Captivate Audiences with Imaginative Thumbnails

YouTube is a platform where you can make money from videos. But in order to earn, your videos should get lots of views. The thing is that YouTube is a competitive space. So many others are trying to do the same. Thus, you’ll be competing for viewers’ time and attention. How can you win that battle? One way is to add eye-catching YouTube thumbnail backgrounds.

The video thumbnail will leave an impression on viewers looking for something to watch. So ensuring it is high-quality is crucial. In this article, you’ll learn where to find amazing thumbnail backgrounds and how to add them to your thumbnails.

Why Change YouTube Thumbnail Background?

When people are searching for something to watch on YouTube, they’ll look at two (2) things:

1. They’ll check the title to see how relevant it is to what they’re looking for.
2. Two, they’ll check the video thumbnail.

Thumbnail helps them determine off the bat if the video is high quality or not. A poor thumbnail will push them away, while a good one will encourage them to click.

That said, YouTubers should ensure their thumbnails are on point. Your thumbnails should be visually striking. One way to achieve that is by changing the thumbnail background. It allows you to remove unnecessary objects from the image. Additionally, it lets you improve the aesthetic of the thumbnail.

Now the question is: how do you change a YouTube thumbnail background?

Where To Find a New YouTube Thumbnail Background?

Thanks to the resource sites on the Internet, you can always find kickass backgrounds to create an attractive YouTube Thumbnail. Here, we recommend five (5) powerful apps/websites to help you easily find ideal thumbnail backgrounds.

1. Search for Numerous YouTube Thumbnail Backgrounds in Filmora

Pros

• Get access to YouTube Thumbnail Backgrounds within the video editing tool.
• Provides you with millions of stock images to choose from.
• The collection of stock media is constantly updated, giving you more and more options for your thumbnail background.

Cons

• The software itself is not totally free.

Wondershare Filmora is one of the leading video editors in the world. And it does not stop at enabling you to make amazing videos. Filmora also helps you make that video succeed. It provides you with over 4 million stock media! That includes gorgeous photos that you can use as YouTube thumbnail backgrounds.

The best thing is that you can access those images within the video editor. Meaning there’s a streamlined workflow that makes things more convenient.

Where Do the Photos Come From? Wondershare Filmora takes images from the websites Pexels, GIPHY, Pixabay, and Unsplash. Besides those, Filmora also has its own stock media library - Filmstock.

Filmstock was previously known as Filmora Store. It is the effect store for Filmora version 9.1.0 and above. From there, you can find stock media, including videos, images that you can use for your thumbnails, and royalty-free music and sound effects. You can download these resources to turn your videos into art.

2. Use Freepik To Find YouTube Thumbnail Background Images

Pros

• With over 22 million stock media resources, it offers a significant amount of photos, vectors, and graphic resources.
• The website is well-designed and void of pop-ups, making it very easy to search for specific photos.

Cons

• The free version has lots of limitations.
• The premium version is expensive.
• Download times can sometimes be slow.

Freepik is one of the largest image bank websites. It has over 22 million stock media that you can choose from to be your YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. And that collection grows further every day. Therefore, it’s highly likely to have the image you are looking for.

Not just that. Freepik has a special section containing only YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. That expedites your search. Then, you can use the filters to show only the thumbnail background designs that match your vision.

3. Find YouTube Thumbnail Background on Shutterstock for Free

Pros

• One of the largest libraries of stock photos.
• Gives a 30-day free trial that lets you make 10 downloads totally free of charge.
• Includes free images.

Cons

• The free trial lasts only 30 days. It becomes very expensive after that has expired.

Shutterstock is probably the biggest website that offers stock images. It’s so popular Shutterstock is what many people first think of when they need to find stock images.

Shutterstock has been around since 2003. As such, its collection consists of over 200 million stock photos. From that many resources, you’ll surely be able to find something to use for your YouTube thumbnail background. Even after the free trial expires, you can find some free photos from the website.

4. Download Thumbnail Background Images for YouTube in Vecteezy

Pros

• Millions of free resources.
• Cheaper than alternatives.

Cons

• The free version does not give you full commercial rights and requires you to add attribution.
• The free version allows you to download only 10 files a day.

