How to Create an Effective YouTube Channel Art in 2021

What is YouTube Channel Art?

Your channel art or “Channel Header Image” or “YouTube Banner” is the image that appears on the top of your channel which can be compared to a Facebook cover image. Banner artwork is the first impression of your content which the target audience will see when they visit your page. Your YT channel art is a vital segment of your channel’s branding. Conveying your content’s significance, it also has space at the right bottom corner to share links to your website.

The logic is as simple as it could be:

Effective & specialized Channel art results in gaining more wider audience and gives a professional appearance to your content. My own personal aesthetic is all to do with a free YouTube channel banner, your creativity & the brand’s best potential to help people envision the art of the possible channel attributes with respect to consumer behaviour & need.

More than 500 hours of content is uploaded every minute, as of 2019 on YouTube.  The search engine is a juggernaut & powerhouse publishing network that is slowly replacing traditional media. But with such fierce competition, the platform has not reached saturation yet. Your channel artwork requires to be as professional as it can be to drive users to engage more. Principally, creators use it to visually launch their channel’s identity, for which many of them buy YouTube subscribers too.

When creating channel art, you must ask yourself what value proposition you want to deliver to the new visitors of your channel?

Your YouTube channel art is your billboard and one of the key elements of any successful channel. It is your way of expressing to the YT community who you are, what your channel is about, and why they should be watching your videos. A well-formulated channel art represents the viewer, what they can expect from your channel. It also includes thumbnails, banners, watermarks, and icons.

Whether you’ve just started a YT journey or you want to get more subscribers, the importance of an eye-catchy channel banner cannot be disregarded.

You can use this horizontal background to convey material information about your channel, including your upload schedule, tagline, social media accounts, and more.

Why YouTube Channel Art is a Must?

• Increase in Audience-

  Consistent and decipherable pictorial brandingare crucial for growing your YT following.  If a viewer enjoys your videos, he/she may click your link and visit your channel. But if you haven’t uploaded any channel art, or your template lacks good design, viewers may feel you are unprofessional or inexperienced. Creating a compelling appearance for your channel with an optimized channel art template can help you convert your target audience to watch your content and subscribe to you.

• Gives your Brand Identification & Recognition-

  By humanizing & personalizing your profile, channel art represents your brand and increases its awareness, advocacy, creditability, and recognition.

• Helps Content Reach Wider Target Audience-

  Channel banner is the first imperative step in marketing your channel. When you have consistent content and professional branding, you’ll get more eyes on your videos.

Also read: How to create a YouTube video that attracts audience

What is the YouTube Channel Art Size?

A YT channel art works efficiently when uploaded as a 2560 x 1440 px image. The smallest dimensions for upload are 2048 x 1152 px. The text and logo “safe-area” of your channel art is the 1546 x 423-pixel space in the middle in file size of 6 MB. But if your image is greater than this, your image can get cropped on some devices.

Leveraging a professional YouTube channel banner template can help you to create a banner within the perfect recommendations.

Now, we will learn how to make channel art that promotes your brand and tempts the target audience to watch your content.

How to Make YouTube Channel Art

Starting with a free YouTube channel art, you can create your own customized templates for your brand. You can use Adobe Photoshop for the same.

Step 1- First, download the channel art templates. Then you will see separate fonts and image files. Double tap on the font file of your designated theme to upload the font to your device. And hit the install font tab.

Step 2- To open a file in Photoshop, double click the image file

Step 3- Now, choose a free YouTube channel art template

Step 4- Double click the text you want to edit and change fonts and colors in the menu on the left side.

Step 5- To change the colour block or background, double click the colour block you want to edit. You can also, change the size or use the menu on the left-hand side to change the colour.

Step 6- To edit a photo or image, double click the photo you want to edit and click insert a new image. Give your image the size required.

Step 7- Save your template, by selecting it and go to Save>Export As>Artboard to Files. Remember to save it as a .jpg or .png.

Step 8- Upload your channel art

• Open YouTube

• Head to My Channelfrom the top-right menu.

• ClickAdd channel art. When changing existing channel art, go to your existing banner and click Edit.

• Now upload an image/photo from your desktop or click the Gallery tab to choose an image from the YT photo library.

• Now, you can broadcast how the art will appear on different devices. To edit, click Adjust the crop.

• Hit Select. Voila! You just created a Channel banner for your channel.

