Scribd
Upload
188 views

YouTube Thumbnail Template

1) The document provides tips for creating effective YouTube thumbnails, including using consistent design and colors, choosing high-contrast colors that stand out like orange and pink instead of YouTube's brand colors, and including at least one person's face. 2) It also shares a template for YouTube thumbnails that includes sections for the main image, optional graphics, and optional overlaid text. 3) The template provides recommendations for each section, such as making the main image 1280x720 pixels, using graphics sparingly, keeping text short at around 30 characters, and making the text very large.

Uploaded by

Julian Snøw
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
188 views

YouTube Thumbnail Template

1) The document provides tips for creating effective YouTube thumbnails, including using consistent design and colors, choosing high-contrast colors that stand out like orange and pink instead of YouTube's brand colors, and including at least one person's face. 2) It also shares a template for YouTube thumbnails that includes sections for the main image, optional graphics, and optional overlaid text. 3) The template provides recommendations for each section, such as making the main image 1280x720 pixels, using graphics sparingly, keeping text short at around 30 characters, and making the text very large.

Uploaded by

Julian Snøw
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

 

Here are 3 quick tips to make an awesome YouTube thumbnail: 


 
1) Use consistent design and colors.​ It’s important to make all your thumbnails 
match each other. That way, fans of your content will recognize your videos in 
their feed. 
 
2) Choose colors that stand out.​ Lots of channels use red, white and black for their 
thumbnails. But those are the WORST colors to use. The reason: they’re 
YouTube’s brand colors. So red and black thumbnails tend to blend in. No problem 
using them as accents, but for your primary colors it’s better to use other options. 
Like orange, yellow, pink and blue. 
 
3) Use high contrast and include a person’s face.​ In addition to using good primary 
colors, using high contrast will help your thumbnail stand out. And human faces 
have been shown to i​ ncrease CTR​, so it’s best to include at least one. 
 
 
With those tips in mind, here’s your YouTube thumbnail template. 
 
Fill in the box for each section below. 
 

Main image 
Your main image is the base layer of your video thumbnail. Anything else you add will go 
on top of it. So the most important factor is to make it the right size: 1280x720. 
 
And of course, the image should fit what your video is about. Otherwise people might 
click through, but they won’t stay for long. Which would make YouTube classify your 
 

video as c
​ lickbait​ and stop recommending it. (So if your video is about how to swim, 
don’t put a photo of a stack of cash in your thumbnail.) 
 
Sometimes it’s hard to find an image that fits. Like if your video is about a concept rather 
than something concrete. In that case, you can use a solid background color as your 
main image. And rely on text and/or graphics to show what it’s about.  
 
(That’s the approach we take with the ​Backlinko channel​.) 
 

Now, describe what your main image will be. 

E.g. Photo of me pointing at a stop sign next to a convertible. 

 
Graphics 
Graphics are an optional component. But they can make your thumbnails stand out. And 
help make it clear what your videos are about. 
 
Common graphics include arrows and circles, symbols and emojis, cutout images, 
charts, fire and other special effects, illustrations, logos and glowing outlines. 
 
One thing about graphics: it’s easy to go overboard with them. So make sure you don’t 
clutter up your thumbnail too much. 
 

What graphics will you use in your thumbnail, if any? 

E.g. Green circle around stop sign, eyes emoji 


 

Text 
Overlaid text is another optional part of your video thumbnail.  
 
Personally, I always add some. But you may not want to. For example, if you’re going for 
a cleaner, simple look. Or if your image and graphics are self-explanatory. 
 
A few tips for writing a text overlay: 
 
● Keep it short. Around 30 characters or less. Remember, thumbnails are small. You 
want it to make it easy to read on mobile as well. 
 
● Make the text REALLY big. Again, it has to be huge or people won’t be able to read 
it. Using all uppercase helps too. 
 
● The thumbnail text doesn’t have to be your video title. You can use a few 
descriptive words instead. For example, the title of t​ his video​ is “The 8-Step SEO 
Strategy for Higher Rankings in 2020”. But on the thumbnail, I just put “SEO 
STRATEGY FOR 2020”. 
 

Now, what text will you include in your thumbnail? 

E.g. STOP SIGN PRANK! 

 
 
That wraps up this YouTube Thumbnail Template. I hope it was useful. Remember, you 
can find 20+ other marketing templates h
​ ere​. 
 
Brian Dean 
Founder, Backlinko.com 

You might also like