YouTube Opinion My Thoughts on YT Shorts

[Bdominique]

I'm just putting this out there and I wonder what you guys think. My channel is an art channel. I started being serious about it in Nov '22. So I would create long form content. I would get some traffic and my subscriber count has slowly but consistently increased. (I don't mind that at all)

But I quickly noticed shorts being constantly suggested to me. So I made a short... and wow, the difference. I average over a thousand views and gain almost 10 subscribers with each short.

Naturally, i decide to put short making into my weekly rotation along with 1 long form video. 1 short and 1 video per week (it's all I can do for now). Like clockwork, long form pulls some views and a few subscribers, shorts significantly more.

I at first didn't like the mix of shorts and long form on my channel, just didn't like how it looked. But people are learning how to navigate it and filter it. I've also learned to use shorts as a quick view into my channel and my personality, a strategy that seems to be working for me.

I've come to the conclusion that both shorts and long form can coexist and think its worth including shorts. All the more so if youtube is favoring shorts, its time to adapt and go with the flow. If I keep making shorts, i feel it will please my shorts watchers while also continuing to please my long form watchers.

What are your thoughts on shorts and have you seen growth with them? Do you think the growth is legit?

For context, 3 months ago, I had 71 subscribers.

 

[MediaMan]

For context, 3 months ago, I had 71 subscribers.

Nice, congrats!

For 99.9999% of us, shorts will never be monetized so the closer I get to 1000 subs the less I'm utilizing shorts. As you've found out they can help with the sub requirement but are pretty useless otherwise imop since their view hours don't apply to the 4000 view hour requirement to be monetized.

 

[Bdominique]

Nice, congrats!















For 99.9999% of us, shorts will never be monetized so the closer I get to 1000 subs the less I'm utilizing shorts. As you've found out they can help with the sub requirement but are pretty useless otherwise imop since their view hours don't apply to the 4000 view hour requirement to be monetizeTrued.

Here's what I've noticed though. My view count towards monetization increases even when I post a short (sometimes i only post a short for the week when i cant get out a long form vid). You're right, views from shorts are not counted towards monetization but shorts can lead viewers to your long form content.

And this is what I think is happening. Like truly, i believe my shorts viewers check out my long form stuff and my view count increases. So don't dismiss the shorts just yet .

In short, no pun intended, my views towards the 4000 hr requirement has been increasing whether I post a short or long form for the week. I think that's interesting and worth noting.

 

[MediaMan]

Like truly, i believe my shorts viewers check out my long form stuff and my view count increases. So don't dismiss the shorts just yet .

The cool thing about shorts is you can utilize them in different ways. I'm currently doing a mix where some content is exclusive to shorts, some are just small snippets of an existing long form. I've seen some channels use shorts as nothing more than a way to announce a long form video, just a few seconds or a static photo with a card link to the long form. This intrigues me the most and is something I may be doing a lot of in the future on one of my channels.

 

[MediaMan]

I've seen some channels use shorts as nothing more than a way to announce a long form video, just a few seconds or a static photo with a card link to the long form.

This inspired me to run a test on one of my own videos and the card is not showing up. Studio allows me to add a card but it doesn't show up in the actual shorts video. And after researching the issue, it appears cards are not working anymore on shorts. $%^& Or maybe it's only working for monetized channels? bummer....

 

[Aialaden]

Here's what I've noticed though. My view count towards monetization increases even when I post a short (sometimes i only post a short for the week when i cant get out a long form vid). You're right, views from shorts are not counted towards monetization but shorts can lead viewers to your long form content.

And this is what I think is happening. Like truly, i believe my shorts viewers check out my long form stuff and my view count increases. So don't dismiss the shorts just yet .

In short, no pun intended, my views towards the 4000 hr requirement has been increasing whether I post a short or long form for the week. I think that's interesting and worth noting.

Yes. You can mix shorts and longs. As long as they are the same subject, the subs you get from shorts will watch long-form content.

And if your shorts are found outside the shorts feed they will count towards your watch time. I make my shorts searchable and get more hits from browse and suggested than the shorts feed.

I honestly think people are letting great opportunities pass them by. The payoffs come down the road with shorts with all the new impressions they lead to.

 

[MediaMan]

And if your shorts are found outside the shorts feed they will count towards your watch time.

Count just towards shorts watch time only, correct? If different, can you supply a link to verify? Thank you.

 

[Bdominique]

And if your shorts are found outside the shorts feed they will count towards your watch time. I make my shorts searchable and get more hits from browse and suggested than the shorts feed.

