YouTube Tips To Intro Or Not To Intro, That Is The Question

[BraveStar]

There are some who will tell you you don't need an intro for your videos. That's OK. Not everyone needs an intro. But an intro is a great way to expand your branding to make your name more popular. It's a great way to introduce new viewers to your content and to create a catchy theme ppl can recognize.

But you have to consider many factors before making an intro. First, if your gonna make an intro you need to make it look good, sound good and fit your editing style. I've seen a lot of channels with intros that cut the music off rather than fade it out or randomly throw in an intro to far into the video or out of place. Fading the audio out or using audio that actually ends is the best way to transition from the intro to your content. Seems more professional.

Another point is the length of the intro. A short intro that gets to the point is always preferable. 5 seconds for new Youtubers, up to 10 seconds for someone more popular. And if you're at the level of Pewdie Pie, MKBHD or even H3H3, you can make it a bit longer.

Most importantly, the audio, if any, needs to sound good. Audio is key to a good video and to a good intro. Otherwise it can be a quick turnoff to potential viewers.

 

[Ikerot]

My favorite kind of intros are the ones that blast your ears off and then afterward, the audio is really soft.

There's been a longer intro from this reaction channel that I really enjoy. Mainly because they rap for the intro (and sometimes they'll do recaps like that too). Love it, but some might not and will skip anyways

 

[Ameen]

There are some who will tell you you don't need an intro for your videos. That's OK. Not everyone needs an intro. But an intro is a great way to expand your branding to make your name more popular. It's a great way to introduce new viewers to your content and to create a catchy theme ppl can recognize.

But you have to consider many factors before making an intro. First, if your gonna make an intro you need to make it look good, sound good and fit your editing style. I've seen a lot of channels with intros that cut the music off rather than fade it out or randomly throw in an intro to far into the video or out of place. Fading the audio out or using audio that actually ends is the best way to transition from the intro to your content. Seems more professional.

Another point is the length of the intro. A short intro that gets to the point is always preferable. 5 seconds for new Youtubers, up to 10 seconds for someone more popular. And if you're at the level of Pewdie Pie, MKBHD or even H3H3, you can make it a bit longer.

Most importantly, the audio, if any, needs to sound good. Audio is key to a good video and to a good intro. Otherwise it can be a quick turnoff to potential viewers.

Love your articles to the point and help noobs like myself improve our channels

 

[Aaron]

IΓÇÖve always been a fan of intros when they are good and tasteful. For me an example of a good intro can be found on Savage Garage... they perfectly weave their intro in to a suspenseful start point in the video and itΓÇÖs a pure cinematic master piece. I watch it every time just for how cool it is.

 

[Moto Mengy]

For my videos I like putting a nice short teaser at the start, followed by my "intro" or channel logo with music for like 6 seconds, and then the motovlog. Something to grab the viewer's interest as fast as possible. Which is also why I keep my intro short and to the point, I don't want to LOSE their interest either!

Seems to be going okay so far like this.

 

[TubeBuddy]

I think a short intro that can help identify if the content is in a good thing for brand deals too. Have your content name here if it makes sense for the brand it's a good fit. I try to keep mine short sweet, and entertaining

 

[Beanie Draws]

WHAT'S UP IT'A YA BOI/GAL HERE

Hellooooo and welcome BACK to my channellll.

To be honest, I think Nick does his intros the best. Short, simple, straight to the point. I've made the mistake of having intros that go WAYYY to long. I'd keep my overall intros (including branding) to under 10 seconds.
People realistically shouldn't need an intro. The title and thumbnail should tell the viewer exactly what they're going to get anyway. An intro is simply re-saying what they already are expecting to see.

Just don't make a several minute intro on why you haven't been publishing before the main video like I have in the past

 

[DamoΓÇÖs Paintings]

I was one of those that did a long unnecessary intro, which then cut to the intro clip, and then back to me crapping on about subscribing and liking etc etc etc, that was at least a 2-3 long intro, very unnecessary, and itΓÇÖs where I lost viewers and subscribers too, so I cut back and tadaaa starting to get more view time.

 

[Damon]

Since I'm trying to make documentaries in more of a verite style, intros just get in the way. More so, my audience doesn't like intros. They are meat-and-potatoes-type people.

 

[Juls]

Intros...but make it as short as possible for audience retention... Viewers may likely lose interest if it's too long or boring ...

 

[BraveStar]

Since I'm trying to make documentaries in more of a verite style, intros just get in the way. More so, my audience doesn't like intros. They are meat-and-potatoes-type people.

I remember reading a while back you didn't think Intros were necessary. I guess it's a matter of style and whether it works for your content or not. I'm a TV show addict who learned almost every intro for every show I watched and sang them as if they were just another song from a famous artist thus intros are important to me. I still go back to intro playlists from 80s TV shows and cartoons. can't get enough of them.

