How to Create a YouTube Thumbnail

Do you want more subscribers and views on your videos? Well, you need to know how to create a YouTube thumbnail that catches people’s attention to make them want to watch your video.

By having click-worthy thumbnails you will have more people choosing to watch your videos over your competition, which will increase your watch time and subscribers. In the video below,  I walk you through step by step how to create a YouTube thumbnail for free!

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to use a free tool called Canva to create all of your YouTube thumbnails. Here are some reasons why I love Canva:

1) It’s completely free to get started.

2) It’s simple to use. 

3) You don’t need to be a graphic designer to get started in this software.

The elements you need to include in your YouTube Thumbnail:

1. Human Element 

People connect to people so it’s nice to have a face or a human element like a hand, etc as part of your thumbnail. Pictures of you or members of your team work well.

2. Large Font

Now I would recommend not using your full title on the thumbnail, instead just use keywords that will catch people’s attention. 

3. Graphics

You can add graphic elements for visual interest.

4. Bright Colors

Now you want to make sure are keeping this in line with your brand colours, but having eye-catching background colours can help with your click-through rate.

Pro Tip – To save time creating images for your thumbnails, make sure you pose at the end of your videos so you are able to grab screenshots from the video to use as your pictures in the thumbnail. 

Now, thumbnails are not the only important thing when it comes to a successful YouTube channel, so make sure you are set up for success make sure you download my YouTube channel checklist by clicking the link below.  If you want to learn all the aspects that go into making a successful YouTube channel, make sure you check out this article here.