard formats that organize your ideas visually: ➤ two-column scripts ➤ whiteboards ➤ video canvases I tend to whiteboard first to nail down the concepts, then document them in my Video Script Maker™. Another pro tip: If possible, build your storyboards right in your editing platform, I usually do this in Ecamm (h/t Ecamm Network, LLC). That way, you transition seamlessly from organizing to filming, as everything is right there. Storyboarding was a game changer for my process, and I've been teaching all of my clients how to do the same. If you want to improve video results and efficiency, I highly recommend checking out the post and trying it yourself! Do you have any pro tips to share? #b2bcreator #videomarketing #videocoach

I spent 50+ hours analyzing our top-performing Meta video ads. Turns out there are 8 templates that performed best. Let’s break them down the exact structure of each. 1. The Enemy / Failed Solution Template Every story needs a good guy and a bad guy. Your enemy is a failed solution, an your job is to show why your product is better at solving the audience’s problem. Structure: → Hook focused on the enemy → Failed Solution / Enemy → Problem → Agitate the problem → Introduce the solution → Explanation of why it’s different → Desired outcome → CTA 2. The PAS Template Set up the problem, make it painful, then introduce your product as the solution. Structure: → Hook focused on the problem → Agitate the problem → Introduce the solution → Show the benefit the solution delivers → Undeniable social / visual proof of the solution working → CTA 3. The Buyer Objection Template Answer the key questions that they buyer has that would stop them from purchasing the product. Structure: → Hook focused on the key objection → Product Intro → Buyer objection 1 → Buyer objection 2 → Buyer objection 3 → CTA 4. The How It Works Template Show how your product is the most simple and obvious solution to the audience’s problem. Structure: → Hook focused on the “How” or the “process” → Product intro → How it works → Benefit / outcome → Social proof 5. The QUEST Template Qualify, understand, educate, stimulate, transition. Structure: → Hook that specifically calls out the target → Prove that you understand their problem → Explain your solution to the problem, step-by-step → Entertain in the form of proof shots or social validation → Transition to a call to action 6. The Listicle Template Tell a story about problems and/or buying reasons for a product in an easily digestible format. Structure: → Hook → Buying reason 1 → Buying reason 2 → Buying reason 3 → Buying reason 4 → Buying reason 5 → Call to action 7. The FOMO Template Use social proof, press quotes, or customer testimonials to gain attention Structure: → Hook focused on hype / social validation → Social proof 1 → Social proof 2 → Social proof 3 → Benefit / Outcome → CTA 8. The AIDA Template Capture attention, generate interest, build desire, drive action. Structure: → Hook focused simply capturing attention → Generate interest by showing a problem or desire outcome → Build desire through social proof or success stories → Drive action with an offer-focused CTA --- Want links to my Foreplay boards with hundreds of top-performing examples from all 8 templates? Follow me and comment “Template” and I’ll DM it.

110+ founders and executives hired us to write one-liners for their LinkedIn profile. Read this if you want your tagline to stand out: 1. The purpose of your tagline Your tagline allows you to condense what you do and how you want to be remembered into one concise statement. It's what people see when you appear in their feed. And it’s the first thing they'll read when they visit your profile. Great taglines tell people: - Who you are - What you care about - The problem you solve - Your unique vibe Follow these best practices to word your tagline the right way: 2. Play with different structures The "I help X do Y" tagline might be overused, but it's a great starting point to help build your final version. From there, experiment with different angles that could better communicate it in an engaging way. There's 3 common structures we like to use: - [Purpose Statement] | [Job Title] | [Vibe Statement] - [Problem + Solution] | [Job Title] | [Vibe Statement] - [Process + Solution] | [Job Title] (My tagline falls into Structure 1.) Be aware of the language and style that your ICP resonates with while staying true to yourself. As Naval says: “escape competition through authenticity.” 3. Keywords Keywords give people clarity on the topics you cover + improve your search rankings. So, brain dump 10 - 20 keywords that are relevant to your business, industry and ICP. What categories and topics do you want to be remembered for and associated with? Some see me as the founder branding guy, others see me as the LinkedIn guy. ' Be intentional about the words you use. 4. Update it Regularly Truth be told, my tagline looked and read the same for the past year. But, I believe there's value in regularly updating your profile. It shows people that you're constantly evolving and growing. You could use your tagline to tease the projects you have coming up and test different ways to condense what you do. Aaand that’s my sign to do the same :D In short: treat your tagline as an elevator pitch. Don't just drop your job title :) Who has the best taglines here on LinkedIn?!? #personalbranding #linkedin #copywriting

