How I Actually Make Viral Thumbnails

I made only 3 videos on this channel , and all of them got over 100,000 views believe it or not it all . comes down to these 4 steps  I already explained how I use  storytelling to get more retention  now it's time for step 2.... you ready?  if no one clicks on the video they don't watch  point of the thumbnail is to create a journey   from the thumbnail to even the high quality images are crucial  add some intrique. and make people want to know what happens next  doesn't make any sense does it? we need to make better thumbnails...  I don't mean these guys are wrong but let's  be real you already know all these basics  even if you don't they're just common sense . do you really need to be told to keep your   thumbnail simple 5 different times in 5 , different videos from 5 different gurus?  I guess not so here's the full   guide on how to actually make a thumbnail . that gets clicks we will go from the design   rules I use to thumbnail types getting inspiration  branding word choice visual effects testing and...  the first rule is pretty simple but it takes your  design from a mess to a piece of art just take   any popular youtuber's thumbnail and and draw 4 . lines like that do you see what's going on there?  almost all of them even my thumbnails . follow these lines at the core  well you might know the rule of thirds  from photography which basically says  put the objects over these  lines to get a nice shot  that's why almost every channel . has a thumbnail like this  because it works, so just add those lines to   guide you throughout the entire design, trust me it's a game changer  we'll come back to the layout but before . that you need to choose a color...  you probably heard people talking about the color  wheel the idea is to get enough contrast in your   thumbnail you should choose two opposite colors , from this circle and if you dive deeper you would   see there are more techniques that's used to  get fancy combinations but here's the plot...  I don't use them there's a much easier way  to find a color for your thumbnail and for   your entire channel so here's what I do take any . color you like as your main color I chose yellow   for mine then add three more one black one  white and one in the middle you can slightly   tweak these to match your main color but I like  to keep it simple and finally add another color   to highlight things there we go go a color palette . that's actually useful even though my sister says   it looks like a Minecraft house made from diamond  and gold I like it you can use it in your editing   too but that's for another video now you might ask  wouldn't that be too repetitive if I use the same   colors in all my thumbnails?, that's right!  the solution is simple just change the highlight , color that way you can keep the fresh vibes   while still being recognizable by your viewers it's simple just pick a basic font that isn't   overused and you're good to go for those those who  are asking the fwn I use is called "eastman" and   it looks pretty good all right we talked about the , rule of thirds and how to make a good layout it's   nice but you can't just invent something new . in this square for every single video right?  well you don't have to, if you paid attention while   browsing on the homepage you may already  have catched some thumbnail types that most   youtubers are using shout out to this legend , for breaking them down into 21 categories but   here's the best 10 that will work for 99% of . the time youtubers like Airrack and Mrbeast use   that style all the time but even if you're , not an entertainment channel you can still   use this type of thumbnail take a look at this. hey what's he doing?! dude put that chicken down!   oh this is how airplane engines are tested..., they test it with chickens?!  see that's the target emotion of these , thumbnails just shock the viewer while   scrolling on the homepage and make them clip , it's easier to say but think about what you   have in your video that would shock the viewers ,

of course big things always get more attention   don't take this out of context people are . curious to know what a $50 million house   looks like or how this dude earns $900 just by . listening to music until they realize he doesn't among all those over edited and screaming . thumbnails another way to stand out is   keeping it really simple just an interesting  chat from discord a chair a red button or this   thing whatever this is may get more attention it's  usually just a screenshot shot from the video and   a simple question that makes you curious to know  what's going on channels like Dr Insanity or Zack   are doing it so good that it makes it impossible , to skip if you're a small channel and a popular   niche social hacking is probably the best way to  gain the first traction basically take the face of   a famous person in your Niche and slap it into , your thumbnail oh the video must be about that   person though otherwise it's called clickbait all  the videos you see with Mrbeast's face are using   this strategy and it works pretty well even dream . used in his first videos so don't underestimate   the power of a popular face all right let's , speed things up this is the style you see all   over youtube just the creator next to something  bigger yeah the one I use in this channel   basically an interesting text at the top to give . more context about the video it can be anything to   compare to before and after something cheap versus . expensive iPhone versus Android fin versus AI you   got the point blurring the main character or the , final result so people have to click to find out I don't know if you realize but all of those viral . thumbnails that I showed in this video and even   all the ones that you saw on your homepage have , one thing in common they're not just using one   of these formulas they're combining them look . at Mrwhosetheboss' series where he buys every   release of a tech like iPhone or Playstation I , showed you this in big numbers but if you look   closer you would see that he also uses header , comparison and even social hacking formulas all   at once or take a look at this chair which  types could you spot it's branded because   of their logo right here it's simple because . well there's nothing else than a chair and it's   using social hacking because everyone saw this . chair at least once we can even include it as   a weird object if you think chairs are weird?..., even I used big numbers and header styles in my   first video on this channel I wouldn't say it's , very creative but it worked for sure I can go   on with all the thumbnails that I showed but the  idea is choose two or three styles combine them   and try to stick to it for around five videos , it will make your audience understand it's   your style but don't stick to it for too long . because using the same formula 100 times would   probably make the viewers feel like you just keep  repeating yourself and it will lower the chances   of click unless you're a reaction channel... well it's one of the most popular advice that   you can hear from youtube gurus just look what , other youtubers in your niche are doing and try   to replicate but I completely disagree with that . and I have evidence to support my opinion take my   first video as an example trying youtube shorts , is definitely not a unique video idea what about   the thumbnail that style seems to work for many , people well in that case you're a smart guy just   copy what works right the problem is you're not , the only one that is the worst thing to do if   you see many similar thumbnails from different , channels about the same topic hopping on that   train is probably not a good idea if so many . channels are already doing that it's the cliche   thumbnail now and your audiences are basically , the same so there's no reason for people to click   on your zero view video instead of their 100k. even worse people will probably notice they're   too similar and you might become just a copycat . of your competitor so what should you do then you   can't reinvent the wheel for each new video right?, well...  just kidding. of course it's not really possible   to do that if you're posting consistently sooner . or later you'll run out of thumbnail ideas and   when that happens you should just look at channels , outside your niche for that video I went through   the channels I follow in completely different  niches and came up with this thumbnail same thing   applies to almost all of them so get inspiration  from the channels with different niches that will   make your video stand out from the crowd because . your audience with those channels are different   but it's the same with all these other channels .

