Every day, a new channel is created on YouTube and thousands of videos are uploaded daily. It is not an exaggeration to say that it’s a wild and hard battle between these videos. Every channel and video is fighting for the attention of viewers in a sea of other videos.
You need a chance to make an impression and you know what they say about first impressions – so you have to make it count. How can you do that? – Simple, a YouTube intro video.
Table of Contents - What is a YouTube Intro? - Why is a YouTube Intro Important? - Best Practices When Making a YouTube Intro - Free and Easy Way to Make a YouTube Intro
What is a YouTube Intro?
A YouTube intro, like the name implies, is an introductory clip that plays at the start of a YouTube video. It is usually short with a length between 10 to 15 seconds. It contains details of the YouTube channel like the title, brand logo (if available), color, and is accompanied by a snippet of music.
It often has eye-catchy and appealing texts and images in a bid to encourage viewers to keep watching.
Why is a YouTube Intro Important?
In the same way a lot of people judge a book by its cover, viewers tend to judge a YouTube video and channel in general by its YouTube intro video. In those few seconds, the viewer makes the split decision whether your video is worth watching or if they should check out the millions of other suggested videos.
You need to know how to hook your audience and your intro video is how you do it. After all, first impressions count.
Best Practices When Making a YouTube Intro
There’s no magic trick to making the perfect YouTube intro video, but there are great tips you can implement to get good results. They are as follows:
Make it a Short Clip
With intro videos, you need to achieve your goal as quickly as possible. Staying within the 6-10 seconds range is a safe bet. Anything longer than that, you risk your viewers thinking you’re wasting their time or they would get bored waiting for the main video to start.
Establish Brand Consistency
This is an opportunity to establish your brand. It is important because having a brand is the only way to get brand loyalty. In your intro, make sure you have your channel name, logo, brand color, complementary music, and tagline.
Make sure the music you use is constant so your viewers can recognize you without visuals. Not all of these have to be present; it depends on your audience and niche.
Have Striking Visuals
Even if your niche is a professional one and your channel has a serious tone, you still need to have eye-catching visuals. Make use of animations or if you prefer, live action footage.
Have text overlays in carefully chosen fonts and ensure they are easy to read. Ensure your visuals communicate the focus of your channel.
Free and Easy Way to Make a YouTube Intro
If you’ve been waiting for how to make a YouTube intro free and easy, you’re at the right place. Creating a YouTube intro video has become easier with the increasing number of video editing software and free templates available.
The way to create the video depends on the software to be used. Some of the top free apps and software include:
Canva
Creating a YouTube intro video on Canva is as easy as it gets. Although there is the paid version of Canva, you can make your video using the free version.
You would also never see those annoying watermarks that come with many free apps. There is no limit to how many intro videos you can make.
Steps to create a YouTube Intro in Canva
- Choose a template to work with or start a design from scratch.
- Make the edits to the video in Canva.
- Download your video and publish or share it with other sites.
- Ensure you choose the right dimensions for the video e.g. 16:9 is the accepted aspect ratio for YouTube and the standard file formats are MP4 and MOV.
Offeo
Offeo is an online intro maker that has some free templates you can use to create your intro video.
It has some limitations on the number of projects you can have, font choice music, video resolution, and it also comes watermarked.
Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark has a free intro maker with a lot of templates. It is a perfect choice for those who have no design skills but still want to create eye-catching visuals.
You can pick from the free photos in Adobe Stock and use them in your video. There is also a collection of free soundtracks you can use.
Biteable
Biteable is a mobile editing software used by several multinationals so you can be sure of its quality. It has two paid versions and a free version you can use for as long as you want.
You are also allowed to create as many videos as you want. The downside is that the videos will have the Biteable watermark and not yours.
Renderforest
Renderforest is another intro maker that can be used for free although it has a paid version. There is no limit to how many videos you can create, though the videos will have their watermark.
Conclusions
A YouTube intro video is as important as the uploaded video itself. It determines how many views and subscribers your video and channel will get.
There’s no excuse as to why you don’t have one because there is a myriad of free intro templates available.
They are free and easy to use, even a non-tech savvy person will find their way around the apps immediately. Let me know in the comments below what kind of Intro maker you use.