Vecteezy allows you to download stock images for free. However, if you are serious about your YouTubing career, you must upgrade to Pro for full commercial rights. The good thing is that Vecteezy is very affordable. It costs only $7 per month! And that already gives you unlimited downloads.

Now the question is, does it have YouTube thumbnail backgrounds? Yes, it does! Whether you prefer vectors or images, Vecteezy has you covered.

5. Attractive Backgrounds for YouTube Thumbnail – NegativeSpace

Pros

• Photos downloaded from the website are free to use
• NegativeSpace encourages attribution, though, to thank the photographer that took the photo.

Cons

• The collection includes mostly photographs with just a few vectors here and there.
• The website can sometimes be slow to load.

NegativeSpace is the perfect place to get your YouTube thumbnail background if you are on a tight budget. It allows you not only to download the photos but also to use them commercially! And the photos are high-quality too, and they’re meant to be used as backgrounds.

Please note, however, that if you’re looking for vector illustrations, you’d better be on another site. NegativeSpace is built by a community of photographers. So, most of the resources you can download from this website are photos captured by a camera.

How To Change YouTube Thumbnail Background?

Suppose you have downloaded a high-quality image that will work great as a thumbnail background for your YouTube video. What shall you do next? Of course, the next step is to make the actual thumbnail.

Choosing the background image from Filmora is great because it saves you lots of time and resources. The program allows you to select from millions of high-quality options. After selecting, you can use Filmora’s native features to edit the thumbnail. You can even resize the thumbnail background to 1280x720 - YouTube’s suggested thumbnail size.

It is more convenient than you may initially think. Yes, it saves you time and effort because you don’t have to switch to another program to edit the thumbnail. But it also makes the workload easier for your computer. Opening another program will eat more RAM and will slow down the computer.

Filmora’s tools for editing the video thumbnail aren’t too shabby, either. Suppose you have a great image with the main subject where exactly you want it to be. However, you want to change the background to make the subject stand out more. You can use Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature to easily change it.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

What is Filmora’s AI Portrait Feature?

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature allows you to quickly remove and change the background of an image.

Normally, you would need a green screen or chroma key to do that. Another method is to manually erase the background using an eraser. The AI Portrait feature has an effect called “human segmentation.” It separates the humans in an image from the background. Then, you can delete or change the background with the thumbnail background that you have downloaded. It’s really convenient!

Here is a guide on changing a YouTube thumbnail background using Wondershare Filmora.

1. Put the Thumbnail image in the timeline.

2. Select the thumbnail image. Click “Tools” > “Video” > “AI Portrait.”

3. The AI Portrait tool will remove the background automatically. Click “OK.”

4. Click “Stock Media” > “Photos.” Search for a background image that you like. Download the photo.

5. Drag the new background to the track below your thumbnail image.

6. Select your thumbnail image to adjust its size and position.

7. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot of the still frame you want to use as the YouTube video thumbnail.

8. Select the format and storage path.

9. Find the icon of the snapshot in the Media tab. Right-click and select “Reveal In Explorer” to open your local folder to find the new thumbnail.

The Bottom Line

Your YouTube video thumbnail is almost as important as the video content itself. So you must not neglect it. Ensuring it is high-quality is important. One big step in doing that is selecting a great thumbnail background image. You can find these in many places.

The video editor Wondershare Filmora even allows you to browse for some within the program! Furthermore, Filmora provides you with tools to edit the thumbnail. In turn, it streamlines the whole process. Give it a try to start creating video thumbnails that will make YouTube users click on your video easily.

Wondershare Filmora is one of the leading video editors in the world. And it does not stop at enabling you to make amazing videos. Filmora also helps you make that video succeed. It provides you with over 4 million stock media! That includes gorgeous photos that you can use as YouTube thumbnail backgrounds.

The best thing is that you can access those images within the video editor. Meaning there’s a streamlined workflow that makes things more convenient.

Where Do the Photos Come From? Wondershare Filmora takes images from the websites Pexels, GIPHY, Pixabay, and Unsplash. Besides those, Filmora also has its own stock media library - Filmstock.

Filmstock was previously known as Filmora Store. It is the effect store for Filmora version 9.1.0 and above. From there, you can find stock media, including videos, images that you can use for your thumbnails, and royalty-free music and sound effects. You can download these resources to turn your videos into art.

