Last weekend, I was trail riding along the Anacostia River in Washington DC and wanted to capture the beautiful views by making a Shorts video.

In this video, you’ll learn how to film a Shorts video using different cameras, how to upload and optimize your Shorts video, and how to publish and promote it to get more views.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

How To Film Your Shorts Video

If you’re filming with your phone, make sure you’re holding it in the vertical position. If I’m filming a short with my GoPro camera, I move it to the vertical position. If I’m filming with my Canon M50, I’ll adjust it to the vertical position.

How To Import Your Shorts Video

Now, you can import your Shorts video onto your vertical document using your video editing software. I use ScreenFlow for the Mac. Later, I’ll show you how viewers will find your Shorts videos so stay tuned.

When you import your Shorts video into your video editing software, Make sure your document is 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels high. Keep in mind, your shorts video has to be under 60 seconds in length, otherwise, it won’t appear as a shorts video on YouTube.

How To Export Your Shorts Video

When you export your Shorts video, make sure you export it using the same dimensions as you created it with. I use the vertical dimensions of 1080 pixels wide and 1920 pixels high.

How To Optimize Your Shorts Video

There are two important things to keep in mind when optimizing Shorts video for YouTube, the title and the hook.

The title is what viewers see first when s scrolling their phones, and the hook
is what viewers see when they hover over your video.

How To Upload Your Shorts Video

• Log in to your YouTube channel.
• Click the create link at the top.
• Click upload videos,
• Click select files, or drag and drop a file to upload.
• So I’m going to drag this file, “How to increase Watch time on YouTube in 30 seconds.”
• Now it’s uploading.
• Okay, I’ve got my title in there ready, because that’s what I named the file.
• Add a short description.
• Make sure you include the hashtag shorts in the description or the title.
• Here’s the thumbnail frame that YouTube chooses from your video to add to the short shelf.
• You can upload a custom thumbnail, but keep in mind your custom thumbnail will only appear in Google search, but won’t appear when people are scrolling shorts videos on their phones.
• Under audience, select No, it’s not Made for Kids,
• No age restriction.
• Click next.
• I’m not going to add an end screen or a card.
• Click next.
• Under visibility, you can choose private, unlisted, or public.
• For the sake of this demonstration, I’m going to choose unlisted.
• If you want to make it public, choose public, or you could schedule it,
• Click save.

Keep mind the red Subscribe button appears at the end of your Shorts video, so you could remind people to subscribe at the end of your video.

Now that you’re finished uploading and optimizing your shorts video, you’re ready to publish and promote it.

How To Publish and Promote Your Shorts Video

If you’ve uploaded your Shorts video as unlisted, change the visibility setting to public so everyone can watch it. Now, you can share it on your social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, blogger, Tumblr, LinkedIn, etcetera or you can just grab the link.

Click close.

If you want to promote your Shorts video on the YouTube app, tap the share button,
then select one of the social media sites.

How to add a Shorts section to your YouTube channel homepage

The main benefit is so first time viewers to your channel can see your shorts.

• Simply click on customization in YouTube studio
• Click on “add section”.
• Select short videos.
• It says “This section will appear after a short video has been uploaded.” Here’s the shorts section that has been added to my main channel. Here are all the shorts videos that are being added to my YouTube channel homepage. Adding a short section will also help your Shorts videos to be discovered on the short shelf on the YouTube mobile app.

How Will Viewers Find My Shorts Videos?

Viewers can find your shorts videos in a number of ways.

• You can tap on the shorts icon on the YouTube app then scroll through the different shorts.
• If you go to the YouTube app on your mobile phone, then scroll down, you’ll be able to see the shorts section on the YouTube app.
• You can view shorts on YouTube’s homepage at youtube.com.
• They can be featured on your channel homepage, which I showed you earlier.
• They also appear in your notifications and when checking your subscriptions.
• Recently, YouTube added a shorts tab to the YouTube channel homepage,
  so videos and shorts are separated.
• You’ll also see a separate tab for shorts under content and YouTube analytics.

From 2023 onwards you can also watch shorts on your smart TVs, gaming consoles
and streaming devices.

What if you want to make a Shorts video on your phone using the YouTube Shorts camera app?
Watch this video “How to make a 60 second Shorts video on your phone.”

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

How can this dormant channel of only 22 subscribers get access to the community tab when YouTube says you need 500 subscribers?

Stay tuned if you currently have a channel without 500 subscribers so you can get access to the community tab and make a deeper connection with your viewers.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

I polled my subscribers by asking them, do you have access to the community tab If your channel is under 500 subscribers?

70% said yes.
SUP Chick only has 316 subscribers.
Alhapra only has 330 subscribers.
The lady in Espresso only has 342 subscribers
Jito1 one only has 34 subscribers.

What’s going on?

Let’s take a look at the alternative requirements to get access to the community tab without 500 subscribers. YouTube says, for the community tab to be available, you need 500 subscribers or enable access to advanced features on your channel.

Here’s a chart showing the features available for standard, intermediate and advanced options.

As you can see, under advanced options you get access to the community posts. add a clickable external link to description. You can apply for monetization so long as you meet the eligibility requirements. Embed live streams and content Id appeal.

With the intermediate option you can make longer videos, live stream on desktop and upload custom thumbnails. For the standard option, like when you first get started on YouTube, you can upload videos with a limited daily limit if you have no verification and create playlists.

Keep in mind, you need to enable advanced features to enable community posts.

