YouTube End Screen and Next-Video Plan
Picks the right next video, scripts a 10-20 second verbal bridge, lays out end screen elements, and diagnoses low end screen clicks.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
End screens are a good way to keep viewers engaged and guide them to your next content. You can use them to promote other videos, playlists, or subscribe buttons. The key is to place them strategically so they don't distract viewers from the content at the end, but they're visible enough to encourage clicks. Most creators put them in the last 20 seconds or so. You might want to A/B test different placements and see what works best for your audience.
END SCREEN STRATEGY — 10-minute video VIDEO STRUCTURE • Runtime: 10:00 • Recommended end screen start: 9:15 (last 45 seconds) • Why: Viewers are "sticky" in final 15 seconds if they're still watching at 9:00 END SCREEN LAYOUT At 9:15 — SUBSCRIBE BUTTON (center, 3s hold) • Reasoning: Viewer has just had 9 minutes to decide if you're worth subscribing to. Now is the ask. • Placement: Large, centered, clean background (fade to black or semi-transparent overlay) • Pressure: Remove after 10s to avoid annoying (viewers decide fast) At 9:20 — NEXT VIDEO SUGGESTION (lower right, 2-video grid) • Video 1: "5 Productivity Hacks" (most viewed video this month, highest CTR) • Video 2: "Continue Series Part 2" (if your current video is part of series) • Reasoning: Video 1 gives easy win (people know it's good). Video 2 captures series bingers. • Placement: Lower right corner (doesn't block final content moments) • Hold time: 20s (viewers have time to decide) At 9:30 — CHANNEL BUTTON (lower left, optional) • Only if channel is new (< 10K subs). Otherwise skip — they'll already know how to subscribe. • Placement: Lower left (balances the next-video grid on right) DELETE ALL AT 9:45 (last 15 seconds) • Reasoning: Final moments belong to your outro, not CTAs. Let them sit with your message. MEASUREMENT • Check YouTube Analytics: Click-through rate (CTR) on each element • Goal: End screen CTR 4-8% (industry standard) • Benchmark: If your subscribe CTR is below 2%, reposition button higher or increase size • Optimize: If next-video CTR > subscribe CTR, test moving next-video higher in hierarchy TEMPLATE FOR 8+ MINUTE VIDEOS • -45s to -20s: Subscribe ask • -40s to -10s: Related content (video or playlist) • -15s to 0s: Clean exit (remove all CTAs)
About this skill
Your end screen points at your newest upload, your outro opens with "thanks for watching," and half your viewers leave before the elements even appear. This skill picks the video your viewer actually wants next. It scripts a bridge that keeps people watching through the last 20 seconds, and it uses your Studio numbers to show whether the real problem is reach or clicks.
What it does
- Picks the next video by viewer intent and retention, not recency, and names a runner-up plus a video to avoid
- Writes a 3-beat verbal bridge (payoff, new open loop, pointer with gesture direction) in your voice
- Flags and cuts the outro lines that make viewers leave early, like sign-offs, recaps, and end-of-video asks
- Chooses between specific video, playlist, best for viewer, and two-video split, and plans the frame so the elements don't cover anything
- Separates "viewers don't reach the end" from "viewers reach it and don't click," and ranks the fixes for each
- Maps end screens across your back catalog so every video points somewhere and your best binge videos become hubs
What you get
A ready-to-film end screen plan with the next-video pick and reasoning, a timed bridge script, the element layout, edit notes, a card to reinforce it, and what to check in Studio before changing anything.
Best for
Long-form YouTube creators with at least a handful of videos who want more viewers to watch a second video, especially tutorial, series, and niche-expert channels.
SKILL.md preview
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name: youtube-end-screen-next-video-plan
description: Plans YouTube end screens that get clicked. Picks the next video by viewer intent and retention, scripts the 10-20 second verbal bridge, lays out elements and edit notes, and diagnoses weak end screen results by separating reach from click rate. Use when the user says "plan the end screen for my new video", "which video should I put on my end screen", "nobody clicks my end screens", "my viewers drop off right before the end screen", "rewrite my outro", "map end screens across my back catalog", or "should I use best for viewer or pick a video".
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# YouTube End Screen and Next-Video Plan
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