The question made me laugh. I just can't take a pic of myself with my mouth gaping open, so I have a caricature do it. 
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YouTube Tips Is a stupid face on your thumbnail necessary to get lots of clicks?
- Thread starter The Jungle Explorer
- Start date
I think if the stupid face is genuinely related to the thumbnail content or video, or if like me you were just born with a stupid face (HAHA honestly though, I'm just a goofball IRL so the goofy face thing fits my personality) then it's cool/fun/funny/whatever.... but if like most it's disingenuine, fake, unrelated, or just straight-up clickbait then it shows that the content creator is dishonest and just out for clicks/views... 
The problem is if you don't know the video or creator then you have no idea which side of the fence it's on... and the only way to find that out is by clicking on the video.... a paradoxical conundrium....
Mind BLOWN!!
The problem is if you don't know the video or creator then you have no idea which side of the fence it's on... and the only way to find that out is by clicking on the video.... a paradoxical conundrium....
Mind BLOWN!!
OP
OP
Not for me, it is not a good strategy. Clickbaitish thumbnails like what you see on the most popular videos make me very angry and want to punch the creator. They are intellectually insulting to me and I feel like they are saying, "I think you are a stupid, sheeple, lemming, just like everyone else, and will click on this thumbnail because it has someone making a stupid face on it." I will not click on those kinds of thumbnails precisely BECAUSE they look clickbaitish and are trying to appeal to the crowd of people who are given to emotional impulses.
I'm really going to be honest with this, clickbait thumbnails is why many of these creators do have millions of subscribers and while you don't like them it is a known fact that it works as long as it is related to the content. It's just a fact of life. I'd love to put really super scary thumbnails on mine but the problem with my market is that most of the thumbnails used that are scary are copyrighted pictures and I'm just not as gutsy as others I guess. I have to learn to do it with photoshop I suppose. Something I don't have a lot of time for. Plus, there is a limit on how "scary" we can create them. No blood, no weapons, nor real horror just clickbait pictures. Kind of a drag.
I recently did a video on the results of my blood test. I was thinking about how I could convey "blood" on my thumbnail as in "bloody". I had all kinds of ideas but then I realized that YT doesn't allow an overly graphic visuals. I ended up just using a vial of blood for the image. It was tame but my mind did wander into more graphic territory! LOL!
OP
OP
Oh, I am not saying they don't work. They do work, and they work extremely well. What I was saying is, They Don't Work on ME! I was responding to BananB who said
"See what thumbnail you click on. Use the same strategy "
I was saying that for me to use the strategy of choosing a thumbnail that would work on me, is not a good course for me to take because I pretty much have a built-in mechanism that rejects almost all clever marketing techniques because they are intellectually insulting to me. But the fact is, those techniques work for most people. So I have to compromise and make thumbnails that I honestly hate, in order to compete in a world where most people are in fact sheeple and can be emotionally manipulated by these kinds of cheap sleazy marketing strategies. However, since I never show my face on my channel because I play a masked character, not my real person, I do not have the option of putting stupid faces on my thumbnails. So, I have to be more creative than most in my thumbnail design to get traction.
Yes, I spend a LOT of time in Photoshop working on thumbnails. LOL!
On some videos, like reaction videos, it would make sense. But on other videos, it would just be clickbait, and clickbait can always backfire. Don't you hate when your videos are click-repellent?
Yeah... not a good method for me. What I click on is not the click-baity, stupid expression, videos - but I know those do work. I am not, and have never been, the target demographic. I also find that type of advertising insulting.
I THINK NOT
true
yes they create intrigue for folk to watch, most reactions channels do this like MrBeast Reacts, Sniper wolf, Rossdog, jackseptickeye and markiplier.
I personally don't like silly faces in thumbnails but people include it in every single video to build a brand so as soon as they see the thumbnail they know what to expect of that. It is actually good strategy to build a brand using your face so people can easily recognize you.