On YouTube, first impressions matter. One of the most effective ways to win the hearts of new viewers to your channel is with a captivating trailer.
In this article, you’ll learn how to make a great trailer for a powerful YouTube hook.
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What is a YouTube Channel Trailer?
A YouTube Channel Trailer is a video designed to help viewers quickly get to know your channel. When enabled, the trailer displays at the top of your YouTube channel page and plays automatically for unsubscribed visitors.
The trailer is crucial because if you’re going to work hard to To promote your YouTube channel, you’ll need a way to convert that traffic into subscribers.
Here’s what to include in your trailer to hook viewers immediately:
- A quick introduction of your business and who your channel is for (bloggers, hikers, gamers, etc.).
- An overview of the type of video content you post.
- A highlight reel of your video content.
- Your video upload schedule.
- A compelling call-to-action (CTA) that encourages viewers to subscribe.
Here’s a super simple YouTube channel trailer template from Biteable:
How to create a YouTube channel trailer
So how can you create a YouTube channel trailer? r a YouTube channel trailer that covers all the above bases in an interesting way? ? Let’s dive in.
1. Put yourself in the shoes of your viewers
To create an impressive YouTube channel trailer, you must assume that the viewer knows absolutely nothing about you or your brand and ask yourself the following questions:
- What does the viewer want to know immediately about my channel?
- What knowledge is most important to impart in the first few seconds?
- How do I want the viewer to feel afterward? from watching my channel’s trailer?
- Why should they be forced to return to my channel?
- Which tone should I use: playful, humorous, serious, informative?
- Which color schemes and fonts align with my brand?
Viewers need to be sure they have found the right channel for them in the first 5-10 seconds, only with the information you provide them within your video trailer.
These questions are crucial to achieving your video marketing goals, whether it’s building a community or earning r money on YouTube. When you understand what your audience wants, and not what you think they want, you can offer valuable content.
2. Create a Well-Structured Script
If you’re going to speak in your trailer, write a script or jot down some talking points for your video.
Structure your video from the beginning to ending and putting a clear and compelling message in it. The shorter and more impactful your channel trailer is, the more effective it will work to get more views and new subscribers on YouTube.
From the words and images that appear on the screen to the music and sounds that viewers listen. , everything needs to clearly communicate your channel’s message and match the way your brand looks and feels.
Here’s an example of an awesome (scripted) channel trailer:
Important Note: Using a script or outline for your trailer is important, even if you’re not someone who usually plans their videos.
You have a lot of material to cover and you only have a minute or so in which to do it. A script will help you avoid a lot of “umms” and get you to all the key points in the shortest time possible.
3. Use subtitles and clips
To make your trailer more attractive, combine short scenes, sounds, text (either music or voiceover, or both). Add a short title on the first screen or list the key topics covered in the video.
Also, you may want to use subtitles for those watching the trailer without sound. Maybe they’re listening to music at the same time, or they got discouraged when it started playing automatically.
Here’s an example of a YouTube channel trailer with subtitles:
Watch channel trailer here
4. Include High-Quality Music and Graphics
Nothing engages your viewers more than animated graphics paired with the right music. Great visuals will keep viewers spellbound, and music will set the tone and energy for your channel trailer.
Just make sure you choose music and graphics that are consistent with your words, channel, and brand. . A cohesive brand image leads to increased brand awareness, making your company and product memorable and recognizable to viewers.
There are a lot of of graphic design software that facilitates its maintenance. your visuals are consistent and of high quality.
Appealing to the senses in your video trailer can emotionally motivate your viewers to subscribe.
Although not a channel trailer, Asana shows a nice example of unique artwork:
View video here
According to As an expert video strategist, it’s important to keep your viewer’s eyes moving so you can keep their attention on your video.
This aspect is particularly important because, as you know, channel home pages YouTube often seems quite “busy”.
Everywhere you look, there are buttons, playlists, video thumbnails, and even an option for visitors to leave your channel entirely.
But, while fast-moving and dynamic sequences have been shown to increase engagement, keep in mind that this type of content is not ideal for all YouTube channels, like a meditation channel, for example.
However, you can still use elements such as text, visually appealing images, and short scenes to attract attention i from your spectator.
5. Keep it short
The main goal of a YouTube channel trailer is to introduce great things about you, your brand, and your content to new viewers as quickly as possible.
So, unlike explainer videos (which are great on your channel), the channel trailer itself should instantly grab the attention of your viewers and, within a few seconds, broadcast the whole thing. the information they need to decide if it is theirs or not. it’s the right channel for them.
After all, what are the chances someone will watch a five or ten minute video before deciding whether or not they’re in the right place?
