The Thumbnail Trick EVERY Small YouTuber Misses

Thumbnails are one of the hardest things to get right on YouTube. But they're

also one of the most important because ultimately if people don't click, they don't watch. And if your thumbnails

don't watch. And if your thumbnails aren't getting clicked, your views will suffer no matter how good your content is. The reason you probably clicked on

is. The reason you probably clicked on this video is because deep down you know your thumbnails aren't working. So I'm

going to show you exactly how to fix them. Now firstly, every YouTube guru

them. Now firstly, every YouTube guru will say that thumbnails matter, but most of them will never actually tell you why they matter. So let's break it down quickly. Now what's crazy is it's

down quickly. Now what's crazy is it's claimed thumbnails are responsible for up to 50% of a video's total success.

Not editing, not the camera, not even the script, the thumbnail. That's why if you can improve your thumbnails, even by just like 10%, you will see massive

growth across your entire channel. more

clicks, more watch time, and more subscribers. So, your job as a creator

subscribers. So, your job as a creator isn't just to make good videos. It's

also to make killer thumbnails. And over

the next few minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how to do it. So, let's get into it. Now, the very first thing we

into it. Now, the very first thing we need to do is dive into the world of mastering thumbnail psychology. Because

when a viewer lands on YouTube's home feed looking for a video to watch, they're not sat there carefully evaluating each video they see. Instead,

they're usually scanning the entire page really fast and making split-second decisions based on how a thumbnail makes them feel. And that's a key. People

them feel. And that's a key. People

won't click just because your thumbnail looks nice, they will only click if a thumbnail triggers a feeling inside of them. And whilst all new and small

them. And whilst all new and small creators spend most of their time obsessing over the fine details of each of their thumbnails, the top creators on the other hand focus all of their time

not on the design itself, but on the psychology behind the design. Now, if

you don't believe me, you should definitely believe this guy, Patty Galloway, the worldrenowned YouTube strategist, and he recently said exactly the same thing. The first thing I would

say is a thumbnail to me is at least 80 maybe 90% the psychology of the click and then maybe 10 20% the actual design of the thumbnail. So for example here

are two of my best performing videos.

One about shorts and one about trains.

Now they might both seem really basic at first glance but they were both really carefully designed and let me explain.

So, for the shorts video, I carefully designed this thumbnail to tap into people's emotions. Like when you're

people's emotions. Like when you're trying to grow on YouTube as a small channel, there is nothing worse than posting a video, refreshing the analytics the next day, and then seeing the video has massively flopped and only

got a couple of views. And that's what this thumbnail taps into. It taps into that emotional feeling someone gets when they feel disheartened after one of their videos ends up failing. Then the

second one, the Indian train video. This

was super simple and easy. It probably

took me about 10 minutes to make. But

basically, I knew that Indian people love their trains and they love to see how western people react to their development. So, for this thumbnail, I

development. So, for this thumbnail, I wanted to encapsulate the emotion of being shocked and pleasantly surprised, which is exactly what I knew my audience wanted to see, and it made them curious

enough to want to click on the video and watch it. But look, these thumbnails are

watch it. But look, these thumbnails are super basic. There's no professional

super basic. There's no professional editing here, just pure psychology and emotion. So, now I'm going to teach you

emotion. So, now I'm going to teach you how to do this for your own videos. But

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all, it's super important that you understand there's one key psychological trigger that makes people act every time and that is curiosity. Now I touched on

this during my last video talking about titles. But curiosity is at its peak

titles. But curiosity is at its peak when we encounter what's known as a curiosity gap. This is the gap between

curiosity gap. This is the gap between what we already know and what we want to know. And these gaps work because our

know. And these gaps work because our brains are wired to seek closure. We

hate unfinished thoughts. So when we're presented with a curiosity gap on a thumbnail, our mind has to close it. And

the only way we can close it is by clicking on the video and finding out.

So here's an example of this. Take this

video here by Ryan Draan. The title is I tried every drive-thru's most expensive item. Now, his thumbnail is really

item. Now, his thumbnail is really basic, like no over-the-top editing or crazy graphics. Just a photo of him, the

crazy graphics. Just a photo of him, the McDonald's sign, a burger, and some text. That's all it is. But what makes

text. That's all it is. But what makes this thumbnail so clickable is the fact he's holding up what looks to be like a secret burger. And then include some

secret burger. And then include some text saying instant regret. Now, this

will have viewers thinking three things.

