Claude Prompts for YouTube Scripts
By Joy Zhang · ex-Deloitte consultant running a one-person business with Claude
Most AI-written scripts fail the read-aloud test: they are essays wearing a video costume. A script prompt has to demand spoken rhythm — sentences under 15 words, contractions, beats instead of paragraphs — and a hook that makes one specific promise the video actually keeps.
Viewers decide in 3 seconds. That is why the prompts here always generate hook options across different mechanisms (curiosity gap, result-first, belief challenge) and force a payoff check: any hook the content cannot pay off gets flagged before you film, not after the retention graph tells you.
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Answer 3 questions about your business. Get an engineered prompt (role, context, task, constraints, output format) you can paste straight into Claude.
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A talking-head video from one idea
Hook, 3 beats max, pattern interrupt, single CTA — structure done, you edit the voice.
Shorts under 60 seconds
One idea, one payoff, an identity-based follow reason instead of "like and subscribe".
Batch day hook banks
15 hooks across 3 mechanisms so filming day is choosing, not inventing.
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude write scripts that hold retention?
It can structure for retention: specific promise up front, payoff beats, mid-video re-hooks. What it cannot do is fake your stories — the prompts mark every spot where your real footage or numbers must go.
Should shorts and long videos use the same script approach?
No. Shorts are one idea compressed to its payoff; long videos are 3 beats with proof. The prompts differ accordingly — using a long-form prompt for shorts produces bloated 90-second scripts.
What about titles and thumbnails?
Design them before filming, as one curiosity unit: the thumbnail must not repeat the title. There is a dedicated workflow for packaging in the full Vault.
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