Top Five Listicle
A ranked five-to-one countdown that keeps people watching until number one.
The most reliable retention structure in short-form: a list promise, five ranked items each with one reason, the number one held back for the payoff, and a save or follow CTA. Stated ranking criteria and disclosure rules keep it credible.
- Hook · 3s — The list promise: top five what, for whom.
- #5 · 4s — Item five plus one reason.
- #4 · 4s — Item four plus one reason.
- #3 · 4s — Item three plus one reason.
- #2 · 4s — Item two plus one reason.
- #1 · 6s — The number one, bigger reveal, reason plus detail.
- CTA · 5s — Save/follow or visit for the full list.
- Hook · 4s — The list promise plus the ranking criteria.
- #5 · 6s — Item five, reason, one detail.
- #4 · 6s — Item four, reason, one detail.
- #3 · 6s — Item three, reason, one detail.
- #2 · 7s — Item two, reason, one detail.
- #1 · 9s — The number one with a fuller reveal.
- CTA · 7s — Save/follow or visit.
- Hook · 4s — The list promise.
- Criteria · 4s — How the list was ranked.
- #5 · 7s — Item five, reason, detail.
- #4 · 7s — Item four, reason, detail.
- #3 · 8s — Item three, reason, detail.
- #2 · 8s — Item two, reason, detail.
- #1 · 12s — The number one with demo or example.
- Recap · 4s — All five on one screen.
- CTA · 6s — Save/follow or visit.
Recommended styles
Sticker Pop Collage
$19Die-cut stickers, washi tape and hand-drawn arrows that pop onto kraft paper.
Top Five Countdown
$19Listicle reels that count 5 to 1 with giant numerals, colour-block swipes and a winner reveal.
Eight-Bit Arcade
$19Pixel-perfect attract-mode energy: stepped motion, blinking PRESS START and scores that roll.
Doodle Notebook
$19Hand-drawn explainers on notebook paper — doodles, marker swipes and sticky notes.
Bold Caption Hook
$19Huge word-by-word captions, a hook in second one and punch zooms that hold the scroll.
Editorial Data Story
$19Newsprint, serif headlines and charts that draw themselves — data journalism in motion.
Characters that fit
What's inside the template
The download is a TEMPLATE.md your agent follows plus a SKILL.md wrapper: the fill-in-the-blanks script for every duration, hooks, CTAs and a pre-render checklist.
- 01Goal & Audience
- 02Structure
- 03Script Skeleton
- 04On-Screen Text Rules
- 05Scene Mapping
- 06Hooks & CTAs
- 07Voiceover & Music
- 08Aspect-Ratio Notes
- 09Example
- 10Checklist
- 11Agent Prompt Guide