Number one, what is that burger? Number

two, what made him regret it? And number

three, what happened after he ate it?

These questions alone cause guess what?

A curiosity gap. And the only way to resolve that gap is by clicking on the video and finding out. The stronger the gap, the more likely people are to click. Now, it can get super scientific

click. Now, it can get super scientific and complex with the way top creators create these gaps. But to simplify it so you guys can easily create a cured gap with your own thumbnails, I'm going to

now show you five of the most common ways of making them. And these will apply to pretty much any niche. So, make

sure you write them down and use them next time you go to create one. So,

firstly, we have the before and after thumbnails. And these are really

thumbnails. And these are really powerful because they tell a story in just one image, usually a story of transformation. And it's not just about

transformation. And it's not just about the after because the key here is having the before, which is usually the starting point, as relatable as possible. Something that makes viewers

possible. Something that makes viewers go, "That's me or that's where I'm starting from, too." Then on the other side you show the result which is the

after. This then creates a hook. And the

after. This then creates a hook. And the

real question that every viewer has is what happened in between the before and the after. And this format works across

the after. And this format works across nearly every niche. So if you do this, make sure that the before is relatable and that the after feels aspirational.

And the viewer should always want to know how you made that transformation between the two. Then of course we have challenge thumbnails and these are all about tension. This is where you present

about tension. This is where you present a difficult task like something hard, intense, or borderline insane. And it

makes a viewer go, "Wow, did they actually do this?" Now, the more extreme that the challenge feels, the stronger the curiosity gap becomes like these videos are practically begging to get clicked. And the curiosity comes from

clicked. And the curiosity comes from questions from the viewers, like what happened during a challenge? Like, did

they complete it? And would I be able to do it myself? And humans love challenges. We always want to see how

challenges. We always want to see how something ends. So, this is always a

something ends. So, this is always a strong one. And then we have

strong one. And then we have contradiction thumbnails. And these

contradiction thumbnails. And these thumbnails are basically designed to make viewers stop and say, "Wait, what?"

They work because they break expectations. They show something that

expectations. They show something that doesn't really make sense at first glance, and that creates a mental itch the viewer needs to scratch. These

thumbnails naturally feel wrong, but they challenge societal norms, and that's what makes them so clickable. The

contradiction creates a puzzle and the only way to solve that puzzle is to click on the video and watch it. Then of

course we have novelty thumbnails and these are thumbnails that grab you with weirdness. Like they work because the

weirdness. Like they work because the human brain is wired to notice anything that looks new, different or out of place. It could be something or

place. It could be something or inspiring. It could be bizarre. It could

inspiring. It could be bizarre. It could

be hilarious. But the point is we've never seen it before and now we want to know more. The key to novelty thumbnails

know more. The key to novelty thumbnails is simplicity. You don't need 10 crazy

is simplicity. You don't need 10 crazy elements. You just need one thing that

elements. You just need one thing that makes people stop and go, "Wait, what am I looking at? What is that?" And that is a novelty gap. And finally, we have result thumbnails. Now, these thumbnails

result thumbnails. Now, these thumbnails show the final result of a journey. And

they leave viewers wondering how you got there. Like, they work especially well

there. Like, they work especially well in transformation, success, or money related niches. But they can be applied

related niches. But they can be applied in almost any area where progress or outcome matters. And the curiosity comes

outcome matters. And the curiosity comes from two places. One, how did they do it? And two, can I do it, too? The

it? And two, can I do it, too? The

result thumbnails are all about aspiration. They should feel possible,

aspiration. They should feel possible, but not easy. That's what drives a click. So, there you have it. There are

click. So, there you have it. There are

five of the most popular psychological designs you can include in your thumbnails. But having the best

thumbnails. But having the best curiosity gap in the world means nothing if no one notices your thumbnail in the first place. Because every single time

first place. Because every single time someone loads up the YouTube home feed, they will be faced with tons of content that's all trying to grab their attention at the same time. And as

humans, we naturally tune out almost everything unless something disrupts our attention. So the vast majority of

attention. So the vast majority of thumbnails on YouTube will simply just get scrolled past without a second thought. But all of the top creators

thought. But all of the top creators know exactly how to disrupt visual patterns and grab attention. And that's

where attention triggers come in. And

attention triggers are basically really simple little hacks that are able to grab a viewer's attention when they're scrolling on the YouTube home feed. Now,

before I give you some examples, I actually very recently ran a poll asking you guys if you watch YouTube on light mode or dark mode. And 3/4 of you actually said you watch on dark mode.