Let’s go to my small channel of 22 subscribers to enable advanced features,
– Click on settings in YouTube studio.
– Click on channel.
– Click on feature eligibility.
As you can see, standard features have been enabled. I’ve got video uploads, playlist creation, add collaborators to playlists, add new videos to existing playlists, and my channel is free of active community guideline strikes.

Now, that’s done.

Intermediate features have also been enabled, which means that I’ve verified my phone number so I can upload videos longer than 15 minutes, Upload custom thumbnails and do live streaming.

So that’s done.

Now it shows I’m eligible for advanced features, but it hasn’t been enabled.
– So if I click, the dropdown says I’ll be able to create more live streams daily, upload more videos daily, create more shorts, daily. Embed live streams, have external links in the video descriptions, appeal content ID claims, and eligible to apply for monetization.
– Monetization has an asterisk next to it, which means that it needs additional requirements.

As I mentioned previously, if you enable advanced features, you get access to the community tab.

Under requirements, it says, to get advanced features you need intermediate features enabled, which I’ve done, and just one of these.

• I can do video verification, which means I simply look at your phone’s camera, follow the prompts, look up and down to get quick access to advanced features.

After two months of channel activity and following our community guidelines, you’ll establish channel history and we’ll automatically delete your video.

• Valid ID. Take a photo of your valid id, like a passport or driver’s license to get quick access to advanced features

• Channel history. Keep growing your channel and following our community guidelines to build your channel history. For most creators, this usually takes up to two months. If you used your ID or video verification to access advanced features we’ll delete it from your Google account.

Keep in mind your channel may have got automatic access to the community tab if you’ve accumulated enough channel history, even if it’s under 500 subscribers. If so, you’ll see a notification inside YouTube studio.

So which one of these three options is the easiest?

Click access features. It says, choose how to access advanced features. This one time verification gets you the features to take your channel to the next level and helps us to keep the YouTube community safer for everyone.

Video verification, approval time. usually up to one day. Use your valid id…approval time up to one day, Build channel history… approval time usually takes up to two months. I’m going to use the first option, use video verification because that seems to be the easiest.

Approval time is only one day, and we’ll help you create a 30 second video of yourself looking into your phone’s camera. Alternatively, I could use my phone to take a photo of the government issued ID like a passport or driver’s license. I select video verification.

• Click next.
• Get email to start verification on your phone.
• Google is sending the verification link to my email address.
• Open on your phone and start your verification using your phone’s camera.
• We sent you an email.
• Check your email for verification link.
• Tap on gmail.
• Use video verification to get advanced YouTube features.
• A one time video verification will give you access to advanced YouTube features.
• We’ll help you create a 30 second video of yourself looking into your phone’s camera.
• For a successful video, we recommend recording and in a well lit, (which I have) location with a wifi connection, which I have.
• Tap start verification.
• Use my Google account.
• Tap next.
• Gotta enter my password.
• Face id.
• Now I’ve gotta do two step verification.
• Open the YouTube app.
• Okay, it says, open the YouTube app on your phone and tap yes to verify it’s you.
• Open the YouTube app. Yes, it’s me.
• Agree to video verification.
• Tap the check mark.
• Allow Google to use your video to help develop and improve It’s face matching.
• Tap. I agree.
• Hold your phone at eye level in front of your face.
• Make sure nothing covers your eyes, nose, or mouth, such as sunglasses, fabric, or a hat. I guess I got to take my hat off.
• Tap. Next.
• Follow your dot with my eyes
• Uploading your video.
• Thanks for submitting your video verification.

Google now needs to review your video. Usually it takes up to 24 hours. Once your video verification is approved, you’ll immediately able to use advanced YouTube features.

You can check the status of your request or delete your video in your Google account. If you delete your video, you won’t be able to use advanced features. You need to build your YouTube channel history or try ID to video verification again to get access to its features.

All I have to do now is wait 24 hours for Google to review my video.

What if your video verification was denied?

If your video verification was denied, you’ll receive this email…”your video verification was unsuccessful. You have one more opportunity to try again now to get advanced YouTube features.”

Verification by phone

So I could record a video again or take a photo of my id. This time I’m gonna take a photo of my id. So I’m gonna click get email to start verification on your phone.

YouTube says we sent you an email, so I’m gonna check it out.

Here’s an email. Herman, use your ID for YouTube features. A one time ID verification will give you access to advanced YouTube features. This extra step helps limit spammers and maintain a safer community for everyone. We’ll  help you submit a photo of your id.

• Start verification.
• Confirm your date of birth,
• use your phones camera,
• take a photo of your id.
• Your ID must clearly show your date of birth. 
• Tap next.
• Tap, allow. 
• Tap, submit.
• It says your ID is in review.
• Thanks for submitting your id. Google now needs to review.

Your ID may take up to 24 hours. Once your ID is approved, you’ll immediately be able to use advanced YouTube features. All right, that’s what I want. You can check the status of your request or delete your ID in your Google account.

When I go to this address and look under identity document, I see that my ID has been verified. If you delete your id, you won’t be able to use Advanced YouTube features.

You need to build a YouTube channel history or try ID or video verification again, to get access to these features.

I’m gonna check back in 24 hours to see if I have access to the community tab for my small channel of 22 subscribers.

When I checked the feature eligibility status in YouTube Studio. It says that my ID
verification is still under review.

What’s going on? 

I checked back the next day and it says, advanced features have been enabled. When I checked with YouTube, they said it would take up to week to get the Community tab feature. You’ll see the community tab added to the top of the YouTube channel homepage.

Team YouTube on Twitter says, “we’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to know when you’ll get access to the community tab,  over the next several weeks channels with access to advanced features will begin to have access to the community tab.

