Don't make your thumbnail using what's
actually within your video. Instead,
make your thumbnail entirely from
scratch. For example, can you see the
problem with making this thumbnail?
Imagine trying to take this photo in
real life. The plane and basketballs
would be way too small. So, instead, the
thumbnail is made entirely from scratch.
Now, look at this thumbnail. Is this
showing what literally happens in the
video? No, not exactly. Instead, this
image is representing what happens in
the video.
That way, it could also include Mr.
Beast's face, which made a big
difference to include. And same with
this video. I haven't watched it yet,
but I sincerely doubt that the creator
wears a pacifier in the actual video.
But, the pacifier in the thumbnail
communicates the message far better than
restricting the thumbnail to only
include literal things about the video.
Now, there's 25 more clickbait tactics
that each of them apply to most types of
videos. You should never make a video
without knowing all these tactics and
finding ways to apply them, because if
you have a video idea where you can't
figure out how to apply these tactics to
the title and thumbnail, then you're
never going to get someone to even watch
the video in the first place. So, these
clickbait tactics also serve as the
criteria for a good video idea. And the
best creators have mastered each and
every one of these. And [music] in the
next, like, 20 minutes or so, you're
going to know all of them, as well.
Number two,
depict something alarming in your
thumbnail to exploit the bias that
immediate attention has towards danger.
For example, this thumbnail shows police
and a guy looking scared, which is an
alarming and, therefore,
attention-grabbing scene.
Number three, look special. Novelty
gives the sense that the audience will
get something new from your video. For
example, both of these videos are
promising they'll teach you something
new to help you reach your goals.
And that promise is far more believable
because the thumbnails have unique art
styles, which gives the impression of
unique information as well. Number four,
maximize the brightness contrast in your
thumbnail to make it stand out more.
For example, in this thumbnail, imagine
if the guy was wearing a light gray
puffer instead of a black one. He would
be completely blended in with the
background. And in this thumbnail, why
do you think the creator chose a white
background? Think about if the
background was a dark background.
Obviously, it wouldn't nearly have as
much contrast. Number five, show
something or someone that a lot of
people are familiar with because our
immediate attention has a bias towards
what we recognize.
Check this out. The creator had just
5,000 subs, but got nearly half a
million views from talking about
confidence, which is an extremely
saturated topic. And guess what? The
emoji in the thumbnail is one of the
main reasons that this video took off.
But, how can an emoji be that powerful?
Well, on someone's YouTube homepage,
most people will immediately recognize
the emoji in the thumbnail, and
therefore look at this thumbnail and
title first before looking at any of the
others.
So, if this title and thumbnail gets
them the click, then they'll have
clicked this video before even looking
at the other stuff recommended to them.
Therefore, people noticing your title
and thumbnail before they notice anyone
else's is the most pivotal advantage
that your video can have. So, that makes
this the most important thing as a
YouTuber to get right. So, eight of the
tactics that I'm sharing with you today
are about just that. And, obviously,
I've spread them out evenly throughout
this video to incentivize you to watch
the whole thing.
Number six, suggest that the viewer
either currently is or is at risk of
making a mistake or getting into some
sort of danger. This makes them fear
missing out on the info that's in your
video.
For example, this video's title states,
"If they do this, you're being
manipulated." Which makes you want to
know to look out for to avoid being
manipulated. So, get people scared and
the antidote is to watch your video.
This is also a great example of the next
tactic. Also, by the way, when you're
just watching YouTube, you should be
aware of these tactics, so that way you
can make more intentional viewing
choices.
Tactic seven, rather than describing
your entire video in the title and
thumbnail, focus on communicating the
one or two most intriguing parts of your
video. Notice how the title and
thumbnail is not communicating what the
video is, but rather it's communicating
what makes the video interesting. Now,
try to see the same tactic in the next
example.
Now, do you think the video spends 40
minutes only talking about chairs?
No. The video is just getting attention
by offering the one thing, in this case,
the question here in the title, that's
the most intriguing thing to the
broadest audience. Then, once everyone's
interested already, the video introduces
more hooks to continue the conversation
into other subject areas.
You see, if you're trying to get as many
people's possible interested in a
40-minute discussion about, say,
philosophy, do you think that the best
way to start that conversation is to
describe what you want to spend 40
minutes talking about, or do you think
it's best to put in your title and
thumbnail the one concept that will get
as broad of an audience's attention as
possible? Number eight, your thumbnail
should be intriguing and make sense
before someone reads the title. Look at
this thumbnail. Can you tell how it
applies this tactic?
