11 Steps to Create an Attractive YouTube Channel Trailer 

November 18, 2022
Contents

YouTube is the most extensive library of videos. You can find anything you want or search for on YouTube. 

Every minute, 2500 new videos are uploaded to YouTube, amounting to 183 hours of video content. That means every hour, 150,000 videos are shared on YouTube. 

If you want your YouTube channel to stand out, you must do something different and unique. YouTube channel trailers are a great way to let new viewers know what your channel is about. 

In this article, we will talk about YouTube channel trailers and how you can create one. 

What is a YouTube Channel Trailer?

A YouTube channel trailer is a video that speaks about you and what your channel is about. For example, the video mentioned above is a channel trailer for Klossy (a YouTube channel started by model Karlie Kloss). 

The trailer has everything a good channel should have - an introduction, a story, why you started the channel and its purpose. 

Karlie Kloss does that all brilliantly with a side of humor.  A YouTube channel trailer lets your viewers know what the channel is about, what you will offer the viewers, and why they should subscribe. 

The Channel trailer is usually visible on the top of your channel page when you enable it. That’s the best place to have your trailer because new visitors can check it out the first time they visit your channel. 

You must put your best foot forward and create an attractive channel trailer because first impressions are crucial! Your viewers should get hooked on your channel when they watch the trailer. 

Why Is a Channel Trailer Necessary?

Quickly Catch New Visitors’ Attention

A channel trailer is necessary for various reasons. The first and foremost is to gain new visitors’ attention. While your subscribers may know what type of videos you post, the new ones would have no idea. 

So, placing an attention-grabbing trailer at the beginning of your channel page will help you attract new visitors who may become subscribers. 

A channel trailer may seem unnecessary, but it is often the most-watched video on the channel! 

It would be best if you had a channel trailer to convey why viewers should subscribe to you. 

Let Them Know What to Expect

Not only can you mention what type of videos your channel will deal with, but you can also let your audience know what they should expect. 

If you are a beauty channel dedicated to makeup, you can share that in the trailer. 

Whether you want to review products or share makeup routines is up to you. 

You can also share the posting schedule for your channel to let your subscribers know when to expect your videos to come out. 

Here are the things you need to mention in your channel trailer -

  • Your channel name
  • Your channel story (Why you started the channel)
  • Channel’s goal (what is your goal)
  • What content will you post ( beauty, lifestyle, sports, cooking, tech, etc.)
  • How you are going to help your audience. 
  • Posting schedule (twice a week, every day or weekly, whatever it is)
  • Ask viewers to subscribe to the channel. 

To Encourage Them to Subscribe

This is a standard process for every YouTube creator; you must ask your viewers to like and subscribe. 

A YouTube channel trailer invites viewers to visit your channel often. That’s why you must encourage them to subscribe.  

What Should A Channel Trailer Contain?

The trailer is the first impression you give your viewers. It's an opportunity to show off your channel and let them know what they can expect from it. There are a few things that your trailer must contain. 

Eye-Moving Imagery

This is what you will use to hook your viewers. It can be anything from action shots to close-ups of people’s faces.

If you’re on a budget, try using stock photos or videos. Make sure you have a concise title that describes the video well.

Ensure your channel trailer video has arresting clips that describe your channel well. It must entice the viewers without overwhelming them.

Solid Storytelling

It would help if you told a story in your trailer. Don’t just list all the things your channel does; show how they work together. 

It’s also vital that each element (in your video) has its unique voice and style so viewers know it belongs to your channel.

Please describe why you started the channel and the story behind it. Stories always intrigue viewers, and you can use them to win the audience over. 

Less Is More

The fewer words you use, the better! You want viewers to get excited about what they’re going to see, which means keeping things short and sweet. 

Monopolizing the attention of an audience for a long time is difficult. So it would be best if you created short video trailers to send your message. 

The best YouTube channel trailers are concise and clear. 

They don’t waste time with anything unnecessary - only what’s essential for your audience to understand what your channel is about.

How to Create a YouTube Channel Trailer

1. Step Into Your Viewers’ Shoes

When writing a channel trailer, you need to think like your audience. 

One of the best ways to engage your audience is by showing them what it’s like to be you. 

This is why you must step into your viewers’ shoes and try to imagine how they would feel if they watched your video. 

They’re watching the video for one reason: to learn more about your business/channel and determine if they should consider buying something from you. 

The goal of your trailer is to make them want to do just that!

So, ask yourself these questions:

  • What are they looking for? 
  • What do they want? 
  • How can I show them what they’re missing out on?
  • What will make them buy from me?
  • How can I convince them to buy from me?
  • What would make them laugh?
  • What would make them cry?
  •  What questions would they have? 

Try to come up with answers to these questions so that when you’re creating the trailer, it feels like it’s happening in real time.

2. Create A Well-Structured Script

The second step is to write out a script for your trailer. This will consist of all the key points like who you are, what you do, and why people should visit your channel.

But it should also be easy to read and understand. If you need help with one, try writing out a rough outline of what you want in the video, then use that as a guide for creating your script. 

Write the sequence of scenes you want, and then add details like dialogue and sets. You can also include any special offers or promotions you’ll be running during this period. 

3. Keep It Brief and to The Point

The main thing you need to remember when creating a YouTube channel trailer is brevity. You don’t want to waste people’s time, but you also don’t want to overwhelm them with too much information at once. 

Your trailer should be short and sweet. This way, people can watch it entirely before giving up on the page or clicking away. 

They won’t feel like they’ve been given an in-depth presentation with too many details irrelevant to their interests.

