In the constantly evolving digital world today, hundreds and thousands of creators are competing for attention from their target audience. However, the interests of the audience constantly evolve as time passes which must be taken into account by creators today.
‘VIEWS’, the five-letter word that every content creator thinks about at least once a day. Producing a video with the best lighting, angles, music, transitions and sequence is important but what is equally crucial is creating a thumbnail for the video that is click-worthy! Since the YouTube audience is constantly growing, the battle of thumbnails being “click-worthy or not” is only increasing between creators.
Read more for tips on how to create eye-catching thumbnails for your channel!
- Although YouTube provides one of three default thumbnails which are usually still images from your video, it is a better option to opt for other available thumbnail makers.Canva, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Spark, Snappa, PicMonkey, Crello, PicMaker and PlaceIt are a few trusted thumbnail makers!
- After uploading and processing your videos on YouTube Studio, there will be a selection of auto-generated thumbnails that you can choose. It does not have the feature to edit thumbnails but allows you to upload a custom thumbnail which requires a verification of your account.
- Always create a thumbnail that is associated with the video concept. The thumbnail has to be related to the happenings in the video or it completely cancels the purpose.
- Choosing photos with good quality is an obvious realization. Blurry photos with less clarity do not look appealing to the viewers and do not motivate them to click on it.
- Along with great quality, it is best if you edit your potential thumbnail photo with color correction and use a moderate level of saturation. It determines the mood you want to set with your YouTube channel.
- This step is not completely necessary but adding a short text on your thumbnail that provides a basic brief of the video can prove to be attention-grabbing to a certain section of audience. However, make sure not to overdo it with long sentences and other icons/emojis. Using only 4 to 5 words makes it look clean instead of cluttered.
- Make sure your thumbnail images fall under the right size! YouTube provides a standard size for thumbnails which is 1280×720 pixels. Always keep the ratio 16:9.
- Creating thumbnails for your channel is a great way to showcase your branding and style so take advantage of it! If you’re a minimalist, outgoing vlogger, travel fanatic, gamer, beauty guru or a fashion enthusiast, editing your thumbnails with your unique style shows your viewers what your style and personality truly is! Staying consistent with your style encourages viewers who are interested and resonate with you to also subscribe and stay engaged to your content!
- Last, but not the least, do not constantly clickbait your viewers! What is more important than clickbait-y thumbnails are click-worthy ones. Frequently misleading and tricking viewers with clickbait thumbnails that do not reflect what the video is about will discourage them from watching your videos.
The best way to create thumbnails is to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes and analyze the perspective.
What would you click on? What seems click-worthy? Once you see it yourself, it’s easier to captivate your audience.