There are literally millions of channels on YouTube, which is why an average viewer simply can’t give all of them an equal chance.
The competition is high, so if you want to get a big number of faithful followers, you need to do your very best, from the very beginning.
Same as people judge a book by its covers, they will judge your YouTube channel by its intro!
A good introduction will show the potential followers what they can expect from your channel.
It needs to catch their attention, but also to provide them with real info about your channel. Otherwise, they might get disappointed when they check out your videos.
Now that you know the importance of making a superb introduction video, you’re probably eager to learn everything on how to make it the best.
Here are a couple of tips that are guaranteed to help you with that!
Contents
1. Use the Right Equipment:
You can’t expect your introduction to look amazing if you use an old camera to film it.
The same goes for using an old computer for editing.
Depending on how serious you are about your YouTube career, you might want to consider investing some money in proper vlogging equipment.
You should think about getting a high-quality camera, but also about investing money in a computer that can carry out all of the editing tasks.
Still, even the best hardware won’t be enough, unless you use good software.
The good news is that there are many superb video-editing programs available online, so of which are completely free of charge!
2. Use the Editing Software:
Simply speaking about your channel straight to the camera probably won’t leave an effect on the viewers.
Instead, you should think about using software for editing YouTube videos.
One that comes to mind is Biteable. Not only is this program free of charge, but it is also very easy to use.
If you think you don’t have enough technical knowledge to make an awesome video, you can hire a professional video editor on freelancer sites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer.
Apart from saving your money, by creating a video on your own, you’re putting yourself in total control.
You can put your own logo, slogan, colors, but you can also choose ready-to-use video templates.
Speaking of templates, you can get them free of charge (or at a very decent price) at sites like EditorsDepot, VideoBlocks, and VideoHive.
The only problem with using these intro templates is that they’re not unique.
The chances are that many other YouTubers will have intros that look very similar.
But, you can make your intro stand out from the crown by creating an entertaining video.
After all, the content is what matters the most.
3. Don’t Bore the Viewer!
Your introduction video needs to be short.
Otherwise, you risk losing the viewer’s attention. The best-case scenario would be to keep the intro shorter than a minute.
You might think that creating a several-minute-long introduction is okay (PewDiePie for example), as that’s what a number of super popular YouTubers do, but we beg the difference.
They have the luxury of doing that, as their reputation is already sky-high. The newbies need to take a different approach!
That is why short video clips work well for beginners trying to build up their street cred.
Your videos need to be effective, so make sure to speak loudly and clearly. Try not to use fillers like “you know”, “basically“, etc.
These words will just distract the viewer from your video. You should also refrain from saying nervous words like “Ummm…” and similar.
To prevent that, it’s best if you prepared the whole text before recording the video. Not only will it sound better, but it’ll spare you a lot of time on re-shoots.
In order to understand the importance of making the intro short is to look at things from the viewer’s perspective.
Would you really watch an intro video that lasts a couple of minutes, which was made by a vlogger you’ve never heard of before?
We guess the answer is no!
In fact, the same principle is applied in TV shows.
If you’ve compared the shows made in the pre-Netflix era, you would see that they had much longer intros than those made in a recent couple of years.
The reason? The viewers have no intention of wasting more time than needed!
4. Take Out the Big Guns!
The whole point of having an introduction video is to attract viewers. This is your chance to turn a potential viewer into a faithful follower.
In order not to blow this chance, you need to get them hooked by using the best thing you got!
If your channel is comedy-related, you need to put your best jokes into the intro. If you’re dealing with relationship problems, put your best tips in the introduction.
The viewers need to know what to expect from your future videos. That’s why it’s essential not to wander off from the main topic of your channel.
Explain to them exactly what they will get from subscribing to your channel!
5. Think About Branding:
Surely, the main reason why you want to make an intro video is to attract more viewers to your channel.
However, a long-term opportunity lies here – you can use the intro to create your own brand!
The best thing about this is that building recognition is not that difficult. In fact, all you need to do is to come up with a cool-sounding profile name.
As you probably already realize, most successful YouTubers don’t use their real names, but catchy usernames instead.
You can also get more exposure in the future by adding a tagline in your intro. If it’s witty and memorable, the users will start associating it with your YouTube videos.
