Guide
Explainer video script examples for SaaS, beat by beat
Below are three complete explainer scripts for invented SaaS products, each laid out the way a production script should be: time, what's on screen, what's said. Steal the structure; the words are yours.
Updated
The template
Every script below follows the same five beats. Timings are for a 60-second video; scale them for other lengths. Spoken English runs at about 2.5 words per second, so budget words accordingly.
| Beat | Share of runtime | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | ~10% | Name the pain in the viewer's words |
| Turn | ~10% | Introduce the product as the change |
| Show | ~55% | One workflow, start to finish |
| Proof | ~10% | A concrete, honest result |
| Call to action | ~15% | One next step, said and shown |
Hook
- Share of runtime
- ~10%
- Job
- Name the pain in the viewer's words
Turn
- Share of runtime
- ~10%
- Job
- Introduce the product as the change
Show
- Share of runtime
- ~55%
- Job
- One workflow, start to finish
Proof
- Share of runtime
- ~10%
- Job
- A concrete, honest result
Call to action
- Share of runtime
- ~15%
- Job
- One next step, said and shown
Example 1: 60-second overview (B2B finance tool)
Ledgerly: approvals overview
16:9 · 60s · audience: finance leads at mid-size companies · ~150 words
- 0:00
On screen: Inbox fills with "RE: RE: invoice approval?" threads, stacking faster.
Voiceover: “Month-end shouldn't mean forty email threads asking who approved what.”
- 0:06
On screen: Threads collapse into a single Ledgerly logo, then a clean approvals board.
Voiceover: “Ledgerly moves every approval into one place, and into the tools your team already uses.”
- 0:12
On screen: An invoice arrives; a rule card animates: "Over $5,000 → CFO".
Voiceover: “Set a rule once. Invoices over five thousand go to the CFO; everything else goes to the budget owner.”
- 0:24
On screen: A Slack message appears with Approve / Reject buttons; a cursor taps Approve.
Voiceover: “Approvers get a message in Slack and decide in one tap, without logging in.”
- 0:34
On screen: Audit trail draws itself as a timeline with names and timestamps.
Voiceover: “Every decision is logged with who, when and why, so the audit is already done.”
- 0:44
On screen: Counter animates "Close: 9 days → 4 days" with a small "Example figures" label.
Voiceover: “Teams close the books in days, not weeks.”
- 0:52
On screen: Logo, URL and a "Start free" button.
Voiceover: “Ledgerly. Approvals, sorted. Start free at ledgerly dot com.”
Example 2: 30-second feature explainer (developer tool)
Stackpoint: preview environments
16:9 · 30s · audience: engineering leads · ~70 words
- 0:00
On screen: A pull request with the comment "can someone deploy this so I can look?"
Voiceover: “Reviewing a pull request shouldn't start with "can someone deploy this?"”
- 0:04
On screen: A preview URL card slides onto the PR.
Voiceover: “Stackpoint spins up a live preview for every pull request, automatically.”
- 0:10
On screen: Browser opens the preview; a designer leaves a pinned comment.
Voiceover: “Share the link. Product and design review the real thing, not a screenshot.”
- 0:18
On screen: PR merges; the preview card fades with "Cleaned up".
Voiceover: “Merge, and the environment cleans itself up.”
- 0:23
On screen: Logo and "Add to GitHub".
Voiceover: “Stackpoint. Add it to your repo in two minutes.”
Example 3: 20-second vertical teaser (HR platform)
Crewbase: time-off requests
9:16 · 20s · audience: people-ops managers · ~45 words
- 0:00
On screen: Big kinetic type: "Who's off on Friday?"
Voiceover: “Who's off on Friday? You shouldn't need a spreadsheet to know.”
- 0:04
On screen: A phone-sized calendar fills with avatars and colour-coded days.
Voiceover: “Crewbase shows every request, approval and holiday on one calendar.”
- 0:12
On screen: A request pops in; manager taps approve; the calendar updates.
Voiceover: “Approve in a tap. Everyone sees it instantly.”
- 0:16
On screen: Logo and "Try Crewbase free".
Voiceover: “Crewbase. Try it free.”
Rules the examples follow
- Write for the ear. Short sentences, contractions, no nested clauses.
- One idea per beat. If a line needs "and also", split it or cut it.
- Narrate outcomes, not clicks. "Approvals route themselves", not "click the Rules tab".
- Let the visual carry what the voice doesn't need to say.
- Say the product name at the turn and at the end, not in every line.
- End on one action, and show it as well as say it.
Turning a script into a video
With Softer you can start from any of three places. A one-sentence brief: the agent writes the beats for you, which is the default. A finished script: paste one of the scripts above straight in and Softer uses it word for word, producing the voiceover, animation, music and captions to match. A rough draft or outline: Softer tightens it into a script timed to your length.
Whichever you start from, the script stays editable in words: "make the hook punchier", "cut the proof beat", "say 'approval rules' instead". The voiceover, captions and animation re-time to the new script.
Questions
How many words is a 60-second explainer script?
About 140 to 160 words at a natural speaking pace. A 30-second script is about 70 words.
What's the best structure for an explainer video script?
Hook, turn, show, proof, call to action. Spend over half the runtime showing one workflow end to end.
Can I paste my own script into Softer?
Yes. Paste a finished script and Softer uses it word for word, or paste a rough draft and it tightens it. Either way Softer produces the voiceover, visuals, music and captions, and you can edit any line afterwards by asking; everything re-times to the new script.
