7 Best Practices in Script Writing
Number 1: Research. I have said it before and I will say it again. Research before you start writing a script.
Research your client, their business, products and values. Check their social media. Research their competition and their industry. It’s the key to writing a good script and the very first step.
Number 2: Know your target audience. This is information that your client should be able to provide, ask them for their buyer persona. But do your own research as well.
Place yourself in their shoes. Ask questions like — who are you writing for, what is the demographic, what kind of content would they relate to the most, on what platform do they spend most of their time online?
Number 3: Write the narrative first. When I started out as a script writer, I was better at visualization than writing the narrative. Writing visuals can be more attractive and fun, but you need something to hold it back to the topic at hand. That’s where the narrative comes in.
Also, visualizing the video first gives you a sort of broken flow. The narrative will make your video smoother if it’s written first.
Number 4: Check, recheck and then check again. After you finish writing the narrative — check it immediately for language and grammar errors. Then keep it, let it settle. And check it again in a day to see if the messaging resonates with what was required, if not — rewrite.
If it does resonate, check again after an hour. Take that hour to plan the visual journey you are going to take your audience on.
Number 5: Write the visuals in the sequence you imagine them in. Don’t jump from sentence to sentence. Language construction can come later. When you write visuals all that matters is the flow you imagine. Saying what you imagine out loud helps loads.
Number 6: Write the visuals in one go — if possible. Explainer videos or corporate videos tend to be of a short duration. So if you are working on a video under 3 minutes, write the visuals in a single go.
I stand by this method, it has helped me and other writers around me more times than I can count to help keep the video in flow.
Number 7: Keep the end goal in mind. The client creates the video for a specific reason. Your script needs to deliver that. There has to be return on investment.
It is your responsibility as a script writer to make it possible to your best extent. The goal can be to generate awareness, drive conversion or sales. Keep it in mind throughout the process and deliver the best script or video you possibly can.