Why coaches and facilitators who shine in live sessions struggle on video — and how to fix it Ever feel confident running a live session... when hit and your words get muddled up? Maybe–like me–you got to a point where you need to reach more people. Or serve your clients better without trading more time. And making training videos became the obvious step to reinforce key lessons. But the video just felt unnatural In a room full of people, I knew exactly what to say and when to say it. But on camera? I’d overthink every line. Start again more times than I care to admit. And still feel like I was rambling I missed the spontaneity of live sessions. Reading the room Responding in the moment Adapting as I go But when you’re recording a video, There's no feedback loop. No nodding faces. No "aha" moments to fuel your energy. Then I found the fix. I stopped trying to ‘perform’ for the camera. And instead leaned into a structure that made my videos feel natural, clear, and engaging. Here’s my go-to training video structure: 1. Start with a hook ↳ Open with a clear promise. 2. Focus on relevance ↳ Speak directly to their challenges and hopes 3. Share the big idea ↳ Use a memorable idea, framework, or metaphor 4. Deliver practical know-how ↳ Break it down step by step and give examples 5. End with action ↳ Give a practical task with best-practice tips When I started using this structure, my videos went from over-rehearsed to natural. And instead of feeling robotic, I felt like me. If you’ve been struggling to translate your live session magic into video content, try this. You don’t need to ‘perform’ You just need a plan. ✍️ What’s been your biggest challenge with recording videos? Drop it in the comments — I’d love to hear your experience.

This is an appreciation post for the Creative Tech team at Netflix for creating what I would say is the most accessible, visual and well rounded introduction to Virtual Production you can find today. I've copied the chapter titles below; as you can see - for the cost of a 30 minute total runtime, you can build up a really good grounding on what VP is, what variations are out there, when it might or might not work best, and how to get started. They go to great lengths (with a disclaimer at the start of each one) to make clear that they don't promote or endorse any particular tool, technique or creative choice, but this resource goes a long way to make the first step on this path an easier one. I can imagine this being sent amongst production team members during early script breakdowns as a conversation starter - "Hey, maybe this could solve that problem we were talking about earlier - what do you think?" Low personal risk, but high potential reward. For VP, one of the main points of friction has always been the personal risk of committing to using a new tool you're not familiar with, didn't learn about in film school and may not understand enough to talk about with the authority necessary for a leader on a major production. Accessible, considered videos like this, that aren't selling anything, but rather revealing the context needed to use VP successfully, are the key to breaking down (non-warranted, fear-based) objections. Well that... and hands-on experience. Every person featured in this video using these techniques will take thier experience with them and build on it. And soon, it won't be long until pitching and using VP is as familiar as using a digital camera. Speaking of, great work on camera, too Fernando Rabelo & Rhiannon Murphy! Absolute ⭐️s! And thanks for continuing to support this space Netflix, Girish Balakrishnan, Michael Keegan, Christina Lee Storm and everyone else that contributed. VP Playbook (Youtube - link in comments): Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 1 - An Introduction to Virtual Production Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 2 - When to Consider Virtual Production? Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 3 - The Virtual Production Workflow Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 4 - What Works & What Doesn’t? Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 5A - Planning for Virtual Production: Budget & Scheduling Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 5B - Planning for Virtual Production: Crewing Up Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 6A - Capturing Content: 2D Plates Virtual Production Playbook - Chapter 6B - Capturing Content: 3D Game Engines