While there is no “perfect” length for a YouTube channel trailer, you should aim for between 30 and 90 seconds.
This should be enough to tell new visitors who you are, what kind of content to expect from your YouTube channel, and when you will be posting new uploads.
Remember, when it comes to YouTube channel trailers, less is more.
6. Show Featured
As YouTube says: “Show, don’t tell.” In addition to sharing all the important information related to your brand and channel, you can also show your audience a highlight reel that makes them want to watch the videos on your channel.
And make sure these are really featured. of real videos on your channel. This will prevent unsubscribes later when it turns out your videos weren’t at all what new subscribers expected.
If you’re worried about not having enough time to give your audience the information they need, as well as show a featured reel, don’t worry. You can do both at the same time. Will Smith’s YouTube channel trailer is essentially one big highlight reel.
Watch the video here
As a small business, you won’t have extreme highlights like this, but you can use Scenes short to show your audience the nature and tone of your videos. Are they fun, educational, serious, relaxing, entertaining, practical?
Highlights for your business can include:
- Bloopers and other fun videos
- Videos showing the interesting ways you’ll provide information
- Videos from industry influencers who you will interview
This will be easy to do if you have already posted some videos on your channel. Simply choose one of your best clips and include it as a highlight reel in your channel trailer.
Use your YouTube channel trailer to show your audience what they can expect and wait on your videos
This brings us to the next and shorter piece of advice:
6. Store Videos in Advance
You won’t have any highlights to show if you don’t have videos ready yet. You don’t have to post all of them, but just enough to support the claims of your trailer.
On SearchLab’s YouTube channel home page, you can immediately collect thumbnails of the videos you’ll learn . Local SEO and laughter.
SearchLab’s YouTube channel homepage
Also note that video thumbnails are a great YouTube SEO tactic.
7. Take viewers on a journey
As humans, we tend to gravitate towards other people, and showing your unique personality on camera allows you to make deeper and stronger connections with new audiences.
That’s where storytelling comes into play. The most successful channel trailers are those that take viewers on a journey.
Don’t just provide information to viewers; Take them on a trip and show them your story.
This means everything from the reason you started your channel to the topics you cover, and everything in between.Stories can be fascinating!
Storytelling also has the following benefits:
- Ithits the emotional quotient;
- Makes it easier for you to convey your personality;
- Keeps your viewers interested and eager for more;
- And it also makes your content more memorable.
When you tell personal stories in a fun, fresh, and relatable way, people feel like they know you, love you, which ultimately drives more subscribers to your channel.
Here’s an example of a YouTube channel trailer that takes viewers on a thrill ride:
Watch trailer here
8. End your subscription CTA
If you’ve followed the tips above, you’ve given viewers enough reasons to subscribe. But you should still ask the deliberate question
Here are some common subscription arguments:
- “Make sure you hit the subscription button”
- “If That’s okay with you, subscribe to my channel right now”
- “Go ahead and subscribe right now so you don’t miss a thing”
- “And now, it’s time to subscribe!”
It doesn’t matter how you phrase your pitch, but make sure it is explicit and on-brand.
Tools for creating stunning YouTube channel trailers
Creating an attractive YouTube channel trailer takes work, but don’t lose sleep over it! There are dozens of tools out there, so to make things a little easier for you, here are three of my favorites.
9. Biteable
Biteable is an affordable tool for creating amazing YouTube trailers. It comes with hundreds of fully customizable templates to choose from, and you can add your own personal touch using your images, music, text, and footage.
10. InVideo
InVideo is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you edit and create YouTube videos with ease. It provides you with numerous templates and the option to add music from stock audio list, images, GIFs and much more.
With this tool, you can explore your ideas and create professional-level videos even if you are just a beginner.
From adding subtitles to your YouTube videos to adding voiceovers, you can use InVideo to produce any type of channel trailer.
11. Wondershare Filmora
Wondershare Filmora is a powerful and free video editing tool that you can use on both PC and Mac. This program is simple and easy to use, making it ideal for beginners without much experience. in editing.
If you want to see even more options, most of the YouTube editing software listed here can be used for both creating trailers and editing videos.
Get to work on your YouTube channel trailer to build subscribers
A YouTube channel is a great way to promote your business on YouTube. Use these eight tips and three tools to create a stunning YouTube channel trailer that can build a brand with a loyal following:
- Put yourself in your viewers’ shoes
- Create a well-structured script
- Use subtitles and clips
- Include high-quality music and graphics
- Keep it short
- Show highlights
- Store videos in advance
- Take viewers on a journey
- Finish your subscription CTA
- Biiteabel
- InVideo
- Wondershare Filmora
.