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"2024 Approved Harness the Power of Imagery Top 7 Free Thumbnail Makers"
Harness the Power of Imagery: Top 7 Free Thumbnail Makers
Top 12 Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers - Filmora
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
6 Ways To Increase Audience Retention on YouTube - Filmora
6 Ways To Increase Audience Retention on YouTube
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.
You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>
- Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
- Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
- Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
- Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.
For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.
This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.
Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.
Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.
To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.
Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.
According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.
Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:
1. Compare your videos
Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.
2. Get on with it
Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.
3. Make it visually engaging
Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.
4. Make it shorter
This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.
If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.
5. Keep them hooked
Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.
So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.
6. Use an Excellent Video Editor
Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.
You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>
- Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
- Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
- Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
- Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.
For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.
This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.
Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.
Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.
To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.
Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.
According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.
Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:
1. Compare your videos
Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.
2. Get on with it
Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.
3. Make it visually engaging
Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.
4. Make it shorter
This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.
If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.
5. Keep them hooked
Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.
So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.
6. Use an Excellent Video Editor
Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.
You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>
- Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
- Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
- Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
- Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.
For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.
This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.
Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.
Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.
To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.
Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.
According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.
Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:
1. Compare your videos
Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.
2. Get on with it
Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.
3. Make it visually engaging
Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.
4. Make it shorter
This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.
If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.
5. Keep them hooked
Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.
So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.
6. Use an Excellent Video Editor
Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.
You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>
- Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
- Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
- Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
- Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.
For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.
This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.
Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.
Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.
To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.
Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.
According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.
Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention
If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:
1. Compare your videos
Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.
2. Get on with it
Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.
3. Make it visually engaging
Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.
4. Make it shorter
This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.
If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.
5. Keep them hooked
Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.
So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.
6. Use an Excellent Video Editor
Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
- Title: "2024 Approved Harness the Power of Imagery Top 7 Free Thumbnail Makers"
- Author: Thomas
- Created at : 2024-05-31 12:43:24
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:43:24
- Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/2024-approved-harness-the-power-of-imagery-top-7-free-thumbnail-makers/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
