Intro vs No-Intro

xxheathermarie

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So even without intros YouTube explains that there will be an immediate drop rate the second the video starts, and thats normal.... But how much is normal?

What are your guys opinion on channel intros? Mine is 3 seconds long. (Feel free to check one of my recent videos if you want an idea of my current intro, but basically just my name with my social media on a floral background). Do you guys think intros are good or bad?

Also, do you prefer to see a bit of the video before the channel intro first like PointlessBlog, or just have your channel intro, then a video intro after?
 

Conso1727

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I agree, shorter is better. I suppose the pre-intro video is good at catching attention, just don't make it too obnoxious and it's a good way to go.
 

PureDangles

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Intros can be good, and bad. If you have a good clean short intro it should be no problem, and it helps explain your channel/channel brand.

I checked out your intro and its perfect. short, pretty, and clean. I wouldnt remove it at all. I had a 7 second intro, that i just faded away from because it was just highlights of hockey and then my name. It was too long and cheap and not good. Now i just dont have an intro and start off every video with a big "good morning everybody!!!" works a lot better. my drop percentage went from 42% after the first 8 seconds to 25% on videos i dont have an intro. I like your intro though and think you should keep it!
 

xxheathermarie

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Intros can be good, and bad. If you have a good clean short intro it should be no problem, and it helps explain your channel/channel brand.

I checked out your intro and its perfect. short, pretty, and clean. I wouldnt remove it at all. I had a 7 second intro, that i just faded away from because it was just highlights of hockey and then my name. It was too long and cheap and not good. Now i just dont have an intro and start off every video with a big "good morning everybody!!!" works a lot better. my drop percentage went from 42% after the first 8 seconds to 25% on videos i dont have an intro. I like your intro though and think you should keep it!
Thank you! Me too, I started with an intro that was 10 seconds I believe. But back then the channel was for me and not views or anything. So personally I loved it and still do. But now that I've switched my channel into more of a real channel, and not just a video diary, I had to get rid of that super long intro...

So would you say 25% is an okay drop rate? Majority of mine are in the high 20% range it seems :l (Could honestly be me checking to see how many likes the video got on my iPhone lol)
 

GucciCarry

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If you do an intro... it better be 3 to 5 seconds long. I don't do intros. Reason being people will be seeing the exact same thing every video. I just do not see a point.
 

PureDangles

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Thank you! Me too, I started with an intro that was 10 seconds I believe. But back then the channel was for me and not views or anything. So personally I loved it and still do. But now that I've switched my channel into more of a real channel, and not just a video diary, I had to get rid of that super long intro...

So would you say 25% is an okay drop rate? Majority of mine are in the high 20% range it seems :l (Could honestly be me checking to see how many likes the video got on my iPhone lol)
I think 25% is a decent drop rate. i was happy when i saw my most recent video had a 25% drop rate and an overall retention of over 64%. But your intro right now is short enough that no one is going to click off of it before your video starts. And you checking the likes on your phone will effect that. If i ever do that i just force myself to watch the whole thing. Also download the youtube studios app to your phone and you can see the likes without watching the video.
 
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xxheathermarie

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I think 25% is a decent drop rate. i was happy when i saw my most recent video had a 25% drop rate and an overall retention of over 64%. But your intro right now is short enough that no one is going to click off of it before your video starts. And you checking the likes on your phone will effect that. If i ever do that i just force myself to watch the whole thing. Also download the youtube studios app to your phone and you can see the likes without watching the video.
Hahaha I know! I'm bad. I have the app, but bad habits die hard. Thanks for the advice :)
 

Spectre677

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I had an 8 second intro 2 actually 1 I used for about 9 videos the other for about 40 videos I now no longer have one I think it is much better to just put people straight into the video I introduce myself any way but then they are right into it and my average view time has gone up massively and getting rid of my intro is the only thing I can tie it to.
 
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xxheathermarie

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I had an 8 second intro 2 actually 1 I used for about 9 videos the other for about 40 videos I now no longer have one I think it is much better to just put people straight into the video I introduce myself any way but then they are right into it and my average view time has gone up massively and getting rid of my intro is the only thing I can tie it to.
Yeah 8 seconds is long. How do you feel about 3 second intros?
 

Spectre677

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With intro same as outro really I think shorter = better but I have checked out some other YouTubers and some of those don't use intro's either so I decided what would I like if I was going to watch a playlist of say 10 videos and every one had the same intro it would get kinda irritating after a few videos even if it's a good intro it would be like I have seen this how many times so I took that into account and removed my intro's but that doesn't mean they don't work for some people this is just my opinion.

If you really want one I would say 4 seconds or less is the sweet spot more than that and you may see a lot of people clicking the video and clicking off either as the intro ends or before and your average view time gets murdered badly my average view time is now several minutes higher just by removing my intro.