Here’s a link to the help article.

Keep in mind, it can take up to a week to see the community tab after reaching 500 subscribers on your channel, or it can take 48 hours after you’ve gained access to the advanced features.

If you want to know how to post a poll, image or video on your community tab, watch this video on the screen right now on how to make community posts on YouTube desktop or mobile.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Yesterday I was sitting in a coffee shop watching a YouTube video, but couldn’t hear what the video was saying because the noise around me drowned out the sound of the video.

If the video contained subtitles or closed captions, I’d be able to read the closed captions
while watching the video.

In the video below, you’ll learn 3 ways to transcribe a YouTube, video into text using free and paid options so you can reach a wider audience. You’ll also learn the top benefits of transcribing your video and how to repurpose it to get more views and subscribers.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Free Captioning Options

The free ways to add close captions to your YouTube video is editing the autogenerated transcript from YouTube or upload a transcript you created or got created by someone else.

I’ll discuss how you can get a transcript done for you later in the video.

• Click on the content tab on YouTube studio.
• Select the video you wish to add subtitles and close captions to.
• I’m gonna add close captions to this Shorts video.
• Click on the pencil icon that says details.
• To add subtitles. you can click the subtitles in the left hand column, or you can click on subtitles.

There are 3 ways you can add captions to your videos.

• You can upload a file. This contains a text of what is said in the video.
• You can auto sync the video, which means you can type and paste in a full transcript of the video, and the timings will be set automatically
• You can type them manually. This creates subtitles and closed captions by typing
  them in as you watch the video.

Type text manually while watching the video

Videos that are captioned see an increase in watch time compared to
videos that don’t have the captions.

• Click type manually.
• Play the video.
• Tap the YouTube app.
• Now I just type in my words
• Just add captions as you’re listening to the video.
• If you want to enter subtitles faster, then you can use the keyboard shortcuts.
• Just click on keyboard shortcuts, and here’s all the different shortcuts you can use.
• After you’ve finished adding your closed captions, you can click save draft, or you can click Done.

Enable Closed Captions for a video you want to watch

Captions or subtitles are available to videos where the owner has added
them or where YouTube automatically adds them.

Here’s how to turn a default setting for captions on or off.

• Click on your profile icon.
• Click on settings.
• Click on playback and performance .
• Check “always show captions”
• Check the box that says, “Include autogenerated captions when available.”
• This option turns on or off automatic captions for videos when they’re not available for that video.

Here’s how to turn on closed captions for a video you want to watch on YouTube, as long as the owner has made closed captions available.

• Go to the video you’ll want to watch.
• Click on CC at the bottom of the video.
• Now you’ll see the closed captions at the bottom of the video.

Enable Autogenerated Captions

• Click on subtitles in the left hand column.
• Here’s the autogenerated transcript that YouTube has created.
• Click, duplicate, and edit.
• It says this will override your existing English draft.
• Click continue.
• Here’s the text of the autogenerated transcript from YouTube.
• All you have to do is play the video, then edit the text.
• You can edit all this as you play the video or click edit timings.
• I recommend click edit timings.
• Now it’s easier to edit the text, so just play the video.
• “Tap the YouTube App” and then just edit the text.
• So you can capitalize and add periods as you go through the text.
• You’ll be able to see the closed captions on your video.
  
  This is one of the fastest and most accurate ways to add captions to YouTube videos apart from uploading a transcript that has been generated from a company.
  
• After you’ve edited all the texts for your captions, just click publish.

Here’s how to upload a transcript you’ve created or got created by somebody else.

• Click on subtitles,
• click on upload file.
• You can select with timing, or you can select without timing.
• I’m gonna select without timing.
• Click continue.
• I’ve got my transcript text here, so you just select that.
• Click open, and here’s my transcript.
• If I click edit timings, then it’ll generate all the text for the particular captions on my video.
• If I click on auto sync, I can select all the text from my transcript and post it here.
• Here’s the text from my transcript and I’m gonna copy all that text.
• Paste it in here, then click edit timings, and here all the timings will automatically be set for that particular text.
• If I’m happy with that, I just click done.
• If I click on subtitles, I can now see that I’ve got the autogenerated transcript and I’ve also got my edited transcript right here.
• Now, if I play the video, you can see the subtitles have been added to the bottom of my video.

Paid Options To Transcribe A Video

The paid options to create a transcript of your video content include online software
as well as an online service.

Create Transcripts With Free Online Video and Image Editor

Kapwing is a free online video editor that allows you to repurpose your content on other social media platforms.

The free version of Kapwing includes…

• Unlimited exports with a watermark.
• Create videos up to 7 minutes long
• Use the auto subtitler for 10 minutes per month.

Pro Version
The most popular paid version is only $16 per month, which gives you…

• No Kapwing watermark on your creations.
• Create videos longer than 60 minutes,
• Unlimited auto subtitling in minutes,
• HD video quality,
• Unlimited cloud storage,
• Access all video editing tools.

