YouTube Shorts Just Blew My Mind
I finally figured out how to make YouTube Shorts out of my long form content and I was in shock at how much traffic I received.
I made a YouTube Short out of a long form video that previously only had 50 views and in under an hour it received 1400+ views and 2 people subscribed to my channel from it.
The surge in traffic to this Short seems to have died down for now. I'm not really sure if it will pick back up or if Shorts only get a surge of traffic, but it was really exciting while it lasted. It might be beginners luck, but I'll take it!
It may have been the most surreal moment I've ever had in my life. I couldn't believe the amount of traffic it received in such a short time.
How To Make YouTube Shorts Video Out of Long Form Content
You have to open the YouTube app, not the YT Studio app, on your phone. Next you have to click on the "Library" icon in the bottom right hand corner. Click on "Your Videos" and then select a video.
Click on the "Remix" button and then choose the "Edit into a Short" option and the rest of it is pretty self-explanatory.
Recent Comments
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Wow, I don't even know how to do that yet. Nor how to use YouTube. It looks like I walked into an alien land. I will get that figured out whenever I get to it. Thanks for sharing this. I bookmarked this so I can return to it later when needed. It blows my mind too.
That’s so awesome to hear! And exciting!
Do YT shorts have to be made from long form video or can they be made on their own?
When i made a couple of Youtube Shorts, I had an initial burst of views, then died down, then another burst. Noticed that with the few videos I have done.
Interesting post ... got to try that someday when I have the time to get a video done ... stay safe be well ... cheers ... Michel
I was super surprised. I created two shorts from two other videos and they haven't gotten nearly as many views. It may be hit or miss, but I'm going to start creating Shorts more frequently after seeing firsthand how much traffic they can get.
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They are powerful. I always start out with a longer video, hopefully longer then 8 minutes, as that is what is needed to monitize your YouTube channel. After that, I pick out the best 58 seconds for the YouTube Short. I pick 58 seconds because YouTube always adds some extra time and I have had a few 59 second videos that did not become Shorts because YouTube made it 1 minute and 1 second.
That's why I only make 58 seconds Shorts now. It's good for everyone on YouTube to start doing this. Great Post.
Rick
That is actually a brilliant idea and one I will use moving forward. Thanks for sharing.
Do you make your long-form content on your phone?
I make all of mine on my computer so they are not in the portrait format which is why I haven't done this, all shorts are shot in portrait mode and I'm not good with technology to be able to convert the videos which is something I feel needs to be done.
Then again I guess I could record that section on my phone and just upload it that way.
I primarily use my GoPro 10 for my videos as I do a lot of outdoor videos and I want them all in landscape mode. Even when I use my phone occasionally, I'm videoing in landscape.
I edit all of my videos in Adobe Premiere Pro and my first video edit remains in landscape mode. Once I have my video where I want it, sometimes with sounds effects, I upload that to YouTube, again in landscape mode.
After that, I make a copy of the Premiere Pro file and rename it to "...(Shorts)." It is this Premiere Pro file that I shorten to 58 seconds, then I go to the "Sequence" tab at the top, then choose "Sequence Settings" and go to the video section and change the "Frame Size" to 1080 Horizontal and 1920 Vertical.
Every video editing software is different but it should be easy enough to search how to change to portrait mode. You will have to zoom in and move your video around so that it fits properly in the frame. I have to cut the video in different areas so I can center the object correctly when someone or something is moving quickly in the shot.
I hope that helps. Let me know if I can help more.
Rick
Hi - actually, you can monetize a YT video of any length, but if it is longer than
8 minutes, then ads can be placed midway through the content.
I hate to disagree with you but I get a message from YouTube that states, during my upload when I'm filling out the description, "that videos shorter then 8 minutes cannot be monetized." It says nothing about ads being placed in the middle of the videos.
I'm sure that is part of it but that is not the message I get from YouTube.
I hope you're right and the message is wrong, but that is the message I get.
Rick
Oh, interesting, I will look further into that, and let you know what I find!
Perfect. I'm going to check on it also today with a shorter video to see if the message is still the same or if there is additional information I'm missing. I'll comment back here after the new upload.
Rick
A strange thing has happened. My YouTube channel has been de-monetized. I knew YouTube came out with new policies against showing death, but what they say is a lot about gaming and showing or implying death.
I guess they have expanded that out to outdoor channels that show hunting videos. At least that's all I can imagine now, so there's no way for me to get that message any more.
Perfect! Google and YouTube are at it again. There are some days that other people make it difficult to be happy.
Rick
If you are showing the kill, it probably comes under their graphic content rules.
I’m sure it is but this has never been a problem in the past for thousands of other hunting channels on YouTube. Thankfully our camping section is doing better than anything else. I have been contemplating switching our focus over to camping. This helps with that decision.
Rick
Rick, sorry to hear about your channel being demonetized. I was banned from Google Adwords long time ago and it was a huge punch in the gut.
My understanding was in alignment woth Diane’s that it could be monetized, but just wouldn’t have midroll ads. If that’s not the case then they need to update their documentation:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6175006?hl=en#zippy=,frequently-asked-questions
I haven’t created a short from scratch yet. I’ve only been creating them from original videos. I’ve heard original shorts not created from videos get more traffic. It’s definitely something I want to try out.
I had been only doing 15 second shorts because I didn’t realize I could click on the “15” circle and it would change to “60”. Most of my content is extremely short anyways, so not knowing that wasn’t too big of a deal.
How do you like Premiere Pro? I’m kind of interested in it, but I really hate monthly subscriptions.
Agreed on monthly costs, but after trying many other video editing softwares out, I have really liked Premier Pro and how easy it is to learn while it also being very powerful, plus so many people use it that there are many great instructional videos to learn from.
Rick