Unlocking Secrets to Compelling YouTube Live Thumbnails

Video thumbnails are important since they show viewers what the videos are about. And according to YouTube, 90% of the best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. Therefore, adding thumbnails to all your videos is wise. But how to do that with live streams? Is it any different from adding thumbnails to normal videos? You’ll find answers in this article. Here’s a comprehensive guide about YouTube Live thumbnails.

Overview of YouTube Live

Livestreaming is very popular now. The pandemic has accelerated its growth. But what made it so special? Watching live streams is different from watching regular videos. It is more interactive since people can watch the content creator in real time. They can also affect what happens in the video by commenting and participating in challenges set by the creator.

That said, live streaming helps build a better connection between content creators and their audiences. So you may want to incorporate live streaming into your strategies. You can do that on YouTube through YouTube Live. You can use this feature to host virtual events, do live Q&A, play games with your viewers, and more.

Importance of Thumbnail for Live Stream

Thumbnails are important for videos. Alongside the title, they inform the viewers what the video is about. It’s not different with live streams. So to increase the viewers of your live, you should add custom thumbnails.

What happens if you don’t add a custom thumbnail to your live stream? YouTube will select a random frame from the video and display it. The thing is that live streams are usually longer than recorded videos. So YouTube has more options to use as the thumbnail.

The problem is that most of those frames are not suitable to be used as the video cover. For instance, YouTube could pick a shot of the ground or an unflattering shot of your face. So, it’s a must to add a custom thumbnail for your live stream.

How To Add a YouTube Live Thumbnail

Now, you know how important adding custom thumbnails to live streams is. You probably want to know how to do that. We got you covered. Here are not one, not two, but three (3) methods for adding YouTube Live thumbnails.

Method 1. Add Live Thumbnail on YouTube Studio

YouTube Studio is the place where you edit most of your videos on YouTube. It’s where you edit the description, add or remove tags, and such. It’s also where you change thumbnails for your videos. And live videos are no exception. Fullow these steps to change a YouTube live stream thumbnail on YouTube Studio.

• Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
• Click your channel icon on the top-right and select “YouTube Studio.”

• Click “Create” > “Go Live.”

• Edit the metadata for the live video.

• Click “UPLOAD CUSTOM THUMBNAIL.”

• Select the custom thumbnail that you have prepared. Click “Open.”
• Click “Create Stream.”

Method 2. Add Live Stream Thumbnail on YouTube Classic Mode

Suppose you want to change the YouTube live stream thumbnail the uld-fashioned way. You can change it on YouTube Classic Mode. How? Fullow these simple steps.

• Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
• Click “Creator Studio Classic” from the left panel.

• Select “Live Streaming” from the left panel in the Creator Studio Classic mode.

• YouTube will bring you to the “Stream Now” section. Put in the video metadata.

• Click “Change thumbnail.”

• Select the thumbnail image you have prepared. Click “Open.”
• Wait for the thumbnail image to refresh.

Method 3. Upload a Thumbnail to YouTube Live With Mobile Phones

Perhaps you are live-streaming a trip somewhere. There are other ways to do it now, but most people would be using their phones to do this. So how do you change a YouTube Live thumbnail on mobile phones? Fullow these instructions:

• Launch the YouTube mobile app.
• Click the “Plus” icon at the bottom middle of the screen.
• Select “Go Live.”
• Enter the metadata. And set the advanced settings according to your preferences.

• Click “Next.”

• YouTube will take a photo of you. Don’t mind this because you’ll be changing it later.

• Click the “Pencil” icon after YouTube has taken a photo.

• Select “Upload thumbnail.”

• Select the thumbnail image you have prepared.
• Crop the image if you like. Click “Save.”

• Click “Go Live.”

How To Create a Livestream Thumbnail

So you now know how to change the live stream thumbnail. There’s one more thing we need to address. Where will you get the custom thumbnails? There are a number of good YouTube thumbnail makers out there. Let’s discuss this.

Livestream Thumbnail Makers

There are many great YouTube thumbnail makers on the market. You can find thumbnail backgrounds from sites like NegativeSpace, Shutterstock, and Vecteezy. Then, edit them to your liking using photo editing apps. Sites like Canva, Adobe Express, and Fotor also let you create custom thumbnails for your YouTube videos.

Wondershare Filmora is also a great thumbnail maker. You’d like it since it is also a powerful video editor. It is double-purpose! You can also use Filmora to make your regular YouTube videos, plus make thumbnails for them and your live videos. Talk about convenience!

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

• Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

• Click “Effect.”

• Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

• Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

• Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

• Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

• Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

• Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
• Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
• Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

• Select a template that fits your idea.

• Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

• Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

• Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

• Click “Generate.”
• Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

• Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

• Click “Effect.”

• Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

• Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

• Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

• Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

• Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

• Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
• Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
• Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

• Select a template that fits your idea.

• Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

• Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

• Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

• Click “Generate.”
• Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Perfect Your YouTube Videos After Publishing

How to Edit Uploaded/ Published YouTube Videos

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube Video Editor gives you the capacity to edit your video straight from the YouTube platform; these include videos that has already been published or shared. In the first part, we’re going to teach you how to edit your published YouTube videos without losing video ID and URL, in the second part, we offer an advanced video editing tips for edit published videos.

