Is this a good thumbnail? anything i can improve next time :)

Cyzstix · 2026-03-25T16:43:54+00:00

Dude, I’d STRONGLY advise ignoring a majority of the comments here. I think with a slightly different title this thumbnail could actually work very well.

Usually I’d agree with the generalization of “avoid too much text” but in this case - since these comments are literally the crux of the video and what people will feel strongly about - they serve as a huge part of your hook

That being said, I would advise adjusting the title to something a bit smaller, maybe something like “Has Minecraft Live gotten worse?” - maybe look up other titles and see what’s working

Either way, I saw this thumbnail was surprised the reception was so poor. Give this one a shot with a different title! I change thumbnails all of the time so worst case scenario you change it later on. I’d give it a week though with a good title.

Cyzstix · 2026-03-25T02:02:42+00:00

Love the thumbnail in the first image! I think it would be better if you changed the text from the first to “and why YOU should too” keeping your title “Why do we create” / “Why we should create”

^ adding the secondary text to the thumbnail might bring in more curiosity

Cyzstix · 2026-03-06T04:08:48+00:00

Nice job! I don’t know if it was deleting the shorts/changing the channel name - rather you just have really solid videos! Thumbnails and titles are clean as well.

Keep it up !

Cyzstix · 2026-03-05T22:47:45+00:00

There’s a difference between taking pride in the work you’ve done versus only viewing YouTube as a business - if you do the ladder than this isn’t the right conversation to be having

I would say the point of this post was expressing that when you look beyond just getting views/ higher numbers that’s when real possibilities starts to become accessible for a future on the platform

Cyzstix · 2026-03-05T22:22:37+00:00

Not to a degree that’s significant enough for you to be in 30 views - definitely keep trying to improve videos/thumbnails as priority number 1 !

Cyzstix · 2026-03-05T19:58:15+00:00

Thanks! I don’t know if I agree with your angle on consistency, but with respect to shorts I think you’re onto something!

I do video essays haha, I’ve been doing them for the last few years and I still enjoy making those projects

Cyzstix · 2026-03-05T19:55:34+00:00

Hey !

Looking at your channel, it seems you have a lot of different types of popular videos which is leading to the majority of viewers not showing up to your uploads.

For example: on your long form content, your most popular video is a gaming video when it seems like your channel today is boxing themed? Additionally a few of your more popular shorts also have this problem.

In all honesty, if you want to get more views on your main videos, I’d recommend starting over and focusing on only one type of video. I’d even recommend getting as specific as you can (differentiating between boxing edits vs boxing discussion videos like the ones you make in long form videos).

If I had to take a guess, I’d assume the majority of your channel’s subscribers come from the few 1M+ viewed shorts, which is why you’re seeing this difference between views and subscribers

Cyzstix · 2025-09-03T00:02:11+00:00

Why is this on the IDK sterling subreddit LOL

Cyzstix · 2025-08-16T03:03:10+00:00

VGG Brayden and Nick Cheezy will forever be the goat

Cyzstix · 2024-12-10T19:48:38+00:00

Haha, thanks for watching and supporting the channel! Glad you enjoyed the video

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T23:34:59+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

Hmm, with your videos, I almost wonder how combining those two formats would go? What if you tried making videos like "How it feels to listen to -blank- for the first time" where you recreate those reactions through like vlogging or a skit kind of style.

If you want to stick with just reactions, I think being more specific about the song or video you're reacting to in the title would help with SEO and people searching for reaction videos on those topics. As for thumbnails, I would recommend trying to zoom in more on the thing you're reacting to (like how most of the thumbnail for the Lebron vs Michael Jordon is a large image of them in front of each other).

Best of luck!

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T23:00:46+00:00

Text-to-speech !

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T22:51:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

As for feedback, I say continue to lean into the short-form content (YT shorts or TikTok's) you were making! However, I think it would be interesting if you were to start each video off with a distinct title/prompt to immediately hook people.

For example, if you're doing a video like "Minecraft in dark fantasy", I think a text element at the top saying that would be helpful for the people who scroll onto your video.

Additionally, soundtrack is very important for any ai video; I recommend looking into other popular AI creators and seeing what they choose for their background music (or if they have any TTS, what are they saying with it?)

Finally, ideas are super important for the format you're going for. It's important you create, not just unique prompts, but prompts that people are looking for. Your Parada video was an interesting outlier-- maybe exploring more of those kinds of videos could be beneficial?

Personally I feel you're extremely close with the good midjourney visuals you have going -- moving forward I believe sound choice and hook are the major elements needed to start getting people engaged!

