The first thing viewers notice about any YouTube video is its thumbnail; so while you might
shoot a brilliant YouTube video, if you don’t know how to make YouTube thumbnail, your
video won't reach its potential in terms of views. So if you want to promote YouTube videos,
start by learning how to make a thumbnail for YouTube videos.
Many new YouTubers make the mistake of letting YouTube choose a default thumbnail
which is essentially a still from your YouTube video. When you do that, you are sending a
message to your viewers that you haven't spent that much time making your YouTube video
presentable. So no matter how irrelevant you think this is, never skip this step in your
YouTube video.
How To Make A Thumbnail On YouTube?
If you are a new YouTuber, this guide will save your life and show you how you can promote
YouTube videos! Learning how to create a YouTube thumbnail is an art. There is obviously
no one correct way to make a good thumbnail, but some practices have worked for many
YouTubers and might work for you too.
So here is how to make a good YouTube thumbnail:
Add Text To Give Context
While your YouTube video has a title that tells the viewer what your video is about, adding
the key text in your thumbnail can be extremely helpful. When a viewer first sees the video,
they focus on the thumbnail. If the thumbnail makes the context of your video clear for the
audience, they will instantly click on the thumbnail.
For example, if your video is a tutorial for something, then adding the word tutorial in the
thumbnail will make it very obvious to the viewer. If your YouTube videos are part of a
series, you can add the numbers in the thumbnail.
Choose A Signature Font
While spending time on the text in your thumbnail, be sure to choose the right font for
yourself.
Our tip for you is not to change the font for every video. Your font should represent the tone
of your video and so choose a font that represents your channel. And once you have your
font make sure to be consistent with its use in all your videos.
YouTubers use bold font to show importance and urgency. You can even use the underline
font for words that you want the audience to focus on. After a point, the audience will
recognize your videos with the font you use. So make sure you're picking the font you think
identifies with you.
Select Contrasting Visuals
Your text, images, and background shouldn't clash with each other. A good contrast is the
one thing your thumbnail needs more than anything after adding all these elements.
What is the point of adding text to your thumbnail if the text isn't going to be visible? So to
ensure that your text in the thumbnail is visible, you must create a good contrast between
the text and background. If you have a lot going on in the background, you can add a
contrasting background just for the text.
Many YouTubers add a white text box to contrast their black text and a black textbox to
contrast their white text.
Images Should Be Relevant And Of Good Quality
Your visuals should speak for themselves. Viewers will find your images exciting if they are
unique and aesthetically pleasing while also providing you with proper relevance to the
video. You can choose a still from your video and edit it to make it look beautiful. Or you can
pick an image from the internet.
Original images will look more authentic and attract the audience. But let's say you have a
recipe video, and you think adding a picture of a cake from the internet will look better than
taking a picture of the cake you baked; that is your call. As long as the image represents
your video correctly and isn't going to be claimed for copyright, you can use it.
While you're figuring all of this out, you can get YouTube Views from a good platform. It will
help you with the promotional process while you are still learning.
Keep The Dimensions In Mind
Creating a thumbnail in the wrong dimensions and later struggling to fit it perfectly would be
a foolish mistake to make. For example, the correct dimensions of a YouTube thumbnail are
1280 X 720. So if you're creating your thumbnail on a platform like Canva, choose a
template that fits those dimensions.
Also, remember a good thumbnail will be perfectly visible on a small screen. So whenever
you create thumbnail images, make sure they are optimized for a mobile device.
Once you have learned how to create a YouTube thumbnail, you can add it to your YouTube
video.
The Main Goal Of The Thumbnail
A thumbnail is there to attract the attention of the audience. For example, when a person is
scrolling through YouTube, your thumbnail should make them stop scrolling and click on the
video. So getting a stranger to click on your thumbnail should be your primary goal while
creating a thumbnail.
Conclusion
If you want your YouTube video to get a lot of clicks, then you need to learn how to make
YouTube thumbnail. Your thumbnail should not break the YouTube policy and should be
attractive enough to get a click. Many people buy YouTube subscribers while figuring out
how to promote YouTube videos on their own.
Don’t be a basic YouTuber and settle for the default thumbnail. Putting some effort into your
thumbnail will go a long way.
So, spend at least a few hours creating the perfect thumbnail for your YouTube video. We
would give you a last-minute tip to create a thumbnail template and save it. Then you can
just make changes to it for your every video.
Hopefully, now you know how to make a thumbnail for your YouTube video.