Ask any YouTuber and they will tell you that generating significant views and subscribers isn't easy. But with the right strategy and tools, any video creator can build an engaged subscriber base when they understand what those subscribers want to watch.

Appealing to an audience to watch content you are passionate about making is just the first step, you need to know how to reach them and get your videos discovered. Our guides to how to guide more views on YouTube will give you the best tips to succeed on the platform.

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Do you want to make money on YouTube? Millions of creators are earning a very good living from the platform by uploading content that drives huge views and engagements. Whether that income is from advertising revenue, merch sales, or brand deals, we keep you updated with best practises and ideas.

How To Make Money on YouTube

Do you know how to do keyword research so you understand what videos people are actually searching for on YouTube? Do you know how to create a custom YouTube thumbnail? Do you know how to create a Playlist on YouTube?

vidIQ has a ton of tips that will help every creator maximise their video content. We publish content every week to keep you up to date with all the best practices.

YouTube Tips & Tricks

This post is all about how you can monetize your content on YouTube to start generating revenie. The are four golden rules to making money on YouTube, and they are:

You need to have 1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel

Your videos have generated 4,000 Watch Time hours over the last 12 months

You comply with all YouTube's policies and guidelines

#1 The YouTube Partner Program Requirements

Commonly known as the YouTube Partner Program, or YPP for short, you'll need to hit all four requirements before your channel will be accepted.

Let's start with the 1,000 subscribers. This one is pretty straightforward, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to 1,000 subscribers, once you hit that milestone, you've reached that requirement.

As well as 1,000 subscribers, you also need 4,000 hours of Watch Time on your videos over the last 12 months. There is some confusion with this one, so let me try and clarify that. First of all, this is not about how much video content you, the YouTube creator watch. This is all about how much video content is watched on your channel from people all across the world. It’s all those hours of video that people have watched on your channel in the last 12 months (from any given date). You could well have well 4,000 hours of Watch Time over the lifetime of your channel, but it's only the last 12 months that count for YouTube Partner Program requirements.

Another couple of things to tell you about Watch Time. Live streams do count towards that total. Unlisted videos also count towards that total. But if you delete any videos, that Watch Time will be removed from your channel Watch Time hours. And one more final thing, if you are already in the YouTube Partner Program, and if your channel falls below 4,000 hours of Watch Time, YouTube won't automatically remove you from the partner program, but they can do it at their discretion. If you want a much more detailed video on the topic of 4,000 hours specifically, check out this video:

If you want to check the progress of above requirements, you can do so by clicking on your logo in the top right-hand corner of most YouTube pages, and then clicking on YouTube Studio Beta. You can view all of your analytics here, but to quickly check progress on monetization, hover your mouse over "Other features", and then click on "Status and Features". On this screen, you should see a monetization box, and if you click "Learn more", it will tell you exactly where you currently stand with subscribers and Watch Time hours.

But if all of that sounds like too much hard work, then we've got a free tool that will do all of this much quicker and more efficiently. If you 

 on pretty much every YouTube screen, you will see a collection of real-time stats all about your channel. It will show you your channel's views per hour, views over the last 48 hours, and your subscriber count. But the really cool thing is that it will track your progress to 4,000 hours of Watch Time too! Once you hit 4,000 hours, that number will turn green to show you you've reached that monetization requirement.

#2 Following YouTube Rules for Monetization

Next on the list is the rule book. If you want to monetize your content, you need to make sure you stick to it, as YouTube state:

When you apply for the YouTube Partner Program, you'll go through a standard review process to see whether your channel meets YouTube's policy and guidelines. Only channels that meet them will be accepted into the program.

YouTube also constantly check channels in the program to see whether they continue to meet YouTube's policies and guidelines. These policies and guidelines that are very comprehensive, given all of the growing pains YouTube have had of finding the right balance between creators, viewers, and advertisers. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with these 

 if you want to monetize your content in the future.

However, if you are in a TLDR mood, to summarize, apply common sense. If you think a video might be inappropriate, chances are it is, and you make such content at your own risk.

#3 Copyright and Monetization Policies on YouTube

Among YouTube's policies and guidelines is the huge topic of copyrighted material. Essentially, if you use other people's work, then you could be using copyrighted material without their permission, and YouTube does not want you to do that. It will almost certainly get you demonetized or prevent you from entering the YouTube Partner Program. Let's look at this in a little more detail.

For most of you, this is the most important monetization policy. You have to make sure that you're adding value to any third party content you monetize, and that your content has significant original commentary, educational value, or editorialized statement. And let's be clear, that still might not be enough. This does not give you a license to use other people's content in your videos all the time, because if you do, YouTube may use this as an argument not to monetize your content.

YouTube confirms that if all or most of your channel is dedicated to reused content, and you're not transforming the original work by adding your own unique value, 

then your channel is not eligible for the YouTube Partner Program.

 The spirit of this policy is to make sure that YouTube are incentivizing unique and original content into the YouTube Partner Program, and that YouTube are protecting and rewarding the creators who work hard on original content.

Now, some may see YouTube's spirit of a policy as an excuse to demonetize channels they don't want in the monetization program, but let's have a look at it from this point of view. You spent days, hours creating a magnificent piece of content, and it goes viral on YouTube. And then a dozen random video creators steal that content, upload it, generate hundreds of thousands of views, and end up profiting handsomely from it. How would you feel if that happened? That's what YouTube is trying to protect - original content from video creators.

Admittedly, reused, duplicate content, and copyright content is a broad gray area on YouTube, and they don't always get it right. And you may look at some channels on YouTube and see that they're clearly flaunting these rules. Well, you don't know what their individual circumstances are, they may have permission to use that content, or they may get caught in the future, and you don't want to follow the examples of channels that are doing this. It's not a road to success.

Ultimately YouTube is the gatekeeper. They hold all of the keys. You are on rented ground, and if you flaunt these rules, and break them, then don't be surprised when YouTube comes after you.

#4 Linking a Google Adsense Account with a YouTube Channel

If you are going to earn money from your videos, YouTube needs a way to pay you, and at least to begin with, this will be done through an AdSense account. A few things you need to know about this, if you already have an AdSense account, you can use that. You can connect multiple channels to one AdSense account, and if you haven't got an AdSense account, you can set one up during the YouTube Partner Program application process.

#5 Applying to the YouTube Partner Program

Let's remind ourselves of those requirements one more time: You need:

1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel

4,000 Watch Time hours on your videos over the last 12 months

To comply with all YouTube's policies and guidelines

When you've applied YouTube Partner Program, it may take up to a month for the platform to make a decision. That’s because actual humans will review your channel so it’s a manual process. Some channels have been approved in days, so it could be quicker. However, if it does take longer than a month, then your channel will usually be placed in further review. When this happens, unfortunately, the wait times can get very long. Three, six, possibly even 12 months. In some unfortunate cases, YouTube never seems to come to a decision, leaving the creator in monetization limbo.

We appreciate that this can be a very frustrating position to find yourself in as a video creator, as many of you have commented about this on our videos here at vidIQ. Unfortunately, we ourselves cannot help push the process forward for you, so what we recommend you do is to talk to TeamYouTube on Twitter, make sure that everybody knows that you have an issue with your monetization decision.

YouTube say that this will never speed up the process, but at least having some decision is something you should deserve as a video creator.

#6 Being Rejected from the YouTube Partner Program: Next Steps

Now let's say that you've applied for the YouTube Partner Program, but you've been rejected. What can you do?

When you are rejected from the YouTube Partner Program, YouTube will give you a general reason why. Unfortunately, they won't tell you specifically what video or content is causing the issue, so you may be left blindly adjusting your channel. However, the good news is you can reapply for the program in 30 days' time.

Again, this is where you will have to use your common sense. If you think there are videos that are walking the community guideline and policies tightrope, then they most likely are and you need to adjust them. If there are videos that have copyright content on them then those are probably causing a problem with YouTube as well, so you will need to delete them.

Creators have asked when they apply for the partner program, will having a community guideline strike or a copyright strike against my channel prevent me from getting into the program? The answer is probably no, it definitely won't prevent you, but it is going to have an impact.

There is a dedicated support page with advice on what you should do if you are rejected from the YouTube Partner Program, and 

Once you are in the Partner Program, and you want to take your monetization a step further by earning money from Super Chats, membership, and merchandise, take a look at this video on the subject:

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Want to know how to monetize your channel and start making money on YouTube? Take a look at our beginner's guide!

How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel - A Beginner's Guide

On YouTube, finding the perfect publishing frequency isn’t always that easy. If you post too often, your subscribers won’t have the time or energy to watch your content. And if you post too sporadically, viewers may abandon your channel when videos are slow to appear.

The sweet spot is different for each creator, and you'll only discover it by uploading more content and learning as much as you can about your audience. 

