Long-form videos are still important on YouTube, but the platform has diversified. Since September 2020, users have had the ability to publish Shorts on the platform—and many channels have successfully utilized this feature.

If you're consistent with your posts, YouTube Shorts can form a crucial part of your growth strategy. But before you start, understanding the pros and cons is a good idea.

This article will identify the top benefits and drawbacks of posting Shorts on YouTube.

The Pros of Posting YouTube Shorts

Before we look at why you might want to think twice about posting YouTube Shorts, let's look at the biggest benefits.

1. Potential Extra Reach

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The main reason that many YouTubers post Shorts is because of the potential extra reach they offer. Long-form videos still have their benefits, but gathering views can often take time. Shorts, on the other hand, are more short-term.

If you're new to YouTube, posting Shorts is an excellent way to build and strengthen your YouTube channel. And if you're consistent, you may discover that more people subscribe than would otherwise have been the case.

When posting Shorts to try and grow your reach, you'll need to experiment with different topic ideas. And while it can feel tempting to not add a description, doing so might help make your content more discoverable.

2. Use the Skills You Learn Elsewhere

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YouTube isn't the only social media platform to embrace short-form video content. TikTok sparked the sharp rise in this medium; meanwhile, Facebook and Instagram let users publish Reels. Although each network is different, some of the skills you learn are transferable.

You'll quickly discover how to create short-form video content by learning how to publish YouTube Shorts. As such, you can easily take this knowledge and apply it to other social platforms.

If you publish Shorts consistently, you'll also better understand which topic ideas work—and those that do not. So, it'll be easier for you to make smarter choices elsewhere.

3. Push Yourself Outside Your Comfort Zone

Getting complacent can quickly become your worst enemy if you want to succeed as an online creator. Not pushing yourself to continue growing can result in stagnation and—over time—getting overtaken by others.

It's easy to dismiss new features if what you're currently doing is working. But often, these dismissals come from a fear of not wanting to step into the unknown.

Posting Shorts will help you push outside your comfort zone, especially if you've never shared short-form videos before. You don't need to do silly moves on your camera, but the simple act of trying something new will open your mind to new possibilities.

4. Shorts Are Easy to Publish

If you've ever made long-form YouTube videos, you'll know how long it can take to share one video with your audience. Besides filming it, you've got to edit your footage. Rendering and exporting can take a while, too—especially if you've got an older computer.

In contrast, Shorts are easy to publish. You can record from your smartphone and use a tool like Adobe Premiere Rush to edit short-form videos on the same device. And once you've finished, you can easily upload the video from a computer, smartphone, or tablet.

When posting your video, make sure that you add #shorts at the end. That way, YouTube will publish it as one.

5. No Heavy Editing Required

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Editing longer video projects typically requires cutting your clips and adjusting the colors in your footage. On top of that, you have to make sure that the audio sounds good—along with adding graphics and such. For particularly long projects, heavy editing can feel laborious.

Shorts still require editing; you'll need to cut out bits that don't make sense, and choosing a color style is a good idea. Moreover, you should think about adding subtitles. At the same time, however, you've got a lot less to edit—and your videos shouldn't take too long to adjust.

Because no heavy editing is necessary, you can spread your message more quickly to your audience.

The Cons of Posting YouTube Shorts

Despite the many benefits of sharing YouTube Shorts with your audience, you might notice a couple of drawbacks when using the feature.

1. No Guarantee of Growth

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It's easy to think that you're guaranteed to grow just because you share short-form content on your YouTube channel. However, that isn't the case. Even if you regularly post YouTube Shorts, you must understand that you still might not become as big as you want.

If your content doesn't add value, people aren't going to want to subscribe to your channel. Again, you might need to experiment here—as it's unlikely that you'll find a winning formula immediately. Over time, however, you'll want to ensure that each Short gets better than the last.

2. Shorts Can Be Time-Consuming to Produce

While Shorts aren't long in and of themselves, the creation process can take longer than you might want. Thinking of topics worth discussing can require a little research, and having at least a rough idea of what you'd like to say is necessary.

If you plan to post Shorts more than three times per week, you should carve a little time in your calendar to record these. Batching-recording is a good idea; you can use apps like Apple Calendar to stay on top of everything.

3. Shorts Don't Count Toward Watch Hours for Monetization

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For many creators, hitting YouTube's monetization threshold is a key objective to stride toward. And to become eligible for ad revenue, you need to hit 1,000 subscribers and have 4,000 watch hours in a 12-month period.

Shorts can receive a high number of views, especially if you share something relevant to your audience. But if you thought sharing short-form videos would help you reach that watch hours threshold, we've got bad news: they don't count.

The good news is that while Shorts don't count toward your watch hours, you can—if you have 1,000 subscribers—monetize your channel with 10 million views in 90 days. Before you meet the monetization threshold, you can make money from your channel in several ways.

YouTube Shorts Can Help You Grow Your Online Presence

YouTube Shorts is an excellent way to build your presence on YouTube, as long as you consistently share valuable content with your audience. You can attract more people to your channel and potentially increase the number of views on your long-form content as a result.

However, you're not guaranteed to grow—and you should remember that views on Shorts don't count toward watch hours. Nonetheless, the benefits of using this feature outweigh the negatives.