How to turn a blog post into a video: a playbook

To turn a blog post into a video, do not read the post aloud. Pick the one idea the post proves, keep its three strongest points, and rewrite them as a spoken script of about 100 words: a hook, the points, and one call. Then add a voice, pictures for each point, and captions, and render it in the sizes your feeds use.

This playbook is for marketers and founders who already have good posts and want them to reach the people who watch more than they read. It covers why the job is a rewrite and not a conversion, the arithmetic of a script, the five steps, the mistakes that make these videos feel like slides, and a checklist to run before you post.

Why turn a blog post into a video

A good post took research, examples and an argument. Most of that work is still valid when the post is a year old.

A video carries the same argument to feeds where people do not click links: Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn. It also gives the post a second life on its own page, because a short film at the top of an article tells a visitor in seconds what they will learn.

The posts that convert best are the ones with one clear question and a natural order of points: a how-to, a list, a comparison, a common mistake. A post that wanders across three topics makes three weak videos. A useful test is to write the post's idea in one sentence a stranger would understand. If you cannot, the post is too broad for one video, and you should cut it into a series.

The format also matters for who watches. A launch post can become a short product film. A how-to can become an explainer. A list post can become a series of social clips, one point each. The same rules apply to all of them, because each one is a spoken film, not a page.

A video is a rewrite, not a recording

Most tools that promise to convert a post do one of two things: they read the whole text aloud over stock footage, or they summarise it into bullet points on screen. Both keep the shape of the page.

A page is built for scanning: headings, lists, links, a reader who can go back. A video is built for a listener who hears each sentence once, in order, and leaves after the first dull second.

So the work is an edit. You keep the argument and drop almost all the words. Spoken lines are shorter than written ones. Numbers are fewer and rounder. Each point gets one example, not three. The links, the caveats and the second examples stay on the page, where the video sends the people who want them.

The length limits make the same point. YouTube counts a video as a Short only when it is square or vertical and up to three minutes long. Meta lets a Reels ad run from 0 seconds to 15 minutes, but Sprout Social's spec guide notes that Instagram does not recommend Reels longer than 3 minutes to new audiences. The limits allow long videos. The people you have not met yet do not see them.

The arithmetic of a script

The length of a video with a voice comes from two numbers: how many words the script has, and how fast the voice speaks them. VirtualSpeech, which measures speakers in its training app, gives 100 to 150 words a minute as a comfortable pace for presentations, and found that the median presenter spoke at 111 words a minute. A voice-over for a short video usually sits at the top of that range, so 150 words a minute is a fair number to plan with.

A worked example

Take a post of 1,500 words. Read aloud at 150 words a minute, it runs 1,500 ÷ 150 = 10 minutes. That is more than three times the three-minute limit of a YouTube Short (10 ÷ 3 ≈ 3.3).

Now rewrite it as a script of 100 words. At 150 words a minute, it runs 100 ÷ 150 = 0.67 minutes, which is about 40 seconds. At the slower median pace of 111 words a minute, it runs 100 ÷ 111 = 0.9 minutes, about 54 seconds. Either way it is under a minute.

Split the 100 words into a budget: 8 words for the hook, 75 words for three points of about 25 words each, and 17 words for the call. At 150 words a minute, 8 words take about 3 seconds, each point about 10 seconds, and the call about 7 seconds.

The playbook in five steps

These steps work whether you edit the video yourself, hand it to an editor, or ask a studio to make it. Each step has one output you can check before the next one starts.

1. Find the one idea

Write the post's idea in one sentence. Then list its points and rank them by how much a viewer would miss each one. Keep the top three. If the post has more than five strong points, plan a series: one video for the overview, then one for each point that can stand alone.

2. Write the script

Start with the hook: the problem the post solves, or the result it promises, in one line. Then the three points, each as one short claim and one concrete example. End with one call: read the full post, try the product, or watch the next part.

Write for the ear. Use short sentences, say numbers the way a person says them, and cut every phrase that only works on a page, such as "as shown above". Read the script aloud with a timer. If it runs long, cut a point before you cut the hook.

3. Give each line a picture

Every line of the script needs something on screen that shows it. A product line needs the product or its interface. A number needs the number, large. A before-and-after needs both. Stock clips of people at laptops show nothing, so use them last.