Posting more videos gives YouTube a chance to share some audience data with you, such as how many unique viewers you’re attracting each month. From there, you can determine how much content your audience is willing to consume, and thus, the best uploading frequency for your channel.

For more details, watch our latest video about finding that perfect number:

Whether you have years of experience or you’re just starting out, these powerful tips will help you upload the right amount of content to YouTube.

Can You Publish Too Much Content to YouTube?

Consistency is important on YouTube, but it only pays off when you have a reasonable uploading cadence. After all, your audience only has so much time in a day. YouTube understands this, and that’s why the platform will only send 

 to your subscribers every 24 hours. So for example

, if you post five videos in a day, only three of them will reach the notification bar on 

That’s why you should post a maximum of three videos every 24 hours.

Anything more may be pointless, especially if you want your video to be recommended across YouTube.

Here’s how that scenario works: In the first three to six hours of publishing a video, most of your views will come from subscribers clicking a notification. It’s the initial push that gets your video noticed, and the more clicks you get, the more 

 you’ll receive. Once YouTube realizes your video has a high view duration, the platform will share your content with more people.

If you plan to publish three videos daily, be sure to stagger them throughout the day - perhaps one for the morning, afternoon, and evening. Getting three notifications from the same channel at once is jarring, even for die-hard fans.

Can You Upload Too Little Content to YouTube?

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible to post way too sparingly on YouTube. Whether that can hurt your channel or not, the answer truly depends on the situation.

For example, an audience of 18 and younger may be more connected to the digital world. They're likely to be on YouTube and other social media platforms daily, and if you're a gaming channel, that’s ideal. Your audience could easily watch one of your videos every day, potentially more.

But on the flip side, what if your audience is busy mothers who work during the week? They may have only an hour or two on Sunday nights to watch your content. So in some way, your upload schedule has to align with your viewers’ lifestyle.

There's a good chance your viewing habits on YouTube, as a creator, are somewhat aligned with your target audience. Ask yourself these four questions to gain more insight:

Are you a loyal subscriber who’s willing to wait for new content?

Or, do you get restless when videos are released too slowly and look for a more consistent channel?

What were your answers? If you and your audience share the same interests, you probably consume content the same way and should adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

How to Find The Right Publishing Schedule For Your Audience

By now, you’ve probably gleaned that the best way to pinpoint your weekly upload number is to study your audience. Luckily, the YouTube Studio and its wealth of analytics contain everything you need to know, so here's a quick way to analyze your audience:

In the YouTube Studio, go to the left navigation menu and click ‘Analytics’.

On the main channel analytics page, go to the uppermost menu and click the ‘Audience’ tab.

In the top right corner, change the time period to ‘Last 90 Days’. This gives the maximum amount of data for unique viewers and average views per visitor.

After doing all that, you should see a page that looks like this:

As you can see, the vidIQ YouTube channel got nearly 4 million views from unique visitors in the last 90 days (at time of writing). But overall, we got 7 million views total, which means the average viewer watched 1.7 videos on our channel. Of course, you want this number to be as high as possible, with each viewer watching all of your videos.

Also, unique viewers can be an indication of consistency.

 If you're posting all the time and giving your audience everything they want to watch, that number should rise. But if you're producing weird and wacky stuff your viewers didn’t sign up for, the unique viewer count will be lower.

When it comes to uploading frequency, your audience has the opportunity to watch all your videos if you post as often as they consume. However, if you're producing too much content for them to watch, your unique views may decline.

As your channel grows and you produce more content, it takes more effort to influence these analytics, as you saw from our fairly static graph. Nonetheless, you can do a test by slowly tweaking your frequency, adding one extra video each week (or removing one) to see if you get more or fewer views. The results should confirm whether your uploading frequency matches the viewing frequency of your audience.

Quality vs. Quantity on YouTube: Which Should You Focus On?

On YouTube, creators try to make videos of the highest quality. But there are times when quantity may be more beneficial, and that’s especially true at the start of your YouTube journey.

Uploading frequently helps you learn the YouTube process so you can eventually conquer it. After you've done 50-100 videos, you'll start to get an idea of what works best for you and your audience, and then you can go after the quality you’ve always wanted. But prior to that, let ‘eat, sleep, create’ be your mantra.

There are also time-sensitive opportunities where quality isn’t the biggest priority. When a popular trend or piece of news is fresh for the taking, you’ll want to post something about it on your channel before everyone else does. And, trust us - being ‘first’ on YouTube is a powerful thing. 

