How To Write Explainer Video Scripts That Sells (6 Simple Steps)
Explainer videos are the new revolution in marketing (only if you do them right). People will naturally buy your products/services if you tell the right story. Explainer videos are used by over 70% of businesses to sell their products/services.
What do you need to make the perfect explainer video? You may have guessed it correctly; it’s all in the script!
An explainer video script should connect with the audience emotionally and draw their attention to the selling points. Want to write the perfect explainer video script? Keep reading!
Why Do Explainer Videos Help Businesses Win?
Why are marketing videos important for promoting a business? What makes them so effective? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why great explainer videos help your business win:
Hook Your Target Audience
A great explainer video script aims to hook your audience to what you wish to convey. However, if salesy videos, focused on pushing the audience to buy something can get annoying.
On the other hand, if you grab the audience’s attention to what you have to say beyond the features of your product/service, sales will follow.
Evoke Emotions
If the audience connects and is moved by your story, they will be invested. A good explainer video aims to do exactly that; connect with the people and the problems they face and then provide them with a solution.
Stories To Be Remembered
Do you ever wonder why some brands became huge, turning into household names now? This is because stories stay with people even if the ads get replaced.
If you narrate an emotional story through a uniquely written script, your brand engagement will rise exponentially.
Touching Pain Points
Your story must be purposeful and should convey a message, solve a problem, or teach a lesson. Your aim should be to use storytelling to connect people’s pain points with the solution.
Since your business started with a pain point, your explainer video should encapsulate that and position your brand as the solution. This can be equally effective for a huge brand or a small business owner.
Engaging Stories
Engaging stories provide an immersive experience, causing people to remember it for a long time. Being remembered is the first step to becoming big.
That is the power of a good brand story. Implementing this in your explainer video makes your brand’s growth unstoppable.
Fun and Creative Solutions
Creativity is what will get your brand numbers moving! Brand growth follows creative, engaging, aesthetic videos that connect with the audience.
Nobody has the patience to sit through a boring session. Therefore, your explainer video needs to be creative and fun to watch, keeping the viewers hooked.
What Is an Explainer Video Script?
Brands use explainer videos to market their products/services. However, before directly jumping to the production of the video, an explainer video script is written. It contains elements that will be present in the video, including dialogue, color scheme, duration, transitions, and anything you can think of.
A good script acts as the skeleton of the perfect explainer video. It is crucial for an effective explainer video and has increased conversions and brand engagement. You also save much time and money for video production if you have a solid script. A script will make your decisions more intentional, and finding effective solutions will be easier since your script will guide you through the process.
Types of Explainer Videos
Here are the different types of explainer video script examples created by businesses as a part of their video marketing strategy:
- Animated videos
- Live-action videos
- Whiteboard videos
- Screencast videos
Do This Before Writing Your Explainer Video Script
You must ensure a few things before you start writing the explainer video script. These steps may seem obvious, but are significant.
Step 1: Understanding your target audience
Beginners and rookie businesses often skip this step. Instead, they believe in creating a general video for different audiences to bring higher engagement.
However, the right way to proceed is to analyze your target audience and create a video catering to their interests.
For example, while creating an explainer video for a cryptocurrency brand, you must target people involved in crypto-currency and trading. On the other hand, this video would not be fruitful if you target groups with no interest in cryptocurrency.
Step 2: Having clarity over what you wish to convey
You need clarity about what you want to say. Ask questions to yourself first that’ll help you decide the purpose and course of your video. Once you know why you’re making an explainer video, you’re ready for the scriptwriting process.
How to Create an Effective Explainer Video Script: Anatomy of a Script That Sells
Now you’re warmed up and know the preliminary steps before writing an explainer video script. Let’s get started with actually writing an effective video script.
What does a good script look like? What information does a video script contain? Do I mention anything more than just the features of the service/product?
Creating a video explainer script for the first time can be overwhelming, and you may face similar questions. We’ll try to answer these questions by explaining the basic anatomy of an effective explainer video strategy:
Step 1: Hook in your audience from the start
Aim to grab the audience’s attention and immediately pull them into your story. Keep them glued to their seats, excited to see what you say. This can be done through compelling visuals, sound design, and storytelling.
Step 2: Establish a narrative with an engaging story
The best way to do this is to keep things simple and use shorter sentences (keep it anti-boring).
As the video proceeds, establish a narrative while engaging the viewer as a direct participant. Build the story and character as you move ahead by introducing your topic.
Step 3: Position the viewer in the story & Introduce the problem
Ensure that you write the script as if talking to the viewer directly. Use a second-person perspective and keep the viewer in the driver’s seat. Introduce the problem and make the viewer feel you truly care about the issue.
Step 4: Solve the problem & present yourself as the ultimate Messiah
The last nail in the coffin is to show how your product or service solve the problem you’ve established so far. Then, prove why your solution is better than the existing solution.
Now you know what your script’s backbone should be like. So let’s proceed to writing a real script. Here are some things that you must keep in the back of your mind while narrating your story:
Speak Directly to the Viewer
The viewer is your primary focus, and you need to keep the viewer in the driver’s seat of your story. The problem and solution in your video must all directly connect with your viewer. Only then would they relate to what you’re saying and be interested in participating.
Using second-person voice, the language used by your target group, the behaviors, and mannerisms will make the video more relatable. These techniques help you connect directly with your viewer and hook them in.
Double Down on Emotional Triggers
If you can evoke change in the viewer’s feelings and draw them in, you can drive conversion. For example, make them laugh or realize how big the issue is or how effective your solutions are.
Your goal should be anything that makes the user feel positive about your business.
You don’t need the greatest story but a story that is your own. A good story structure that elicits a high emotional response can increase brand engagement. Using the right tone, language, anecdotes, and related storytelling devices can take your explainer video to the next level.
