How to make a product launch teaser video
A teaser is the short video you post before launch day so that, when the launch arrives, some people are already waiting for it. It's a different job from the launch video itself, and the most common mistake is making it so mysterious that nobody knows what they're waiting for.
Show the outcome, hold back the details
Pure mystery teasers, a black screen and a date, work for brands people already follow. For a new product, viewers need to know what kind of thing is coming, or the teaser is just noise. Show the result your product creates and one glimpse of it working, and keep the full workflow, pricing and feature list for launch day.
How long
Six to fifteen seconds. Teasers live in feeds, where short wins: Wistia found videos under a minute average a 52% engagement rate (Wistia), and LinkedIn recommends 15 to 30 seconds for video ads (LinkedIn Help). A teaser should sit at the short end of that.
A 15-second structure
| Time | On screen |
|---|---|
| 0 to 3s | The problem or the outcome, in a few words, over a strong visual |
| 3 to 10s | Two or three quick glimpses of the product, without explaining every step |
| 10 to 15s | The name, the date, and where to follow or sign up |
When to post
- About a week before: the first teaser, with a waitlist or a "follow for launch day" call to action.
- The day before: a second cut with the exact date and where you'll launch.
- Launch day: the full launch video, which the teaser should visibly belong to.
Make the teaser and the launch video a set
The teaser works best when the launch video looks like its continuation: same colours, same type, same music. The easiest way to get that is to make the launch video first and cut the teaser from it, rather than the other way around. If you're launching on Product Hunt, remember the launch video itself goes into the gallery as a YouTube link (Product Hunt Help Center).
Making both
With Teasr, make the 30-second launch video from your website, then ask for a 15-second version from the same design for the teaser. The first starts at €19.50 for 15 seconds, and each takes about 10 minutes. You can see the style in the gallery, and there are more formats in product video ideas for a launch.