So, one point here is you should always consider how your thumbnails will stand out on dark backgrounds and light backgrounds too because many of you guys actually watch on dark mode. So, the

contrast between your thumbnail and a dark background always needs a pop. So,

keep that in mind. But here are some examples of attention triggers you should be using in your next thumbnails.

So, first up, we have faces. Now, as

humans, we are biologically wired to notice faces. It's one of the first

notice faces. It's one of the first things our brains are trained to recognize. But it's not just any face

recognize. But it's not just any face that works. The most effective

that works. The most effective thumbnails use clear, expressive faces showing strong emotion. Things like

shock, fear, joy, confusion. These

emotional cues make us instinctively pay attention because they help us to understand what a person's feeling and what that video might be about. So just

using a boring smile on all of your videos with no facial expression won't cut it. The expression you need to

cut it. The expression you need to include needs to match the emotion of that particular video. Like this

thumbnail worked really well for me because the face I'm pulling matched the negative emotion encapsulated by that video topic. Like it wouldn't have

video topic. Like it wouldn't have worked if I had a smiling face or a laughing face for example. Then of

course we have famous people. Now, this

is where it gets interesting because our brains will subconsciously prioritize faces we're already familiar with. So,

people like celebrities, influencers, athletes, friends, or even viral personalities act like immediate attention triggers. Now, of course, you

attention triggers. Now, of course, you should only ever include someone's face on your thumbnail if you actually include them in the video, too. If not,

and you do include someone's face on your thumbnail that's not included, your audience will think you've just clickbaited them and they won't be happy. But if you do feature or talk

happy. But if you do feature or talk about a famous person, for example, in your video, I would always 100% recommend you include them in your thumbnail, too. Then the next attention

thumbnail, too. Then the next attention trigger is big numbers. That's because

numbers create instant mental shortcuts.

Seeing things like 100 thousand or zero to a million instantly communicates value without needing any extra context.

They're really quick. They're easy to process and they trigger questions like how did they make that much? What

happened in the journey? And can I do it too kind of thing. Now these types of attention triggers obviously work even better paired with a powerful topic like money, time or transformation. That's

why finance and challenge videos often go viral. Next, we have familiar

go viral. Next, we have familiar visuals. So when you include

visuals. So when you include recognizable icons like the YouTube logo or Instagram likes or PayPal payments or even Shopify notifications for instance,

they can act as visual magnets. Like

we've seen these icons thousands of times before in our everyday life. So

the seconds they appear in a thumbnail, our brains light up. But again, look, I'd only ever include any of these logos or icons if they actually feature in your video. Then we have aesthetics.

your video. Then we have aesthetics.

These types of thumbnails are usually really quite simple, but require a lot of skill to get it right. They work

because humans are naturally drawn to things like beauty, clean composition, balanced colors, and clear subjects.

Because aesthetically pleasing visuals feel good to look at. They trigger a tiny dopamine hit in our brain. But in

this case, it's not just about looking nice. It's about creating a thumbnail

nice. It's about creating a thumbnail that feels effortless to exhort. And

this is why those kind of thumbnails you see in the tech space or even the travel space work really, really well. But of

course, you're going to need a really good camera and some good Photoshop skills for this kind of attention trigger. Then finally, we have movement,

trigger. Then finally, we have movement, danger, or drama. Now, as humans, our brains have evolved over time to notice things like sudden motion, potential threats, or unusual events because in

the past, missing one of those could have meant instant death for us. that

primal wiring our brains have still works today. So this means thumbnails

works today. So this means thumbnails that show chaos, conflict or physical movement are able to grab people's attention fast. Think things like

attention fast. Think things like explosions, people running, near misses, war, traumatic stunts, or even someone midfall. Our brain screams to us, "Wait,