YouTube Channel Art – Best Practices

1. Headline

Starting with the channel headline, we recommend not extending it beyond 10 words. Your target must be to create a tagline that is unique & succinctly conveys to the target audience who you are. Also, it must summarize the value your content brings to them.

To write a compelling headline, leverage the AIDA structure (attention – interest – desire – action) to brainstorm ideas.

• Make sure, that your headline is clearly perceptible in your channel art.

• Use intrigue, humour, and infrequent phrasing to write a headline that provokes eagerness among viewers.

• Put forward a required target goal for viewers.

• Share your enthusiasm!

2. Uploading Schedule

You can represent your posting schedule in your channel banner to tell your target audience when they can view fresh arrivals on your channel. This will reflect the reliability, authoritativeness, & credibility of your content.

Also read: YouTube Channel Niche

3. Call to Action

A persuading call-to-action to your target audience to engage with your content in terms of likes, comments, shares, or to subscribe to your channel on YT is a vital step in your YT marketing strategy, which is also an important component of your channel art. You can add images, buttons, text or other reminders that prompt action from your viewers.

4. Add Links

Links are a great way to provide the target audience with a fast connection to your website. You can also include the option to link to your other social profiles.

To add links to your channel art:

Step 1- Go to your channel. Hit “Customize channel” and click the “cog” icon underneath your channel art.

Step 2- In the Channel Settings, enable the “Customize the layout of your channel” option.

Step 3- Hit “Save” and go back to your channel homepage.

Step 4- After enabling customizations, go to “Edit links” option in the top right corner of your channel art.

Step 5- Click “Edit links” and go to “About” page. Now add links and select how many of them you want to appear on your channel art.

5. Go for an Image that Represents your Channel

Choose an image that let your target audience know, the topic of your channel and what makes it unique.

6. Use your Brand Colours Constantly

Make sure to use your brand colours to help viewers recognize your channel and your videos.

7. Use your Face

You can add a photo of yourself to your channel art to make your channel promptly identifiable, and give your profile an amiable, amicable appearance.

8. Leverage Image Collage

You can target multi-images/collage in your channel banner, to let the audience know the topics that the channel inclines to cover.

9. Place your Logo, in the Right Place

Put your logo in a noticeable spot with a colour that makes it look more distinguishable.

10. Go for High-Resolution Images

A low-resolution, pixelated, or blurred banner cannot give the imprint of a professional channel, and make the audience leave.

11. Verify that the Banner is both Desktop & Mobile Friendly

After uploading it on your channel, view it from desktop computers, tablets, TVs, and mobile devices. The best part is, YT makes this laid-back job by showing you a preview of your channel art.

Though there are many other highly considerable factors when it comes to optimizing YouTube channels to grow the community, creating an admirable banner can work as a cherry on top. Now, if you are able to cater to the needs of your viewers but still wish to get more subscribers, then, before purchasing to gain real YouTube subscribers, you should consider applying all of your creativity in your channel’s banner.

Subscribers delivered by genuine websites are real and active users who will only subscribe to your channel if they find your channel worth subscribing to. The banner will contribute to your channel’s branding, thus creating an identity for it. Designing a banner is not as difficult as it used to be. You do not need to hire any designer for it. Instead, you can create the banner simply using various free apps such as Canva.

Now if you wish to get reviews about the banner, then you can buy YouTube comments to receive honest feedback from the viewers. You can put a request note in your video’s description to know if they like the channel header image or not because it is going to represent your brand and will help you reach wider audiences.

YouTube Channel Banner Template

Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is free YouTube channel art that allows you to select a colour scheme with a solitary click. You can create compelling channel art/banner with the ready-made combinations available, or select your own colors to represent your brand most properly. With the help of this tool, you can add images, shapes, text, icons and change the alignment of elements, replace fundamentals like CTAs or edit them until you’re satisfied.

Use Fotor

Fotor is another free YT channel art tool that has a feature unambiguously premeditated for creating Channel Art/banner. You can create an eye-catchy & informing banner in a few simple steps. With a vast collection of templates, you can upload your photos, images, add text and export your channel artwork easily.

Canva or Snappa

Canva and Snappa are both provide free YouTube banner which is of first-class quality. They have more vigorous features than Fotor, which allows for more unique designs. These tools help you upload your images and customize their shape and size with crop and frame features. You can also, change the text and font style for your own personal channel memorandum.

I hope you found this as a useful guide to know, how to create an effective YouTube channel art to grow a YouTube channel.

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