Whether you want to introduce a groundbreaking product, simplify a complex concept, or showcase a service, an animated explainer video is your best choice.
With a well-crafted explainer video script, you can captivate your audience, deliver your message effectively, and drive them to take action.
But how do you write an exceptional script for such videos?
To help you with that, we have crafted this comprehensive guide that sums up How to Write an Explainer Video Script in 10 Easy Steps.
Along with powerful examples, real sample scripts, and a FREE explainer video script template to help you get started.
Dive in and learn how to make an explainer video script that converts.
How To Write An Explainer Video Script?
Follow the steps below, and you'll be a pro at writing scripts for explainer videos in no time:
Step 1: Define the Goal
You need to have clear explainer video ideas in mind. Clearly define the objective of your explainer video.
Is it to introduce a new product, explain a complex concept, or showcase a service?
Identify the key message or takeaway you want to convey to your audience.
Consider what action you want viewers to take after watching the video.
You can discover the power of emotions by exploring these corporate explainer videos, serving as invaluable examples to learn from.
A great example of this step in action is this amazing 3D animation explainer video made by Giant Ant for Slack which shows how clearly defining your goal can set the tone for your explainer video very effectively.
Step 2: Identify the Target Audience
Understand your target audience's demographics, interests, and pain points.
Determine the challenges or problems they may be facing that your solution can address.
Tailor the explainer video script to speak directly to your target audience and resonate with their needs.
The best example of this is this video made by Giant Ant for the social media management platform, HootSuite.
When you clearly identify your target audience, making an animated explainer video for them becomes more streamlined and efficient.
Step 3: Break it Down into Sections
Divide your script into logical sections or steps that correspond to the key aspects or benefits of your solution.
Clearly introduce each section and transition smoothly between them.
Make sure the sections flow in a logical order to guide the viewers through the information.
When your animated explainer video has a lot going on at the same time, breaking it down into sections helps the viewers make sense of it and it also helps you to present your offering in a systematic and organized manner.
A great example of this is this animated explainer video made by Hornet for Facebook showcasing their Community Standards campaign.
Step 4: Engage Your Viewer with a Relatable Narrative
To captivate your audience, make sure the narrative is directly relevant and relatable to them.
→ Speak to Them Directly: Instead of only showing on-screen characters, speak directly to the viewer by writing in the second person voice.
→ Utilize Appropriate Language: Match the language to your audience's profile. For instance, if they are academic professionals, use language that reflects this.
→ Avoid Complex Terms: Even while matching language style, steer clear of complicated or obscure words that could confuse your audience.
→ Storify Your Script: Use storytelling for effective communication in your explainer video.
Step 5: Write a Compelling Introduction
Here is how: While explainer video script writing, keep in mind that you need to grab your viewer's attention from the start.
How?
Try presenting a relatable problem or challenge.
Emphasize the significance of the problem to captivate the audience.
Set the stage for introducing your solution as the answer to their problem.
They say that the first impression matters and that’s why a compelling introduction really gives your animated explainer video an edge.
You can enhance engagement by leveraging these animated explainer video styles to support your message and captivate your audience.
A great example of a compelling introduction is this video made by Demo Duck for IBM which uses great visuals and a soothing voiceover to create a great first impression.
Step 6: Present The Solution
Clearly introduce your product, service, or concept as the solution to the problem identified.
Explain how your solution addresses the pain points and provides value to the audience.
Highlight the unique features or benefits that make your solution stand out.
If you want to see a great example of this, take a look at this video made by OddFellows for Google showcasing a popular product of theirs called “Google Drive”.
Step 7: Control Your Script Length
Maintaining a succinct script is crucial for retaining impact in an explainer video.
Keep in mind the usual length for these videos is between 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
So, you should choose the explainer video words per minute accordingly as well.
How Long Should an Explainer Video Script Be? (Word Count by Video Length)
Since most explainer scripts are paced at 130-150 words per minute, you can use that rate to reverse-engineer roughly how many words you're working with before you start writing. Think of it as a quick explainer video outline you can sanity-check your draft against:
Step 8: Include a Call to Action
Towards the end of the script, include a clear and compelling call to action (CTA).
Tell the viewers what you want them to do next, such as visiting a website, signing up for a trial, or making a purchase.
Make the CTA concise, actionable, and aligned with the goal of the video. For example, A QR Code CTA to collect reviews for the explainer video.
To get an idea of how you can add a great call-to-action in your explainer video, you can check out this video by Yum Yum Videos for Rhombus Network, a software solution provider for smart contracts for inspiration.
Step 9: Revise & Refine
Step 10: Tweak Script to Go Visual-First
→ Favor Visual Demonstration: Rather than overly explaining, utilize the power of visual mediums to demonstrate your point. Visual cues are processed much quicker by our brains, so make sure to capitalize on this fact.
→ Utilize Various Visual Tools: Tools like animation, motion graphics, data visualization, and kinetic text are at your disposal. These tools can convey your message more efficiently, doing the heavy lifting on your behalf.
→ Effective Information Delivery: Visualizing information helps to keep your word count in check while delivering complex concepts in a more comprehensible manner.
By following these detailed steps, you can create a well-crafted and effective script for your explainer video.
Examples really help solidify understanding, so we’ve added a list of amazing explainer video scripts for you to check out.
Before that, we have something that can help you get started with your explainer video script. Let's look at what it is now.
Explainer Video Script Template
Following all these steps and desired actions can feel overwhelming and make the process longer than necessary.
A video script template can help streamline your plan, making it clear, concise, and action-oriented. Here's a template (and a structure you can reuse to build several explainer video script templates for different products or campaigns) to keep your process systematic and efficient:
Now that you have a template to work with, let's explore some explainer video script examples for inspiration.
20 Best Explainer Video Script Examples
Explainer Video Script Samples
Reading about an approach is one thing — seeing it written out is another. Below are three short, original sample scripts, each built on one of the frameworks labeled above. They're illustrative examples using fictional brands, not real client work, so feel free to adapt the structure, tone, and framework to your own product.
That's a wrap for today's article!
We've walked through all the essential steps of writing a killer explainer video script and backed it up with some awesome script examples to solidify what we learned.
Start with a basic idea, define your goal and audience, then dive into the writing process—keeping key points in mind like script length and a strong CTA. Don't forget to edit and revise before calling it done.
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