How To Make YouTube Shorts: A Beginner's Guide

Every major social media platform is trying to break into the short-form video space. Some people might look at this and think it’s a bit derivative, but if you’re thinking about getting into content creation or are already a big content creator, all of these short-form video formats are just more avenues through which you can reach a larger audience.

Because of this, you need to take advantage of YouTube Shorts. Use the power of this stellar algorithm to get your content to people who otherwise might never have stumbled upon your channel. Social media is changing, and this is a huge opportunity you don’t want to pass up.

So today, we’re going to help you out with YouTube Shorts. We’re going to talk about what they are, why they’re important, what type of content to include in them, how to post them effectively, and answer some FAQs about the subject. It’s a ton of info, but by the end, you’ll be one step closer to making your impact in the gaming world.

What Are YouTube Shorts?

If you clicked on this article, you probably already know a little bit about YouTube Shorts. This section of YouTube is quite similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels in that it provides a bunch of short-form vertical videos that users can scroll through, and the algorithm continuously sends a firehose of content to your screen that is specifically curated for you and your tastes.

What Makes a YouTube Short?

Let’s talk about the details of what a YouTube Short video is. For starters, these videos are capped at the 60-second mark, so they’re very short — even shorter than TikToks, which can now be up to 10 minutes long. So when you create a Short, make sure you make maximal use of that time.

Shorts are also a lot like TikTok videos in that you have everything you need to create and edit them right in the YouTube mobile app. YouTube also provides pre-licensed music, which you can put straight into your shorts, just like in TikTok.

Why Should You Use YouTube Shorts?

The main appeal of YouTube Shorts from a creator’s perspective is that sweet, sweet algorithm. The YouTube algorithm will suggest your videos to users who share similar interests. These users can then like, comment, and even subscribe to your YouTube Channel straight from the Short. There’s massive potential to grow your YouTube following this way.

At the bottom of the screen in every short, there’s a link to your YouTube Channel and a Subscribe button that makes it easy for users to connect with you. If they subscribe through your Shorts, they’ll also be subscribing to your actual YouTube channel with all your long-form videos.

All of this makes Shorts one of the most effective ways to expose yourself to a new audience and get your gaming content, comedy, informative content, and anything else out there for the world to see.

On top of that, with the introduction of the YouTube Shorts fund, you can rake in some monetization if you become a successful Short maker, even if you’re not in the YouTube Partner Program. That’s even more reason to get started with Shorts!

How To Make a Short

Now that we know a bit more about what Shorts are and why they’re important, let’s get into why you clicked on this article in the first place. Here are some important things to think about when you’re crafting your all-important YouTube Shorts.

Pick Your Niche

First things first: you’ve gotta decide what type of content you’re going to put into your Shorts. We’ll talk about a lot of ideas, but in general, keep an eye on what’s trending so you can hop on the engagement waves that already exist.

It’s really important that you continue to develop an audience and get their attention. Lots of YouTubers think it best to throw out a bunch of different types of content and see what sticks, but what’s most effective is putting out content for a specific type of person with specific interests.

So use the “Trending” section on the YouTube browser to check out what’s getting views. Under the gaming tab, you’ll see all sorts of different videos and shorts that you can get ideas from.

Again, find out what’s popular at the moment and make your own version of it. Use words and concepts that the algorithm will vibe with so it will push your videos to more people.

Compile Your Content

Now it’s time to get your footage together. For gamers, one of the most effective strategies is to post short compilations of your best or funniest clips.

If you’re a streamer, we’re sure you’ve had moments where you came in clutch to get the dub. And we’re also sure you’ve had meme-worthy moments that make you want to uninstall forever. All of these make for great content that does really well on YouTube Shorts.

Another great idea that can save you a lot of time in the long run is to take a piece of one of your existing videos from YouTube, chop it up into a video clip that’s less than 60 seconds, and post that. Make sure to include relevant hashtags and say something in the caption like, “Watch the full video on my channel!”

You can also chop up larger videos too. If you have a step-by-step guide on how to defeat a difficult boss or get through a grueling dungeon, take the highlights and compact it into short-form video content to post.

But what it all comes down to is posting clips of you in-game. To make sure you have enough clips to work with, we recommend that you download Powder PC.

This AI software can detect when you pop off in your game and then automatically capture the moment you wanted to record in a short clip. And you’ll be able to trim it and convert it to a vertical clip immediately. With Powder, you’ll have plenty of content that’s super easy to convert into a reel.

Plus, our new Powder program for streamers can help you turn hours-long streaming sessions into share-worthy highlight clips that you can easily format to fit any social media platform. You can even customize your vertical templates to correspond to the games you love playing, so that the maps, inventory, and your FaceCam get pulled to the center of your social-ready vertical video. All you’ll have to focus on is securing the win.

Create Your Video

Now that you’ve decided what content to post, it’s time to get to creating. You can polish your videos in the YouTube app pretty easily. They make it easy to overlay audio and piece clips together. Or you could automatically create a vertical montage directly in Powder, and just add the music before posting to Shorts. Once the video is edited, just hit upload, and it’ll post just like your regular YouTube videos.

First, open the YouTube app on your phone and hit the plus button at the bottom of the screen on the YouTube homepage. Select Create a Short and then make sure that you allow the app to access your phone’s camera and microphone.

In the bottom left of the screen, you’ll see your photo/video library. Go through the library and select the clips you want to include in the short. You can also hit the record button to take a video with the app to add to your clips. On this page, you can also add filters to make your video look a bit better and include any effects over certain parts of the video.

Hit the checkmark and move to the next page. Here, you can add sounds over the video, add text to lay over the video, and even create a voiceover if you want to. Get creative with these two steps. Add effects, music, and voiceovers that make your video funny or interesting in some way.

It’s crucial to remember that the first few seconds of your video need to be exciting, funny, or grab your target audience’s attention in some way. If your video doesn’t interest them quickly, they’ll scroll to the next video, so make the first few seconds count!

On the final page, add a snappy caption and various hashtags and metadata that can help with SEO. Include trending words in the gamer community to increase your audience. Once that’s done, tap Upload Short in the bottom right, and you’re done.

Now that your video is posted, you can use YouTube Shorts as videos to post to other platforms. However, if you do it this way, there will be a YouTube Short watermark on your video, which looks a bit tacky. So we recommend you make your videos in a video editing app so you can post a clean video to each platform.

We know that working with video editing software can be pretty daunting. Softwares like Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut, and others are powerful programs, but they take a long time to master and aren’t great for beginners.

If you want to make things super easy, the Powder PC app has a one-click montage feature that compiles your best clips into an easily shareable montage, perfect for sharing on Shorts or TikTok.

YouTube Shorts: Building Your Audience

YouTube Shorts is an incredibly powerful tool that you can use to get your content in front of a larger audience. By creating the right content, doing it well, and including the right metadata, your videos could go more viral than you think.

And, of course, utilize Powder PC during all of your gaming sessions so you always have a library of amazing content ready to post whenever you need to. Simply open the app, start your favorite game within the app (or use our sound-capture technology on your other favorite games), and start collecting clips!

Just remember that once you get that engagement, continue to build off of it. Post Shorts consistently, drive people to your YouTube channel, Discord, and Twitch channel, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a bigger creator!

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💡If you're a gamer, content creator, or video editor looking to save time and money clipping short, shareable highlights and creating montages from your latest gameplay sessions or long streams, get access to Powder for PC (Windows) now. Powered by AI.💡Learn more about Powder at our website or join our Discord, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn communities!