YouTube Shorts are often promoted as a shortcut for YouTube growth, promising easy subscribers and views. However, for small creators focused on sustainable growth and monetization, relying heavily on Shorts as part of your content strategy might be counterproductive.

This analysis delves into the data comparing Shorts and long-form video creation regarding subscriber conversion and revenue potential.

YouTube Shorts: Friend or Foe?: Video Analysis

Watch this video for a data-driven perspective on whether incorporating YouTube Shorts is the right move for your channel's growth goals.

Condition 1: Relying on Shorts for Subscriber Growth

Conventional wisdom suggests Shorts are great for gaining subscribers, but the data tells a different story, impacting your YouTube growth strategy.

• Analysis by YouTube strategist Patty Galloway (analyzing 3.3 billion views across 5,400 Shorts) revealed long-form videos convert subscribers more effectively.
• Long-form Conversion: ~22.7 subscribers per 10,000 views.
• Shorts Conversion: ~16.9 subscribers per 10,000 views.
• Personal experiment confirmed this: Long-form videos yielded significantly more subscribers per view compared to daily Shorts uploads over a month.
• Takeaway: If your primary goal is hitting subscriber milestones (like the 1000 for monetization), focusing on long-form video creation is likely more efficient.

Condition 2: Relying on Shorts for Revenue

The introduction of Shorts monetization raised hopes, but the revenue potential significantly lags behind long-form content, affecting your overall content strategy for income.

• Patty Galloway's research found an average RPM (Revenue Per Mille, or per 1000 views) for Shorts of just six cents ($0.06).
• This means 1 million Shorts views would generate approximately $60.
• In contrast, a modest long-form RPM of $2.50 would require only ~24,000 views to earn the same $60.
• While Shorts can go viral, long-form videos often achieve higher consistent viewership for established creators.
• Takeaway: Shorts are not a primary driver for significant AdSense revenue compared to well-performing long-form videos.

When Do YouTube Shorts Make Sense?

Despite the drawbacks for direct subscriber growth and revenue, Shorts can still be a valuable part of a broader content strategy.

• Supplementing Long-Form: Shorts work well as *additions* to long-form content, especially for creators with teams who can easily repurpose clips.
• Example: Podcasters clipping highlights for Shorts, TikTok, and Reels with minimal extra effort from the main creators.
• Discovery (Potential): While conversion rates are lower, Shorts *can* introduce new viewers to your channel, acting as a top-of-funnel mechanism if integrated well.

The Quality of Shorts Viewers

Experience suggests that viewers acquired solely through Shorts may differ from long-form viewers.

• Shorts viewers might treat YouTube more like TikTok, primarily consuming short-form content and ignoring longer videos.
• This can potentially decrease the click-through rate (CTR) on your long-form videos if Shorts subscribers aren't interested in that format.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests a higher proportion of negative or low-effort comments may come from Shorts viewers.

Conclusion: Strategic Use of Shorts

For solo creators, especially those aiming for monetization milestones and substantial revenue, focusing energy on high-quality long-form video creation is generally more effective for YouTube growth than prioritizing Shorts. Shorts can be a useful *supplementary* tool, particularly if they can be created with minimal extra effort (e.g., repurposing). However, relying on them as the primary engine for subscriber gain or income is likely a flawed content strategy based on current data. Evaluate your resources and goals before committing heavily to Shorts production.