DIY Digital Footprint: Creating YouTube Thumbnails From Mobile Devices

As a content creator, you know the importance of a visually appealing thumbnail for YouTube videos. It gives your viewers a sneak peek of what they can expect from your video and helps it stand out in the crowded world of YouTube.

When creating your thumbnail, it’s important to remember that the recommended size is 1280 x 720 pixels and a minimum width of 640 pixels. With these dimensions in mind, let’s dive into how you can easily create stunning thumbnails for your YouTube videos using your mobile phone.

Method 1. Make a YouTube Thumbnail on iPhone With the iPhone Photos App

One way to create a thumbnail for your YouTube video on your iPhone is to use the built-in Photos app. The Photos app comes pre-installed on all iPhones and offers a range of editing tools you can use to create a thumbnail.

The Photos app on your iPhone offers a range of features that you can use to create a custom thumbnail for your YouTube video. Here are some of the features you can use:

• Crop: The crop tool allows you to resize and reposition your thumbnail image by trimming away any unnecessary parts of the image.
• Rotate: The rotate tool lets you adjust the orientation of your thumbnail image. You can rotate the image clockwise or counterclockwise to achieve the desired angle.
• Adjust lighting and color: The lighting and color tools allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and other aspects of the thumbnail image to enhance its overall appearance.
• Add text: You can use the text tool to add words or phrases to your thumbnail image. This can be a great way to include a call-to-action or to highlight a key feature of your video.
• Add filters and stickers: The Photos app includes a range of filters and stickers that you can use to give your thumbnail image a unique look. You can experiment with filters and stickers to find the perfect one for your thumbnail.

To create a thumbnail using the Photos app on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Step1 Open the Photos app and find the image you want to use as your thumbnail. Tap on the image to open it.

Step2 Tap the Edit button in the top right corner of the screen. Use the crop and rotate tools to adjust the perspective and the aspect ratio of 16:9.

Step3 Tap the Filters button to access the filter effects. Scroll through the available filters and tap on one to apply it to your thumbnail image.

Step4 To write or draw on the image, tap the Markup button. This will open a toolbar with a variety of drawing and text tools. Use these tools to add your personal touch to the thumbnail.

Step5 When you’re satisfied with your thumbnail, tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.

Pros

• Convenient
• Easy to use
• Versatile

Cons

• Limited customization option
• Lower image quality

This method is best for users looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail on the go and doesn’t need many customization options. It’s also a good option for users needing computer or graphic design software access. If you’re looking for more advanced customization options or higher image quality, consider using other methods or software.

Method 2. Make YouTube Thumbnails on Android/iPhone With Third-Party Apps

In addition to using the built-in Photos app on your iPhone or Android device, there are also many third-party apps that you can use to create YouTube thumbnails. Some popular options include Canva, Adobe Spark, and FotoJet. These apps offer a wider range of customization options and design templates, making it easy to create professional-looking thumbnails even if you have yet to gain graphic design experience.

One popular third-party app for creating YouTube thumbnails on both iPhone and Android devices is PixelLab. PixelLab is a powerful graphic design app with many features and tools for creating custom thumbnails. With PixelLab, you can add text, shapes, and stickers to your thumbnail image and adjust the image’s color, lighting, and other aspects to get the perfect look. You can also import your images or graphics for your thumbnail design.

Here are the steps to create a thumbnail using PixelLab on your Android or iOS device:

Step1 Open the Play Store and search for PixelLab. Install the app.

Step2 Tap the “+” icon to add an image from your gallery.

Step3 Edit the image using the available tools, such as cropping, rotating, and adjusting the color and lighting.

Step4 Add text to the image and customize it to your liking.

Step5 Change the resolution of the image to 1280 x 720 pixels.

Step6 Save the image to your gallery by exporting it.

Pros

• More customization options
• Advanced editing tools
• High image quality

Cons

• Requires a separate app download
• It may require a learning curve

This method is best for users looking for more advanced customization options and higher image quality for their YouTube thumbnails. It’s also a good option for users with experience with graphic design software and who are comfortable using advanced editing tools. If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail and only need a few customization options, consider using the built-in Photos app or other simpler methods.

How To Add Thumbnails to YouTube Videos on Mobile

Once you’ve created your thumbnail image, it’s time to add it to your YouTube video. Adding a thumbnail to your YouTube video on your mobile device is a simple process that only requires a few steps.

Here’s how to do it on your mobile device:

Step1 Open the YouTube app on your mobile device and sign in to your account.

Step2 Tap on the My Videos tab to view a list of your uploaded videos.

Step3 Tap on the video and tap the “Edit“ button in the top right corner of the screen.

Step4 Tap the Custom thumbnail button and upload the image you want to use from your photo library.

Step5 Tap Save in the top right corner to upload the thumbnail to your video.

That’s it! Your new thumbnail will now be displayed on your YouTube video, helping it stand out and attract more views. You can repeat this process for other videos if you want to add a custom thumbnail.

It May Interest You – Make YouTube Thumbnails on Windows/Mac

While it’s convenient to create YouTube thumbnails on your mobile device, there may be times when you need to create a thumbnail on your Windows or Mac computer.

For example, if you need to create a thumbnail with a higher resolution or more advanced customization options, you may find it easier to do so on a computer. Additionally, a computer may be more efficient if you’re working on a larger thumbnail project and need to create multiple thumbnails simultaneously.

