Profit-Making Techniques for Beauty Vloggers

How to Make Money with a Beauty Channel?

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

There are a lot of ways you can make money by posting makeup, beauty, or fashion videos on YouTube. These are all industries that understand the value of quality social media content.

In the video above, beauty YouTuber Gena M explains all the ways there are to make money posting makeup and fashion videos on YouTube. Gena’s most important piece of advice for other beauty vloggers is, to be honest. There is nothing wrong with making money from affiliates or sponsors, so long as you only associate with and recommend products you would actually buy.

Here’s more advice on how you can make money from your makeup videos:

Sponsorships

If you are truly passionate about makeup or fashion then you probably have a few favorite brands. Even if you have never really thought about a brand as your favorite, chances are you purchase one or two types of lip gloss – or any other product – over others on a regular basis.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a company whose product you already love and use in your videos would start paying you just to mention them?

There are sites called influencer marketing platforms – the most popular one is FameBit – where you can find brands that are looking for creators just like you to work with them on marketing campaigns. Brands post what they are looking for, and you send them proposals for what kinds of videos you want to make for them.

Sometimes, creating branded content can be as easy as drawing attention to the brand of the eyeliner you use in a few of your tutorials.

Other times, brands may want you to say specific things or include logos in your videos.

Make sure to incorporate any brand messages or product placement you agree to do in ways that will feel natural to your viewers. You should let them know that you have a sponsor, and then incorporate the branded content in ways that do not take away from their enjoyment of your videos.

Ad Revenue

Monetizing your videos and earning ad revenue is one of the primary ways beauty vloggers, and all other YouTubers, make money. It takes a long time to earn more than the pocket change from ads, but so long as you keep growing your audience your revenue will keep going up.

Pay attention to the estimated revenue reports to see which of your videos are earning the most money from ads (they won’t always be your most popular videos). By making more videos on similar topics you will be able to make more money.

Affiliate Links

By becoming an Amazon affiliate, or joining the affiliate program of another online store, you can make money by including links to products in the descriptions of your video or in your related blog posts.

For example, if you talk about your new curling iron in a hair tutorial then you can include a special link to it on Amazon. If any of your viewers follow that link and buy it, you earn a percentage of the purchase.

Even better – if that person keeps shopping, or even skips the curling iron and buys something else, you earn a percentage of any purchase they make on Amazon for a certain period of time.

Affiliate links are mostly used by bloggers, not YouTubers, but you can still include them in the descriptions of your videos (not YouTube Cards or annotations though). It is not a bad idea for you to create blog posts to accompany your videos and post your affiliate links. Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to your videos.

Gifts

Sometimes companies might just give you stuff.

As your following gets bigger, brands might start sending you samples of their products in the hopes that you will fall in love with them and mention, review, or use them in your videos. This is not the same as a sponsorship because the brand is not paying you for a specific kind of message.

Receiving these kinds of gifts is not the same as getting paid, but it can certainly save you money on makeup.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

There are a lot of ways you can make money by posting makeup, beauty, or fashion videos on YouTube. These are all industries that understand the value of quality social media content.

In the video above, beauty YouTuber Gena M explains all the ways there are to make money posting makeup and fashion videos on YouTube. Gena’s most important piece of advice for other beauty vloggers is, to be honest. There is nothing wrong with making money from affiliates or sponsors, so long as you only associate with and recommend products you would actually buy.

Here’s more advice on how you can make money from your makeup videos:

Sponsorships

If you are truly passionate about makeup or fashion then you probably have a few favorite brands. Even if you have never really thought about a brand as your favorite, chances are you purchase one or two types of lip gloss – or any other product – over others on a regular basis.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a company whose product you already love and use in your videos would start paying you just to mention them?

There are sites called influencer marketing platforms – the most popular one is FameBit – where you can find brands that are looking for creators just like you to work with them on marketing campaigns. Brands post what they are looking for, and you send them proposals for what kinds of videos you want to make for them.

Sometimes, creating branded content can be as easy as drawing attention to the brand of the eyeliner you use in a few of your tutorials.

Other times, brands may want you to say specific things or include logos in your videos.

Make sure to incorporate any brand messages or product placement you agree to do in ways that will feel natural to your viewers. You should let them know that you have a sponsor, and then incorporate the branded content in ways that do not take away from their enjoyment of your videos.

Ad Revenue

Monetizing your videos and earning ad revenue is one of the primary ways beauty vloggers, and all other YouTubers, make money. It takes a long time to earn more than the pocket change from ads, but so long as you keep growing your audience your revenue will keep going up.

Pay attention to the estimated revenue reports to see which of your videos are earning the most money from ads (they won’t always be your most popular videos). By making more videos on similar topics you will be able to make more money.

Affiliate Links

By becoming an Amazon affiliate, or joining the affiliate program of another online store, you can make money by including links to products in the descriptions of your video or in your related blog posts.

For example, if you talk about your new curling iron in a hair tutorial then you can include a special link to it on Amazon. If any of your viewers follow that link and buy it, you earn a percentage of the purchase.

Even better – if that person keeps shopping, or even skips the curling iron and buys something else, you earn a percentage of any purchase they make on Amazon for a certain period of time.

Affiliate links are mostly used by bloggers, not YouTubers, but you can still include them in the descriptions of your videos (not YouTube Cards or annotations though). It is not a bad idea for you to create blog posts to accompany your videos and post your affiliate links. Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to your videos.

Gifts

Sometimes companies might just give you stuff.

As your following gets bigger, brands might start sending you samples of their products in the hopes that you will fall in love with them and mention, review, or use them in your videos. This is not the same as a sponsorship because the brand is not paying you for a specific kind of message.