so when it appears alongside those yours will   be much more likely to get more attention, experimenting with new things is always   good but just try to keep the core elements like . colors fonts and style consistent that makes your   audience notice your video on the home screen . way faster and with enough time boosts the CTR  this is where you got to be creative you can . use a big number if that suits your video a   bold statement opposite of a common belief  or just a title that represents your video  if nothing fits well leaving it blank is always  an option congratulations you just learned how   to make a viral thumbnail right I don't think  so look you learned the theory which is really   important but it doesn't mean anything if you . don't know how to use them most people will   probably close the video at this point take all  that information and go make a thumbnail like this  but if you stick around you'll learn how I turn  this into this hey Finn what do you call it?  Photoshop baby!! PhOtOsHOp BaByYy how you say it like that...  with just a few simple effects and some ancient , Photoshop sorcery that I learned from this guy   yeah hey everyone I'm still here here got stuck in , this timeline dude you need to work on your jokes  PHOTOSHOP..., after choosing your   concept and sketching a detailed draft on paper , open Photoshop create a new project get your lines   add your character text a nice background and  other elements it already looks better than that  make the text fancier by double clicking here  then change the color add inner glow outer glow   and whatever this is just tweak the settings  to make the unique effect you want here are   the adjustments that I usually do if you want to , get a similar style after you're happy with the   look save it as a new style to use it next . time you can do that for other elements too  it's the effect that I used in this thumbnail , to bend this chart you can bend anything by   just clicking the corner of an image and choosing , this button now you can warp it however you want  looks good but they seem too distracting . in the background let's add some blur   select the image filter blur gaussian blur, that might work work but we can do even better   let's try again select image filter pixelate , mosaic oh we made it worse again again that's   it even though these blurs might not suit this  thumbnail they work very well in some cases so   it's nice to know how to use them all right let's . move on we fixed these images but the background   is too shiny it's almost hard to read the text . so we need to make it darker take the brush wo   wow calm down you don't have to be a Bob Ross to  use this okay just try to keep up make your brush   big and soft reduce the flow to something like  5% and increase smoothing now open a new layer   on top of your background and start painting  behind text character and things like that okay   we're getting somewhere that background image  looks nice but I don't really like the color I   said but I don't really like the color how' to . change it glad you asked select the background   click image adjustments hue and saturation here  you can choose a specific color to change or   tweak the entire image noise we're almost done , but I'm looking so unnatural over there I mean   the text above my head is shiny there should  be some light reflections in reality right? pick the selection tool select the thing  create a new layer take the brush make   it smaller pick a nice color and brush . over where the light is coming from oh   don't forget to change the layer blending . style to overlay if it doesn't work for   your image try other styles and colors too  after everything's done I like to send it   to my phone and play around with the colors  in Lightroom so it goes from this to this  before publishing the video you need to test  how it looks on youtube homepage to do that go   to thumbs up.tv add your title and thumbnail and , see if it looks good if it does you're good if not   go back to the drawing board again but hopefully . it does here it is I know it's probably not the   best way to make a thumbnail but that's just how  I do it at the moment it will definitely change   with time but for now this is all I do and it , works for me so may work for you as well... PhOtOsHOp BaByYy,