One popular tool for creating YouTube thumbnails on a Windows or Mac computer is Filmora. Wondershare Filmora is a powerful video editing software that allows you to easily edit and enhance your YouTube videos and create custom thumbnails for your videos.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

With Filmora, you can add text, graphics, and special effects to your thumbnail image and import and edit multiple images. Filmora is a great tool for creating professional-looking YouTube thumbnails on your Windows or Mac computer.

To create a thumbnail using Filmora on your Windows or Mac computer, follow these steps:

Step1 Launch Filmora, add the picture to the timeline and select the AI Portrait option in the Effects panel to cut out the subject from the background.

Step2 Scale up and reposition the photo.

Step3 Add a new background to the track below the picture. Use the other editing tools in Filmora to customize the image as desired, such as adding text, graphics, and special effects.

Step4 When you are done editing the thumbnail, take a snapshot by clicking the camera icon.

Step5 Locate the thumbnail in your local drive.

For more detailed instructions and a visual guide, you can watch the following video tutorial:

Add a video

This video will show you how to use Filmora to create a custom thumbnail for your YouTube video, step by step.

People Also Ask

Here are some common questions that people have when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails on mobile.

Q1. What App Do Youtubers Use To Make Thumbnails?

There are many different apps and tools that YouTubers use to create thumbnails for their videos. The best app for creating YouTube thumbnails will depend on your needs and skill level.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail on your mobile device, start with the built-in Photos app or a third-party app like Canva. If you need more advanced customization options or are comfortable with graphic design software, consider using Adobe Photoshop or another tool.

Q2. What Is YouTube Thumbnail Size?

The recommended size for YouTube thumbnails is 1280 x 720 pixels. This size balances quality and file size, ensuring that your thumbnail looks sharp and loads quickly. It’s also important to note that YouTube thumbnails are displayed at different sizes depending on the device and context in which they are viewed.

For example, a thumbnail may be displayed at a larger size when it’s shown as the main thumbnail for a video but smaller when it’s shown in a list of related videos.

Q3. What Thumbnail Gets the Most Clicks?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the thumbnail that gets the most clicks can vary depending on the topic of your video, your target audience, and other factors.

However, the key to getting clicks on your thumbnail is to make it visually appealing and relevant to your video. Experiment with different thumbnail designs and track which ones get the most clicks to help you identify what works best for your channel.

Conclusion

Many tools are available for creating YouTube thumbnails, including the built-in Photos app on mobile devices and third-party apps like Pixelab. One particularly powerful option is Filmora, a video editing software with features for creating custom thumbnails, such as adding text, graphics, and special effects.

Whether you create your thumbnails on your mobile device or your computer, use a high-quality image and make the thumbnail relevant to your video to increase the chances of it getting clicked.

This method is best for users looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail on the go and doesn’t need many customization options. It’s also a good option for users needing computer or graphic design software access. If you’re looking for more advanced customization options or higher image quality, consider using other methods or software.

Method 2. Make YouTube Thumbnails on Android/iPhone With Third-Party Apps

In addition to using the built-in Photos app on your iPhone or Android device, there are also many third-party apps that you can use to create YouTube thumbnails. Some popular options include Canva, Adobe Spark, and FotoJet. These apps offer a wider range of customization options and design templates, making it easy to create professional-looking thumbnails even if you have yet to gain graphic design experience.

One popular third-party app for creating YouTube thumbnails on both iPhone and Android devices is PixelLab. PixelLab is a powerful graphic design app with many features and tools for creating custom thumbnails. With PixelLab, you can add text, shapes, and stickers to your thumbnail image and adjust the image’s color, lighting, and other aspects to get the perfect look. You can also import your images or graphics for your thumbnail design.

Here are the steps to create a thumbnail using PixelLab on your Android or iOS device:

Step1 Open the Play Store and search for PixelLab. Install the app.

Step2 Tap the “+” icon to add an image from your gallery.

Step3 Edit the image using the available tools, such as cropping, rotating, and adjusting the color and lighting.

Step4 Add text to the image and customize it to your liking.

Step5 Change the resolution of the image to 1280 x 720 pixels.

Step6 Save the image to your gallery by exporting it.

Pros

• More customization options
• Advanced editing tools
• High image quality

Cons

• Requires a separate app download
• It may require a learning curve

This method is best for users looking for more advanced customization options and higher image quality for their YouTube thumbnails. It’s also a good option for users with experience with graphic design software and who are comfortable using advanced editing tools. If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail and only need a few customization options, consider using the built-in Photos app or other simpler methods.

How To Add Thumbnails to YouTube Videos on Mobile

Once you’ve created your thumbnail image, it’s time to add it to your YouTube video. Adding a thumbnail to your YouTube video on your mobile device is a simple process that only requires a few steps.

Here’s how to do it on your mobile device:

Step1 Open the YouTube app on your mobile device and sign in to your account.

Step2 Tap on the My Videos tab to view a list of your uploaded videos.

Step3 Tap on the video and tap the “Edit“ button in the top right corner of the screen.

Step4 Tap the Custom thumbnail button and upload the image you want to use from your photo library.

Step5 Tap Save in the top right corner to upload the thumbnail to your video.

