Create Clickbait Thumbnails for YouTube: Top Clickbait YouTube Thumbnail

YouTube is a great platform for every content creator and audience. You get unlimited entertainment suggested one after another. But if you’re very serious about content creation and want to reach new audiences, you also have to check other things, like making content that is unique or editing YouTube videos in a way that excites the audience. Presenting your video in a different style or interacting with the audience through live sessions all has to happen if you’re an established creator with a loyal following. But what if you’re a new creator? How do you reach a new audience? YouTube can suggest your content to new people, but they have to click it, and that’s when YouTube clickbait thumbnails come into the picture.

In this article, we will learn about?:

• Clickbait thumbnails: Here, we will learn about why clickbait thumbnails generate more viewership and why it’s important, including the pros and cons of having a good clickbait thumbnail.
• Creating effective YouTube thumbnails: Let’s look at what the top features of a good YouTube thumbnail are and learn how to create clickbait thumbnails.
• Best clickbait thumbnails: Let’s look at some of the top YouTube thumbnail examples that satisfy the audience with the content and urge them to click and watch.
• Pro tips and tricks: Yes, my dear readers, I’d like to give you rich ideas and tips to make your clickbait thumbnails stand out.
  

I think YouTube thumbnails are definitely important in your YouTube video creation journey. Most people get the clicks because of their clickbait thumbnails. The question remains: how can you create a good clickbait thumbnail that does not deviate from the real content? I am here to answer that, and in this blog, I’ve covered everything you need to know about clickbait YouTube thumbnails.

Understanding Clickbait Thumbnails

Clickbait thumbnails are the type of Yoube thumbnails that capture the immediate attention of the YouTube audience and push them to click. Clickbait thumbnails make it impossible for users not to click. The title of the YouTube video is also of equal importance, and oftentimes, it works alongside a good clickbait thumbnail to create more clicks and video views.

Comment
byu/div_investor_forever from discussion
inPartneredYoutube

I think you can try to use a provocative style in your text. This can create curiosity among the audience and their urge to check out the content for more. You can understand more about this through the CTR (click-through rate) metric used by the algorithm; it plays a massive role in how well the YouTube video performs and can calculate how it’s shown to new and existing audiences. The higher the CTR of your video, well, good news, that’s better, as your clickbait thumbnails are working. Now, let’s look at the pros and cons of a clickbait YouTube thumbnail.

The Pros and Cons of Clickbait Youtube Thumbnail

As content creators are finding new ways to attract viewers, clickbait YouTube thumbnails are a great strategy to grab the viewer’s attention and entice them to click on the video. Now, let’s look at the pros and cons of using clickbait-style thumbnails to increase CTRs and vital YouTube metrics.

Comment
byu/65fgd76tr from discussion
inNewTubers

Pros:

• Enhanced visibility: Clickbait YouTube thumbnails are designed to stand out in a crowded YouTube feed, making them more visually appealing than the rest and more noticeable.
• Higher engagement: Well-designed, eye-catching thumbnails prompt more clicks, giving more engagement to your videos and increasing the views.
• Boosts watch time: Curiosity-generating thumbnails lead to longer watch times as viewers become curious to see and explore the video further.
• Increased subscriptions: If your YouTube video has a captivating thumbnail design, your subscribers can also increase if they’re intrigued by your video’s content.

Cons:

• Trust issues: If you deceive your audience with misleading thumbnails and titles to trick them into creating views, it can lead to major trust issues, causing viewers to avoid your videos in the future.
• Undermining user experience: Clickbait thumbnails can severely affect the user experience on YouTube.
• Irritate long-time subscribers: Constant use of clickbait can irritate your followers, leading them to avoid your content next time.
  

Create Effective Clickbait Thumbnails for YouTube

If you are new to this YouTube journey, there are several things you should ensure: have a good editor for your YouTube videos and, of course, create binge-worthy content. These two won’t matter much if you don’t have an effective thumbnail on the video.

Thumbnails are super important on YouTube.

Let’s dig into why.

This video went from 300,000 views to 1.1m views after changing the thumbnail.
But this wasn’t a random change, it was part of our A/B testing system.

Here’s why we do it and why you should consider doing it too.… pic.twitter.com/9Nx9jgTnWl

— Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal) November 24, 2023

So here are some important ways to create click-worthy YouTube thumbnails for your channel.

High Quality Clickbait Images

When selecting images for the thumbnail, make sure you select high-quality images that are both relevant to your video and visually appealing. YouTube also recommends using a thumbnail image with a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Also, remember that if the quality is exceeded and the file size is more than 2MB, you won’t be able to upload it. But as a tip, I suggest you use curiosity-generating images that are, of course, HD.

Using Emotions and Psychology

Human emotions can be considered a powerful tool in both creating designs and content. When it comes to creating designs, I feel like emotional design can have a great impact on the eyes of your viewers.

Comment
byu/div_investor_forever from discussion
inPartneredYoutube

Using expressive facial expressions can evoke genuine curiosity and excitement from the audience and more traffic. You can also try adding the title in fonts that evoke curiosity and trust among the audience.

Play to Context

You should always consider the context in which your video will appear when making a thumbnail. Don’t try deceptive marketing because it can create a negative impact on your channel, and people may avoid your content in the future. I think you can check out similar niche YouTube videos to see what they’re doing in their thumbnails and get inspired (yes, please don’t copy). Sometimes, there’s a chance that some creators may copyright their thumbnails, and if you try to use them the same way, you can get a copyright issue. So, make sure you always stick to the context.

