Guide to YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts have made their mark on the video network, inviting users to participate in these short-form videos.

What Are YouTube Shorts?

Shorts are a YouTube feature that allows you to create shorter clips. As we know short-form content is extremely popular so YouTube Shorts can bring in a whole new audience to your channel.

Do you want to have this feature on your YouTube channel? In this article, we’ll tell you how to film a short YouTube video, what features you can add, and what the benefits are.

YouTube Shorts Length

YouTube Shorts can be up to 60 seconds max and the minimum is at least 15 seconds long.

How to Film a YouTube Short

Let’s start with the most important part, how do you film a short on YouTube? 

You can create one using the creation tool or based on the audio from other shorts. Here, we’ll tell you how to do it.

Creating a short on YouTube

Log in to your channel and get going.

Click on “Create” and “Create a short”

If you can film a short, it’s because you have the beta version of the “Create a short” option with this symbol .

Film the short

To film your YouTube short, hold down the capture button. If you prefer, you can press it to start recording and press it again to stop.

You can also undo , delete the clip you’ve recorded, or redo the clip to add it to your short.

Click next

Hit “Next” to view the video that you’ve filmed, and then hit “Next” again to go to the video details.

Choose a title

The title is important to encourage viewers to hit play on your short. You have a maximum of 30 characters to do this.

Upload your video

It’s now time to upload your video, but beforehand, remember to indicate whether your short is suitable for all ages or if it’s not suitable for children.

Lastly, tap “Upload” to post it.

Use audio to film a short

You can create and upload your own short on the platform using the audio from a short that’s already been added to YouTube.

There are two things you need to remember when using someone else’s audio:

⚠️  Some videos and, as such, their audio cannot be used because of the owner’s privacy settings.

⚠️  If the owner deletes the video from which you’ve used the audio, your video may also be deleted from the platform.

Find the short with the audio you want to use

In the player, click on the bottom right-hand corner

Here you’ll find a list of other shorts that have used the same audio.

Click on “Use this audio”

Hit the “Use this audio” button to use the other user’s audio and follow the previous steps for filming and posting your YouTube short video.

If you want to use audio from a video instead of a short, you just have to find the video and hit “Create” to use the audio. The rest of the process is the same.

Now you know how to film a short for YouTube. Did you know that you can add extras to your content?

Creative Features for YouTube Shorts

Knock your creativity up a level with the features you can add to your shorts on YouTube. What multimedia elements does the platform allow?

✅ Music and audio

By clicking on “Add music”, you can add a song or audio to your short.

Click on the icon and choose a track from the selection available for use.

The music that you can use and YouTube suggests in its catalog is designed for personal, non-commercial use. If you film a video outside of YouTube and you use material that is copyright protected, you could receive a claim.

If the copyright holder claims and it is accepted, the platform may delete your content and you will get a strike for a copyright breach.

✅ Text

With the Text option, you can write text after filming and also choose when it will appear and disappear in the short with the Timeline feature.

✅ Speed

A great option for making fun short clips on YouTube: you can speed up or slow down the recording. Bring out your talent and creativity and get the most out of it by hitting the Speed button.

✅ Timer

Use the timer to decide when you will start filming and when to stop the recording using this button.

How to Download Shorts From YouTube

If you want to have your short videos downloaded from YouTube Studio you can do it.

Just go to your YouTube Studio page, choose the short, click on options, and download: that’s it, you have your short downloaded to your computer.

▶️ Download YouTube Shorts ◀️

Where to Watch YouTube Shorts

To find short videos on YouTube, you have various ways of getting there.

• On the YouTube homepage and in the “Shorts” section.

• On your channel’s homepage, videos, lives, and shorts.

• On the “What to Watch Next” module.

• Search YouTube with the #Shorts hashtag.

• Feed on your subscribed channels.

Can You Monetize on YouTube Shorts?

With YouTube’s Partner Program, creators who make Shorts can now apply for this program and receive revenue sharing on ads that are viewed in the Shorts Feed.

Those creators with 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months, and 10M Shorts views in the past 90 days will be eligible to apply for YouTube’s Partner Program through YouTube Studio.

This process is slightly different though. Instead of individually making money on each video you make, the money is all grouped from all the content creators and you make money based on the views you receive and which music tracks you decide on using. This means YouTube Shorts monetization is based purely on ad revenue sharing. The earnings are split up between the creators of the video and the creators of the music tracks.

Why Film Shorts on YouTube?

Is it worth my while to create YouTube content in clips? 

This is a feature that will be included in all the content that YouTube already has. Why should I upload content to YouTube Shorts?

➡️ This is a way of interacting and connecting with your viewers, showing them different content. 

➡️ You will reach a new kind of audience that normally interacts with short videos, such as Gen Z.

➡️ Show off a different side of your brand or channel in these laid-back and fun clips.

How To Grow With YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts can grow your channel if you have a successful Shorts Strategy, here are a few tips to grow your YouTube Shorts.

Hook your audience

The first thing that your audience will see will be the photo and text of your short. So be sure this grabs the attention of your viewers. The hook you choose also helps in regards to the YouTube Shorts algorithm.

Link to your long-form content or blogs

2 birds one stone! Film a teaser video in a short and link it to your long-form video or your blog content to increase your views and attract a new audience to your channel as a whole.

Participate in trends

Trends can get your posts in front of new eyes so you can attract new viewers and subscribers to your channel as a whole. However, these aren’t the win-all strategy and this type of content is extremely timely.

How to Disable YouTube Shorts

To disable YouTube Shorts, you will just have to follow these steps:

• Log into YouTube and click on your profile in the bottom right corner.

• Click on the ‘Settings‘ icon and click on ‘General‘.

• Scroll down till you see ‘Playback in feed‘.

• Toggle to ‘off‘.

• Go back to the homepage and locate the ‘Shorts Feed’.

• Click on the three dots on the 8-10 YouTube Shorts and click on ‘Not Interested‘.

• Refresh, and YouTube Shorts will be removed from your page.

At the end of the day, when there are more possibilities to make content on any social network, it’s great for your strategy and will help you reach new users. Don’t fall short, use Shorts for your YouTube content. 

Carlos Bravo , 05 February 2024