Let's put it this way. If you're a tech channel posting every Monday and Friday, and the iPhone 12 is announced on a Tuesday, are you going to wait until Friday to post your thoughts about Apple’s latest phone? Hopefully not. By then, you might be too late.

Also, think about your capacity to create video content. You don’t want to post so many videos that you burn out and abandon your schedule altogether. Your audience will notice, and if they're used to a certain uploading frequency, they may lose interest in your channel.

Like many things on YouTube, your audience is the key to finding the right uploading frequency. Once you’ve learned all you can about your viewers, you can post just enough content to reel in more views.

Want To Learn More YouTube Tips and Tricks?

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps then 

And if you’re really serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

How often should you publish videos to YouTube? You can’t answer that without doing some audience analysis, so here’s everything you need to know.

How to Find the Right Time to Publish on YouTube 

Do you like foraging for wild berries? Baking bread? Working with your hands to make stoneware pottery? Then perhaps you’ll also like C

, an aesthetic that romanticizes agricultural and domestic life from an era long ago.

Cottagecore (AKA Farmcore, Countrycore, Grandmacore, Witchcore, and other variations on a theme)

 has blown up online this year, but underneath the viral glitz and glam, this trend is a nod to simpler times. In some of the most chaotic and demanding months most of us have ever lived through, this content has proved something of a digital sanctuary.

Cottagecore celebrates traditional crafts, such as cross stitching, rustic baking, and handwritten poetry, plus outdoor pursuits such as gardening. Influencers across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Tumblr, are encouraging the trend by posting

 nostalgic photosets and calming countryside clips. 

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cottagecore has gone way beyond the aesthetic. Lockdown created the perfect conditions for slowing down, and in response, many people have embraced older household crafts. In March, one of those nostalgic tasks was baking sourdough bread from scratch. 

It became such a popular trend that quarantiners bought 

 to bake away their isolation woes. And although influencers are driving the views, some big-name publishers like 

and Twisted have jumped on the bandwagon:

But what does all this mean for YouTube creators? Well, Cottagecore has been growing in popularity for a while now. It’s evolved from a 

 to something many people know about, which means it might be a trend worth capitalizing on. Want to explore the possibilities? Here are the top keywords and content ideas we’ve seen:

, more than 200,000 people searched for ‘Cottagecore’ on YouTube in the past month. That’s an extremely high search volume, which means now’s a good time to post that kind of content. 

To help you reach more viewers, here are nine additional keywords to use in video titles, descriptions, and tags.

Another thing we’ve noticed about the trend is just how popular it is with “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” fans. If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s a simulation where players turn a deserted island into a lively community of animal friends. Along the way, gamers play as a character that decorates the island with furniture, flowers, bridges, plazas, and more.

Unsurprisingly, this created tons of design opportunities for fans. On YouTube, some creators are uploading videos where they tour Cottagecore-themed islands designed by various gamers.

, for example. In one of her videos, she toured a Cottagecore island with large pink and red flowers, densely wooded areas, and cobblestone pathways. Her tour guide was 

, who designed the entire oasis and used her “Animal Crossing” character to show Liss the Lass’ character around the island. Watch the tour below to see her beautiful haven:

The most exciting thing about this video - other than the gorgeous island - is that more than 200,000 people watched it. Liss the Lass has 12.9K subscribers, which proves even an up-and-coming channel can use trending topics to get more views on YouTube.

Creative Cottagecore Lookbooks Are Popping Up on YouTube

Cottagecore isn’t just about spending time in nature and doing traditional crafts. It’s also an aesthetic, and YouTube creators have taken the trend to the next level with fashion hauls and lookbooks.

 lookbook is the perfect example. Back in May, she uploaded a video of her modeling three outfits while wandering through flower fields and forest trails. It’s one of the best lookbooks out there, so take a few minutes to watch her calming, farm-style video:

Did you see the dainty overalls? The sandals from another era? It’s safe to say Anna nailed this look. Her video highlights the important parts of Cottagecore fashion, which are:

Like Liss the Lass, Anna has a small but growing YouTube channel of 3.46K subscribers. Yet somehow (because keywords!), her Cottagecore video has amassed more than 55K views.

So now you know: Cottagecore is a lovely YouTube trend that even the newest or smallest creators can capitalize on. All it takes is the great outdoors, a farm-style aesthetic, and bam - you’ve got a video in the making.

Want to Get the Most Out of YouTube as a Creator?

