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"In 2024, Perfecting Content Aesthetics Crafting Personalized Thumbnails"
Perfecting Content Aesthetics: Crafting Personalized Thumbnails
How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.
- Part 1: Create and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
- Part 2: Tools to Create Custom YouTube Video Thumbnails
- Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
- Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a YouTube Custom Thumbnail
- Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails to Get More Clicks
- Part 6: YouTube Thumbnail FAQs
How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]
We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.
Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.
In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.
1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.
2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.
3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.
In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.
Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails
Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva
Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.
Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.
You may also like: Best online Photo Editor
2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp
Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.
Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:
Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.
In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.
- After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.
- On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.
- Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
- Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.
If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .
Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail
- About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
- About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
- You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
- You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.
One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!
You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art
To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.
You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube
Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks
The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.
1. Stay On Topic
Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.
Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.
This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.
A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.
2. Don’t Be Mysterious
A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.
Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.
Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.
If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?
When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!
3. People Like People
Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.
Just make sure you’re in them.
You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.
So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?
4. Check Out The Competition
Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.
Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!
For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?
5. Use Color in Interesting Ways
You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.
Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.
Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?
6. Make Your Text Huge
Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.
The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.
Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail
1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?
When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.
2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?
Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.
3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?
Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.
4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?
When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.
- Part 1: Create and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
- Part 2: Tools to Create Custom YouTube Video Thumbnails
- Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
- Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a YouTube Custom Thumbnail
- Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails to Get More Clicks
- Part 6: YouTube Thumbnail FAQs
How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]
We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.
Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.
In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.
1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.
2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.
3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.
In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.
Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails
Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva
Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.
Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.
You may also like: Best online Photo Editor
2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp
Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.
Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:
Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.
In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.
- After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.
- On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.
- Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
- Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.
If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .
Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail
- About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
- About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
- You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
- You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.
One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!
You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art
To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.
You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube
Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks
The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.
1. Stay On Topic
Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.
Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.
This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.
A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.
2. Don’t Be Mysterious
A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.
Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.
Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.
If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?
When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!
3. People Like People
Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.
Just make sure you’re in them.
You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.
So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?
4. Check Out The Competition
Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.
Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!
For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?
5. Use Color in Interesting Ways
You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.
Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.
Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?
6. Make Your Text Huge
Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.
The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.
Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail
1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?
When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.
2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?
Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.
3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?
Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.
4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?
When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.
- Part 1: Create and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
- Part 2: Tools to Create Custom YouTube Video Thumbnails
- Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
- Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a YouTube Custom Thumbnail
- Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails to Get More Clicks
- Part 6: YouTube Thumbnail FAQs
How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]
We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.
Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.
In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.
1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.
2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.
3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.
In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.
Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails
Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva
Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.
Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.
You may also like: Best online Photo Editor
2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp
Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.
Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:
Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.
In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.
- After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.
- On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.
- Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
- Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.
If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .
Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail
- About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
- About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
- You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
- You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.
One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!
You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art
To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.
You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube
Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks
The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.
1. Stay On Topic
Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.
Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.
This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.
A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.
2. Don’t Be Mysterious
A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.
Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.
Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.
If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?
When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!
3. People Like People
Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.
Just make sure you’re in them.
You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.
So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?
4. Check Out The Competition
Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.
Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!
For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?
5. Use Color in Interesting Ways
You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.
Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.
Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?
6. Make Your Text Huge
Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.
The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.
Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail
1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?
When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.
2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?
Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.
3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?
Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.
4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?
When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
YouTube custom thumbnails are a great way to get people’s attention to your YouTube video. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are wondering how to create a thumbnail and add the thumbnail to YouTube video and customize it with the correct size. You have come to the right place. While in this article, I will show you how to create and add a thumbnail to a YouTube video and how to customize the YouTube video thumbnail. Follow these easy steps below and add eyecatching customed thumbnails to your YouTube videos in no time.
- Part 1: Create and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
- Part 2: Tools to Create Custom YouTube Video Thumbnails
- Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
- Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a YouTube Custom Thumbnail
- Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails to Get More Clicks
- Part 6: YouTube Thumbnail FAQs
How To Add Custom Thumbnails to Your YouTube Videos [Steps, Tools and Tips]
We have just made a video tutorial about how to make a YouTube video thumbnail, check it below to find out the tips and tricks of making customized YouTube thumbnail.
Part 1: How to Make a Thumbnail for YouTube and Add Custom Thumbnails to YouTube
After you’ve verified your account and made your thumbnail, it’s finally time to upload it to your video and make a custom thumbnail. To do this, go to Creator Studio and then Video Manager. You’ll see a button labeled “Edit” next to each video, and an arrow pointing down. Click Thumbnail Editor.
In Thumbnail Editor, you can use the still images in the video as a thumbnail, choose a solid background color for the thumbnail, or add other images from your computer. I will show you the steps of how to customize the video still as a video thumbnail.
1. Preview the video and choose the target video still. You can click the Playback button and check the video and pause it at the desired frame. Or, you can step through each frame by clicking the Preview Frame button and Next Frame icon. Click Next to continue.
2. And now, you can add text, image and shape overlays to the thumbnail. You can change the text font, size, opacity and more.
3. Click Next to save the thumbnail and you will see how the thumbnail displays on different platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Click Save to save the video thumbnail.
In this way, you can add a custom thumbnail to the new videos and change the video thumbnail of the previously uploaded videos.
Part 2: Thumbnail Makers to Create Custom YouTube Thumbnails
Of course, you can use some of the best tools to make a YouTube video thumbnail. In this part, we will show you some of the best tools to create custom YouTube thumbnails.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
1. Create YouTube Thumbnail with Online solution - Canva
Canva is a free, powerful online image editing program with tons of great templates to get you started. One of their templates just happens to be YouTube thumbnails. Open Canva and select the “YouTube Thumbnail” design type. Use your own photo or choose from a huge library, then add text and effects to really make it stand out. Save and share — easy as that.
Check this video tutorial to see how to Make a Youtube Thumbnail using Canva.
You may also like: Best online Photo Editor
2. Design YouTube thumbnail with a Desktop solution - Gimp
Gimp is one of the most popular image editing programs around for one very simple reason: it’s powerful and free! Where Canva uses a lot of templates, Gimp gives you absolute, full control over how you want your image to look. Make a 1280x720 image and start putting together your eye-catching thumbnail exactly how you want to.
Check this video tutorial to see how to make professional Thumbnails for YouTube Videos with Gimp:
Part 3: How to Change A Thumbnail On YouTube
Note: YouTube allows verified YouTube accounts (accounts that provided YouTube with a working phone number) to upload custom thumbnail images and change them accordingly.
In this part, we’ll be going over how to change a thumbnail image on YouTube. There are pictures to make it easy to follow along.
- After signing into YouTube with your Google account, click on your profile on the top right corner. Click on YouTube Studio from the drop-down menu.
- On the left side of the page, click on Videos and then find your video and click on the details button.
- Find the Thumbnail section in the basic video details tab, and then click the Upload thumbnail to select the image that you want to upload.
- Finally, click on the Save button on the right upper corner. And just like that, in seven easy steps, we’re done changing the thumbnail of a YouTube video.
If you don’t have an image to upload but you want to check out some online resources to make your own, check out our Top YouTube Thumbnail Makers .
Part 4: Things You Need to Know Before Making a Custom Thumbnail
- About the proper YouTube video thumbnail size: Your thumbnail should be 1280x720 pixels in size and be less than 2MB. The minimum width of the image is 640 pixels.
- About the YouTube Image thumbnail format: Use .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .BMP files for your thumbnail image.
- You’ll want your thumbnails to stand out. Bright colored text is a simple, easy way to draw people’s attention. Red, white, yellow, or orange are all popular choices.
- You can even do a little homework to see what colors others are using for similar videos to yours, and then choose different colors to stand out.
