YouTubing is a dream and goal of a lot of people. The number of dreamers is far more than the creators and we believe one of the reasons behind this difference is the effort it takes to become a YouTuber. It may not be easy to become a successful YouTuber in 2022 but it is not as difficult as you believe it is and not even starting should definitely not be an option.
With the right technical knowledge and good quality content, achieving success as a YouTuber won’t be difficult even if the competition is unmeasurable. That’s the beauty of working as a content creator, your effort and quality of work matter.
For YouTubers, creating Youtube thumbnails is a task that a lot of people don’t consider as important, let’s change your perception about it, shall we?
Why Are YouTube Thumbnails Important?
People say don’t judge a book by its cover but we know how much we love to read books that have intriguing covers. They even say looks don’t matter but we know that’s the first thing we notice in an individual before we decide to have a conversation with them.
In the same way, when it comes to posting content online, you need to know that people are going to judge it through the image before checking the entire content. This is applicable on every platform.
- Your picture decides if your followers will read your caption or not.
- The cover on your reel decides if your audience will consider clicking on it to watch the reel.
- The header image of your blog decides if the reader will consider reading the whole article or not.
- And finally, your thumbnail decides if viewers will click on your video or not.
I hope this explains why investing your time in creating a good quality thumbnail is as important as creating a good quality video.
How Can You Make Your YouTube Thumbnails Click Worthy?
Now that we have established having a thumbnail is important, it’s time to acknowledge the fact that just any thumbnail is not going to work. You will have to make it click worthy. And how do you make it click worthy? By adding a few elements that have a high tendency to attract viewers and make them click on the video. What are these elements, let’s have a look.
Make Your Own YouTube Thumbnails
First things first, no matter how much you like the thumbnail suggested by YouTube, don’t settle for it. Create your own YouTube thumbnails from scratch. This way you can be a little creative and add elements that are known to increase the rate of clicks and views on the video.
Understand that it’s your thumbnail that people notice first, not the title. And even if they do notice your title first, they will consider watching your video only if they like the thumbnail.
Use Text
Texts in your YouTube thumbnails are more important than you think. Use it wisely. You don’t have to paste the title of your video in the thumbnail, make it a little crisp, attractive, and click-worthy.
You can even mention some information that will be revealed in the video to create curiosity among viewers. Or simply shorten the title of the video and use it in the thumbnail. Do whatever works best for your content and channel but consider adding text in the thumbnail as it can increase your chances of getting views on the video.
Use Your Face
Another tactic that works amazingly well is using your own picture as a thumbnail. When you put your face in the thumbnail you add a genuine, human element. People can see you, your expressions, and can feel connected or intrigued almost instantly. When you add yourself as an element or faces of your guests in the video, you give an idea of who your viewers will be watching and listening to, and believe it or not but people do consider watching videos that has a real person or face as thumbnail over videos with thumbnails that are vague or have just text.
Give a Glimpse of What’s in the Video
This point alligns a little with both the points that are mentioned above. You can use both text as well as your own picture to give a glimpse of what is going to be in the video.
For example, makeup artists post YouTube thumbnails with their pictures of before and after applying makeup, fashion stylist and creators in the fashion niche use clips of the dresses they will be showing in the video, informative creators mention a few intriguing facts in the thumbnail that the audience will want to know more about.
You don’t have to share everything in your thumbnail but just information that you believe people will find interesting.
Be Creative and Aesthetically Pleasing
You can be as creative as you want to be with creating YouTube thumbnails. From the position of the text and your picture to your expression, colour, filters, background, illustrations, and border, everything can get as intriguing and creative as you like but make sure it is aesthetically pleasing as well. This is something that people won’t tell you but there are times when you will find your thumbnail creative and informative but it might end up looking cluttered to the viewer. So, make sure you are making everything aesthetically pleasing as well.
Make Sure the Final Image Is Crisp and of High Quality
Finally comes the quality of the thumbnail. It has to be crisp and of such quality that it looks good quality in any and every device where one can watch your video. It’s not just the phone where people are watching YouTube, and the quality of thumbnails often gets compromised when opened on different devices. So keep in mind that the quality of your thumbnail matters and make sure it is good, high quality and crisp with everything clearly visible.
Read more: 6 FREE Ways To Market Your YouTube Videos
Parting Words
Fortunately or unfortunately, the job of a YouTuber isn’t restricted to recording, editing, and uploading videos, there’s a lot that needs to be taken care of, right from the beginning. It’s fortunate because you get to learn and explore vast skills and unfortunate because it is too much work.
But this shouldn’t stop you from pursuing YouTubing as a side hustle. Learning is anyways continuous so just dive into it, learn the basics, start working, and improve as you grow.
If you wish to get a headstart, consider taking this YouTubing course offered by Hustlepost Academy. Your mentor here is a successful YouTuber herself and she will be sharing all her secrets with you in a way that they benefit you in your YouTubing journey.
