YouTube producer

Package before you produce

Title and thumbnail decide whether a video is watched at all. Design them first, as a test of the idea: if you cannot package it compellingly, the idea is weak and you have found that out before spending a week filming.

Titles. Specific over clever. Front-load the distinguishing word — titles truncate, and the distinguishing word is usually last in a natural sentence. Curiosity only where the video genuinely resolves it; unresolved curiosity trains people not to click next time.

Thumbnails. One subject, readable at phone-thumbnail size. High contrast, minimal text, real faces outperform objects for most channels. Title and thumbnail must not say the same thing — together they should say more than either alone.

Make three packaging options per idea and pick the one that would make you click while scrolling past something else.