Receiving these kinds of gifts is not the same as getting paid, but it can certainly save you money on makeup.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

There are a lot of ways you can make money by posting makeup, beauty, or fashion videos on YouTube. These are all industries that understand the value of quality social media content.

In the video above, beauty YouTuber Gena M explains all the ways there are to make money posting makeup and fashion videos on YouTube. Gena’s most important piece of advice for other beauty vloggers is, to be honest. There is nothing wrong with making money from affiliates or sponsors, so long as you only associate with and recommend products you would actually buy.

Here’s more advice on how you can make money from your makeup videos:

Sponsorships

If you are truly passionate about makeup or fashion then you probably have a few favorite brands. Even if you have never really thought about a brand as your favorite, chances are you purchase one or two types of lip gloss – or any other product – over others on a regular basis.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a company whose product you already love and use in your videos would start paying you just to mention them?

There are sites called influencer marketing platforms – the most popular one is FameBit – where you can find brands that are looking for creators just like you to work with them on marketing campaigns. Brands post what they are looking for, and you send them proposals for what kinds of videos you want to make for them.

Sometimes, creating branded content can be as easy as drawing attention to the brand of the eyeliner you use in a few of your tutorials.

Other times, brands may want you to say specific things or include logos in your videos.

Make sure to incorporate any brand messages or product placement you agree to do in ways that will feel natural to your viewers. You should let them know that you have a sponsor, and then incorporate the branded content in ways that do not take away from their enjoyment of your videos.

Ad Revenue

Monetizing your videos and earning ad revenue is one of the primary ways beauty vloggers, and all other YouTubers, make money. It takes a long time to earn more than the pocket change from ads, but so long as you keep growing your audience your revenue will keep going up.

Pay attention to the estimated revenue reports to see which of your videos are earning the most money from ads (they won’t always be your most popular videos). By making more videos on similar topics you will be able to make more money.

Affiliate Links

By becoming an Amazon affiliate, or joining the affiliate program of another online store, you can make money by including links to products in the descriptions of your video or in your related blog posts.

For example, if you talk about your new curling iron in a hair tutorial then you can include a special link to it on Amazon. If any of your viewers follow that link and buy it, you earn a percentage of the purchase.

Even better – if that person keeps shopping, or even skips the curling iron and buys something else, you earn a percentage of any purchase they make on Amazon for a certain period of time.

Affiliate links are mostly used by bloggers, not YouTubers, but you can still include them in the descriptions of your videos (not YouTube Cards or annotations though). It is not a bad idea for you to create blog posts to accompany your videos and post your affiliate links. Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to your videos.

Gifts

Sometimes companies might just give you stuff.

As your following gets bigger, brands might start sending you samples of their products in the hopes that you will fall in love with them and mention, review, or use them in your videos. This is not the same as a sponsorship because the brand is not paying you for a specific kind of message.

Receiving these kinds of gifts is not the same as getting paid, but it can certainly save you money on makeup.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

There are a lot of ways you can make money by posting makeup, beauty, or fashion videos on YouTube. These are all industries that understand the value of quality social media content.

In the video above, beauty YouTuber Gena M explains all the ways there are to make money posting makeup and fashion videos on YouTube. Gena’s most important piece of advice for other beauty vloggers is, to be honest. There is nothing wrong with making money from affiliates or sponsors, so long as you only associate with and recommend products you would actually buy.

Here’s more advice on how you can make money from your makeup videos:

Sponsorships

If you are truly passionate about makeup or fashion then you probably have a few favorite brands. Even if you have never really thought about a brand as your favorite, chances are you purchase one or two types of lip gloss – or any other product – over others on a regular basis.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a company whose product you already love and use in your videos would start paying you just to mention them?

There are sites called influencer marketing platforms – the most popular one is FameBit – where you can find brands that are looking for creators just like you to work with them on marketing campaigns. Brands post what they are looking for, and you send them proposals for what kinds of videos you want to make for them.

Sometimes, creating branded content can be as easy as drawing attention to the brand of the eyeliner you use in a few of your tutorials.

Other times, brands may want you to say specific things or include logos in your videos.

Make sure to incorporate any brand messages or product placement you agree to do in ways that will feel natural to your viewers. You should let them know that you have a sponsor, and then incorporate the branded content in ways that do not take away from their enjoyment of your videos.

Ad Revenue

Monetizing your videos and earning ad revenue is one of the primary ways beauty vloggers, and all other YouTubers, make money. It takes a long time to earn more than the pocket change from ads, but so long as you keep growing your audience your revenue will keep going up.

Pay attention to the estimated revenue reports to see which of your videos are earning the most money from ads (they won’t always be your most popular videos). By making more videos on similar topics you will be able to make more money.

Affiliate Links

By becoming an Amazon affiliate, or joining the affiliate program of another online store, you can make money by including links to products in the descriptions of your video or in your related blog posts.

For example, if you talk about your new curling iron in a hair tutorial then you can include a special link to it on Amazon. If any of your viewers follow that link and buy it, you earn a percentage of the purchase.

Even better – if that person keeps shopping, or even skips the curling iron and buys something else, you earn a percentage of any purchase they make on Amazon for a certain period of time.

Affiliate links are mostly used by bloggers, not YouTubers, but you can still include them in the descriptions of your videos (not YouTube Cards or annotations though). It is not a bad idea for you to create blog posts to accompany your videos and post your affiliate links. Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to your videos.

Gifts

Sometimes companies might just give you stuff.

As your following gets bigger, brands might start sending you samples of their products in the hopes that you will fall in love with them and mention, review, or use them in your videos. This is not the same as a sponsorship because the brand is not paying you for a specific kind of message.

Receiving these kinds of gifts is not the same as getting paid, but it can certainly save you money on makeup.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Making a Splash with YouTube Ad Banners & Thumbnails

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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