2. Use Freepik To Find YouTube Thumbnail Background Images

Pros

• With over 22 million stock media resources, it offers a significant amount of photos, vectors, and graphic resources.
• The website is well-designed and void of pop-ups, making it very easy to search for specific photos.

Cons

• The free version has lots of limitations.
• The premium version is expensive.
• Download times can sometimes be slow.

Freepik is one of the largest image bank websites. It has over 22 million stock media that you can choose from to be your YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. And that collection grows further every day. Therefore, it’s highly likely to have the image you are looking for.

Not just that. Freepik has a special section containing only YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. That expedites your search. Then, you can use the filters to show only the thumbnail background designs that match your vision.

3. Find YouTube Thumbnail Background on Shutterstock for Free

Pros

• One of the largest libraries of stock photos.
• Gives a 30-day free trial that lets you make 10 downloads totally free of charge.
• Includes free images.

Cons

• The free trial lasts only 30 days. It becomes very expensive after that has expired.

Shutterstock is probably the biggest website that offers stock images. It’s so popular Shutterstock is what many people first think of when they need to find stock images.

Shutterstock has been around since 2003. As such, its collection consists of over 200 million stock photos. From that many resources, you’ll surely be able to find something to use for your YouTube thumbnail background. Even after the free trial expires, you can find some free photos from the website.

4. Download Thumbnail Background Images for YouTube in Vecteezy

Pros

• Millions of free resources.
• Cheaper than alternatives.

Cons

• The free version does not give you full commercial rights and requires you to add attribution.
• The free version allows you to download only 10 files a day.

Vecteezy allows you to download stock images for free. However, if you are serious about your YouTubing career, you must upgrade to Pro for full commercial rights. The good thing is that Vecteezy is very affordable. It costs only $7 per month! And that already gives you unlimited downloads.

Now the question is, does it have YouTube thumbnail backgrounds? Yes, it does! Whether you prefer vectors or images, Vecteezy has you covered.

5. Attractive Backgrounds for YouTube Thumbnail – NegativeSpace

Pros

• Photos downloaded from the website are free to use
• NegativeSpace encourages attribution, though, to thank the photographer that took the photo.

Cons

• The collection includes mostly photographs with just a few vectors here and there.
• The website can sometimes be slow to load.

NegativeSpace is the perfect place to get your YouTube thumbnail background if you are on a tight budget. It allows you not only to download the photos but also to use them commercially! And the photos are high-quality too, and they’re meant to be used as backgrounds.

Please note, however, that if you’re looking for vector illustrations, you’d better be on another site. NegativeSpace is built by a community of photographers. So, most of the resources you can download from this website are photos captured by a camera.

How To Change YouTube Thumbnail Background?

Suppose you have downloaded a high-quality image that will work great as a thumbnail background for your YouTube video. What shall you do next? Of course, the next step is to make the actual thumbnail.

Choosing the background image from Filmora is great because it saves you lots of time and resources. The program allows you to select from millions of high-quality options. After selecting, you can use Filmora’s native features to edit the thumbnail. You can even resize the thumbnail background to 1280x720 - YouTube’s suggested thumbnail size.

It is more convenient than you may initially think. Yes, it saves you time and effort because you don’t have to switch to another program to edit the thumbnail. But it also makes the workload easier for your computer. Opening another program will eat more RAM and will slow down the computer.

Filmora’s tools for editing the video thumbnail aren’t too shabby, either. Suppose you have a great image with the main subject where exactly you want it to be. However, you want to change the background to make the subject stand out more. You can use Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature to easily change it.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

What is Filmora’s AI Portrait Feature?

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature allows you to quickly remove and change the background of an image.

Normally, you would need a green screen or chroma key to do that. Another method is to manually erase the background using an eraser. The AI Portrait feature has an effect called “human segmentation.” It separates the humans in an image from the background. Then, you can delete or change the background with the thumbnail background that you have downloaded. It’s really convenient!

Here is a guide on changing a YouTube thumbnail background using Wondershare Filmora.

1. Put the Thumbnail image in the timeline.

2. Select the thumbnail image. Click “Tools” > “Video” > “AI Portrait.”

3. The AI Portrait tool will remove the background automatically. Click “OK.”

4. Click “Stock Media” > “Photos.” Search for a background image that you like. Download the photo.

5. Drag the new background to the track below your thumbnail image.

6. Select your thumbnail image to adjust its size and position.

7. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot of the still frame you want to use as the YouTube video thumbnail.