Text Urgency

You can play with different fonts according to the viewers’ type. If your channel primarily focuses on children’s content, you can use cute fonts. Or, if it’s about sassy content, you can use graffiti fonts or other types of number fonts that create a sense of urgency. Text on the thumbnail can make a good thumbnail for your YouTube channel. You can try text overlays or ways in which people feel like they shouldn’t miss out on this content.

Comment
byu/div_investor_forever from discussion
inPartneredYoutube

Use a Consistent Style

When making such designs, I suggest you create a consistent style to establish your channel’s identity. You can add branded elements like colors or brightness and adjust them to ensure cohesiveness with your brand design. This will help viewers easily recognize your content and differentiate it from other channels.

How I Design YouTube Thumbnails That Convert Leads

It’s NOT about Photoshop skills;

It’s about visual storytelling that HOOKS your ideal audience.

Most YouTube growth advice says to create the thumbnail FIRST.

That’s a lazy strategy that trains you to focus on clickbait… pic.twitter.com/q9SXpJ9qZ1

— Helmi | YouTube for Business (@HelmiHasan_com) October 1, 2024

Use Emojis

Emojis are also a great way to add an extra level of emotions (Haha, I tried to play with that). But yeah, try to use emojis when needed, like if they add value to the title and overall context, and avoid overusing them.

Optimizing Thumbnails for Mobile and SEO

I am stressing the importance of optimizing your thumbnail for mobile users, as I feel most YouTube subscribers generally prefer watching videos on their mobiles. So, keeping this in mind, I think you should consider using a large, clear image in your thumbnail outline with big, bold display fonts to highlight the title that can be easily read on a small screen.

Regarding SEO, I think you should also use relevant keywords and descriptions in your thumbnail and the title. This way, you can optimize your thumbnail for search engines by using keywords and tags.

Best Clickpbait thumbnails for Youtube

Here are some examples of the best clickbait thumbnails for Youtube

1. Split Screen Thumbnail

Place two contrasting images side by side, highlighting a dramatic difference or improvement, engaging the audience immediately.

2. Celebrity

Use popular celebrity images or well-known figures to draw connections to trending topics and attract more viewers.

3. Shocked

As I mentioned before, creating emotions—mainly related to shock, surprise, and tense expressions- can lead to great video viewership. For example, popular YouTuber MrBeast follows this style.

4. Unpopular Opinion

You can create a clickbait thumbnail that offers an unpopular opinion, going against the grain and providing a unique perspective on a current issue in your niche.

5. Reaction Thumbnails

Most of the recent popular YouTube videos are based on reactions, so the clickbait thumbnail can be designed to show yourself reacting to another creator’s content, music video, or an item, capturing your audience’s attention with curiosity.

6. Top 10

Creating a clickbait thumbnail with “Top 10” text and images that are relevant to your niche can be a great way to entice your audience to check out your content.

Tools and Resources for Creating Clickbait Thumbnails

CS:GO Youtube videos clickbait thumbnail starter pack pic.twitter.com/aIKQ2kCvVQ

— Hac1 (@DonHaci) May 24, 2020

There are different tools available online to create clickbait images. As AI is dominating the market, you can use tools like Leonardo AI or MidJourney to create AI-generated images that spark curiosity and make good-looking thumbnails. You can also use other tools like Thumbnail Grabber to download and edit your video’s current thumbnail.

Most new creators use generic tools like Canva to create customized YouTube thumbnails. It’s very easy to use, and you don’t need to know how to design like a pro. There’s also a similar tool called Kittl, which you can use to create designs. Other editing tools include Adobe Creative Cloud to Adobe express to create high-resolution images.

Personal Opinion: Tips and tricks

As a personal opinion, I hate when I click on a video because of a crazy thumbnail as part of misleading tactics, only to find out it has nothing to do with the content. It feels like a waste of time. So, a personal tip is to always design your thumbnails with the context of the video in mind. Headlines are also important, so making a relevant caption related to the niche and highlighting key points can increase curiosity.

After being misled by clickbait too many times, I’ve started to avoid channels that rely heavily on them. Trust is important, and once it’s broken, it’s hard to regain. So, make sure you don’t solely rely on thumbnails but also work on the content and SEO keywords.

Conclusion

Clickbait thumbnails can be a powerful tool to attract new subscribers to your content and channel. But I always suggest using them responsibly. Like Spider-Man always said, “With great power comes great responsibility,” so make sure you don’t mislead your viewers with deceptive thumbnails. Check out how to make a clickbait thumbnail in my other blog. 

Having a good-quality thumbnail is important because I understand that this platform is highly competitive. So, if anyone needs help with their YouTube content creation journey, you can easily connect with our team at Graphically. We’re the best in this field. We have professional video editors who can help you edit videos and top-notch graphic designers who can help you create exciting thumbnails.

FAQ

1. What is clickbait thumbnail in YouTube?

Clickbait thumbnails are those eye-catching images designed to grab viewers’ attention and make them want to click on your video. When done right, a compelling thumbnail can significantly increase your click-through rates, drawing more viewers to your content and contributing to your channel’s overall success. In this article, we’ll dive into the essentials of creating an effective clickbait thumbnail that truly resonates with your audience.

2. How to create a killer YouTube thumbnail?

When it comes to your YouTube thumbnails, consistency is crucial. While your thumbnails should reflect the uniqueness of your content, they also need to have a recognizable style. Viewers should instantly know it’s yours when they see one of your thumbnails. To achieve this, choose a specific font, select a color palette, and include your logo.