TellieFree script template
A sponsored video script with the sponsor read built in
Say the hook word for word, riff the middle, and never drop the line the sponsor is paying for.
minutes: 5 # The sponsored video ## ! The first fifteen seconds [look at camera] I have had this on my desk for **eleven months**. The company that makes it is paying for this video, and I am telling you now rather than at the end, because it should change how you listen to everything after it. It is also the reason I can tell you where the thing falls apart, which is the part they did not ask for and did not get to approve. ## What is coming up Three things I actually use it for, the one thing I would change, and the read. [smile] If you want to skip the read, the chapter marker is in the description and I will not be offended. ## ! Why eleven months is the whole point > key: eleven months, month one Anyone can review something in week one. Week one is when it is still exciting and nothing has worn out yet. The interesting question is what changed between month one and month eleven, and that is the only question I can answer that a launch-day video cannot. ## Somewhere to wander Whatever came up while filming lives here. A tangent, a story, the thing the comments kept asking about last time. This section is not marked, so Tellie leaves it alone, and if the take is running long it is the first thing I drop. ## ! The read > key: link in the description, the code The brief has three points and asks me to use my own words, which is what every good brief does, because their words in my mouth is the version that sounds fake. What it does. Who it is for. What the offer is. Say all three, say them like a person, and get back to the video. ## ! The part they cannot approve What I would change, said plainly and not softened. This is the section people come back for, and it is the one I am most likely to talk myself out of when the take is running long. No anchor phrase on this one on purpose: there is no shortcut for an opinion, so Tellie tracks it by the words themselves. ## ! The ask > key: subscribe One thing, not four. Say it once, mean it, and stop. ## The outro Whatever feels right on the day.
Nothing happened? Then Tellie is not on this Mac yet. It is a free download, and this script will open straight into it once it is.
About this template
Brand deals ask you to hit the same three points, what it does, who it’s for and the offer, and to sound like yourself doing it. This template marks the parts you can’t drop and leaves room to wander everywhere else.
How to make it yours
- Open it in Tellie or save it as a .md file, then rewrite the words in your own voice.
- Keep the marks. A heading that starts with
## !is must-cover, and it turns green as you cover it. - After
> key:, list the phrases you would naturally say, separated by commas. Say any one of them and the point checks off, even in your own words. minutes:sets your time budget, so Tellie can give you a heads-up while there is still time to cover everything.
Questions
What goes in a sponsor read?
Most briefs ask for three things: what the product does, who it is for, and the offer, usually a link or a code. Say them in your own words. This template marks the read as must-cover, so it never gets cut when a take runs long.
Where should the sponsor read go in a video?
Wherever it fits your format. This template tells viewers about the sponsor in the first fifteen seconds, then places the read mid-video, after the part people came for.