What is the revenue potential for YouTube Shorts creators?

Many creators I’ve spoken with use Shorts as a way to maintain visibility between their long-form videos. For example, Ryan Trahan makes Shorts for fun, which serve as small, entertaining clips that keep his audience engaged without the pressure of heavy editing. This casual approach can work well, especially if you already have a strong long-form video strategy in place.

If you’re thinking about focusing solely on Shorts, I recommend being cautious. While some channels see explosive growth, they often don’t maintain the same level of engagement as they scale. Additionally, there’s the risk of getting banned if Shorts content is repurposed from copyrighted material like sitcoms or podcasts without proper permission. It’s vital to create original content that adheres to YouTube’s guidelines, or you could face consequences.

I've noticed that many successful Shorts creators often experience a rapid rise in subscribers and views initially, sometimes hitting over 100 million views in just a couple of months. However, this growth typically stabilizes or regresses after a while. It’s crucial to be prepared for this decline and not rely solely on Shorts for sustained income. The key is to leverage that initial wave of popularity to build a loyal audience that may eventually engage with longer-form content.

For those who are considering integrating Shorts into an existing long-form channel, I believe it can be a beneficial strategy. Creators like Airrack have effectively used Shorts to promote their longer videos, creating buzz and drawing in viewers. This can be an excellent way to keep your audience engaged while also gaining new viewers. However, the effort to edit and create cliffhangers for Shorts can be intensive, and not everyone may find it worthwhile for their channel’s growth.

From my experience and conversations with various creators, the revenue from YouTube Shorts can be surprisingly low compared to long-form content. Most creators I've talked to report an RPM (Revenue Per Mille) of around $0.05 on average, which means for every 100k views, they’re earning about $5. Some exceptional cases might see an RPM of up to $0.11, which would bring in a maximum of $11 for 100k views. So, while it’s possible to earn somewhere between $5 and $11 for this view count, it can fluctuate significantly.