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide.

If you want to hide or remove some videos of your or other people’s YouTube channel, you can check this article.

Simply want to do all the stuff on your phone? check this out.

Advanced Tips to Edit Uploaded/ Published YouTube Videos

It is true that YouTube Editor provides us a handy platform that allows us to edit existing YouTube videos in an efficient ways. However, the tools they provide are too basic. If you want to perform a more complex editing, you will need an offline editor such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovei or Adobe Premiere. But if you are looking for an simple while powerful tool, we highly recommend Wondershare Filmora . It is highly compatible with different image, audio, and video format. It is just as simple as importing the video and editing them.

The downside, however, is that you will lose the original ID of the video. This may serve as a problem if you have already shared the video before since the views may disappear. A good solution to this problem is to place an annotation to the old video telling your followers that you have created a better quality of the video then direct them to the link.

Check how to engage your audience to stay tuned from this video below:

Edit Existing YouTube Videos

Let me walk you through a familiar situation, you spend all night trying to make your video perfect, uploaded it on your YouTube channel and shred it to your social media accounts. Then you noticed that you need to repair something. The normal approach back then is to delete the video, re-edit using offline tools and then re-upload it again. Clearly, this process takes too much time. Furthermore, it changes the ID of your video which means that the previous embed will no longer work.

Note: Under this situation, you can’t add more footage or effects to the existing videos.

1. Sigin in

The first thing you need to do to edit uploaded/published YouTube videos is to sign-in with your Google account.

2. Locate the video you want to edit

After signing-in, you now have the option to view all your uploaded videos. Go My Channel > Choose YouTube Studio (it’s a beta version right now).

Click the “Videos” button, and you will see all your uploaded videos here. Choose the one you want to edit

3. Edit YouTube videos

Click on the video you want to edit, and you can see all the info about this video, including title, description, visibility, etc. Choose “Editor” at the left side of the interface, and you will be led to the YouTube video editor’s interface, You can now trim the existing YouTube video by dragging the sliders on the timeline.

4. Save

After you are happy with your edited video, you can now click save.

Note: In case you are not happy with the video that you edited, you can always revert back to your original video. Videos with more than 1,000 views will be saved as a new video after the editing. You may also add notes and annotation to your Videos. This annotation may appear alongside with the video depending on the time that you want it to appear.

Related article: How to add annotation to your YouTube video

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube Video Editor gives you the capacity to edit your video straight from the YouTube platform; these include videos that has already been published or shared. In the first part, we’re going to teach you how to edit your published YouTube videos without losing video ID and URL, in the second part, we offer an advanced video editing tips for edit published videos.

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide.

If you want to hide or remove some videos of your or other people’s YouTube channel, you can check this article.

Simply want to do all the stuff on your phone? check this out.

Advanced Tips to Edit Uploaded/ Published YouTube Videos

It is true that YouTube Editor provides us a handy platform that allows us to edit existing YouTube videos in an efficient ways. However, the tools they provide are too basic. If you want to perform a more complex editing, you will need an offline editor such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovei or Adobe Premiere. But if you are looking for an simple while powerful tool, we highly recommend Wondershare Filmora . It is highly compatible with different image, audio, and video format. It is just as simple as importing the video and editing them.

The downside, however, is that you will lose the original ID of the video. This may serve as a problem if you have already shared the video before since the views may disappear. A good solution to this problem is to place an annotation to the old video telling your followers that you have created a better quality of the video then direct them to the link.

Check how to engage your audience to stay tuned from this video below:

Edit Existing YouTube Videos

Let me walk you through a familiar situation, you spend all night trying to make your video perfect, uploaded it on your YouTube channel and shred it to your social media accounts. Then you noticed that you need to repair something. The normal approach back then is to delete the video, re-edit using offline tools and then re-upload it again. Clearly, this process takes too much time. Furthermore, it changes the ID of your video which means that the previous embed will no longer work.

Note: Under this situation, you can’t add more footage or effects to the existing videos.

1. Sigin in

The first thing you need to do to edit uploaded/published YouTube videos is to sign-in with your Google account.

2. Locate the video you want to edit

After signing-in, you now have the option to view all your uploaded videos. Go My Channel > Choose YouTube Studio (it’s a beta version right now).

Click the “Videos” button, and you will see all your uploaded videos here. Choose the one you want to edit

3. Edit YouTube videos

Click on the video you want to edit, and you can see all the info about this video, including title, description, visibility, etc. Choose “Editor” at the left side of the interface, and you will be led to the YouTube video editor’s interface, You can now trim the existing YouTube video by dragging the sliders on the timeline.

4. Save

After you are happy with your edited video, you can now click save.

Note: In case you are not happy with the video that you edited, you can always revert back to your original video. Videos with more than 1,000 views will be saved as a new video after the editing. You may also add notes and annotation to your Videos. This annotation may appear alongside with the video depending on the time that you want it to appear.