💡 Storyboard vs user story: when and how to use 🍎 Storyboard Storyboarding involves creating a sequence of illustrations that represent how users interact with a product. It's like creating a comic strip that narrates the user's journey, showing each step they take to achieve a goal. When to use: ✔ Early stages of product development: Storyboarding is ideal during the initial phases of project planning and design when you need to visualize the future interaction with a product. ✔ Complex interactions: Good for projects involving intricate UIs or complex workflows. ✔ Team brainstorming: Storyboarding is useful in team settings when discussing potential user scenarios. How to use: ✔ Identify key scenarios: Determine the primary use cases or user journeys that need visualization. ✔ Sketch scenes: Draw or create scenes depicting each step of the user journey. This can be done with pen & paper, whiteboards, or in Sketch or Figma. ✔ Add details: Include necessary details such as user actions, system responses, and contextual info. Always keep the user’s perspective in mind. Consider their goals, motivations, and challenges. ✔ Keep it simple: Focus on clarity and simplicity. Avoid overloading scenes with too much detail. ✔ Use annotations: Add notes or annotations to provide additional context or explain specific interactions. ✔ Be open to changes and revisions: Storyboards are a tool for exploration and communication, not final designs. 🍏 User story User stories are simple, concise descriptions of a product's functionality from the perspective of an end user. They help bridge the gap between stakeholders and development teams by focusing on user needs and desired business outcomes. User story format: As a [type of user], I want [action] so that [benefit]. As a fitness enthusiast, I want to track my daily workouts so that I can monitor my progress over time. When to Use: ✔ Throughout the dev cycle: User stories are used consistently throughout the development process to define product requirements from the user’s perspective. ✔ Backlog prioritization: To help prioritize features and development tasks based on user needs and business value. How to use: ✔ Create user stories: Write user stories in the format provided above. ✔ Define clear acceptance criteria to specify what needs to be done for the story to be considered complete. This helps ensure the feature meets user expectations. ✔ Prioritize stories: Organize the user stories based on priority, user needs, and business value. Prioritize stories that deliver the most significant user & business impact first. ✔ Plan & implement: Use user stories to plan sprints, assign tasks to team members, and track progress. 🔨 Tools: ✔ Storyboard toolkit from IBM https://lnkd.in/daanNx6q ✔ Storyboard mix-and-match library (by Lucian Popovici)  https://lnkd.in/dsHt-eNR #UX #design

The best creators rely on their "content system". Or how I like to call it, a content flywheel. Having a system allows you to: ↳ Meaningfully repurpose your best pieces. ↳ Create many posts from one central idea. ↳ Find new angles from existing content. Here's how to build one: Step 1️⃣ - Establish your content pillars. Your content pillars are your underlying central themes. For example, my content pillars are: - Outbound Prospecting - RevOps Automations - Marketing Systems - GTM Playbooks - AI GTM Tools - Lead Data Choose 5-7 pillars. Step 2️⃣ - Formulate your central idea. One well-research idea shouldn't just turn into one post. It should turn into many. Do your research to flesh the idea out: - Find FAQs from your sales calls. Tools: Attention, Circleback, tl;dv - AI Meeting Assistant, Fathom - AI Meeting Assistant - See what people are saying on discussion boards. Spaces: Reddit, X, LinkedIn Groups, Slack Groups - Research the topic with AI. Tools: Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Substack (for AI context) - Find content that is already trending. Tools: Viewstats, Kleo, X Pro, Relevance AI (content research agent) Now, capture this info in a long-form format. This will be your central piece to work backwards from. Step 3️⃣ - Write out your content formats. This is so you can find matches in Step 4. Inspiration: ↳ Long-Form Video: YouTube or Online Events Formats: Podcast, VSL, Webinar, YT for Discovery, YT Search, Tutorial ↳ Short-Form Video: YT Shorts, TikTok, LinkedIn, IG reels Formats: Clips, FAQ Answers, News Update, Explainer, Ad, Interview Answer ↳ Visuals: LinkedIn, X, Instagram Formats: Carousel, Infographic, Comparison, Mind Map, Data Visualisation, Meme ↳ Long-Form Written: LinkedIn, Blog, Newsletter, X Formats: Article, Deep Dive, Guide, Listicle, Research Summary, Case Study ↳ Short-Form Written: LinkedIn, X, Reddit, Website Formats: Story, Quick Tip, Giveaway, Industry News, Opinion, FAQ Answer Step 4️⃣ - Create content with idea<>format combos. Here are tools to help with each format: ↳ Long-Form Video Editing: Adobe Premiere AI YT Analysis: TheYouTubeTool Script Writing: Subscribr AI Video Gen: Sora, Runway, Kling AI ↳ Short-Form Video Editing: CapCut AI Clipping: OpusClip AI Ads: Arcads AI AI Avatar: HeyGen, Synthesia, Creatify AI ↳ Visuals Image Creation: Figma AI Diagrams: Napkin AI Mind Maps: Miro AI Images: Midjourney, Ideogram, Playground ↳ Long-Form Written LinkedIn: EasyGen X: Hypefury Blog: Byword AI Content Creation: Relevance AI, Jasper, Copy.ai ↳ Short-Form Written: LinkedIn, X, Reddit LinkedIn: AuthoredUp X: Tweet Hunter Website: AirOps Generative AI: ChatGPT, Claude, Grok Step 5️⃣ - Repurpose your content. Take your best performing formats and you can: - Post them cross-platform. - Find new ideas from them. - Recreate the post with a new visual/caption. This is how you never run out of content. Comment "content system" if you want to receive the full-res graphic.