One word of warning: your thumbnail should be related to the content of your video. Misleading thumbnail images, if reported, will reflect poorly on your channel. You’ll get a negative rating in the community status part of your channel. This can actually remove your ability to use custom thumbnails, so keep it honest!
You may also like: How to Make YouTube Channel Art
To make a creative YouTube video, you may also need a powerful video editing software. Check how to edit a YouTube video in Filmora video editor and download it to try.
You may also like: Best video editing software for YouTube
Part 5: Tips on How to Make Good YouTube Thumbnails - Get More Clicks
The thumbnails of your videos play a huge role in convincing people to watch them; a good YouTube thumbnail will get you more views and more potential subscribers. This part will give you 6 tips on creating thumbnails that help grow your channel. Now let’s learn how to make thumbnails using Wondershare PixStudio.
1. Stay On Topic
Your thumbnail should tell a story; it should be clear from looking at it what viewers will get out of watching the video, be it knowledge or entertainment. If your thumbnail sets expectations that your video doesn’t deliver on, people will click away quickly. You may get views quickly, but you won’t get much watch time. That will tell YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people aren’t getting what they want from this, rank it lower’. That leads to fewer views over time, and gives the people who do manage to find your video a negative opinion of your channel.
Very few people intentionally use thumbnails that have nothing to do with the content of their videos – i.e, most people understand not to use a picture of a kitten in the thumbnail for their tech review, unless maybe their kitten is the one doing the review (which would be adorable, someone should do that). People who want serious advice won’t click, and people who click to see a kitten will click away fast.
This thumbnail had better be for a kitten’s iPhone review video or people will click away. Fast.
A mistake a lot of creators do make is creating a thumbnail that is meant to evoke an emotion which the video itself does not justify. For example, if you see a picture of a YouTuber looking nervous alongside text that reads ‘My Secret’, you will think they are going to share something deeply personal. You will be curious, and you may even be worried about them. You’ll probably click. Then, if their secret is that they don’t like pineapple on pizza, you’ll probably be angry. This technique gets clicks, but not a lot of watch time and it will lose you subs in the long run.
2. Don’t Be Mysterious
A good thumbnail doesn’t make people guess. Your thumbnail should tell people what’s in your video, not make them wonder about it. People want to know what they’re being asked to spend time watching.
Often, they will be looking for the answer to a specific question and will completely ignore anything that doesn’t show – in the thumbnail – that it has their answer.
Sometimes big channels can get away with stuff like this, because large portions of their audiences are interested in them as people and will already be curious about anything they post. This technique will not bring in new viewers, though.
If this came up in a search for ‘smoky eye tutorial’, would you click it?
When people want answers, they want to feel confident that they video they click on will have those answers. If you have great content, then let people know it!
3. People Like People
Viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail if they feel a connection when they look at it. One of the best ways to create a feeling of connection is through eye contact, and you can apply that principle to your YouTube thumbnails easily.
Just make sure you’re in them.
You can either compose a photo to use as your thumbnail, or use a screenshot from your video. Ideally, the image of you will convey the emotional tone of the video and tell potential viewers what it is about, besides you.
So, if you want to post a funny video that is also about making brownies, maybe a picture of you smiling while holding up a tray of brownies would be a better direction than just showing the brownies?
4. Check Out The Competition
Before you post your video, type your topic into YouTube’s search engine and see what comes up. This will give you insight into what kinds of thumbnails are performing well for other people, as well as what you can do to stand out in comparison.
Phil starts talking about thumbnails at 6:09, and he has great tips on checking out your competition!
For example, if all five of the top-ranked videos for the search ‘how to build a cabinet’ show images of the YouTuber smiling while holding a power tool, then your thumbnail for a video on the same topic should also be a picture of you smiling and holding a power tool. You know that works, so why not do it?
5. Use Color in Interesting Ways
You want to use colors that will help you stand out from the other search results. While checking out your competition if you notice that all the people in the other thumbnails are wearing black or navy blue, it will be a good idea for you to wear a brighter color for your shoot to grab a bit more attention.
Beyond simply using colors that are different from other people’s colors, you should consider the emotions different colors trigger.
Maybe don’t use a lot of green and yellow in the thumbnail for your angry video rant?
6. Make Your Text Huge
Usually, you’ll want to use a bit of text in your thumbnail. It might be the full title of your video, or just a keyword or phrase. You don’t want to use a full sentence because you won’t have room for it if you’re using huge text.
The reason you should use huge text is so that people can read it. Remember that when people see your thumbnail in their search results, it will be much smaller than it will look while you are creating it. Text that looks big enough while you are creating your thumbnail will be much smaller when people are actually trying to read it, and that goes double for viewers watching on their small smartphone screens.
Frequently Asked Questions about YouTube Thumbnail
1. What is YouTube Thumbnail?
When you upload a video on YouTube, YouTube gives you three images to choose from in the selection of your video’s thumbnail image. These three images are just freeze-frame snapshots from different parts of your video, which may not tell your viewers what your video is really all about.
2. Can You Change YouTube Thumbnail After Publishing?
Yes, you can replace the auto-generated thumbnail with the customized thumbnail you like. But YouTube only allows verified YouTube accounts to upload custom thumbnail images.
3. How Long Does It Take for a Thumbnail to Change on YouTube?
Normally, if you have a good internet connection, you can see the thumbnail is changed within 10 seconds.
4. Why YouTube Thumbnail is Important?
When you get more people watching your video for longer, it increases your watch time and tells YouTube’s search algorithm ‘people like this, rank it higher’. Being ranked higher gets you more views, and even more watch time. It’s a wonderful cycle that all begins with a great thumbnail (paired with a good title and the right tags).
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
The Art of Ad-Free Earning on YouTube: Strategies for Self-Reliance Creators
How to Make Money on YouTube Without Ads
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In this article, we are going to look at 4 different types of ways to make money on YouTube that doesn’t involve ads.
But why should there be any other way? What’s wrong with simply focusing on ads?
More and more people are making a living by creating videos on YouTube. According to the YouTube Partner Program , YouTube has seen a 40% year-over-year of channels making 6 figures from viewer ads engagements.
Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora
Over thousands of hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every day and people are going crazy to earn money with video monetization. There should be a minimum time gap between your video shoot, editing, and uploading it to your channel. Wondershare Filmora Video Editor can help you get your videos edited faster. Not only the interface is simple and intuitive, it has both the basic and professional editing tools such as cutting, trimming, crop&zoom, a large collection of video effects and royalty-free music, and you can also upload the video directly on YouTube after editing. All of these make Filmora stand out in the queue and become a favorite tool to edit YouTube videos.
What is the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?
YPP enables YouTubers to make money from an advertisement that appears before or during their videos.
How Much Money Can YouTubers Make from Ads?
The answer to this question varies depending on the channel and the audience, as YouTubers don’t make money for views but rather from how often people engage with the ads. If a viewer watches more than 30 seconds of the ad or clicks it, then the YouTuber will make money.
This is a general estimate of how much a YouTuber can make from ads once they qualify:
- 68% of advertisers ad spend goes to the video creator. If advertisers spend $100, creators get $68.
- $0.18 is the average rate per ad view.
- 1000 ad views will equal approximately $18
- 1000 video views will equal between $2-$5
Why It’s So Hard for YouTubers to Make Money From Ads
For new YouTubers, it is getting harder and harder to get to that point where their sole income can be from YouTube ads. Before they can make a penny, they must first qualify.
Monetization Rules (as of January 2018):
- Creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in 12 months before they can turn on monetization
- YouTube pays in $100 increments
Once they have monetization turned on, it’s only the beginning. YouTubers need to create good content consistently. In order to earn $100 for the initial payout, they need an average of 50,000 views. That’s just $100! A lot of views and not a big payout. Hardly enough to quit your day job.