midfall. Our brain screams to us, "Wait, what's going on there?" And that's exactly what gets the click. So there

you have it. There are the six main attention triggers that all of the top creators use. subtly in their

creators use. subtly in their thumbnails. But what's really important

thumbnails. But what's really important here is that you should never try and include all of them at once because using too many attention triggers can actually overwhelm the viewer. Most

viral thumbnails rely on just two to three triggers max. So the real skill here is not only knowing what to include, but also what to leave out as well. Okay, so now you might be

well. Okay, so now you might be thinking, how exactly do I include a curiosity gap and attention triggers into a single thumbnail? like how

exactly should I lay it all out? Well,

this is actually where design anatomy comes in and at its core, thumbnail design is about two things. One is what you include, and two is how you include

it. And most high-erforming thumbnails

it. And most high-erforming thumbnails are really simple, but they're extremely carefully created with design anatomy in mind. Now, there are in fact three main

mind. Now, there are in fact three main styles that creators use most when it comes to thumbnail layout. And the first one is split screen. So pretty much like A versus B. This is most commonly used

in transformation or comparison thumbnails. Basically, it's where you

thumbnails. Basically, it's where you show two contrasting sides. For

instance, before and after, cheap versus expensive, old versus new, side by side.

Now, the split design of these thumbnails naturally creates tension and curiosity and can illustrate the journey from A to B within a thumbnail. These

are really quite popular and I've used a lot of these in the past as well. Then

we have offset which is like asymmetrical and this one follows a rule of third placing the subject on either the left or the right third of the screen. Now this layout gives your

screen. Now this layout gives your thumbnail breathing room and allows space for text supporting visuals or directional cues like arrows and lines.

Now this is actually my favorite. If you

look at most of my thumbnails I use this composition a lot. And then finally we have centered which is symmetrical. This

is where the main character or object sits right in the middle of the frame.

It's balanced, it's clean, and it draws instant focus. Now, this layout is

instant focus. Now, this layout is perfect for challenges, big results, or reaction style videos. So, if there's a particular focus in a video that you want to highlight within your thumbnail,

this can be really useful. But there you go. Those are the three main ways all of

go. Those are the three main ways all of the top creators will arrange their thumbnails. So, I'd suggest giving them

thumbnails. So, I'd suggest giving them a try. Okay, then. Now, the last step of

a try. Okay, then. Now, the last step of this whole thumbnail creation process.

When you've finally created something you think is going to work, there's a couple of little tests I would do quickly to evaluate it because a big thumbnail on a big screen usually looks

great. But over 70% of YouTube viewers

great. But over 70% of YouTube viewers come from mobile. So, we need to see how our thumbnails look when they're really small. Now, the tool I use for this is

small. Now, the tool I use for this is thumbsup.tv. It's free and all you have

thumbsup.tv. It's free and all you have to do is upload a picture of your thumbnail, paste in your title, and then down here you can see how your thumbnail is going to look on all of the different screens like homepage, suggested,

mobile, and all of that. So, let's say if you have text on your thumbnail and it becomes really hard to read on a small screen when your thumbnail is minimized, I would change it immediately. And one thing to always

immediately. And one thing to always remember is that your title and thumbnail should complement each other, not repeat each other. And then finally, we have the flash test. Again, this is also free, but this is where you show

your thumbnail to someone, either a friend or a family member, for just 2 seconds and ask them what they saw. If

the concept of the thumbnail wasn't visible in 2 seconds, it's not going to work. Because remember, when someone

work. Because remember, when someone scrolls through the home feed or the suggested tab, they're really quickly skimming every title thumbnail, and they'll never spend more than 2 seconds

doing so. So, we want to emulate this as

doing so. So, we want to emulate this as a test. Now, if this video has finally

a test. Now, if this video has finally helped thumbnails start to make sense for you, and you're starting to realize just how important they are, then you're going to love this. Now, I've built a short, high impact course that teaches

you exactly how to design thumbnails that actually gets clicked. Now, you'll

learn things like proven curiosity triggers, layout tips, emotional psychology, and tons of real world examples that you can literally just copy and use today. And just for watching this video until the end,

you'll get 50% off the next 24 hours.

So, click on the link in the description in the pinned comment and I'll see you inside the course. Thanks for watching.