Your video's purpose isn't to tell the best story. Your video's purpose is to change the audience's behavior. And you have to change several different behaviors along the way. Behavior change 1: You need to stop their scroll They're not looking for your content. It's interrupting their feed, in between the stuff they actually want to see. You need a compelling enough image that will make them stop. Pro tip: if your media buy is in a social feed, there's an 80% chance it's being viewed on mobile. Make sure your video is 4x5 or 9x16 so that it takes up as much real estate on the screen as possible. Behavior change 2: You need to keep their attention "Storytelling" rules will have you put the most compelling message in the climax of the video, usually around 2/3 of the way in. But you don't have a guarantee that your audience will stick around that long. Put the most compelling message in the first few seconds of the video. Behavior change 3: You need them to remember you Keep your messaging tight. The more you try to get the audience to know, the more fractured and less effective your messaging is. Behavior change 4: You need them to act Make sure your call to action is clear. Don't use multiple CTAs. If the audience doesn't know which action to take, they won't take any. And make sure the benefit the audience gets from taking that action is clear. Connect the action you want them to take to your most compelling message and benefits. When you focus less on story mechanics and more on the behaviors you're trying to change, the more likely you are to create an effective ad.

Coming to you with another Wednesday writing tip: action in scriptwriting! Action lines should not be treated like a footnote that a reader skims over. They aren't just for the stunt team either. They're a critical part of your storytelling that shows how your characters move, why they react, and what the audience can feel in a given moment. Since screenplays are the blueprint for films—a visual medium—your action should also be visual. Think about what the camera can and can't see. If you say, "She is scared," can the camera really see that? Probably not. It lacks detail. But if you say, "Her hand trembles as she reaches for the door," you can imagine a shot of a trembling hand while also showing the reader a scared feeling. Keep action lines tight. There's no need for paragraphs unless the action is complex. Short sentences usually offer the punch you need (pun intended). Avoid passive language like "is running" or "is fighting." I find that this kind of language dulls action. Instead, use active verbs like "runs" and "fights." Use that lovely enter button to help with your rhythm. When things change from moment to moment, hit that button! To me, it helps action unfold shot by shot. There are all kinds of other tips, but we'd be here all day if I dove into them. For now, focus on the four points above, and learn more tricks by reading other successful works, whether that's a script or book. And remember: great action directs the eye without the camera. If your action reads like it could already be in a movie—if it can already be SEEN on a page—then you're on the right track. #Screenwriting #writing #Tips #Action #RandallWallace