8. Select the format and storage path.

9. Find the icon of the snapshot in the Media tab. Right-click and select “Reveal In Explorer” to open your local folder to find the new thumbnail.

The Bottom Line

Your YouTube video thumbnail is almost as important as the video content itself. So you must not neglect it. Ensuring it is high-quality is important. One big step in doing that is selecting a great thumbnail background image. You can find these in many places.

The video editor Wondershare Filmora even allows you to browse for some within the program! Furthermore, Filmora provides you with tools to edit the thumbnail. In turn, it streamlines the whole process. Give it a try to start creating video thumbnails that will make YouTube users click on your video easily.

Wondershare Filmora is one of the leading video editors in the world. And it does not stop at enabling you to make amazing videos. Filmora also helps you make that video succeed. It provides you with over 4 million stock media! That includes gorgeous photos that you can use as YouTube thumbnail backgrounds.

The best thing is that you can access those images within the video editor. Meaning there’s a streamlined workflow that makes things more convenient.

Where Do the Photos Come From? Wondershare Filmora takes images from the websites Pexels, GIPHY, Pixabay, and Unsplash. Besides those, Filmora also has its own stock media library - Filmstock.

Filmstock was previously known as Filmora Store. It is the effect store for Filmora version 9.1.0 and above. From there, you can find stock media, including videos, images that you can use for your thumbnails, and royalty-free music and sound effects. You can download these resources to turn your videos into art.

2. Use Freepik To Find YouTube Thumbnail Background Images

Pros

• With over 22 million stock media resources, it offers a significant amount of photos, vectors, and graphic resources.
• The website is well-designed and void of pop-ups, making it very easy to search for specific photos.

Cons

• The free version has lots of limitations.
• The premium version is expensive.
• Download times can sometimes be slow.

Freepik is one of the largest image bank websites. It has over 22 million stock media that you can choose from to be your YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. And that collection grows further every day. Therefore, it’s highly likely to have the image you are looking for.

Not just that. Freepik has a special section containing only YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. That expedites your search. Then, you can use the filters to show only the thumbnail background designs that match your vision.

3. Find YouTube Thumbnail Background on Shutterstock for Free

Pros

• One of the largest libraries of stock photos.
• Gives a 30-day free trial that lets you make 10 downloads totally free of charge.
• Includes free images.

Cons

• The free trial lasts only 30 days. It becomes very expensive after that has expired.

Shutterstock is probably the biggest website that offers stock images. It’s so popular Shutterstock is what many people first think of when they need to find stock images.

Shutterstock has been around since 2003. As such, its collection consists of over 200 million stock photos. From that many resources, you’ll surely be able to find something to use for your YouTube thumbnail background. Even after the free trial expires, you can find some free photos from the website.

4. Download Thumbnail Background Images for YouTube in Vecteezy

Pros

• Millions of free resources.
• Cheaper than alternatives.

Cons

• The free version does not give you full commercial rights and requires you to add attribution.
• The free version allows you to download only 10 files a day.

Vecteezy allows you to download stock images for free. However, if you are serious about your YouTubing career, you must upgrade to Pro for full commercial rights. The good thing is that Vecteezy is very affordable. It costs only $7 per month! And that already gives you unlimited downloads.

Now the question is, does it have YouTube thumbnail backgrounds? Yes, it does! Whether you prefer vectors or images, Vecteezy has you covered.

5. Attractive Backgrounds for YouTube Thumbnail – NegativeSpace

Pros

• Photos downloaded from the website are free to use
• NegativeSpace encourages attribution, though, to thank the photographer that took the photo.

Cons

• The collection includes mostly photographs with just a few vectors here and there.
• The website can sometimes be slow to load.

NegativeSpace is the perfect place to get your YouTube thumbnail background if you are on a tight budget. It allows you not only to download the photos but also to use them commercially! And the photos are high-quality too, and they’re meant to be used as backgrounds.

Please note, however, that if you’re looking for vector illustrations, you’d better be on another site. NegativeSpace is built by a community of photographers. So, most of the resources you can download from this website are photos captured by a camera.

