The PROBLEM With YouTube Shorts

Over the last two years YouTube Shorts have become a major topic of discussion

From their unique format and interaction with the platform

To their ability to generate a ton of attention

More and more creators are spending their resources making this type of content

Logically, doing so makes sense…

Whenever social media companies release new products

Leveraging them tends to lead to faster growth

Just look at how much Instagram pushed Reels when they first came out

YouTube being no different, they wanted to compete in the short-form content game

And they incentivized those who created Shorts by offering them tons of exposure

By recommending this content more in the algorithm

And giving them their own dedicated space on the platform

But here’s the problem

Spending your time making Shorts may not be the win you think it is…

If you’ve gotten on a call with me before you’d know I’m a big proponent of proper resource allocation when it comes to building your channel

As you know, the two resources you have are: Time and money

While at a surface level, it would appear to be wise to use some of those resources to start making Shorts

That could be clipping sections of your long-form videos and turning them into Shorts

Or dedicating time specifically for this newer form of content

Again, this is not the worst decision in the world but here’s the thing…

The channels that gain the most success are always thinking about one thing:

Return on investment

Maybe this is my nerdy CPA side coming out but this is an important concept to consider so bear with me…

When you make a YouTube video, you make an investment:

Time and/or money is spent coming up with video ideas, producing the videos, uploading etc.

And there’s the opportunity cost

Opportunity cost is the cost of the benefit given up when decision is made

I.e. lost benefit of making video X over video Y

Return, in the context of YouTube, are the views, subscribers, sales etc. that your videos generate

To grow and monetize quicker, you need to be maximizing return on investment

What does this have to do with YouTube Shorts?

To put it simply, returns from YouTube Shorts tend not to be the most fruitful…

From a views perspective, they can surely increase your monthly view count but…

They are attracting Shorts viewers who may not be the ideal consumer of your long-form content

From an income perspective, Shorts tend to make pennies on the dollar

Whereas a long-form video may make $5 per 1,000 views

Shorts can be earning as little as a few cents…

So, the question is, where is your time (and money) best spent?

You guessed it, making long form videos…

Long form is still the most powerful format on YouTube

If right now your long-form content is struggling to get views then here’s some good news…

I am opening up 3 spots for channel reviews this week (Note: not free)

If you want the details, reply to this email “review” and I’ll personally get back to you

Until tomorrow,

Adam