Slideshow planner

How it works

Every outline has the same spine: hook, setup, your points (one per slide), a payoff and a call to action. The seven formats change what each slide is for. In a tutorial the points are steps, in a myth-versus-fact post each point holds a myth and its fact, and in a before-and-after post the setup is the “before” and the payoff is the “after”.

The word budgets are rules of thumb for text that stays large enough to read on a phone. A hook gets 6 to 12 words, a setup or payoff 10 to 20, a call to action 5 to 12, and a point between 6 and 28 depending on the format, since a checklist item is short and a myth-and-fact pair is not. Shorter canvases hold slightly less at the same type size, so the budgets are scaled to 90 percent for Instagram 3:4 and 85 percent for 4:5. None of these numbers is a platform rule.

The slide limit is a platform rule. As of November 2026 a TikTok photo post takes up to 35 images (TikTok Creator Academy) and an Instagram carousel up to 20 (Instagram Help Center). The planner warns you when the total goes over, because the four fixed slides count too.

The canvas sizes are common choices. TikTok publishes no official size for photo posts, so 1080 by 1920 pixels is the usual community pick. Instagram’s photo range runs from 1.91:1 to 3:4, which includes 4:5 and 3:4, and photos upload at up to 1,080 pixels wide.

How to use the result

Write the points first and the hook last. When the points exist, you know exactly what the hook can honestly promise. Then write the setup, which should answer one question: why should this viewer keep swiping?

Keep one idea per slide. If a point needs more than its budget, it is probably two points, so split it, or cut the extra detail into the caption. When a post is too long for the platform, remove points before you shrink the text, because, in our view, crowded slides are easier to swipe past. The words-per-slide guide explains the trade-off.

Treat the call to action as a single, small request, such as saving the post or following for the next one, and do not promise what it will do for the viewer. Let the payoff do the persuading.

An outline is a starting point, not a contract. If one point needs more room, trade it against another and keep the total close to the budget, so the swipe rhythm stays even from the first slide to the last.

Copy the outline into your notes and fill it in. When the text is written, paste it into the slide text checker to compare it with the budget, and check where your words sit with the safe zone checker. Need a first line? Try the hook generator.