Now this I didn't know if it's found outside the shorts feed huh? Maybe that could contribute to my view count going up as well. Now I have to go and see if my shorts are searchable

 

[MediaMan]

Found the answer (again.. lol..)... I was just concerned with do any shorts views apply toward the 4000 hour mark for monetization...

"Creators still have the option to qualify for YPP with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months, however any watch hours from Shorts views donΓÇÖt count towards that threshold."

YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility - Computer - YouTube Help

We’re expanding the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to more creators with ea

support.google.com

10 million shorts views in the last 90 days in order to monetize from shorts. Anyone here think they have a realistic chance?

 

[Aialaden]

Count just towards shorts watch time only, correct? If different, can you supply a link to verify? Thank you.

Yes. Towards watch time. I'm not sure about monetization hours.

 

[MattCommand1]

You're right, views from shorts are not counted towards monetization but shorts can lead viewers to your long form content.

I think there will be people who would disagree with this. It "can" and "may" lead to views of long-form content. That is the hope and assumption. But the jury is still out whether that is actually true. It is probably true for some channels and NOT true on others.

It is very rare to get the 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers at the same time. Some people can't get the 4,000 watch hours despite having over 1,000 subscribers. Other people can get the 4,000 watch hours but have to wait longer for the subscribers.

To me, watch hours has a much higher priority than subscribers.

 

[Bdominique]

I think there will be people who would disagree with this. It "can" and "may" lead to views of long-form content. That is the hope and assumption. But the jury is still out whether that is actually true. It is probably true for some channels and NOT true on others.

I agree. And really, thats what I'm essentially saying. It can lead to long form viewing. I didn't say it absolutely would. But I'm not going to say it absolutely won't either.

As a tiktok and shorts scroller myself, I don't just subscribe to people based only on a short. If I'm interested I'm gonna click your icon and check out your content. I know I'm not the only person that does that.

So if I post a short and it gets almost 2k views, it's not hard for me to imagine that a few of them would check out my long form content, leading to views that could help me qualify for monetization.

Will that happen with every channel? Of course not but I don't think it would be wise to dismiss shorts all together until it's been given a shot in that regard. But to each his own

To me, watch hours has a much higher priority than subscribers.

Sure. But since I've yet to hit 1k subscribers, both are important to me right now in my overall growth. So I do things that will positively impact both, even if that means including shorts. I don't care which order I hit them 1k subscribers first or 4k views, as long as they're hit.

 

[jawadsoomro]

YT shorts are helpful to get subscribers. However, tiktok has most traffic for short videos. So, thats beneficial for me. Also, tiktok dont send me copyright claims for using a music. But, YouTube does. So, for music and dance videos, Tiktok is my choice.

 

[Bdominique]

Yesss and what you're saying brings up another point. People who want short form are going to ultimately go to tiktok or similar.

They will watch shorts on youtube but they most likely didn't come to youtube specifically for shorts. I know I don't.

That being said, my content doesn't do too well on tiktok . So shorts it is!

 

[Shaners]

Ive been getting a lot of new subs via my shorts. I release a new short every day however the actual hits on my long form content is minimal. I suspect 2 different crowds so I try to cater for both. With shorts being monetized now I have noticed a trickle of income from the short format and at the end of the day it all helps as I reinvest everything back into the channel.

 

[MattCommand1]

Ive been getting a lot of new subs via my shorts. I release a new short every day however the actual hits on my long form content is minimal. I suspect 2 different crowds so I try to cater for both. With shorts being monetized now I have noticed a trickle of income from the short format and at the end of the day it all helps as I reinvest everything back into the channel.

If I were to give benefit of the doubt, some channels probably do better than others where short-form viewers become interested enough to become long-form viewers. Most of the creators I admire and follow are very good at long-form so that is my bias.

 

[MattCommand1]

So if I post a short and it gets almost 2k views, it's not hard for me to imagine that a few of them would check out my long form content, leading to views that could help me qualify for monetization.

Will that happen with every channel? Of course not but I don't think it would be wise to dismiss shorts all together until it's been given a shot in that regard. But to each his own

Sure. But since I've yet to hit 1k subscribers, both are important to me right now in my overall growth. So I do things that will positively impact both, even if that means including shorts. I don't care which order I hit them 1k subscribers first or 4k views, as long as they're hit.

I stopped by your channel. You are very talented. I actually think you are doing the right thing doing both. I think that in your situation there is a good chance for crossover.

And your stats are very good for having relatively few videos. You appear to be on the fast track! I would say you are well on your way to monetization. I say you might be eligible for YPP later this year!

