--- title: 'YouTube Shorts in 2026: Complete A-Z Guide. Plan for a Million Views' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZEQf3OuDJV8' video_id: 'ZEQf3OuDJV8' date: 2026-08-05 duration_sec: 429 --- # YouTube Shorts in 2026: Complete A-Z Guide. Plan for a Million Views > Source: [YouTube Shorts in 2026: Complete A-Z Guide. Plan for a Million Views](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZEQf3OuDJV8) ## Summary This video provides a comprehensive guide to creating and monetizing YouTube Shorts, even for creators based in Russia. It covers niche selection, viral idea generation, scriptwriting, editing tools, optimization, and monetization strategies, with a focus on adapting existing viral content and using AI tools. ### Key Points - **Introduction and Plan** [00:07] — The video promises a step-by-step guide to making money on viral videos and monetizing them, even from Russia. The plan includes choosing a niche, coming up with a viral idea, writing a script, voiceover, editing, and optimization. - **Choosing a Niche** [00:22] — Niches are divided into adult (psychology, earnings, politics, science) and children's (gaming content like Roblox, Minecraft, Garry's Mod, or 2D animation). Any niche can collect views for monetization. - **Originality and Fair Use** [01:01] — Simply adding subtitles, music, or voiceover does not make a video original. The only working principle is Fair Use, where you use others' materials for criticism, commentary, education, or news reporting, adding your own thoughts and concepts. YouTube's decision is final, and monetization may be rejected. - **Creating Original Content** [01:39] — Create original or significantly reworked content. If using neural networks, implement as much of your own as possible: characters drawn by designers, voice acting by yourself, own editing, etc. - **Viral Idea Concept** [01:51] — The concept is basic regardless of niche: borrow other people's ideas and adapt them to your niche. Take shorts that have collected 50-10 million views and look at competitors' retention charts. - **Example Channel and Community Plug** [02:17] — Shows an example of a channel that got half a billion views in 60 days. Promotes a private community 'Leo's Thoughts' for $11/month with training, advertiser contacts, course leaks, and channel analysis. - **Three Pillars of Viewer Retention** [03:09] — Use triggers to prevent swiping: tell the story from the viewer's perspective, use time frames, and keep interest until the end. - **Identifying Viral Content** [03:34] — Content must significantly exceed the channel's average views. Don't copy, adapt. Synchronize across platforms (TikTok to YouTube Shorts with a two-week delay). Use AI prompts to generate ideas. - **Example of 'What if?' Format** [04:12] — The blogger used the 'What if?' format, e.g., 'What if you were raised by Spartans?' or 'What if I became a millionaire at 10, 15, 20?' with stages like Outcast, Apprentice, Warrior. - **Tools for Creation** [04:39] — Tools used: Gini for script writing, Naan Bananaan Pro for image generation, Veo 31fast for animation, 11 Eleven Laps for voice acting, Cupcat for editing, and PixBay for sound effects. - **Shorts Structure** [05:06] — Use frame changes every 3 seconds for a minute to keep viewer involvement. Include a byte hook, epic narrative, and denouement at the end. - **Optimization and Scheduling** [05:18] — Create a schedule (e.g., two shorts a week at the same time). Work on a viral, clickable title. Use tags in the description and tools like IQ (free version is enough). Tags can be inserted into the title. - **Dealing with View Ceilings** [05:44] — If you've done everything and still have a view ceiling (e.g., 1,000 or 10,000-20,000 views) after a month, you might be shadowbanned. Start a new channel. YouTube loves fresh channels and gives them a chance to be recommended. The main indicator is interested views. - **Monetization for Russia** [06:23] — If you can't enable monetization in Russia, find someone abroad to monetize for you or use special aggregator partners. The creator will post a list of such partners in his community. - **Call to Action** [06:37] — If the video gets 500 likes, the creator will start a 30-day challenge to create a YouTube channel with Shorts. Encourages likes, comments, and subscriptions to the channel and Telegram. ### Conclusion The video provides a practical, step-by-step guide to creating viral YouTube Shorts, emphasizing the importance of originality, adapting proven ideas, and using AI tools. It also addresses monetization challenges for creators in Russia, offering alternative solutions. ## Transcript views and monetize them , even if you're based in Russia. Leo Bruni here, let's get started. I've been making money on viral videos and monetize them for further earnings. Today I will show you everything step by step, from the idea to the first money. Let's go. Here's our concrete plan of action for a successful shorts. We choose a niche, come up with a viral idea, a byte-perfect script, cinematic voiceover, good editing, and proper optimization. Let's get to work. Let's start with choosing a niche. They are divided into adult and children. Here we need to decide what we want and what our heart desires. I'm moving towards the niche of earnings and guides, but anything will do for monetization. Views are collected by any niche. Adult niches are psychology, earnings, politics, science, and so on. Children's - these are cuts of gaming content or streamers. It could be Roblox, Minecraft, Garry's Mod or just 2D animation. Important. Please review , unoriginal content, or channel bank violations. Simply adding subtitles, music or voiceover does not make a video original. The only principle that works is Fireuse, where we can use other people's materials for criticism, commentary, education, or news reporting. adding my own thoughts and concepts. For example, we take a short fragment for analysis, explaining the context, adding our own conclusions, narratives, humor or educational value, and citing the author. But