Making an Intro Video that Converts
In marketing, video is one of the highest ways to convert viewers into buyers, and including video in a landing page can increase conversion by up to 80%. The same is true for your intro video on Patreon. If you want people who land on your page to become your patrons, your intro video is the best way to convince them to join. This is especially true if your creative work is video or visually based. Your fans already like your format, so make sure to connect with them in that same way here.
Looking for inspiration? Our friends at Blimey Cow share exactly how to make a stand-out Patreon intro video in this short below!
Tips for a kick-ass intro video:
Introduce yourself
A lot of people will already know about you when they land on your page, but for those who don’t, you’ll want to give a quick refresh on who you are, what you create and why you started a Patreon page.
Mention what Patreon is and how it works
Patreon is a new idea to a lot of people, so make sure to walk them through how it works (see this post if you need help). If you opted for a Per Creation payment cycle, talk about what type of content you want and plan to create, and how their membership empowers you to do that. Because your release schedule could change in the future, it’s best to keep things high-level in this video and not commit to specific numbers of posts or dates.
Communicate your vision
What will your patron community enable you to do? What sort of world are you working towards? What is the meaning of life? As a creator, you have a unique advantage of sharing a world vision with your fans in a creative way. Tell them how their commitment to you and your creative business will help shape a world that’s brighter, funnier, smarter, more informed, more empathetic, livelier, or more colorful. Get them bought into your dream and they’ll more easily become your patron. Remember, patrons are motivated to support you in your mission AND motivated by what benefits they’ll receive in exchange for their money. So…
Give a sneak peek into your tiers and benefits
This is your big chance to really sell what you are offering on Patreon! Let potential patrons know what they get out of joining your community and what sort of exclusive content they may get access to once they become your patron. Keep it vague enough to give yourself room to change up your tiers and benefits in the future, but specific enough to get fans excited about signing up.
Keep it short and sweet
Trust the data: 5% of viewers will stop watching a video after one minute and 60% of viewers stop after two minutes. You really only have 1-2 minutes to hold potential patrons’ attention, so keep it short and get to the point quickly. A great way to do this is by writing a script beforehand and sticking to it.
Launch it, then wait
Then consider redoing it! Friendly reminder that it’s okay to come back to your intro video 6, 12, 24 months after you first did it, and do it again. Just as your journey as a creator evolves, your relationship with your audience may also change over time. Know that the first intro video you launch with may not be your last. Good enough is often good enough for now, and you can always reshoot and upload a new video down the line.
Note: Currently on Patreon, the only way to upload an intro video to your creator page is by first hosting it on a site such as Vimeo or Youtube. After you create your intro video, upload it to one of those sites, and then plug the URL into the “Intro Video” section, which is under the “About” tab in your Patreon page editor.
Pro Tip: Want to learn how to add a “become my patron” end card to your intro video? Check out this sweet tutorial using Adobe Premiere from Video Creators.tv!