Don’t Make A Long Boring Script
Explainer videos range between 30 seconds to about 30 mins. Therefore, a great script needs to be short and impactful. Ask yourself this: What is the minimum word count you need to tell an impactful story?
The recommended word count is about 130-150 words per minute. Note the time it takes to read the entire explainer video script out loud. However, you must ensure that you don’t change the reading pace to make up for the lack of time. Keep it short and power-packed.
Keep It Simple
You do not need to make a multi-layered complex story that goes over the viewer’s heads. Simple short sentences that connect emotionally are way more effective in conveying your point.
For example, approach an explainer video script as a kid’s book for adults; make it digestible, engaging, and attractive. One exercise that truly helps to achieve this is a concept inspired by the popular Reddit thread, ‘Explain Like I am Five.’ Write your script as if you’re explaining it to a 5-year-old.
You’ll have to keep your sentences short and simple and make them engaging and playful. Use these key points to write your main script too.
Avoid Complicated Terms
Complicated words and fancy terms that sound good will not be beneficial. Remember, this is an explainer video script, not an essay writing competition. Adding complicated terms, phrases, etc., will decrease the number of people that understand and connect with your story.
Use words that easily roll off the tongue and are easier to remember. If you can choose a word with fewer syllabi, go for it without hesitation. Avoid making grammatical errors or using wrong phrases. A quick tip is to review your script for grammar and readability using the Hemingway app.
Portray Instead of Just Telling
A golden rule is: Show it, do not explain it. Our brains love visuals over text and process them 60,000 times faster. Aim to use this to your advantage. Animation, motion graphics, data visualization, kinetic text, etc., will all help you portray what you want to say.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Finalising Your Explainer Video Script
You may have completed the first script of your explainer video script, but is it truly complete? Here are some checkpoints to help finalize your script:
Is Your Brand Identity Visible in the Script?
The goal of an explainer video is to serve the task of engraving your brand identity in the viewer’s mind.
Make sure you use your brand logo correctly in the video. Make your brand tagline memorable and use it smartly in the explainer video. Pay attention to the colors; certain elements can be highlighted using the right colors. After all, the video needs to make a great brand representation.
Is Your Script Engaging Enough?
Thoroughly analyzing your target audience to write scripts tailor-made for their interests is the way to go. You need to give a reason for people to care about your video and business.
Make your script light and fun to watch while making the audience the center of attention. Draw them in, and tell them how you will solve a problem or improve their life. Use the power of storytelling to keep them hooked throughout your video.
What Are Your Unique Strengths?
Your business must have unique strengths, and people need to know about them. You must highlight what makes your idea unique or why engaging with your brand is the best choice. Make the viewers feel you care about the problem and want to make a real change.
Double down on your business’s strengths and confidently highlight them immediately. Make people believe that they can trust your brand and you have the solution.
Apple Marketing Explainer Video: An Ideal Case Study
You may have seen Apple Watch Series 5’s explainer video from Apple. It is a masterclass in storytelling. Even if you don’t have the budget to pull off something that big, there’s still much to learn. So let’s dissect the Apple Watch Series 5 explainer video and understand what makes it great.
The video beautifully explains the features of the watch. But that’s not it; simply mentioning the features won’t get you anywhere. Apple made the experience poetic and immersive by using live-action and special effects which makes you feel to attend every second! The perfect interplay of voice from the voice actor, music, and dramatic pauses, makes the entire video feel like an experience.
More importantly, visuals are not even the best part of the video. It’s the fact that Apple stays true to its message and doubles down on it. The script does not lack clarity, and not a second makes you feel like a drag.
Instead of just being product feature list videos, they make you feel things. They connect with you emotionally and draw you in. Apple does a superb job by backing up its image of a rebel, outlaw creator. Implement these tips and tricks in your brand video, and you’ll see how effective they are!
Explainer Video Scripts: FAQs
Now that you’ve read the entire article, you have a fair idea about how to write the perfect explainer video script. Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions about explainer video scripts:
Explainer videos are much more than just the features of your product/service. You need to tell a story through your explainer video about your brand and draw people in. You need to convey that you truly understand the problem people face. You need to solve these problems and connect with the audience emotionally. All this must be said in the explainer video simply, quickly, and effectively.
You must ensure some things before you start writing a killer explainer video script. The two most important steps before you start writing are: understanding your audience and knowing what you want to convey. Once you cover these areas, the rest becomes a cakewalk. Use a story to convey your message. Write the type of dialogue, visuals, music, and other things you want in the video. Start the execution!
There isn’t a specific price for a video script for an animated video. However, the cost can range between $500-$2000 per 60 seconds of video.
A typical format of an engaging explainer video script has the following elements:
Brief
Outline
Dialogue
Hook
Introduction
Body
Mid-Point Engagement
Call To Action (CTA)
Sign Off
Apart from the details about your product/service, these are some of the key elements that must be included during explainer video script writing:
Sequence of events
Shots and actions
Dialogues and characters
Time of the day and set dressing
Camera directions and shot transitions
Costumes and sound effects etc.
To decide if a brand video is effective, match the brand and the target audience. If the video’s style and tone match their target audience’s interests, the brand has done a great job with its explainer video. Other factors to look for in a good brand video are production quality, clarity in message, etc.
Final Thoughts
Now you are ready with the video script template; you need to create the perfect explainer video and the right script. However, for businesses that are starting out, making a brand video can be overwhelming, or they may not have the time and resources to make it.
Some studios can do this for you, but most deliver mediocre results even for very high prices. This is where Peer Through Media comes in. Let us know what you need, and we’ll give you a custom-made price plan and deliver results that exceed your expectations!
