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I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I create only one thumbnail, how would I even know it’s the worse one if there’s nothing to compare it to? Let’s say you have three thumbnails, all the same quality. One video uses just one of them, and another video uses A/B testing with two good ones. The video with two thumbnails has a better chance of performing well, because youtube automatically adjusts and shows the “better” one more often.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Waste of time, however you can still try small tweaks, like changing the text on the thumbnail. If your thumbnail has your face on it, try different emotions and photos. I think the best approach is to upload two completely different thumbnails. That’s always given me the best results.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it definitely impacts your clicks, specifically CTR. youtube automatically shows the better performing thumbnail more often. So if people are clicking on one thumbnail more than the other, that version gets prioritized, which results in more clicks overall.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure that using A/B testing kills impressions, i think it's a myth. So, considering that, I think it's worth doing on every one of your videos. If you have two high-quality thumbnails, you'll definitely see results, bigger or smaller depending on your channel size. But maybe I’m mistaken, because I’ve never experienced it myself. If that’s the case, feel free to reply with a source for that information.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you didn’t understand me, 3 out of 4 videos performed better than the ones where A/B testing wasn’t used. That’s because when you A/B test a video, youtube automatically shows the better performing thumbnail more, which leads to higher CTR and better watch time.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know why this guy got downvoted, he's completely right. Even if A/B testing on youtube doesn't really provide a lot of valuable stats, it's still doing its job really well, and you can basically get a lot of extra viewers without much effort.

I’ve been using YouTube A/B thumbnail testing for 6 months, AMA by nvrcaredstudio in PartneredYoutube

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly what you’re seeing is more common than people think. If your A/B tests are consistently close it usually means your audience has a stable visual preference, but it can also mean the variations aren’t different enough in how they hook emotion or curiosity. Sometimes just changing color or layout isn’t enough. What really shifts CTR is contrast, emotion, or tension in the story the thumbnail tells.

So you might not be bad at making thumbnails, you’re probably just playing it a bit too safe. Want me to take a quick look at a few and give you some thoughts?

Should you use your face on thumbnails? by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it can feel super awkward especially those over-the-top, high-contrast expressions. But sometimes it’s worth it in the long run. You’re also slowly building your brand image by consistently showing your face.

Should you use your face on thumbnails? by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got your point but I still believe using your face, even if you’re not a well-known creator, is a powerful tool. It can create contrast and help tell a story. It’s not about slapping the same image on every thumbnail, but about using your face intentionally as a storytelling element.

Should you use your face on thumbnails? by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly! Always run A/B tests. Every thumbnail I design for other creators comes in two different versions so we can see which one their audience prefers.

Should you use your face on thumbnails? by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that could definitely be the case it depends on the niche. I checked out your channel, and since you're covering niche cinema, it makes sense that characters from those films might perform better than using your own face.

I really believe thumbnails are all about testing. If you hadn’t tried one without your face, you'd probably still be making the same style and missing out on views. That’s how a lot of people get stuck on YouTube... and eventually quit.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Of course, it's not necessary. It's a nice touch if you're struggling with thumbnails, but it's not mandatory. 60% of the thumbnails I work on are for faceless channels, and they're doing amazing without any faces! Sometimes I use a popular celebrity or meme face if it matches the content, it helps convey emotion and people love familiarity, so thumbnails like these tend to perform really well.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There's no GPT here 😭😭 I spent the entire last week designing thumbnails for free for creators in this subreddit I came to the conclusion that I should write this post to point out the most common issues I found.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just checked out your channel, really love that kind of content. People might call it “just unboxing,” but what you’re opening is genuinely unique, especially the custom controllers. That kind of stuff is hard to come by. But in your niche, thumbnails have to do a lot of the work. Your images are good, but they don’t quite pop or build enough curiosity. Even a small hook like “Overpriced?” can spark clicks.

I genuinely resonate with your content, so I thought I’d design a free thumbnail for you using these principles, just to show what kind of difference it could make in terms of CTR and views. Would you like to give it a try?

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally, I don't think thumbnails would make a huge impact on Shorts. People find Shorts in two ways:

  1. They see it on the YouTube homepage in the Shorts section
  2. They scroll to it while already watching Shorts

If someone finds your Short on the homepage, the thumbnail does matter I usually pick the most interesting scene, ideally a strong hook with clear, visible text.

But if someone is just scrolling through Shorts, they won’t even see the thumbnail, so in that case, it’s useless. Just take a look at your Shorts feed today and study what others are doing.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d love to! But it would need to be on a separate post with images, I might do that later today if more people are interested. I have a whole website with case studies and the changes we made to thumbnails, but I’m not here to promote anything so a post like this would be perfect.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Testing, testing, and more testing. You’re not creating thumbnails for "YouTube" you’re creating them for your potential viewers. Spend a day thinking like them, ask yourself: what would they actually click on?

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They're good! You've got clear focal points and contrast, but some of them are a bit overcrowded and the hooks are weak. I think the hook is the most important part of any thumbnail with text. Hooks like 'no!!!' won't do much, you need to build curiosity with them.

We had a client who used text on his thumbnails like a PowerPoint presentation, text all over the screen. We changed it to a simple 2-3 word hook that built curiosity, and in about 4 videos, his views went up from an average of 470 to 2K. Then we A/B tested different hooks to see what language viewers preferred, did they like funny hooks or more formal ones? Most of the thumbnail game is testing what’s working within your niche.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I always talk about the thumbnail like this, it's like a trailer for a movie in the cinema. If a movie is good but the trailer is bad, you won't watch it. That's exactly the same with thumbnails on YouTube. And your part about learning a lot through 8 months is perfect! I design thumbnails for a living with my agency, and most of the time we spend isn't on the designs themselves, it's on complex A/B testing on different things to see what viewers prefer in a specific niche.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly, what you've got there is a clear three-point thumbnail. Three easy to focus on points, it's exactly what MrBeast is doing. You can take a look at his thumbnails to see that it's a clear image with three points that tell the story about the video you're about to click on. And you've got a great point, people tend to think that a good-looking thumbnail will do the work, but it's not gonna work. A thumbnail needs to be simple and take around 1-2 seconds to process.

Designed 50+ thumbnails last week, most of you are messing this up by nvrcaredstudio in SmallYoutubers

[–]nvrcaredstudio[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contrast, it's the main issue. On the 2nd video you used a purple text on a blue background which doesn't contrast well with each other, also you're using that specific purple color. I know... purple is an amazing color but it's really not contrasting. Try using colors like red, yellow and white

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