How to make a promo video: the 30-second build, step by step
From offer to exported files: writing the one-claim script, structuring five beats, producing without a shoot, and cutting the variant set that promotion actually needs.
A promo video is a 15 to 45 second argument for one thing, a product, an offer, an event, and making one is a compressed version of every marketing video workflow: claim, structure, production, variants. The full anatomy lives in our launch video guide; this is the hands-on path from nothing to exported files.
Step 1: reduce the promotion to one claim
Write the single sentence a distracted viewer should retain: "the sale ends Friday," "the app does X in one tap." If two claims feel essential, make two promos; the format cannot carry both, and muted feeds mean the claim also has to work as on-screen text, set large.
Step 2: structure the five beats
Hook (the claim or its boldest visual, seconds 0 to 3), context (the problem or the occasion), the thing itself in motion, one proof point, and a dedicated CTA endcard. Sketch one line per beat; that is the whole storyboard for a 30-second piece.
Step 3: produce without waiting for a shoot
Most promos need no filming: product screens, photos, and designed type carry the argument, ecommerce promos run on pack shots and price lockups, event promos on date-and-speaker cards, app promos on UI in a device frame. Compose at the destination's aspect ratio, keep cuts every two to four seconds, and hold one type-and-color system throughout, the promo being precisely where brand sameness pays.
Step 4: cut the variant set
Promotion is placement plural: the 16:9 master, the 9:16 for stories and shorts, the 1:1 feed cut, and usually a second hook to test against the first. Build the master first, derive the rest, and budget as much time for variants as for the master, or use a workflow where derivation is automatic.
Step 5: ship, measure the first three seconds
The hook's retention is the only early number that matters; if viewers survive second three, the structure is working. Swap hooks, not middles.
The compressed truth: steps 2 through 4 are mechanical once step 1 is decided, which is why promos are a core generation use case, claim, assets, and brand kit in, the five-beat piece and its variant set out, re-derived in minutes when the offer changes. That engine is the waitlist below.