Make Your Own YouTube Opening & Closing Graphics

How to Create YouTube Intros & End Cards - Free and Easy

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

Part 1: Intros

Elements of an Intro

Top Intro Sites

Creating an Intro in Filmora

Part 2: End Cards

Elements of an End Card

How To Make an End Card

Part1: Intros

Elements of an Intro

Intros should only last about five seconds, and that can be cut down to two or three if you have a larger following.

When your intro video is longer than five seconds viewers are more likely to click away. The first 15 seconds of a video is when viewers are most likely to decide to click on one of the recommended videos, or go back to their search results and choose something else. The odds of them leaving within these first 15 seconds are greater if you do not get right to the main point of your video. That is why long intro sequences are bad for your watch time.

Whether it is better to put your intro at the very beginning of your video, or after you introduce your topic, will depend on your viewers. You may want to try it both ways and then look at your retention report (found in your YouTube Creator Studio under Analytics) to see which works best for you.

Top Intro Sites

There are a few different sites where you can download animated intros, customized to include your username or logo. Here are two of the best:

FlixPress.com

This is probably the most popular intro site. There are a lot of great animated intros available for under $5, or even for free.

IntroMaker.net

This is another site with really professional looking intros for $5. They only have two free options, though.

Creating an Intro in Filmora

You can create a simple intro card in Filmora.

Choose your background. You may want to use a short clip as your intro, or you may just want a colored background.
Drag your clip or background into the video track of your timeline and trim it down to five seconds.
If you have a logo, import it into Filmora and drag it into your picture-in-picture track.
With your logo selected, click on the Green Screen icon. In the pop-up, select the background of your logo to make it transparent. For this to work your logo cannot be the same color as its background.
Click on the editing icon with your logo selected and choose an animation.
Go to the Text/Titles menu and choose an animated title that suits your channel. Drag it into your text track and edit it to include your name.
The last piece of your intro is sound. You can choose a song from Filmora’s library and cut it down to five seconds, or import your sound effect.
Export your video and save it for use in all of your other videos.

Part 2: End Cards

When your video ends, YouTube will recommend a selection of videos users may want to watch next. Often, these recommendations will not include more of your videos.

To keep viewers on your channel, you can create your End Card which recommends other content you have created.

Elements of an End Card

An end card includes clips from two or three of your videos, muted, and shrunk down to thumbnail-size. Using spotlight annotations you can make these thumbnails click-able.

It is also important that your end card includes multiple calls to action. A call to action is meant to spur a viewer to some kind of action. Writing ‘Check out this video’ above one of your thumbnails is a call to action.

You should also have a subscribe link somewhere in your end card, ideally a very noticeable button with a proven call to action like ‘Subscribe Now!’.

Some creators will leave their end cards at that and play music overtop, but it can be even more effective to include a voiceover where you ask viewers to subscribe and watch your other videos.

How To Make an End Card

Choose a static background. You may want to download an end card template or create one in a drawing program. If you do, make sure to include calls to action like ‘Watch more!’ and ‘Subscribe’.
Drag your background into your timeline at the end of your video.
Import two or three of your previous videos and drag them into your picture in picture tracks. Each clip should be on its track.
Trim the clips in your picture in picture track down to the same length as your end card.
Shrink your clips down to thumbnail-size by dragging their corners in the preview window.
Position your clips so they are spaced evenly by dragging them in the preview screen.
Mute your clips.
If your background does not include any calls to action, choose a title from the Text/Titles menu in Filmora and create at least two – one asking viewers to subscribe, and one asking them to watch your suggested videos.
Export your video from Filmora and upload it to YouTube.
Go to your Video Manager and select Annotations in the drop-down menu next to your video.
Go to your end card in the previewer, as that is where you want to add your annotations.
Click Add Annotation and add a spotlight annotation to your video. Stretch it over one of your thumbnails and then check the Link box under your Annotation’s timing. Insert a link to the video you are previewing.
Repeat for any other thumbnails. For your subscribe button, change where it said ‘Video’ to ‘Subscribe’ and enter your channel URL.
Click Apply Changes.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

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Create High-Quality Video - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful YouTube video editor

Numerous video and audio effects to choose from

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Technological advances are offering numerous platforms opportunities to gain recognition. Both the young and the old throng on the internet for all sorts of information. Be it educational, promotional, research, entertainment, among many others. In fact, the recent hit by the COVID-19 pandemic saw learning institutions find help via internet learning. Therefore, more awareness surrounds the media platform, including websites and streaming services. YouTube is available for both learning and promotional events. The platform is easy to use and widely accessible by millions of viewers and promoters. But there is one driving force for promotors – to hit YouTube 1000 subscribers. Attaining this number comes with endless benefits, as this article explains.

Why 1000 subscribers?

Subscribers hold a special place for your YouTube channel. They make it grow and spend more time watching than viewers who are not subscribed. You need 1,000 subscribers to monetize your channel. You’ll start earning as a creator and even apply for YouTube’s Partner Program. You can finally make money through ads, channel memberships, and subscriptions.

Here’s the kicker! As the channel owner, you’ll have more connections, and that means many viewers on the line. Of course, those who love what you do will tell their friends, and the channel goes on for more prospective subscribers and viewers. Nonetheless, you’ll get enormous people to engage in a conversation with. The fun will only go on if more viewers are on board. Remember, you want to garner as many peoples’ opinions as possible. So, the best platform for this is your channel. Eventually, you’ll sell your brand and continue to grow in your market niche.