6. Tell the Viewers When to Expect Fresh Videos:
If you manage to awake interest in the users about your YouTube channel, it would be a shame not to inform them about your video posting schedule.
This way, the users will know when to expect a new video.
Sure, if they subscribe to your channel, YouTube will notify them every time you upload a new video.
But, some people like to stay updated and watch new videos as soon as they get published.
Furthermore, if you plan to do live shows, make sure to mention the exact time when you’ll be online.
By sticking to the schedule, you will be able to create the so-called return viewership.
Basically, you will attract a number of viewers, who will become regulars on your channel.
7. Your Intro Video Must Be Short and Sweet:
Now that’s a very important point which you must remember. People do not like very long and lengthy content.
They are usually tired and boring. So people do not give much of their time to seeing your videos.
So if you wanna have a good introduction video, you must make it as short and sweet as possible.
The longer your video gets, the harder it will become to explain the reason for your content to the viewers.
8. Your Intro Video Must Focus on A Single Message:
This is also an important thing to note. Clear and focused content brings wonders.
At the start, your video intro must define what your video is about and focus on getting to that point as quickly as possible.
Do not indulge in other things that are not necessary for your content. You just need to provide the information only about your focused thing.
Google around to see how to make an intro if necessary.
9. Provide Valued Content in Your Intro Video:
The content of your intro video matters a lot. The very first video of your youtube channel cannot be a silly and rubbish one.
You must provide the best and valued content to your viewers.
A Youtuber Zina Megomet from greater minds, whose channel provides inspirational videos, was interviewed and was asked about the reason for the success behind 30 million views of their videos.
She answered that she focuses on giving something valuable to her fans.
She said that whenever they share their content, they had an attitude of giving rather than an attitude of getting.
This attitude is the key to making your content famous and viral.
You must make sure to help your viewers with whatever you can.
You can entertain them, educate them, or inform them. But the thing which matters most is your attitude of helping them.
10. The Video Description of Your First Video Must Be Effective:
Your video description depicts the content of your video.
So you must never compromise on the quality of your video description.
We know that the video description is the last step to fill out before uploading a video, so usually many individuals do not pay much attention to this.
And that is the reason their video doesn’t get many views and fame.
Video description is very important for SEO potential.
You must at least give 300 words of description to your intro video including the keywords and the phrases that are related to your industry your brand.
You must also try to add quotations and comments that give some information about the content of your video.
You must also give the link to the related content of your video.
The domain Link to your site is added at the very top of the video.
This is done so that the viewers don’t have to go deeper into your content.
All these steps must be noticed for your intro video because these help a lot in guiding the viewers and making them happy with your first content.
And when they will be happy, they will surely promote your content and with this, you can easily go viral.
Good YouTube Vlog Intro Videos!
Conclusion!
Remember, even the best custom intro in the world won’t do you any good if your videos are bad. In fact, it might have the opposite effect.
The viewers might feel like you’ve scammed them, which may inspire them to down-vote your videos and add negative comments.
Vlogging can be a lucrative business, not just a simple pastime.
But, in order to get the most of it, you need to pay attention to literally every step.
The competition is huge, so making a single wrong move could mean the end of your YouTube career.
6 Comments on “How To Make a Good YouTube Channel Introduction Video”
Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers
and starting a new project in a community in the same niche.
Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!
Thanks Stacy!
Glad you found the guide useful.
Hi, I have already made an intro and I have my first video up for after the intro as well. I have already learnt a lot more about filming and editing. When would be an acceptable time to redo my intro video? I feel like the one I have is not very good. It has what I want to say but I was so nervous and you could tell. Thanks!
Hey Chrystal-Anne,
You can re-do it whenever you want to, just take down your published intro video and make a new one if you think you can do it better.
Thank you so much for your shot and clear explanation!
Don’t bore the viewers or go one forever that’s a good one. I love to watch trailers, some people are really creative. Plus the trailer is the first thing you see. Some people don’t even have one YIKES! But, I say something short 2-3 minutes and if it’s any longer you better have something fun to watch or I’d not be prone to watch the whole video. Always great to watch other and get ideas too!