Whiteboard explainer video: when it works and how to get one made

A whiteboard explainer video tells a short story while a hand draws it. A voice speaks, each scene appears stroke by stroke as the words reach it, and captions carry the same words for anyone watching with the sound off.

The format has been around for a long time, and businesses still use it because it explains well. Viewers watch a drawing take shape and want to see how it ends. This guide covers when a whiteboard explainer is the right video, how to write one that people follow, and how to get one made by Swarmm without learning an animation tool.

When a whiteboard explainer is the right video

A whiteboard explainer works best when an idea needs a few steps before it makes sense. It is a good fit when:

• your product solves a problem that people do not notice until someone points it out;
• your price, process or offer works differently from what people expect;
• you have a founder's or maker's story worth telling, like the one above;
• you would rather not put a face on camera, or have no footage to cut from;
• you want one video for your website, your LinkedIn page and a YouTube Short.

It is a weaker fit when the only job is to stop someone scrolling in the first second of a paid social ad. A drawing builds up over several seconds, and the payoff comes at the end. For that job, a short promo made from your own product photos or website usually lands faster. You can compare the formats side by side in the examples.

What makes a whiteboard explainer clear

The whiteboard explainers that work keep to one idea and tell it as a small story. The example at the top of this page follows a simple shape:

1. A person with a problem. A traveller sleeps across a row of airport chairs, and it leaves her cranky.
2. The turn. She has an idea: a sleeping mat that needs no pump.
3. What she did. She builds her own sleeping mat by hand.
4. The result. She blows the mat up in a field, next to a tent.
5. One thing to remember. The video ends on the brand's name, written by the hand.

You can reuse that shape for almost any business. Name who has the problem, show the moment things change, show what you do about it, and end on one action or one name. If you have three ideas to explain, make three short videos rather than one long one.

A few more things help:

• Write for the ear. Short sentences, everyday words, one point per sentence. The drawings follow the voice, so the script sets the pace.
• One scene per sentence. Each new line of the script should get its own drawing, so the viewer always has something new to watch.
• Keep the words on screen. Captions timed to the voice keep the story readable on a muted phone.
• Draw the problem, not the product. People recognise their own situation faster than they recognise your logo.

Length and frame: where it will be posted

Decide where the video will live before anyone writes the script, because that sets the frame and the length. These are starting points to discuss with Swarmm's agent when it plans a video:

• YouTube Shorts: vertical 9:16; aim for under 60 seconds to keep one idea concise.
• LinkedIn: square 1:1 or wide 16:9, 30 to 90 seconds.
• Your website or YouTube: wide 16:9, with the length agreed in the plan.
• YouTube ads: wide 16:9, at 6, 15 or 30 seconds.

The examples on this page are vertical and run a little over 30 seconds each, which suits Shorts and phone viewing.

One story, more than one language

If you sell in more than one country, the same story can be voiced and captioned in another language. Swarmm asks which language or languages you need before it plans anything. Here is the same maker's story in Slovenian:

Three ways to get a whiteboard explainer made

Make it yourself. Whiteboard animation apps give you a library of drawings, a hand and a timeline. You write the script, choose or draw each scene, record or generate the voice, and time everything yourself. It costs the most of your own time, and you keep full control.

Hire a freelancer or a studio. You write a brief, review a script and a storyboard, then the finished cut. The result can be very polished. It usually takes days or weeks and a few rounds of feedback.

Have an AI agent make it. You describe your business and what you want to explain, the agent writes the script and makes the video, and you get the file back. This is what Swarmm does, and the next section shows how it works.

How to get a whiteboard explainer from Swarmm

1. Start a chat. Open the chat and sign in. Talking is free.
2. Answer a few short questions. Swarmm's agent asks only what it cannot find out itself: whether you are a business or a creator, your website (it reads the site, so you do not have to describe everything), the language of the video, your goal and where you will post it.
3. Pick a style. The agent shows two or three styles that fit what you told it. Each card has a real example and one price per video. If you already know you want a whiteboard explainer, say so and it can skip straight to the plan.
4. Accept the plan. The agent proposes a plan with the video's brief, its script and its price: a whiteboard explainer is $2.49 per video. Nothing starts until you accept, and you pay from your Swarmm credits. If something in the plan is not right, say so before you accept, and the agent proposes again.
5. Get the video. The agent voices the script, draws the scenes, adds the captions, and delivers the finished video to your account.

Your first order is one video. Once you have it and like it, the agent can suggest a few more in the same style, for example one per product or one per question your customers ask.

You pay for videos, not for tokens or minutes of editing: the price is fixed per video, $2.49 for a whiteboard explainer, and shown before you accept. If your own AI assistant handles this kind of work for you, it can connect to Swarmm and order from the same offers.

Questions people ask

What do I need to have ready?

Your website, or a few sentences about your business if you do not have one, and the one idea you want to explain. You do not need a script, drawings or a recording.

Are the drawings and the voice made by AI?

Yes. The pictures are drawn by AI image models and revealed stroke by stroke, and the voice is an AI voice. The examples here carry an "Illustrated with AI" label in the corner.

Can I change the video after it is delivered?

A change after delivery is a new video at the current price of $2.49, written from the one you have. The best moment for changes is before you accept the plan, while the script is still words in the chat.

Can it use my own pictures or my brand?

Tell the agent in the chat. It works from your website and anything you add under your media, and it never uses another company's brand or footage in your video.

Next steps

Watch the whiteboard examples or browse all the examples to compare formats. When you know the one idea you want to explain, start a chat and tell Swarmm about your business.