Is the YouTube Thumbnail Important to Get Views for Your Videos?

I'm completely new to YouTube. I have no idea what I am doing, but I'm having so much fun with creating YouTube videos. I use Canva to edit my videos, while I use my phone to record the video. I talk about any kind of horror topic that comes to mind, and I just wing it every time. 

I know that some people do like to take the time to write a script out for their videos, but for me, it's so fun to take a chance and see what happens lol. The goal for me here is to have fun with YouTube, after all.

But there is one thing that I have always heard from people online. 

The thumbnail is always the most important.

In order to get views for your YouTube videos. 

I have to admit; I am having way too much fun with editing the videos for my YouTube thumbnails. I also use Canva to make the thumbnails, and I have to thank college for helping me learn how to use so many digital tools like this online.

While I do enjoy creating my own thumbnails for my horror videos, there is one question that has always lingered on my mind. 

Is it actually important to have the perfect thumbnail for your YouTube videos?

I don't think that this is the case. 

I have seen plenty of thumbnails on YouTube, and while some are pretty flashy looking, some videos with simple looking thumbnails can get a lot of views too. 

I guess in a way, it's pure luck when your video gets noticed on YouTube.

It's like any other social media. But man, is it super hard to figure out the viral part. To this day, I have no idea how becoming viral works. How the heck does a video on YouTube get so many views?

Again, it is all about pure luck. 

There are some YouTubers that I currently follow, that have gained millions of views, all because of this 'pure luck.'

One example is a horror YouTuber I follow. He would always post supposed 'true stories' of scary situations or stories. The thumbnails are so simple, but they are pretty effective in their own way.

The video covers make me interested to watch the videos, so I suppose that any thumbnail can work in the creator's favor. I have one example that I recently created for a videogame that I really wanted to talk about. I'm a huge fan of this game, and I was tempted to create the perfect thumbnail for this specific topic.

https://youtu.be/rvEv_l54TkE?si=wgLOf9YhXJ6Pc86M

Above is the link to my YouTube video. I had created this thumbnail for the video, because there was one theory I have been obsessed over for a long time for the recent Silent Hill 2 Remake.

For those who haven't played this game or heard of the story, we follow teh story of a man named James Sunderland, who finds himself trapped in a town called Silent Hill. This town is filled with monsters and all kinds of psychological torture, as he tries to located his wife who apparently died three years ago. 

Since the game does focus on a protagonist that is going through absolute hell throughout the story, I thought it would be smart to add a photo of his face, showing how exhausted and terrified he is of his current situation. Then I added a simple sentence to the possible theory of James being trapped in the town for a total of 20 years.

This is hands down my favorite YouTube thumbnail so far. 

I think it has to do with my passion for this game, and I do consider this horror game to be my absolute favorite.

The video has about 20 views so far. I'm aiming for 26 views, and I think I am going to hit this goal quite soon. 

So, do you think the thumbnail for YouTube does matter? Or do you think that we need catchy covers to get attention on YouTube?

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn