Get a Piece of the Action

There’s more to paid online writing jobs than the written word. The spoken word opens up a whole new dimension—a vast market that needs good writers to make things happen.

This is particularly true in video, where the numbers are off the charts. There’s no doubt that people love watching video content. In fact, over 83% of people now watch video content online regularly. 

And that’s not all. Research also shows that:

For all of these reasons, marketers now use video more frequently than ever before. And every video begins with a video script, which in turn means plenty of work for video scriptwriters.

The good news here is that anyone can become a video scriptwriter…including you! This isn’t like Hollywood screenwriting, where you need contacts and influence to break in. There’s a genuine opportunity for you to start from scratch and become a top earner in this niche.

You could find yourself getting paid good money to write video scripts for:

Advertisements

Marketers have found that video adverts nearly always sell more effectively than text adverts. So it’s no surprise that nowadays, you will see tons of video ads in your Facebook and Instagram feeds.

With competition getting fiercer, businesses know they need top-quality ads to set them apart and get the results they want. That means hiring specialist scriptwriters who know how to create compelling commercials. 

Landing Pages

After clicking on an ad, people are usually taken to a landing page. This is a special page designed to introduce them to the product or service. Short scripts on landing pages can be very effective in encouraging people to investigate further. 

Scriptwriters play a key role here by ensuring that visitors stay on the page. They write scripts to capture attention and keep people riveted through to the end. 

Sales Pages

The most important page on any website is the sales page. This is where people are persuaded to get out their credit cards and part with real money to get the product on offer. 

A good video scriptwriter will produce a compelling script highlighting all the product’s benefits. This is a more demanding writing skill, but because of this, it pays very well, too. This is the goldmine you should be aiming for!

YouTube Channels

YouTube is huge, with over two billion people tuning in every month to watch videos. There are also millions of YouTube channels, all of which need a constant supply of fresh content. 

Many of these hire scriptwriters to help them create their content. From educational content to marketing materials, there are many opportunities to work on building the video content of tomorrow. 

Videobucks!

Writing video scripts is one of the most enjoyable ways to make a living as a writer. You can get involved in exciting projects, often working with big brands. But you don’t have to sacrifice income to have a fun job. Many video scriptwriters do very well indeed. 

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a YouTube scriptwriter is close to $60,000 a year. You can make this kind of money working from home anywhere in the world.

However, it’s certainly possible to double or even triple this number. If you work as a freelancer with multiple clients, your total income will likely be much higher. 

Plus, you can charge more if you specialize in sales and marketing video scripts. Companies are happy to pay for work that creates more revenue, so you can charge at the top end of the scale. 

Taking all of this into account, typical incomes for video scriptwriters are in this range:

There’s no ceiling, though. Writers at the top end of the market earn a percentage of the sales they generate. This puts them in a position to make serious money. So video scriptwriting is a profession that can take you a very long way in life!

The Art of Scriptwriting

You may not win any Oscars for your scripts, but they are an art form nevertheless. But to create great art, you need structure. In other words, you need to learn the craft of scriptwriting. Here’s a format that will stand you in good stead for many scriptwriting projects:

Start with a Brief

This step is often overlooked, but it’s perhaps the most important one of all. If you don’t have a brief that’s on point, you won’t be able to write a script that gets the job done. The brief clearly defines what the script needs to achieve and what you must include.

A brief doesn't have to be fancy, nor does it have to follow a specific formula, but there are several key questions it should include:

Write an Outline

Once you've picked a topic and written a brief, it's time to start constructing your script. Start with an outline, so you can break your video into subtopics and determine how your script will progress.

If the topic of your video is ‘How to Start a Business,’ you might outline your script by the tasks an entrepreneur needs to tackle:

Introduce the Topic

You need to hook your audience in the first few seconds to keep them interested.  From the very beginning, viewers need to know they are in the right place and that you have something of interest to say to them. 

You can tease them a little to arouse curiosity. But you need to stay within your chosen topic throughout. You don’t want to do a ‘bait and switch’ tactic, which will only confuse and irritate your viewers. 

Expand on Each Section

Once you have the intro written, you should find it easy to work through the other sections of your outline. Take one step at a time, breaking each step into smaller sub-steps if necessary.

Give viewers all the information they need to understand, without boring them with irrelevant info. Remember, they will click away if they start getting bored…so keep things interesting!

It’s always a good idea to:

Write a Conclusion

Don’t leave your audience wondering why they bothered watching the video. Summarize the main points you have made and present your conclusion in a way that’s easy to understand. 

But keep this short. As soon as people realize you are about to wrap up, they may click away. So keep them interested right to the very end. 

Add a Call to Action

What should viewers do next after watching the video? Remember to make this clear, so there is no confusion. You might ask them to:

Be careful not to confuse people by asking them to do too many things. It’s better to emphasize the action that you care about the most. 

Master the Art

Scriptwriting isn’t difficult, but it’s always a good idea to work on enhancing your skills. After all, the better you get, the more money you will make.

With that thought in mind, here are some suggestions for making every script you write top-notch:

Focus on the Visual

People love video because it’s a visual medium. But they expect the content they watch to be visually interesting. Simply watching a ‘talking head’ gets old very quickly.

Keep the video interesting by varying what they see on the screen. You can vary the action by suggesting the use of:

The budget for the project will determine what’s possible. But even when money is short, there are always ways to maintain visual variety. 

Tell Stories

Why are Hollywood movies such big business? Because people love stories! There’s no doubt that telling a compelling tale is a fantastic way to keep people engaged and entertained. 

Depending on the nature of the project, you might include stories such as:

Stories have been used to persuade people for thousands of years—and they will for thousands of years into the future, too. They work in almost any kind of video, so always consider the possible story angles. 

Use ‘You’ 

The word ‘you’ is compelling. Use it to make the viewer feel you are having a one-on-one conversation. To see why this is important, decide which of the two sentences below sounds more intimate:

1. People who think they need fancy equipment and expensive software to make great videos need a new approach to their video marketing strategy.

2. Think you need fancy equipment and expensive software to make great videos? Then you need a new approach to your video marketing strategy.

Version #2 has a lot more impact, right? Making it personal helps to hammer the message home. 

Make the Video Shareable

The more your video is shared, the more successful it will be. So try to include ideas or sequences that will ‘wow’ your viewers.

The more impact your video has, the more it will be shared. Of course, more shares mean even more views…with the result that you will have a very happy client!

Check the Timing

Most of the time, you will be writing videos that need to be of a specified length. You need to stick to the allotted time, or you may cause problems in the production cycle.

You can estimate an average of 110 words per minute for most video scripts. That’s a rough guess, as the actual result will depend on factors such as:

Your job is to deliver a script that’s in the right ballpark. If you hit the middle of the expected range, you will be making life easier for everyone on the production team. 

Use Keywords

Video platforms such as YouTube deploy smart technology that can ‘read’ the words in any video. The most important terms (the keywords) are then determined and used to rank the video. 

So to help your video rank higher in search results, you need to be aware of the main keywords associated with the topic. Be sure to use these appropriately so that the video appears higher in the search results. 

Watch and Learn

Perhaps the easiest way to become a better scriptwriter is to learn from other professionals. Spend some time watching videos from people or brands you admire. 

Analyze the videos and work out what makes them appealing. How do the scripts hold your attention? When you understand what makes these videos tick, you will be on your way to creating top-notch video scripts yourself.