What should a YouTube intro say?
A YouTube intro should tell viewers what they will get from the video, give one reason to keep watching, and then get out of the way. That is the whole job. Logos, long greetings and “before we start, smash that like button” all cost viewers in the first seconds, which is when most people decide to stay or leave.
The scripts below use three simple patterns: the promise (“by the end you’ll know…”), the surprise (a fact or claim that creates a question), and the proof (show the result first, then explain). Each sits between 10 and 50 words, which is roughly 5 to 20 seconds of speech.
How long should a YouTube intro be?
| Intro type | Target length | Word count (about 150 wpm) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold-open hook | 3–6 seconds | 8–15 words | Shorts, list videos, reactions |
| Promise intro | 8–15 seconds | 20–38 words | Tutorials, how-to, reviews |
| Story intro | 15–25 seconds | 38–60 words | Documentary, true crime, history |
| Channel intro (first video) | 20–30 seconds | 50–75 words | Channel trailers, “about” videos |
If your intro is over 20 seconds, ask whether any sentence could move later in the video.
Tutorial and how-to intro scripts
- 1. The promise
By the end of this video, your sourdough will have that big open crumb you see on Instagram, and you won’t need a Dutch oven to get it.
- 2. The mistake
If your Excel sheets break every time someone adds a row, you’re making one small mistake. I’ll show you the fix in under three minutes.
- 3. The result first
This kitchen backsplash cost two hundred and ten dollars and one Saturday. Here’s exactly how I did it, including the part I got wrong the first time.
- 4. The quick win
Three settings. That’s all it takes to make your iPhone battery last noticeably longer. Number two is buried four menus deep, so let’s find it together.
Faceless channel and list video intros
These suit a narrator voice over stock footage or slides.
- 5. Countdown hook
These are the ten cheapest places to live in America where you’d actually want to live. Number one has beaches, good schools and houses under two hundred thousand dollars.
- 6. The question
Why do airlines still make you put your window shade up for landing? The real reason has nothing to do with the view.
- 7. The comparison
A Roth IRA or a 401k: if you could only pick one this year, which one wins? Let’s run the numbers for someone earning sixty thousand a year.
- 8. The history hook
In nineteen fifty-eight, a thirteen-year-old boy in Ohio found a coin in his lunch money that turned out to be worth more than his parents’ house. This is how it got there.
Review and tech intro scripts
- 9. The verdict tease
I’ve used this robot vacuum every day for six weeks. It’s great at one thing and surprisingly bad at another. Here’s my honest take before you spend the money.
- 10. The head-to-head
Two budget webcams, both under fifty dollars. One looks like a real camera; the other looks like a potato. Let’s find out which is which.
- 11. Who it’s for
If you edit video on a laptop and you’re tired of waiting on exports, this review is for you. If you just browse and stream, save your money; I’ll explain why.
Gaming, vlog and lifestyle intros
- 12. Gaming challenge
Today I’m trying to beat the whole game without picking up a single weapon. Chat said it was impossible. Chat might be right.
- 13. Travel vlog
We had forty-eight hours in New Orleans and a budget of three hundred dollars. Here’s everything we ate, everywhere we stayed, and the one tour that was worth every cent.
- 14. Fitness
No gym, no equipment, twenty minutes. Follow along with this full-body workout and you’ll feel it tomorrow. Grab some water, and let’s warm up.
- 15. Cooking
This is the weeknight chicken dinner my family asks for every single week. One pan, six ingredients, and it’s on the table in thirty minutes.
Story, true crime and documentary intros
- 16. True crime cold open
At eleven forty p.m., a security camera in a quiet Minnesota suburb recorded a car pulling into a driveway. The house had been empty for three years. Nobody ever saw the driver get out.
- 17. Mystery hook
There is a lighthouse on the coast of Maine that has been dark since nineteen eighty-six. Every few years, someone reports seeing it lit. This is what we found when we went to look.
- 18. Channel trailer
Hi, and welcome to [Small Space Living]. Every week, I show you how to make a tiny apartment feel bigger, calmer and easier to clean, on a renter’s budget. No drilling holes, no losing your deposit. If that sounds useful, subscribe, and I’ll see you on Thursday.
Which AI voice works best for a YouTube intro?
| Niche | Voice style | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Tutorials and tech | Clear, friendly American male or female voice | Normal |
| Finance and education | Calm, confident mid-range voice | Normal to slightly slower |
| Lists and facts | Energetic narrator | Slightly faster |
| True crime and history | Deep, measured narrator or documentary style | Slightly slower |
| Gaming | Casual, upbeat voice or a character voice | Fast |
| Kids and family | Warm, bright storyteller voice | Slightly slower |
Use the same voice in every video. Viewers start to recognize a faceless channel by its voice.
How do I make a YouTube intro voiceover on Speechma?
- Choose and edit a scriptPick an intro above and swap in your topic. Read it aloud once and cut any word you don’t need.
- Paste it into the generatorUse the text box at the top of this page. Filter voices by language or accent and preview a few.
- Shape the deliveryPut a period where you want a dramatic beat and an exclamation mark where you want energy. Raise the speed slightly for hooks.
- Generate the MP3Enter the 5-digit code, listen back, and regenerate with a different voice if it isn’t right.
- Line it up in your editorDrop the MP3 into CapCut, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or iMovie and start your first shot on the first word. No logo sting before it.
Running a channel that uploads every week?
Full video scripts often run past 2,000 characters. Split them into sections, or use SpeechmaPRO.com for 10,000 characters per conversion with no ads or captcha. Building a faceless channel from scratch? Start with our step-by-step guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is it OK to use an AI voice for YouTube intros?
Can I monetize videos with a Speechma voiceover?
How long should my YouTube intro be?
Should I say my channel name in the intro?
Can I use the same intro on every video?
Do these scripts work for YouTube Shorts?
Make better voiceovers, faster
- New voices and features the day they launch
- Script templates and tricks that make AI voices sound human
- Creator stories, community picks and early access