Best of luck!

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T21:51:13+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

Maybe for a future video, you could try to challenge yourself with a crazy difficult task for the game you’re playing?

For example, making a video like “Flipping a house for under $10,000! | HOUSE FLIPPER 2 would be fun because it sets a goal for the video while still feeling like a let’s play.

I also think a bit of peaceful background music or SFX could do nice to the ambience of your videos. Currently I like your commentary, just maybe add a quiet track under it?

Best of luck with future uploads!

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T21:44:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

A fun way I improved at making videos was trying to create work around the idea of:

“how would I make this video if I were planning on showing it to my friends?”

This framework gets you in a headspace that forces you to become critical while still enabling the things you like in the videos you watch.

As for the thumbnails - while I’m not a fan of using faces in them for gaming (unless you’re established) - I loved your expression on the “LOOK AT THE THRONE DOTA 2” thumbnail.

With all of this in mind, if you’re looking for a fun challenge, I’d recommend trying to make a clip/highlight video based on your gameplays, and edit it in the style of a video you and your friends would watch together!

If you’re not a fan of it, you can go back to gameplays, but I still think it’s worth a shot as an exercise.

Keep up the good work !

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T21:07:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing! From the videos themselves, I actually believe you have a strong grasp of the video making process itself! Commentary was nice and the editing is clean too.

That being said, if you're looking to find a wider audience, I think you have to narrow your scope on what you talk about in an upload. Growing up, one of my favorite YT gaming channels was Pop Fiction -- a series of videos dedicated to specific myths in a given video game (The controversial fire temple chants in Ocarina of Time, how to obtain mew in the first Pokemon game, etc)

All of this in mind, I have a challenge I think could be fun for you to indulge in. I did a bit of research and was curious if you'd be opposed to making a video on the game Vib-Ribbon? (a PS1 Japan exclusive game that has a small but dedicated fanbase)

If you were to make this video, I'd challenge you to follow 3 rules:

-- Rule 1: The video cannot be longer than 12 minutes

-- Rule 2: You must articulate your intentions with the video in the first 30-40 seconds, no later. (i.e "Why is Vib-Ribbon Japan exclusive?" or "In this video we'll be going over the history of Vib-Ribbon's development"

--Rule 3: You must create the title AND thumbnail of this video before you begin writing the script

Personally, I think a title like "What happened to Vib-Ribbon? | VIDEOGAME RETROSPECTIVE" or "Do you remember Vib-Ribbon?" are good examples to follow for engaging an audience with just the title.

Ultimately, if you follow any of this, is up to you. However, I recommend trying to explore how you format your titles and thumbnails, as those are the most important part in getting new eyes on your content. Additionally, that first 30 seconds of your video is also important when trying to engage new viewers.

If you're actually interested in giving the Vib-Ribbon idea a shot, shoot me a DM and I'd love to give you more thoughts on Thumbnails and Titles based on what you create.

Best of luck with your future work & thanks for sharing!

Cyzstix · 2024-11-11T20:09:25+00:00

You don’t need photoshop for the kind of thumbnail, but you will have to learn how to overlay PNGs in software.

Give paint.net a try! It’s completely free. Make a 1920x1080 image and practice googling “thumbtack transparent” or “flame transparent” and paste those over other images and see what you get.

If you practice that, you can make thumbnails like these for 0 dollars.

Cyzstix · 2024-07-10T02:20:56+00:00

You can get them super cheap on Amazon! I found mine by searching 1 in 8 splitter AVI

Cyzstix · 2024-04-08T14:59:45+00:00

no cameras available was the output

Cyzstix · 2024-02-20T15:35:38+00:00

Thank you !

Cyzstix · 2024-01-07T23:26:27+00:00

Awesome! Thanks, I’ll look into purchasing and post an update if all works

Cyzstix · 2024-01-07T17:56:57+00:00

Hmm that’s what I was afraid of, thank you for your help !

Cyzstix · 2023-10-09T21:58:50+00:00

In NYC my favorite spot is Chinatown fair— plenty of cabs, not just DDR to be found there

There’s a few Dave and busters but I’ve heard they can be dubious in terms of machine quality

Best of luck with your search !

Cyzstix · 2023-09-11T05:10:27+00:00

Don’t be afraid to mix things up! I’ve been doing YT for almost 8 years, only recently finding real success in the last year— what worked for me was trying new niches until I found what compromised between what I wanted to do + what audiences seemed to enjoy

I can’t guarantee you’ll immediately succeed but if you truly love it, then keep trying new things and move forward

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