How to Format Text on YouTube: The Secret Trick Everyone's Missing (Bold, Italic & More)

You've seen YouTube creators with fancy text in their descriptions—bold headlines, italic emphasis, strikethrough text. You've looked for the formatting buttons. They don't exist.

Here's the secret: YouTube doesn't have built-in text formatting... but it supports Unicode characters that look like formatted text. And it works everywhere: video descriptions, comments, community posts, channel descriptions, even video titles.

This guide shows you exactly how to format text on YouTube, which styles work best, and when to use each one.

Why YouTube Doesn't Have Formatting Buttons (And What to Do Instead)

YouTube intentionally keeps its interface simple. Unlike platforms like Discord or Reddit that support Markdown formatting (like **bold** or *italic*), YouTube has no native formatting syntax.

But here's the workaround: Unicode—the universal character encoding standard—includes special mathematical and letter-like symbols that look like formatted text:

• 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 uses Mathematical Bold characters
• 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 uses Mathematical Italic characters
• S̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ uses combining characters
• U̲n̲d̲e̲r̲l̲i̲n̲e̲ uses combining underline characters

These aren't "hacks" or tricks—they're legitimate Unicode characters that YouTube (and every other platform) supports because they're part of the universal text standard.

How to Bold Text on YouTube (Step-by-Step)

Where you can use bold text:

• ✅ Video descriptions
• ✅ Video titles (use sparingly)
• ✅ Comments
• ✅ Community posts
• ✅ Channel description
• ✅ Playlist titles and descriptions

Method: Use a Text Formatting Generator

Since YouTube doesn't have a bold button, you need to convert your text first:

Step 1: Visit a Unicode text formatting tool

• Use our Free Text Formatting Generator
• Or search "Unicode bold text generator"

Step 2: Type or paste your text into the generator

Step 3: Copy the bold version

Step 4: Paste into YouTube (description, comment, title, etc.)

Example:

Regular text: Check out my new tutorial!
Bold text: 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹!

When to Use Bold Text on YouTube

✅ Use bold for:

• Section headers in video descriptions
• Important timestamps or chapter markers
• Key takeaways or main points
• Call-to-action text
• Product names or links you want to emphasize

❌ Avoid bold for:

• Entire paragraphs (hard to read)
• Every other word (looks spammy)
• Hashtags (they won't work if formatted)
• URLs (formatting may break the link)

How to Italicize Text on YouTube

Italic text is perfect for subtle emphasis without the heavy weight of bold.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Use a text formatting generator Step 2: Select the "Italic" option Step 3: Copy the italicized text Step 4: Paste into YouTube

Example:

Regular: This is the most important part
Italic: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵

Best Uses for Italic Text

Perfect for:

• Book titles, movie names, or content references
• Quotes or testimonials
• Subtle emphasis on specific words
• Foreign words or technical terms
• Timestamps for emotional moments

Example in a video description:

In this video, I break down the techniques from 𝘈𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘏𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 that actually work.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴."

How to Add Strikethrough Text on YouTube

Strikethrough text is fantastic for showing discounts, corrections, or humorous edits.

How to Create Strikethrough Text

Step 1: Use our Text Formatting Generator Step 2: Select "Strikethrough" Step 3: Copy and paste into YouTube

Example:

Regular: Was $99, now $49!
Strikethrough: W̶a̶s̶ ̶$̶9̶9̶, now $49!

Creative Uses for Strikethrough

Great for:

• Showing price drops or discounts
• Humorous "corrections" in descriptions
• Showing what NOT to do (vs. what to do)
• Creating before/after comparisons
• Crossing out outdated information

Example:

🎯 What you'll learn:
✅ How to edit videos
✅ How to optimize titles
✅ How to g̶e̶t̶ ̶r̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶c̶k̶ grow sustainably

Other Text Formatting Styles for YouTube

Beyond bold and italic, you can use several other Unicode text styles:

1. Underline Text

Regular: Subscribe for weekly tutorials
Underlined: S̲u̲b̲s̲c̲r̲i̲b̲e̲ ̲f̲o̲r̲ ̲w̲e̲e̲k̲l̲y̲ ̲t̲u̲t̲o̲r̲i̲a̲l̲s̲

Best for: Calls-to-action, important links, chapter titles

2. Bold Italic (Double Emphasis)

Regular: This is critical information
Bold Italic: 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

Best for: Maximum emphasis on the most important points

3. Monospace (Code Style)

Regular: Click the Subscribe button
Monospace: 𝙲𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚗

Best for: Technical content, code snippets, giving instructions

4. Bubble Text

Regular: New Video Every Friday
Bubble: Ⓝⓔⓦ Ⓥⓘⓓⓔⓞ Ⓔⓥⓔⓡⓨ Ⓕⓡⓘⓓⓐⓨ

Best for: Fun, playful content; highlighting special announcements

YouTube Description Formatting Best Practices

A well-formatted description keeps viewers engaged and improves SEO. Here's the winning structure:

Real Example of a Well-Formatted Description

Are you making these 3 YouTube mistakes? This video shows you the
𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 that helped me go from 100 to 100K subscribers.