People usually see your thumbnail before
they then read the title and then watch
the video. So, what you want to do is
you want to show the most interesting
thing your video has to offer in the
thumbnail, so your thumbnail is
intriguing people before they even read
the title. In fact, aim to make your
thumbnail convincing enough to watch
your video without even needing to read
the title. Number nine, make it so
simple that someone can scan it for just
1 second and know precisely what it is.
Here's just three of the countless
examples of well-performing videos
having super simple thumbnails.
Simplicity is crucial because just like
it's hard to find something in a
cluttered room,
a cluttered thumbnail hides any single
element from popping out. Also, if the
reason to watch your video requires the
audience to think about it, then your
title and thumbnail won't get the
attention of all the people who went to
YouTube for effortless entertainment.
And more importantly, when you're using
YouTube on your mobile device, then
after just 1 second of not scrolling,
the video automatically begins playing.
So,
your thumbnail really has exactly 1
second to get its point across.
Number 10, maximize the color contrasts
in your thumbnail to make it stand out
more. Do you think the decision for the
creator here to wear a bright orange
coat was not intentional? Of course, it
was intentional. Every color, every
saturation level, and every brightness
level must be thoroughly considered to
find out the best way to maximize color
contrast. Number 11, suggest someone is
hiding a secret to create curiosity.
This title says, "What Sam Altman
doesn't want you to know." which
suggests that he's hiding a secret. And
same with this next thumbnail. The
thumbnail text, "Who is he really?"
suggests that Trump has secrets. So,
think about what secrets that you know.
What uncommon knowledge do you have? Or
what things can you research that you
think there might be more beneath the
surface. By the way, if you've been
wondering how I got all these examples,
I use Tubebuddy. Tubebuddy has been my
go-to tool for finding outliers to
study, for researching my niche, and
just in general getting inspiration and
learning more about YouTube. And if you
sign up with my link, then you get a
special video from me walking you
step-by-step through my process to use
it to grow my channel. Number 12,
suggest that you can help the viewer
reach their goals or alleviate their
pain points. For example, this title is
really good. Can you see why?
It not only suggests that the video will
help you reach your goals, but he also
uses that fifth tactic by suggesting
that you're currently making a mistake
in the way that you eat. Number 13, give
an accurate stylistic impression of your
video to suggest that your video has
that experience that people desire. For
example, this video faced a critical
challenge that most documentary videos
face.
Your video is sharing a story on a topic
that most people haven't even heard of
before.
Or if people have heard of it before,
then you're dealing with a highly
saturated topic. So here, the only way
to make this title and thumbnail
clickable is to create trust in your
video being a good experience to watch.
The art style of the thumbnail plays the
largest role in creating trust for this
type of video. So, the very stylized
artistic thumbnail here was extremely
significant. Number 14, your title and
thumbnail always must be perfectly
clear. It can never at all be confusing.
For example, in this title and
thumbnail, it's a very simple thumbnail,
and then the title is the problem with
this humanoid robot.
So rather than the creator muddying the
waters with showing a bunch of details
about the problem or about the robot,
instead the creator kept things clear by
keeping it simple. You see, clarity is
the foundation for every other tactic
actually working.
Any sort of confusion at all washes away
everything else. So aim for clarity with
uncertainty, which if you're wondering
the difference, then write this down.
Clarity is I know what's happening.
Uncertainty is I don't know what will
happen next.
And confusion is I don't know what's
happening.
Number 15, develop a mystery, a sense of
wonder to incite curiosity and the
desire to explore.
Share something thought-provoking. For
example, this video asks a
thought-provoking question. Is your red
the same as my red? Which offers a
mystery to explore. Or check this one
out. What's the mystery here? The
mystery is why are these theme parks
rated just one star? So the video is
about exploring them. Additionally, the
thumbnail does an excellent job at
giving you something tangible to wonder
about, right? It says don't try the
yellow slide and of course we see Ryan
on it. Number 16, frame the ordinary as
extraordinary.
Think about this title and thumbnail
some more. The video is about going to
theme parks with low ratings. So how has
the title and thumbnail presented that
concept in the most interesting way
possible? Look at the word choice. I
tested one star theme parks. I guarantee
that that was a not the first word that
the creator thought to use, but instead
came from some considerable time seeking
the best synonym.
Number 17, promise a spectacle to create
FOMO.
For example, this video is entirely
about a spectacle, a hilariously
overpowered Beyblade.
But can you see what makes the thumbnail
so genius? Around the Beyblade there's
these torn apart mannequins and if you
look closer you'll read the text speed
of sound.
