How To Make A Clickbait Thumbnail For YouTube Videos
Who doesn’t want to gain as many views as possible on their YouTube videos?Through an image manipulation tactic, known as clickbait, YouTubers have managed to attract audiences by the engaging appearance of a video’s thumbnail. From the viewer’s perspective, the first thing their eyes glance on is the title and image of a video. With that being said, it is important to make them incredibly fascinating so you can grasp people’s attention from the very start. Follow these instructions to make a clickable thumbnail to increase viewership and potentially have a fanbase for your rising YouTube career.
High Definition Images
Regardless of how outrageous your thumbnail is, it is necessary to use high definition images. If the quality of the thumbnail is not pleasing to the eye, the viewer can assume that the actual video will not be any different. According to YouTube’s standards, your images should at least be 1280 pixels x 720 pixels. The sizing perfectly goes hand-in-hand with the concept of clickbait, as it is necessary to provide good enough resolution for viewers so they may have an easy time to see every element of the thumbnail. With appropriately sized images that give an initial sense of quality to your content, the viewer will most likely take the bait and might start browsing your channel more often.
Good Balance of Color and Brightness
Just like anything in life, the more saturated things are — the more alive they appear to be. In order to bring life into your images, you may want to highly consider editing them with a favorable mix of color and brightness. For example, you can highlight an image with an outline or add a tone to the background that will make your thumbnail pop right out of the screen. These tactics can be done through many applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Pixlr, and PicMonkey. By spending time to make thumbnails more animated, people will be intrigued to click on your videos because they can immediately tell that there is effort being put into the content. YouTubers who can fuse a good balance of color and brightness to their thumbnails are not only learning a new skill, but drawing in more people with a style that is hard to resist.
Intriguing Text
Whether you realize or not, text can make or break your thumbnail. It is important to have words or phrases on top of your images because it instigates curiosity and creates drama. For example, you can have a title called “Insane Lie Detector Game…” and text such as “Did You Have Sex With My Ex?!” to bring intensity to the topic that you will discuss. Regardless if the truth is stretched or exaggerated, the text strengthens the thumbnail and encourages the viewer to click on the video. At the same time, you want to make sure your title and text are not completely misleading because it will backfire sooner than later. The text you put on your thumbnails needs to be provocative enough so that people click on it, but at the same time it should not place you in a bad light. One way or another, typing words or phrases in a certain fashion will bring in more viewers that can either benefit or sabotage your channel in ways you did not expect.
Using Emotion
In order to get a response, there needs to be emotion. If your thumbnail does not initially generate feelings for the viewer, they will ignore your content and continue scrolling for another video to watch. You can include emotion in your thumbnails by simply using overemphasized images that you believe will make people feel a particular way. For example, you can take a photo of yourself looking depressed to make the viewer feel sad and concerned. Although you may not be seriously heartbroken outside of the image, people tend to believe what they see at first sight. This tactic allows you to lure in more viewers with a somewhat genuine expression that is relatable and enticing enough for someone to click. Emotion is the key component for a clickbait thumbnail, as it establishes a connection between you and the viewer to eventually achieve more views on your beloved video.
