# [[Create engaging thumbnails]] ![[Create engaging thumbnails.svg]] Creating an engaging thumbnail, along with an [[Create engaging titles|engaging title]], is crucial to [[Producing videos|success on YouTube]]. Many experts [^ptya] even suggest they should be created before the video is filmed. It may feel a bit squicky to focus so much on thumbnails, but think of it this way: you're not trying to be sensationalist. You're just trying to package good content in a way that gives it a chance to actually be seen by people. ## Tips for creating a thumbnail that works - High contrast: Choose colours that pop and stand out. - Simple: Don't put too many elements in the thumbnail. Avoid visual clutter. Don't put too much text! - If you have text in the thumbnail, don't just repeat the text in the title. Instead, continue the story. For example, if you have a title like _How to retire early: my financial independence story_, you could have text in the thumbnail that says _$20k in debt to early retirement in 5 years_. - Consider adding arrows or highlights that add controversy. - Don't just take a screenshot from the video; take an actual photo and shoot it intentionally OR design it intentionally. - Test out the YouTube thumbnail on [thumbs.tv](https://thumbs.tv) to see if it works for all devices and sizes. ## Techniques for thumbnails ### High-quality photos [[Peter McKinnon]] tends to prefer thumbnails that are high-quality photos with little to no text. In [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH3uY5yUbho), he doesn't have any text at all, and instead relies on his photography chops: ![[thumbnail-peter-mckinnon-why-this-drill-will-make-you-better.png]] This works well if you're a photographer, but could still work well even if you're not one! ### The personal touch Vlog channels like [Cathrin Manning's](https://www.youtube.com/c/CathrinManning/videos) where the subject of the content is a person do well when that person is in the thumbnail. ![[thumbnail-cathrin-manning.png]] ### The professional thumbnail More professional thumbnails like [AWS's](https://www.youtube.com/c/amazonwebservices/videos) alternate between presentation slide-style thumbnails and thumbnails with people in them: ![[thumbnail-aws.png]] ### The consolidation technique The consolidation technique involves trying to distill different parts of the video in one thumbnail, even though those things wouldn't normally go together. [^davella] For example, in this thumbnail, [[Matt D'Avella]] tries to consolidate some of the 12 habits he mentions in [the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um6f90guss4) into a single thumbnail, even though he doesn't typically read while writing, eating, drinking coffee, and typing on his computer all at the same time. ![[thumbnail-davella-12-habits-for-life.png]] ## [[Video Editing Tools#Photo editing|Thumbnail editing tools]] [^ptya]: Houpert, C. (2021). _Part-time YouTuber academy_. [[Part-time YouTuber Academy|My notes on this course]]. [^davella]: D'Avella, M. (2020). *Master YouTube*. Retrieved from https://slowgrowth.com %% # Excalidraw Data ## Text Elements ## Drawing ```json { "type": "excalidraw", "version": 2, "source": "https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin/releases/tag/2.1.4", "elements": [ { "id": "4y8R7iOA", "type": "text", "x": 118.49495565891266, "y": -333.44393157958984, "width": 3.8599853515625, "height": 24, "angle": 0, "strokeColor": "#1e1e1e", "backgroundColor": "transparent", "fillStyle": "solid", "strokeWidth": 2, "strokeStyle": "solid", "roughness": 1, "opacity": 100, "groupIds": [], "frameId": null, "roundness": null, "seed": 967149026, "version": 2, "versionNonce": 939059582, "isDeleted": true, "boundElements": null, "updated": 1713723615080, "link": null, "locked": false, "text": "", "rawText": "", "fontSize": 20, "fontFamily": 4, "textAlign": "left", "verticalAlign": "top", "containerId": null, "originalText": "", "lineHeight": 1.2 } ], "appState": { "theme": "dark", "viewBackgroundColor": "#ffffff", "currentItemStrokeColor": "#1e1e1e", "currentItemBackgroundColor": "transparent", "currentItemFillStyle": "solid", "currentItemStrokeWidth": 2, "currentItemStrokeStyle": "solid", "currentItemRoughness": 1, "currentItemOpacity": 100, "currentItemFontFamily": 4, "currentItemFontSize": 20, "currentItemTextAlign": "left", "currentItemStartArrowhead": null, "currentItemEndArrowhead": "arrow", "scrollX": 583.2388916015625, "scrollY": 573.6323852539062, "zoom": { "value": 1 }, "currentItemRoundness": "round", "gridSize": null, "gridColor": { "Bold": "#C9C9C9FF", "Regular": "#EDEDEDFF" }, "currentStrokeOptions": null, "previousGridSize": null, "frameRendering": { "enabled": true, "clip": true, "name": true, "outline": true } }, "files": {} } ``` %%