YouTube Thumbnail: Your Guide to Making a Scroll-Stopping ...

YouTube thumbnails, the small, clickable snapshots that viewers see when they search for videos, can be just as important as a video's title ... Marketing|8minread YouTubeThumbnail:YourGuidetoMakingaScroll-StoppingImage WrittenbyCliffordChi @BigRedDawg16 HubSpotalsorecommendsthese10channelarttemplatesforYouTube.GettheTemplates YouTubethumbnails,thesmall,clickablesnapshotsthatviewersseewhentheysearchforvideos,canbejustasimportantasavideo’stitlebecausetheyprovideapreviewofyourvideoandenticeviewerstoclickthrough.  Ifyourvideohasanordinaryorsub-parthumbnail,itwon’tpersuadeanyonetowatchyourcontent.YouTubecoulddeemthevideoirrelevantandwon’trankitinthesearchresultsordistributeitthroughthe"RecommendedVideos"feed.Sinceyourvideo’sclick-throughrateisoneofthemostimportantrankingfactorsinYouTube’ssearchalgorithm,especiallyduringitsfirsthourontheplatform,aneye-catchingthumbnailcanmakeahugedifferenceinrankingnumberoneforaqueryandnotrankingatall. CreatingvibrantYouTubethumbnailscanalsoinstantlygrabpeople’sattentionandthiscanhelpyoudifferentiateyourselfonaplatformfullofstandardthumbnailsallscreamingforattention.Below,we’llguideyouthroughaneasyfour-stepprocessforcreatingvisuallyappealingYouTubethumbnailsthatwillcutthroughthenoise,boostyourvideo’sclick-throughrate,andliftyourrankings. TableofContents: HowtoMakeaYouTubeThumbnail 8YouTubeThumbnailMakers   HowtoMakeaYouTubeThumbnail VisitafreeonlineYouTubethumbnailmaker. Uploadaphotoorchooseoneofthethumbnailmakers’templates. Addtext,clipart,orabackgroundtoyourthumbnail. Downloadthefinishedproducttoyourcomputer. 1.VisitafreeonlineYouTubethumbnailmaker. ThereareeightfreeonlineYouTubethumbnailmakerslistedbelow,butwefeaturedFotoJetinthisguidebecauseit’soneoftheonlyYouTubethumbnailmakersthatdoesn’tmakeyousignupforafreeaccountbeforeyoucancreateathumbnail.Theirrobustthumbnailmakerletsyoucustomizeanddownloadyourthumbnailscompletelyforfree—noemailaddressnecessary. Thefreeversionofthisonlineappletsyoudownloadsmallandmedium-sizedimagefiles,butlargeandextra-largearepremiumfeatures.Thismeansyou’llgettobecreativewithyourdesignstoensuretheyappearascrispaspossibleonYouTube. 2.Uploadaphotoorchooseoneofthethumbnailmakers’templates. YouTubewillletyouuploadanypicturefromyourcomputerasyourvideo’sthumbnail.Butifyoudon’thaveavividvisualonyourcomputeroryouneedsomeinspiration,Fotojet’sgotyoucovered.Ithasover23freetemplatesthatcanserveasyourthumbnail’sfoundation. TocreatestrikingathumbnailinFotojet,considerincludingatalkinghead.Peoplearenaturallydrawntohumanfacesbecauseit’saningrainedsurvivalmechanismtohelpusquicklygaugesomeone’semotionsanddetermineifthey’reathreatorfriend.ResearchGatealsodiscoveredthatInstagramphotoswithfacesare38%morelikelytoreceivelikesand32%morelikelytoreceivecomments. 3.Addtext,clipart,orabackgroundtoyourthumbnail. Onceyou’vepickedyourpictureortemplate,youcanmakeyourthumbnailstandoutevenmorebyaddingtext,clipart,orabackgroundtoit. Tofurtherclarifyyourvideo’ssubjectmatter,consideraddingyourvideo’stitletothethumbnail.Ifyourphoto,graphic,ortextisbright,considerplacingitontopofadarkbackground.Thecolorcontrastwillmakeyourthumbnailpop.Thesamelogicappliestodarkobjectsandbrightbackdrops. 4.Downloadthefinishedproducttoyourcomputer. Afteryoufinishpolishingyourthumbnail,presstheSavebuttonatthetopofthepagetoexportyourthumbnail. Last,titleyourthumbnail.Whenyou'renamingthethumbnail,includeeitherthetitleofthevideo,ortheprimarykeywordrelatedtothevideo.SavethefinalfileasaPNGorJPG.ItsresolutionwillalreadymatchYouTube’srecommendedresolution—1280x720pixels—soyoudon’thavetoworryaboutresizingitlater.   8YouTubeThumbnailMakers AlongwithFotojet’sfreeonlineYouTubethumbnailmaker,therearesevenotherthumbnailmakersthatcanhelpyoucustomizeyourownYouTubethumbnails.Beforeyoucreateathumbnailwiththesetools,though,youneedtosignupforafreeaccountontheirwebsites. 