4. Getting The Length Of A Channel Trailer Right

A good formula for how long your YouTube channel trailer should be is roughly one minute on average (30-60 seconds per video). 

If you have more videos for your channel trailer, try to stay within two minutes of content in your trailer.

The length of your channel trailer depends on how much information you want to share in one go. 

If you have plenty of information that needs explaining, this might mean making up some extra content for the video itself, which is alright. 

5. Use Captions

When you publish a video to YouTube, you can add captions for viewers who can’t hear. Also, some viewers prefer to watch their videos on mute.

So, adding captions can help them watch videos without the sound. You can enable the automated caption while sharing the video on YouTube or add a customized version of the caption on YouTube along with your video. 

Captions are an integral part of the YouTube channel trailer, so remember to add/ enable captions in your channel trailer. 

6. Include Music and High-Quality Graphics

Music can help set the tone for your channel, while graphics can visually represent what you do or who you work for. 

A simple logo graphic will do, but if you want to go beyond that, consider creating a custom theme with clips, music, graphics, and fonts designed specifically for your channel.

If you want people to subscribe to your channel, include music and graphics in the trailer. 

This will help them connect with it and want to watch more. It’s also vital that these clips are high quality to stand out from other videos on YouTube.

Also, don’t forget to add some text that describes your videos so people who don’t know anything about you can understand why they should watch them.

7. Stockpile Videos Beforehand

Having plenty of video content before starting your channel would be best. 

This will give viewers an idea of what they can expect from you, and they will be more likely to subscribe if they know what they’re getting into.

You do not have to publish them on your channel, but keep them ready and scheduled for the future. 

Preparing videos for your channel is a great way to follow your channel’s publishing schedule. Moreover, you will know what to tell the audience about what they can expect in the trailer.

8. Show Highlights

You want to show people why they should subscribe by highlighting your best content. 

So make sure that all of the videos on your channel highlight at least one specific topic so that people can see what makes you unique and special. 

You should always include some highlight clips in your channel trailer. 

Including clips that show off what makes your channel unique will make it easier for viewers to decide whether or not they want to subscribe. 

Keep these clips short and sweet so people aren’t bored by them after watching them once!

It’s also a good idea to include some behind-the-scenes footage of how you created these videos, so people know who made them and what quality they can expect from future videos.

9. Take Viewers on A Journey

The most crucial thing about a YouTube channel trailer is that it should take viewers on a journey. 

You want them to feel like they are experiencing something with you, whether watching you play games or cook in your videos. 

It would help if you did this so that viewers would want to watch your content.

You want viewers to feel like they’re part of the video when they watch it. So start by showing them what the video will be like, so they can get excited about watching it. 

10. Give Them One Significant Reason to Subscribe

You can’t just make one big video and expect people to subscribe. Instead, you need to give them a reason to subscribe and keep them returning for more. 

This could be anything from giving away freebies every month, showing off cool new features in your videos, or even giving people free stuff they can win in contests. 

Whatever it is, make sure it is significant enough so that people will want to keep watching your videos repeatedly!

The key here is not just making the video look good but also ensuring it has some reward at the end so that people will want to subscribe! 

11. End With Your Subscribe CTA

At the end of your video, you must include a call to action that encourages people to subscribe. 

It’s what viewers need to do next, and it’s the most important thing for them to know about you. You should use this line to explain why viewers should subscribe and how they can do so.

This is where you can put any text, image, or card you want. It should be brief, but also make sure it stands out from everything else in the video.

How do I add a trailer video to my YouTube channel?

If you want to add a trailer video to your YouTube channel, you’ll need to create a new video and then upload it.

  • Create a new video
  • Sign in to YouTube
  • Click on the Profile icon on the right side of the screen. 
  • Choose the “Your channel” option.
  • Click on “Customize channel”
  • Choose the “Add” option right next to the Channel trailer section. 
  • Choose a video from your uploaded videos
  • Add relevant titles, descriptions, tags, and captions as needed. 
  • And click upload! Your YouTube channel trailer is now up. 

FAQs: YouTube channel trailer

What is a YouTube channel trailer?

A channel trailer is an introductory video that you can use to introduce your channel and its content. It’s also great to build an audience for your channel by showing off the kinds of videos you create.

How long is a YouTube channel trailer?

Channel trailers can be anywhere from thirty to sixty seconds long. The length of your trailer depends on how much information you’d like to convey in such a short time frame and what kind of tone and style you want it to have.

Can you post a trailer on YouTube?

Yes! You’re allowed to post any video on YouTube, including trailers. But remember that you have to choose the channel trailer option if you want to upload a video as a channel trailer. 

Conclusion: YouTube Channel Trailer

The YouTube channel trailer is a vital thing to promoting your YouTube channel. You can use it as a marketing tool, or you can use it just for fun. 

It’s up to you. But if you’re thinking about creating a YouTube channel, it’s worth looking into making one.

The primary purpose of making a YouTube channel trailer is to get people interested in your channel, so they will subscribe and watch your videos later. 

Also, it should be catchy and interesting enough so that people will want to watch it. YouTube channels with good trailers are more likely to get subscribers and viewers than those without them (which means more money for you).

You also need to make sure that your trailer works – that is, it doesn’t look like something from the 90s or 2000s when computer graphics were much less advanced than they are today. 

The best way to do this is by using modern technology, such as advanced video-making tools like Offeo, which allow you to create scroll-stopping videos without spending too much money on expensive software or hardware devices needed for editing them. 

Written By
Ankita

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