YouTube SHORTS (Do This Before It Is Too Late)

Summary

This video warns about the potential risks of mixing YouTube Shorts with long-form content. The creator shares personal experience where focusing on Shorts initially led to a surge in subscribers but later hindered the growth of long-form video views. The advice is to maintain separate channels for Shorts and long videos to avoid confusing audience expectations and to maximize growth.

Takeaways

• 🚫 YouTube Shorts can negatively impact your channel if not used correctly.
• 💡 The speaker emphasizes that while YouTube Shorts can be profitable, they can also sabotage channel growth if misused.
• 📈 The initial plan was to post long-form videos and one short per day, but the focus shifted to Shorts due to their popularity.
• 💰 Long-form videos were initially more lucrative due to higher ad revenue potential.
• 🌐 One of the speaker's Shorts reached a million views, leading to a focus on monetization through Shorts.
• 🔄 After monetization, refocusing on long videos resulted in a significant drop in views.
• 📊 The speaker discovered that the average view duration on their videos was poor, indicating an issue with audience engagement.
• 🎥 Efforts to make videos more engaging, such as adding captions and b-rolls, did not work due to the audience's short attention span.
• 🤖 The YouTube algorithm prioritizes videos for subscribers, but if subscribers do not watch, the video's reach is limited.
• 🔍 Channels that mix Shorts and long-form content risk attracting two different types of audiences with different attention spans.
• 📚 The speaker advises creating separate channels for long and short videos to avoid hampering each other's growth.

Q & A

What is the main concern about YouTube Shorts as discussed in the video?

The main concern is that while YouTube Shorts can be profitable, they can also sabotage a channel's growth if not used correctly. The video creator warns about the potential risks of focusing too much on Shorts and how it can affect the audience's engagement with longer content.

What was the creator's initial plan for their channel?

The creator initially planned to post long-form videos with proper creation, aiming to post one long video per week and a short every day, thinking it would be an easy way to gain an audience.

Why did the creator shift their focus to YouTube Shorts?

The creator shifted their focus to YouTube Shorts because they gained a lot of attention, especially when one of their Shorts reached a million views. They believed that monetization would be easier to achieve with Shorts.

What was the unexpected consequence of focusing on YouTube Shorts?

The unexpected consequence was that when the creator started focusing on long-form videos again, they couldn't get more than a few thousand views. Their audience, gained through Shorts, had shorter attention spans and would not watch the longer content.

How did the creator's audience behavior affect their channel's growth?

The audience behavior affected the channel's growth negatively because the subscribers gained through Shorts would only watch a few seconds before clicking off, leading to a poor average view duration and lower recommendations from YouTube's algorithm.

What is the role of the YouTube algorithm in this scenario?

The YouTube algorithm initially suggests a video to a small number of people. If they react positively (views, likes, comments), it gets recommended to a larger audience. However, if the creator's own subscribers do not watch the video or watch only a small part of it, the algorithm stops recommending the video, leading to lower view counts.

What advice does the creator give to other YouTubers regarding Shorts and long-form content?

The creator advises to create separate channels for long and short videos to avoid one type of content hampering the other. They suggest that both types of content can be profitable by themselves, but mixing them can lead to issues with audience engagement.

What is the creator's experience with monetization of YouTube Shorts?

The creator found that monetization was easier to achieve with Shorts compared to long-form videos, but this also led to a focus on Shorts at the expense of longer content, which ultimately affected their channel's growth.

How does the creator suggest managing the attention span of the audience?

The creator suggests that managing the attention span is crucial. They tried making videos more engaging by adding captions, b-rolls, etc., but found that the issue was with the audience's expectation, which was shaped by the Shorts they were used to watching.

What are the potential benefits of using YouTube Shorts correctly?

When used correctly, YouTube Shorts can be very profitable. They can help in gaining a large audience and even lead to significant monetization, as experienced by the creator with one of their Shorts reaching a million views.

What is the final recommendation from the creator regarding the use of YouTube Shorts?