 

[Bdominique]

I stopped by your channel. You are very talented. I actually think you are doing the right thing doing both. I think that in your situation there is a good chance for crossover.

And your stats are very good for having relatively few videos. You appear to be on the fast track! I would say you are well on your way to monetization. I say you might be eligible for YPP later this year!

I hope so

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

I'm just putting this out there and I wonder what you guys think. My channel is an art channel. I started being serious about it in Nov '22. So I would create long form content. I would get some traffic and my subscriber count has slowly but consistently increased. (I don't mind that at all)

But I quickly noticed shorts being constantly suggested to me. So I made a short... and wow, the difference. I average over a thousand views and gain almost 10 subscribers with each short.

Naturally, i decide to put short making into my weekly rotation along with 1 long form video. 1 short and 1 video per week (it's all I can do for now). Like clockwork, long form pulls some views and a few subscribers, shorts significantly more.

I at first didn't like the mix of shorts and long form on my channel, just didn't like how it looked. But people are learning how to navigate it and filter it. I've also learned to use shorts as a quick view into my channel and my personality, a strategy that seems to be working for me.

I've come to the conclusion that both shorts and long form can coexist and think its worth including shorts. All the more so if youtube is favoring shorts, its time to adapt and go with the flow. If I keep making shorts, i feel it will please my shorts watchers while also continuing to please my long form watchers.

What are your thoughts on shorts and have you seen growth with them? Do you think the growth is legit?

For context, 3 months ago, I had 71 subscribers.

Personally, I hate Shorts. Not because YouTube is pushing them. I just have no use for gobbledygook. This whole Twitterfication of the world, where humans can't think in terms of sentences longer than 200 characters or videos longer than 30 seconds; I believe is psychologically and Socialogicly damaging to the human race. And there are plenty of peer-reviewed medical and scientific studies to suggest that these things are harming people in, not only in psychological, but also physiological ways.

When you were a kid and wanted candy, did your parents just give you all you want? Not if they were responsible parents. Everyone knows that a little candy is okay once in a while, but candy all day long all the time, is bad for you. Twitter and TikTok style content is bad for the human race. It is getting to where you cannot even hold a normal discussion with people anymore because their brain is so damaged by their addiction to digital Mind-Crack, they cannot focus on what you are saying for more than a few seconds. Several educational studies that have been performed recently have found that the reading comprehension level of the average American is 3rd grade. They can read the words, but they cannot focus on the context of the sentence long enough to grasp what it is trying to say. They read a few words and assume the rest.

Shorts style content is harmful. It is harming the future generation. It is not what the human race needs. It is sad that so many platforms are turning into digital drug dealers to keep feeding digital addicts their mind-crack highs, and are also encouraging and pushing the digital vegetable gardeners that produce wholesome healthy content to grow digital crack as well.

That being said. Shorts will never make you any money on YT, but if you can find a way to make them work for you, go with the trend. It might be leading to a drop off a digital cliff, but hey, we will all have plenty of company.

 

[Bdominique]

Personally, I hate Shorts. Not because YouTube is pushing them. I just have no use for gobbledygook. This whole Twitterfication of the world, where humans can't think in terms of sentences longer than 200 characters or videos longer than 30 seconds; I believe is psychologically and Socialogicly damaging to the human race. And there are plenty of peer-reviewed medical and scientific studies to suggest that these things are harming people in, not only in psychological, but also physiological ways.

When you were a kid and wanted candy, did your parents just give you all you want? Not if they were responsible parents. Everyone knows that a little candy is okay once in a while, but candy all day long all the time, is bad for you. Twitter and TikTok style content is bad for the human race. It is getting to where you cannot even hold a normal discussion with people anymore because their brain is so damaged by their addiction to digital Mind-Crack, they cannot focus on what you are saying for more than a few seconds. Several educational studies that have been performed recently have found that the reading comprehension level of the average American is 3rd grade. They can read the words, but they cannot focus on the context of the sentence long enough to grasp what it is trying to say. They read a few words and assume the rest.

Shorts style content is harmful. It is harming the future generation. It is not what the human race needs. It is sad that so many platforms are turning into digital drug dealers to keep feeding digital addicts their mind-crack highs, and are also encouraging and pushing the digital vegetable gardeners that produce wholesome healthy content to grow digital crack as well.

That being said. Shorts will never make you any money on YT, but if you can find a way to make them work for you, go with the trend. It might be leading to a drop off a digital cliff, but hey, we will all have plenty of company.

View attachment 13344

Yeah short form is ruining our attention span for sure. But since there is an audience for it, I'll see what I can do with it.