I've edited hundreds of Shorts for YouTube creators. Here's what I've learned:

Most people just chop a random segment from their video and call it a Short. That's why it gets 200 views.

What actually works:

Hook in the first 0.5 seconds. Not 3 seconds — half a second. If the viewer's thumb doesn't stop, nothing else matters.

One idea per Short. If your clip needs context from the full video to make sense, it's the wrong clip. The best Shorts are self-contained moments — a hot take, a surprising fact, an emotional peak.

Match the energy to the platform. YouTube long-form rewards depth. Shorts reward intensity. Same creator, different energy.

Captions are mandatory. 85% of mobile video is watched on mute. If you don't have captions, you don't have a Short.

I run ClipCraft — we turn YouTube long-form into 30 viral Shorts per month for creators. If you're posting regularly and your Shorts aren't performing, the clips are the problem, not the algorithm.