Here’s how YOU can create thumbnails people WANT to click on, for FREE with TubeBuddy’s
thumbnail generator.
The thumbnail is perhaps the most important aspect of optimizing your videos because it’s
the first thing people see.
If your thumbnail doesn’t compel someone to click and watch your YouTube video, it
doesn’t matter how good the video is because it won’t be seen.
We know that creating thumbnails can be difficult when you start out, and editing softwares-
can be expensive.
That’s why we created the TubeBuddy thumbnail generator for free so YOU create thumbnails
without leaving YouTube.
You can launch the Thumbnail Generator on the Upload screen after your video has been
processed.
For existing videos, you can find it on the video edit page or my videos page under misc.
(Plan for the first step is to show each process, so selecting a still, choosing a solid color,
uploading an image.)
First you need to choose how you want to generate your background layer.
This can be either a still frame from the video, a solid canvas with a color of your
choice, or an image/ existing thumbnail.
I’ll be using a still image from this video as an example!
If you want to change what background you’ve selected you can do so here.
Just re-select step one, and switch to whichever background layer you’d like.
Next, we will look at the Layers tab.
Similar to any photo-editing or other design software which uses layers., you can add multiple
layers to your thumbnails to help them stand out.
To edit your base layer, you will need to uncheck lock background option found here.
Then select the image within the thumbnail generator.
Here you’ll notice the layer edit toolbar.
Here you can bring the layer to the front, send the layer to the back, lock the layer,
add a black or white drop shadow, and finally change the opacity, brightness or contrast.
You can also do this to an image you bring into the thumbnail generator!
If we go back to step 1, we can choose this thumbnail and make changes.
This allows you more control of the image, and you can make changes to enhance the image
cmore for YouTube.
I’ll go ahead and edit the image with you now!
[Show sped up thumbnail generation process]
Once You’ve made all the edits to the main layer, you’ll want to go ahead and lock
the background layer here.
Now that we’re done editing the background we can add other layers to it.
The following can be added for free!
Text, images, shapes, and emojis.
The frame and template sections do require a paid TubeBuddy license.
The “Frame” section is provided by our friends at Tubertools.com
If you’d like to get a free trial to try this feature, and have never had a free trial
before, check out that video on screen now, and then come back to this video to learn
how to generate thumbnails.
Let’s go back to step one, and upload the background you see for all of the TubeBuddy
videos!
We’ll upload our background image, and then head to step two.
Here we’ll add an image by selecting image and hitting the plus sign here.
It’s important to note that Free TubeBuddy users can only add one custom image, and cannot
upload a custom font or create templates.
If possible, we always recommend trying to shoot an image for the thumbnail, that way
the image can better portray what the message of -- your video is about.
Our goal at TubeBuddy is to help you generate professional looking thumbnails for free!
Now that you have a background image, you can add a shape and place it behind other
images to help them stand out against the background.
You can also add a shadow to an image to stick out more.
Then you can select the font you want to use.
When designing a Thumbnail it should be based around a well researched title.
A compelling thumbnail and a well researched title should work together to not only show
up in search results, but also compel users to click on your video.
Here is where you can design to your heart's content, and here’s how WE do it at TubeBuddy!
[Show thumbnail being designed]
If you typically use the same format for your thumbnails, you can save time by saving a
set of layers as a Template.
Then for future videos, it’s as easy as applying your existing template and making
a few tweaks to the text, image, or shapes for example.
Remember, this does require a paid TubeBuddy license.
The Final Step is the preview!
This will show you how well your thumbnail stands out against its competition.
It will also show you what it looks like on other social media platforms.
However, before you publish we also give you some tips to remember: Use bright and high
contrast images, try to include a human face if you can, and if it makes sense for the
video, make sure you can read any text that you added, and use consistent font, shapes,
colors, and images across your thumbnails that are consistent with your brand.
You also have the option to download your thumbnail, and if you’re unsure how it will
perform, you can run an A/B test, but that does require the highest level of TubeBuddy!
Once you’re happy with your thumbnail, all you need to do is hit Save and Publish.
TubeBuddy will publish your thumbnail live and you’re good to go.
Good videos can be less discoverable due to bad thumbnails, but with TubeBuddy, and our
Thumbnail Generator we can help you improve your thumbnails!
We want to know!
What would you like to see from Thumbnail generator?
Would you like this on our TB mobile app?
Let us know!
I’m Andrew Kan from TubeBuddy, and thank you for watching!