Thumbnails

[xingcat]

I recently changed the way I present my thumbnails, removing the backgrounds and adding a colorful gradient to whatever I was presenting (either just a screenshot of myself in the video or whatever the video is about, like the food I'm cooking or the characters in the sketch of the week). The result frankly surprised me. I am now consistently seeing my videos gain views about twice as quickly, and they all have had a 20% increase in views across the board.

Now, to be honest, I HATE the look of thumbnails in the way they are generally presented on YouTube. I think the "colorful background with just one person or thing in the foreground and large title" look is so over-used that it's repetitive and boring, but I can't argue with the results. So if you're unsure if your thumbnails are playing a role in views, I'd say they are, and to play around with them until you find a way of making them pop enough for viewers to click on them.

 

[Tivo]

Glad you find more success with different thumbnails, good adevice. I always wondered the same thing...should I try thone kind of thumbnails even though I don't like the look. Guess you answered my life long question lol.

 

[Morbidejs]

Thanks for sharing your observation!

 

[Idec Sdawkminn]

I'm glad that worked out for you! I recently changed all my thumbnails. Before, they were just a frame from the video. I changed them all to be a zoomed-in face shot and added the title to them and noticed... about 10% drop in views.

So I changed them back, only leaving the zoomed-in face shot and adding my logo in the upper left corner. I'm also putting a red border around the outside of my new ones to point out which ones feature the new style of video editing I've started doing. Views are going back up now.

Now if only YouTube would get the thumbnails of embedded videos (like in our signatures) to work again.

 

[Redford1900]

Now, to be honest, I HATE the look of thumbnails in the way they are generally presented on YouTube

I read this and thought, "yes, I agree" but then I looked at your channel and, I think, the new thumbnails do look better and less cluttered. Thanks so much for sharing your success. I'm going to try it. However, it gets tiring doing all the extra stuff (besides making a video) to optimize YouTube success. (Sorry about the whine.)

 

[xingcat]

However, it gets tiring doing all the extra stuff (besides making a video) to optimize YouTube success. (Sorry about the whine.)

Absolutely! I look at what @KiddieToysReview talks about, the detail that channel goes into, and it's awe-inspiring and exhausting all at the same time. I've never had a good head for business, and self-promotion is entirely against my grain, but it's what's necessary to get my work out there, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

 

[PositivelyBrainwashed]

I could definitely see why your new thumbnails are getting more traffic. In psychology there's a cognitive bias sometimes referred to as, availability misweighing tendency. Basically the mind likes what is easily comprehendable to. If it's too complex the mind doesn't want to do anything with it. The background in your previous one made the the letters a bit harder to read. The difference is micro seconds, but to the human brain that makes a big difference.

 

[The Cold Abyss]

Good nice advice much appreciated! (=

 

[Winger94]

I also think that thumbnails are way more important than what it seems. I also believe that the normal approach with screenshot and text doesn't obtain good results sometimes. Recently I switched the way how I create all the thumbs, removing the text (where it's possible) and relying more on the visual impact.
Can't say if that is obtaining more or less results, but now I like them much more than before!