That’s it! Your new thumbnail will now be displayed on your YouTube video, helping it stand out and attract more views. You can repeat this process for other videos if you want to add a custom thumbnail.

It May Interest You – Make YouTube Thumbnails on Windows/Mac

While it’s convenient to create YouTube thumbnails on your mobile device, there may be times when you need to create a thumbnail on your Windows or Mac computer.

For example, if you need to create a thumbnail with a higher resolution or more advanced customization options, you may find it easier to do so on a computer. Additionally, a computer may be more efficient if you’re working on a larger thumbnail project and need to create multiple thumbnails simultaneously.

One popular tool for creating YouTube thumbnails on a Windows or Mac computer is Filmora. Wondershare Filmora is a powerful video editing software that allows you to easily edit and enhance your YouTube videos and create custom thumbnails for your videos.

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

With Filmora, you can add text, graphics, and special effects to your thumbnail image and import and edit multiple images. Filmora is a great tool for creating professional-looking YouTube thumbnails on your Windows or Mac computer.

To create a thumbnail using Filmora on your Windows or Mac computer, follow these steps:

Step1 Launch Filmora, add the picture to the timeline and select the AI Portrait option in the Effects panel to cut out the subject from the background.

Step2 Scale up and reposition the photo.

Step3 Add a new background to the track below the picture. Use the other editing tools in Filmora to customize the image as desired, such as adding text, graphics, and special effects.

Step4 When you are done editing the thumbnail, take a snapshot by clicking the camera icon.

Step5 Locate the thumbnail in your local drive.

For more detailed instructions and a visual guide, you can watch the following video tutorial:

Add a video

This video will show you how to use Filmora to create a custom thumbnail for your YouTube video, step by step.

People Also Ask

Here are some common questions that people have when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails on mobile.

Q1. What App Do Youtubers Use To Make Thumbnails?

There are many different apps and tools that YouTubers use to create thumbnails for their videos. The best app for creating YouTube thumbnails will depend on your needs and skill level.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create a thumbnail on your mobile device, start with the built-in Photos app or a third-party app like Canva. If you need more advanced customization options or are comfortable with graphic design software, consider using Adobe Photoshop or another tool.

Q2. What Is YouTube Thumbnail Size?

The recommended size for YouTube thumbnails is 1280 x 720 pixels. This size balances quality and file size, ensuring that your thumbnail looks sharp and loads quickly. It’s also important to note that YouTube thumbnails are displayed at different sizes depending on the device and context in which they are viewed.

For example, a thumbnail may be displayed at a larger size when it’s shown as the main thumbnail for a video but smaller when it’s shown in a list of related videos.

Q3. What Thumbnail Gets the Most Clicks?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the thumbnail that gets the most clicks can vary depending on the topic of your video, your target audience, and other factors.

However, the key to getting clicks on your thumbnail is to make it visually appealing and relevant to your video. Experiment with different thumbnail designs and track which ones get the most clicks to help you identify what works best for your channel.

Conclusion

Many tools are available for creating YouTube thumbnails, including the built-in Photos app on mobile devices and third-party apps like Pixelab. One particularly powerful option is Filmora, a video editing software with features for creating custom thumbnails, such as adding text, graphics, and special effects.

Whether you create your thumbnails on your mobile device or your computer, use a high-quality image and make the thumbnail relevant to your video to increase the chances of it getting clicked.

Mastering Collaborative Video Creation: A Guide to YouTube Partnering

YouTube Collaboration Guide to Find Partners and Make Collab Videos

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

If you watch YouTube then you don’t need to be told why it’s a good idea for creators to collaborate. You get the chance to grow by being introduced to your partner’s audience, you make a friend to support and be supported by as you both grow your channels, and it always looks like a ton of fun. The question isn’t why you should collab, it’s how.

Finding someone to collab with, approaching them, and figuring out how to actually make the video can be all be challenging. Here are some tips:

1. 6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners
2. How to Ask Someone to Collab
3. How to Make a Collab video
4. Launching Your Collab

Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora has all the essential features needed by a PC video editing app like creating slideshows, trimming, merging, cropping, adding background music, rotating videos as well as some special features like APP, motion elements, animated texts, overlays, and filters, etc., and finally, the users can upload their edited video to YouTube directly. Just get started and create your own YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora!

6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners

Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking for potential collaborators on YouTube.

1. Who Are My Friends?

The easiest way to think of a potential collab partner is just to think of who you’re already friendly with. The best place to look for collab partners is probably in your list of subscribers. Someone who already knows what you do and enjoys it will probably be receptive to the idea of doing a video with you.

You can even sort your own subscribers by their sub counts to find someone with about the same sized channel as you.

2. Who’s In The Same Boat as Me?

You don’t have to already have a friendship, or even a creator-subscriber, relationship with someone to consider them as a potential partner (although it’s not a bad idea to subscribe to them before you send your request).

Consider people who are in the same niche as you who have approximately the same sized channel as you. If you’re in different genres the collab doesn’t make sense, and if there’s a significant size difference between your channels then it’s a lot more valuable to one of you than the other.

3. What Can This Person Offer My Audience?

Part of why you collaborate is to grow your audience, but that should never be at the expense of your current subscriber base. Before you reach out to a potential collab partner, seriously consider whether you think your audience will enjoy a video that features them.

