Why we plan a YouTube video before writing the script

We used to mix planning and scripting together. We'd have an idea, open a document and immediately start trying to write the intro.

Sometimes we'd get halfway through the script before realising the direction wasn't clear. Then we'd rewrite the beginning, change the structure and eventually wonder why writing one video was taking so long.

Now we try to make the bigger decisions first. What's the video really about? Who are we talking to? What's the main point? What does someone need to see for the video to make sense?

Once those things are clear, scripting becomes much easier because we're not trying to invent the direction and the wording at the same time.

How we plan a YouTube video step by step

Our planning doesn't look exactly the same for every video. A simple talking-head video needs much less than a detailed tutorial or a video with several locations.

But the general path is usually pretty similar:

1. We turn the topic into a specific idea

A broad topic isn't enough for us to start production.

"YouTube growth" is a topic. "How we stay consistent on YouTube without trying to publish constantly" is an actual direction for a video.

"Video scripts" is a topic. "How we write scripts without sounding like we're reading" gives us something much clearer to work with.

We try to narrow the idea until we can explain the video in one or two sentences. If we still need a paragraph just to explain what we're trying to make, the idea probably needs a little more work.

2. We decide what the video needs to do

Next, we think about the goal.

Are we trying to teach something? Answer a question? Show how something works? Share our experience? Introduce a product or feature?

We can obviously have more than one goal, but we like having one main reason for making the video. It helps us decide what belongs in it and what doesn't.

If a section is interesting but doesn't really help the goal, maybe it belongs in another video.

3. We think about who we're talking to

We don't create a huge fictional customer profile before every YouTube video. We just need enough context to know how to talk about the subject.

Is the person watching completely new to this? Do they already know the basics? Are they creating alone or working with a team?

Those things change how much we explain and which examples make sense.

If we're talking to someone who has never planned a video before, jumping straight into advanced production terminology probably isn't very helpful.

4. We choose one main angle

This is usually where the video starts feeling like an actual video instead of a subject.

There are lots of ways to talk about the same topic. We could explain the basics, share mistakes we've made, compare different approaches or show exactly how we do something ourselves.

Choosing the angle gives the video its point of view.

It also helps us avoid trying to make the definitive video about absolutely everything related to the subject.

5. We write down the main message

We ask ourselves what we want someone to remember if most of the details disappear from their head five minutes after the video ends.

That becomes the main message.

It doesn't need to be clever. It's mainly for us.

For this article, for example, the message would be something like: you don't need to plan every detail of a YouTube video, but deciding the important things before scripting and filming makes the whole production easier.

Once we have that, it's much easier to notice when we're adding something that doesn't really belong.

Then we build the structure before writing every word

We don't always jump straight into a full script.

First, we like knowing the rough journey of the video. How are we starting? What are the main sections? What needs to happen before the ending makes sense?

A simple structure might look like this:

Not every video needs exactly that structure. The useful part is seeing the shape of the video before spending time polishing individual sentences.

We think about the hook after we understand the video

Sometimes a hook comes to us immediately. Great.

Other times we leave it until the rest of the structure is clearer. We find it much easier to write a good opening once we know exactly what we're promising people in the rest of the video.

We want the hook to create interest, but we also want it to match what the video actually delivers.

We remove sections that don't earn their place

Planning is where we try to catch this before writing a thousand extra words.

If two sections make basically the same point, we can combine them. If something is interesting but takes us away from the main idea, we can save it for another video.

That usually gives us a clearer video and another idea for later, which is a pretty good trade.

Then we decide how much scripting we actually need

Once the structure is clear, we can decide whether we need a full script, a detailed outline or just a few talking points.

We don't think every YouTube video needs to be written word for word.

Our guide on how to write a video script goes deeper into how we handle the writing itself.

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We plan what people need to see, not only what we're going to say

This is something that's easy to forget when we're focused on the script.

YouTube is visual. If we're explaining a feature, maybe people need to see the screen. If we're showing a process, they probably need close-ups. If we're talking for several minutes, some useful B-roll might make the edit much easier.

So while planning, we start noting anything visual the video might need.

• Main talking-head sections
• Screen recordings
• Close-ups
• Demonstrations
• B-roll
• Graphics or screenshots
• Thumbnail photos

We don't necessarily create the full shot list yet. We just don't want to reach filming day and suddenly realise half the video depends on footage we never planned.

When we're ready to prepare the actual shoot, we move into our video shoot planning process.