How To Change YouTube Thumbnail Background?

Suppose you have downloaded a high-quality image that will work great as a thumbnail background for your YouTube video. What shall you do next? Of course, the next step is to make the actual thumbnail.

Choosing the background image from Filmora is great because it saves you lots of time and resources. The program allows you to select from millions of high-quality options. After selecting, you can use Filmora’s native features to edit the thumbnail. You can even resize the thumbnail background to 1280x720 - YouTube’s suggested thumbnail size.

It is more convenient than you may initially think. Yes, it saves you time and effort because you don’t have to switch to another program to edit the thumbnail. But it also makes the workload easier for your computer. Opening another program will eat more RAM and will slow down the computer.

Filmora’s tools for editing the video thumbnail aren’t too shabby, either. Suppose you have a great image with the main subject where exactly you want it to be. However, you want to change the background to make the subject stand out more. You can use Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature to easily change it.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

What is Filmora’s AI Portrait Feature?

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature allows you to quickly remove and change the background of an image.

Normally, you would need a green screen or chroma key to do that. Another method is to manually erase the background using an eraser. The AI Portrait feature has an effect called “human segmentation.” It separates the humans in an image from the background. Then, you can delete or change the background with the thumbnail background that you have downloaded. It’s really convenient!

Here is a guide on changing a YouTube thumbnail background using Wondershare Filmora.

1. Put the Thumbnail image in the timeline.

2. Select the thumbnail image. Click “Tools” > “Video” > “AI Portrait.”

3. The AI Portrait tool will remove the background automatically. Click “OK.”

4. Click “Stock Media” > “Photos.” Search for a background image that you like. Download the photo.

5. Drag the new background to the track below your thumbnail image.

6. Select your thumbnail image to adjust its size and position.

7. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot of the still frame you want to use as the YouTube video thumbnail.

8. Select the format and storage path.

9. Find the icon of the snapshot in the Media tab. Right-click and select “Reveal In Explorer” to open your local folder to find the new thumbnail.

The Bottom Line

Your YouTube video thumbnail is almost as important as the video content itself. So you must not neglect it. Ensuring it is high-quality is important. One big step in doing that is selecting a great thumbnail background image. You can find these in many places.

The video editor Wondershare Filmora even allows you to browse for some within the program! Furthermore, Filmora provides you with tools to edit the thumbnail. In turn, it streamlines the whole process. Give it a try to start creating video thumbnails that will make YouTube users click on your video easily.

Wondershare Filmora is one of the leading video editors in the world. And it does not stop at enabling you to make amazing videos. Filmora also helps you make that video succeed. It provides you with over 4 million stock media! That includes gorgeous photos that you can use as YouTube thumbnail backgrounds.

The best thing is that you can access those images within the video editor. Meaning there’s a streamlined workflow that makes things more convenient.

Where Do the Photos Come From? Wondershare Filmora takes images from the websites Pexels, GIPHY, Pixabay, and Unsplash. Besides those, Filmora also has its own stock media library - Filmstock.

Filmstock was previously known as Filmora Store. It is the effect store for Filmora version 9.1.0 and above. From there, you can find stock media, including videos, images that you can use for your thumbnails, and royalty-free music and sound effects. You can download these resources to turn your videos into art.

2. Use Freepik To Find YouTube Thumbnail Background Images

Pros

• With over 22 million stock media resources, it offers a significant amount of photos, vectors, and graphic resources.
• The website is well-designed and void of pop-ups, making it very easy to search for specific photos.

Cons

• The free version has lots of limitations.
• The premium version is expensive.
• Download times can sometimes be slow.

Freepik is one of the largest image bank websites. It has over 22 million stock media that you can choose from to be your YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. And that collection grows further every day. Therefore, it’s highly likely to have the image you are looking for.

Not just that. Freepik has a special section containing only YouTube thumbnail backgrounds. That expedites your search. Then, you can use the filters to show only the thumbnail background designs that match your vision.

3. Find YouTube Thumbnail Background on Shutterstock for Free

Pros

• One of the largest libraries of stock photos.
• Gives a 30-day free trial that lets you make 10 downloads totally free of charge.
• Includes free images.

Cons

• The free trial lasts only 30 days. It becomes very expensive after that has expired.