Change the picture when the idea changes, not on a timer. The first second carries the most weight, and our post on openings that stop the scroll takes that second apart frame by frame.

4. Add the voice and the captions

Record the script yourself, use a voice actor, or use a synthetic voice. Whichever you choose, keep the pace you planned for, because the timeline depends on it.

Then add captions. Many people watch with the sound off, so the captions carry the argument for them. Keep them short, in sync with the voice, and clear of the platform's buttons. Our six rules for captions that work on mute give the line lengths and reading speeds.

5. Render every size the feeds need

The vertical size comes first. Meta's Reels ad guide asks for 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 pixels, and suggests you keep 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos. TikTok's in-feed ads take 9:16 as the recommended ratio, at least 540 × 960 pixels, and up to 10 minutes.

A 16:9 cut serves the blog post itself and YouTube; 1:1 and 4:5 serve feeds. Our guide to the sizes that matter lists which feed takes which.

Do not crop one master to fit the others: move the text and the subject for each frame. The Ritual Coffee film shows one idea laid out four ways, each with its own composition.

Common mistakes and their fixes

Most videos made from posts fail in the same six ways. Each one has a fix you can make before you render.

The mistake	The fix
The post read aloud. The video runs for minutes and sounds like a document.	Write a new script of about 100 words from the post's top three points.
The title as the hook. A blog title is written for search, not for a person mid-scroll.	Open on the problem or the result, in words a viewer would say.
Bullets with no picture. The video becomes a slide deck.	Give each point one picture that shows it, and keep the text to a few words.
Every point kept. Seven points at ten seconds each make a slow video with no centre.	Keep three, and make the rest a series.
One size for every feed. A 16:9 video in a vertical feed leaves most of the screen empty.	Render 9:16 first, then the other sizes, each laid out for its frame.
No way back to the post. The viewer who wants more has nowhere to go.	End on one call, and put the post's link where the platform allows it.

Where AI tools help, and where you still decide

AI tools now do most of the slow parts: a first script from a link, a voice in a few minutes, captions timed to that voice, and renders in several sizes. That changes the cost of the work, not its rules. A tool can summarise a post, but it cannot know which point your customers care about most, or which claim you are able to prove. Read every draft script against the post, check every number, and cut what you would not say to a customer.

FoxyLab works this way. You paste the post's link or write one line about it, and the studio writes the script, voices it, animates it and renders it in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9. Then you change it with notes in plain words, the same way you would brief an editor. The result can be a social clip, an explainer or a launch film, depending on what the post is for.

Checklist before you post

1. The post's idea fits in one sentence.
2. The script keeps three points and has about 100 words.
3. The script, read aloud with a timer, runs under a minute.
4. The first line is a problem or a result, not the post's title.
5. Every line has a picture that shows it.
6. The captions match the voice and stay clear of the platform's buttons.
7. Every number in the video matches the post and its source.
8. The 9:16 version keeps text out of the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side.
9. Each size has its own layout, not a crop of another.
10. The video ends on one call, and the post's link is in the caption or the bio.

Questions and answers

How long should a video made from a blog post be?

For social feeds, plan for under a minute: a script of about 100 words runs about 40 seconds at 150 words a minute. YouTube Shorts can run up to three minutes, but Instagram does not recommend Reels over three minutes to new audiences, so shorter is safer.

Can one blog post become several videos?

Yes. A post with more than three strong points can become a series: one short video for the main idea, then one for each point that stands alone. Each video still needs its own hook and its own call.

Should I use my own voice or a synthetic voice?

Use your own voice when your face and name are the brand, such as a founder's channel. Use a voice actor or a synthetic voice when you need many videos in one consistent sound. In both cases, keep the pace you planned for the script.

Do I still need captions if the video has a voice?

Yes. Many people watch with the sound off, so the captions carry the argument for them. Keep them in sync with the voice and out of the zones the platform covers with its buttons.

Pick the post that brings you the most readers, write its idea in one sentence, and make the first video today. If you want the script, the voice, the pictures and every size made from that post's link, paste it into the FoxyLab studio and change the result with your notes.