Both of these elements were very
deliberate and thought out inclusions
because they significantly increase your
expectations for what will happen in the
video. Number 18, develop a puzzle with
a piece clearly missing to create
curiosity. These two videos here, I I
you to go ahead and read the titles. I
guess it was a scam all along and
[music] it's getting out of control and
getting worse.
These videos are both presenting a
puzzle with a painfully missing piece,
which makes you really want to click to
find out what that is. The result is
there's such an obvious question to ask
about both of these videos. But tell me,
what makes the missing piece of the
puzzle actually feel important to know
about? Think about it.
Both of these videos are about something
alarming. It's about a scam and
something out of control and getting
worse.
So therefore it feels important. You see
this tactic typically only works when
you make that missing puzzle piece feel
important. Here's what it looks like
when the missing puzzle piece doesn't
feel important. Unless you already care
about the Apple Vision Pro, this video
won't get you very intrigued.
Generally though, always look for how
you can get viewers to instantly
recognize that there's something
missing. Number 19, challenge beliefs or
suggest that viewers are misinformed.
For example, looking at this, you
initially see a big dollar figure in the
thumbnail and then you're told in the
title that there's a reason you don't
trust tap water.
The impression you get is that there's
some conspiracy which has misled you,
incentivizing you to watch the video to
learn the truth of things. Here's
another example. Actually, maybe there's
only one game of tic-tac-toe. Not only
is this an excellent example of using
the recognition bias and simplicity in
the thumbnail, but it also is strongly
challenging a very commonly held belief.
It's no wonder that this video performed
nearly 400 times better than that
creator's typical video performance.
Number 20, leverage the trust people
have in a brand, whether it's yours or
someone else's, to create trust that
your video is going to deliver on its
promises.
A brand also captures attention through
that recognition bias. For example, Alex
Hormozi includes his face in pretty much
all of his thumbnails because it
leverages the recognition and trust that
his face has. And look at this video.
Take a second to see how it applies
here.
From its core, with just the very video
idea itself, it leveraged a brand
association to significantly increase
people's trust in the video's
information being helpful.
Can you see how? I hope it's obvious
just anyone who's familiar with Tommy
Shelby, the character, will recognize
his face and when they see the
thumbnail, and then also associate Tommy
Shelby's his personality with the
lessons within the video. Number 21,
share the proof, the evidence, the facts
that you in your video are worth the
audience's time. For example, this
title, how to fall asleep in 2 minutes,
is a bold promise, but it's backed up by
the phrase military technique, which is
a form of brand association to increase
trust. Now, can you see how this title
here creates trust?
It shares why she's worth listening to
about the subject. So, therefore, you
trust that you'll learn something
helpful by watching this video. Number
22, introduce an unsolved problem to
create curiosity and a desire to see it
solved. For example, look at this
video's title and thumbnail. Frogs keep
drowning themselves in my pool.
It presents this problem that is sad and
surprising, so you want to see it
solved. So, for your channel, keep an
eye out for those everyday problems and
mysteries that you can make a video
about. Number 23, share something
surprising or counterintuitive to create
curiosity. Thumbnail text is surprising
and it's counterintuitive. So, notice
how that pairing makes you curious. And
then check this one out, exposing why
farmers can't legally replant their own
seeds. This is sharing something
counterintuitive, so you want to learn
what's happening beneath the surface.
Number 24, include a facial expression
that's clearly reacting to something to
cause curiosity over what they're
reacting to, and also facial expressions
create strong emotional expectations for
the emotions someone can expect from
your video. So, take a look at these two
uh expressions and you'll see that shock
and fear are the most commonly used
expressions because they have been
simply found to be the most effective at
getting attention. But, why do you think
that is? Why do you think a shocked or
scared expression works the best? It's
because those expressions are most
obviously a reaction to something
extraordinary or important. When you see
one of those facial expressions, you
simply crave to know what they're
reacting to, getting you to look longer
at their thumbnail and then also read
the title. Number 25, show a situation
with an unknown before or after to
create curiosity.
For example, look at this thumbnail. It
depicts an alarming situation. You can
see there's Ryan with uh someone behind
him in the window. So, I doubt this
situation was in the actual video, but
it does get you quite curious. Number
26, make people think there is no
freaking way. Look at these two Mr.
Beast videos, fidget spinner versus face
and cutting a table with plastic knives.
So, Mr. Beast he still does this exact
same tactic today, but instead with
millions of dollars at his disposal.
But, this is what he was doing 10 years
ago as a broke college dropout as well.
And getting millions of views for it.
You see, you don't need money to go
viral, you just need to do something
extraordinary.