How to plan a Reels series: a step-by-step guide to 30 days

Asking yourself “what should I post today?” every single day is the most draining part of making content. A series lets you answer that question once: you decide the format and the rules up front, and each episode says something new inside the same shape.

This post walks through planning a Reels series from scratch. The method works whether or not you use SeriHook.

1. Describe the series in one sentence

A good series fits in one sentence. Try this pattern:

A [format] series about [topic] for [audience], posted [how often].

For example: “A 30-second series for people who shoot on their phones, teaching one technique a day.” That sentence becomes the filter for every decision that follows. If an episode idea doesn't fit it, the episode doesn't belong in this series.

2. Write a series bible

TV writers use a series bible: characters, tone, rules. The same idea works for a Reels series. Include:

• Audience: Who are you talking to? What do they already know, and what don't they?
• Tone: Friendly, instructive, funny? Formal or casual?
• Visual language: Colours, type, the kinds of scenes you use.
• Things to avoid: Phrases you won't use, topics you won't cover, definitive claims.
• The ending: How does every episode end? What do you want viewers to do?

The bible is what makes episode 1 and episode 27 look like they came from the same hands.

3. Lock the format

A fixed format helps viewers recognise the series. Use the same skeleton for every episode:

1. Hook (the first seconds): a question or claim that makes people stop.
2. Context: why it matters.
3. The core: teach, show or tell one thing.
4. Close and CTA: an invitation to the next episode or to an action.

Keep the length fixed too. Is every episode 30 seconds or 60? Mixed lengths make both production and viewer expectations harder.

4. Think of 30 episodes in groups

Coming up with 30 ideas at once is hard. Instead, split the topic into four or five subtopics and get six to eight episodes from each. In the photography example, the subtopics could be composition, light, phone settings, editing and common mistakes.

Then order the episodes. Start with easy topics that appeal to a broad audience, and save the more technical ones for later in the series. That way, viewers grow with you as the series goes on.

5. Give every episode its own CTA

“Follow for more” is the same CTA every time, and it soon becomes invisible. Give each episode an action tied to its topic instead: “Comment SETTINGS and I'll send you the list.” It's a way to get more comments and to talk directly with the people who are interested. We cover this in detail in what a comment-to-DM funnel is.

6. Check for repetition

In a 30-episode plan, some ideas will inevitably be very close to each other. When the plan is done, read it end to end and ask: “Would someone watching these two episodes feel they'd seen the same video twice?” If so, drop one or rewrite it from a different angle. Platforms also have rules against unoriginal, repetitive content.

7. Treat the plan as a living document

A plan isn't written once and forgotten. After the first episodes go live, look at which hooks kept people watching and which episodes got comments, and adjust the rest of the plan.

How SeriHook does it

When you create a series in SeriHook, you choose the topic, tone, audience, style and length. Claude uses them to draft a series bible first, then a 30-episode plan, with a title, hook and CTA keyword for every episode. You can edit the plan on a calendar or re-plan a single episode. The final call is always yours.