Your partner should be someone who delivers content that is relevant to your own audience (for example, it makes no sense for a tech YouTuber to collaborate with someone whose channel is about cupcakes – their techie audience doesn’t want to learn about cupcakes).

4. Do I Like Their Videos?

Before you send anyone a message, make sure you’ve watched and enjoyed a few of their videos. If you don’t find them entertaining then your audience probably won’t either. Also, if you don’t seem to have any knowledge of someone’s content then they probably won’t want to work with you.

5. What Kind of Videos Could We Make?

The time to start brainstorming is not after you’ve already sent a collab request. You should think of a few ideas before you reach out, both to show your potential partner that you’re serious and to ensure that your audience is getting well-planned content.

6. Who’s in My Area?

You can do a long-distance collab, but if it is possible to physically meet up with someone to plan and shoot the videos then that’s way better.

How to Ask Someone to Collab

Here’s an example of a collab pitch, and a template you can use to write your own! It’s from filmora.io’s free YouTube Toolkit, which you can download with the Get Subs Guide here .

Here are some more tips:

1. Use Their Name

This one probably seems basic, but it is very easy to send a message where you just say ‘hey’ and jump to your point without actually using someone’s name. That’s a mistake in this scenario. You want to let your potential partner know that you are specifically interested in working with them and aren’t just fishing for anyone who might work with you.

2. Mention Their Content

Show an interest in your future partner’s videos. You should have watched at least a couple of them as part of deciding to reach out, so mention a video of theirs that you liked and talk about why. Let the other person know that you genuinely enjoy what they do and think your audience will too.

3. Pitch Video Ideas

You should have a couple of ideas for videos you could do together ready when you contact someone. You don’t want to reach out to someone and then seem like you expect them to do all the planning. You may not end up doing one of the ideas you pitch, but you’ll still come off better if you have something in mind when you first send your message.

4. Keep Your Message Simple

You don’t want to overwhelm someone with a huge amount of text the first time you contact them. Check out the example at the beginning of this section to get an idea of the length you should go for.

5. Be an Equal

Remember that you are just as wonderful a creator as the person you are approaching. You don’t want to fawn too heavily and cast yourself more as a fan than a serious creator in your own right (not that you can’t be both).

6. Most Creators Have an Email Address on Their Channel Page

It usually isn’t difficult to find contact information for a YouTuber. If you go to someone’s channel page and click into the About tab, there will usually be a section called ‘For business inquiries’ under ‘Details’. Click ‘View Email Address’ next to that and you’ll have a means of contacting the person you want to collaborate with.

You can also reach out through DMs or other social media. If you use a platform like Twitter, however, you may want to be a bit more casual and start a conversation before building up to asking them about a collab.

How to Make a Collab Video

Here are 3 ways you can collaborate with other YouTubers.

Shout Each Other Out

This is the easiest way to collab because you don’t have to meet up or do much planning together. Essentially, you just make your own video and let everyone know how much you like your partner’s channel (combined with linking your viewers to them), and they do the same.

Make sure to agree beforehand on how long you’ll spend plugging each other in your videos, so one of you doesn’t go on way longer than the other.

This probably isn’t a hugely effective method of collaborating if your goal is to grow (I wouldn’t check out someone’s channel just because I was told to), but it certainly is easy.

Be Guests in Each Other’s Videos

This might be the most fun type of collab to watch. The person whose channel the video appears on is the ‘host’ and the video is done in something closer to their usual style (which will be more appealing to their subscribers), and their collab partner is a guest. You might want to do two of these videos so you each have one for your own channel.

Depending on your YouTube niche, you might do a fun activity together or you might interview your guest about a subject you think your subscribers are interested in.

In order to pull off a collab like this, you need to be able to meet in person.

Long Distance Collaborations

It’s harder to collab if you can’t meet up, but it isn’t impossible. You can exchange footage to use in each other’s videos, or you can record a Google Hangout or Skype chat.

Launching Your Collab

Here are some tips for making sure both you and your partner get the most out of the collab videos you’ve made.

Agree on a Launch Date/Time

If you each have a video for your own channel then you want to make sure those go up at the same time. It’ll be awkward if you post your video and shout out your partner/their collab video and when people go to check that out it isn’t up.

You may want to post your videos as unlisted initially if you’re worried about one of you taking longer to upload. Then, once your videos are both completely ready to go, you can switch their listing to ‘public’ at the exact same time.

Promote Your Collab

Before you post your collab videos, you might want to build hype by mentioning the upcoming collab video in your solo videos leading up to it. If you and your partner are active on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, you can do things like post behind the scenes pictures of your collab videos to generate excitement.

Comment on Each Other’s Videos

After you’ve posted your collabs, make sure to leave each other comments about how much fun it was working together. You might want to interact publicly on social media too. Overall, just be friends. You want to maintain this relationship to leave the door open to future collabs, and your viewers will want to believe in your friendship too. Your partner’s subscribers are more likely to be interested in you when they feel like you’re buddies with one of their favorite creators.

Make sure to discuss how much promotion you’ll each do for the collab before and after it launches. If one of you does a ton of promotion and the other just does one tweet, it won’t make the person who’s done way more promotion feel great.

Have you ever collaborated on YouTube? If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and what kind of video would you make?

