Break Even on Youtube: Monetizing with a Minimum of 500 Viewers

For small creators on YouTube, getting monetized seemed like an uphill task. You had to accumulate over 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 public watch hours. This can be difficult to attain, especially on a platform where creators are publishing new content every day. However, the 2023 update on the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) provided an easier way to start making money on YouTube. In this article, we look at how the YPP is changing and the beauty of the YouTube monetization 500 subscribers’ policy update.

YouTube Shorts Monetization A cross-platform for helping you present your content in the best way possible!

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Part 1. YouTube Monetization Revamp: 500 Subscribers Minimum Threshold Unveiled

The recent update in YouTube monetization requirements has made it easier than ever for small creators to make money on the platform. The YPP program changed and reduced the number of subscribers needed to be eligible. It has also reduced the amount of watch time needed. Let’s have a look at what the new eligibility criteria look like:

The eligibility criteria for the YPP program are now easier and more achievable than before. To apply, you now need:

• At least 500 subscribers
• Three Shorts or Video uploads in the last 90 days
• At least 3,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or
• At least 3 million public Short videos in the last 90 days

The new requirements are lower than the old ones. Previously, you were required to have at least 1,000 subscribers with over 4,000 public watch hours. By lowering the threshold, YouTube makes it easier for all creators to monetize their content.

Part 2. YouTube Monetization with 500 Subscribers: A Brief Guide

YouTube announced in 2022 that they were evolving the YPP to continue rewarding more creators. Starting mid-June 2023, the program was expanded to allow more creators to access monetization benefits.

Know If You are Eligible

As a creator, you will want to know if you are eligible for the YouTube monetization 500 subscribers’ plan. Make sure that the notify feature on your channel is active to receive a notification. Go to the Earn area of the YouTube channel, and select Get Notified. Once selected, YouTube will send you an email when reach above the eligibility threshold.

What You Need to Join Expanded YPP

Joining the expanded YouTube Partner Program has the same requirements as the earlier version. These include:

• Being compliant with the YouTube channel monetization policies
• Active 2-Step verification on the Google Account
• Channel is based in any of the available regions or countries
• An active AdSense account linked to the channel
• No Community Guidelines strikes on your Channel
• Have advanced features access on YouTube

Where to Apply for Monetization

After meeting the eligibility criteria, you will need to apply to be enrolled in the YPP. Remember that being eligible does not automatically translate to instant income. You need to apply for the program and wait for the approval. Here are the steps to follow:

On Computer/Desktop

Step 1Sign in to YouTube Studio on your computer or desktop

Step 2Click Earn in the left menu

Step 3Click Apply Now to review and Accept the base terms

Step 4Click Start to set up an AdSense account

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Applying for YouTube monetization on your mobile devices follows the same process as the computer. Only in this case you will using the YouTube Studio app instead of the website. Follow these steps as outlined.

• Open the YouTube Studio mobile app on your Android device.
• Tap Earn from the bottom men
• Tap Apply now to review and accept the base terms.
• Set up an AdSense account as requested, or link an existing active one.

Once you complete these steps on your computer or mobile, In Progress status will surface in the Get Reviewed step. This means that YouTube will review your channel and provide feedback within a month.

What Monetization Review Entails

Once you submit your application, YouTube’s automated systems and human reviewers will look at your channel for a while. They will review it to make sure it follows all the platform’s policies and guidelines. As the reviews are in progress, creators are encouraged to back to the Earn section of YouTube Studio regularly. Typically, you will get the results within a month, but this may be affected by several factors:

• Application Volumes
• Resource Limitations
• System Issues
• Channel requiring several reviewers to determine suitability for YPP

Sometimes the first application may not be successful for some reason. In this case, creators are encouraged to continue uploading original content and try again after 30 days. For second or other rejections, you are allowed to try again after 90 days. During this period, make sure that your channel follows YouTube policies and guidelines to increase your chances of being accepted.

Choose How to Earn

The major way of earning money on YouTube is through ads that show in your videos. In the case of Shorts, the ad-sharing revenue involves YouTube sharing the revenue generated from the ads with creators. However, getting accepted to YPP also allows you to start earning with fan funding and Shopping features. This means that creators can earn money directly from their views using these unique features

YouTube monetization 500 subscribers update allows you to earn money through monetization features that were not there before. This allows creators to interact more with their viewer while generating income. The main fan funding features include:

1. Channel Membership: Offer a membership plan to your viewer through monthly payments in exchange for perks like emojis and badges.
2. Super Thanks: Earn revenue from viewers who show extra gratitude for your videos.
3. Super Stickers and Super Chat: Allows your fans to buy Super Chats that highlight their messages or add fun animated images in the live chat.
4. Shopping: Allows you to connect your official merchandise story to YouTube to showcase your products.