That is why it is essential to have alternative ways to make money on YouTube, and not rely on the ads shown on your videos. So, without further ado, here are 4 other ways to make money on YouTube:
1. Sell Your Product or Service:
YouTube is one of the most effective means of marketing and selling your products and services if you are able to use it effectively and drive people to click and buy.
Here are some examples of products and services you can offer:
Products:
- eBooks
- Artwork
- Licensed content
- Online course
- Channel/brand merchandise
YouTuber, Jake Paul uses eCommerce platform Fanjoyto sell his merch.
Services:
- Consulting work (strategy planner, financial advisor, etc.)
- Contracting work (designer, developer, etc.)
- Education (tutor, trainer, etc.)
- Performance/Speaking Opportunities (motivational speaker, musician, etc.)
YouTuber and entrepreneur, Sunny Lenarduzzi uses YouTube as a platform to get clients for her consulting business.
How to Sell a Product or Service on YouTube
YouTube is a vast platform and if you don’t have a clear direction for what you are selling, you might be making videos for an audience that isn’t interested in buying what you are selling.
Here is how you should go about selling your product or service on YouTube:
1. Your content must be discovered by the right people: If the wrong people find your content, then you aren’t going to make any sales. To get the right eyes on your videos, you’ll need to do some research on your target audience and what keywords they use when searching for your product or services.
If you are selling a meditation eBook and guided meditation services, type in some possible keywords in the YouTube search bar. What appears will be some popular searches:
From there, take your possible keywords and put them into a tool such as Ubersuggest to find other related keywords. This will help you create discoverable content that will catch the interest of those who will buy what you are selling.
2. Your content must have value: You cannot start with the Call to Action or try selling to your audience right away. You must first build trust and prove that what you are selling has value.
Take this example from Modern Health Monk , a weight loss coach.
In the video, he offers tips on how journaling can help the viewer reach their goal. The way he intends to make money is through people signing up for his course. The course is the product he is selling, but he doesn’t say that. He knows the viewers are not there to enroll in a course. They are there to learn about what he is offering.
The video is over 9 minutes long and not once does he tell his audience to buy anything. However, he does encourage the viewer at the end to download a free eBook. Selling is about focusing on the long game.
3. Your content must lead the audience to a place where they can buy: You don’t want to force people through a door, but you do want the signs to be visible. You will need to direct the viewer to a place where they can make the purchase. YouTube has a few ways to point your viewers in that direction.
Link in the description box:
The YouTube Card:
You can add one or multiple cards to direct viewers to your website or to another related video.
Call to action button:
Once the viewer is on your website, make sure the path is apparent as well. Have a clear call to action somewhere on your website. This is where your viewers become customers.
But What if You Don’t Have a Product Or Service to Sell Yet?
While some YouTubers certainly start with their product and service in mind and find their customers to sell through YouTube, many others go the opposite way and discover their audience first.
Lilly Singh did not start a YouTube channel to sell her book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life. Her YouTube channel gave her an audience and proved to publishers that there was enough demand for her to write a book that people will read.
As you grow your audience you will find that there will be a demand for certain products or services that don’t already exist. This is where you put on your entrepreneur hat and think of something that your audience will pay money for and make it happen. Odds are, when it happens, it wouldn’t even be a mystery, your audience will tell you to make or supply it.
For example, Remi Cruz , a YouTuber with over 2.2 million subscribers. Remi created a beauty brand and DIY face mask, Honey Pop , which could only have happened after taking the time to understand her supportive audience.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
Businesses know that there are more eyes watching YouTube than ever — behind Google, YouTube is the second most popular place for people researching what to buy — and influencers and reviews are an effective method of getting sales. You can leverage that by participating in affiliate marketing as a YouTuber.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work On YouTube?
As a YouTuber, you can share your thoughts on products or services, and if there are products that you recommend, by simply adding a personalized link to the product page, you can get a commission for every sale of that product that came through your link.
The average affiliate commission rate is between 5% to 30%, with a lot of variables. Some low price range items will have a higher commission, while higher-priced items will have lower commissions.
Travel YouTuber, Sorelle Amore’s affiliate links to her vlogging gears.
Keep in mind that people are most likely going to take recommendations from people they trust. You wouldn’t buy a computer from a nutritionist and you wouldn’t buy vitamins from a gamer, so consider what you are an expert in and what products you have the most authority to speak about.
What Videos Are Best for Affiliate Marketing?
There are no restrictions on what will make a good affiliate marketing video, but there are best practices.
What’s important is understanding the purpose of the video. If the video is about vlogging microphones, then it makes complete sense to have an affiliate link to your favorite microphone. Odds are the people who are watching the video may be considering buying a new microphone, so the link is helpful for them.
Here are a few types of videos that make for good affiliate marketing opportunities:
- Product reviews
- Top 10
- How-tos
- Cheap vs expensive
- What to pack for…
How to Get an Affiliate Marketing Link for YouTube?
Which affiliate marketing program you choose to sign up with will depend on the products you want to link to through your content. Do some research on what each network has to offer in regards to your niche.
Here is the list of 4 popular affiliate marketing networks:
- Rakuten
- PeerFly
You can also partner with brands directly as many of them, such as Sephora and Canon , will have their own affiliate program.
3. Brand Deal or Sponsorships:
Selling out, that is often the thought when we hear creators getting brand deals and sponsorships, but that stigma is unfounded if the brand and the content are properly aligned. As your channel grows, you will begin to recognize brands that match your values — and the values of your viewers — and those that don’t.
Today, more and more brands are collaborating with YouTube creators, because creators are 4x more effective in earning brand familiarity than collaborations with traditional celebrities.
In an ad for Beats by Dre’s #BuiltForBosses campaign, YouTuber Liza Koshy outperformed the likes of Tom Brady and DJ Khaled.
While it does take significant effort on YouTube to acquire a following, it is possible for a YouTube channel with 1,000 subscribers to get a brand deal. Getting the buy-in from brands is a numbers game, and according to Video Creators , the minimal number of views per video shouldn’t be lower than 2,000 if this is the path you want to head in.
How to Get Discovered By Brands
The decision-makers behind brands might not be aware of influencers with a smaller following — those who have just cracked the 5,000 subscriber mark. The odds of a brand reaching out to you, as a small creator, is unlikely to happen.
If you want to get a brand deal and become an influencer on YouTube, then you will have to put yourself out there to be discovered and that is on an Influencer Marketing Network, such as Famebit .
How Influencer Marketing Platforms Like Famebit Works
When you sign up for Famebit or other influencer marketing platforms you have an opportunity to get in front of brands who are seeking influencers to share their product or service.
Steps to getting a brand deal:
- Find brands and campaigns that match your audience.
- Pitch your creative ideas and present the proposal to the brand within their parameters (product review, 30-60 shoutout, etc.)
- If accepted, you are hired and will begin collaboration with the brand to produce the project.
- Build our content.
- Receive approval from the brand.
- Get Paid!
Unlike celebrity marketing, YouTube creators have shown brands over the years that they are inventive and clever with how they can present the brand to the audience to drive the best results. This type of independence is what makes YouTube influencer marketing special.
4. Crowdfunding:
If you are creating valuable content and have a loyal following, you can start thinking about crowdfunding. It doesn’t take stardom to start asking for donations, pledge, or support from your fans. There is a demand for quality content and if you are creating something of value, even on a free service like YouTube, people will happily pay to support it.
But how can you approach crowdfunding so it doesn’t look like you are begging?
