3 Ways to Improve Your YouTube Thumbnails for More Reach & Views
People really underestimate the power of a good YouTube thumbnail. It’s just an image, right?
Wrong.
I would go so far as to say that your video thumbnails are just as important as the content in your video. It’s the first thing that grabs people’s attention, gets them to click, and gets them to watch.
If you aren’t getting the views or reach you want on your videos, and can’t figure out why… let’s start with your thumbnails.
A bad thumbnail can wreak havoc on your channel and keep people from clicking to watch. And by now, you probably know that the more people watch your videos, the more YouTube will push your content to more channels.
If your thumbnail doesn’t get them to click…what will?
How to Tell If Your Titles and Thumbnails are Working
Do you know if your thumbnails are good or not? You can figure this out by looking at your video click-through rate (CTR) on your analytics dashboard.
CTR accounts for the title and the thumbnail, but visuals tend to grab our attention in the beginning, so it’s always a good idea to start tracking your analytics with that in mind.
The average CTR is between 2-10 percent. While that number isn’t everything, it’s good to get a baseline average to know if you’re on track. In my agency and my own videos, we use this number to know if a video is getting a better CTR than normal and analyze what makes it different so we can use that strategy in future videos.
How to Create Eye-catching Thumbnail Images
Thumbnails are one of the most important pieces of your content strategy and videos. They can immediately grab attention or deter people away from watching your videos. It gives people an idea of what they’re going to get out of your video.
So, creating a thumbnail that stands out is CRITICAL!
You can create them in Canva* super quick and easy! Just make sure to follow these best practices:
Include a photo of yourself to add a touch of personal connection
Layer your graphic to make it look more dimensional
Keep text simple — keep it between 4-5 words
Bonus tip — zoom out when you make it to make sure it looks good on mobile devices!
Make Sure Your Thumbnails are Easy to Read
I know this sounds like a given, but you’d be surprised at the difference that good design can completely transform the way a thumbnail looks. I can’t stress this enough — your thumbnails are just as important as your videos.
Think about it like this — if no one is clicking to watch your video, then you’d consider the video a flop right? The whole point of the thumbnail is to grab people’s attention and get them to click!
Your thumbnails need to have high-quality photos, clear text, and an overall easy-to-look-at design. Avoid these design faux-pas when making your thumbnail:
Cluttering the design with too much information, icons, or colors
Using white or black text — blah! Boring!
Using script fonts — they’re hard to read
Think of your thumbnails only as an afterthought
Again, that thumbnail is just as important as the content in your video, so you want to treat it as such.
Create Thumbnails in Minutes with Canva
I use Canva* (yes, that’s an affiliate link) for literally ev-ery-thing in my business, but I especially love it because it helps me create great thumbnails. It’s only $13 a month for the pro version, which will give you access to thousands of pre-made templates, fonts, animated elements, and more!
Here are my best practices for creating one:
Use a filter on your photos to keep everything crisp and easy to see
Remove the background from your photos — no white noise means fewer distractions!
Use bold, block letters to make your text stand out
Creating my thumbnails in Canva also allows me to turn my designs into templates to use over and over for all of my other videos. It frees up so much of my time!
Make Sure Your Content Lines Up With the Thumbnail
When someone clicks on your video, you better make sure what you say in that thumbnail matches the content in your video. You want people to keep watching to the end, and they aren’t going to do that if they click on the video and realize your title was just a bunch of click-bait nonsense.
Retention drops off the most in the first five seconds, so be quick about reassuring your audience they’ll get what they came for.
Want to make sure your content and your thumbnail all line up? I’d recommend starting with a video outline.
Many business owners think they need a word-for-word script to make a great video and end up spending hours trying to perfect it. The result?
Videos that sound robotic and impersonal…and wasted time that could have been spent on better things.
Instead, I HIGHLY recommend outlining your videos.
It gives you the chance to loosen up on camera and create a video that’s more like a conversation than a sales call. It willl also make it easier for you to film, edit, and stay consistent with your content because you will have freedom and flexibility while also having direction.
If you want to see how I script my videos, check out this video!
Want to know what else can make your videos make money?
Thumbnails are a hugely important part of your YouTube strategy. But if you’re not creating content that people want to watch… it’s kind of a moot point.
If you’re ready to see how I build a YouTube content strategy that helped me make almost half a million dollars in 2021, my FREE workshop is going to help you.
I’ll walk you through more of the planning approach I use with my own videos AND my clients’ videos to get them results. You’ll also find your next steps in actually implementing these strategies for YouTube into your marketing plan.
This workshop is 100% free, so what do you have to lose? I’d love to have you join me, friend (but don’t think about it too long, you only have until May 25th to register).