We think about the thumbnail before the video is finished

We've definitely finished a video and only then asked what the thumbnail should be.

Sometimes that's fine. Other times we realise the best thumbnail idea would have been much easier to create while the camera and lighting were already set up.

We don't need a finished thumbnail before filming, but having a rough idea can help.

What image could represent the video? Do we need a specific photo? Is there something we should capture during the shoot?

Thinking about that early saves us from trying to create something from whatever random frame we happen to have after editing.

We give the video real dates when they matter

If the video needs to go live on a specific day, we don't want that to be the only date in the plan.

We work backwards and think about when filming and editing need to happen too.

For a simple project, that might only mean a shooting date and publication date. A bigger video may need more milestones.

The goal isn't to fill the calendar. It's to make sure the publication date is actually possible.

Our video production timeline guide explains how we do that in more detail.

We also think about publication before the last minute

The video doesn't stop existing when the edit is finished.

We still need the title, thumbnail, description and YouTube settings. Depending on the video, there may also be links, resources or other information we want in the description.

We don't necessarily write all of that during the first planning session, but knowing what we'll eventually need helps us avoid the classic "the video is done but somehow we're still not ready to publish" situation.

The YouTube planning mistakes we've made ourselves

Most of these happened because we were excited to start and skipped a decision we'd eventually have to make anyway.

Starting with a topic that's too broad

"Let's make a video about YouTube" gives us almost nothing to work with.

We need an actual angle before we can decide what belongs in the video.

Trying to say too much

Once we start planning, we often find more things we could include. If we keep all of them, the video can lose its main point.

We'd rather save a good extra idea for another video than squeeze it into one where it doesn't really fit.

Writing before we know where the video is going

This is how we ended up rewriting scripts that weren't actually bad. The problem was that the direction hadn't been decided before we started.

Planning only what we're going to say

A good script doesn't automatically give us the visuals we need. We try to think about what people will see before filming too.

Leaving the thumbnail and publication until the end

They don't need to be finished on day one, but pretending they don't exist until the edit is done usually creates unnecessary last-minute work.

Planning more than we can realistically produce

A plan can look perfectly reasonable when we're sitting at a desk. Then we add the time needed to write, film, edit, prepare the thumbnail and publish, and suddenly the week looks very different.

We try to plan based on the real amount of work instead of how many videos we'd ideally like to publish.

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How Peliku helps us plan a YouTube video

This is one of the reasons we wanted planning to be part of the content project itself instead of keeping it in a separate document.

We can start with a rough idea and add more information as it becomes useful. Once we decide we're actually making the video, it can move into Preparation.

That's where we can keep things like the goal, audience, angle, main message, pain point, main benefit and the emotion we're trying to create.

Then the same project keeps moving instead of us starting again in another tool:

The planning we did at the beginning is still there when we're writing the script or preparing the shoot. We don't have to remember why we chose a certain angle three days earlier.

We can keep the script with the rest of the project

Once we're ready to write, the script stays connected to the preparation that came before it.

That sounds simple, but it's useful when we come back to a project after working on something else. We can see the original idea and the decisions we already made instead of opening a script with no context.

We can turn preparation into actual tasks

If planning shows us that we need a screen recording, a product, a specific location or something else before filming, we can turn that into a task instead of hoping we'll remember it.

Those smaller actions don't need their own production stages. They just need somewhere to live until they're done.

We can plan filming and publication separately

We like having a shooting date and publication date because they're not the same thing.

Knowing both helps us see how much time we've actually left for editing and everything that happens between filming and publication.

The project can keep changing

Planning something in Peliku doesn't lock us into the first version of the idea.

If we find a better angle while writing or realise the video should be simpler, we can change it. The plan is there to help us make decisions, not stop us from making better ones later.

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FAQ about planning YouTube videos

For us, planning should make the video easier to create

We don't want to finish a planning session with ten pages of notes and no desire to actually make the video.

We just want to answer the questions that will make the next steps easier. What are we making? Who are we talking to? What's the point? What do we need to say and show?

Once those things are clear, we can start writing without guessing where the video is going. We can prepare the shoot without trying to remember every visual idea. And we can put realistic dates around production because we have a better idea of how much work is involved.

Some videos will need ten minutes of planning. Others will need much more. That's fine.

The goal isn't to plan more. It's to plan enough that when we turn the camera on, we're ready to make the video we actually had in mind.