Quick answer: A 30-second explainer video script is 65 to 75 spoken words, not 100. At a natural voice-over pace of 140 to 150 words a minute, that leaves room for two short pauses and a beat on the call to action. The structure is four lines: the problem (one sentence), the product (one sentence), the proof (one number or one result), the ask (four words). Below is the template, three filled-in examples, and the mistakes that make 30-second videos feel rushed.
Why 30 seconds is harder than 90
A 90-second explainer can afford a setup, a story and a feature tour. A 30-second one cannot afford a single wasted word. Most 30-second scripts fail because they are 90-second scripts cut in half: the setup survives, the proof is dropped, and the video ends before it has made a claim. The right approach is the reverse. Start with the proof and the ask, then add exactly as much problem and product as fits. Our words-per-minute guide has the timing maths; this article is about what the words should be.
The four-line template
- Problem (0 to 7 seconds, 15 to 18 words). Name the pain in the viewer’s language. No “in today’s fast-paced world”. A specific moment they recognise.
- Product (7 to 17 seconds, 20 to 25 words). What it is and the one thing it does. Category plus mechanism: “X is a [category] that [does the one thing] so [result]”.
- Proof (17 to 25 seconds, 15 to 20 words). One number, one customer or one demonstrable fact. On screen as well as spoken.
- Ask (25 to 30 seconds, 4 to 8 words). One action. “Start free at [domain].” “Book a demo.” Not both.
Total: roughly 60 to 70 words, leaving two seconds of air for the music to breathe and the logo to land.
Three example scripts
Product names and numbers below are placeholders to show the shape. Swap in your own, and only use numbers you can defend.
Example 1: a B2B SaaS tool (68 words)
Problem: Your sales team updates the CRM at the end of the week, from memory, if at all.
Product: [Product] logs every LinkedIn conversation to your CRM as it happens, without leaving the page.
Proof: Teams using it log [x] times more activity and spend zero minutes on data entry.
Ask: Try it free this week.
Example 2: a consumer fintech app (66 words)
Problem: You park, you pay, you forget to top up, and the ticket costs more than the parking.
Product: [App] Autopay extends your parking session automatically when time runs out.
Proof: Four taps to set up, once, and you never think about it again.
Ask: Turn on Autopay in the app today.
Example 3: a developer tool (71 words)
Problem: Your docs were accurate the day you wrote them. Then the code changed.
Product: [Product] keeps documentation in sync with your codebase, fixing broken links and translating pages without anyone asking.
Proof: Used by [number] engineering teams who stopped scheduling “docs cleanup” sprints.
Ask: Connect your repo in five minutes.
Notice what is missing: no company history, no feature list, no “seamless”, no second call to action. Each script makes one claim and supports it once.
Writing rules for 30 seconds
- Short words, short sentences. Average under 12 words per sentence. Read it aloud with a stopwatch; if it runs over 28 seconds at a natural pace, cut, do not speed up.
- Verbs over adjectives. “Logs every conversation” beats “powerful CRM integration”.
- Let the screen say what the voice does not. On-screen text can carry the product name, the number and the URL, which frees the voice for the problem and the benefit. Design for mute as well; see silent-first video.
- One number. Two numbers in 30 seconds and the viewer remembers neither.
- End on the ask, not the logo. The logo can sit in the corner throughout.
Where 30-second explainers belong
Paid social and pre-roll (where 15 to 30 seconds is the format), app store previews (where 30 is the maximum), the top of a cold email, and the hero of a landing page built for ads, where visitors arrived with a specific intent and want confirmation rather than education. For a homepage that has to explain a complex product to cold traffic, 60 to 90 seconds still wins; our length data explains why. The sensible approach is to write the 60 to 90 second script first and derive the 30 from it, which is how our ad cuts are produced: every $1,450 production includes two or three 15 to 30 second versions alongside the master.
Quick questions
How many words is a 30-second script?
65 to 75 spoken words at a natural pace. Up to 80 if there are no pauses, which there should be.
Can a 30-second video explain a complex product?
It can make one claim about a complex product. Use it to earn the click to a longer video or a demo, not to replace them.
Should the 30-second version have a different script from the 60-second one?
Derived, not different. Same claim, same proof, with the setup and secondary points removed. Consistency across cuts helps recall.
Do you write the script?
Yes. Every project starts with a call, and the script is the first thing you approve. If it is not right, the deposit is refunded.