3 Popular Types of Crowdfunding:
- Tiered Rewards: You can give incentives for your patrons in different tiers. Example: a donation of $2-$10 gives them a shoutout in your next video, a donation of $20-$100 gets them an exclusive spot in a live stream, and more extravagant offerings as the donations increase.
- Membership: This method of crowdfunding allows your fans to donate on a recurring basis. Treat your channel like it’s HBO and deliver higher-value content. Your members will be the first to see the increase of quality in and frequency of your work.
- Project-based: Is there a special project you have in mind, get support for it. A longer-form video or one that your fans have been wanting for a while, by highlighting this anticipated project, you can get more backing behind it financially.
From Sept-Oct 2011, the YouTube channel Freddiew (aka RocketJump) went on Kickstarter to crowdfund so they can produce a web series called Video Game High School. In 30 days, they were able to surpass their goal of $75,000 with $273,725 and 5,661 backers. The result is a multiple season web series, the first one published onto YouTube in May 2012.
Without crowdfunding, the project would unlikely have been produced and published for viewers in such a short amount of time.
Set Crowdfunding Goals to Encourage Donations
Have you ever gone up to a friend and ask for $5? What did they say?
“What do you need it for?”
We are more willing to give money if we know where it is going. Let your audience know exactly what you are planning to spend the funds on and how it will benefit them. One way to really encourage them is to have a goal, for example, a trip to a conference, and a special video will be produced to highlight the event.
Set a $ Target
If you have a pie in the sky goal, you aren’t going to fully leverage the message to your audience. Understand how much money you need to produce a video or to pursue a more ambitious project. What do you need in order to grow and make the best channel you can.
How Does Patreon Work for YouTubers?
When it comes to crowdfunding for YouTubers, Patreon is the platform of choice. While other platforms such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe are focused on entrepreneurial pursuits, large projects, or charitable causes, Patreon is designed to support creatives and reward and incentivize donors.
Key Takeaways:
There are many ways to make money off of YouTube, I encourage you to try a few of these different strategies and see how they perform and which one suits your channel and your audience the best.
- Directing your viewers to your website where they can pay for a product or service that you offer.
- Sign up with an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates and create content about interesting products.
- Find brands that match your channel’s values and propose ideas via influencer marketing platforms such as Famebit.
- Set up a Patreon page and encourage viewers to donate to get incentives or to support a bigger better project.
Got questions about making money on YouTube? Leave a comment below. We love to help you get paid for the videos you create.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In this article, we are going to look at 4 different types of ways to make money on YouTube that doesn’t involve ads.
But why should there be any other way? What’s wrong with simply focusing on ads?
More and more people are making a living by creating videos on YouTube. According to the YouTube Partner Program , YouTube has seen a 40% year-over-year of channels making 6 figures from viewer ads engagements.
Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora
Over thousands of hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every day and people are going crazy to earn money with video monetization. There should be a minimum time gap between your video shoot, editing, and uploading it to your channel. Wondershare Filmora Video Editor can help you get your videos edited faster. Not only the interface is simple and intuitive, it has both the basic and professional editing tools such as cutting, trimming, crop&zoom, a large collection of video effects and royalty-free music, and you can also upload the video directly on YouTube after editing. All of these make Filmora stand out in the queue and become a favorite tool to edit YouTube videos.
What is the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?
YPP enables YouTubers to make money from an advertisement that appears before or during their videos.
How Much Money Can YouTubers Make from Ads?
The answer to this question varies depending on the channel and the audience, as YouTubers don’t make money for views but rather from how often people engage with the ads. If a viewer watches more than 30 seconds of the ad or clicks it, then the YouTuber will make money.
This is a general estimate of how much a YouTuber can make from ads once they qualify:
- 68% of advertisers ad spend goes to the video creator. If advertisers spend $100, creators get $68.
- $0.18 is the average rate per ad view.
- 1000 ad views will equal approximately $18
- 1000 video views will equal between $2-$5
Why It’s So Hard for YouTubers to Make Money From Ads
For new YouTubers, it is getting harder and harder to get to that point where their sole income can be from YouTube ads. Before they can make a penny, they must first qualify.
Monetization Rules (as of January 2018):
- Creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in 12 months before they can turn on monetization
- YouTube pays in $100 increments
Once they have monetization turned on, it’s only the beginning. YouTubers need to create good content consistently. In order to earn $100 for the initial payout, they need an average of 50,000 views. That’s just $100! A lot of views and not a big payout. Hardly enough to quit your day job.
That is why it is essential to have alternative ways to make money on YouTube, and not rely on the ads shown on your videos. So, without further ado, here are 4 other ways to make money on YouTube:
1. Sell Your Product or Service:
YouTube is one of the most effective means of marketing and selling your products and services if you are able to use it effectively and drive people to click and buy.
Here are some examples of products and services you can offer:
Products:
- eBooks
- Artwork
- Licensed content
- Online course
- Channel/brand merchandise
YouTuber, Jake Paul uses eCommerce platform Fanjoyto sell his merch.
Services:
- Consulting work (strategy planner, financial advisor, etc.)
- Contracting work (designer, developer, etc.)
- Education (tutor, trainer, etc.)
- Performance/Speaking Opportunities (motivational speaker, musician, etc.)
YouTuber and entrepreneur, Sunny Lenarduzzi uses YouTube as a platform to get clients for her consulting business.
How to Sell a Product or Service on YouTube
YouTube is a vast platform and if you don’t have a clear direction for what you are selling, you might be making videos for an audience that isn’t interested in buying what you are selling.
Here is how you should go about selling your product or service on YouTube:
1. Your content must be discovered by the right people: If the wrong people find your content, then you aren’t going to make any sales. To get the right eyes on your videos, you’ll need to do some research on your target audience and what keywords they use when searching for your product or services.
If you are selling a meditation eBook and guided meditation services, type in some possible keywords in the YouTube search bar. What appears will be some popular searches:
From there, take your possible keywords and put them into a tool such as Ubersuggest to find other related keywords. This will help you create discoverable content that will catch the interest of those who will buy what you are selling.
2. Your content must have value: You cannot start with the Call to Action or try selling to your audience right away. You must first build trust and prove that what you are selling has value.
Take this example from Modern Health Monk , a weight loss coach.
In the video, he offers tips on how journaling can help the viewer reach their goal. The way he intends to make money is through people signing up for his course. The course is the product he is selling, but he doesn’t say that. He knows the viewers are not there to enroll in a course. They are there to learn about what he is offering.
The video is over 9 minutes long and not once does he tell his audience to buy anything. However, he does encourage the viewer at the end to download a free eBook. Selling is about focusing on the long game.
3. Your content must lead the audience to a place where they can buy: You don’t want to force people through a door, but you do want the signs to be visible. You will need to direct the viewer to a place where they can make the purchase. YouTube has a few ways to point your viewers in that direction.
Link in the description box:
The YouTube Card:
You can add one or multiple cards to direct viewers to your website or to another related video.
Call to action button:
Once the viewer is on your website, make sure the path is apparent as well. Have a clear call to action somewhere on your website. This is where your viewers become customers.
But What if You Don’t Have a Product Or Service to Sell Yet?
While some YouTubers certainly start with their product and service in mind and find their customers to sell through YouTube, many others go the opposite way and discover their audience first.
Lilly Singh did not start a YouTube channel to sell her book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life. Her YouTube channel gave her an audience and proved to publishers that there was enough demand for her to write a book that people will read.
As you grow your audience you will find that there will be a demand for certain products or services that don’t already exist. This is where you put on your entrepreneur hat and think of something that your audience will pay money for and make it happen. Odds are, when it happens, it wouldn’t even be a mystery, your audience will tell you to make or supply it.
