Dear Podcasters: Stop Making YouTube Thumbnails That Look Like This
YouTube is truly an amazing opportunity for podcasters, especially now that ingesting your feed is easier than ever. Unlike traditional RSS aggregators, YouTube will actively search out potential viewers and deliver your content to them on a silver platter.
The only thing YouTube can’t do is force them to click play.
We’ve all seen it. The host is on one side, the guest on the other. The episode's title is in big, bold letters, and — lest anyone forget it’s a podcast — there’s even a microphone icon for good measure.
These images were just stock templates from Canva, but I’m willing to bet you’ve seen similar designs on YouTube. And to be fair, these thumbnails are appealing. The colors pop and contrast, and the headshots look great — artistically and visually, nothing is wrong.
Unfortunately, this just doesn’t fly on YouTube.
YouTube is a game of attention
It’s not enough to create beautiful thumbnails. As a matter of fact, there may even be times when “ugly” thumbnails are better suited. It’s not the beauty or lack thereof that’s important. The only thing that matters is whether or not the image catches the attention of potential viewers.
Headshots are not mandated
Believe it or not, no law states that every thumbnail must contain a photo of you personally. The same goes for your guest.
Interviewing an author who just wrote a book on the frequency of brown bear attacks in North America? Sure, you could use the same old boring template…
Or you could create a little intrigue.
But what about my branded color theme?
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but nobody cares. They also don’t care about the special font you spent hours picking out because it perfectly encapsulates your tone.
On YouTube, your goal is to compel viewers to hit play and keep them watching. That’s it. And today, we’re only focusing on the hitting play aspect.
Consistency isn’t as important as you might think
I used to adhere to the idea that consistency of design was key. You find a thumbnail style that works and then build around it so that even a casual scroller knows it’s one of your videos at a glance. The more recognizable your work, the better, right? Well, maybe not.
By digging into my channel’s analytics, I see that nearly half of the viewers on any given day are brand-spanking new. Some days, I even get more new viewers than returning viewers. A branded font or consistent color theme didn’t attract this new audience. It wasn’t until I abandoned a formulaic approach and began treating each new thumbnail as its own creation that my views and subscribers really began to take off.
Ok, cool. So if headshots, branded colors, and consistent fonts are out, then what’s in? What do you need to do for your channel to grow?
Steal from the best
Obviously, don’t just start ripping off the work of others, but it never hurts to check out the competition.
Search for channels similar to your niche or topic and analyze their thumbnails. Focus on the videos with higher views. Do they use headshots? Is each thumbnail just a picture of their guest? Are the color patterns always the same? What are they doing thumbnails-wise that you’re not? What about their titles?
Psychology of a click
The first thing that catches a viewer’s eye is the thumbnail. A split second later (if you're lucky), their eyes will drift to the title. A good title should complement the message in the thumbnail rather than mirror it. These two should work together to create a sense of interest or curiosity gap. If you must use text in your thumbnail, it should not match your video title.
Why waste such valuable real estate by repeating yourself?
Authenticity is overrated
Ok, so maybe I’m being just a tad facetious. Yes, you should always be authentic, but authenticity does not have to mean boring thumbnails. You don’t need to go full-on YouTube open-mouth-face or engage in clickbait to craft compelling thumbnails. And besides, it’s only clickbait if your content doesn’t deliver.
Ditch the microphone
Nobody cares whether your show is a podcast or not. Truth is, most people don’t even know what the hell a podcast is. They want to be entertained or informed, that’s it.
Likewise, there’s no reason to use your thumbnail to disclose that your video is audio-only. Believe it or not, this does happen. I know of a large brand that plasters “audio-only podcast” across each of their thumbnails, and it drives me batty.
Contrary to popular belief, audio-only podcasts can find success on YouTube. That said, why announce it via your thumbnail? Draw the viewers in with your visuals and hook them with your content, and you’ll be surprised how many people will stick around for more (even without an actual video). Trust me, they’ll figure out that it’s audio-only all on their own without you telling them.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing
YouTube gurus often advise making thumbnails before even thinking about creating the video. According to them, if you can’t figure out a compelling or intriguing thumbnail, then the video itself likely isn’t even worth making.
While I understand this theory, I’m not sure it’s the best advice for most podcasters. Don’t let perfection stand in the way of getting your voice out there. Your thumbnail doesn’t have to be perfect— it just needs to be more intriguing than the default boring headshots.
Creating distinct thumbnails for each episode can be time-consuming, but it doesn’t necessarily have to take up huge chunks of your busy schedule. I would urge you to try giving it just a little extra effort each week. Success on YouTube is all about packaging. Why spend countless hours on your script, delivery, and audio while treating your thumbnail as an afterthought?
Still stuck?
It wouldn’t hurt to check out this video by Aprilynne Alter, in which she expertly lays out a killer formula for crafting amazing thumbnails. I’m also a big fan of Paddy Galloway regarding YouTube strategies.
In short, by optimizing your thumbnails for YouTube, you can find success, even with audio-only content. However, as with anything worth pursuing, it does take a little extra effort and a willingness to think outside the box.
P.S.
I originally began this article targeting a large (and super duper professional) media company that struggles to generate views despite having hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers. Their four most recent uploads — as of this writing — have less than 100 views each.
I clicked play on several videos to get a taste of what they’re offering, and the content is objectively good. I even returned to one of the videos later to listen to the entire thing. The hosts are excellent, the production value is perfect, and the subject matter is on point.
If you were to ask this media company what the problem is, they’d likely tell you that they’re audio-only and that audio-only simply isn’t a draw on YouTube. After all, what’s the point in optimizing thumbnails if their hosts aren’t on camera?
This is false. My channel (and many others) prove this theory wrong on a near-weekly basis. And besides, nobody would know that the hosts aren’t on camera because they’d have to click on the thumbnail to figure that out. And — by the looks of things — nobody is clicking.
If I were to show you an example of this unnamed channel’s thumbnails, you’d immediately understand the issue, but I’ve decided not to do that — mostly because I don’t want anyone to get in trouble or, god forbid, lose their job.
I only bring it up to say this — boring thumbnails are not just a problem that small or “unestablished” creators face. Some big dogs are struggling on YouTube, while 12-year-olds are going viral. Why? I don’t know; maybe the kids aren’t stuck in their ways or afraid of trying new things.
You’ll never have the perfect setup, and there will always be room for improvement. But until you optimize your thumbnails, your channel will be dead in the water before you even hit publish, video or not.
