In this article, you are gonna learn how to write better explainer video scripts!
In fact, the script-writing tips we’re gonna share with you are what we’ve used over the past decade to write basically hundreds of explainer scripts for clients all over the world.
And thanks to those seven tips, our client videos are doing extremely well!
Now, I should warn you, if you’re expecting the latest “hacks”, you’re gonna be disappointed. What you will get instead are solid tips that are gonna work right now, they’re gonna work next year, and basically, they’re gonna keep working forever. Because those are the solid foundation pillars of explainer video script writing.
When we first launched our explainer video agency many years ago, there was basically no explainer script writing guide. So, there was nowhere to learn from. What we had to do instead, was study all the copywriting giants. And I literally watched more explainer videos and ads than I can remember. And I slowly came up with a formula that, to put it simply, just works.
So, it’s time for us to show you the seven most powerful script-writing strategies that we use.
Let’s dive right in, with:
Tip #1: Make It About The Viewer, Not About You
I’ve seen so many videos where all they talk about is us, we, our company, but nothing about you, the viewer.
“We do this, we do that” and so on.
It’s not a surprise, but people are selfish. They just want to know what’s in it for them, and they honestly don’t really care about you. Which is completely normal!
You want to frame as much as possible about the viewer, not about your company. And it’s perfectly fine if you have to mention your company a couple of times. But even then, make sure you connect it to the viewer somehow.
So, let me give you an example about a travel app:
OUR app works in offline mode, so that YOU can enjoy your holiday without worrying about your itinerary and other travel details.
Or OUR plugin improves website speeds so that YOU can rank higher on Google.
Makes sense?
Darwin Concierge – Travel App
Tip #2: Read It Out Loud
It might sound a little bit weird, but this is extremely powerful.
Because the way we write is much, much different than the way we speak. And there’s no better example of this than really, really bad Hollywood films with really poor dialogue It just sounds so fake and annoying.
And the same is true for your explainer video. You want it to sound like a real, honest, genuine, conversation between you and your viewer.
So give it a try. Read your explainer script out loud, then see how it feels.
If something feels wrong, just spend a bit more time on it and improve that part until it sounds good.
Tip #3: Sleep Over It
Well, this one is pretty simple, but let me just explain it for you real quick
Don’t try to push yourself to make a great script on your first draft, because it’s most likely not gonna happen. Just start writing some words on a piece of paper or on your computer. And just get things started, basically.
Because no great copywriter, Hollywood scriptwriter, or novel writer, ever gets it right the first time. Everyone knows it’s all about improving and editing your drafts. And if you spend a significant amount of time working on a script, or a novel, or whatever, you just get so absorbed into it that you might miss out on the small, very important details that need to be fixed.
And there’s nothing better than taking the day off from writing the script, going to sleep, and coming back the next day in the morning to look at the script again with a pair of fresh eyes. Because you will look at it in a different light and spot a lot of things that I guarantee you will miss otherwise. It makes a huge difference, I promise.
Tip #4: Know Your Audience
This one is extremely crucial, and it’s pretty much the foundation of any great explainer video script. Without this, you’re just shooting in the dark and basically casting a net that’s so wide and crossing your fingers that it’s gonna work. It won’t.
You have to investigate like a detective and find out everything you can about your target audience.
Who they are, what gender, what age, where do they hang out, what’s the problem that they’re dealing with right now, what’s the problem with the solutions that they have to the problem that they’re dealing with, how do they talk, what sort of phrases and words do they use?
Basically, try to find out as much as possible about them. Because if you know all this, you are gonna be able to make the script more relevant and relatable for them.
And if your target audience can relate to your video, they’re gonna keep watching. And if they keep watching, they’ll become more invested and they’re much more likely to buy something from you.
So here’s an example:
We recently made a video for a company selling a software solution to a business demographic that wasn’t really good at all with technology and it was making their lives a living hell.
So the way we started that video was with a simple line that asked the question
“Feeling confused and overwhelmed with technology?”
Now, if someone in our target audience hears that line, it basically hits the nail straight on the head, because their only reaction is gonna be:
“Yes, that’s me”
“I’m listening right now. What more do you have to say?”
And to keep that going, later on in the video we used some words and phrases that would be very relevant to them, tech terms such as CRM, CMS, OTA, and so on, basically words that confuse the hell out of them, but words that they recognise.
Tip #5: The Call To Action
And I see people get this wrong all the time, so you definitely wanna pay attention to this one.
You have to understand an explainer video is just a short one to a two-minute piece of content and its purpose is to create awareness or help people understand who you are, what you do, and why they should care.
And basically create enough interest for the viewer to spend more time and discover more about you.
Getting a sale directly after such a short video, usually 1-2 minutes, is pretty hard. So you want to think about your call to action quite a bit and go for a soft close, not a hard sale.
Something that won’t turn people away immediately. So, for example, you could say something like “Scroll below this video to schedule a demo right now”.
And now when they’re on the demo, that’s when you go for the sale. Because now you have 30 minutes with a client, not just 1 or 2 minutes.
You can use any other simple call to action like sign up for a free trial, download the white paper, register a free account and so on.
Just don’t go for a hard close that says “Buy now!”
It’s like going out on a date with a woman and asking her to marry you 5 minutes into the conversation. It’s just not really gonna work and you’re gonna look like a fool.
Tip #6: Ask Questions
“Did you know that…?”
“What if there was a solution that…?”
“What if you could solve this problem, without X problem?”
Questions are extremely powerful.
First of all, because they engage the viewer to think or imagine certain things.
And second of all, because you can use an NLP or sales technique called “Future Pacing”, where you ask your viewer to imagine himself or herself in a future desired situation.
And of course, then you connect that situation with how your solution can bring them there from point A to point B.
You see how that works?
It’s very powerful!
Tip #7: Deal With Emotions, Not With Facts
One of the most well-known philosophers of our time, his name is Alain de Botton, said something like this:
“At the heart of successful entrepreneurship is an accurate insight into the causes of human unhappiness. To be an entrepreneur means essentially to become an expert in the things that make life difficult for people.”
That is very profound.
You have to understand that most of the time, human emotions are what drive people to make a purchase. I mean sure, facts have a place as well, but our emotions are much more powerful.
Just think about it. We all know that one person who buys the newest iPhone every single year it comes out.
You really think that person needs a new iPhone that’s 17% slimmer, with a battery that lasts 12% longer, and a processor that’s 11% faster? Like last year’s phone isn’t good enough for his daily life?
It’s all about how the new phone makes him feel though. It’s all about that feeling of novelty, that exciting variety and significance, and even the increase in status that he receives for being part of the club.
Oftentimes we do things for emotional reasons and we later justify them with rationalisations.
Alright, I hope you’ll take these 7 powerful tips and apply them to your next script, I guarantee you it will be 10 times better!
To find out more, check out our entire Explainer Series on YouTube for free or check out our blog Explainer Guides where we go even deeper and cover everything related to Explainer Videos.
And if you want to get an amazing explainer video for your company to stand out from all the noise, produced by a professional and experienced team with over 10+ years in the industry and more than 400+ videos produced for clients all over the world, then browse our website, check out our portfolio and get in touch!
