It took me 2 years to realize my thumbnails were ruining my videos

I've been making tech review videos for about 3 years now, and for the first 2 years I just threw a screenshot of the product on a plain colored background and called it a thumbnail. I thought the content was what mattered most. Then last month I had a video about a $30 wireless mouse that barely got 200 views while a similar video from another creator got 50k. I compared our thumbnails side by side and it hit me like a brick. Theirs had bright arrows, text showing the price, and a close up of the actual product. Mine looked like a boring stock photo. Now I spend 30 minutes per thumbnail and my views have gone up maybe 40 percent since. Has anyone else had that moment where they realized the packaging sells the product more than the product itself?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarar671mo ago

Are you kidding me? YES. I spent 2 years thinking my chainsaw repair videos would just do the talking, then I slapped a bright red circle and some bold text on one and it went from 500 views to 8k. Thumbnails are EVERYTHING now, I totally get it.

the_oscar1mo agoMost Upvoted

YES, EXACTLY! @zarar67 you're spot on about the red circle thing too. I did the same with a video on fixing a stuck carburetor - stuck a huge yellow arrow pointing at the part and it blew up. People scroll SO fast these days you've got maybe half a second to grab them. It's not even about clickbait honestly, it's about showing them EXACTLY what they're about to get. If your thumbnail lies they'll click off in 10 seconds anyway. But a good one that delivers on the promise? That's the secret sauce nobody talks about enough.

willow4071mo ago

2 years of chainsaw videos with no red circles? brutal.