Hammad

Making Clickable Thumbnails 🔥

@fyreinteractive Actually looks so bad

look at how they massacred my boy 🥀

@mweinbach Holy this is so much better than the old UI. Is it similar to this on the web now too?

I got the new Gemini UI on my iPhones and Androids last night It may be the best design for an AI app now

One of the easiest ways to improve your thumbnails is by testing for clarity before you upload Most viewers don’t see your thumbnail in full size. They see it small on the homepage or in the sidebar So before finalizing the thumbnail, ask yourself - Can I instantly tell what the thumbnail is about? - Is every word easy to read at a glance? - Do the main elements stand out clearly? - Is there one obvious focal point? - Would this still work if it was viewed very small? In the image below, notice how every thumbnail is still easy to understand even at sidebar size - Easy to tell what the thumbnail is about - Simple words and easy to read text - Simple composition and elements stand out (good separation of elements through design techniques) If the viewer has to stop and “figure out” what they’re looking at, they’ll usually just keep scrolling instead.

@Pikachu_Thumb @Vexian Too good 🔥

Recent Thumbnails Looking for a Thumbnail Guy? DM📩

Every thumbnail NEEDS a scroll stopper. The YouTube homepage has hundreds of videos fighting for attention at the same time. As viewers scroll, they’re only glancing at thumbnails for a split second You need something in your thumbnail that instantly interrupts that scrolling behavior. Here are some you can use in your next thumbnails: - Faces: Humans are naturally drawn to faces first. Especially when there’s eye contact, exaggerated expressions, tension/confusion. Faces give the viewer something human to instantly connect with - Large Numbers: Create perceived value/results. The number itself grabs attention, while the other elements of the thumbnail and the video itself make it believable - Emotions: Emotion is what creates curiosity. A thumbnail that makes the viewer FEEL something will almost always outperform one that only explains information Some common emotions used: - Surprise - Fear - Confusion - Excitement - Tension Other common scroll stoppers creators use: - Bright Colours - Movement - Aesthetically Pleasing thumbnail Most thumbnails fail because there’s nothing strong enough psychologically to interrupt the scroll and make the viewer care

Throughout my thumbnail breakdowns, I’ve talked a lot about social hacking (the idea that our brains are naturally drawn to things and people we already recognize, trust, or feel familiar with), but mostly only on the surface level So here are a few different ways creators use social hacking in thumbnails to instantly grab attention and make viewers stop scrolling: - Celebrity Hacking: Using recognizable people/faces to borrow attention from mainstream media/pop culture - Brand Hacking: Using familiar brands/products/logos viewers already have strong associations with - Trend Hacking: Using viral moments/trends or culturally relevant topics people already care about Use this technique strategically (don't force popular things into a thumbnail randomly) so the viewer’s brain processes your thumbnail faster

@zansinanovic CTR

I’ve made $5000+ with thumbnails, and some of the biggest names on YouTube have reached out to me. I just put together a full A–Z guide on creating psychological thumbnails + making clients come to you. RT + Follow + comment “CTR” and I’ll send it over. (must be following on Instagram for priority access) instagram.com/zan.sinanovic/

@Pikachu_Thumb Bangers 🔥

Recent Thumbnails

One of the biggest mistakes in thumbnail design is adding too many competing elements The more things the viewer has to process, the more likely they are to scroll past. These thumbnails work because they stay focused around 3 main elements max: - A clear main subject - A supporting element/context - Short and easy to read text You don’t need to show everything in the thumbnail. The goal is to simplify the idea down to 2–3 main elements max so the viewer can instantly process it and feel compelled enough to click

@vangardanon @theo @danshipper The title and thumbnail of a video

@theo @danshipper What does the term ‘packaging’ mean in this context

Buddy you’re getting under 4k views. Those numbers aren’t statistically significant.

Thumbnails need contrast to guide the viewer’s eyes 3 types of Contrast: Luminosity Contrast: Lights vs Darks Saturation Contrast: Colours vs Greyscale Hue Contrast: Complementary Colours Most high CTR thumbnails have very obvious contrast separation

What makes this thumbnail so smart is that it doesn’t LOOK like a motion design video at all Most people in this niche would’ve done the obvious thing: - Giant After Effects logo - Crazy motion graphics screenshots everywhere - Glowing text (usually purple or yellow) - Timeline screenshots The problem is your brain instantly categorizes that as: “tutorial content”, which, of course, usually means time, effort, learning and probably something you can watch later Instead this creator went in the complete opposite direction. Instead, he used a recognizable face (Trump) at a podium with the American flag behind him. The second you see that face, your brain already reacts before you even think. It doesn’t even matter if you like him or not, he’s one of the most recognizable people on earth (especially more now), so naturally your eyes go there. This is social hacking (Our brains are naturally drawn to what we are familiar with, specifically to who/what we know, like, or trust). They used attention from politics/media to their advantage and put it into a video's thumbnail that is about motion design, which helped the thumbnail stand out from the usual styles in this niche that audiences have probably become numb to over time (not only social hacking) The main idea I want you to takeaway from all of this is that the best thumbnails often borrow from outside the niche itself because audiences eventually become blind to the same repeated concepts over time

There is no one single/universal thumbnail style There’s only the thumbnail style that best matches the audience you’re trying to attract A thumbnail that performs well for a 13 year old audience would probably fail with a 30 year old audience. To figure out what style works best, study your target audience, research your niche and analyze what type of packaging consistently gets clicks from that demographic

Ages 18-30+ - Realistic/"Raw" thumbnail style - No exaggerated elements - Simpler compositions - More trust-based thumbnails

The best creators design thumbnails for the audience viewing them A 13 year old and a 30 year old don’t respond to the same packaging Follow the thread where I explain more 🧵👇

Most creators misunderstand where growth actually happens. It’s in the loop before the click So here is... The Viewers Path - Explained 1. Trigger The potential viewer opens Youtube with a vague intention (bored, curious, procrastinating or whatever) 2. Behaviour (Scrolling phase) This is where 90% of videos don't get views. The potential viewer is scanning the homepage of Youtube FAST and is asking questions like: - “Does this look worth it?” - “Do I get it instantly?” - “Is this for me?” Then you need to reel them just enough for them to stop and look at your video for a little longer, to ask questions about the video itself (less general questions) Here is where the packaging is most important, that being, the title and thumbnail. You need to utilize scroll stoppers and make sure the overall packaging is top notch If both elements of the packaging are not done effectively, by which I mean they don’t work together, your video won't get any clicks 3. Reward (this is after the click) Now this is where the video finally matters If the video matches the viewers' expectations from 2, then: - The viewer watches your video until the end (and potentially watches your other videos and subscribes) - Youtube expands reach (impressions) - The loop continues to feed itself If the video doesn’t: - Viewer doesn't watch most of the video (loss of trust) - Lower AVD (meaning Youtube will kill the impressions earlier) - The loop doesn't continue to feed itself and instead breaks Step 2 is the most important. Optimize and obsess over step 2 as much as possible because if you can not win the potential viewer there, then nothing else will matter

Some Thumbnails that I made in April 🔥 Which one do you like the most?

@JCIKmedia @creativesbyzed ChatGPT will take a minute max

@creativesbyzed wont drawing it take like 3 minutes?

Here's how you can use the new ChatGPT trending style for faceless thumbnails prompt below: