The Growth Plan: YouTube Channel Growth | Thumbnails - How to Create Thumbnails to Get More Viewers
It was a momentous occasion this week as I uploaded my first video to YouTube for the new small YouTube account for Be Nothing Like.
You can see it here. It's not a great video. Nobody's first video ever is. But the first video is a starting point to grow from.
The hardest part in any journey is just starting. And we all have to start somewhere right?
Going forwards, every video that I create will improve on the last one in some way. Even if that's a small way. A tiny percentage each time. Then over time, through consistently uploading and improving, we will expect to see 2 things:
Number 1: Personal development in learning and smashing a new goal. I'm getting better every day. I should be proud that I started something. I should be proud that I committed to improving myself and my life (most people give up and give excuses for not sticking to their plan: I was too busy / I'm not good in front of camera / it's a waste of time cos no one see's my stuff / I was poorly / the cat ate my video etc etc).
Number 2: My account is growing. I will have more subscribers. More likes. More watch time. Which helps me achieve my goal: to get my channel monetized to start another passive income stream.
So with consistency in uploading and improving on every video you will see growth in your own personal development and account statistics, which is great if you plan to monetize your YouTube channel. Like me.
My first video didn't have a thumbnail that I created. I didn't even know what thumbnails were. But Youtube gave me the option to add an AI thumbnail through the VidIq app and so that's what I clicked. I gave it no thought and was just happy to have a quick thumbnail, because the week was cracking on and i'd still not got my first video on. Everything was stacking up against me to get my 2 goal videos up for the week. A target that I'd set myself when committing to growing the channel. I was only in my first week and failing at poor time management. I didn't realise just how long the process of content creation / editing / uploading would be.
With the first video done and out of the way. It's time to look at my second video and start looking at ways on how to create Thumbnails to Get More Viewers. An easy improvement to make is going to add a better thumbnail with everything I've learned so far.
Making My First Thumbnail for my 2nd YouTube video - How to Create Thumbnails to Get More Viewers
Thumbnails should stand out and grab the attention of the viewer.
When designing the thumbnail follow these 2 tests;
The Glance Test: Your eye can take in the full image in a second & know what’s going on.
The Curiosity Test: Create intrigue and spark curiosity. Create tension to click.
Some Tips:
Tip1: Don’t repeat the title of the video in the thumbnail. The viewer already has that details. EG. Thumbnail: £600 in Bali
Description: What can £600 monthly rent get you in Bali
Tip2: Avoid using too much text (The Glance Test) it fails the glance test. It looks too small on mobile
Tip3: Think mobiles. Keep content of thumbnail to the centre as things get cut off.
Tip4: Design a clear focal point rather than filling the thumbnail full of stuff. Draw the eye to one point.
I'm taking what I've learnt above in creating thumbnails for YouTube and applying all of this to my second video.
Critiquing My First Thumbnail for improvements to my 2nd YouTube video
You'll know from earlier in the post that I quickly clicked on an AI prompt to add the thumbnail to my first YouTube video. I wrote loads of text on it then uploaded it to YouTube. I didn't give it much thought. I plan to give each video going forwards, much more thought with regards to adding a thumbnail.
I can see from my thumbnail learnings that this thumbnail doesn't do the job it was intended to do. It failed The Glance Test: with too much text causing the viewer to not really know what the vid was about before having to read tons of text. Some more ways that I can improve my YouTube Thumbnail :
It failed the The Curiosity Test: Because the viewer doesn't really know what the vid is about without reading tons. I can't create curiosity.
Some Tips:
Tip1: Don’t repeat the title of the video in the thumbnail. I definitely repeated the title of the vid in the thumbnail.
Tip2: Avoid using too much text (The Glance Test) it fails the glance test. LOL just look at all that text. This would definitely look too small on mobile.
Tip3: Think mobiles. My content of the thumbnail goes to the edge so will get cut off.
Tip4: Design a clear focal point. There is no clear focal point, just a splatter of everything, everywhere. Therefore I don't draw the eye to one point.
So as you can see there is a lot to improve on just this one thing: The Thumbnail.
To which I'll be applying this improvement to my next video.
I'll update at the end of the week with my first video in the The Growth Plan: YouTube Channel Growth Review where I improve on each YouTube video that I upload. And also how this 2nd video did in comparison to the 1st video.
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And always leave a comment below if this page has helped you. I only write and share stuff on the blog to help. So let me know. Does it help? Did you get something from it? And what do you want to know going forward? I am at your service, Fletchy McFletchface xx
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