Related article: How to add annotation to your YouTube video

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube Video Editor gives you the capacity to edit your video straight from the YouTube platform; these include videos that has already been published or shared. In the first part, we’re going to teach you how to edit your published YouTube videos without losing video ID and URL, in the second part, we offer an advanced video editing tips for edit published videos.

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide.

If you want to hide or remove some videos of your or other people’s YouTube channel, you can check this article.

Simply want to do all the stuff on your phone? check this out.

Advanced Tips to Edit Uploaded/ Published YouTube Videos

It is true that YouTube Editor provides us a handy platform that allows us to edit existing YouTube videos in an efficient ways. However, the tools they provide are too basic. If you want to perform a more complex editing, you will need an offline editor such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovei or Adobe Premiere. But if you are looking for an simple while powerful tool, we highly recommend Wondershare Filmora . It is highly compatible with different image, audio, and video format. It is just as simple as importing the video and editing them.

The downside, however, is that you will lose the original ID of the video. This may serve as a problem if you have already shared the video before since the views may disappear. A good solution to this problem is to place an annotation to the old video telling your followers that you have created a better quality of the video then direct them to the link.

Check how to engage your audience to stay tuned from this video below:

Edit Existing YouTube Videos

Let me walk you through a familiar situation, you spend all night trying to make your video perfect, uploaded it on your YouTube channel and shred it to your social media accounts. Then you noticed that you need to repair something. The normal approach back then is to delete the video, re-edit using offline tools and then re-upload it again. Clearly, this process takes too much time. Furthermore, it changes the ID of your video which means that the previous embed will no longer work.

Note: Under this situation, you can’t add more footage or effects to the existing videos.

1. Sigin in

The first thing you need to do to edit uploaded/published YouTube videos is to sign-in with your Google account.

2. Locate the video you want to edit

After signing-in, you now have the option to view all your uploaded videos. Go My Channel > Choose YouTube Studio (it’s a beta version right now).

Click the “Videos” button, and you will see all your uploaded videos here. Choose the one you want to edit

3. Edit YouTube videos

Click on the video you want to edit, and you can see all the info about this video, including title, description, visibility, etc. Choose “Editor” at the left side of the interface, and you will be led to the YouTube video editor’s interface, You can now trim the existing YouTube video by dragging the sliders on the timeline.

4. Save

After you are happy with your edited video, you can now click save.

Note: In case you are not happy with the video that you edited, you can always revert back to your original video. Videos with more than 1,000 views will be saved as a new video after the editing. You may also add notes and annotation to your Videos. This annotation may appear alongside with the video depending on the time that you want it to appear.

Related article: How to add annotation to your YouTube video

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube Video Editor gives you the capacity to edit your video straight from the YouTube platform; these include videos that has already been published or shared. In the first part, we’re going to teach you how to edit your published YouTube videos without losing video ID and URL, in the second part, we offer an advanced video editing tips for edit published videos.

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide.

If you want to hide or remove some videos of your or other people’s YouTube channel, you can check this article.

Simply want to do all the stuff on your phone? check this out.

Advanced Tips to Edit Uploaded/ Published YouTube Videos

It is true that YouTube Editor provides us a handy platform that allows us to edit existing YouTube videos in an efficient ways. However, the tools they provide are too basic. If you want to perform a more complex editing, you will need an offline editor such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovei or Adobe Premiere. But if you are looking for an simple while powerful tool, we highly recommend Wondershare Filmora . It is highly compatible with different image, audio, and video format. It is just as simple as importing the video and editing them.

The downside, however, is that you will lose the original ID of the video. This may serve as a problem if you have already shared the video before since the views may disappear. A good solution to this problem is to place an annotation to the old video telling your followers that you have created a better quality of the video then direct them to the link.

Check how to engage your audience to stay tuned from this video below:

Edit Existing YouTube Videos

Let me walk you through a familiar situation, you spend all night trying to make your video perfect, uploaded it on your YouTube channel and shred it to your social media accounts. Then you noticed that you need to repair something. The normal approach back then is to delete the video, re-edit using offline tools and then re-upload it again. Clearly, this process takes too much time. Furthermore, it changes the ID of your video which means that the previous embed will no longer work.

Note: Under this situation, you can’t add more footage or effects to the existing videos.

1. Sigin in

The first thing you need to do to edit uploaded/published YouTube videos is to sign-in with your Google account.

2. Locate the video you want to edit

After signing-in, you now have the option to view all your uploaded videos. Go My Channel > Choose YouTube Studio (it’s a beta version right now).

Click the “Videos” button, and you will see all your uploaded videos here. Choose the one you want to edit

3. Edit YouTube videos

Click on the video you want to edit, and you can see all the info about this video, including title, description, visibility, etc. Choose “Editor” at the left side of the interface, and you will be led to the YouTube video editor’s interface, You can now trim the existing YouTube video by dragging the sliders on the timeline.

4. Save

After you are happy with your edited video, you can now click save.

Note: In case you are not happy with the video that you edited, you can always revert back to your original video. Videos with more than 1,000 views will be saved as a new video after the editing. You may also add notes and annotation to your Videos. This annotation may appear alongside with the video depending on the time that you want it to appear.

Related article: How to add annotation to your YouTube video

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

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