Autogenerate subtitles and closed captions with Kapwing

• After you’ve signed in, click create new project,
• Upload or drag and drop your video file here, or you can just paste your URL in the box.
• So I’m gonna do that Now it’s fetching, and here’s my shorts video.
• Then I can create subtitles, so click subtitles,
• Click Auto generate.
• This will auto generate subtitles using a transcription API only take a few minutes.
• I can also switch the language and create subtitles and close captions for any language.
• If I wanna translate it, click translate.
• Then I can select the language that I wish to translate it into.
• This will generate all the subtitles for that particular language.
• Click Transcribe.
• Click Auto Generate
• Now it’s auto generating all the subtitles for this particular Shorts video.
• Now I can go through my video to edit the captions & correct any mistakes.
• Play the video
• Now you can edit each line of text to fix mistakes.
• So I would go through all these to generate these closed captions and subtitles for my Shorts video. After I’ve finished generating all the closed captions and subtitles, I just click Done.
• As you can see, the captions are added directly to the video.
• Here’s the finished video with the closed captions on the video.
• So I can copy the link or I can just download the file.
• So if I want to download this transcript and upload it to YouTube,
• Just click “Download Transcript”, and here’s my transcript file with all the edited text

Human Generated Transcription Service (GoTranscript)

If you want to get your videos professionally and accurately transcribed by humans use GoTranscript

• After you’ve signed up for GoTranscript, click place your order.
• Select transcription, then upload your files or drag and drop your files here to upload them.
• You can also paste a url.
• So if I click paste URL, I can enter the YouTube URL in the box here then click add.
• Click done.
• It will show you your order summary here.
• Total price, $7.
• Turnaround time is 3 days, or you can select 5 days, which is cheaper.
• Select your payment option,
• Click place order.
• You’ll receive an email that your order has been processed.
• We’ll let you know when your order is finished.
• Within a few days, you’ll receive an email that your transcription has been completed,
• Click Download transcription.

Top Benefits For Adding Closed Captions To YouTube Videos

When you add close captions or subtitles to YouTube videos, it means that people who can’t hear or have the sound turned off can read the captions under your videos while watching the video.

A transcript gives your viewers the ability to consume your content anywhere at any time. For example, they can consume your content at work with the sound turned off. It could be on the bus, in a noisy coffee shop, or while waiting for the doctor in a waiting room.

Ultimately, transcribing your videos leads to a bigger and broader audience, resulting in more views and subscribers.

Repurpose Transcript For More Views

After you’ve transcribed your video, you can use that transcript to reach a wider audience. For example, you can copy and paste the text from your transcript to add video chapters in the description below your video. This will enable viewers to skip to the section that they’re most interested in.

Another way to repurpose your video transcript is to use it as a blog post. Typically, I’ll post a transcript on my blog and embed the YouTube video in the transcript. This helps my video get ranked in Google search by ranking on the first page of YouTube. As a result, the external traffic from Google drives more views and subscribers to my channel.

For example, this video ranks at the top of Google search and drives new views and subscribers to my Channel every day.

Another way to repurpose your video transcript is to use it on social media sites. For example, I’ll take a 6o second clip from my YouTube video and upload it as a Reel to Instagram. I’ll use the text from my transcript to add subtitles to the Reel.

Another way to repurpose your transcript is to use it as lead magnet in exchange for contact information. You can convert your transcript into a free ebook, free report, or free template, and viewers can download it in exchange for contact information.

This is a great way to build a large email list. When you upload a new video, you can email your list, which results in a high view velocity in the first 24 hours of uploading the video.

Videos that are captioned see an increase in watch time compared to videos
that don’t have the captions.

I asked my subscribers, “When do you read close captions on a video?”

• 22% said hardly ever.
• 16% said every video.
• 16% said Only if I’m watching with the sound turned off,
• 45% says only if I can’t understand what they’re saying.

Here’s my recommendation….
If you wanna reach a wider audience with YouTube videos, I highly recommend transcribing your video. You will be able to reach people that are hard of hearing or can’t understand what you’re saying because of your accent, or those people in a noisy coffee shop or at work who have the sound turned off.

Want to reach even more people?
Watch this video right now on how to translate YouTube videos into English or another language.

You’ll be glad you did.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Yesterday, I was sitting at a bench by the lake, looking  at the audience retention graph on my phone for a video that showed 84% of viewers are still watching at the 30 second mark, which is above typical.

In the video below, you’ll learn 5 highly effective ways to start your YouTube video so you can increase audience retention and get more views.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

1. Tell a story.
When you start your video with a story, it helps the viewer make a personal connection with you. It can be something simple as “yesterday I was sitting by the lake checking my audience retention graph.” Just make sure that your story leads into the main content of your video.

2. Ask a question.
When you ask a question at the beginning of your video, it makes viewers curious to want to know the answer. Here’s an example of a video that starts with a series of questions about the content that the viewer is about to receive.

Example
“What on earth are YouTube handles, where do they appear on YouTube, How can you choose the right one for your channel and how can you use them?” 

This tells viewers what’s coming up later in the video and makes them curious to want to know the answers.

3. Make a bold statement.
When you make a bold statement at the beginning of a video, it makes you as curious to want to know why you made that particular statement.

Here’s a video that starts with a bold statement about what I achieved and how I achieved it. “I started my YouTube channel in 2006 and achieved 100,000 subscribers 16 years later due to consistency.” 

I titled this video by asking a question, “Is consistency enough to grow YouTube channel”, then I started my YouTube channel by saying it was consistency that led me to getting 100,000 subscribers. You can use this combination of title and hook to get viewers to click on your video and watch your video all the way through.

4. Jump right in.
Instead of introducing your content at the beginning of your video or asking people to subscribe, you jump into the content right away as I’ve shown in this video.

“Number one, is not knowing your target audience. Ask yourself these questions. What are their pain points? What keeps them up at night?” If you can you entertain them in your video If you can tap into the mind of your target audience, it’ll be easy to create the right content for them. Number two, creating videos on topics your audience is not interested in.” 

Jumping into your content right away shows that you respect the time of your viewers. If you wanna test this technique, make a video where you’re jumping into the content right away versus another video where you’re starting off with the introduction. Then look at your audience retention graph for both of the videos. If you get a higher intention for the video where you jumped into the content right away, you might want to get rid of your introduction.

