The A To Z Of YouTube End Screens

March 1, 2022
Contents

There is a famous saying “All’s well that ends well”. While YouTube videos are usually homemade video content, having a good ending to your video will make it stand out more. This will elevate your video content as well.

While it is important to gain subscribers, increase viewership, get more likes, incorporating end screens to your videos is also critical. Here’s a guide to what are end screens, how to add one to your video, and some related tips.

What Is A YouTube End Screen?

Sample of an End Screen (credits to furrylittlepeach)

With over 5 billion YouTube videos viewed every day, your YouTube channel should not solely depend on content. To rank high in searches, YouTube end screens play a very important role.

An end screen can be referred to as a feature that sits on the end of your YouTube video as an overlay for the last 5 to 20 seconds. End screens can contain links to videos and playlists, a ‘Subscribe; button ad, promote merchandise and crowdfunding, and can also link to your website.

It doesn’t matter if you are starting out now. YouTube end screens enable more traffic and views on your videos. They serve as a great way to grab your audience’s attention and make them come back for more content.  It can be used to drive more visits and sales from YouTube.

Why Having A YouTube End Screen Important?

You must have heard of YouTube tool called ‘annotations’. It was a feature available for desktop users where the creators were able to add links to other videos. YouTube end screen is an upgrade in that matter as it is mobile friendly too. With the increase in the number of YouTube views from mobile phones, end screens serve as attention retaining and spiking user engagement tools.

End screens are said to have been very helpful in improving the watch time of your channels. So, how does this work? Well, once you upload great content and convince your viewers to watch more of your videos by using end screens, the YouTube algorithm helps you to increase the watch time of your channel plus increase your subscribers.

  • It enables your audience to watch more videos from your YouTube account more easily. Had it not been there, your audience would have clicked on other videos suggested on the sidebar that may not be by you.
  • It is an incredibly valuable feature to encourage specific actions from viewers. This can include purchasing or promoting the same products, subscribe to some channel, or visit another site for some information.
  • It acts as a long term marketing plan.

After the basics, it’s time to dive into the technicalities. We will cover the requirements or specifications for YouTube end screens followed by their use.

YouTube end screen specifications:

  • Duration: minimum of 5 seconds to a maximum of 20 seconds. It completely depends on you to choose the time, but the longer the better. This gives viewers some time to click.
  • Size specification: For a 1920X1080 YouTube Play bar area, it can be 294X294 for the ‘Subscribe’ sphere, other channel sphere, and link square whereas 615X345 for video or playlist rectangle. Consider using these sizes as they guide you to create perfect end screens for YouTube.

After all these specifications and requirements we are going to throw some light on some basic things to keep in mind while creating an End screen.

Things To Remember :

1. Clear goal

There is a famous saying, “When the why is clear, the How is easy. ” We suggest you create end screens with a specific goal in mind. Setting a goal brings a “why” approach to your work and this makes it easier to do the work. All pumped up? Cool. That is important.

2. Clean and Simple

Do you ever get confused when you see multiple choices available at the nearby store? We all do. In the same way, it is always advisable to keep the end screen clean by adding only whatever is necessary. This makes it easier for people to focus on relevant information.

3. Consistency is Key

Create your own identity by maintaining consistency. This helps people to recognize, remember, and trust you. Consistent logos, styles and colours lead people to connect with you more which further develops trust and builds equity.

4. Consider a holistic approach

It might be the first-ever youtube video that you are uploading, but by thinking holistically about your account’s content, you can create relevant and related content. This gives you a better approach while creating end screens as they help to link videos to each other rather than on a single video.

Now that you have armed yourself with all the need to know information, let’s get started with how to set up end screens.

How To Add End Screens On YouTube

Creating end screens is much easier and faster when compared to annotations, resulting in many people replacing annotations with end screens. However, there are several other reasons people do this. Firstly, because a YouTube end screen and annotations cannot co-exist.