For example, Remi Cruz , a YouTuber with over 2.2 million subscribers. Remi created a beauty brand and DIY face mask, Honey Pop , which could only have happened after taking the time to understand her supportive audience.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
Businesses know that there are more eyes watching YouTube than ever — behind Google, YouTube is the second most popular place for people researching what to buy — and influencers and reviews are an effective method of getting sales. You can leverage that by participating in affiliate marketing as a YouTuber.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work On YouTube?
As a YouTuber, you can share your thoughts on products or services, and if there are products that you recommend, by simply adding a personalized link to the product page, you can get a commission for every sale of that product that came through your link.
The average affiliate commission rate is between 5% to 30%, with a lot of variables. Some low price range items will have a higher commission, while higher-priced items will have lower commissions.
Travel YouTuber, Sorelle Amore’s affiliate links to her vlogging gears.
Keep in mind that people are most likely going to take recommendations from people they trust. You wouldn’t buy a computer from a nutritionist and you wouldn’t buy vitamins from a gamer, so consider what you are an expert in and what products you have the most authority to speak about.
What Videos Are Best for Affiliate Marketing?
There are no restrictions on what will make a good affiliate marketing video, but there are best practices.
What’s important is understanding the purpose of the video. If the video is about vlogging microphones, then it makes complete sense to have an affiliate link to your favorite microphone. Odds are the people who are watching the video may be considering buying a new microphone, so the link is helpful for them.
Here are a few types of videos that make for good affiliate marketing opportunities:
- Product reviews
- Top 10
- How-tos
- Cheap vs expensive
- What to pack for…
How to Get an Affiliate Marketing Link for YouTube?
Which affiliate marketing program you choose to sign up with will depend on the products you want to link to through your content. Do some research on what each network has to offer in regards to your niche.
Here is the list of 4 popular affiliate marketing networks:
- Rakuten
- PeerFly
You can also partner with brands directly as many of them, such as Sephora and Canon , will have their own affiliate program.
3. Brand Deal or Sponsorships:
Selling out, that is often the thought when we hear creators getting brand deals and sponsorships, but that stigma is unfounded if the brand and the content are properly aligned. As your channel grows, you will begin to recognize brands that match your values — and the values of your viewers — and those that don’t.
Today, more and more brands are collaborating with YouTube creators, because creators are 4x more effective in earning brand familiarity than collaborations with traditional celebrities.
In an ad for Beats by Dre’s #BuiltForBosses campaign, YouTuber Liza Koshy outperformed the likes of Tom Brady and DJ Khaled.
While it does take significant effort on YouTube to acquire a following, it is possible for a YouTube channel with 1,000 subscribers to get a brand deal. Getting the buy-in from brands is a numbers game, and according to Video Creators , the minimal number of views per video shouldn’t be lower than 2,000 if this is the path you want to head in.
How to Get Discovered By Brands
The decision-makers behind brands might not be aware of influencers with a smaller following — those who have just cracked the 5,000 subscriber mark. The odds of a brand reaching out to you, as a small creator, is unlikely to happen.
If you want to get a brand deal and become an influencer on YouTube, then you will have to put yourself out there to be discovered and that is on an Influencer Marketing Network, such as Famebit .
How Influencer Marketing Platforms Like Famebit Works
When you sign up for Famebit or other influencer marketing platforms you have an opportunity to get in front of brands who are seeking influencers to share their product or service.
Steps to getting a brand deal:
- Find brands and campaigns that match your audience.
- Pitch your creative ideas and present the proposal to the brand within their parameters (product review, 30-60 shoutout, etc.)
- If accepted, you are hired and will begin collaboration with the brand to produce the project.
- Build our content.
- Receive approval from the brand.
- Get Paid!
Unlike celebrity marketing, YouTube creators have shown brands over the years that they are inventive and clever with how they can present the brand to the audience to drive the best results. This type of independence is what makes YouTube influencer marketing special.
4. Crowdfunding:
If you are creating valuable content and have a loyal following, you can start thinking about crowdfunding. It doesn’t take stardom to start asking for donations, pledge, or support from your fans. There is a demand for quality content and if you are creating something of value, even on a free service like YouTube, people will happily pay to support it.
But how can you approach crowdfunding so it doesn’t look like you are begging?
3 Popular Types of Crowdfunding:
- Tiered Rewards: You can give incentives for your patrons in different tiers. Example: a donation of $2-$10 gives them a shoutout in your next video, a donation of $20-$100 gets them an exclusive spot in a live stream, and more extravagant offerings as the donations increase.
- Membership: This method of crowdfunding allows your fans to donate on a recurring basis. Treat your channel like it’s HBO and deliver higher-value content. Your members will be the first to see the increase of quality in and frequency of your work.
- Project-based: Is there a special project you have in mind, get support for it. A longer-form video or one that your fans have been wanting for a while, by highlighting this anticipated project, you can get more backing behind it financially.
From Sept-Oct 2011, the YouTube channel Freddiew (aka RocketJump) went on Kickstarter to crowdfund so they can produce a web series called Video Game High School. In 30 days, they were able to surpass their goal of $75,000 with $273,725 and 5,661 backers. The result is a multiple season web series, the first one published onto YouTube in May 2012.
Without crowdfunding, the project would unlikely have been produced and published for viewers in such a short amount of time.
Set Crowdfunding Goals to Encourage Donations
Have you ever gone up to a friend and ask for $5? What did they say?
“What do you need it for?”
We are more willing to give money if we know where it is going. Let your audience know exactly what you are planning to spend the funds on and how it will benefit them. One way to really encourage them is to have a goal, for example, a trip to a conference, and a special video will be produced to highlight the event.
Set a $ Target
If you have a pie in the sky goal, you aren’t going to fully leverage the message to your audience. Understand how much money you need to produce a video or to pursue a more ambitious project. What do you need in order to grow and make the best channel you can.
How Does Patreon Work for YouTubers?
When it comes to crowdfunding for YouTubers, Patreon is the platform of choice. While other platforms such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe are focused on entrepreneurial pursuits, large projects, or charitable causes, Patreon is designed to support creatives and reward and incentivize donors.
Key Takeaways:
There are many ways to make money off of YouTube, I encourage you to try a few of these different strategies and see how they perform and which one suits your channel and your audience the best.
- Directing your viewers to your website where they can pay for a product or service that you offer.
- Sign up with an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates and create content about interesting products.
- Find brands that match your channel’s values and propose ideas via influencer marketing platforms such as Famebit.
- Set up a Patreon page and encourage viewers to donate to get incentives or to support a bigger better project.
Got questions about making money on YouTube? Leave a comment below. We love to help you get paid for the videos you create.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In this article, we are going to look at 4 different types of ways to make money on YouTube that doesn’t involve ads.
But why should there be any other way? What’s wrong with simply focusing on ads?
More and more people are making a living by creating videos on YouTube. According to the YouTube Partner Program , YouTube has seen a 40% year-over-year of channels making 6 figures from viewer ads engagements.
Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora
Over thousands of hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every day and people are going crazy to earn money with video monetization. There should be a minimum time gap between your video shoot, editing, and uploading it to your channel. Wondershare Filmora Video Editor can help you get your videos edited faster. Not only the interface is simple and intuitive, it has both the basic and professional editing tools such as cutting, trimming, crop&zoom, a large collection of video effects and royalty-free music, and you can also upload the video directly on YouTube after editing. All of these make Filmora stand out in the queue and become a favorite tool to edit YouTube videos.
What is the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?
YPP enables YouTubers to make money from an advertisement that appears before or during their videos.
How Much Money Can YouTubers Make from Ads?
The answer to this question varies depending on the channel and the audience, as YouTubers don’t make money for views but rather from how often people engage with the ads. If a viewer watches more than 30 seconds of the ad or clicks it, then the YouTuber will make money.