In this tutorial, you'll learn:
✅ How to optimize titles for clicks 𝘢𝘯𝘥 SEO
✅ The thumbnail psychology that works in 2025
✅ Why your first 30 seconds are killing your retention

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⏱️ 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗦

0:00 - Introduction
2:15 - Mistake #1: Title Optimization
5:30 - Mistake #2: Thumbnail Strategy
8:45 - Mistake #3: Hook Failure
12:00 - Bonus Tips

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🔗 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦

→ Free YouTube Title Generator: [link]
→ Thumbnail Template Pack: [link]
→ My Camera Gear: [link]

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👋 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗠𝗘

I help creators grow on YouTube without paid ads. Subscribe for
weekly tutorials on titles, thumbnails, and audience retention.

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📱 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧

Instagram: @username
Twitter: @username
Newsletter: [link]

#YouTubeGrowth #VideoMarketing #ContentCreator

YouTube Comments: Formatting Tips

Comments have less room for formatting, but strategic use still helps:

Comment Formatting Strategies

1. Use bold for the main point:

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 to YouTube growth.
Thank you for explaining it so clearly!

2. Use italic for emphasis:

I've been doing this 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 for years.
Game changer!

3. Use line breaks for readability:

Three things I learned:

1. Title optimization
2. Thumbnail psychology
3. Hook importance

Instant subscribe!

What NOT to Do When Formatting YouTube Text

Does Text Formatting Affect YouTube SEO?

Short answer: Not directly, but it improves engagement—which does affect SEO.

How Formatting Helps Indirectly

1. Increases Description Read Time

• Well-formatted descriptions keep viewers reading
• More engagement signals quality to YouTube's algorithm

2. Improves Click-Through Rate

• Bold timestamps in search results stand out
• Formatted text catches attention

3. Boosts Comments Section Engagement

• Formatted comments are more readable
• Higher engagement = better rankings

4. Enhances Mobile Experience

• Clean formatting improves mobile readability
• 70%+ of YouTube views happen on mobile

What YouTube's Algorithm Actually Cares About:

• Watch time and retention
• Click-through rate
• Engagement (likes, comments, shares)
• Session time (how long viewers stay on YouTube after your video)

Formatting helps all of these indirectly by making your content more consumable.

Mobile vs. Desktop: Does Formatting Look Different?

Good news: Unicode formatting looks the same across all devices and platforms.

Test yourself:

• Copy formatted text into a YouTube description
• View on your phone
• View on desktop
• View on tablet
• Check the YouTube app vs. web browser

The formatted text will display identically everywhere because it uses universal Unicode characters, not platform-specific formatting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools & Resources

Format your YouTube content like a pro:

Text Formatting:

• Free Text Formatting Generator - Bold, italic, strikethrough & more
• YouTube Font Generator - Stylized fonts for YouTube
• YouTube Title Generator - Create engaging titles

YouTube Optimization:

• YouTube Description Generator - Optimized descriptions
• YouTube Tag Generator - Relevant tags for SEO
• YouTube Earnings Calculator - Estimate revenue

Related Guides:

• YouTube Thumbnail Best Practices - Design click-worthy thumbnails
• YouTube SEO Checklist Guide - Rank higher in search
• Best Times to Post on YouTube - Maximize views

Conclusion: Stand Out With Simple Formatting

You don't need fancy software or premium tools to make your YouTube content more engaging. Simple text formatting—when used strategically—makes your descriptions more readable, your comments more noticeable, and your overall presence more professional.

Quick Recap:

1. Use a Unicode text generator to create formatted text
2. Copy and paste into YouTube (descriptions, comments, titles, Community posts)
3. Use bold for headers and key points (10-20% of text maximum)
4. Use italic for subtle emphasis and quotes
5. Never format hashtags or URLs
6. Test on mobile before publishing

Start with your next video description. Add bold headers for timestamps, italic emphasis for key phrases, and watch your engagement improve.

The creators who master the small details are the ones who build loyal audiences. Text formatting is one of those details that separates amateurs from professionals.

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Pro tip: Save your formatted text templates (headers, timestamps, social links) in a doc so you can quickly copy-paste them for every new video.