5. Open loop.
The definition of an open loop is…

“a concept that in the telling of stories drives our brains to naturally
want to seek out some sort of conclusion.”

One way to create an open loop is to introduce a bit of content at the beginning of your video, but not give it all away. Basically, you’re given a preview of what’s coming up later in the video, so it motivates viewers to keep watching the video.

Here’s an example of a video where 82% of the viewers are still watching at the 30 second mark, by using an open loop at the beginning of the video. “I’m going to show you how to make a YouTube subscribe link like this popup link so you can promote your YouTube channel across your social media sites, websites, et cetera.” 

So I previewed an image of the result you’ll get by watching the video. After starting this video with an open loop, I tell viewers what else they can expect if they continue watching the video. “You’ll also learn how to find your channel ID so you can make a subscribe link, how to test your subscribe link, how to unsubscribe from a YouTube channel and all the different places where you can add a YouTube subscribe link.”

I complete the loop by telling viewers the big benefit they’ll receive by watching the video. “You’ll make it ridiculously easy for anyone to subscribe to your channel from anywhere on the net.” 

When you use open loop storytelling at the beginning of your video, your viewer will actually look forward to watching the rest of your video to see how the story resolves itself and to learn something new. They become invested in the story and eager to know what’s going to happen.

Let me know in the comments below which hook you are going to use in your next video.

Watch this video right now to discover the tricks to keep viewers watching the rest of your video so you can get your video recommended by YouTube.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Do you get the dreaded hockey stick effect on your audience retention graph
in the first few seconds of your video?

If so, this means most of your audience is not watching the rest of video,
so your channel growth will suffer.

Notice I asked a question at the beginning of this video, so it motivates you to keep watching the video to get the answer. Your question should relate to what’s on the mind of your target audience because if it’s not relevant to what they’re thinking, they’re not gonna keep watching the video.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

That was trick number 10, but I’m gonna give you 9 more tricks to keep viewers watching, so stay tuned to the end of the video.

9. Make a bold statement.
Did you know that 70% of all traffic on YouTube comes from suggested videos? An alternative is to state a fact like YouTube shorts receives 5 billion views per day.

Opening a video with a strong hook like asking a question, making a bold statement or stating a fact, helps viewers watch the rest of the video. If you can keep viewers hooked in the first 30 seconds of your video, there’s a high probability they’ll keep watching the rest of the video.

8. Jump in right away.
Instead of introducing your video content or asking viewers to subscribe, jump into your content right away. Viewers, these days have a very short attention span, and there may be a lot of other videos on YouTube that are addressing the same topic. So if you don’t beat around a bush and jump into the content right away, you’ll stand out from the crowd.

7. Use descending lists.
Instead of starting with point number one, start with point number 10 like I’ve done in this video. That means point number one is gonna be the last point that you mentioned in your video.

Make sure you don’t miss point number one, which I’ll reveal later because it might be a big surprise.

6. Use micro hooks.
This is where you tease viewers about what’s coming up next or what’s coming up later in the videos, so they’ll keep watching. For example, at the end of my last point, I said, Check out point number one because it’s gonna be a big surprise.

A great definition of micro hooks is everything you say creates a problem that the next thing you say solves. So when you say something in your video, think about the next question that may be on the mind of your viewer, which you can answer later in the video.

5. Use props.
When you use props in your video, it resets the attention of your viewers, so they keep watching.
Example: I often use this multicolor smart bulb to light up parts of my background just like I’ve got green in the background right now (watch video to see the props I used).

4. Make them laugh.
Excuse me, I forgot to shave this morning before turning on the video.
If you do something entertaining during your video, it will help viewers to relax and possibly make them laugh. If you’re not a comedian like me, you can use sites like jiffy.com or get yarn.io. My recommendation if you’re talking about a boring topic, is to add some entertainment during your video to break up the monopoly. Your viewers will thank you for it.

3. React to a popular trend.
If there’s a hot trend happening in your niche there is a high probability, your video will go viral and you get a ton of views and subscribers. For example, when YouTube announced, YouTube creators can now have unique identifiers called YouTube handles, this phrase began trending on Google trends. As a result, I created this video titled “5 Reasons to Create a YouTube handle….#5 might Surprise you.”

Here’s how to find hot trends in your niche using Google Trends.
Go to trends.google.com/trends. Enter your search term in the box. I entered “YouTube handles”. Under web search, trend data, It shows that this particular phrase is a hot trend. Also on Interest Over time, it shows that it’s currently a hot trend. If I click on the dropdown next to web search and select YouTube search, then I can show the trend data for this particular keyword phrase, and it shows it’s still a hot trend. Under interest over time, it also shows that it’s still a hot trend.

As you can see, Google Trends is a quick way to capitalize on hot trends in your niche.

2. Add video chapters or timestamps.
When you add timestamps or video chapters in the description, below your video, it allows viewers to skip to that section that they’re most interested in. So if they’re not interested in watching a whole video, they can zero in on that segment that most applies to them.

Did you know that video chapters can also help your videos rank in Google search and YouTube search? Click here to learn how to make video chapters on YouTube videos so you can get a higher attention rate.

Number 1. Vary your delivery.
If you’re not excited about your content, it will show in your video. If you don’t know your content, it’ll also show in your video. If you have a monotone voice, it’ll be hard to keep viewers engaged. If you don’t smile while delivering your content, it’ll turn viewers off. If you speak to your content like this. It’ll also be hard to keep your viewers engaged.

