YouTube Shorts – Big Money?

YouTube are gearing up to compete with TikTok currently the powerhouse of short content. Meta has already got on board for some time with Reels. YouTube initially put $100M funding into shorts with an aim to understand how to push them further. In 2023 YouTube announced they would now monetise shorts with ads. Similar to the Tiktok platform. Now the barrier for entry has never been easier to join the YPP (YouTube Partner Programme) So are YouTube shorts big money?

Why listen to me?

I have been regularly posting YouTube shorts since July 2022 on my Fightingdad channel and within the first 6 months I had achieved over 100,000 subscribers.

It’s NEVER been easier

Long gone are the days of grinding for 4000 watch hours on standard videos. This was almost unachievable for 99% of creators (In a short period of time)

Sure 10 million views seems like a lot. However, due to the push YouTube is making on shorts it’s never been easier. The same for followers.

YouTube Shorts algorithm

Now many people do not understand the algorithm one piece of advice I would give – if you understand how short form content works (Instagram, Tiktok and now YT) you will do well.

Here are some tips to beat the algorithm

• Focus on the first 3 seconds – This needs to stop a user from scrolling past the video
• keep on top of trending videos/sounds using a certain sound can keep someone watching a video despite what is being shown
• Use visual ques – Text to read/highlighting a part of a video with circles etc..
• Look at popular videos as a example of what good looks like – similar to long form content you must research, what do people want to watch and why? Once you have an idea of what good looks like, do it but do it better. You do not have to re-invent the wheel.

This is an example of a video that went viral on my YouTube account

You will notice elements of all points made previously in this clip.

Tools for more views

With the rise of any new movement online the opportunity for scammers also increases.

Please be careful – If someone is offering you something too good to be true, it probably is.

Here are some tools that may help you with YouTube

• VidIQ – Has a free and a paid version (I have not used the premium) This can be used in browser as an extension or on mobile. VidIQ offers research, keywords and title suggestions. The VidIQ channel also shares different ways to support creators.
• TubeRanker – offers basic support for free but again most comes from premium use.
• TubeBuddy – Works similar to both previous can be used as a browser extension also.

How much does YouTube shorts pay?

Speculations on the new payment for YouTube shorts is expected to be in and around $3-$10 per thousand views. However, this has not been confirmed yet. We will not know until the end of February 2023. If this is the case this is exciting news for creators as this is significantly more than TikTok are paying and will create a shift in the platforms popularity.

Things to consider

YouTube are very strict with copyright. Unless you make all the content yourself (not just edits like mine) you will likely not earn a thing from them. They do their best to protect original creators and rights owners. So if you make content like mine you will likely not earn anything via YouTube.