Don’t Kill Your Intro.

Your video intro is one of the most important parts of your travel vlog’s success, as I have written about before. When I say “intro” I am referring to the first 30-60 seconds of your video. Without a good intro, people are looking for a reason to click away, and if they do, this could significantly reduce your video retention. Without good retention, YouTube isn’t going to push your video even if you have the best thumbnail and title in the world. They want watch time.

So, if an intro matters so much, what should it include?

A good intro is made through good structure. Meaning, it needs to include a few key elements. Note that there are exceptions to the rule, but those who are successful despite rejecting this structure are typically excellent cinematographers or storytellers who have built a reputation over time and are using this structure much more subtly than you or I will be able to. If you don’t have either of those qualities, this structure below is the most efficient way to keep your audience watching.

Here are the elements of a good structure for an intro:

1. Immediate visual and/or verbal confirmation of the promise you made in your thumbnail and title;
2. Set up the goal/purpose of the episode;
3. Give any context needed to understand the story (but no more); and
4. Tell them why the story matters (to you, to them, to the universe).
5. Tell them the structure / signposting / foreshadowing

It is the last point that travel vloggers miss the most often.

Tell Me Why This Matters

Knowing why a video matters gives the audience context. It helps them understand how the content fits into a larger picture. The “larger picture” could be your overall channel goal/journey or could be even bigger and refer to the entire world / humanity! This helps the audience stay engaged with your story and understand how the larger story is progressing, even if this one video is just a fragment.

When viewers understand the importance of a video, they’re more likely watch it all the way through and engage with it meaningfully. And of course, that helps your video retention, but it also helps get your audience emotionally invested in the success of your journey.

This in turn also makes your channel more memorable. If you’re always progressing a story and reminding them why each video matters to the overarching story, that’s several reminders of what you’re up to and why they should return for more!

Often times, viewers are watching your story because they seek a similar lifestyle. So when you tell them why a video matters, this helps them understand why it is important and relevant to their own lives or interests.

How Do You Do It?

At this point, I assume you understand why this is important (because I told you why this matters :D), but how do you do it?

Your intro needs to tick off all these boxes, with 2-4 in any order you prefer, but #1 needs to happen immediately.

1. Immediate visual and/or verbal confirmation of the promise you made in your thumbnail and title;
2. Set up the goal of the episode;
3. Give any context needed to understand the story (but not more); and
4. Tell them why the story matters (to you, to them, to the universe).
5. Tell them the structure / signposting / foreshadowing

Example 1

So let’s walk through an example, using my Milford Sound video:

1. Immediate opening: Cinematic opening showing Milford Sound. Verbally, “Milford Sound, one of the most stunning places in the entire world”
2. Goal: “Would New Zealand’s gem and the 8th wonder of the world live up to its hype?…….We’re headed to Milford Sound!”
3. Why the story matters: “I have been wanting to go to Milford Sound for the entire 8 years since I moved to New Zealand from the USA…”​
4. Context: “…but it hasn’t been so simple. From Auckland, it’s either a 25 hour drive, or the alternative is 30-minute bus to Auckland airport, a $300 two-hour flight to Queenstown, and then a four-hour drive to Milford Sound. That’s 7 hours of travel, not something you can do just over a weekend. The other issue is that the Milford Sound Lodge is the only place to stay within 50 kilometers of Milford Sound and freedom camping at Milford Sound is strictly forbidden.”​
5. Foreshadow: Visually showed rewarding imagery to come right at the beginning.

There are numerous Milford Sound videos out there, a lot of them way more cinematic than mine. But the fact that I have been wanting to go to Milford Sound for so long tells you why this video matters so much and helps get you invested in seeing me succeed and also seeing my reaction when I succeed! This story’s “why” is very personal.

Example 2

Here’s another example using this brilliant video:

1. Immediate opening: Visually shows someone walking, which confirms the promise. Verbally, “Welcome to the straight line mission across New Zealand.”
2. Why the story matters: “Our attempt in adventure…”
3. Goal: “Where one must journey through challenging, and potentially perilous terrain whilst not deviating from a perfectly straight line.”
4. Context / Foreshadowing: “Along the way, we would encounter many tough and tiring obstacles, from thick bush to many fields, vast rivers, blackberry bushes, charging bulls, many formidable fences, and even the northern section of Tararua Mountain Range, the notorious spine of the North Island that every years is the undoing of numerous trampers due to its treacherous topography, and swiftly changing weather. Before we set off, how did we come up with this absurd idea? The truth is, we didn’t. British, YouTuber, Adventurer, and all-around spiffing chap Tom Davis, also known as Geo wizard, is the true pioneer of walking in straight lines with a total of 5 attempts at crossing various countries in a straight line. Visually showed challenges to come right at the beginning.
5. Why the story matters: “Inspired by him, we thought we may as well give it a crack.”

This story gives two reasons why this story matters. They first say it is because it is “Our attempt in adventure…” but then add on to this why again by saying they were inspired by someone else’s attempts. It’s almost saying, “If he can do it, why can’t we?”

That said, I felt this video failed to show me why this story matters to the overarching goal of the channel, which I don’t know at this point. While I really enjoyed this video, I have absolutely no reason to return to this channel unless I see another one-hit-wonder in my feed.

Example 3

Here is one final example, using this video, that is quite different from the first two and much more subtle.

1. Immediate opening: Cinematic opening showing a boat and a solo women wearing winter clothing. We can also hear wind in the background.
2. Why the story matters: “September 20, 2023. It was cold this morning. For the first time this winter, I felt cold when I woke up. Like my heating on board wasn’t enough.”
3. Context: “I need to isolate the boat better. It was snow on the mountains this morning for the first time this winter.
4. Goal: “Yesterday I arrived in the village where I’m supposed to overwinter.” Implied: “Get through winter”
5. Foreshadow: Title foreshadows challenges to come.

This story relies heavily on visuals to show us why the story matters. We quickly learn visually that there is a single woman living on a boat in cold conditions. Then verbally, she starts to describe what she is up against. Contrary to the second example I gave where two boys put themselves in a situation they didn’t have to be in, it’s very clear early on in this story that this woman is living on the boat and about to face hard conditions. It matters because it’s her real life!

Takeaway

As you can see, telling why a story matters is incredibly important. It doesn’t have to be heaps of detail, but you do need to make it clear early on why your viewers should keep watching. Are you already doing this? If not, can you see how you could have inserted this in past videos?

Now, I know that feeling that there is too much to remember, and I am giving you yet another thing to think about. If you every find that all of this is too much to remember and you’d like an extra set of eyes to look over your videos, this is one of the bonuses included in the Adventure Creator Course: unlimited video reviews! I’d love to help you move your YouTuber growth along faster, so sing out when you’re ready.