How Important are Video Thumbnails?

RyboGaming said:
Hey Kevin! Thumbnails are massively important its how you will get people to actually click on your videos to watch them! lets just put it this way would you rather click on a video with big bold colourful thumbnail or just a screenshot of the gameplay, I know which I would chose. I wouldn't hire an artist tbh as sometimes they charge a lot of money for something you can do yourself. watch videos on YouTube and play around with it its easy once you get the hang of it! If you need a hand with thumbnails then I'm fairly decent add me on skype thegamerrybo and I can help you all I can :)

Ryan.
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Thanks for the offer Ryan. Very kind of you.

I'm thinking that a good place to start would be to get a good overlay and use it with all of my videos. Even placing my initials or branding over a related image would help make things stand out a bit better.

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thumbnails are important for branding, and can tell the viewer, without even looking who uploaded the video, who has posted it if done correctly. for instance, my pink, messy collage design is very unique to my channel. if you can't do thumbnails, do some minimalist stuff; cut around a screenshot of yourself in paint or something, then put some geometric shapes in a nice aesthetically pleasing pallet around, with a bold title.
 
I think it's a bit content specific and if you're not comfortable with it, don't do it. However, I found that the biggest road block for me when creating thumbnails was not having the right tools and then I found a website that has made my life sooo much easier (I was using MS Paint before lol). All I do is take a screenshot from the video and add text related to the title with pixlr express, and BAM! my videos look 10000% more professional.

If you're worried about design, here are some quick tips I've heard:
  • make sure a person/animal is included in the thumbnail, as people have a natural interest in these (obvious exceptions would be unboxings where you'd want a pic of whatever you're unboxing)
  • make sure the text follows the theme of the title, even if it doesn't match the title exactly. I hear this helps with SEO (my channel is smaller so I can't say if this is true or not)
  • following other photo rules such as the rule of thirds etc to create an interesting image-a quick google search should help you out with other general photo tips

TLDR, make your thumbnail interesting even if it's just one of the randomly generated YT ones. :)
 
jjwickings said:
I think it's a bit content specific and if you're not comfortable with it, don't do it. However, I found that the biggest road block for me when creating thumbnails was not having the right tools and then I found a website that has made my life sooo much easier (I was using MS Paint before lol). All I do is take a screenshot from the video and add text related to the title with pixlr express, and BAM! my videos look 10000% more professional.

If you're worried about design, here are some quick tips I've heard:
  • make sure a person/animal is included in the thumbnail, as people have a natural interest in these (obvious exceptions would be unboxings where you'd want a pic of whatever you're unboxing)
  • make sure the text follows the theme of the title, even if it doesn't match the title exactly. I hear this helps with SEO (my channel is smaller so I can't say if this is true or not)
  • following other photo rules such as the rule of thirds etc to create an interesting image-a quick google search should help you out with other general photo tips

TLDR, make your thumbnail interesting even if it's just one of the randomly generated YT ones. :)
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I have Photoshop. I think I would do better with an overlay. I think a good way for me would be for me to start with a general overlay and use it for all of my videos. Perhaps even a simple overlay over an image will do.

Don't know how you managed with MS Paint before. I recommend Gimphoto if you don't want to pay for Photoshop. It is a fantastic bit of software and free to download.
 
I have learned that thumbnails are so important!! Thats why I make sure to put a lot of time into mine. Think about it this way, when you're watching videos aren't you drawn by the thumbnails? I know I am, thats why i always try and keep mine interesting and simple[DOUBLEPOST=1471222059,1471222006][/DOUBLEPOST]E
Timikinz said:
Hi Kevin,

I personally wouldn't click on a video if the thumbnail looked poor. The way I look at things is, everyone is doing the same thing, you must distinguish yourself from them by putting out better content then them. A striking thumbnail is one way of making yourself stand out and get attention. Although i agree, sometimes a thumbnail can be worthless, I would recommend custom thumbnails.

That's just the way I feel, hope that made sense :)

Tim
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exactly, there are so many you tubers out there right now you need to make sure to stand out!!
 
Yes thumbnails play a big role in views, new people, etc. An example for you suppose you had something that was blank compared to something resembling a VanossGaming thumbnail which do u think people would pick? The one with many colors and visualizing appealing of course.
 
yes i agree try to make thumbnails very catchy i'm working on mine atm cause they are a bit bad trying to find a good program to make them with i just use pixlr for it
 
To me, a poor quality thumbnail doesn't look appealing, but not using a custom thumbnail could also be seen as a lack of effort. Even something as simple as finding a nice-looking frame in your video, screenshotting it, and writing some text overtop can work. Some people try to overcomplicate their thumbnails, which results in them getting too cluttered. While thumbnail quality isn't as important to your subscribers, as they know your content is good, but for anyone seeing your channel for the first time, a good thumbnail can be the difference that makes them click on your video, and a bad thumbnail can dryve them away (heheheheh see what I did there heheheheheh)

Edit: I took a quick look at your channel, and those microphone reviews you did had great thumbnails. They were clean and simple, with the text and the picture of the mic. If you get a theme going, it adds consistency which makes your videos seem even more professional. If you'd like any more advice, you can contact me on skype (just search Dryve | Ryan)!
 
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