A thumbnail is a picture or icon that is present along with a video. When you click the icon, it starts playing the video. This is one picture that represents the main content of the video. It is the first thing that attracts people on YouTube to try and see the entire video. They help to generate views and contribute to the video’s click-through-rate.
Use of a thumbnail
Almost 90% of the videos that you find on YouTube have a thumbnail. This is very important as it helps the viewers to choose which video to click on and play. Needless to say, a video without a proper thumbnail won’t be as attractive as the one with a thumbnail that either gives an idea about the content or is visually captivating. These are tactics that YouTubers maintain to garner maximum views and likes. If your thumbnail isn’t good enough, you can be losing out on a significant number of viewers. YouTube is a place for tough competition, and you need to be equally competent not to lose out. People new to making YouTube videos may find it challenging to find the appropriate thumbnail. However, there is no need to worry as there are plenty of video makers like Picmaker, InVideo, etc. which can guide you to make the best thumbnail for your video. Choose any online intro maker and upload your YouTube thumbnail to see the difference in views in a few days.
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How to create a thumbnail?
Download any of the popular thumbnail maker apps like Picmaker or websites like Snappa that allow you to make professional-quality thumbnails very easily. Some of these apps or websites have pre-designed templates to choose from. You can use these templates to create professional thumbnails in very less time. That saves all the trouble and hard work and gets you thumbnails to use in a few minutes. But if you want to make one from scratch and have a customized thumbnail, you can follow these few easy steps and make one that satisfies you.
- Firstly, select an image that is relevant to the content of your video or gives the idea in a gist. People must be able to understand what is inside the video by seeing the thumbnail image. For instance, if you are making a tutorial video on making Dalgona Coffee, you must have an attractive image of the final product on your thumbnail to lure people to your video.
- Upload the selected image to the work area and remove the background if it doesn’t look attractive enough. If you have clicked a more or less professional picture of your thumbnail, you need very fewer changes. Otherwise, you can select the image and cut it out from the background using the tools meant for background removal.
- Next, it’s time to spice up the thumbnail by either giving it a cartoonish look or a sticker like an effect. Picmaker like apps allow you to achieve this with the click of a tool in a few seconds.
- In case you have cut out the thumbnail from its background, put up a custom background to make the image look absolutely attractive and adjust the angle and dimensions. You may add some interesting patterns. But remember to highlight the main portion of the thumbnail instead of letting it mix with the background.
- Finally, add the text needed to describe your video in a short, catchy way. Use big and bold letters, attractive yet readable fonts, and some bright colors. The text should be absolutely captivating at first glance. A lot of your viewership depends on this.
- Preview the thumbnail you have just made and download it when it has perfectly shaped up in the way you wanted it to. You can upload it along with your YouTube video as the custom thumbnail and see the surge in viewership.
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Things to remember while making a thumbnail
Here are a few things you must remember while creating a thumbnail for YouTube.
· Use an attractive headshot image-
The image that you use for your thumbnail must be expressive and attractive. For instance, when you are making a fun video, the thumbnail must highlight a cheerful expression of your face to make the content evident. Or else, when you make a cooking tutorial video, the thumbnail headshot must be a great picture of the food with proper garnishing to make it look mouth-watering.
· Use contrasting colors-
Another thing to keep in mind while selecting the picture and the background is that you must use the color scheme with high contrast. High contrast colors and images are more attractive than low contrast ones. When suggested videos appear on the right side on YouTube, the thumbnails with high contrast images visually appeal to the eye than the low contrast ones, which may go unnoticed.
· Select the right shade of colors-
Keeping the contrast in mind is essential, but you must also remember to select the right shade of colors. Choose the hues which stand out and are more appealing on the screen. Since the theme of YouTube is red and white, it is obvious that you need other bright colors for the primary design of the thumbnail. Shades like orange, green, blue, and pink get well highlighted.
· Plan your thumbnail image beforehand-
You must always plan the thumbnail image when you are creating a YouTube video. Taking a screenshot from the video can be done when there’s nothing to use, but it’s better to shoot a proper thumbnail image for the best effect. Think about the image that you would like to use and take a proper shot so that your work is lessened.
· Use big and bold texts-
Texts are important parts of a thumbnail image and must definitely provide an idea about the content of the video. They must be quirky, interesting, short, and crisp. For instance, when you are making a study tutorial video on say Macbeth by Shakespeare, you may have written the title on the thumbnail as “Learn Macbeth in 10 minutes”. But does that sound catchy enough? However, if you twist it up a bit and write “Be a Macbeth pro in just 10 minutes”, doesn’t it sound more interesting to the ears? Think of such innovative headers and use it on the thumbnail for extra impact. Also, remember that the font you use should be legible, bold, and visible easily, even when seen as a small thumbnail. Use proper colors against the background you are overlaying it on.
