The Incredible Importance of YouTube Thumbnails

Originally published

The old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a nice sentiment, but total bunk. If you’re anything like me, you’re at the book store, deciding what books to buy based on the cover. Just like you’re probably drawn to cars and house the look nice…at least at first.

And that’s fine. It’s human nature. Something needs to attract you to look deeper. A good cover, nice exterior, and yes, good thumbnail, are the things the attract. That’s why it’s so important to have good YouTube thumbnails.

In-fact, 80% of YouTube videos are clicked on due to thumbnails and titles. It’s not just YouTube either. Netflix knows they have less than 2 seconds to convince users to watch anything, so they spend a TON of time on thumbnails.

If you wonder why the same movie on Netflix has one thumbnail today and a different one tomorrow. It’s simple. They take their time to optimize thumbnails. They are constantly testing out new thumbnails to see what works.

That’s why you should do the same.

Your Thumbnails Could Make or Break Your Videos

If you are not getting as many clicks on your Youtube videos, it may be because you are not paying enough attention to your thumbnails. They are SUPER important.

I’ve been getting a few questions about how I do my YouTube thumbnails. I’ve been spending more time on thumbnails lately, and the growth has been consistent.

It’s important to know I’m not a huge company, and I’m not a YouTube sensation. But I’m being more consistent.

It’s also important to know you DON’T need to be a graphic designer. You only need to make a thumbnail that catches people’s eyes.

So how do I make thumbnails?

OK – here’s what I do.

How I Make My Thumbnails

First, I make a bunch of dumb faces tangentially related to the video right at the beginning of the video (It might feel weird, but it works). I keep my mic off for easy edits. I do happy, mad, sad, confused, surprised, etc. Lots of emotions and poses.

Next, I scrub through and pick my favorite(s), then screenshot them. This allows me to take some scenes from the beginning. I may have a great frame later in the video that I can too.

With that set, I select a “YouTube Thumbnail” template on Canva to use as a starting point. It usually looks nothing like the template when I finish. It’s also worth noting I pay for Canva Pro.

The next step is to upload the screenshots and use the background remover tool to capture me. Now, I have a really good camera with a blurred background, but that doesn’t matter in most cases. Background removal has gotten really good.

Some Specific Actions I Take

I usually outline myself using Canva’s Shadow/Glow tool with:

  1. Size 7
  2. 100% Transparency (which is actually fully visible)
  3. 0 Blur
  4. White color.

Then it’s time for finesse. I’ll play with backgrounds, and other elements, text size and font face, etc. I usually search for a texture and “paint” in the “Elements” area. Paint usually results in some neat shapes.

This one is going to take some practice. But remember: faces help clicks, as does text supplemental to the title. Try not to repeat the title (a mistake I make a lot).

TubeBuddy for Testing

I also use TubeBuddy to A/B test thumbnails, which has been fun. They’ll take two thumbnails and switch them every 24 hours to see which has a better CTR. Then, they’ll automatically set the winner.

My best piece of advice? Try new things, and look at YouTube for inspiration.

Oh…and pay attention to the data. YouTube has real-time stats that can help if you’re trying to increase views. Tools like TubeBuddy automate that a bit.