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and get more views on YouTube then make sure to 

. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps to succeed.  ​ ​ ​

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel.

The Cottagecore trend is helping YouTube channels of all sizes get noticed. Perhaps yours could be next?

What is Cottagecore and Why is it Taking Over Social Video?

Halloween is one of the biggest and most celebrated tentpole events of the year, and thousands of creators have already been publishing content around the topic on YouTube. There are still major opportunities to create videos about the holiday - but what keywords and terms have YouTube users been searching for around this event in the last 30 days? Let's dive in.

If you plan on a Halloween inspired video then you need to know what keywords YouTube viewers are searching for. You should also know when they are searching for that content so you can maximize your video’s viewing potential. Using the invaluable 

, we can confirm that the following are the most searched for Halloween keywords and phrases on YouTube right now:

When are Viewers Searching for Halloween Content on YouTube?

YouTube is an extraordinary place to find content on almost any subject under the sun. But interest in that content is often seasonal, especially when it comes to tentpole or holiday events.

, interest from YouTube viewers in Halloween starts to peak around the end of August, and lasts right through to the beginning of November. No big surprises there of course but a good strategy would be to publish 2 to 4 weeks ahead of October 31st to attracts those views and engagements.

Don’t forget that tentpole content is evergreen so if you’ve published any Halloween clips on YouTube in the past, and you believe the videos are still relevant, 

update your titles and custom thumbnails to see if can leverage the interest in the content that always comes this way this time of year.

Finding Opportunities to Create Halloween Content on YouTube

When viewers are searching for content on YouTube, it’s usually with a question in mind. They want an answer on a particular topic, or will you use a core keyword as a kickoff point for more ideas.

A look at the top most searched-for keywords brings up a lot of search intent around costumes for Halloween, so let’s take a deeper dive into what viewers are interested in around this category:

Top 10 Halloween Costume Keywords: YouTube

If you want an idea of the type of Halloween costume ideas that YouTube viewers love, take a look at this upload, published by CloeCouture in October 2016. To date, it has generated over 30M views, and is generating over 2.5K views per hour at time of writing:

Top 10 Halloween Food Keywords on YouTube

Halloween content around party food, snacks, and treats is also a total winner with viewers (and creators) on YouTube. Here are the top keywords in this category:

King of the food channels, Tasty, uploaded this 17:51 minute video a week before Halloween 2018 which attracted 12.3M views. 2 weeks before Halloween 2019, it is generated an amazing 4,000 views per hour.

Top 10 Halloween Makeup Keywords on YouTube

Halloween is perhaps the one time of the year where anyone, young or old, male or female, can go to town with a painted face. Makeup tutorials are big business on YouTube, and those how to’s that focus on Halloween wildly popular. The most searched for keywords are:

To prove how evergreen Halloween makeup tutorials are on YouTube, this was published in October 2017, has garnered nearly 42M views, and is right now generating 4.5K new views per hour:

Halloween is just around the corner! Here are the most searched keywords on YouTube around this spooky tentpole event.

Top 15 Halloween Keywords on YouTube

If you haven’t heard of YouTube Shorts yet, it's a new feature that lets creators 

 and add special, TikTok-style effects to their content. 

Eligible creators can access the Shorts camera in the YouTube app, but for everyone else, uploading a vertical video under 60 seconds with the hashtag #Shorts achieves the same thing. 

To learn more about the feature, read our blog post on “

YouTube Shorts: What We Know About How They Work.

” It shares some early testing results of YouTube Shorts, how to create your own, and predictions for the future.

However, if you've been following us for a while, you know what Shorts are, and that we started a 

 to test the feature. We've also posted some of these shorts on our main channel. 

They’re doing well so far, and we’ve heard similar stories of success from other YouTube creators.

To witness their testimonies, watch our latest video about how YouTube Shorts is affecting creators:

When we first analyzed YouTube Shorts, we didn’t have enough data to know whether they’d hurt or help creators on the platform. We didn’t know if they’d cause a decrease in channel 

 or if viewers would unsubscribe after watching short videos they never asked for. 

To some extent, we still don’t know how bad the outcome could be. But for now, despite some unknowns, we know YouTube creators are getting more views with YouTube Shorts.

How to Analyze Your YouTube Shorts Performance

Let’s start our YouTube Shorts analysis with a video we posted on the main vidIQ channel called, “YouTube Shorts: The @MrBeast Effect.” So far, it's given us the data we need to understand how Shorts are performing.

While you’re here, go ahead and watch it for maximum clarity.

