YouTube intro script
script template

Most of the audience you lose, you lose in the first fifteen seconds, and almost always for the same reason: the video started with the channel instead of with the viewer. These three openers all do the same job in different registers. Pick the one that sounds like you, replace the brackets, and read it looking down the lens.

122 words as written 20 places to fill in 3 versions

Opens the free teleprompter with the script already loaded. Nothing is uploaded, and your camera never leaves your device.

THE DIRECT OPENER, ABOUT FIFTEEN SECONDS

[THE EXACT PROBLEM, IN THE VIEWER'S WORDS].In this video I am going to show you [THE OUTCOME], using [THE METHOD], and it takes about [TIME].I have [THE ONE LINE OF WHY YOU]. So let us get into it.First, [STEP ONE].

THE STORY OPENER, ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE SECONDS

[NUMBER] [DAYS / MONTHS] ago I [THE SITUATION YOU WERE IN].[WHAT WENT WRONG, ONE SENTENCE].So I [WHAT YOU DID INSTEAD], and [THE RESULT, WITH A NUMBER].In this video I am going to break down exactly how, so you can [THE VIEWER'S VERSION OF THAT RESULT] without [THE PART THAT COST YOU].I am [YOUR NAME], and [ONE LINE OF CREDIBILITY].Here is the first thing that changed.

THE CONTRARIAN OPENER, ABOUT TWENTY SECONDS

Everyone tells you [THE COMMON ADVICE].I did that for [HOW LONG] and it [WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED].Here is what worked instead, and why the usual advice is wrong for [WHO IT IS WRONG FOR].Three things. The third one is the one nobody talks about.Number one.

Why it is built this way

Land the promise before anything else

The viewer clicked on a thumbnail with a question in their head. Answer that you are about to answer it, in the first sentence, before your name, before the channel, before anything.

Prove you can deliver it

One line of why you specifically. Not a CV, one line. This is what separates a video people watch from a video people close.

Say what is coming, in order

Signposting reduces drop-off because it converts uncertainty into a countdown. People stay for something they can see the shape of.

Introduce yourself late or not at all

Your name is not a hook. Move it after the promise, where it reads as credibility rather than as throat-clearing.

No subscribe ask in the intro

You have not earned it yet. Asking at second ten costs you watch time at the exact point the algorithm is watching hardest.

Delivering it

·Put the teleprompter directly under or beside the lens, as close as you can get it. The further your eyes travel from the lens, the more obviously you are reading.
·Set the scroll slightly slower than your natural pace. Reading slightly slower than normal sounds like emphasis on camera. Reading slightly faster sounds like panic.
·Write in the way you actually speak. If a line has a semicolon in it, you will not be able to say it.
·One sentence per line in the script. The scroll then breaks where your breath breaks.
·Record the intro last, after you have made the rest of the video. You will know what you actually promised.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a YouTube intro be?

Fifteen seconds or less for most videos. The purpose is to confirm the click, not to introduce the channel. Long branded intros with music are the single most common cause of early drop-off.

Should I say my name at the start?

After the promise, not before it. Nobody clicked because of your name. Once you have told them what they are about to get, one line of who you are reads as credibility instead of delay.

Does using a teleprompter look obvious?

Only when it sits too far from the lens or scrolls too fast. Keep it close to the lens, slow the scroll, and glance away deliberately once or twice. That last part is what reads as natural.

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