Shutterstock is probably the biggest website that offers stock images. It’s so popular Shutterstock is what many people first think of when they need to find stock images.

Shutterstock has been around since 2003. As such, its collection consists of over 200 million stock photos. From that many resources, you’ll surely be able to find something to use for your YouTube thumbnail background. Even after the free trial expires, you can find some free photos from the website.

4. Download Thumbnail Background Images for YouTube in Vecteezy

Pros

• Millions of free resources.
• Cheaper than alternatives.

Cons

• The free version does not give you full commercial rights and requires you to add attribution.
• The free version allows you to download only 10 files a day.

Vecteezy allows you to download stock images for free. However, if you are serious about your YouTubing career, you must upgrade to Pro for full commercial rights. The good thing is that Vecteezy is very affordable. It costs only $7 per month! And that already gives you unlimited downloads.

Now the question is, does it have YouTube thumbnail backgrounds? Yes, it does! Whether you prefer vectors or images, Vecteezy has you covered.

5. Attractive Backgrounds for YouTube Thumbnail – NegativeSpace

Pros

• Photos downloaded from the website are free to use
• NegativeSpace encourages attribution, though, to thank the photographer that took the photo.

Cons

• The collection includes mostly photographs with just a few vectors here and there.
• The website can sometimes be slow to load.

NegativeSpace is the perfect place to get your YouTube thumbnail background if you are on a tight budget. It allows you not only to download the photos but also to use them commercially! And the photos are high-quality too, and they’re meant to be used as backgrounds.

Please note, however, that if you’re looking for vector illustrations, you’d better be on another site. NegativeSpace is built by a community of photographers. So, most of the resources you can download from this website are photos captured by a camera.

How To Change YouTube Thumbnail Background?

Suppose you have downloaded a high-quality image that will work great as a thumbnail background for your YouTube video. What shall you do next? Of course, the next step is to make the actual thumbnail.

Choosing the background image from Filmora is great because it saves you lots of time and resources. The program allows you to select from millions of high-quality options. After selecting, you can use Filmora’s native features to edit the thumbnail. You can even resize the thumbnail background to 1280x720 - YouTube’s suggested thumbnail size.

It is more convenient than you may initially think. Yes, it saves you time and effort because you don’t have to switch to another program to edit the thumbnail. But it also makes the workload easier for your computer. Opening another program will eat more RAM and will slow down the computer.

Filmora’s tools for editing the video thumbnail aren’t too shabby, either. Suppose you have a great image with the main subject where exactly you want it to be. However, you want to change the background to make the subject stand out more. You can use Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature to easily change it.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

What is Filmora’s AI Portrait Feature?

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Portrait feature allows you to quickly remove and change the background of an image.

Normally, you would need a green screen or chroma key to do that. Another method is to manually erase the background using an eraser. The AI Portrait feature has an effect called “human segmentation.” It separates the humans in an image from the background. Then, you can delete or change the background with the thumbnail background that you have downloaded. It’s really convenient!

Here is a guide on changing a YouTube thumbnail background using Wondershare Filmora.

1. Put the Thumbnail image in the timeline.

2. Select the thumbnail image. Click “Tools” > “Video” > “AI Portrait.”

3. The AI Portrait tool will remove the background automatically. Click “OK.”

4. Click “Stock Media” > “Photos.” Search for a background image that you like. Download the photo.

5. Drag the new background to the track below your thumbnail image.

6. Select your thumbnail image to adjust its size and position.

7. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot of the still frame you want to use as the YouTube video thumbnail.

8. Select the format and storage path.

9. Find the icon of the snapshot in the Media tab. Right-click and select “Reveal In Explorer” to open your local folder to find the new thumbnail.

The Bottom Line

Your YouTube video thumbnail is almost as important as the video content itself. So you must not neglect it. Ensuring it is high-quality is important. One big step in doing that is selecting a great thumbnail background image. You can find these in many places.

The video editor Wondershare Filmora even allows you to browse for some within the program! Furthermore, Filmora provides you with tools to edit the thumbnail. In turn, it streamlines the whole process. Give it a try to start creating video thumbnails that will make YouTube users click on your video easily.

Engaging Stories, Expanding Audiences: Top Three Methods

The Best Storytelling Techniques to Grow Your YouTube Channel

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

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Richard Bennett

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

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