in any case, the decision remains with YouTube, and monetization may be rejected. So, create original or significantly reworked content. If you work with neural networks, implement as much of your own as possible. The characters are better drawn by the designers, the voice acting is done by myself, the editing is my own, and so on. Now let's move on to the viral idea. Moreover , it doesn’t matter what niche you are moving in. Earnings, children's games, psychology, memes. The concept will be basic. I talk about this a lot. There's no point in reinventing the wheel while you're just starting out. The best option is to borrow other people's ideas and adapt them to your niche. That is, what is currently hyped or consistently gains views. It's better to take shorts that have collected 50-10 million views. Be sure to look at your competitors' retention chart. Now I want to show you an example of a channel that got half a billion views in 60 days on Shores and earned tens of thousands of dollars. But before that, a few words about my private thought community Leo. And don't you dare turn off the video, just 20 seconds and then we'll move on. Leo's thoughts are a treasure trove of useful information about YouTube and more. Training from scratch to making your first money, real contacts with advertisers who buy ads from me for hundreds of dollars, leaks of expensive courses, analysis of your channels, ways to make money, traffic arbitrage links, and much more. Moreover, the price is really cheap, only 11 dollars a month. And there are rates from 3 to 12 months at a discount. This is your real chance to start doing something. I am not an info-cygnet. Hurry to come in at a reduced price. After 100 people the price will go up. Link to Leo's thoughts in the description. If you can't pay by card, please contact my manager to accept payments in rubles. Thanks for watching to the end. We move on. So, I'll show you an example of a channel that got half a billion views in 60 days and the principles it used. viewers with triggers that prevent them from swiping further. The point is that we will play on human instincts and use the three pillars of viewer retention. Tell the story from the viewer's perspective, use time frames, and keep the viewer's interest until the very end. How do you know if this content is viral and should be copied? Firstly, the content must significantly exceed the channel's average views. If you see millions of views on a small channel, it's a sign that the topic or hook is hot. Secondly, don't copy, adapt. If a competitor's short is, for example, about the history of the Spartans, then your short should be called: "What if you were raised as a Spartan"? Third, content must be synchronized across platforms. What explodes on TikTok arrives on YouTube shorts with a two-week delay. Please exploit this window. And fourthly, work with and generate ideas. Here is an example of a promt. Act like a viral content strategist. Give us 100 unique ideas with high retention and then we'll define your niche. Let's get back to this blogger. He used the "What if?" format, like, what if you were raised by Spartans? Or if we take our earnings niche, what if I became a addictive. Next, as I already said, we use time frames. So what if I became a millionaire at 10, at 15, at 20, and so on? Or what if I became a Spartan? Stages: Outcast, Apprentice and Warrior. Now about the tools that need to be used for the job. This channel used neural networks, but, as I said earlier, we still do it in a unique way to use. Gini for script writing , Naan Bananaan Pro for image generation , Veo 31fast for animation, 11 Eleven Laps for voice acting, cupcat for editing, and PixBay for Hollywood sound effects. Now about the shorts themselves. We use frame changes, for example, every 3 seconds for a minute, to keep the viewer as involved as possible. And let's not forget about the byte hook, that is, what we will use to interest the viewer. Then comes the epic narrative and the denouement at the very end. For example, what ultimately happened when we became a billionaire. Now let's go over video optimization and working with YouTube in general. Be sure to create a schedule, this is important. For example, two shorts a week on certain days and at the same time. Work with the title. It has to be viral, it has to be clickable. Use tags in the description. To a program like IQ. Moreover, even the free version will be enough. By the way, tags can even be inserted into the title. Moreover, there are sites that show the tags of the day. You can dig around and find such sites. Once we've started posting our view ceiling is, for example, 1,000 or 10,000-20,000 views and they don't get more? If you've done everything I've said in the guide and nothing has helped, and you've been posting shares for over a month, you because you're being shadowbanned and start a new one. YouTube loves fresh channels and gives them a chance to be recommended. The main indicator here is interested views. These are test views so that recommend you to. But if you have a ceiling even on a new channel , it means that something needs to be changed and improved. Oh yeah, what should you do if you're in Russia and can't enable monetization? There are two ways. Either you need to find someone who lives abroad and have them monetize it for themselves, special aggregator partners. But, as you understand, I will also post my thoughts on such a list of partners. Leo, bro, I understand this looks like infocyganism, but understand, this is a real tool that will help you earn money in the future and promote your media. Let's do it this way. If this video gets 500 likes, I'll start a challenge where I'll create a YouTube channel with Shorsami and create content for it for 30 days . This is going to be a lot of fun, so be sure to like it, leave anything, and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any new guides. Also subscribe to my Telegram channels, there is a lot of useful information there too. You were useful information there too. You were on the FB Base channel.