4 Effective Strategies Every YouTube Shorts Creator Should Know

Among us, there are definitely those who keep planning to start making short-form content… planning and planning… but still don’t feel confident enough to upload even the first Short or simply tidy up their feed.

In the previous article, we already covered how to finally start understanding short-video algorithms. And today, we’ll look at 4 strategies you can put into practice and figure out which one suits you best.

But first, we want to discuss the following point:

The recommendation systems for Shorts have started to improve

Didn’t expect such a statement?

Well, let’s figure it out.

Short videos will never replace long ones, but we can’t ignore the fact that people, damn it, really like them — and in a way, they distract from watching the main content.

And if you take a closer look at your YouTube home page, you’ll see that in the short-video suggestions you get videos connected to your long-form watch history.

However, the reverse system doesn’t exist: long videos from channels whose Shorts you watch in the feed will not be recommended to you on the home page.

And thank God — otherwise our recommendations would turn into a complete mess.

And not long ago, we tested a theory from platform managers —

If you often watch Shorts from the same channel, sooner or later YouTube will recommend a long video from that same channel.

Our theory was confirmed. But in any case, you can also try paying attention to this pattern and keep in mind that through Shorts, your long videos can still end up in viewers’ recommendations.

Overall, whether to make short videos or not — that’s up to you.

On our own channel, we plan to keep combining both types of content, using certain proven strategies that won’t hurt our long-form content.

And we’ll share them with you.

Strategy “high-risk”: Chances are 50/50

Let’s emphasize once again: of all the strategies, this one is the least reliable. But as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So, here’s what it involves:

Try creating separate, self-contained Shorts that are related to your main content in both topic and format.

For example, on our channel, this could be a Short with a “Top 5 YouTube growth tips.” It’s simple and clear and doesn’t require any additions. The format and topic stay consistent — and we still remain a talking head in the YouTube growth niche.

What’s the point of this risky strategy?

In theory, you need to capture viewers with the atmosphere, format, delivery, and simply yourself, motivating them to watch the full-length videos.

These clips can be enjoyed just by scrolling through the Shorts feed, or a single joke could spark enough interest for someone to watch the entire full-length episode.

So yes, this strategy works — and if it succeeds, you’ll gain a lot; if it fails, you could lose quite a bit too.

Strategy “relatively safe”: 70/30 chances of success

Our favorite strategy, recommended to everyone: try creating Shorts that lead viewers to watch your long-form videos.

For this to work, the Shorts should act as an analogy to your video’s title: grabbing attention, sparking curiosity to watch the full video, and introducing the topic without revealing the main intrigue of the full-length content.

Of course, this won’t get millions of views, but it gives you a chance to attract a new, interested audience.

For example, if we were making a Short for a video about how Shorts work, we would start with the question:

Creating Shorts and not getting results? That’s because their algorithms don’t work the way we’re used to.

Next, there would be a couple of points about how recommendations work and one shocking fact.

For example, that now people who watch Shorts will start seeing long videos from that channel in their recommendations.

And we’d end with the thought that in order to make Shorts and get positive results, you need to know the working strategies, which we explain in detail in the full video on our channel.

Simple, clear. Those who aren’t interested will drop off because they’re just too lazy to watch a long video, while those who are “our” viewers will go on to explore the topic further.

And we need exactly these engaged viewers, and no one else.

Don’t forget to attach your long video in the settings, otherwise you might lose part of your audience.

Strategy “gentle nudge”: 80/20 chance of succes

This strategy focuses on older videos and bringing them back to life.

You create a Short that highlights the topic of any of your old videos, using the format from the previous strategy. Recommended, but not mandatory.

Then you logically lead viewers to the old video and attach it in the “related video” settings.

We often use this approach on client channels and on our own Prodvigate channel, not just with Shorts.

This tactic is safe, rarely causes any issues, and genuinely helps revive older videos that have been forgotten but are still valuable.

Strategy “hit the viewer’s pain point”: 90/10 chance of succes

Creators have a feature that allows them to respond to comments using Shorts.

And it’s a great format that connects with your long-form videos while also helping build a loyal community and strengthen your audience relationship.

Viewers themselves suggest the topics they’re interested in, so why not use that for your Shorts?

Simply make a reply to the most popular comment under a long video — and the Short is ready.

The process is simple: open the YouTube app, go to the video, scroll to the comments, and select the one you want to reply to.

On the right, tap the camera icon, and the Shorts editor opens with the comment automatically overlaid on the video.

With this kind of Short, you can appear in recommendations and even rank in search.

But remember one golden rule for any strategy: both Shorts and long videos should be on the same topic and in a similar format.

No funny cat videos in Shorts on a channel where the long videos are about growing tomatoes.

We hope you get the idea, and now there will be many more successful short-form content creators among us!