Secondly, end screens tend to be more relevant in the present context where the majority of the people watch videos on their mobile phones.

End screens can be imported from other videos or could be used in dynamic overlays. In this section, we will take you through the various steps involved to add end screens. Let’s begin!

  1. Sign in to your YouTube account.
  2. After signing in click on your account icon in the top right corner.
  3. Select >Creator Studio.
  4. This opens up a new page from the left menu select > Video manager. Then select >Videos.
  5. Select the video you want to add an end screen to then click >Edit.
  6. You get to see a top tab bar, where you have many headings, select >End screen & Annotations.
  7. Unpublish the annotations, if any, in the video you have selected.
  8. This is where your work starts. You will see your video with a timeline below and a predefined grid. This timeline shows you the part that is available for use as End Screen.
  9. On the right-hand side click on >Add Element.
  10. The drop-down shows you four elements that you can add on the end screen. These are Video or playlist, subscribe, channel and link.
  11. At least one element must be a video or playlist. Keep in mind that the end screen cannot start after the first element
  12. After selecting each element fill in the information then click create element, follow the instructions below to do that.
  13. Select the time for the element to show in the timeline that is present below. You can adjust it by dragging the blue line on the timeline.
  14. Click save and preview the video to see if the end screen needs further changes or editing.

Different elements and how to add them to end screen

  1. Video or playlist – If the viewer clicks on this element, the suggested video by you will play. You have options for the most recent upload, best for the viewer and choose a video or playlist. At least one video or playlist element should be selected to add an end screen else an error message will be displayed on YouTube.
  2. Subscribe – This is the button that can change a viewer to your subscriber. You cannot edit much here but can simply customize the look of the icon.
  3. Channel – When you are interested to promote some other YouTube channel you can do that here by clicking on this option. It also gives you the freedom to add a custom message. This option is not much used, but for YouTubers looking to promote someone else’s channel or their own second account, this can be useful.
  4. Link – The last option is what most advertisers use. If you want to add a link to an end screen, It sends viewers directly to your website. However, having an Adsense account and enabling monetization lets you do that. After this process, you can link an associated website. Just go to creator studio >channel >advanced and enter the URL under >associated website. Then click add and verify your ownership.

Finally, go back to Add element >link and add link URL, and click Next. You can add your image, headline CTA Button and then create your end screen.

Et Voila! Your YouTube End screen is ready.

Tips And Strategies:

1. Add social icons

These icons allow users to easily follow you to other platforms. This expands your social reach.

2. Incorporate Labels

Labelling the videos lead people to watch those videos. You can use ‘watch next’ or ‘next video’ around your video element. This strategy really works for great end screen responses.

3. Consider adding audio

Using audio over your end screen reinforces the call to action that you have used. It could be subscribing to your channel or watching another video from your channel. This enables viewers to know what to do after the video is over.

4. Keep it uncluttered

Using a lot of white space helps your users to focus on your end screen elements. Make those elements stand out.

5. Feature a playlist

Instead of a single video in the end screen, try to promote a playlist altogether. This is advantageous as it plays videos on the playlist automatically, which in turn gives you more views.

Creating End screen Videos through YouTube is easy, however, it has limited customizability. Create a custom end screen for your videos with OFFEO’s free online outro maker.

You can create professional end screens for YouTube easily with a single drag and drop option. Change the font, color, size, images, or play around with our colour palettes and background images. You can edit your logo or call to action just the way you want to make your end screen appealing.

Our team has designed templates that can be customised according to your needs for the perfect video. The platform is easy to use and saves you time.

Create different versions and see what works best for your content by going to the YouTube analytics section. Then modify it by featuring elements on end screens that are more popular, and witness the rise in views on your YouTube account.

Get started with creating end screens at https://offeo.com/free/outro-maker/

Other Interesting Reads

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YouTube Banner

Best YouTube tools for creators

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Written By
OFFEO Team

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