Master YouTube Shorts in 2024: The Ultimate Guide from Beginner to Pro

9 min


Have you ever thought about making money from YouTube Shorts? This short video format has become a real hit, attracting the attention of millions of users. YouTube Shorts are short videos that are less than 60 seconds long. They provide a unique opportunity for content creators to quickly capture the attention of their audience and earn money from their work. However, earning money from Shorts depends on a number of factors such as the number of views, viewer activity and advertising revenue. Regardless of your skill level and experience on YouTube, this guide will provide you with valuable tips and strategies to effectively use YouTube Shorts and increase your potential income.

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Sometimes if you start watching Shorts, it’s impossible to break away for hours. Tumisu | Pixabay

What are YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts is one of the content formats on YouTube. This format is designed to compete with popular vertical video apps such as TikTok. If you’re wondering, «How long can youtube shorts be?» — YouTube users can create and view short videos, typically up to 60 seconds long.

YouTube Shorts definition and format

YouTube Shorts feature short videos in an easy-to-view vertical format optimised for mobile devices. They are different from regular YouTube videos and are a separate type of content that is available in a separate tab on the platform.

Key features of YouTube Shorts

  • Vertical Format. Shorts videos are created and viewed vertically. This format is very convenient for viewing on mobile devices;
  • Integration of music and sounds. Users can add music and sounds from YouTube and other video libraries to their Shorts videos, making the content more engaging and diverse;
  • Easy navigation. YouTube Shorts videos are easily located in a separate section on the YouTube platform. This makes it easy to find and watch them.

Benefits of using YouTube Shorts

  • Large Audience. YouTube has a huge user base. That’s why Shorts videos quickly gain views and attract new audiences;
  • YouTube integration. Content creators are already familiar with YouTube’s functionality and algorithms, making it easier to use Shorts and integrate them into channels.

Differences between YouTube Shorts and other platforms

  • Audience. YouTube has a more diverse and broader audience compared to TikTok. This will help attract different categories of viewers;
  • Monetisation. YouTube provides various ways to monetise content, including advertising and subscriptions. This is very useful for content creators as it will help them earn money from their short videos;
  • Integration with other platforms. YouTube provides easier integration with other social media and online platforms. This is very useful in distributing content and attracting new audiences.

Creating YouTube Shorts

So, how to make youtube shorts? Creating YouTube Shorts videos is a very easy process, even a novice content creator can handle. The first thing you need to do is launch the YouTube app on your smartphone. Then go to the Shorts tab and click the «+» or «Create» button.  After that, you will have the camera interface open. You need to record a short video or upload video from your device. YouTube’s inbuilt video editing tools allow you to add various effects, text, trim videos and so on. You can also add music and sound effects from YouTube’s library to your short video. If you are happy with the result, click the «Publish» button to share it with your audience.

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Learn how to promote youtube shorts Lukas Bieri | Pixabay

Tips and best practices

  • Focus on brevity. YouTube Shorts should be short, engaging and concise to grab viewers’ attention in the first few seconds;
  • Be original. Experiment with different ideas and formats to create unique content that stands out from other shorts;
  • Use trends. Follow trends and popular topics to create content that is relevant and interesting for your audience.

Editing tools and functions

  • Music and sounds. When creating shorts in the YouTube app, you can choose music from the library of tracks provided or upload your own music. Sounds and effects are also available to create atmosphere or emphasise the meaning of your video;
  • Text and animations. Integrate text or animations to enhance the visual appeal of your short. This can be as a title, subtitle additional comments or descriptions to the video;
  • Filters and effects. YouTube Shorts provides a number of filters and effects that can change the appearance of your video and give it a distinctive style. This can be changing the colour scheme, adding motion effects, different stickers, inserts, etc.

If you lack the internal editing capabilities of YouTube Shorts, you can use third-party services, such as CupCut, which we wrote about in this article.

Collaboration with other creators

YouTube Shorts has a very large audience of creators on YouTube, many of whom don’t mind starting collaborations and co-producing original content. You can use this to promote your content more effectively. 

You can invite other creators to join you in creating your shorts. This will allow you to gain a new audience and create more interesting content. It is very important that your audience is similar to the audience of the creator you want to do a collaboration with. Some bloggers are willing to do shorts with you for free, other bloggers will ask for money— it depends on how popular the blogger you want to do a collaboration with.

Another interesting way to collaborate is teamwork. If you have a team or a collective, you can delegate the tasks of creating shorts between the members. This will help you increase productivity and expand your content flow.

You can also share ideas and resources to improve the quality and variety of your content. This can range from collaborative projects to discussing best practices and content creation techniques.

How to get more views on YouTube shorts?

Despite the popularity of the shorts, in order for your videos to really get a lot of views, you need to optimize them. Here are a few ways you can do this.

Strategies and Youtube Shorts best practices to increase views and engagement

The first thing you should do to increase views and engagement is to follow a specific strategy for creating shorts. One of the most popular and working strategies that most popular authors use, is to create exciting beginnings in the video. By grabbing the viewers’ attention from the first few seconds of the video, you will be able to keep their attention till the end.

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The process of creating YouTube shorts. Şahin Sezer Dinçer | Pixabay

Another win strategy — to use trending topics and popular music in your content. With this strategy, you will reach new audiences and attract more viewers and subscribers, and you’ll also have to feature in recommendations. This will multiply your audience reach many times over.

It’s also very important for your videos to come out regularly. This will keep your audience interested and active on your channel, so your viewers will be less likely to leave to watch other authors’ content.

Calls to action, such as asking people to subscribe and like or comment, while simple, work quite effectively. Motivate your viewers to take action that will positively promote your content and channel.