Part 3. Edit Your Shorts for Monetization with WonderShare Filmora

The quality of your Shorts plays an essential role in determining whether your channel will be monetized. This is why you need good video editing software to help you present your content in the best way possible. Wondershare Filmora is a great choice when you want your YouTube Shorts to stand out. From cool green screen tricks to auto-reframing your videos for Shorts, Filmora gives you the whole editing package.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora offers creators fantastic editing features to create better Shorts. Let’s have a look at some of the features you may find helpful:

1. AI Copywriting

YouTube Shorts require quick content that covers everything within 60 seconds. With the Filmora AI Copywriting feature, you can get inspiration and add text to your videos. Express your thoughts more clearly and generate text that makes the video more engaging.

2. Split Screen Video Editor

YouTube Shorts are limited to a length of 1 minute only. Since 60 seconds is quite a short time, you may want to showcase your content on multiple screens. The Split Screen Video Editor on Filmora allows you to make a split screen instantly. Choose from the readily available templates and show your audience what you want from multiple perspectives in the same video.

3. Motion Tracking

With YouTube Shorts, you need to be more creative. Adding objects to your videos makes them fun and engaging. The motion tracking feature on Filmora allows you to track the movement of an object in the video. You can then pin graphics on the object, making the video more exciting. You can also add specific text and align it to an object, allowing your audience to follow through the story.

4. Speed Ramping

The way you present your video means a lot to the audience. No one wants a boring or a really slow-moving video. With the Speed Ramping feature on Filmora, you can adjust the speed of your Shorts with better control of your keyframes. This allows you to create unique cinematic effects that keep the audience wanting more of the content.

Conclusion

The introduction of the YouTube monetization 500 subscribers’ policy update was a special moment for small YouTubers. It meant that the platform was extending its YPP program to more creators, allowing them to earn money from their content. Lowering the monetization requirement gives more people a chance to make money faster. However, it is important to make sure that your videos are offering value to your audience. We recommend using Wondershare Filmora to edit your videos and make sure they stand out from the competition. The better your videos will be, the more views you will get, and the more money you will make.

Free Download Free Download Learn More

Part 1. YouTube Monetization Revamp: 500 Subscribers Minimum Threshold Unveiled

The recent update in YouTube monetization requirements has made it easier than ever for small creators to make money on the platform. The YPP program changed and reduced the number of subscribers needed to be eligible. It has also reduced the amount of watch time needed. Let’s have a look at what the new eligibility criteria look like:

The eligibility criteria for the YPP program are now easier and more achievable than before. To apply, you now need:

• At least 500 subscribers
• Three Shorts or Video uploads in the last 90 days
• At least 3,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or
• At least 3 million public Short videos in the last 90 days

The new requirements are lower than the old ones. Previously, you were required to have at least 1,000 subscribers with over 4,000 public watch hours. By lowering the threshold, YouTube makes it easier for all creators to monetize their content.

Part 2. YouTube Monetization with 500 Subscribers: A Brief Guide

YouTube announced in 2022 that they were evolving the YPP to continue rewarding more creators. Starting mid-June 2023, the program was expanded to allow more creators to access monetization benefits.

Know If You are Eligible

As a creator, you will want to know if you are eligible for the YouTube monetization 500 subscribers’ plan. Make sure that the notify feature on your channel is active to receive a notification. Go to the Earn area of the YouTube channel, and select Get Notified. Once selected, YouTube will send you an email when reach above the eligibility threshold.

What You Need to Join Expanded YPP

Joining the expanded YouTube Partner Program has the same requirements as the earlier version. These include:

• Being compliant with the YouTube channel monetization policies
• Active 2-Step verification on the Google Account
• Channel is based in any of the available regions or countries
• An active AdSense account linked to the channel
• No Community Guidelines strikes on your Channel
• Have advanced features access on YouTube

Where to Apply for Monetization

After meeting the eligibility criteria, you will need to apply to be enrolled in the YPP. Remember that being eligible does not automatically translate to instant income. You need to apply for the program and wait for the approval. Here are the steps to follow:

On Computer/Desktop

Step 1Sign in to YouTube Studio on your computer or desktop

Step 2Click Earn in the left menu

Step 3Click Apply Now to review and Accept the base terms

Step 4Click Start to set up an AdSense account

On Android, iPhone and iPad

Applying for YouTube monetization on your mobile devices follows the same process as the computer. Only in this case you will using the YouTube Studio app instead of the website. Follow these steps as outlined.

