We are visual creatures and we are attracted by great visuals. On youtube the visuals are all in the thumbnail design.
But it’s complicated because thumbnails are so small – and even smaller on mobile – so what kind of design truly is eye-catching?
I present to you my 7 steps to design the perfect thumbnail even if you’re not a graphic designer (I’m not) and with free tools!
Let’s get started 😉
According to YouTube 90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails. I dunno about you, but I would definitely like to be in that 90% rather than the 10%.
7 Elements Every Thumbnail Should Have:
- Bright Colors
- Use a Face (expression)
- Contrast
- Big Fonts
- Quirky text (non-SEO)
- Visual “Pop”
- Consistent Design – playlists
7 Steps to Create the Perfect Thumbnail
Now that you know all the element you need in a great thumbnail design, let’s go over to the computer to create thumbnails:
Step 1: Take a screen capture of your video at an interesting point using Skitch or Jing
Step 2: Choose YouTube Thumbnail in Canva (auto sizes it to the correct dimensions)
Step 3: Choose a Layout (free or paid)
Step 4: Upload the raw image file to Canva
Step 5: Add Text
Step 6: Add any other visual elements for interest
Step 7: Download as PNG or JPG
Upload your custom thumbnail to YouTube and you’re done!
The best part of designing a nice BIG clickable thumbnail is that you can use it everywhere on social media!!!
YOUR TURN
Was this tutorial useful for you? I dunno. You tell me. Gimme a big ol’ thumbs UP and write in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching – I’ll see you in the next video!