The final recommendation is to be aware of the potential risks that Shorts bring and to consider creating separate channels for long and short videos to ensure that one type of content does not negatively impact the other.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Risks of YouTube Shorts

This paragraph discusses the potential negative impacts of YouTube Shorts on channel growth. The speaker shares personal experience, highlighting how focusing on Shorts can lead to a decrease in long-form video viewership. Initially, the speaker's shorts gained significant attention, but when they tried to revert to long-form content, viewership dropped. The issue was identified as the audience's short attention span, cultivated by Shorts, which affected the average view duration and ultimately the channel's performance. The speaker advises caution and suggests maintaining separate channels for Shorts and long-form content to avoid this issue.

Keywords

💡YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts are short-form videos that can be up to 60 seconds long, hosted on the YouTube platform. They are designed to compete with other short video platforms like TikTok. In the video, the speaker discusses the potential negative impacts of focusing too much on creating YouTube Shorts, suggesting that they can lead to a mismatch in audience expectations and ultimately hinder the growth of a channel.

💡Channel Growth

Channel growth refers to the increase in subscribers, views, and engagement on a YouTube channel. The video emphasizes the importance of managing channel growth carefully, particularly when incorporating different content formats like long-form videos and YouTube Shorts. The speaker shares their experience where focusing on Shorts initially led to a temporary boost but ultimately hindered the growth of their long-form content.

💡Monetization

Monetization in the context of YouTube refers to the process of earning revenue from the content posted on the platform, typically through ads. The speaker mentions that they initially focused on YouTube Shorts to achieve monetization more quickly, as the threshold for monetization is often lower for Shorts compared to long-form videos.

💡Long-form Videos

Long-form videos are typically longer than 10 minutes and are a traditional format on YouTube. The video discusses the creator's initial strategy of posting long-form videos to generate more ad revenue, contrasting this with the shorter, more immediate gratification of YouTube Shorts.

💡Audience Engagement

Audience engagement refers to the interaction and interest that viewers show towards content. The video highlights how the audience gained through YouTube Shorts had a lower engagement rate with long-form videos, which was a critical factor in the decline of the channel's performance.

💡Attention Span

Attention span is the duration for which a person can focus on a task without getting distracted. The video points out that viewers who are accustomed to short content like YouTube Shorts have a shorter attention span, which can negatively affect the performance of longer videos on a channel.

💡Algorithm

The YouTube algorithm is the system that decides which videos to recommend to viewers. The video explains how the algorithm initially recommends a video to a small audience and then expands its reach based on positive engagement. However, if the channel's subscribers (who are primarily attracted by Shorts) do not engage with the long-form content, the algorithm may stop promoting the video.

💡Subscribers

Subscribers are individuals who choose to follow a YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content. The video discusses the issue of subscribers gained through YouTube Shorts, who may not be interested in the channel's long-form content, leading to a mismatch in audience expectations.

💡Content Strategy

Content strategy refers to the plan and approach for creating and distributing content. The video suggests that a balanced content strategy is crucial, and mixing short and long-form content on the same channel can lead to confusion and reduced engagement.

💡Professional Writer

A professional writer is someone who is skilled in crafting written content, often used in the context of creating scripts for videos. The video mentions that despite having scripts written by a professional writer, the content did not perform as expected due to the mismatch in audience preferences.

💡Separate Channels

The concept of having separate channels for different types of content is suggested in the video as a solution to the problem of audience mismatch. The speaker advises creating distinct channels for long-form videos and YouTube Shorts to avoid confusing the audience and to better manage content strategy.

Highlights

YouTube Shorts can have negative side effects on your channel growth if not used correctly.

The speaker's channel almost got ruined by following the YouTube Shorts trend.

Long-form videos are initially planned to be the main content type for the channel.

YouTube Shorts gained a lot of attention, but they did not contribute to long-term channel growth.

Long-form videos generate more ad revenue compared to Shorts.

Monetization threshold for Shorts is easier to achieve than for long-form videos.

Investing time in Shorts led to a decrease in views for long-form videos.

The average view duration on long-form videos was negatively affected by the audience gained through Shorts.

Audience from Shorts has shorter attention spans and often unsubscribes from long-form content.

YouTube's algorithm prioritizes recommendations based on viewer engagement.

Channels that mix Shorts and long-form content may attract two different types of audiences.

The speaker advises creating separate channels for long and short videos to avoid hampering each other.