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

If you watch YouTube then you don’t need to be told why it’s a good idea for creators to collaborate. You get the chance to grow by being introduced to your partner’s audience, you make a friend to support and be supported by as you both grow your channels, and it always looks like a ton of fun. The question isn’t why you should collab, it’s how.

Finding someone to collab with, approaching them, and figuring out how to actually make the video can be all be challenging. Here are some tips:

1. 6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners
2. How to Ask Someone to Collab
3. How to Make a Collab video
4. Launching Your Collab

Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora has all the essential features needed by a PC video editing app like creating slideshows, trimming, merging, cropping, adding background music, rotating videos as well as some special features like APP, motion elements, animated texts, overlays, and filters, etc., and finally, the users can upload their edited video to YouTube directly. Just get started and create your own YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora!

6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners

Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking for potential collaborators on YouTube.

1. Who Are My Friends?

The easiest way to think of a potential collab partner is just to think of who you’re already friendly with. The best place to look for collab partners is probably in your list of subscribers. Someone who already knows what you do and enjoys it will probably be receptive to the idea of doing a video with you.

You can even sort your own subscribers by their sub counts to find someone with about the same sized channel as you.

2. Who’s In The Same Boat as Me?

You don’t have to already have a friendship, or even a creator-subscriber, relationship with someone to consider them as a potential partner (although it’s not a bad idea to subscribe to them before you send your request).

Consider people who are in the same niche as you who have approximately the same sized channel as you. If you’re in different genres the collab doesn’t make sense, and if there’s a significant size difference between your channels then it’s a lot more valuable to one of you than the other.

3. What Can This Person Offer My Audience?

Part of why you collaborate is to grow your audience, but that should never be at the expense of your current subscriber base. Before you reach out to a potential collab partner, seriously consider whether you think your audience will enjoy a video that features them.

Your partner should be someone who delivers content that is relevant to your own audience (for example, it makes no sense for a tech YouTuber to collaborate with someone whose channel is about cupcakes – their techie audience doesn’t want to learn about cupcakes).

4. Do I Like Their Videos?

Before you send anyone a message, make sure you’ve watched and enjoyed a few of their videos. If you don’t find them entertaining then your audience probably won’t either. Also, if you don’t seem to have any knowledge of someone’s content then they probably won’t want to work with you.

5. What Kind of Videos Could We Make?

The time to start brainstorming is not after you’ve already sent a collab request. You should think of a few ideas before you reach out, both to show your potential partner that you’re serious and to ensure that your audience is getting well-planned content.

6. Who’s in My Area?

You can do a long-distance collab, but if it is possible to physically meet up with someone to plan and shoot the videos then that’s way better.

How to Ask Someone to Collab

Here’s an example of a collab pitch, and a template you can use to write your own! It’s from filmora.io’s free YouTube Toolkit, which you can download with the Get Subs Guide here .

Here are some more tips:

1. Use Their Name

This one probably seems basic, but it is very easy to send a message where you just say ‘hey’ and jump to your point without actually using someone’s name. That’s a mistake in this scenario. You want to let your potential partner know that you are specifically interested in working with them and aren’t just fishing for anyone who might work with you.

2. Mention Their Content

Show an interest in your future partner’s videos. You should have watched at least a couple of them as part of deciding to reach out, so mention a video of theirs that you liked and talk about why. Let the other person know that you genuinely enjoy what they do and think your audience will too.

3. Pitch Video Ideas

You should have a couple of ideas for videos you could do together ready when you contact someone. You don’t want to reach out to someone and then seem like you expect them to do all the planning. You may not end up doing one of the ideas you pitch, but you’ll still come off better if you have something in mind when you first send your message.

4. Keep Your Message Simple

You don’t want to overwhelm someone with a huge amount of text the first time you contact them. Check out the example at the beginning of this section to get an idea of the length you should go for.

5. Be an Equal

Remember that you are just as wonderful a creator as the person you are approaching. You don’t want to fawn too heavily and cast yourself more as a fan than a serious creator in your own right (not that you can’t be both).

6. Most Creators Have an Email Address on Their Channel Page

It usually isn’t difficult to find contact information for a YouTuber. If you go to someone’s channel page and click into the About tab, there will usually be a section called ‘For business inquiries’ under ‘Details’. Click ‘View Email Address’ next to that and you’ll have a means of contacting the person you want to collaborate with.

You can also reach out through DMs or other social media. If you use a platform like Twitter, however, you may want to be a bit more casual and start a conversation before building up to asking them about a collab.

How to Make a Collab Video

Here are 3 ways you can collaborate with other YouTubers.

Shout Each Other Out

This is the easiest way to collab because you don’t have to meet up or do much planning together. Essentially, you just make your own video and let everyone know how much you like your partner’s channel (combined with linking your viewers to them), and they do the same.

Make sure to agree beforehand on how long you’ll spend plugging each other in your videos, so one of you doesn’t go on way longer than the other.

This probably isn’t a hugely effective method of collaborating if your goal is to grow (I wouldn’t check out someone’s channel just because I was told to), but it certainly is easy.

Be Guests in Each Other’s Videos

This might be the most fun type of collab to watch. The person whose channel the video appears on is the ‘host’ and the video is done in something closer to their usual style (which will be more appealing to their subscribers), and their collab partner is a guest. You might want to do two of these videos so you each have one for your own channel.

