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YouTube has now become a home of online videos. From educational explainer videos to meme compilations, you can always find a video to enjoy on the platform. So, it’s not surprising that this video-sharing platform is the second-largest search engine worldwide, right behind Google.
Today, at least 2.3 billion people are on YouTube to watch and upload their videos. And if you’re a YouTube creator yourself, it means that there’s a lot of competition to attract more eyeballs and build a solid subscriber base.
One of the easiest ways to stand out among the sea of online videos on the platform is to create an eye-catching YouTube thumbnail design. Yes. Those tiny images that preview your video have the power to make the video more clickable and worth watching.
The more appealing and thought-provoking your thumbnail is, the more people are curious and want to see the video. Therefore, they click on it.
Now, the question is, how can you create a clickable YouTube thumbnail design for your videos?
Let’s find out!
5 Essential Ways to Create Clickable YouTube Thumbnail Design
Designing your video thumbnails is not rocket science. Meaning that it’s not actually as hard as you might think it is. But, you still need to pay attention to some areas to make sure that you create a right, clickable thumbnail.
See how you can make sure that your thumbnails are clickable and entice people to click.
#1. Know the Rules
There are specific guidelines for you to create a perfect and well-crafted YouTube thumbnail design, including the recommended resolution, format, or size.
For instance, you need to use an image with .JPG, .PNG, .GIF, or .BMP format. Meanwhile, the image file must be less than 2MB. Thus, you might also consider using 1280 x 720px dimensions to make the thumbnail more professional-looking.
By understanding the guidelines, you know how to make your thumbnails perfectly fit for YouTube videos so that you can display them properly on your videos.
#2. Use Relevant Image
Never use images that do not reflect what you deliver in your videos. In other words, you have to make sure that the image you use as your thumbnail is relevant to the videos.
You can take a screenshot from the highlight of your videos or just remove the video background and use it. You can employ graphics tools to put your logo or text to the picture. This option is quite favored when it comes to YouTube thumbnail pictures, making your videos even more trustworthy.
If you tempt your viewers with those clickbait, irrelevant images, they might click the video so fast, indeed. But, after they realize they’ve been lied to, then they will never click on your video again – they feel tricked and do not want to be fooled twice.
#3. Add a Title or Headline
When it comes to YouTube thumbnail design, using an image alone is not enough. You need to add a title or headline on the thumbnail to capture attention right off the bat.
It helps viewers identify the videos quicker in searches. Only by looking at your YouTube thumbnail design, they’ll have an idea of what your video is all about. Thus, they can set a clear expectation before they click on it.
One thing to remember here is that you should not add too much text on your thumbnail, though. Just some texts are enough to show your viewers what they can expect from watching your videos. Also, make sure that the font is big enough for them to see – both on smaller screens (mobile and hand-held devices) or desktops.
#4. Be Consistent With Your Design
There should be consistency in your YouTube thumbnail design, such as layouts, font style and size, color scheme, and more – especially if you create video series.
Consistently created YouTube thumbnail design will make your channel more appealing to the viewers. It also shows them that you are a professional on the platform, giving them some reasons why your channel is worth subscribing to and your videos are worth watching.
Using consistent design also increases your viewers’ memory about your channel. Once they see the design, they can tell that it’s your video. It allows them to understand the concept of your videos. This, in turn, will help you create a unique channel personality on the platform.
#5. Analyze Your Competitor
It’s always better to see how your competitors are doing with their YouTube thumbnail design. Find some competitors who have a similar channel and are dealing with the same target audience. And see which thumbnail design gets so many clicks or views.
Then, you can compare your thumbnail with theirs. Analyze how they create their thumbnails and how you can do better. It doesn’t mean you have to copy the style of their thumbnails. The key in analyzing your competitor here is to make sure that your design is always one step further from theirs.
YouTube Thumbnail Design: The Online Tools You Need
Thanks to the internet, now you can create a stunning YouTube thumbnail design in no time with the help of online tools out there. And even if you don’t have any design skills, you can still create your own thumbnails effortlessly within minutes.
Most YouTube thumbnail makers provide you with customizable thumbnail templates you can repurpose to your own liking. You can change the color of the templates, the image, and the text. After you finish editing and designing the template, you can download it to your devices right away.
Here are some YouTube thumbnail design makers you should use:
- Canva
- Adobe Spark
- Snappa
- Crello
- Visme
- Fotor
- Picmonkey
Final Thoughts
Creating an eye-catching YouTube thumbnail design can boost your views and give the viewer a positive impression. Not to mention it can also make you stand out among the crowd. Those tiny images of your videos might sound like no big deal, but the impact it has is huge for your channel. That is why you need to spend more effort and time creating clickable thumbnails.
With those best practices mentioned above and the list of the tools that you can use, you can now start crafting your thumbnails and see the number of your views and subscribers grow.
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro