The Quest Begins

How To Become A Freelance YouTube Scriptwriter In 4 Easy Steps

Freelance YouTube Scriptwriter.

I don’t remember being told this was a thing. Indeed, a decade ago, it absolutely wasn’t.

Due to some unexpected twists and turns in the last year, this is now what I do. So I’ve decided that as I wade further into this world, I want to keep a log of what I’m doing.

I hope this becomes a useful repository for other freelance writers (of whatever ilk), but particularly for those specifically interested in content creation, and writing for online creators.

Each week I’ll give a rundown of the steps I’ve been taking, the tools I’ve been using, and the kinds of conversations I’ve been having, to provide some guidance (or reassurance) to anyone else who’s embarking on the freelance quest with me ⚔️

It’s called Write On Time because when I publish a new issue each Friday, I want to wipe my brow, nod contentedly and say ‘Gosh you’ve done it again, George. And right on time too.’

It’s good to celebrate the little victories, especially with a pun 💪

Context

I’ve been working with Ali Abdaal as a writer for almost a year, and last week he was my only client. This week, I went fully freelance.

I had no particular plan, and no leads.

Yet, by Thursday, I had so many people reaching out to me I had to suspend my calendar bookings because I couldn’t keep up. It’s been a little crazy.

Here’s what week 1 looked like.

🧠 Step 1: Established Mastermind Group

No way I wanted to do this alone. Me and some fellow freelancer friends agreed to call 2x per week.

We (a) hold each other accountable, (b) share ideas and contacts, and (c) share in each others’ excitement.

Highly recommended - especially if you have friends with a similar work background.

If anyone reading this is looking for an experienced YouTube Producer, hit up Jamie. For an amazing editor and graphic designer, say hi to Shawn. For another fantastic content writer, speak to Gwilym. For a vastly experienced videographer, Gordon’s your man.

Week 1 would have been a lot scarier without these guys <3

5x🧠 > 1x🧠

🙋‍♂️ Step 2: Built Website + Updated Online Presence

Building a website was the first practical thing to attend to.

For anyone like me who’s still ignoring the genuinely sage advice to learn basic coding, I cannot recommend super.so enough for a first website build.

The only caveat is that it requires a working knowledge of Notion, but this is also a pretty intuitive app.

The steps were:

1. Built Notion page (using a free custom theme called ‘Split’ - available here)

2. Bought custom domain on Google Domains (£10)

3. Linked both up with Super (easy tutorials can be found)

To go from a blank notion page to a functional website took about two hours.

Then, the rest of the day was spent sorting out the classics - Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

I knew that if I wanted to find clients, I’d need to start building more of an online presence.

✍️ Step 3: Commenced Daily Writing Cadence

This was the most important step taken all week. Without having made this decision, I wouldn't have ended up in conversation with some of the lovely people who are now gracing my inbox.

My aim is to tweet about writing every single weekday.

I’m not fussed about the weekends at the moment because I’m conscious of the mental health implications that come with an unchecked propensity to stay online 24/7 - a propensity I can already feel myself dancing on the edge of.

But a daily writing cadence is a good thing for many reasons. For one thing, it makes me read more.

I’m currently enjoying Nicolas Cole’s ‘The Art and Business of Online Writing’, which was recommended to me by a fab up-and-coming YouTuber, Tintin Smith.

I’ve realised that for all the experience I have writing scripts and newsletters for content creators like Ali, I’ve spent far too little time reading about the ‘metagame’ of writing itself.

My theory is the more I’m reading about writing while writing, the better I’ll serve prospective clients.

🤝 Step 4: Outreach

Earlier in the week, I put together a list of 15 YouTubers I liked, and who I thought might find my services valuable.

Having Ali’s name on my CV blessedly opens a few doors, and my plan was to reach out either via email or Twitter and see which creators would vibe with me.

Then, on Wednesday, I sent a tweet out with a picture of Ali and I, some brief bullet points explaining what I’d done for him, and the CTA of getting in touch with me. Kindly, he retweeted it.

As you’ll see from the numbers, things blew up.

Suddenly I had people booking calls with me, asking to email, and dropping straight into my DMs. My follower count nearly doubled.

It got so overwhelming, I had to turn calendar bookings off. I created a Notion database to keep track of who I was talking to and to make sure I didn’t leave any promising leads hanging. People I’d been watching on YouTube or listening to on podcasts for months were suddenly asking about my services.

That retweet was a gamechanger and I’d heartily recommend tweeting previous clients in the same way. Especially if they’re the type of people who don’t mind giving you a helpful nudge.

The momentum from this convinced me to continue my daily writing cadence, so I tweeted the aforementioned Nicolas Cole about his book.

In the time it took me to go to the toilet, he’d retweeted it and the tweet had had 20+ likes, and more followers were coming in. These numbers are not at all what I’m used to, and now I absolutely don’t want to lose the momentum now.

💭 Reflections

A particular shoutout my girlfriend Julia who kept me alive during an unexpected three-day episode of heat exhaustion near the start of the week. Evidently, I wasn’t built for temperatures above 15 degrees celsius. Good luck to the U.K. on Monday.

The week has been wild, and I’m incredibly thankful for the generosity and kindness people have shown. I couldn’t be more excited to continue the conversations with prospective new clients and to start writing about exciting things.

My major concerns now revolve around the idea of ‘switching off’.

I’m sensing a burgeoning addiction to the insidious dopamine hits that this naughty little button provides, and figuring out how to navigate this unexpected foe is a high priority.

At any rate, I look forward to seeing what happens next. I hope there was something useful here.

Speak soon,

George