How to write a 30 second app promo video script (with word counts and a fill-in template)

How many words fit in 30 seconds

Start with arithmetic, because most scripts fail here before they fail anywhere else. A natural voiceover pace for a product video is about 130 words a minute, a little slower than conversation. That gives you:

The text card column is the one that matters for app videos. Apple states that App Store previews "play with the sound muted", and Google Play autoplays its promo video muted as well, so the majority of people who see your video will read it. A card needs about two seconds on screen to be read comfortably; a card that needs a second look has too many words.

Our rule when scripting: write the text cards as the script, then write the voiceover as an expansion of the cards, never the other way round. A voiceover-first script produces text cards that are cut-down sentences, and cut-down sentences read like fragments. The reasoning is in how to make a promo video that works with the sound off.

What goes in each block of seconds

0 to 3 seconds: the hook

Open on the app doing the thing, not on a logo. The first card names the problem or the payoff in one line. "Your runs, turned into a game." "Book a table without calling." Someone scrolling past should know what the app is for before they decide whether to keep watching.

3 to 8 seconds: the promise

One sentence that says what the app does for the person watching. This is the only place for a full sentence, and it should still fit on two lines of large text.

8 to 22 seconds: the app, doing two or three things

This is the body and it is longer than people expect. Show two or three real moments from the app, four to five seconds each, with a short card on each one. Every card describes the screen it sits on. "Live pace on your wrist." "Friends see your score." "Weekly challenges, new every Monday." If you cannot point at the screen and read the card, the card belongs to a different screen or to the bin.

22 to 27 seconds: the result

The outcome after those features: the completed thing, the finished plan, the paid order, the celebration screen. This is the emotional beat and it needs the least text.

27 to 30 seconds: name and next step

App name, icon, and one short line. In a store preview that line is descriptive ("Free on the App Store" counts as a price mention on Apple's rules, so avoid it). In an ad it is the call to action.

The fill-in template

Copy this into a document and fill in the brackets. Keep to the word counts.

0-3s   HOOK        [problem or payoff, up to 7 words]
       Screen:     [the app's main screen, already in motion]

3-8s   PROMISE     [one sentence, what the app does for you]
       Screen:     [the first real screen of the flow]

8-13s  MOMENT 1    [5-7 words describing this screen]
       Screen:     [feature one, one clear action]

13-18s MOMENT 2    [5-7 words]
       Screen:     [feature two]

18-22s MOMENT 3    [5-7 words, optional]
       Screen:     [feature three, or skip and give moment 2 more time]

22-27s RESULT      [3-5 words]
       Screen:     [the finished state, the payoff]

27-30s CLOSE       [app name + one line]
       Screen:     [icon, name, platform badges if it is an ad]

Voiceover (optional, 60-65 words total): expand each card into one spoken sentence.

Two worked examples

A habit tracking app, store preview version, text cards only:

0-3s   Small habits. Kept.
3-8s   Habitual turns the things you keep meaning to do into a streak you can see.
8-13s  Add a habit in one tap
13-18s Check it off as you go
18-22s Streaks that survive a bad day
22-27s Four weeks, one chart
27-30s Habitual. Small habits, kept.

Forty-one words. Nothing about price, nothing about downloading, so it passes both stores' metadata rules. The same cut with "Get Habitual on the App Store" as the last card becomes the ad version.

A restaurant booking website, ad version with voiceover:

0-3s   Tables, without the phone call.
3-8s   Dishly shows what is free tonight and books it in two taps.
8-13s  Pick a time that suits you
13-18s See the menu before you go
18-22s Confirmation in your inbox
22-27s Table's ready.
27-30s Dishly. Book at dishly.example

Voiceover, 58 words: "Finding a table should not mean ten minutes on hold. Dishly shows you which restaurants have space tonight, at the time you want. Check the menu before you decide, book in two taps, and get a confirmation straight to your inbox. When you arrive, the table is ready. Dishly. Book your next dinner at dishly dot example."

Read that aloud with a stopwatch. It lands between 27 and 29 seconds at an easy pace, which leaves room for the closing card to breathe.

Mistakes that make a 30 second script feel long

The most common one is a slow start. A two second logo animation followed by "Introducing" has spent a sixth of the video saying nothing. Open on the screen.

The second is listing features instead of showing moments. "Sync, share, export, and more" is four abstract nouns; "Share the plan with one link" is a screen you can film.

The third is the double ending: a result screen, then a tagline, then a logo, then a call to action, then platform badges. Pick two of those.

The fourth is writing for sound-on. If the hook only works when someone hears it, it is not a hook for the App Store or for a feed. Mute the video, watch it once, and ask whether a stranger would understand what the app does by second five.

And the last one is being precious about the second half. If the video is six seconds over, the cut comes from the moments block, not from the result or the close. Two clear moments beat three rushed ones.

Store rules that shape the wording

Apple's App Review Guidelines say previews "should not include prices, terms, or descriptions that are not specific to the metadata type", and the App Previews page adds that you should avoid "seasonal or timely references that will age your video". Google Play's store listing guidance bans calls to action such as "Download now" and "Install now", as well as superlatives like "Best", "#1" and "Top", in the promo video.

So the master script stays descriptive. Prices, "download now", "new this spring", "the best way to" all live in the ad cut, if anywhere. How one master becomes six launch cuts is in the launch day video checklist.