This is a general estimate of how much a YouTuber can make from ads once they qualify:
- 68% of advertisers ad spend goes to the video creator. If advertisers spend $100, creators get $68.
- $0.18 is the average rate per ad view.
- 1000 ad views will equal approximately $18
- 1000 video views will equal between $2-$5
Why It’s So Hard for YouTubers to Make Money From Ads
For new YouTubers, it is getting harder and harder to get to that point where their sole income can be from YouTube ads. Before they can make a penny, they must first qualify.
Monetization Rules (as of January 2018):
- Creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in 12 months before they can turn on monetization
- YouTube pays in $100 increments
Once they have monetization turned on, it’s only the beginning. YouTubers need to create good content consistently. In order to earn $100 for the initial payout, they need an average of 50,000 views. That’s just $100! A lot of views and not a big payout. Hardly enough to quit your day job.
That is why it is essential to have alternative ways to make money on YouTube, and not rely on the ads shown on your videos. So, without further ado, here are 4 other ways to make money on YouTube:
1. Sell Your Product or Service:
YouTube is one of the most effective means of marketing and selling your products and services if you are able to use it effectively and drive people to click and buy.
Here are some examples of products and services you can offer:
Products:
- eBooks
- Artwork
- Licensed content
- Online course
- Channel/brand merchandise
YouTuber, Jake Paul uses eCommerce platform Fanjoyto sell his merch.
Services:
- Consulting work (strategy planner, financial advisor, etc.)
- Contracting work (designer, developer, etc.)
- Education (tutor, trainer, etc.)
- Performance/Speaking Opportunities (motivational speaker, musician, etc.)
YouTuber and entrepreneur, Sunny Lenarduzzi uses YouTube as a platform to get clients for her consulting business.
How to Sell a Product or Service on YouTube
YouTube is a vast platform and if you don’t have a clear direction for what you are selling, you might be making videos for an audience that isn’t interested in buying what you are selling.
Here is how you should go about selling your product or service on YouTube:
1. Your content must be discovered by the right people: If the wrong people find your content, then you aren’t going to make any sales. To get the right eyes on your videos, you’ll need to do some research on your target audience and what keywords they use when searching for your product or services.
If you are selling a meditation eBook and guided meditation services, type in some possible keywords in the YouTube search bar. What appears will be some popular searches:
From there, take your possible keywords and put them into a tool such as Ubersuggest to find other related keywords. This will help you create discoverable content that will catch the interest of those who will buy what you are selling.
2. Your content must have value: You cannot start with the Call to Action or try selling to your audience right away. You must first build trust and prove that what you are selling has value.
Take this example from Modern Health Monk , a weight loss coach.
In the video, he offers tips on how journaling can help the viewer reach their goal. The way he intends to make money is through people signing up for his course. The course is the product he is selling, but he doesn’t say that. He knows the viewers are not there to enroll in a course. They are there to learn about what he is offering.
The video is over 9 minutes long and not once does he tell his audience to buy anything. However, he does encourage the viewer at the end to download a free eBook. Selling is about focusing on the long game.
3. Your content must lead the audience to a place where they can buy: You don’t want to force people through a door, but you do want the signs to be visible. You will need to direct the viewer to a place where they can make the purchase. YouTube has a few ways to point your viewers in that direction.
Link in the description box:
The YouTube Card:
You can add one or multiple cards to direct viewers to your website or to another related video.
Call to action button:
Once the viewer is on your website, make sure the path is apparent as well. Have a clear call to action somewhere on your website. This is where your viewers become customers.
But What if You Don’t Have a Product Or Service to Sell Yet?
While some YouTubers certainly start with their product and service in mind and find their customers to sell through YouTube, many others go the opposite way and discover their audience first.
Lilly Singh did not start a YouTube channel to sell her book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life. Her YouTube channel gave her an audience and proved to publishers that there was enough demand for her to write a book that people will read.
As you grow your audience you will find that there will be a demand for certain products or services that don’t already exist. This is where you put on your entrepreneur hat and think of something that your audience will pay money for and make it happen. Odds are, when it happens, it wouldn’t even be a mystery, your audience will tell you to make or supply it.
For example, Remi Cruz , a YouTuber with over 2.2 million subscribers. Remi created a beauty brand and DIY face mask, Honey Pop , which could only have happened after taking the time to understand her supportive audience.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
Businesses know that there are more eyes watching YouTube than ever — behind Google, YouTube is the second most popular place for people researching what to buy — and influencers and reviews are an effective method of getting sales. You can leverage that by participating in affiliate marketing as a YouTuber.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work On YouTube?
As a YouTuber, you can share your thoughts on products or services, and if there are products that you recommend, by simply adding a personalized link to the product page, you can get a commission for every sale of that product that came through your link.
The average affiliate commission rate is between 5% to 30%, with a lot of variables. Some low price range items will have a higher commission, while higher-priced items will have lower commissions.
Travel YouTuber, Sorelle Amore’s affiliate links to her vlogging gears.
Keep in mind that people are most likely going to take recommendations from people they trust. You wouldn’t buy a computer from a nutritionist and you wouldn’t buy vitamins from a gamer, so consider what you are an expert in and what products you have the most authority to speak about.
What Videos Are Best for Affiliate Marketing?
There are no restrictions on what will make a good affiliate marketing video, but there are best practices.
What’s important is understanding the purpose of the video. If the video is about vlogging microphones, then it makes complete sense to have an affiliate link to your favorite microphone. Odds are the people who are watching the video may be considering buying a new microphone, so the link is helpful for them.
Here are a few types of videos that make for good affiliate marketing opportunities:
- Product reviews
- Top 10
- How-tos
- Cheap vs expensive
- What to pack for…
How to Get an Affiliate Marketing Link for YouTube?
Which affiliate marketing program you choose to sign up with will depend on the products you want to link to through your content. Do some research on what each network has to offer in regards to your niche.
Here is the list of 4 popular affiliate marketing networks:
- Rakuten
- PeerFly
You can also partner with brands directly as many of them, such as Sephora and Canon , will have their own affiliate program.
3. Brand Deal or Sponsorships:
Selling out, that is often the thought when we hear creators getting brand deals and sponsorships, but that stigma is unfounded if the brand and the content are properly aligned. As your channel grows, you will begin to recognize brands that match your values — and the values of your viewers — and those that don’t.
Today, more and more brands are collaborating with YouTube creators, because creators are 4x more effective in earning brand familiarity than collaborations with traditional celebrities.
In an ad for Beats by Dre’s #BuiltForBosses campaign, YouTuber Liza Koshy outperformed the likes of Tom Brady and DJ Khaled.
While it does take significant effort on YouTube to acquire a following, it is possible for a YouTube channel with 1,000 subscribers to get a brand deal. Getting the buy-in from brands is a numbers game, and according to Video Creators , the minimal number of views per video shouldn’t be lower than 2,000 if this is the path you want to head in.
How to Get Discovered By Brands
The decision-makers behind brands might not be aware of influencers with a smaller following — those who have just cracked the 5,000 subscriber mark. The odds of a brand reaching out to you, as a small creator, is unlikely to happen.
If you want to get a brand deal and become an influencer on YouTube, then you will have to put yourself out there to be discovered and that is on an Influencer Marketing Network, such as Famebit .
How Influencer Marketing Platforms Like Famebit Works
When you sign up for Famebit or other influencer marketing platforms you have an opportunity to get in front of brands who are seeking influencers to share their product or service.
Steps to getting a brand deal:
- Find brands and campaigns that match your audience.
- Pitch your creative ideas and present the proposal to the brand within their parameters (product review, 30-60 shoutout, etc.)
