Published: October 13, 2021 | Published By: Real Creative Agency
How To Make A Great YouTube Thumbnail
You have less than 2 seconds to grab the attetntion of a YouTube viewer with your thumbnail. Here are three things your YouTube thumbnail MUST HAVE to do that.
FIRST. The colors of the thumbnail must be contrasting. The colors must be the exact opposite so the text is easier to read. It is called color theory and it is a combination of art and science used to determine what colors look good together.
When people ask us, “which color is the best for YouTube thumbnails?”. We tell them it a combination of colors that are best.
Here is the color theory color wheel.
You probably recognized a lot of the color combinations of major brands. They spend big money to determine what colors are the most appealing to consumers. Don’t reinvite the wheel. Use the color combination wheel for your YouTube thumbnails.
Some creators simply use a black background with white or yellow text. That’s fine, but it can get boring quick.
YouTube Thumbnail Tip: The color yellow is the BEST color to grab attention.
This is a video that explains WHY you need a CUSTOM THUMBNAIL.
The amount of text is critical in a thumbnail.
SECOND. The amount of text should be NO MORE THAN SIX WORDS.
I know you’re probably saying “I want to tell people what the video is about”. The etxt on the thumbnail is NOT the place to do that. Do that in the title and description.
The text on the YouTube thumbnail is there to just get the viewer curious. The less text the better.
80% of people are watching YouTube on their cell phones and the thumbnail is tiny on those screens. Do you think people can read or even see more than a few words? they can’t. Don’t write a book, write 5 to 6 words that will get their attention.
We would never write “how to make a great YouTube thumbnail” on the thumbnail. We would write, “want a great thumbnail?”.
Take a look at those 2 sentences again. Do you see the differences? Besides one being shorter, did you notice what the second one does?
IT ASKS A QUESTION.
The text on your thumbnail should ask a question, and here’s why.
People are skimming through all of these thumbnails, a question forces the subconscious mind to stop and think of an answer. That extra second is sometimes all you need to get that person to click on your video. Cool huh?
If you can, try to turn the text into a question.
Every thumbnail must show a person’s face.
THIRD. Every thumbnail must show a person’s face. As humans we are naturally drawn to looking at another person’s face.
Most people just post their face on the thumbnail but here’s another YouTube tip. If the person’s face has an exaggerated expression, it does something really neat.
When you see someone showing an emotion, it automatically forces the subconscious mind to determine why. This gives you another second for them to look at your thumbnail.
When the subconscious mind sees a person with an emotion, it tries to put the pieces together to determine why. This forces the person to read the text. If your text is asking a question, it once again forces the subconscious mind to investigate.
It’s not subliminal advertising, you’re not tricking the person’s mind. You are getting it to investigate further.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at the magazines at every checkout counter. Those tabloids are masters at getting your attention in a short amount of time.
Did you find that informative? There is an art to making a great YouTube thumbnail.
At Real Creative we are experts at getting continuous traffic to your site WITHOUT PAYING FOR ADS, contact a truly creative digital marketing agency.
The experts at Real Creative show you how to get higher Google ranking or get more visitors to your YouTube channel without spending money on ads.
6 YouTube Optimization Tips.
- Find keywords that don’t face too much competition.
- Does your title convey what video is about?
- Use the description to include your targeted keywords.
- Find correct hashtags.
- Include the SEO keywords.
- Provide a GREAT thumbnail.
The experts at Real Creative show you how to get higher Google ranking or get more visitors to your YouTube channel without spending money on ads.
Bottom Line
These are 5 things you can do to get more traffic. Our digital marketing agency believes that creative content is better than spending money on ads.
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Real Creative Agency
Digital Marketing Experts
Daily helping our most valuable asset "YOU" since 2005.