Web Development: How to Make a YouTube Channel Intro Video in Premiere Pro (+Free Template)

How to Make a YouTube Channel Intro Video in Premiere Pro (+Free Template)

When a viewer, a potential subscriber, lands on your channel page, how can they get to know you? A channel introduction video.

On YouTube, your viewer has so many options lurking in the sidebar for related videos. Short attention spans mean that a YouTube intro has never been more important. You can create a YouTube channel introduction easily, with the help of a template for Premiere, and in this tutorial you'll learn how.

Essential Elements of a YouTube Channel Intro

A YouTube intro video is ideal to list on your channel page. You might use it to help a new viewer catch up on your channel's top content. Or, you could use it to make a splash by introducing yourself and what type of material they can expect to see.

No matter what type of channel you own, there are a few common elements of a successful intro:

Cut to the chase: a channel intro is a great way to educate new viewers about your channel, but you'll want to quickly show the intro and move onto the content
Promote your brand: match the tone and mood of your video and include assets like a logo to carry the brand
Sample the content: show the type of content they can expect, use the intro to talk about the content you'll produce and post

How to Make a YouTube Channel Introduction Video

You might be tempted to skip creating a YouTube channel intro altogether. Why should you create an intro when you should be producing new content? With the help of templates, you might be surprised how easy it can be. Let's dive in.

1. Choose a Template

Your favorite YouTubers don't create everything from scratch. They're busy running a channel, producing content, and growing their audience. Instead, they use pre-built assets.

In this tutorial, we'll going to work with the YouTube Channel Intro Opener template from Envato Elements (it's easy to update and customize for your channel), and we have a free alternative too.

This template is a MOGRT file, so you'll need After Effects installed (you won't need to use it).

This template includes a YouTube logo, so it's ideal for a brand that's extending its reach to YouTube. If you prefer a template with no YouTube-specific branding, check out more templates on Envato Elements.

Free Template Alternative: Animated Play Button Opener

If you want to make a channel opener without signing up for a service, check out Animated Play Button Opener, a simple but stylish free Premiere Pro YouTube channel intro template from Mixkit.

YouTube channel opener video motion graphics free template from Mixkit

2. Open The Template

After you choose a template, it's time to open it up. There are actually multiple versions: bright, colorful, and dark. It helps to match your YouTube channel intro to the overall tone of your video. In my case, I'm going to use the Bright Version as the starting point for an intro. Double-click to open it up in Premiere Pro.

Template versions — Many templates include multiple versions so that you can tailor your channel intro to the purpose.

3. Update the Text

Templates are just a starting point and are flexible to your channel's specifics. As you work with a Premiere template, you'll want to update the starter elements

Make sure that you have the Essential Graphics panel in view by opening the Window > Essential Graphics panel.

The usefulness of the Essential Graphics panel is that it makes it easy to update the template placeholders. As you play the preview, you'll notice built-in text. On the Essential Graphics template, just type over the placeholders to update the channel intro.

Update channel with new text — Use the Essential Graphics panel to update the text placeholders, easily.

All you have to do is update each of these placeholders with your specifics. You can also choose a new font from the dropdown easily.

Don't worry about animating text yourself. Instead, just use the placeholders and add the text that describes your channel.

4. Add Footage

Most YouTube channel intros feature an intro from the creator. That might mean filming a few seconds of footage that you can use to introduce the channel.

After you've added your logo, you can easily add footage to the end of the production. I like to use this template's built-in graphics and then add footage to intro the channel.

add footage to timeline — Use the **Media Browser** to find footage, then drag and drop it on the timeline.

To add footage, start by browsing for it on the Media Browser window. Then, drag and drop the clips onto the timeline.

5. Export the Finished Video

All of your hard work is finished and now it's time to export the complete video. Let's export it to get it ready for your channel.

Use the File > Export > Media menu to export your finished video file. I typically leave all of the options set to default for a high-quality video file. YouTube tends to apply its own encoding and conversion so it's better to stick to high quality. For more options, check out our guide to exporting from Premiere Pro.

It also helps to save the Premiere project that we created in this tutorial. Just in case you want to tweak it and update it later, you can return to this file and make adjustments.

That's it! Just upload it to your YouTube channel and set it as the landing screen video. it's the first thing they'll see when they land on your channel.

The Best Source for YouTube Intro Templates for Premiere Pro

You saw in this tutorial that templates are a favorite choice for pros. Starting with a pre-built design means that production is as easy as replacing the placeholders with your specifics.

A template is always an advantage over starting from scratch. With the help of the templates from Envato Elements, you can create professional designs on a budget. One single subscription unlocks everything you need.

Not only do you unlock video templates, but the same flat rate service gives you unlimited access to:

Audio: whether you use it as background music or a sound effect, the royalty-free tracks are the perfect backdrop to your YouTube channel intro
Stock footage: not every production includes the budget to film on location, use stock footage included with your subscription to produce videos
More Premiere templates: use Elements to source other assets like logo animations, lower thirds and so much more