- If accepted, you are hired and will begin collaboration with the brand to produce the project.
- Build our content.
- Receive approval from the brand.
- Get Paid!
Unlike celebrity marketing, YouTube creators have shown brands over the years that they are inventive and clever with how they can present the brand to the audience to drive the best results. This type of independence is what makes YouTube influencer marketing special.
4. Crowdfunding:
If you are creating valuable content and have a loyal following, you can start thinking about crowdfunding. It doesn’t take stardom to start asking for donations, pledge, or support from your fans. There is a demand for quality content and if you are creating something of value, even on a free service like YouTube, people will happily pay to support it.
But how can you approach crowdfunding so it doesn’t look like you are begging?
3 Popular Types of Crowdfunding:
- Tiered Rewards: You can give incentives for your patrons in different tiers. Example: a donation of $2-$10 gives them a shoutout in your next video, a donation of $20-$100 gets them an exclusive spot in a live stream, and more extravagant offerings as the donations increase.
- Membership: This method of crowdfunding allows your fans to donate on a recurring basis. Treat your channel like it’s HBO and deliver higher-value content. Your members will be the first to see the increase of quality in and frequency of your work.
- Project-based: Is there a special project you have in mind, get support for it. A longer-form video or one that your fans have been wanting for a while, by highlighting this anticipated project, you can get more backing behind it financially.
From Sept-Oct 2011, the YouTube channel Freddiew (aka RocketJump) went on Kickstarter to crowdfund so they can produce a web series called Video Game High School. In 30 days, they were able to surpass their goal of $75,000 with $273,725 and 5,661 backers. The result is a multiple season web series, the first one published onto YouTube in May 2012.
Without crowdfunding, the project would unlikely have been produced and published for viewers in such a short amount of time.
Set Crowdfunding Goals to Encourage Donations
Have you ever gone up to a friend and ask for $5? What did they say?
“What do you need it for?”
We are more willing to give money if we know where it is going. Let your audience know exactly what you are planning to spend the funds on and how it will benefit them. One way to really encourage them is to have a goal, for example, a trip to a conference, and a special video will be produced to highlight the event.
Set a $ Target
If you have a pie in the sky goal, you aren’t going to fully leverage the message to your audience. Understand how much money you need to produce a video or to pursue a more ambitious project. What do you need in order to grow and make the best channel you can.
How Does Patreon Work for YouTubers?
When it comes to crowdfunding for YouTubers, Patreon is the platform of choice. While other platforms such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe are focused on entrepreneurial pursuits, large projects, or charitable causes, Patreon is designed to support creatives and reward and incentivize donors.
Key Takeaways:
There are many ways to make money off of YouTube, I encourage you to try a few of these different strategies and see how they perform and which one suits your channel and your audience the best.
- Directing your viewers to your website where they can pay for a product or service that you offer.
- Sign up with an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates and create content about interesting products.
- Find brands that match your channel’s values and propose ideas via influencer marketing platforms such as Famebit.
- Set up a Patreon page and encourage viewers to donate to get incentives or to support a bigger better project.
Got questions about making money on YouTube? Leave a comment below. We love to help you get paid for the videos you create.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions
In this article, we are going to look at 4 different types of ways to make money on YouTube that doesn’t involve ads.
But why should there be any other way? What’s wrong with simply focusing on ads?
More and more people are making a living by creating videos on YouTube. According to the YouTube Partner Program , YouTube has seen a 40% year-over-year of channels making 6 figures from viewer ads engagements.
Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora
Over thousands of hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every day and people are going crazy to earn money with video monetization. There should be a minimum time gap between your video shoot, editing, and uploading it to your channel. Wondershare Filmora Video Editor can help you get your videos edited faster. Not only the interface is simple and intuitive, it has both the basic and professional editing tools such as cutting, trimming, crop&zoom, a large collection of video effects and royalty-free music, and you can also upload the video directly on YouTube after editing. All of these make Filmora stand out in the queue and become a favorite tool to edit YouTube videos.
What is the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?
YPP enables YouTubers to make money from an advertisement that appears before or during their videos.
How Much Money Can YouTubers Make from Ads?
The answer to this question varies depending on the channel and the audience, as YouTubers don’t make money for views but rather from how often people engage with the ads. If a viewer watches more than 30 seconds of the ad or clicks it, then the YouTuber will make money.
This is a general estimate of how much a YouTuber can make from ads once they qualify:
- 68% of advertisers ad spend goes to the video creator. If advertisers spend $100, creators get $68.
- $0.18 is the average rate per ad view.
- 1000 ad views will equal approximately $18
- 1000 video views will equal between $2-$5
Why It’s So Hard for YouTubers to Make Money From Ads
For new YouTubers, it is getting harder and harder to get to that point where their sole income can be from YouTube ads. Before they can make a penny, they must first qualify.
Monetization Rules (as of January 2018):
- Creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in 12 months before they can turn on monetization
- YouTube pays in $100 increments
Once they have monetization turned on, it’s only the beginning. YouTubers need to create good content consistently. In order to earn $100 for the initial payout, they need an average of 50,000 views. That’s just $100! A lot of views and not a big payout. Hardly enough to quit your day job.
That is why it is essential to have alternative ways to make money on YouTube, and not rely on the ads shown on your videos. So, without further ado, here are 4 other ways to make money on YouTube:
1. Sell Your Product or Service:
YouTube is one of the most effective means of marketing and selling your products and services if you are able to use it effectively and drive people to click and buy.
Here are some examples of products and services you can offer:
Products:
- eBooks
- Artwork
- Licensed content
- Online course
- Channel/brand merchandise
YouTuber, Jake Paul uses eCommerce platform Fanjoyto sell his merch.
Services:
- Consulting work (strategy planner, financial advisor, etc.)
- Contracting work (designer, developer, etc.)
- Education (tutor, trainer, etc.)
- Performance/Speaking Opportunities (motivational speaker, musician, etc.)
YouTuber and entrepreneur, Sunny Lenarduzzi uses YouTube as a platform to get clients for her consulting business.
How to Sell a Product or Service on YouTube
YouTube is a vast platform and if you don’t have a clear direction for what you are selling, you might be making videos for an audience that isn’t interested in buying what you are selling.
Here is how you should go about selling your product or service on YouTube:
1. Your content must be discovered by the right people: If the wrong people find your content, then you aren’t going to make any sales. To get the right eyes on your videos, you’ll need to do some research on your target audience and what keywords they use when searching for your product or services.
If you are selling a meditation eBook and guided meditation services, type in some possible keywords in the YouTube search bar. What appears will be some popular searches:
From there, take your possible keywords and put them into a tool such as Ubersuggest to find other related keywords. This will help you create discoverable content that will catch the interest of those who will buy what you are selling.
2. Your content must have value: You cannot start with the Call to Action or try selling to your audience right away. You must first build trust and prove that what you are selling has value.
Take this example from Modern Health Monk , a weight loss coach.
In the video, he offers tips on how journaling can help the viewer reach their goal. The way he intends to make money is through people signing up for his course. The course is the product he is selling, but he doesn’t say that. He knows the viewers are not there to enroll in a course. They are there to learn about what he is offering.
The video is over 9 minutes long and not once does he tell his audience to buy anything. However, he does encourage the viewer at the end to download a free eBook. Selling is about focusing on the long game.
3. Your content must lead the audience to a place where they can buy: You don’t want to force people through a door, but you do want the signs to be visible. You will need to direct the viewer to a place where they can make the purchase. YouTube has a few ways to point your viewers in that direction.
Link in the description box:
The YouTube Card:
You can add one or multiple cards to direct viewers to your website or to another related video.