When delivering your content, make sure you’re excited about the topic, research the topic so you know a lot about it, and pace yourself during the delivery so you don’t go too fast.

Here’s a bonus tip…Keep testing to see what works.
Study your audience retention graph after you’ve published a new video to see if you’ve improved the retention over the last video. Pay particular attention to the dips and spikes on your audience retention graph.

The spikes refer to where you got the most engagement on your videoIt could be something you said, you did something entertaining or somebody was re-watching the video. Try to identify what caused those spikes and use them again in your next video.

Dips refer to where people are leaving the video because they lost interest. Try to identify the elements that caused viewers to leave your video. It could be where you’re waffling in the video or where you are repeating yourself. Try to eliminate those elements when you publish your next video.

Now you know 10 tricks to keep viewers watching your videos so you can get more views, but what if your YouTube chapters are not working?

Watch this video right now on “YouTube chapters, Timestamps Not Working, How to Fix.”

You’ll be glad you did.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

I started my YouTube channel in 2006 and achieved 100,000 subscribers 16 years later due to consistency. If you want to achieve a 100K subscribers faster, it’s not enough to be consistent.

In this video, you’ll discover my 7 secret strategies to grow your YouTube channel faster.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT“ You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

1. Have a goal for each video you upload.
Your goal is to get viewers to click on your video, watch it as long as possible, and then get them to return to watch more of your videos. If you’re successful in doing this, you’ll trigger the YouTube algorithm, and YouTube will recommend your videos to a wider audience.

2. Know the pain points of your audience.
YouTube says that the algorithm follows the audience, so if you know the burning questions that are on the minds of your target audience, it’ll be easier to create the right content for them.

“But Herman, how can you tap into the mind of your target audience?”

One of the best ways is to tap into the mind of your target audience is to read the comments that the posting under your videos. If a viewer or subscriber asks a question in the comments, it’s probably on the minds of many of your viewers and subscribers.

You can also log into your dashboard and look at the top 10 videos that are driving the most traffic to your channel. Double down on those topics by approaching the content from a different angle.

You can also visit a free site like answerthepublic.com to look at the frequently asked questions in your niche. Make a list of the top 10 most frequently asked questions in your niche, then answer them with 10 different videos. The more you know about your target audience, the easy it’ll be to come up with new content ideas that will drive views and subscribers.

If you are your own target audience, then ask yourself the same questions. YouTube says that “the algorithm finds videos for viewers, not viewers for videos.” Therefore, make videos that your audience wants to watch.

If you’re struggling to get 1000 subscribers on YouTube so you can quickly monetize your channel, I highly recommend getting my micro video course. You’ll discover my secret strategies to grow a YouTube channel fast. Click the link in the description to get my course now.

3. Create quality content.
You may think that uploading videos on a consistent basis is enough to grow your channel. However, if you publish low quality content, you’re going to lose views and subscribers. This can easily happen if you’re trying to publish several videos a week on a regular schedule, because often life gets in the way.

For example, one day my car broke down and I decided to fix it myself to save money taking it to the garage. I initially spent hours watching YouTube videos on how to fix it, ordered the parts and spent the rest of the week trying to repair the car. The quality of the video content I uploaded that week was not good because I was too stressed over the repairs to my car.

The lesson I learned from that experience is to always have videos scheduled in advance in case of emergencies going on a holiday or just when life gets in the way.

4. Get specific.
Don’t just upload any old content hoping the video will go viral. It’s like throwing mud at the wall, hoping that some of it will stick. Instead of going broad, try to get specific because it’ll attract a more focused audience.

For example, when YouTube came out with shorts, I created a video on how to upload shorts on your pc. Initially, that video only got a few hundred views, but now it has over half a million views. If you answer specific questions that are on the minds of your viewers that nobody else is answering your video will do well. 

Try to be a brain surgeon instead of a general practitioner. That’s why brain surgeons get paid a lot more.

5. Create a content strategy.
There’s a famous quote from Benjamin Franklin that says, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Instead of uploading a solo video on a particular topic, think about a series of videos based upon a common theme. This will make it easier for you to create several videos in a row for the next few weeks.

If you add all those videos to a playlist and link them together in the end screen, it’ll motivate viewers to watch more than one video. Remember to place your most popular video at the beginning of the playlist and place your most popular playlist at the top of your YouTube channel homepage.

When you upload videos based upon a common theme, it motivates viewers and subscribers to keep returning to watch more of your content. It will also convert more viewers into subscribers.

When you build a core audience for your channel, they’ll be the first ones to watch your videos when you first upload them, which results in a high view velocity. A high view velocity in the first 24 to 48 hours sends a signal to the YouTube algorithm to send your content out to more people. This will help speed up the growth of your YouTube channel.

Another thing to keep in mind when coming up with a content strategy is to create content for just one person instead of a bunch of people. Create a profile of your ideal subscriber. It could be someone who regularly comments on your videos, what are their interests, hobbies, pain points, et cetera. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to upload content that your viewers will want to watch. When you record your content, imagine that person sitting in the same room as you.

6. Track the performance of your videos.
If you know the type of content that resonates with your target audience, it’ll be easier to come up with new content ideas.

If you click on analytics in your YouTube dashboard, you’ll see the top 10 videos that are driving the most traffic to your channel in the last 28 days. You can also view the top videos in the last seven days, the last 90 days, 365 days, or even over a lifetime of your channel.

If you click on the content tab, you’ll be able to see the key moments for audience retention as well as how viewers find your videos.

