YouTube has empowered video content creators and given them a platform to both educate and entertain. The best thing about YouTube is that if a video reaches out to a lot of people, individuals and companies can make steady earnings off their videos too.
YouTube’s popularity skyrocketed due to two key factors:
- Individuals can be taught, informed, and entertained faster through videos than they can be through text or still images.
- Widespread internet accessibility coupled with 4G and 5G network speeds facilitates faster loading of high-quality videos than ever before.
If you are a video content creator who works independently or in association with a company, no time is better to start creating top-notch YouTube videos. However, you can’t just make any video and expect it to go viral. The presentation of the video has to be top-notch and during the video editing process, you need to first focus on the intro of your YouTube video.
The importance of the intro
The intro to your video tells the viewers about your personality as a content creator or the personality of the business that you represent. It also prepares them for what is about to follow, i.e., the main content matter of the video. For viewers who are watching your video for the first time, this intro can be the make-or-break moment that determines whether or not they watch the entire video or move on to something else.
So, if you have high hopes for becoming a successful YouTuber in the future, you must focus on creating a solid intro. It doesn’t matter if your video’s main content is really engaging and entertaining. If the intro is not impressive, very few people will wait around for the interesting part to start playing.
And finally, the tips
So, after a long ‘intro’ (pun intended), it’s finally time to take a look at the 7 useful tips for making a solid YouTube intro:
- #1: Less is more: You may be tempted to make your video intro elaborate and lengthy and put in a ton of information. However, resist all such temptations, because elaborate intros don’t work when it comes to YouTube videos.
By now, most avid YouTube users know how professionally created videos work on the channel. It starts with a short intro, then comes the main content in a step-by-step manner, and then it finishes with a neat conclusion.
If you are going overboard with information at the very beginning of the video, it would only create an information overload in the viewers’ brains. Take the “less is more” route and you will be rewarded.
- #2: Create a theme to stick to for every video: If you want your YouTube channel to be successful, you need to think of it as a business that wants to become a brand. Now, when you think about a brand, what pops up in your mind first?
Invariably, it has to be a logo and a signature piece of music; in essence, a theme that stays consistent across all the advertisements and promotional content that you come across.
Similarly, you have to create a theme for your YouTube channel as well, which will kick off every single video you upload. In time, as you establish a consistent viewer base, your theme will become associated with your videos, slowly but surely becoming a symbol of your YouTube brand.
- #3: Use animation, colours, and graphics to spice your theme up: Once you have got a logo and a short music clip for your YouTube intros, it’s time to spice the intro up with some animation, colours, and graphics.
Even if you are not a very talented animator or graphic designer, you don’t need to worry. You only need to start practising it. Sooner or later, you will get the hang of it.
The best way to learn about tweaking your intros is to learn from other YouTubers’ online YouTube intros. You can also do a graphic design crash course so that you can start using the right software to create impressive graphics and animations for your intros.
- #4: Use controversy positively: People simply love controversy and you can use this love of controversy positively to convince people to watch your videos. It would be even better if you can include a mention of the controversy in your intro to immediately capture the attention of your viewers.
However, you should keep in mind that the controversy that you build your video around should be linked to your overall YouTube personality and the kind of content that you are identified with. Otherwise, your viewers will think that you used a controversy just to get more views.
- #5: If you have to talk in the intro, do it fast: A lot of YouTubers start making videos by talking to their audiences. However, one thing that is common for all of them despite their differences in the type of content, is that they don’t spend a lot of time talking.
They usually edit in a way that it seems like they are speaking quickly. While some YouTubers do have the talent of talking fast, most simply edit out the parts where they were searching for the right words or forgot what they wanted to say.
Another way of doing it is to write a script and practice different ways and mannerisms of putting it across to your audience.
- #6: Incorporate humour naturally: Humour will automatically make your videos more interesting for your viewers. Even if your video’s subject matter is something serious, subtle humour can work to create a nice contrast between the subject matter and your way of presenting the video.
However, ensure that you don’t cross the line. Too much humour may not work well with all audiences and you may even inadvertently end up offending a lot of people.
- #7: Use an intro maker: InVideo and several other websites have developed YouTube Intro Makers for budding content creators. These intro makers feature a wide variety of templates that you can download and start using in a matter of minutes.
With the templates from an intro maker, your intro creation process will be simplified and you can focus more on the parts of the video that will follow the intro.
Keep these tips in mind and you are sure to succeed in your quest to become the next YouTube star!