Call to action button:
Once the viewer is on your website, make sure the path is apparent as well. Have a clear call to action somewhere on your website. This is where your viewers become customers.
But What if You Don’t Have a Product Or Service to Sell Yet?
While some YouTubers certainly start with their product and service in mind and find their customers to sell through YouTube, many others go the opposite way and discover their audience first.
Lilly Singh did not start a YouTube channel to sell her book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life. Her YouTube channel gave her an audience and proved to publishers that there was enough demand for her to write a book that people will read.
As you grow your audience you will find that there will be a demand for certain products or services that don’t already exist. This is where you put on your entrepreneur hat and think of something that your audience will pay money for and make it happen. Odds are, when it happens, it wouldn’t even be a mystery, your audience will tell you to make or supply it.
For example, Remi Cruz , a YouTuber with over 2.2 million subscribers. Remi created a beauty brand and DIY face mask, Honey Pop , which could only have happened after taking the time to understand her supportive audience.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
Businesses know that there are more eyes watching YouTube than ever — behind Google, YouTube is the second most popular place for people researching what to buy — and influencers and reviews are an effective method of getting sales. You can leverage that by participating in affiliate marketing as a YouTuber.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work On YouTube?
As a YouTuber, you can share your thoughts on products or services, and if there are products that you recommend, by simply adding a personalized link to the product page, you can get a commission for every sale of that product that came through your link.
The average affiliate commission rate is between 5% to 30%, with a lot of variables. Some low price range items will have a higher commission, while higher-priced items will have lower commissions.
Travel YouTuber, Sorelle Amore’s affiliate links to her vlogging gears.
Keep in mind that people are most likely going to take recommendations from people they trust. You wouldn’t buy a computer from a nutritionist and you wouldn’t buy vitamins from a gamer, so consider what you are an expert in and what products you have the most authority to speak about.
What Videos Are Best for Affiliate Marketing?
There are no restrictions on what will make a good affiliate marketing video, but there are best practices.
What’s important is understanding the purpose of the video. If the video is about vlogging microphones, then it makes complete sense to have an affiliate link to your favorite microphone. Odds are the people who are watching the video may be considering buying a new microphone, so the link is helpful for them.
Here are a few types of videos that make for good affiliate marketing opportunities:
- Product reviews
- Top 10
- How-tos
- Cheap vs expensive
- What to pack for…
How to Get an Affiliate Marketing Link for YouTube?
Which affiliate marketing program you choose to sign up with will depend on the products you want to link to through your content. Do some research on what each network has to offer in regards to your niche.
Here is the list of 4 popular affiliate marketing networks:
- Rakuten
- PeerFly
You can also partner with brands directly as many of them, such as Sephora and Canon , will have their own affiliate program.
3. Brand Deal or Sponsorships:
Selling out, that is often the thought when we hear creators getting brand deals and sponsorships, but that stigma is unfounded if the brand and the content are properly aligned. As your channel grows, you will begin to recognize brands that match your values — and the values of your viewers — and those that don’t.
Today, more and more brands are collaborating with YouTube creators, because creators are 4x more effective in earning brand familiarity than collaborations with traditional celebrities.
In an ad for Beats by Dre’s #BuiltForBosses campaign, YouTuber Liza Koshy outperformed the likes of Tom Brady and DJ Khaled.
While it does take significant effort on YouTube to acquire a following, it is possible for a YouTube channel with 1,000 subscribers to get a brand deal. Getting the buy-in from brands is a numbers game, and according to Video Creators , the minimal number of views per video shouldn’t be lower than 2,000 if this is the path you want to head in.
How to Get Discovered By Brands
The decision-makers behind brands might not be aware of influencers with a smaller following — those who have just cracked the 5,000 subscriber mark. The odds of a brand reaching out to you, as a small creator, is unlikely to happen.
If you want to get a brand deal and become an influencer on YouTube, then you will have to put yourself out there to be discovered and that is on an Influencer Marketing Network, such as Famebit .
How Influencer Marketing Platforms Like Famebit Works
When you sign up for Famebit or other influencer marketing platforms you have an opportunity to get in front of brands who are seeking influencers to share their product or service.
Steps to getting a brand deal:
- Find brands and campaigns that match your audience.
- Pitch your creative ideas and present the proposal to the brand within their parameters (product review, 30-60 shoutout, etc.)
- If accepted, you are hired and will begin collaboration with the brand to produce the project.
- Build our content.
- Receive approval from the brand.
- Get Paid!
Unlike celebrity marketing, YouTube creators have shown brands over the years that they are inventive and clever with how they can present the brand to the audience to drive the best results. This type of independence is what makes YouTube influencer marketing special.
4. Crowdfunding:
If you are creating valuable content and have a loyal following, you can start thinking about crowdfunding. It doesn’t take stardom to start asking for donations, pledge, or support from your fans. There is a demand for quality content and if you are creating something of value, even on a free service like YouTube, people will happily pay to support it.
But how can you approach crowdfunding so it doesn’t look like you are begging?
3 Popular Types of Crowdfunding:
- Tiered Rewards: You can give incentives for your patrons in different tiers. Example: a donation of $2-$10 gives them a shoutout in your next video, a donation of $20-$100 gets them an exclusive spot in a live stream, and more extravagant offerings as the donations increase.
- Membership: This method of crowdfunding allows your fans to donate on a recurring basis. Treat your channel like it’s HBO and deliver higher-value content. Your members will be the first to see the increase of quality in and frequency of your work.
- Project-based: Is there a special project you have in mind, get support for it. A longer-form video or one that your fans have been wanting for a while, by highlighting this anticipated project, you can get more backing behind it financially.
From Sept-Oct 2011, the YouTube channel Freddiew (aka RocketJump) went on Kickstarter to crowdfund so they can produce a web series called Video Game High School. In 30 days, they were able to surpass their goal of $75,000 with $273,725 and 5,661 backers. The result is a multiple season web series, the first one published onto YouTube in May 2012.
Without crowdfunding, the project would unlikely have been produced and published for viewers in such a short amount of time.
Set Crowdfunding Goals to Encourage Donations
Have you ever gone up to a friend and ask for $5? What did they say?
“What do you need it for?”
We are more willing to give money if we know where it is going. Let your audience know exactly what you are planning to spend the funds on and how it will benefit them. One way to really encourage them is to have a goal, for example, a trip to a conference, and a special video will be produced to highlight the event.
Set a $ Target
If you have a pie in the sky goal, you aren’t going to fully leverage the message to your audience. Understand how much money you need to produce a video or to pursue a more ambitious project. What do you need in order to grow and make the best channel you can.
How Does Patreon Work for YouTubers?
When it comes to crowdfunding for YouTubers, Patreon is the platform of choice. While other platforms such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe are focused on entrepreneurial pursuits, large projects, or charitable causes, Patreon is designed to support creatives and reward and incentivize donors.
Key Takeaways:
There are many ways to make money off of YouTube, I encourage you to try a few of these different strategies and see how they perform and which one suits your channel and your audience the best.
- Directing your viewers to your website where they can pay for a product or service that you offer.
- Sign up with an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates and create content about interesting products.
- Find brands that match your channel’s values and propose ideas via influencer marketing platforms such as Famebit.
- Set up a Patreon page and encourage viewers to donate to get incentives or to support a bigger better project.
Got questions about making money on YouTube? Leave a comment below. We love to help you get paid for the videos you create.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
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- Title: "In 2024, Perfecting Content Aesthetics Crafting Personalized Thumbnails"
- Author: Thomas
- Created at : 2024-05-31 12:41:28
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:41:28
- Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/in-2024-perfecting-content-aesthetics-crafting-personalized-thumbnails/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