As with any video launched on a channel with many subscribers, most of our initial views came from YouTube notifications. Eventually, this spike in views decreases as dedicated viewers stop watching.

However, our video didn’t follow that script entirely. There was a small boost in views long after uploading, so we had to figure out what was happening. Our theory was that YouTube was featuring the video on its Stories and Short Videos shelf. 

This is a newer feature in the app that lets viewers explore short content in a never-ending, TikTok-style format. To learn more about how that works, read our blog post, “

Can You Get 1 Million YouTube Views By Making Short Videos

To confirm whether our video was being featured, we opened the YouTube Studio and viewed the traffic sources list. Many creators hypothesized that views from the 

shelf showed up as direct or unknown views, which ended up being true. In fact, while viewing our real-time analytics, we found a surge in direct or unknown views for our short video. That means it was being discovered on YouTube’s new shelf.

Just to confirm, we didn’t post the Short on social media, YouTube’s community tab, or anywhere else. To make sure our data was conclusive, we made zero attempts to boost the video’s views.

Optimizing a short video isn’t too different from optimizing a normal YouTube video. For each YouTube Short, we made sure to:

However, those things don’t impact whether your video appears as a Short. And as many creators have shared, it takes days before YouTube decides to test (or feature) a video on the Stories and Short Videos shelf, where exposure leads to more views.

The big takeaway is YouTube Shorts don’t perform like normal videos, where the first 48 hours are crucial for getting more views.

 The video could take off at any time in the first couple of weeks.

Testimonials and Lessons From Creators Using YouTube Shorts

We told the vidIQ community about YouTube Shorts before they even had a name, so creators have had a few weeks to test the feature. And interestingly, there are plenty of success stories.

 has nearly 600 subscribers and got 11K views on a Shorts video. Read what they had to say about that experience below:

For those wondering about the aspect ratios of vertical videos, Interesting Igloo is having success with the 9:16 format. This channel also pointed out that Mr. Beast is using the same format for his Shorts, as shown below:

 is going all-in with the new feature and started a Shorts channel about his funny dog. The new channel only has 10 subscribers, but he's getting 400 views on some of his shorts. Read more on that below:

 gave YouTube Shorts a try and one of their videos suddenly collected more direct and unknown views before normalizing again. One interesting thing to note is LeigerGaming's thumbnails suit both landscape videos and vertical Shorts. If YouTube ever decides to use custom thumbnails in the Shorts shelf, that decision could pay off. Check out LeigerGaming’s thumbnail and comment below:

Nicksbankrpt told us a video of his from March 2019 recently took off with 1,000 views. We asked him to check the traffic sources and they all came from direct or unknown views, as shown below:

Wealth Insiders is gaining subscribers from YouTube Shorts, which is an interesting outcome. Check out their comment below:

Despite this channel’s success, there is a danger to testing YouTube Shorts on your main channel. For one, you're testing your audience's patience with completely different content. Many viewers subscribe to a channel expecting videos of several minutes, possibly more - and not all of them want to see shorter content.

Although the YouTube Shorts we’ve tested on our main channel are getting decent views, they do seem to be ticking off subscribers. We’ve lost a few whenever we post a Short, so that’s one analytic to keep an eye on.

Our last testimonial is probably the most interesting. It’s from 

, and that channel’s comment recounts a private video meeting with YouTube about how Shorts really work:

YouTube hasn’t separated Shorts from regular content yet.

Channel audience view duration will decrease when you make Shorts.

When someone doesn’t watch the full 15 or 60 seconds of a Short, that could hurt your previously positive analytics.

You don’t need to use #Shorts in the title/description of your video. YouTube knows it’s a Short if the video is vertical and within certain time constraints.

Many of these points contradict what YouTube is saying publicly about Shorts. For instance, YouTube publicly instructed creators to use the hashtag #Shorts, but this comment suggests it’s not needed.

Whether that’s true, false, or somewhere in between, only time will tell.

Will YouTube Shorts be the next big thing? We don’t know for sure. But we can confirm YouTube Shorts is no longer a mild curiosity for the platform. It’s definitely a real, concrete thing. And while TikTok continues to be in turmoil, YouTube Shorts has the potential to keep growing.

 then make sure to download vidIQ for more subscriber insights. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Can you get more views from YouTube Shorts? The evidence so far says - Yes. Here are a few testimonials from creators who’ve earned more views with short content.


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How Creators Can Get More Views With YouTube Shorts

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