AIThumbnail.so - Automating YouTube Workflows with Elestio and n8n

Guest post by Sacha Dumay, founder of AIThumbnail.so

Hi! I’m Sacha Dumay, an indie SaaS founder and automation enthusiast. I run AIThumbnail.so, where we help creators and marketers speed up content creation using AI. Today, I want to share how I use Elestio and n8n to fully automate YouTube research, thumbnail generation, and content workflows—with almost zero manual effort.

Creating high-quality YouTube content and showcases used to mean hours of manual research, scraping, and copy-pasting. For SaaS founders and creators, time is everything—but so is scaling up your content engine.

I needed a system to:

• Instantly pull data from any YouTube channel (big or small)
• Generate fresh, AI-powered thumbnails for any set of video titles
• Turn it all into landing pages, blog posts, or creator showcases automatically

Read on to see exactly how I built this system in minutes—without ever touching a server, thanks to Elestio.

Why Elestio + n8n?

When it comes to workflow automation, n8n is incredibly flexible—but self-hosting and maintaining it can be a headache for solo founders or small teams.

Elestio solves that. In just 15 minutes, I had n8n running on a managed, production-ready instance—with:

• Zero server setup or ongoing maintenance
• Flat, predictable pricing (no surprise bills)
• Built-in SSL, backups, and scaling
• One-click redeploy if anything ever breaks

It’s ideal for anyone who wants to build serious automations without becoming a DevOps engineer.

The Stack: My Tools for Automated YouTube Content Creation

The Workflow in Action

Whether you want to analyze a small channel or a massive creator like MrBeast, my workflow:

1. Finds the YouTube channel ID and uploads playlist
2. Scrapes latest videos: titles, thumbnails, stats
3. Saves everything into Google Sheets
4. (Optional) Triggers an AI thumbnail generator
5. Outputs ready-to-use data for blog posts, showcases, or landing pages

All I have to do is input a channel—the rest happens automatically.

Real Example

Check out this style page, fully automated for MrBeast: 👉 How to Achieve a 10% CTR Using MrBeast Thumbnails

Visual: The n8n Workflow

Each step handles a crucial part: Scraping → Parsing → Saving → Generating → Publishing

All running reliably on Elestio, with no worries about uptime or updates.

Benefits of Running n8n on Elestio

• No server or security headaches—just focus on workflows
• One-click redeploy and backups—if anything breaks, you’re safe
• Scales with your needs—from a single project to multiple automations
• Ready-to-deploy templates—launch n8n and other tools in minutes

I haven’t had to log in or troubleshoot since my initial setup. Elestio just works.

What This Automation Unlocks

With this stack, I now:

• Save hours each week on research and manual tasks
• Create auto-updating blog posts and landing pages
• Pull daily content ideas from real YouTube channels
• Show creators their stats in clean, visual dashboards
• Grow my SEO footprint without extra effort

How You Can Build This Too

If you’re a founder, content creator, or just want to automate repetitive research, here’s my recipe:

1. Deploy n8n on Elestio (fastest way to go live, no DevOps required)
2. Build workflows for scraping, formatting, and posting
3. Plug results into your content engine, blog, or even product features

This approach scales whether you’re just getting started or looking to power a full SaaS.

TL;DR

• Elestio: Managed, reliable hosting for n8n automations
• n8n: No-code workflows for scraping, content, and automation
• Google Sheets: Your simple, universal database
• (Optional) AIThumbnail.so: Generate visuals from your data

Result: Automated YouTube showcases, style pages, and SEO-optimized content—for any channel, with almost no manual work.

About the Author

Sacha Dumay is a solo founder and builder of AIThumbnail.so and DataFuel.dev. He specializes in workflow automation, product-led growth, and AI-powered tools for creators. You can find him sharing more tips and automations on X (Twitter).

Want to try something similar or have questions? DM Sacha on X—he’s happy to share the workflow or help you get started!