Depending on your YouTube niche, you might do a fun activity together or you might interview your guest about a subject you think your subscribers are interested in.

In order to pull off a collab like this, you need to be able to meet in person.

Long Distance Collaborations

It’s harder to collab if you can’t meet up, but it isn’t impossible. You can exchange footage to use in each other’s videos, or you can record a Google Hangout or Skype chat.

Launching Your Collab

Here are some tips for making sure both you and your partner get the most out of the collab videos you’ve made.

Agree on a Launch Date/Time

If you each have a video for your own channel then you want to make sure those go up at the same time. It’ll be awkward if you post your video and shout out your partner/their collab video and when people go to check that out it isn’t up.

You may want to post your videos as unlisted initially if you’re worried about one of you taking longer to upload. Then, once your videos are both completely ready to go, you can switch their listing to ‘public’ at the exact same time.

Promote Your Collab

Before you post your collab videos, you might want to build hype by mentioning the upcoming collab video in your solo videos leading up to it. If you and your partner are active on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, you can do things like post behind the scenes pictures of your collab videos to generate excitement.

Comment on Each Other’s Videos

After you’ve posted your collabs, make sure to leave each other comments about how much fun it was working together. You might want to interact publicly on social media too. Overall, just be friends. You want to maintain this relationship to leave the door open to future collabs, and your viewers will want to believe in your friendship too. Your partner’s subscribers are more likely to be interested in you when they feel like you’re buddies with one of their favorite creators.

Make sure to discuss how much promotion you’ll each do for the collab before and after it launches. If one of you does a ton of promotion and the other just does one tweet, it won’t make the person who’s done way more promotion feel great.

Have you ever collaborated on YouTube? If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and what kind of video would you make?

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

If you watch YouTube then you don’t need to be told why it’s a good idea for creators to collaborate. You get the chance to grow by being introduced to your partner’s audience, you make a friend to support and be supported by as you both grow your channels, and it always looks like a ton of fun. The question isn’t why you should collab, it’s how.

Finding someone to collab with, approaching them, and figuring out how to actually make the video can be all be challenging. Here are some tips:

1. 6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners
2. How to Ask Someone to Collab
3. How to Make a Collab video
4. Launching Your Collab

Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora has all the essential features needed by a PC video editing app like creating slideshows, trimming, merging, cropping, adding background music, rotating videos as well as some special features like APP, motion elements, animated texts, overlays, and filters, etc., and finally, the users can upload their edited video to YouTube directly. Just get started and create your own YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora!

6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners

Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking for potential collaborators on YouTube.

1. Who Are My Friends?

The easiest way to think of a potential collab partner is just to think of who you’re already friendly with. The best place to look for collab partners is probably in your list of subscribers. Someone who already knows what you do and enjoys it will probably be receptive to the idea of doing a video with you.

You can even sort your own subscribers by their sub counts to find someone with about the same sized channel as you.

2. Who’s In The Same Boat as Me?

You don’t have to already have a friendship, or even a creator-subscriber, relationship with someone to consider them as a potential partner (although it’s not a bad idea to subscribe to them before you send your request).

Consider people who are in the same niche as you who have approximately the same sized channel as you. If you’re in different genres the collab doesn’t make sense, and if there’s a significant size difference between your channels then it’s a lot more valuable to one of you than the other.

3. What Can This Person Offer My Audience?

Part of why you collaborate is to grow your audience, but that should never be at the expense of your current subscriber base. Before you reach out to a potential collab partner, seriously consider whether you think your audience will enjoy a video that features them.

Your partner should be someone who delivers content that is relevant to your own audience (for example, it makes no sense for a tech YouTuber to collaborate with someone whose channel is about cupcakes – their techie audience doesn’t want to learn about cupcakes).

4. Do I Like Their Videos?

Before you send anyone a message, make sure you’ve watched and enjoyed a few of their videos. If you don’t find them entertaining then your audience probably won’t either. Also, if you don’t seem to have any knowledge of someone’s content then they probably won’t want to work with you.

5. What Kind of Videos Could We Make?

The time to start brainstorming is not after you’ve already sent a collab request. You should think of a few ideas before you reach out, both to show your potential partner that you’re serious and to ensure that your audience is getting well-planned content.

6. Who’s in My Area?

You can do a long-distance collab, but if it is possible to physically meet up with someone to plan and shoot the videos then that’s way better.

How to Ask Someone to Collab

Here’s an example of a collab pitch, and a template you can use to write your own! It’s from filmora.io’s free YouTube Toolkit, which you can download with the Get Subs Guide here .

Here are some more tips:

1. Use Their Name

This one probably seems basic, but it is very easy to send a message where you just say ‘hey’ and jump to your point without actually using someone’s name. That’s a mistake in this scenario. You want to let your potential partner know that you are specifically interested in working with them and aren’t just fishing for anyone who might work with you.

2. Mention Their Content

Show an interest in your future partner’s videos. You should have watched at least a couple of them as part of deciding to reach out, so mention a video of theirs that you liked and talk about why. Let the other person know that you genuinely enjoy what they do and think your audience will too.

3. Pitch Video Ideas

You should have a couple of ideas for videos you could do together ready when you contact someone. You don’t want to reach out to someone and then seem like you expect them to do all the planning. You may not end up doing one of the ideas you pitch, but you’ll still come off better if you have something in mind when you first send your message.

