| name | short-form-video-plan |
| description | Creates a 30-day short-form video content plan with hooks, formats, trending audio cues, and repurposing notes. Use when planning a month of TikToks, Reels, or YouTube Shorts. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Short-Form Video Plan
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Plan 30 days of short-form video content (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts)
- Generate video ideas with hooks, formats, and trending audio cues
- Build a repeatable short-form content system
- Create a video plan you can batch-record in 1-2 sessions
DO NOT use this skill for individual video scripts (use tiktok-script skill) or long-form YouTube strategy (use youtube-strategy skill). This is for monthly short-form planning.
Core Principle
A 30-DAY VIDEO PLAN SHOULD BE BATCH-RECORDABLE IN 2-3 SESSIONS — IF IT REQUIRES DAILY PRODUCTION, IT IS NOT SUSTAINABLE FOR A SOLOPRENEUR.
Phase 1: Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Platform | "TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or all three?" | All three (create once, post everywhere) |
| Niche / topic | "What is your content about?" | No default — must be provided |
| Posting frequency | "How many videos per week?" | 5 per week (weekdays) |
| Video capability | "Talking head, voiceover, screen share, text-on-screen?" | Talking head |
| Content pillars | "What are your 3-4 content themes?" | Will define if not provided |
| Goal | "What should videos drive? Followers, website traffic, product sales?" | Followers and authority |
GATE: Confirm brief before building the plan.
Phase 2: Outline
Content Pillar Mix
## Video Content Pillars
**Pillar 1: [Educational/Tips]** — 40% of videos
**Pillar 2: [Personal/Story]** — 25% of videos
**Pillar 3: [Trending/Culture]** — 20% of videos
**Pillar 4: [Promotional]** — 15% of videos
Weekly Format Rotation
| Day | Pillar | Format |
|-----|--------|--------|
| Monday | Educational | Quick tip (15-30 sec) |
| Tuesday | Personal/Story | Story time or lesson learned (30-60 sec) |
| Wednesday | Trending | Trending format adapted to niche (15-30 sec) |
| Thursday | Educational | How-to or tutorial (30-60 sec) |
| Friday | Promotional | Product/service showcase or testimonial (15-30 sec) |
GATE: Approve pillar mix and format rotation before full calendar.
Phase 3: Write
30-Day Video Calendar
For each video, provide:
## Day [N] — [Day of Week]
**Pillar:** [Educational / Personal / Trending / Promo]
**Format:** [Talking head / Text overlay / Tutorial / etc.]
**Hook (first 3 sec):** "[Exact opening line]"
**Topic:** [What the video is about]
**Key point:** [The ONE takeaway in 1 sentence]
**Duration:** [15 / 30 / 60 seconds]
**Text overlay:** "[Key text that appears on screen]"
**Audio suggestion:** [Trending sound, original audio, or music style]
**CTA:** [Follow, comment, visit link, save]
**Repurpose note:** [Can this be a carousel? A tweet? A newsletter snippet?]
Batch Recording Guide
## Batch Recording Strategy
**Session 1 (Week 1 content):** Record 5 videos in one sitting
- Set up once (lighting, camera, background)
- Change shirt between videos for variety
- Record all talking head videos first, then screen shares
**Session 2 (Week 2 content):** Record 5 videos
**Session 3 (Week 3-4 content):** Record 10 videos
**Total recording time:** 3-4 hours for 20 videos
**Editing:** 10-15 minutes per video for cuts and text overlays
**Scheduling:** Upload and schedule all at once using platform native schedulers
### Equipment Checklist
- Smartphone (modern phone camera is sufficient)
- Ring light or natural window light
- Phone tripod or mount
- Lapel mic or phone mic (quiet room)
- Simple background (clean wall, bookshelf)
Trending Format Adaptation
## How to Ride Trends
1. Check TikTok Discover page and Reels trending audio daily
2. Save trends that can be adapted to your niche
3. Adapt within 48 hours — trending formats have a 1-2 week window
4. Keep 2-3 "flex days" in the calendar for spontaneous trends
5. When adapting: keep the format, change the content to your niche
**Evergreen formats that always work:**
- "3 things I wish I knew about [topic]"
- "POV: [relatable situation in your niche]"
- "Stop doing [common mistake]. Do this instead."
- "Things that just make sense for [your audience]"
- "Replying to @[comment about your niche]"
Phase 4: Polish
1. Video Plan Checklist
## 30-Day Plan Checklist
- [ ] 20-22 videos planned (allowing for flex days)
- [ ] Content pillars are represented proportionally
- [ ] Every video has a clear hook (first 3 seconds)
- [ ] Duration fits the format (15-60 seconds)
- [ ] CTA is defined for each video
- [ ] Batch recording sessions are scheduled
- [ ] 2-3 flex days reserved for trending formats
- [ ] Repurposing notes are included for cross-platform content
- [ ] Promotional content is under 20% of total
- [ ] Plan is executable within the stated time budget
2. Performance Tracking
## Weekly Review Template
| Video | Views | Likes | Shares | Saves | New Followers | Notes |
|-------|-------|-------|--------|-------|--------------|-------|
| Day 1 | | | | | | |
| Day 2 | | | | | | |
...
**Weekly insight:** [Which pillar/format performed best?]
**Next week adjustment:** [What to do more of / less of]
Example: 5-Day Sample for a Freelance Business Creator
Day 1 (Mon): Educational — "3 red flags in freelance contracts" (30 sec, talking head)
Hook: "If you see any of these in a contract, run."
Day 2 (Tue): Personal — "The client that almost made me quit freelancing" (60 sec, story time)
Hook: "I was ready to give up after this one client."
Day 3 (Wed): Trending — [Adapt current trending audio to freelance pricing situation] (15 sec)
Hook: [Matches trending format]
Day 4 (Thu): Educational — "How I write proposals that close 60% of leads" (45 sec, screen share)
Hook: "This proposal template has closed $200K in projects."
Day 5 (Fri): Promo — Client testimonial clip + CTA to book a call (15 sec)
Hook: "My client went from $3K to $12K months. Here's what she said."
Anti-Patterns
- Planning without batch recording — recording one video per day is unsustainable. Batch or fail.
- Every video is a talking head — vary formats: screen share, text overlay, b-roll, trending audio clips.
- No hooks — starting with "Hey guys, so today I want to talk about..." loses viewers in 1 second.
- Ignoring trends entirely — trending formats get algorithmic boost. Reserve 20% of content for trend adaptation.
- Over-polished production — short-form rewards authenticity over production value. Phone camera is fine.
- No CTA — every video should tell the viewer what to do next (follow, save, comment, click link).
Recovery
- Cannot film 20 videos in a month: Reduce to 3 per week. Consistency at a lower frequency beats burnout at a higher one.
- Videos getting zero views: Audit hooks — 80% of performance is determined by the first 3 seconds. Rewrite hooks for existing content ideas.
- Uncomfortable on camera: Try text-on-screen with voiceover or trending audio. Build confidence over time.
- Running out of ideas: Mine comments and DMs for questions. Every question is a video idea.
- One platform is performing, others are not: Double down on the performing platform. Reduce effort on underperformers.