If you click on the audience tab, you’ll be able to see the videos that are currently growing your audience, as well as other videos and channels your audience watches. You’ll also be able to see when your viewers are on YouTube so you know the best time and day to upload your video.

If you click on the research tab, you’ll be able to see the top searches from viewers on your channel, as well as searches from other channels in the last 28 days. It’ll also show you the content gaps on your channel for videos that don’t currently exist or can be improved on YouTube. Number

7. Be consistent.
As you can see over the last 6 points that I mentioned, consistency is not enough to grow a YouTube channel, but if I wasn’t consistent over the last 16 years, I wouldn’t have achieved 100,000 subscribers. When you maintain a regular upload schedule, it gets your audience used to expecting your content, so they keep coming back to watch more of your videos. This also helps keep your content fresh in the user histories of people that regularly watch your videos.

For example, when you keep a regular upload schedule, there’s a higher probability that your videos will be recommended by YouTube on the home screen of your viewers and subscribers. They’ll also appear on the subscription feed as well as in suggested videos.

Let me ask you a question….
Does YouTube channel suck because it’s not growing?
Watch this video on 6 reasons your YouTube channel sucks and how to fix it. 

You’ll be glad you did.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT“ You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Why on Earth are YouTube handles, where do they appear on YouTube, How can you choose the right one for your channel and how can you use them?

Stay tuned throughout this video to find out the answers.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT“ You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

What are YouTube handles?

It’s unique identifier that helps people find and connect with you and your channel. This will prevent people from impersonating our channel because you have your own unique handle, like @drostvideo and your own unique channel url.

What are the eligibility requirements?

Before this update only creators that had a 100 subscribers were eligible for a custom url. Now, all channels will have a unique URL based upon their handle. For example, my handle is @drostvideo and my custom URL is youtube.com/@drostvideo.

Where will your handle appear on YouTube?

When this feature has been rolled out to all channels, your handle will appear in the shorts player. It’ll appear on your channel homepage in the shorts feed, in the search results within the comments, within your community post and on live streams.

You’ll be able to use this handle to direct people to your content when they’re not on YouTube.

How do you choose your own unique handle?

YouTube will notify you in YouTube Studio when it’s time to choose your YouTube handle. They’ll also send you a email when your personalized handle can be claimed for your channel. YouTube automatically reserves a personal URL that is similar to the name of your channel.

For example, my channel is @drostvideo, so they reserved a handle called @drostvideo. I was a bit worried at first because I used a capital D for Drostvideo and not a lowercase D for Drost video. I checked with YouTube and they said it’ll be the same url whether you’re using a uppercase D or a lower case D. Keep in mind that if you don’t have a personalized URL or want to change it into something different, you can, however it may be taken.

If the handle you want has already been chosen, try adding letters, hyphens or periods to your handle to make it unique. It can be up to 30 characters long and must follow the YouTube community guidelines.

YouTube says…
“Users are not bound to their channel name as the basis of their handle, the way they’re limited today when it comes to creating a custom url.”

This means you can choose a handle that’s even different to your channel name.

How do you claim or change your YouTube Handle?

Go to youtube.com/handle and YouTube will give you a message that says “Hi there. Your handle is reserved. Your handle is @drostvideo. Your additional channel URL is youtube.com/@drostvideo.”

It says, “Your existing handle URL will continue to work.” For example, youtube.com/c/drostvideo or my previous channel name (isitebuild). If you’re not happy with the personalized URL that YouTube has chosen for you, click “change handle”. This is where you choose your handle and then confirm your selection.

So YouTube has chosen @drostvideo, but I could also choose my previous channel name isitebuild. I can also choose a completely different handle that’s different to my channel name. So if I just click the box, I can put my handle name in there.

In my case, I’m happy with the one that YouTube has chosen @drostvideo. After you’ve chosen your handle, whether it’s a personalized one that YouTube automatically selected for you, or one that you’ve chosen yourself, click “confirm selection“. It says “Your handle is confirmed @drostvideo or youtube.com/@drostideo”

If you’ve successfully selected, your handle, handles will start appearing on YouTube later this year. Your channel has a new url, youtube.com/@drostvideo. Your existing channel URLs will continue to work.

Click “Got it.”

Here’s the message you get after you’ve reserved your handle..
“Hi there your handle is reserved.” Your handle is @drostvideo. The additional channel URL is youtube.com/drostvideo. So I can still change the handle to something different if I want, but I’m just gonna leave it as it is.

What are some of the ways you could use YouTube handles to grow YouTube channel?

• It’s a new way for people to find and engage with other creators on YouTube,
  For example, you can add your handle in the description below your videos.
  
• It prevents people from impersonating your channel because now you have a unique identifier. For example, recently someone impersonated my channel by using the same channel name thumbnails and even downloading some of my videos. As a result, it confused viewers and subscribers on which was the official channel. Now, I don’t have to worry about that because I can use my unique handle @drostvideo or my unique url, youtube.com/@drostvideo.
• No one else on YouTube can use that handle or that unique url.
  Keep in mind that if you’ve previously claimed a custom URL for your channel, that will remain the same. For example, my custom URL is youtube.com/c/drostvideo, or even youtube.com/drostvideo.
  
• You’ll be able to get noticed in shorts to identify yourself in a unique way.
  You can let others find you on YouTube or connect with others in the YouTube community.
  
• Remember, your handle will be the way that people find and interact with you on YouTube. Other creators can also tag you in their videos by using your handle, such as at @drostvideo.

Starting a YouTube channel takes passion, persistence, and perseverance. I should know because it took me 16 years to reach 100,000 subscribers. Watch this video for 10 tips I wish I knew before starting YouTube. You’ll be glad it did.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

“I don’t own a phone.
My phone doesn’t have a shorts camera app.
I prefer to make all videos on my computer because it has a live screen.“

In the video below, you’ll learn how to make a YouTube short on your PC, so you won’t have to use a phone. You’ll also learn how viewers will find YouTube short and how to make better shorts videos.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.

Step 1.
Shoot your short video in a vertical format.
If using a phone, make sure you hold it vertically. If using a camera like this Canon M50, make sure it’s in the vertical position before you hit record. If using an old form video that you’ve already recorded but want to make it into a shorts video, make sure you rescale that horizontal video into a vertical video. Use the aspect ratio 9 by 16, and the dimensions 1920 pixels long by 1080 pixels wide.

Click here to Convert Horizontal Video To Vertical Online for YouTube Shorts

Your YouTube short can be up to 60 seconds long, so don’t make it longer than 60 seconds. Keep in mind that if you upload a YouTube short that you’ve created elsewhere, make sure the content is not copyright protected and it’s suitable for use on YouTube.

Step 2.
Edit your video.
After you’ve shot your video, import your video file into your video editing software. I use ScreenFlow, which is a video editor and screen recorder for the Mac, but you can use any video editor.

Create a vertical document in your video editing software with 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels high. Import your video onto the timeline. Here’s my shorts video. If it’s smaller than your document, just rescale it. Make sure the first two seconds really grab your audience’s attention. You can also invite viewers to subscribe by adding a subscribe overlay. I prefer to add the subscribe overlay to the end of the short video.

You can also add up to 60 seconds of music to your shorts video by downloading the audio file from YouTube’s audio library.

After you finish editing your short video, you’re ready to export it. Click export, give it a title, choose the place where you wish to download it. I’m going to check download, encoding quality fastest.

When you export your video file, make sure you choose the original resolution. When you click the dropdown, choose 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels high, which is 100% of original. Click export.

Here’s my shorts video file saved to my download folder. Now I’m ready to upload and optimize my short video for YouTube.

Step 3.
Upload and optimize.
Most viewers discover the shorts videos while browsing the shorts shelf using the YouTube app on their phones. Therefore you want to upload and optimize your shorts videos so they can be found on YouTube. Later, I’ll discuss other places where your shorts videos can be discovered. Log into your YouTube channel, click the create link at the top, click upload videos, click select files, or drag and drop a file to upload.

I’m going to drag this file, How to Increase Watch Time on YouTube in 30 Seconds. Now it’s uploading. Okay, I’ve got my title in there ready because that’s what I named the file. Add a shorts description. Make sure you include the hashtag shorts in the description or the title.

Here’s the thumbnail frame that YouTube chooses from your video to add to the shorts shelf. On the audience select, no it’s not made for kids, no age restriction. Click next. I’m not going to add an end screen or a card. Click next. Under visibility, you can choose private, unlisted, or public. For the sake of this demonstration I’m going to choose unlisted, but if you want to make it public, choose public, or you can schedule it. Click save.

Step 4.
Publish and promote.
After you finish uploading and optimizing YouTube short, promote it on YouTube as well as your social media sites. Click on the shorts URL, post the video, then click on share. Now share your shorts video on social media sites by clicking on each of the icons. You can also copy the URL and share with the email list or post it to your blog.

If you want to promote your short video on YouTube, post it to your community tab. Alternatively, create a 15-second clip and post it as YouTube story.

You can also add a shorts section to YouTube homepage. Simply go to customization in your dashboard. Click add section, select short videos. It says, this section will appear after a short video has been uploaded. Here’s a short section that I added to my YouTube channel homepage.

Where can you find YouTube shorts?
You can find shorts by tapping on the shorts icon in the YouTube app. You can also discover shorts by tapping on the home screen in the YouTube app. After tapping a short, you can scroll to see more shorts videos. You can also find them in your subscriptions fee and on the YouTube section on your channel homepage.

Keep in mind that short videos have their own separate viewing experience than regular videos. Once you tap into a short, you can scroll to view more of them.

Why should you make shorts?
Here are 3 reasons to make shorts.

1. It’s a great way to reach new audiences.
   For example, mobile users can discover your shorts videos by browsing the shorts shelf from their mobile phones. YouTube says that YouTube shorts receive 6.5 billion daily views per day. Therefore it’s worthwhile trying to expose your content to a different audience.
   
2. Drive views to your long-form content.
   For example, you can take a 15 to 60-second snippet of your long-form video, then invite people to check out your long video at the end of your short video. This will drive viewers from your short video to your long video.
   
3. Track your shorts performance.
   If you click on analytics in YouTube Studio and go to the content tab, you’ll be able to see all your shorts videos. You’ll also discover how viewers are finding your shorts from external means, YouTube search, suggested videos, or playlists.
   
   You’ll also be able to see the top shorts for your last 7 days, 28 days, 90 days, 365 days, or lifetime.
   If you click on the analytics for any of your individual shorts videos, you will see the key moments on its retention as well as the main traffic sources. For example, in this shorts video, 85% of viewers are still watching around the 30-second mark. The top traffic sources include external, which is mostly Google search, YouTube search, direct or unknown, playlists, and other YouTube features.
   
   Keep in mind that if you upload a custom thumbnail for YouTube short, it may appear at the top of the page in Google search.

What if you want to make a YouTube short on your phone?
Watch this video to learn how to make a 60-second YouTube shorts video on your phone using a YouTube shorts camera app.

Click here to Get My New Video Course
“SECRETS TO AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT” You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.