Thumbnails

I'm still very new to YouTube, even though I started my Brown Knowser channel in December of 2019. I'm not much of a videographer, though I like to think that I am gradually improving.

The thing about my channel is that until recently, I hadn't really found my focus. My videos were all over the place: kinda like my blog post, but that's not why people tend to go to YouTube. People go to YouTube when they want to get information or be entertained.

I've learned that very few people were interested in watching my Beer O'Clock reviews on my YouTube channel. I have far more readers of my reviews on my blog than with my videos, and so last year I returned Beer O'Clock to its rightful place.

My kayaking videos tend to get more reviews, though I'm still growing that interest. And I've learned very recently that people love my vacation videos: in particular, the videos of the resorts.

To further my understanding of what makes for an interesting video, I've been watching YouTubers who teach exactly that: how to make videos that appeal to viewers. And in the handful of videos I've watched, these successful YouTubers say the same thing.

Make a thumbnail that will appeal to viewers who are scrolling through lists of similar videos. Make the thumbnail and create a title before you start editing your video.

I've heard that successful thumbnails are simple yet eye-catching. When I made my videos about our recent trip to Mexico, I knew that my snorkeling video would attract viewers if they knew there were sea turtles in the footage. So I made sure that the thumbnail showed a good image of one of the creatures.

My video of our resort at Akumal Bay has the beach, at sunset, with a silhouette of DW walking along it. To date, in the four weeks since I posted that video, I've had more than 2,500 views.

I'm currently working on videos for the kayaking adventures that we had last year. And the first thing I did, at the advice of these YouTubers, was to make the thumbnails. Here they are:

What do you think? Keep in mind that the title of the video will also appear below the thumbnail.

The first video is ready as of last night. The next one will launch in May.

If you have a chance, head over to my channel and poke around. Let me know which videos you like and which ones you're not crazy about. And if you like my channel, please subscribe.

Happy Friday!