Gaining a YouTube audience became as easy as filming a sixty second video with your phone.

Pexel free to use image for YouTube Shorts. Person holding a tablet watching YouTube videos.

YouTube Shorts were introduced in September 2020 and showed content creators a new way to gain an audience. TikTok has gained so much stride since its creation that many platforms have begun capitalizing on short-form content.

Instagram and Facebook created reels, and Snapchat created spotlights. TikTok has been the only platform able to monetize short-form content, but now YouTube Shorts are in the running. According to YouTube, content creators can access a $100 million fund for showing support in the YouTube community.

Many content creators will qualify for a $100 to $10,000 bonus from the fund. Below I am going to go over the main reasons why you should start investing time in YouTube Shorts. Keep reading so you can learn how to start using these shorts to your career’s advantage.

YouTube Shorts and TikTok

TikTok is a great place to start, but it isn’t a long-term place to stay. YouTube has always been the place for content creators to make good money, and it will continue to be. While you can make an income through TikTok, it won’t be the same type of income you could make with YouTube. TikTok will help you get noticed by brands and other content creators, but that is as far as it will go. 

Mr. Beast, who has the most significant earnings as a content creator this year, has stated he hasn’t made a good income off TikTok. Since YouTube Shorts has been added to the platform, many content creators have seen their channels grow into the millions by utilizing this tool. YouTube will not only build up a long-term career, but it will open up doors to other opportunities.

Who Creates The Shorts?

YouTube Shorts is a tool that content creators across the globe can use. The simplicity of creating a short makes it so anyone can use it and gain an audience quickly. The idea of it is similar to TikTok but allows creators to reach a whole new audience.

The videos are sixty seconds long and can be about dance challenges, jokes/pranks, how-tos, and much more. To quote YouTuber Goddess Earth Healing, “I love Shorts! The tools are really easy to use and help me connect with more people. It’s fun, quick, and easy!”

You do not need fancy equipment or a piece of extensive knowledge of technology like you would if you were creating long-form videos on YouTube. All you will need is your phone, the YouTube app, and some good video ideas. If you can’t find the shorts option in the app, ensure you have the most up-to-date version. Then just start recording!

YouTuber Goddess Earth Healing Shorts.

The Benefits of Creating Shorts

YouTube shorts can have a tremendous benefit in growing your audience and engagement. Creating YouTube videos can be very time-consuming, making it difficult for content creators to provide more than a couple of videos a week. Many content creators have even had to take breaks from YouTube because of this type of strain.

YouTube Shorts allow creators to upload on a whim and more periodically, allowing less pressure on the content creators’ creative outlet. The true benefit of running YouTube Shorts is exposure. YouTube Shorts allow you to show your content to non-subscribers and then turn them into subscribers.

Similar to TikTok, YouTube Shorts allow content creators to get in front of a larger audience with short attention spans. It has been shown that many viewers prefer watching short-form videos over long-form videos.

How To Get Started

Gaining an audience from YouTube Shorts is quick and simple. You just need a YouTube account, a phone, and some ideas. The way you create the Shorts is how to grow your audience.

When you create a YouTube Short you will want to keep the video quick and straight to the point and hook the viewer within the first few seconds of the video. Do not create just to create. The Shorts should have an end goal in mind such as gaining a certain amount of subscribers or views. Make sure the content is easy to take in within a short amount of time.

Things to remember while creating shorts is how to monetize them. Unlike the long-form videos YouTube usually produces, you can’t just put ads in the video. It would be unwise to include an ad in a sixty second video and expect to keep the viewers attention. It is not completely impossible to monetize YouTube Shorts though.

You can use AdSense on the Shorts if the views come from the home page and if music from the Shorts library is not used. Using these methods will help you get started in building a large audience quickly.

Woman gathered around a phone and laughing at what they are watching.

It is not always easy gaining and keeping an audience as a content creator. Trends change and viewers’ attention spans waiver. YouTube Shorts are a great tool for content creators to capture the attention of a newer audience. Thanks to TikTok many platforms will begin using the same idea to gain more content creators favor.

As of right now YouTube seems to be slowly overtaking TikTok with its own idea. It is time to take advantage of the benefits of YouTube Shorts and begin creating now. Do not fall behind with this new tool for content creators.

Recapping everything about YouTube Shorts, we have learned that while TikTok is great for short term use YouTube Shorts are more beneficial for long-term use. With how easy it is to create a YouTube Short anyone around the globe can create them. Once a creator begins taking advantage of the benefits that come along with creating YouTube Shorts then making a decent income off of them is possible.

All it takes is pulling your phone out and taking a sixty second video. Do not let this opportunity slip you by and regret it later on for not doing it. For more content centered around content creation be sure to follow PLR Hustle’s Instagram and blog.