Some YouTubers promote Shorts without sharing the potential risks involved.

The speaker has gained success by posting only Shorts on a separate channel.

Both long-form and short-form content can be profitable if managed correctly.

Creators specializing in either long or short content can achieve success on YouTube.

The speaker encourages viewers to help each other grow and share their experiences in the comments section.

Transcripts

you might be tempted to create tons of

shorts after watching videos like this

blow up but before you go posting

hundreds of shorts you need to know the

negative side effects about YouTube

shorts you'll find people talking about

the upsides of YouTube shorts but none

of them are warning about the potential

risks you have to be wary of the things

that I'll share with you today or your

channel might face a brick wall how do I

know this your boy right here has had

firsthand experience one of my channels

almost got ruined by following this

short Trend I want to be clear though I

am not saying that YouTube shorts are a

bad thing when used correctly they can

be very profitable correctly being the

key point so when used incorrectly they

can sabotage your Channel's growth last

year I created this channel to help you

all grow financially my target was to

post long form videos with proper

creation but because of how hyped

YouTube shorts were and Tik Tok being

bigger than than ever I decided to post

shorts as well my plan was to post one

long video per week and a short every

day I thought it'd be an easy gold mine

to gain audience but boy was I wrong my

first long form video did how every

other first video in a channel does but

my shorts gained a lot of Attraction but

rather than getting swayed by this I

knew that long form videos will generate

much more ad Revenue so I focused on

that and got a big break at the time I

made quite some money from that video

and I was highly motivated but meanwhile

one of my shorts reached a million views

and knowing that the shorts monetization

threshold was much easier to achieve

than long form I decided to invest most

of my time into it I thought once I got

monetized I could flip the channel to

make it based on long form content I

researched everything that could make a

short-go viral and implemented it all

into my shorts and honestly they were

doing pretty good so I started dreaming

of living a rich life like many

YouTubers but that's where everything

took a wrong turn once I got approved

for monetization I started refocusing on

long videos no matter what I tried I

couldn't get more than a few thousand

views I decided to get to the back seat

and take a look at the bigger picture my

thumbnails and title were perfectly fine

as my click-through rate was quite High

my scripts were written by a

professional writer and my editing and

music effects were better than any other

channel in my my Niche that was when I

discovered the flaw in perfectness the

average view duration on my videos were

terrible and I mean it like I said my

hooks were top tier and I was doing high

quality content but the issue didn't

have anything to do with content the

problem was my audience the subscribers

that I had gained through YouTube shorts

would only watch a few seconds before

clicking off I tried making my videos

more engaging or interactive by adding

more captions b rolls or Etc ET none of

it worked because people who came from

shorts had shorter attention spans than

a goldfish and they had subscribed for

more shorts content if I'm being honest

a majority of them didn't even know that

they were subscribed you have to

understand how the almighty algorithm

works at first it suggests your video to

a short amount of people if they have a

good reaction to it meaning the view

like comments bring a good PR then

YouTube recommends it to a larger

audience but when you have a bunch of

Subs subscribers it makes them the first

priority to recommend the video and if

your own subscribers do not watch the

video or watch a small part of it

YouTube stops caring leaving your video

with a much lower count like what

happened to my channel if you're

uploading both short and long form

content then your channel is attracting

two types of audience one with an

attention span of 30 seconds and the

other of 8 minutes that's why channels

that even promote YouTube shorts with

long form content don't use shorts

themselves they're fully aware of this

phenomenon most of these YouTubers that

blatantly promote YouTube shorts won't

share this information with you because

their only goal is to grow and gain

views so that's why I decided to make

this video to make you aware of the

potential risk that shorts bring I have

faced the consequences firsthand so take

my advice and again I'm not saying that

shorts are a bad thing just create

separate channels for long and short

videos so that one doesn't hamper the

other I have gained quite a lot by

posting only shorts on my other channel

and if you want to do such follow me for

more such tips keep in mind that both

the types are good by themselves

creators like this and this specialize

in short form content and make lots of

money while creators like this and this

post only long form content and are one

of biggest YouTubers out there just keep

in mind to not mix things up let's help

each other grow in the comments section

if this video was helpful to you please

leave a like