Thumbnails, along with video titles, determine if potential viewers will click on your video. Therefore, it is crucial that you create engaging thumbnails that communicate what your video is about.
A YouTube thumbnail is a small clickable static image with interesting visual elements. A good thumbnail should be branded, original, and easy to read and interpret. With over 1.9 billion monthly YouTube users [1], you need an eye-catching YouTube thumbnail that can get more people to watch your videos. Here’s how you can get more people to watch your videos.
Thumbnail Size
Before you create your thumbnail, you should know the ideal thumbnail size and dimension. YouTube recommends that the thumbnail size should be 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. Your image should have a minimum width of 640 pixels, and an aspect ratio of 16:9. Any size or dimension smaller than this may not look good on most video players.
This is because your video thumbnail will be used as a preview image when embedded. It also has to be big enough to look good when displayed on video players on websites. In addition, you should keep the file at 2Mb maximum. You want a top-quality image you can scale down instead of scaling up.
Use A Great Photo
This is the most obvious, but important part of your thumbnail. A great photo attracts the attention of your viewer. You should use a high-quality still image from your video that acts as a teaser. Consider using a close-up shot of a face, preferably one where you’re making “eye contact” with the viewer.
This draws the attention of the viewers and makes them feel connected. Once viewers feel connected, they will watch the video. Viewers are also intrigued by strong emotion. A thumbnail image that shows any emotion, anger, yelling or laughing captures viewers’ attention more than an image of someone staring blankly into space.
Example of a thumbnail with eye contact and emotion
Create A Custom Image
If you don’t intend to use human faces on your thumbnail, you should not bother about capturing an emotional image for your thumbnail. Instead, you should use a custom graphic that sums up all the benefits of your video. This type of thumbnail image should carry your brand’s logo or name. for example, if you intend to inform your viewers, your thumbnail should look like this.
Examples of custom image
Include Title Text
Adding a title text in your YouTube thumbnail like the image above holds many benefits. The biggest one being, it gives your viewers more context about the video. If you use just a simple image without adding text, it doesn’t show that your video is solving your viewers’ pressing needs. You should offer a solution to your viewers through a compelling title.
When creating a series, add numbers to the title text on the thumbnail. This will help your viewers keep track of the series, and it prompts them to look for more of your video content. Examples of title texts are “NFT in a Nutshell: How to sell your NFT art” or “Everything you should know about Defi coins – part 1.”
The font size you use on the thumbnail is important. It helps your viewers get familiar with your brand and your video. You should be consistent and use the same style fonts, design, and colors. The font personality should express your business’s visual branding. It should be a clean, nice headline font like gothic font, Impacts, sans serif, for example.
Make it bold or add heavyweight to make the title stand out. You should avoid using fonts with thin and thick variations, script fonts, or outlines. These fonts make it hard for your viewers to read your title.
Impact font
Be Honest, Avoid Misleading Titles and Images
It is easy to get carried away when creating your YouTube video thumbnail. Since your video will be competing with thousands of other videos, you should be accurate in your thumbnails. Avoid using clickbait images or titles that could hurt your brand. You should keep your creativity in check and only provide a thumbnail image that benefits you, not harm you.
Use Professional YouTube Thumbnail Makers
According to YouTube, 90% of the best performing videos on YouTube use Custom thumbnails [2]. And these custom thumbnails are made from easy and professional thumbnail makers like:
- Canva
- Snappa
- PicMonkey
- Insta Collage
- Pixlr
- Adobe
- And lots more.
Advanced Strategies and Tips
You should plan how your thumbnail will look before you film your video. This helps you to plan towards capturing the perfect moment. You can also do a thumbnail shoot during/after the video session. With experience, you’ll come to notice the best thumbnail moments mid-shoot.
You can combine an image from your video with a custom graphic. This will create a more compelling YouTube thumbnail when done right.
Keep testing different thumbnails and track results. If your video’s click-through rate increases, then you have found the right thumbnail.
Finally, you should check how your thumbnail looks on your phone before publishing. This way, you can know if your thumbnail is the right size for mobile view.
References
[1] Statista. Number-of-internet-users-worldwide
[2] Creatoracademy. YouTube. Thumbnails
If you are looking for a way to make money on YouTube, now is the time. As an ad-supported video streaming platform, YouTube will always have new viewers coming onto it every day and there’s no stopping that. This means that your videos will always be available to them – both now and years from now! That might not be true of other platforms like Facebook or Instagram which could dry up with newer users over time when they change their algorithm. However, in order to really succeed on this competitive site (which has more than 1 billion active monthly users), you need to choose your niche wisely and show some creativity in how you get people interested in what you’re offering so they’ll click through those ads at the end of each
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