Using relevant hashtags and keywords

SEO optimization doesn’t only apply to texts and websites, but also to YouTube shorts. To make your videos perform better, do keyword research with tools like Moz Keyword Explorer or Google AdWords, then use them in your content. Also, don’t forget to place appropriate hashtags under your videos to increase their visibility in YouTube searches. 

Promotion on other social media platforms

Internal promotion alone is not always enough for YouTube shorts videos to effectively gain a large number of views and for authors to gain new audiences. If you want your content promotion to be more successful, you can utilize other platforms and social media platforms to do so. For example, you can share links to your shorts on popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook to attract new viewers and subscribers. You can also embed links to shorts on your blogs or websites.

Performance Analysis via YouTube Analytics

Without performance analysis, it is impossible to track your progress in promoting shorts. The best way to analyze is to use the inbuilt YouTube Analytics tool. It can be used to track the number of views, likes, comments, and other performance metrics of your shorts. It’s also important to regularly analyze competitor data and your content to understand what types of content or topics are most appealing to your audience.

Monetisation of shorts

Monetisation in YouTube Shorts represents a crucial aspect for content creators looking to make money from their work. There are several ways to make money from YouTube shorts:

YouTube affiliate program

YouTube affiliate program is a monetisation system that allows content creators to earn money from their videos posted on the YouTube platform. By participating in the affiliate programme, creators can monetise their videos through adverts and other features provided by YouTube.

The main element of the affiliate programme is to monetise content through the display of ads. When a creator uploads shorts to their YouTube channel and joins the partner programme, YouTube can place adverts in their videos. For every view, click or view of all or part of the adverts viewed, creators receive a certain amount of revenue. This revenue is split between YouTube and the creator, with the percentage of revenue the creator receives depending on various factors, including the number of views and the type of advert.

Collaborations with brands

Deals with brands represent another way to make money from YouTube shorts video. Content creators can partner with companies and brands to place adverts in their videos or create sponsored content. This can include showing a brand’s products or services in a video or creating special adverts.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing also opens up opportunities to make money with YouTube Shorts. Content creators can partner with various companies and promote their products or services through their videos. For every successful sale or action taken through an affiliate link, the creator receives a commission.

How to maximize income with Shorts

To maximize earnings from YouTube shorts, it is important to create high quality and engaging content that will keep your audience interested. Updating your content regularly, using popular topics and trends, and actively engaging with your subscribers will help increase  youtube shorts views and shorts income. In addition, actively promoting your channel and collaborating with other creators can also help increase your YouTube earnings.

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Make YouTube Shorts and become famous. Pexels | Pixabay

Search for content

Searching for and discovering Shorts content in the YouTube app is a simple and easy process. Users can find Shorts through a variety of ways, including using the dedicated Shorts section in the app’s main menu, as well as searching by keywords or hashtags related to the topic of interest.

Playlists

YouTube also offers curated Shorts playlists, which contain selections of the most popular and interesting short videos on a variety of topics. These playlists allow users to easily discover new content and find videos that match their interests.

Personal recommendations

Personalised recommendations also play an important role in watching shorts on YouTube. The platform uses machine learning algorithms to analyse user preferences and recommend content that is most likely to interest a particular viewer. This allows content creators to get more  youtube shorts views  and increases viewer satisfaction.

Differences on different devices

The specifics of viewing shorts can differ on desktop and mobile devices. On mobile devices, viewing shorts is often done through a vertical screen format, making it easy to view on mobile devices and smartphones. On desktop devices, users can enjoy viewing shorts in a larger format, allowing for a more complete visual experience of the content.

TikTok or YouTube Shorts — which is better?

YouTube Shorts and TikTok are two of the most popular platforms for creating and watching short videos. Both platforms offer users the ability to create and share creative content, but there are some significant differences to consider when choosing between the two.

Similarities

Similarities between YouTube Shorts and TikTok include:

  • Short videos. Both platforms focus on short videos — youtube shorts length is 60 seconds, like on TikTok. This is making them ideal for quick and easy content consumption;
  • Editing tools: Both platforms offer a wide range of editing tools such as filters, effects, music tracks and others, allowing users to give their videos a unique look;
  • Recommendation algorithms. Both YouTube Shorts and TikTok use machine learning algorithms to personal recommendations and suggest content that is most likely to appeal to each user.

Differences

However, there are also differences between YouTube Shorts and TikTok:

  • Audience. TikTok has a younger audience, while YouTube attracts a wide range of users of all ages. This can affect audience selection for content creators;
  • Monetisation. YouTube offers more opportunities to monetise content, such as affiliate programs and advertising, while TikTok is just beginning to develop its monetisation mechanisms;
  • Content. While both platforms support a variety of content types, YouTube Shorts often focuses on more professional and educational content, while TikTok is more often associated with entertainment and meme content.

How to make a choice?

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing between YouTube Shorts and TikTok:

  • Purpose. Determine what your goals are with content creation. If you want to make money from your videos, YouTube may be a better platform. If your goal is simply to share your creativity and gain popularity, TikTok may be a good choice;
  • Audience. Understanding your target audience and their preferences will help determine which platform your content will be most successful on;
  • Monetisation opportunities. If the ability to make money from content creation is important to you, research the monetisation mechanisms available on both platforms and choose the one that better meets your goals and expectations.

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts is a very promising platform that can be a great opportunity to gain popularity for many creators and start earning from it. By following our advice, over time your short videos will start to gain a lot of views and start to pay off. Hopefully we were able to help answer the question «how to get youtube shorts views?». If you want to learn more about promoting your YouTube account, we recommend you check out this article

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