From idea to script to recording

For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as markdown.

Good episodes usually start as a rough idea that gets sharper before anyone presses record. This guide is for hosts and producers who want to plan in Convia Pro: capture ideas as they come, develop the best ones into scripts, turn a finished script into an episode, and prepare your guest, so that by recording day everyone knows the shape of the conversation.

Before you start

Your Brand Brain is set up, especially Brand Voice. AI drafts of ideas and scripts come out closer to how you sound. See Brand Brain.
You have AI credits if you want Convia to draft scripts. Writing ideas and scripts by hand is free. See AI credits.
Your guest has a profile, if the episode has one. Add guests under Collaboration → Guests. See Guest Portal.
A scheduling email template, if you want to email guests the recording-day details. Set it up under Brand Brain → Guest Emails.

Stage 1: Capture ideas as they come

Ideas live under In Motion → Ideas. Get every idea in, whatever its source, so you choose from the whole list rather than whatever you remember.

By hand: click New Idea and enter a title, description, notes and tags. Set a priority.
From a trend: on a trend alert, choose Quick Idea (Basic) or Create Idea (AI). The idea links back to the trend. See Write about what's trending.
From search data: with website analytics connected, Create idea on a near-page-one query starts an idea prefilled with the query and page. See Bring people to your website.
From feeds: items from the sources in In Motion → Trend Monitor → Feed Manager can become ideas.

Stage 2: Develop the idea

Use the idea's status to show where it stands:

Status	Meaning
New	Just captured, not yet evaluated
Researching	Gathering more information
Ready	Fully developed, ready to create
In Progress	Being produced
Completed	Content created and published

Add research to the idea's notes while it is Researching. Move it to Ready once you know the angle, because the script is only as clear as the idea behind it.

Stage 3: Write the script

Convia has four script types: Podcast for audio episodes, Video for YouTube and webinars, Short for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, and Presentation for slide-based content.

From the idea (AI draft)

Open the idea and, under Act on Idea, choose Script.
Pick the Script Type.
Click Generate with AI. Convia writes the script from the idea in your brand voice.

By hand

Go to In Motion → Scripts and click New Script.
Choose the type, then write or paste the script.

Either way, the script page shows a live word count and an estimated length, so you can see whether it fits your format. See Ideas and scripts.

Stage 4: Sharpen the script

On the script's page, the Develop Script with AI button opens a chat to brainstorm, work on the outline and refine the concept. Edit the text directly, click Save Changes, and update the script's status as it moves toward recording.

Script chat uses AI credits per message. Writing and editing by hand stays free.

Stage 5: Create the episode from the script

When the script is ready, turn it into an episode so recording, guests and repurposing all hang off one record.

On the script's page, click Create Episode from Script.
Convia creates a draft episode with the script's title, description and tags, saves any unsaved script edits first, and opens the new episode.
The script text becomes the episode's Conversation Outline on its Episode Prep page.

The script now shows an Episode Created badge and a View Episode button. A blank script cannot become an episode, so add the content first.

Stage 6: Prepare your guest

On the episode's Overview page, add the guest so they are linked to the episode.
In the episode header, open Notify Guests and choose Send scheduling email to email the recording-day details. It needs the scheduling template from Before you start and at least one guest on the episode.
Invite the guest to the Guest Portal with Send Portal Invite. Once they have access, they can read the episode's Conversation Outline there before you record.

If you held a prep call instead of writing a script, paste its transcript into Prep Call Transcript on Episode Prep and use Generate Conversation Outline to draft the outline from it. See Promote an episode with your guest.

Stage 7: Record and upload

After the session, open the episode's Recording page. Upload the raw file under Original recording and the finished video under Final edit, or start editing in Descript from Original recording and bring the edit back with Import from Descript. Once the final edit is in, Magic Repurpose is ready to run. Continue with Get the most from a new episode.

Stage 8: Close the loop on the idea

Set the idea to Completed once the content is out. The idea's Content Created section lists everything made from it, including scripts, articles and campaigns, so you can see what each idea produced.

What a good result looks like

Your Ideas list is current, with statuses that tell the team what is taken and what is ready.
Every recorded episode traces back to a script and an idea.
Your guest saw the outline before recording day and got the scheduling email.
The episode has its final edit uploaded and is ready to repurpose.

Common pitfalls

Skipping the Ready stage. A script written from a half-formed idea usually needs rewriting. Develop the idea first.
Choosing the wrong script type. The type shapes length and structure. You can change it on the script's page if you picked wrong.
Creating the episode from a blank script. Convia asks you to add content first.
No scheduling template. Send scheduling email stays unavailable until the template is set.
Inviting a guest with no email. A portal invite needs the guest's email address.

Ideas and scripts: every option for ideas, scripts and feeds.
Episodes and clips: the episode pages, including Episode Prep and Recording.
Guest Portal: what guests can see and do.
Get the most from a new episode: what to do once the recording is in.