A successful YouTuber gets offers all the time: sponsors, editors, thumbnail designers. Most of them look the same. Your message has to show, in just a few lines, that you've actually looked at their channel.
The 4 parts of a good message
- A personal hook: a specific video you watched, and what you liked about it.
- A concrete observation about their thumbnails: not “they could be better”, but what you would change, and why.
- Proof: your portfolio, or better yet, a before / after on one of their videos.
- A simple offer: a question that's easy to answer.
What to avoid
- The copy-pasted message sent to 50 channels. It shows right away.
- Criticizing without tact: they may have made those thumbnails themselves.
- Walls of text: if it can't be read in a few seconds on a phone, it's too long.
- Talking about yourself before talking about them.
- Asking for a call in the very first message.
A template to adapt
Hi [First name], I watched your video about [topic]: [what you liked, in one sentence]. I'm a thumbnail designer and I noticed that [specific observation, for example: the face is small in the frame, the text repeats the title]. I made a quick version to show you the idea: [link]. If that sounds interesting, I could make a thumbnail for your next video. Want to hear more? [Your first name] - [link to your portfolio]
Show, don't tell
Nothing is more convincing than a real proposal on their own video. Redoing one of their thumbnails (without publishing it, just to show them) takes time: save it for the channels you really care about.
Where to send the message
- The business email in the channel's About tab, when there is one. That's what it's there for.
- The socials where the person is active (X, Instagram, the channel's Discord), keeping it brief.
- Avoid pitching in the comments: it's public, and rarely well received.
Follow up without being pushy
No reply? That doesn't necessarily mean no: your message may have gotten buried. Follow up once a few days later, with something new (another idea, another example). Still nothing? Move on, and keep the channel on the back burner: their needs may change.