4. Keep Your Message Simple

You don’t want to overwhelm someone with a huge amount of text the first time you contact them. Check out the example at the beginning of this section to get an idea of the length you should go for.

5. Be an Equal

Remember that you are just as wonderful a creator as the person you are approaching. You don’t want to fawn too heavily and cast yourself more as a fan than a serious creator in your own right (not that you can’t be both).

6. Most Creators Have an Email Address on Their Channel Page

It usually isn’t difficult to find contact information for a YouTuber. If you go to someone’s channel page and click into the About tab, there will usually be a section called ‘For business inquiries’ under ‘Details’. Click ‘View Email Address’ next to that and you’ll have a means of contacting the person you want to collaborate with.

You can also reach out through DMs or other social media. If you use a platform like Twitter, however, you may want to be a bit more casual and start a conversation before building up to asking them about a collab.

How to Make a Collab Video

Here are 3 ways you can collaborate with other YouTubers.

Shout Each Other Out

This is the easiest way to collab because you don’t have to meet up or do much planning together. Essentially, you just make your own video and let everyone know how much you like your partner’s channel (combined with linking your viewers to them), and they do the same.

Make sure to agree beforehand on how long you’ll spend plugging each other in your videos, so one of you doesn’t go on way longer than the other.

This probably isn’t a hugely effective method of collaborating if your goal is to grow (I wouldn’t check out someone’s channel just because I was told to), but it certainly is easy.

Be Guests in Each Other’s Videos

This might be the most fun type of collab to watch. The person whose channel the video appears on is the ‘host’ and the video is done in something closer to their usual style (which will be more appealing to their subscribers), and their collab partner is a guest. You might want to do two of these videos so you each have one for your own channel.

Depending on your YouTube niche, you might do a fun activity together or you might interview your guest about a subject you think your subscribers are interested in.

In order to pull off a collab like this, you need to be able to meet in person.

Long Distance Collaborations

It’s harder to collab if you can’t meet up, but it isn’t impossible. You can exchange footage to use in each other’s videos, or you can record a Google Hangout or Skype chat.

Launching Your Collab

Here are some tips for making sure both you and your partner get the most out of the collab videos you’ve made.

Agree on a Launch Date/Time

If you each have a video for your own channel then you want to make sure those go up at the same time. It’ll be awkward if you post your video and shout out your partner/their collab video and when people go to check that out it isn’t up.

You may want to post your videos as unlisted initially if you’re worried about one of you taking longer to upload. Then, once your videos are both completely ready to go, you can switch their listing to ‘public’ at the exact same time.

Promote Your Collab

Before you post your collab videos, you might want to build hype by mentioning the upcoming collab video in your solo videos leading up to it. If you and your partner are active on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, you can do things like post behind the scenes pictures of your collab videos to generate excitement.

Comment on Each Other’s Videos

After you’ve posted your collabs, make sure to leave each other comments about how much fun it was working together. You might want to interact publicly on social media too. Overall, just be friends. You want to maintain this relationship to leave the door open to future collabs, and your viewers will want to believe in your friendship too. Your partner’s subscribers are more likely to be interested in you when they feel like you’re buddies with one of their favorite creators.

Make sure to discuss how much promotion you’ll each do for the collab before and after it launches. If one of you does a ton of promotion and the other just does one tweet, it won’t make the person who’s done way more promotion feel great.

Have you ever collaborated on YouTube? If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and what kind of video would you make?

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

If you watch YouTube then you don’t need to be told why it’s a good idea for creators to collaborate. You get the chance to grow by being introduced to your partner’s audience, you make a friend to support and be supported by as you both grow your channels, and it always looks like a ton of fun. The question isn’t why you should collab, it’s how.

Finding someone to collab with, approaching them, and figuring out how to actually make the video can be all be challenging. Here are some tips:

1. 6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners
2. How to Ask Someone to Collab
3. How to Make a Collab video
4. Launching Your Collab

Best YouTube Video Editor–Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora has all the essential features needed by a PC video editing app like creating slideshows, trimming, merging, cropping, adding background music, rotating videos as well as some special features like APP, motion elements, animated texts, overlays, and filters, etc., and finally, the users can upload their edited video to YouTube directly. Just get started and create your own YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora!

6 Tips About Finding Collab Partners

Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking for potential collaborators on YouTube.

1. Who Are My Friends?

The easiest way to think of a potential collab partner is just to think of who you’re already friendly with. The best place to look for collab partners is probably in your list of subscribers. Someone who already knows what you do and enjoys it will probably be receptive to the idea of doing a video with you.

You can even sort your own subscribers by their sub counts to find someone with about the same sized channel as you.

2. Who’s In The Same Boat as Me?

You don’t have to already have a friendship, or even a creator-subscriber, relationship with someone to consider them as a potential partner (although it’s not a bad idea to subscribe to them before you send your request).

Consider people who are in the same niche as you who have approximately the same sized channel as you. If you’re in different genres the collab doesn’t make sense, and if there’s a significant size difference between your channels then it’s a lot more valuable to one of you than the other.

3. What Can This Person Offer My Audience?

Part of why you collaborate is to grow your audience, but that should never be at the expense of your current subscriber base. Before you reach out to a potential collab partner, seriously consider whether you think your audience will enjoy a video that features them.