My favorite kind of intros are the ones that blast your ears off and then afterward, the audio is really soft.

There's been a longer intro from this reaction channel that I really enjoy. Mainly because they rap for the intro (and sometimes they'll do recaps like that too). Love it, but some might not and will skip anyways

Phillip Defranco's previous intro was like that. Suddenly really loud then soft. I loved it.

Love your articles to the point and help noobs like myself improve our channels

Thank you. I'm working on making these into videos but for now, I'm sharing them in blog form until I get those videos up.

 

[Aaron]

I remember reading a while back you didn't think Intros were necessary. I guess it's a matter of style and whether it works for your content or not. I'm a TV show addict who learned almost every intro for every show I watched and sang them as if they were just another song from a famous artist thus intros are important to me. I still go back to intro playlists from 80s TV shows and cartoons. can't get enough of them.

This talk of intros brings me back good memories of watching Skyrim videos... those almost always had incredible intros....

 

[BraveStar]

IΓÇÖve always been a fan of intros when they are good and tasteful. For me an example of a good intro can be found on Savage Garage... they perfectly weave their intro in to a suspenseful start point in the video and itΓÇÖs a pure cinematic master piece. I watch it every time just for how cool it is.

You should check out, not only the intro, but also the production effects of the 3DBotMaker and Jelle's Marble Run channels. They both have amazing intros, outros and their graphics/effects are truly amazing. That's not to ignore the content itself is amazing if you're into that kind of content.

For my videos I like putting a nice short teaser at the start, followed by my "intro" or channel logo with music for like 6 seconds, and then the motovlog. Something to grab the viewer's interest as fast as possible. Which is also why I keep my intro short and to the point, I don't want to LOSE their interest either!

Seems to be going okay so far like this.

Short and sweet is always the best way to go when your just getting started and if you get to a point where your brand is big and popular you could go for something a bit more beefy but short and sweet is still a best bet even for top YouTubers. For example Linus Tech Tips has an 8 second long intro but in YT time that's long but still cool. Whereas Wacky Jacky 101 has a short and sweet intro that is blended into the content itself so you get both the content and the intro rolled up into one video. That's how I like my intros.

I think a short intro that can help identify if the content is in a good thing for brand deals too. Have your content name here if it makes sense for the brand it's a good fit. I try to keep mine short sweet, and entertaining

Exactly. Branding is key.

 

[Aaron]

You should check out, not only the intro, but also the production effects of the 3DBotMaker and Jelle's Marble Run channels. They both have amazing intros, outros and their graphics/effects are truly amazing. That's not to ignore the content itself is amazing if you're into that kind of content.

Jelle's videos are literally the talk of my work right now... all the time co-workers are sending me the races as a substitute for F1 LOL

 

[BraveStar]

Jelle's videos are literally the talk of my work right now... all the time co-workers are sending me the races as a substitute for F1 LOL

They are amazing indeed. I love them.

 

[CosmosFF]

I do unique, one-time-only intros for some videos and for some I don't, depending on the theme of the video

 

[Jeffrey Powers]

I do Teaser - Intro - Content. Sometimes the intro is short and sweet, other times it's a little longer. I try to not go past 90 seconds on the intro.

Chapter selection now allows people to skip the intro, if you put the time codes in your show notes. It's easy to do, and times automatically link.

I've even see people say "Check out 3:45 where I say something really poignant".

(here's an example)
00:00 Intro
2:00 Content Part 1
4:00 Part 2

 

[sampocker]

I'm struggling with adding intros to my non-music videos because my topics vary and the niche is just my opinion on topics. I see where an intro would tie that in, but somehow I feel like it ruins the flow of each video. I agree it helps with the branding though which is why I keep thinking about it.

 

[BraveStar]

I'm struggling with adding intros to my non-music videos because my topics vary and the niche is just my opinion on topics. I see where an intro would tie that in, but somehow I feel like it ruins the flow of each video. I agree it helps with the branding though which is why I keep thinking about it.

I follow a lot of channels that don't have intros. They go straight from teaser to content with a simple "hi I'm (insert YouTuber name here) and sometimes a "welcome to (insert channel name here)". That works great for many of them. You can use a simple intro that is blended into the content itself such as a lower third pop up with your name or channel name and maybe your channel logo streaming across the screen. I went from a full-on intro to an over the content intro because I was doing gameplay and it works well with that type of content.

 

[sampocker]

I follow a lot of channels that don't have intros. They go straight from teaser to content with a simple "hi I'm (insert YouTuber name here) and sometimes a "welcome to (insert channel name here)". That works great for many of them. You can use a simple intro that is blended into the content itself such as a lower third pop up with your name or channel name and maybe your channel logo streaming across the screen. I went from a full-on intro to an over the content intro because I was doing gameplay and it works well with that type of content.

Oh that's a great idea I hadn't thought about. I will consider how that aesthetic might work for me. Thank you!