What will you get when you reach your 1000 subscribers’ milestone?

Every creator is relieved when they reach the 1k subscribers’ milestone. Expect lots of goodies in store for you.

1) You become part of the Opal club

It is good to feel honored as part of the Opal Club. This is a club reserved for creators whose channels have hit the 1,000 to 9,999 subscribers’ mark. And from the Opal Club, you get in-depth information on how to grow your community. Interacting with your viewers is a great avenue to escalate your channel.

It is also a quick way to get discovered. The Club will enlighten you on how to use metadata and collaborate to get more views.

2) Easily apply for YouTube Partner Program

1,000 subscribers is a ticket for you to apply for YouTube Partner Program. However, you also need to get at least 4,000 hours of views from your subscribers. But being that you have reached the 1k mark, you can take other steps to gain the 4,000 hours of views. These could be keeping up with publishing your videos, linking your Google AdSense account, and many more.

3) Some congratulation email is good enough

It feels good to get a pat on the back for a job well done! You’ll get a congratulatory email for your efforts. That would be a great motivation for you to even aim higher the mark. Likewise, your ranking will start escalating as compared to a content creator who hasn’t reached the 1,000-subscriber level.

How to get 1000 subscribers for your YouTube channel?

Now that you’ve seen what comes with 1K subscribers, our focus is to find ways to get to that number.

1) Consider your audience first, not revenue

Remember, it’s the audience that will help you generate revenue. So, if you are a new creator, think of what you can give to your audience instead of what you are getting. What is of value to your audience is more important as they’ll hang around your channel for passion. You can take advantage and tune your ideas to what most viewers like to get.

2) Put in resources to encourage subscriber sign-ups

Focus on getting traffic to your channel. There are several ways to encourage your viewers to subscribe, such as the use of animations on videos. It will not only attract their attention, but you’ll realize many viewers coming over. Several resources are available over the net. Just find what suits you best, or use several options to see which gig fetches the most clicks.

3) Properly advertise your videos

The best way to get more users to subscribe to your channel is to engage them. Make the videos enticing such that when a user views one video, they end up clicking and viewing the next 5 or 10 of your other videos. Let it be enticing and corresponds to the topic of the moment.

4) Add a good channel description

A viewer should know what your channel is all about just by a glance. And the best part to put emphasis on is the channel description. Let them know what you are offering and how it will be of benefit. More so, make it simple to understand so that they don’t waste time trying to figure out what your channel is about.

5) Focus on YouTube content that works

Put double efforts into the content that works for you. Check out which videos perform better than others and add value to them. Sorting them by “most popular video” will help you organize your lines and perform much better while focusing on valuable stuff.

6) A call to action is good enough

Most creators forget this important part. After an introduction and putting up memorable videos, ensure you remind your viewers to subscribe to your channel. You can add a subscribe button to the end of the screen. It is even better to use graphics and animations to attract them to the action.

7) Use a pinned comment

Most viewers want to get answers to their questions or run to the comment section for more opinions. One tactic to gain more subscribers is to write a comment and pin it to your videos. Your pinned comment will appear at the top of the comment list, whereby everyone who has watched the video can’t miss coming across it. It is good, to be honest, and asking for them to subscribe is the best you can do after an engaging video shot.

8) Add value to other channels

Don’t be selfish and want users to subscribe to your channel for nothing. Try to engage also in other people’s works and efforts. You can watch content that appeals to you and engage the community by creating a conversation. Find out what others like, and you might just attract a new subscriber to your channel so simply.

9) Let your homepage be intuitive

Your homepage should be welcoming to both the tech gurus and beginners. Not all YouTube users have mastered the art of navigation on web pages or clicks. It is a good idea to use a channel trailer and a better description of what your channel does and how to reach important buttons. The homepage should not be crowded. You can use links to reach other pages as well.

10) Be innovative

Your video is your voice. You should create a video that attracts your audience by doing it right. Perhaps you don’t know how to come up with a compelling piece. You can engage the best video creator to walk you through the line.

Bonus Tips: Recommended Video Editor – Filmora

Filmora Video Editor comes enriched with stunning video editing effects to help you create amazing videos. The user interface is intuitive, enabling both professional editors and beginners to navigate swiftly. You can use animated elements, filters, overlays, and other editing features to transform your video into any good piece you want. You can easily facilitate communication with the community via its selection of titles.

The process of creating a compelling video is painless, with only 3 steps process. Easily drag and drop moving graphics to the video interface and make your video well organized.

Key Features of Wondershare Filmora

Easily remove unwanted background noise
Use the Picture-in-Picture to layer multiple video clips
Export your videos at a high resolution of up to 4K
Use zooming movements to still footage
Make use of more than 800 stunning effects for advanced creativity
Make use of more than 800 stunning effects for advanced creativity

Conclusion

● Getting to YouTube 1000 subscribers needs some tactics. You have the highlight from this article and probably just getting ready to attain your first 1k subscribers. The beauty is that it comes with its benefits. Once you hit the mark, you’ll start to monetize and get other favors that you couldn’t get while you were below the mark. Nonetheless, ensure you focus on important aspects like engaging your viewers via quality videos. Are you still wondering how to attain that? The best video creator – Filmora – just got you covered. It will make it easy for you to compose videos that sell your brands simply and professionally.

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