1.FotoJet FotoJetisaleadingYouTubethumbnailmakerthatcomeswithtemplatestohelpyousummarizeyourvideointoaclick-worthyimage.YoucangetstartedwithFotoJetassoonasyoulandonthehomepage—noemailoraccountsetuprequired.Choosefromavarietyofstockimages,fontstyles,andclipartelementstocustomizeyourdesign,thenexportitineitheraJPGorPNGformat.  2.Canva Withmorethan2millionimagesintheirlibrary,hundredsoffonts,andcustomizablebackgroundsandcolors,Canvagivesyoumorethanenoughresourcestounleashyourcreativity. Youcansignupforthefreeorpaidversionoftheonlinedesigntool,butbepreparedtotakeyourownimagesasCanva’simagegallerycancostupto$1perphoto.Don’tletthatdeteryou.Thisrobusttoolisjam-packedwithfreedesignelementsthatcanhelpyoucreateclick-worthyYouTubethumbnails. 3.AdobeSpark AdobeSparkletsyouselectfromthousandsofphotosonthewebandavarietyofbuilt-outthemeswiththeirownuniquelayouts,colors,andfontstocrafteye-catchingYouTubethumbnails.Althoughthefreeversioncomeswithawatermarkonallcontentyoudownloadfromthesystem,youcanalwaysupgradetothepaidversiontohaveuniquethumbnailsthataretrulyyourown. 4.Crello WithCrello,youcancreateengagingthumbnailsbyblendingamultitudeofdesigns,photos,backgrounds,text,andobjectstogether.Whencomparedtootherpopulardesigntools,Crelloemergesasalessexpensiveoption,butrememberresizingyourthumbnailscouldbeapainbecauseofsomeimprovementsthatneedtobemadewithintheapp. 5.Visme Choosefromawideselectionoftemplates,photos,graphics,colors,andfontstocreateathumbnailinVisme.Thisappwasmadewithvideothumbnailsinmind,soyouwon’thavetoworryaboutsizingandfindingtheperfectlayouts.Vismeofferscreatorsvarioustemplatestochoosefromsoyoucanspendmoretimeaddingyourfinishingtouches. 6.Fotor Fotorprovidestemplatesundercertainthemestohelpyoucreatecaptivatingthumbnails.ItincludesallthetrendingYouTubethumbnailfeatureslikephotoframes,thelomoeffect,andbackgroundremover.TheoptionsarevirtuallylimitlesswithFotorasthecanvasforyourYouTubethumbnail. Ifyourworkflowcan’tbecompletedallinonesession,Fotor’spremiumplanallowsyoutosavetheversionhistoryofyourthumbnailssoyoucanpickuprightwhereyouleftoff. 7.Picmaker Withover100,000graphics,1,000stockphotos,stickers,borders,backgrounds,text,icons,andfilters,andanautomaticbackgroundremover,youcancreateagrippingthumbnailonPicmaker.Ifyouhavesetbrandcolors,thefreeoptionswon’tbetheeasiesttoworkwithsinceyoucan’tsavecolors,logos,orfonts.Butupgradingtojustthestartertieropensupavarietyofbenefitsincludingabrandkit,premiumphotos,andmulti-sizeddesigns. 8.Snappa Snappahasover500,000stockphotos,anassortmentofprofessionallydesignedtemplates,andcustomizablegraphics,shapes,andtexttohelpyoucreateaYouTubethumbnail.Ifyou’remakingoverthreethumbnailspermonth,Snappamightaffectyourworkflowasthefreeversiononlyallowsthreedownloadspermonth.Ifthreeisenoughforyou,you’llbegladtoknowthere’sadrag-and-dropfunctionalitytohelpyoucreateyourowncustomthumbnailtemplate. CreateScroll-StoppingYouTubeThumbnails Justlikeapeephole,thesubjectlineofanemail,andevencaller-ID,aYouTubethumbnailgivestheviewerapeekbehindthecurtaintoseewhat’sontheotherside.It’samajorcomponentinasearchresultthatwilldeterminewhethersomeoneclicksandwatchesyourvideo.Takingthetipsandexamplesinthisarticle,you’llhavetoknowhowtomakescroll-stoppingYouTubethumbnailsthatwilldrawinnewsubscribers. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinNovember2018andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness.   OriginallypublishedJun15,20227:00:00AM,updatedJune152022 Topics: YoutubeMarketing Don'tforgettosharethispost! RelatedArticles WhatisYouTubeShorts&HowtoMakeOne[+7BrandExamples] Marketing  |8minread 12EssentialYouTubeAdvertisingStatisticsfor2022 Marketing  |1minread HowtoPromoteYourYouTubeChannel[+TipsfromHubSpot'sYouTubeTeam] Marketing  |10minread ExpandOffer SocialMediaContentCalendarTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater