YouTube Shorts versus long form: which one actually pays a creator?

Creators love Shorts for reach and grumble about Shorts for revenue. Both feelings are justified.

How the money is split

Long form videos earn from ads placed before and during the video, and the creator keeps the majority share. Shorts revenue comes from a shared pool that is divided among creators by view share after music licensing costs. Per view, long form typically earns many times more.

The strategy that works

Use Shorts as the top of the funnel. Make them from moments in your long form videos or as standalone hooks that end with a reason to watch the full piece. Then make sure the long form video is at least eight minutes, which unlocks mid roll ad placements.

Do not ignore the other lines

Channel memberships, Super Thanks and affiliate links often outperform ad revenue for channels under 100,000 subscribers, and they are not affected by the Shorts pool at all.