• Open the YouTube Studio mobile app on your Android device.
• Tap Earn from the bottom men
• Tap Apply now to review and accept the base terms.
• Set up an AdSense account as requested, or link an existing active one.

Once you complete these steps on your computer or mobile, In Progress status will surface in the Get Reviewed step. This means that YouTube will review your channel and provide feedback within a month.

What Monetization Review Entails

Once you submit your application, YouTube’s automated systems and human reviewers will look at your channel for a while. They will review it to make sure it follows all the platform’s policies and guidelines. As the reviews are in progress, creators are encouraged to back to the Earn section of YouTube Studio regularly. Typically, you will get the results within a month, but this may be affected by several factors:

• Application Volumes
• Resource Limitations
• System Issues
• Channel requiring several reviewers to determine suitability for YPP

Sometimes the first application may not be successful for some reason. In this case, creators are encouraged to continue uploading original content and try again after 30 days. For second or other rejections, you are allowed to try again after 90 days. During this period, make sure that your channel follows YouTube policies and guidelines to increase your chances of being accepted.

Choose How to Earn

The major way of earning money on YouTube is through ads that show in your videos. In the case of Shorts, the ad-sharing revenue involves YouTube sharing the revenue generated from the ads with creators. However, getting accepted to YPP also allows you to start earning with fan funding and Shopping features. This means that creators can earn money directly from their views using these unique features

YouTube monetization 500 subscribers update allows you to earn money through monetization features that were not there before. This allows creators to interact more with their viewer while generating income. The main fan funding features include:

1. Channel Membership: Offer a membership plan to your viewer through monthly payments in exchange for perks like emojis and badges.
2. Super Thanks: Earn revenue from viewers who show extra gratitude for your videos.
3. Super Stickers and Super Chat: Allows your fans to buy Super Chats that highlight their messages or add fun animated images in the live chat.
4. Shopping: Allows you to connect your official merchandise story to YouTube to showcase your products.

Part 3. Edit Your Shorts for Monetization with WonderShare Filmora

The quality of your Shorts plays an essential role in determining whether your channel will be monetized. This is why you need good video editing software to help you present your content in the best way possible. Wondershare Filmora is a great choice when you want your YouTube Shorts to stand out. From cool green screen tricks to auto-reframing your videos for Shorts, Filmora gives you the whole editing package.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Filmora offers creators fantastic editing features to create better Shorts. Let’s have a look at some of the features you may find helpful:

1. AI Copywriting

YouTube Shorts require quick content that covers everything within 60 seconds. With the Filmora AI Copywriting feature, you can get inspiration and add text to your videos. Express your thoughts more clearly and generate text that makes the video more engaging.

2. Split Screen Video Editor

YouTube Shorts are limited to a length of 1 minute only. Since 60 seconds is quite a short time, you may want to showcase your content on multiple screens. The Split Screen Video Editor on Filmora allows you to make a split screen instantly. Choose from the readily available templates and show your audience what you want from multiple perspectives in the same video.

3. Motion Tracking

With YouTube Shorts, you need to be more creative. Adding objects to your videos makes them fun and engaging. The motion tracking feature on Filmora allows you to track the movement of an object in the video. You can then pin graphics on the object, making the video more exciting. You can also add specific text and align it to an object, allowing your audience to follow through the story.

4. Speed Ramping

The way you present your video means a lot to the audience. No one wants a boring or a really slow-moving video. With the Speed Ramping feature on Filmora, you can adjust the speed of your Shorts with better control of your keyframes. This allows you to create unique cinematic effects that keep the audience wanting more of the content.

Conclusion

The introduction of the YouTube monetization 500 subscribers’ policy update was a special moment for small YouTubers. It meant that the platform was extending its YPP program to more creators, allowing them to earn money from their content. Lowering the monetization requirement gives more people a chance to make money faster. However, it is important to make sure that your videos are offering value to your audience. We recommend using Wondershare Filmora to edit your videos and make sure they stand out from the competition. The better your videos will be, the more views you will get, and the more money you will make.

Design Guide: YouTube Banners & Thumbnail Creation

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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