End a short video with one clear call to action

Ask for one thing. The last seconds of a short video are the moment a viewer decides what to do next, and one clear request is easy to follow. Follow for part two. Watch the next video. Visit the link in the post. Write the request as a short phrase before you open the editor, then build the ending around it in DepCut.

Build the end card

1. Move the playhead to the last few seconds of the video and press T.
2. In the right panel, open the Text tab and type the request over "Your text".
3. Open Size and make the words large enough to read on a phone.
4. Open Backdrop if the footage behind the words is busy, or Bubble to put them in a balloon.
5. Open Words, click the verb, and give it a color or a Box.
6. Open Animate, choose In, and pick Pop or Typewriter.

A new title runs for three seconds, which suits a short request. Drag the title in the preview to place it in the middle of the frame, clear of the areas where a platform draws its buttons. Once you have an export, Preview as a post shows a mock-up of those areas for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Point at it

An arrow draws the eye to a line. Open the Elements tab and drag an Arrow onto the timeline over the end card. Rotate it to aim at the words, and set its color to match the key word. In its Animation section, a Pulse loop adds gentle movement. Keep to one moving thing at a time so the request stays the focus.

Finish the picture and the audio

Open the Details tab. Under Video, Fade in and Fade out set a whole-video fade. Fade out brings the picture, titles, captions and sound down together at the end of the cut. Its slider goes up to two seconds, and the far left turns it off.

For the music alone, select the music clip on the soundtrack and open Fade out in the right panel. A short sound such as Ding or Pop from the Sound FX tab can mark the moment the request appears.

Say it in the caption, too

In the Details tab, write the same request in Caption. Put the hook in the first line and the request near the end. Add a few Tags, then use Copy caption + tags when you publish. The caption and the end card then ask for the same thing.

Check how it loops

Preview as a post plays the export on a loop, so you can watch the last frame hand back to the first. If the ending fades to black, the loop restarts with a cut. Decide whether that suits the video. Move the Fade out slider in Details to the far left when you want the loop to feel continuous, and keep a fade when you want the ending to feel final. Either way, check that the last line of text stays up long enough to read in full before the picture changes.

Give it a go

Open DepCut, add an end card to a video you have already finished, and export it.