Best YouTube Intro Ideas for Inspiration in 2022

Table of Content

Importance of YouTube intro
Elements of a good YouTube intro
Youtube intro ideas with examples
Add a logo
Slideshow
Animation
Add a title card
Utilize motion text
Incorporate music
Video montage
Conclusion

One of the things that YouTube creators can do to differentiate themselves from their competitors is by creating attention-grabbing YouTube video intros. 

Apart from following YouTube SEO best practices, creating a catchy YouTube intro is just as important and can contribute to the success or failure of your video and channel.

In this article, we will share some of the best YouTube intro ideas that you can use in your videos. You’ll also learn the elements of a good YouTube intro and why the intro to your video is so important.

Importance of the YouTube Intro

First impressions count when you’re competing with hundreds or thousands of other video creators. By creating a YouTube intro that is intriguing or entertaining, you’ll be on your way to creating a first impression that lasts. 

Your YouTube video intro plays an essential role in capturing the attention of your viewers and introducing them to the main discussion point of your content. 

Because of this, YouTube intros have an impact on your average audience retention and view duration. 

Another reason why a YouTube intro is important is because it helps videos look more professional. 

Much like popular television shows have well-known theme songs and intros, you should try to emulate them by creating your own intro that you can use in all of your videos.

Elements of a Good YouTube Intro

Now, let’s briefly look at some of the elements of a good YouTube intro, and then we’ll share some YouTube intro ideas that you can use as inspiration. 

• The first element of a good YouTube intro is brevity and conciseness. The best YouTube intros aren’t lengthy and are able to tell the viewer what the content is about within a few seconds of them watching the video. The ideal length of a YouTube intro is between 5 to 20 seconds, however, it’s advisable to keep it as short as possible. 
• The second element of a good YouTube intro is that immediately introduces your channel’s branding to the viewer. This is achieved by adding your channel’s logo, typography, type of background music, and more. (more on this later)
• A good YouTube intro should help your audience to recognize your channel immediately.

Youtube Intro Ideas and Examples

Now that you know the elements of a good YouTube intro and the importance of creating one, let’s discuss some YouTube intro ideas and suggestions. 

You will notice that many of these ideas share a common theme - branding. For each of these ideas, you want to ensure that you stick to your channel’s look and feel. 

Add a Logo

The first element that you can and should add to the intro of your YouTube videos is your channel’s logo. 

Here’s an example from the YouTube channel Order of Man. They include their logo at the start of all their YouTub videos. 

By consistently adding your logo to the intro in all your videos, you’ll reinforce your channel’s branding in the minds of viewers. 

This is beneficial because viewers will be able to recognize your brand in other places on the internet such as your website, Facebook page, Instagram profile, etc. 

Adding your logo to your YouTube intro can easily be done using almost any video editing software, so this won’t be a challenging task to do at all.

Slideshow

Another great YouTube intro idea is to create a slideshow introducing your video’s topic or your channel. 

The key to creating an effective slideshow intro is to make sure that the images you choose grab the viewer’s attention and keep them hooked for the remainder of the video, or at least until you can provide them with the answer to what they’re looking for or the main topic of the video. 

Here’s an example of a YouTube channel making use of slideshows as part of their intro. 

As you might have seen, The Try Guys YouTube channel makes use of a slideshow intro to introduce viewers to the main creators of the channel by using imagery that is eye-catching, but also simple. 

An important thing to take note of, you’ll notice that they make use of bright colors and funny visuals in their slideshow intro, both of these elements align with the channel’s look and feel, theme, as well as the tone of their channel.  

Animation

This next YouTube intro idea is a bit more complicated and requires some creativity and animating skills. 

Animations are great intros to add to your videos because they can be completely customized according to your brand’s look and feel.

Furthermore, the odds of someone copying your video intro are slim since it requires a fair amount of design and animation skills to create these types of YouTube intros. 

Check out this animated YouTube intro from Good Mythical Morning (starts at 05:00). This animation is completely unique to this channel and solidifies the fact that this is a professional YouTube channel featuring unique content. 

If you lack the necessary animation skills to create an animated intro for your video, you can contact a freelancer to create one for you. 

You can also try online intro maker tools to help you with this task, but these tools will be fairly limited compared to what someone with the right skills will be able to create using animation software such as Adobe Animate.  

Add the Title of the Video

You can add the title of your video or a variation thereof to the video’s introduction in order to remind viewers of what information they can expect to find and to keep them interested in watching your content to the end.

This is especially useful if you’ve got a title that generates interest and curiosity from viewers.

Take for example this video title from the Foundr Magazine YouTube channel, “From $0 to $250k a month in 1 year”.

Anyone who wants to learn how to build a successful business will want to watch this simply because the title is so alluring and attention-grabbing. 

Foundr added the title of the video to the intro using big, bold text in a smart and creative way. 

Utilize Motion Text

Much like animations, motion text can be used to create an engaging and visually stimulating video intro. 

These intros are typically short and concise and usually showcase the title of the channel, video series, or video title. 

Take this intro example from Elena Taber’s YouTube video on investing for beginners. The intro features a simple motion text with the main keyword of the video “investing for beginners”.

Creating these motion texts is much easier than creating full-on animations and they can be created using tools such as InVideo or any other beginner YouTube equipment or software. 

Incorporate Music

The music you choose for your video intro should match your brand’s tone and voice, as well as fit with the type of content you’re creating. 

For example, if you’ve got a fun channel for kids, make sure that the music in your intro is upbeat and interesting.

This video from Vlad and Niki is the perfect example of using upbeat intro music that’s aligned with their target audience. 

Creating videos about personal finance and investing? Then you’re probably going to want to stay away from funky music, and instead, elect to use slow and calm music in your intro. 

In this example from Dollarsprout’s video on credit scores, you’ll notice that the music they’re using in their intro isn’t upbeat like the music from the video above.

Video Montage

Video montages are sections of video featuring various clips that are sequenced together to create one complete video clip.

Video montages are great to add to intros if a creator already has a backlog of previously taken video footage. 

These types of intros are great for public speakers or famous personalities to showcase speaking events and interviews on popular shows where they’ve been featured.

Phil Town’s Rule #1 Investing channel features this video montage intro which showcases how he’s spoken at large conferences, been featured on a talk show, and how he’s signing books. 

This clearly indicates that he’s an authority in the investing and personal finance industry, therefore increasing the believability and trustworthiness of his YouTube content and channel.

Creating a video montage won’t be as challenging as creating an animation or motion text, so if you’ve got video footage from an event or conference, this could be a good idea for a video intro. 

Conclusion

By creating a unique YouTube video intro, your channel will come across as more professional and as a result will be regarded as more trustworthy. 

Remember television shows such as The Big Bang Theory or The Office? The intros to these television programs were distinct and added to the entire viewing experience. 

If you saw the intro video footage or heard the intro music, you would have immediately recognized the television program.

Well, much like the intros of these television shows, a YouTube intro adds to the viewing experience and assists in building your channel’s brand. 

Use these YouTube intro ideas when you’re thinking of what type of intro to create for your next YouTube video. 

Take note, that you can, and probably should incorporate more than one of these YouTube intro ideas or elements when creating your video intros. For example, you can add your logo to an animation or a video montage, and most definitely don’t forget to use suitable music.