Your partner should be someone who delivers content that is relevant to your own audience (for example, it makes no sense for a tech YouTuber to collaborate with someone whose channel is about cupcakes – their techie audience doesn’t want to learn about cupcakes).

4. Do I Like Their Videos?

Before you send anyone a message, make sure you’ve watched and enjoyed a few of their videos. If you don’t find them entertaining then your audience probably won’t either. Also, if you don’t seem to have any knowledge of someone’s content then they probably won’t want to work with you.

5. What Kind of Videos Could We Make?

The time to start brainstorming is not after you’ve already sent a collab request. You should think of a few ideas before you reach out, both to show your potential partner that you’re serious and to ensure that your audience is getting well-planned content.

6. Who’s in My Area?

You can do a long-distance collab, but if it is possible to physically meet up with someone to plan and shoot the videos then that’s way better.

How to Ask Someone to Collab

Here’s an example of a collab pitch, and a template you can use to write your own! It’s from filmora.io’s free YouTube Toolkit, which you can download with the Get Subs Guide here .

Here are some more tips:

1. Use Their Name

This one probably seems basic, but it is very easy to send a message where you just say ‘hey’ and jump to your point without actually using someone’s name. That’s a mistake in this scenario. You want to let your potential partner know that you are specifically interested in working with them and aren’t just fishing for anyone who might work with you.

2. Mention Their Content

Show an interest in your future partner’s videos. You should have watched at least a couple of them as part of deciding to reach out, so mention a video of theirs that you liked and talk about why. Let the other person know that you genuinely enjoy what they do and think your audience will too.

3. Pitch Video Ideas

You should have a couple of ideas for videos you could do together ready when you contact someone. You don’t want to reach out to someone and then seem like you expect them to do all the planning. You may not end up doing one of the ideas you pitch, but you’ll still come off better if you have something in mind when you first send your message.

4. Keep Your Message Simple

You don’t want to overwhelm someone with a huge amount of text the first time you contact them. Check out the example at the beginning of this section to get an idea of the length you should go for.

5. Be an Equal

Remember that you are just as wonderful a creator as the person you are approaching. You don’t want to fawn too heavily and cast yourself more as a fan than a serious creator in your own right (not that you can’t be both).

6. Most Creators Have an Email Address on Their Channel Page

It usually isn’t difficult to find contact information for a YouTuber. If you go to someone’s channel page and click into the About tab, there will usually be a section called ‘For business inquiries’ under ‘Details’. Click ‘View Email Address’ next to that and you’ll have a means of contacting the person you want to collaborate with.

You can also reach out through DMs or other social media. If you use a platform like Twitter, however, you may want to be a bit more casual and start a conversation before building up to asking them about a collab.

How to Make a Collab Video

Here are 3 ways you can collaborate with other YouTubers.

Shout Each Other Out

This is the easiest way to collab because you don’t have to meet up or do much planning together. Essentially, you just make your own video and let everyone know how much you like your partner’s channel (combined with linking your viewers to them), and they do the same.

Make sure to agree beforehand on how long you’ll spend plugging each other in your videos, so one of you doesn’t go on way longer than the other.

This probably isn’t a hugely effective method of collaborating if your goal is to grow (I wouldn’t check out someone’s channel just because I was told to), but it certainly is easy.

Be Guests in Each Other’s Videos

This might be the most fun type of collab to watch. The person whose channel the video appears on is the ‘host’ and the video is done in something closer to their usual style (which will be more appealing to their subscribers), and their collab partner is a guest. You might want to do two of these videos so you each have one for your own channel.

Depending on your YouTube niche, you might do a fun activity together or you might interview your guest about a subject you think your subscribers are interested in.

In order to pull off a collab like this, you need to be able to meet in person.

Long Distance Collaborations

It’s harder to collab if you can’t meet up, but it isn’t impossible. You can exchange footage to use in each other’s videos, or you can record a Google Hangout or Skype chat.

Launching Your Collab

Here are some tips for making sure both you and your partner get the most out of the collab videos you’ve made.

Agree on a Launch Date/Time

If you each have a video for your own channel then you want to make sure those go up at the same time. It’ll be awkward if you post your video and shout out your partner/their collab video and when people go to check that out it isn’t up.

You may want to post your videos as unlisted initially if you’re worried about one of you taking longer to upload. Then, once your videos are both completely ready to go, you can switch their listing to ‘public’ at the exact same time.

Promote Your Collab

Before you post your collab videos, you might want to build hype by mentioning the upcoming collab video in your solo videos leading up to it. If you and your partner are active on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, you can do things like post behind the scenes pictures of your collab videos to generate excitement.

Comment on Each Other’s Videos

After you’ve posted your collabs, make sure to leave each other comments about how much fun it was working together. You might want to interact publicly on social media too. Overall, just be friends. You want to maintain this relationship to leave the door open to future collabs, and your viewers will want to believe in your friendship too. Your partner’s subscribers are more likely to be interested in you when they feel like you’re buddies with one of their favorite creators.

Make sure to discuss how much promotion you’ll each do for the collab before and after it launches. If one of you does a ton of promotion and the other just does one tweet, it won’t make the person who’s done way more promotion feel great.

Have you ever collaborated on YouTube? If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and what kind of video would you make?

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

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