YouTube is certainly a platform that entertains, which makes it is a great platform for marketers to use.

Especially with its 2.3 billion users worldwide.

70% of a study’s respondents report that they bought from a brand after seeing their product or services on YouTube.

That’s why the platform works effectively to create features like the End screens that drive action.

This article will explain what End screens are, how you can create one, and best practices to use.

What are End screens?

YouTube End screens, also known as an “Endslate” or “End Card,” is a YouTube feature that you can use to direct your viewers to take action at the end of the video.

They can be images, or MP4 files that you add to the end of your main video file before you upload to YouTube.

It is placed at the end of the video, and it appears 5 to 20 seconds before the video ends.

You can use your end screen to promote videos, playlists, your channel, and if you qualify, external websites and merchandise.

Why are End screens important?

A viewer can log off YouTube, watch other videos from the suggested bars or search for a new video to watch after watching your videos.

But,  you can tell your viewers what to do next when you use end screens.

Simply put, you can make the viewers subscribe to your channel, watch your videos, or get traffic to your website using end screens.

Just like you can with YouTube cards (which appear at the top right of your videos).

 

End screens increase the odds that your videos will reach a wider audience.

And from our experience, work even better than cards for this.

This is because of YouTube’s algorithm, that suggests videos or channels that have long watch time and keeps their audience engaged.

The more time a viewer spends watching videos on your channel, YouTube will reward you by exposing your content or channel to a wider audience.

End screens are beneficial to you in terms of views, subscribers and can yield serious long-term benefits for your channel.  

End screen restrictions

• End screens are not available for “made for kids” videos.
• The video content should be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen.
• Other interactive elements like branding watermarks and teasers are suppressed while the end screens are showing.
• An end screen should not be above 20 seconds long.

Elements to add to an End screen

What exactly are the different options available when it comes to end screens?

What things can you add?

Let’s take a look the the four elements available to you.

Videos and playlists

You can link a whole playlist to your end screen, and the playlist can be created by you or a public playlist on the platform.

If you know how to create a good YouTube thumbnail, you can link your end screen to any video on YouTube.

When people see an interesting and professional thumbnail on an end screen, they will be more inclined to click it.

The below template saves me a huge amount of time as I add this to each video I make before exporting it as an .MP4 file.

 

Using that template means no editing is needed as it is ready to go each time.

Link to channel

You can link your end screen to a channel you collaborated with, or to your channel.

Subscription button

End screens can contain an element that lets your viewers subscribe to your channel when they click on the feature.

The subscription button will be hard to miss, so you should use this element for subscription purposes.

Website link

You can only link to a link outside of YouTube if you’re in the YouTube Partner Program.

 

It doesn’t have to be your website; you can link to a relevant website like Amazon, a crowd funding campaign, or any webpage of your choice.

How To Create An End Screen in YouTube

Now that you’ve seen the benefits of end screens and narrowed down what to promote, let me give you a step-by-step on how to add them.

After uploading your YouTube video and filling in the details like your title, description, tags, etc., you can now move onto Video Elements.

 

Next, you’ll need to click on the tab that says ‘add an end screen’.

 

You won’t be disappointed with the end screens templates you’ll find.

You can add video+subscribe+playlist or video and channel to your videos for a more engaging experience!

 

 

If you’re looking for a way to make your end screen stand out, you can design it yourself by clicking on +ELEMENT at the top of the pop-up menu.

 

It will give options such as video and playlist that vary in creativity so choose what best suits your needs!

Use the editor tab to customize your end screen in a way that’s guaranteed to be unique.

 

You can also delete or reposition any of the elements, and those changes will save automatically as you go!

To make your video even more engaging, you can adjust the length of time that it takes for the end screen to appear.

You get a range from 5-20 seconds so there’s something perfect for any occasion!

 

 

Press play on your video to see what your end screen will look like post publish.

Already Published Videos

If you want to change or edit and end screen to a video you have already uploaded, then here are the steps needed:

1: Sign into your YouTube Studio.

2: Click on the left menu and select Content.

3: Choose the video you’d like to edit.

4: Select the End screen box and choose the element you want to add.

5: Save.

You can choose to display a specific video or your recent video when you select the video element.

When you choose the channel element, you must include a custom message.

End screens are customizable; you can apply templates, decide where the elements should show, change timings of the elements, remove element type, or add or customize the end screen when uploading a new video.  

YouTube End Screen Templates

There are many templates to choose from on YouTube and other places that can help you create a personalized end screen for your channel.

Creating custom templates YouTube end screen templates can be time-consuming, especially if you’re not great at editing.

However, once it is done and downloaded as an image file, the task of uploading becomes simple.

After downloading in Photoshop or another editor program, upload the new template into each video.

Here is an example of an image that I added to the end of a few videos.

 

If you want to (though it is not necessary) you can get a template from a third party source.

Adobe Spark is a site that offers templates for YouTube end screens, which can help you customize your channel with ease.

It walks you through the process and it’s simple to navigate!

Canva also provides tools to make personalized videos quickly and easily: icons, stickers, animations – all of these features are at your fingertips if design seems like too much work.

Snappa has free customizable video editing software specifically designed for YouTubers who want an easy way out without sacrificing quality or originality in their visuals!

Pre-built templates are a great way to do voice overs for your projects.

You can find them on many YouTube channels and by browsing through the videos, you select which one is best suited for what you’re working on!

Best Practices

• You should only include elements that are relevant to the video.
• Only place an end screen at the end of the video after sharing the valuable part of your video.
• YouTube recommends that you use a 300 x 300-pixel width custom image.  
• Encourage your viewers to take action by using call to actions for the different screen elements.

A video Walkthrough

 

 

Promote The Correct Video

The most popular YouTubers have found a clever way to get people watching their content for longer, and more often.

They feature another video from their channel in the End Screen of every one they publish.

 

This simple strategy has been proven by thousands of creators as being an effective method that can increase your monthly views significantly!

That said: to decide which video you want in your End Screen, there are two main options.

Promote an above average converting video that will turn viewers into subscribers.

There is also the option of choosing a Related Video and featuring videos closely related or helpful for taking the next step after watching one of yours!

Know Your Progress

One awesome thing about End Screens is that you can easily add, delete or change elements.

And another even more amazing feature of an end screen is the ability to use data to help decide what stays and goes.

Specifically, YouTube Analytics has a report on your End Screen performance for each video.

So if one specific element in your end screens are crushing it, then go ahead and take advantage by adding as many videos with this type of content into future ones!

 

If there’s some other element getting ignored try deleting it-or alternatively experiment with something new like music at the beginning which might grab people’s attention too

Summary

You don’t want to lose your audience’s attention after they watch your video.

One of the best ways to keep them engaged is by re-capturing their attention with End screens.

Best practices are to send viewers to another video or playlist of yours.

You want to add an end screen to every YouTube video you create.

When you use high-quality end screens with great thumbnails, you will inspire your viewers to watch another video.

Keeping them on YouTube longer will increase your standing with Youtube.

Refer back to this article if need be and follow the tips provided to ensure you get more engagement.

We have a lot more tips on this website on all aspects of video marketing.