Why It's Easy to Make Money with YouTube Shorts in 2026

[00:01] be tough. Low payments, no real monetization tools, and honestly, most creators didn't even take them seriously. But, in 2026, that's completely flipped. And I'm going to show you exactly why it's easier now

[00:13] more than ever to make money with YouTube shorts. Let's start with the actually redesigned itself around YouTube shorts. In a previous OpusClip video, we broke down data from creator and friend of the channel Marcus Jones.

[00:26] Marcus analyzed analytics from over 500 channels and found something interesting. Back in 2024, the YouTube homepage had two rows of long-form videos, about 10 slots in total. That was your shot at getting recommended.

[00:39] long-form videos, and then a massive your screen. The same thing is happening on mobile, and it's also happening in YouTube search. YouTube restructured the entire platform to push shorts to more

[00:53] people. So, if you make a short today, you actually have more places to show up than a long-form creator does. The platform is actually working in your favor. The second reason is that it's easy to make YouTube shorts, and the

[01:05] audience is already there, and it's massive. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan just confirmed that shorts are averaging 200 billion daily views. Again, that's billion with a B, every single day. To put that in perspective, that's more

[01:20] daily views than most platforms get in a month, and it's only going to keep growing. The barrier to entry is also way lower than long-form. You don't need a studio, you don't need a 10-minute script, you just need a phone, an idea,

[01:33] and less than 3 minutes. You can also start today with zero budget. And if you're already making long-form content, you could be sitting on a huge opportunity. Every video you've ever made has moments in it that could become

[01:46] good YouTube shorts. You just need to pull them out, and that's exactly what OpusClip does. Just drop in your long-form video, and OpusClip finds the most engaging clips and turns them into YouTube shorts that are ready to post.

[01:59] scratch. You're getting more out of what you've already made. The third reason, and honestly the biggest one, is that YouTube just dropped a bunch of new ways that you can make money with YouTube shorts. This is the part that changes

[02:12] YouTube shorts monetization. Shopping is now easier than ever. Viewers can buy products without ever leaving the YouTube app. Someone watches your YouTube short, sees a product, taps, and then buys. No link in bio, no extra

[02:25] running affiliate links, this is a massive chance for conversion. Speaking of affiliates, YouTube just lowered the threshold for their affiliate program. It used to be 10,000 subscribers, and now it's down to 5,000 subscribers. That

[02:39] means more creators than ever can start earning through product tagging and YouTube shopping features. YouTube is actively making it easier for smaller creators to get paid. On top of that, brand partnerships are getting a full

[02:51] upgrade. YouTube is building out their creator partnerships hub to make it easier for brands and agencies to find creators, hire them, and run campaigns. In theory, you don't have to cold pitch anymore. YouTube is building the bridge

[03:04] between you and the brands looking for creators exactly like you and I. They also added the ability to swap out brand segments in our older videos once a deal ends. So, that sponsor you mentioned 6 months ago, you can replace it with a

[03:17] new sponsor. Your back catalog just became a recurring revenue stream that's not all. Then there's fan funding. YouTube just introduced jewels, audience can support you directly during shorts and shorts livestreams. These

[03:33] also want to mention you don't have to wait on YouTube to start making money. There are affiliate programs out there that you can join right now regardless of your subscriber count. No threshold, no waiting for approval. You can start

[03:46] YouTube channel. I think it's really impressive that YouTube has paid creators over a hundred billion dollars in the last four years. They want this to work and for the first time, the money is actually following the views

[03:59] into YouTube Shorts. Now again, most creators are still treating Shorts as an thinking about long-form, which means the short space, while it has 200 billion daily views, is still less crowded than you'd expect at that scale.

[04:14] The monetization tools are brand new and the opportunities are huge. The thing is, most creators just haven't figured out how to use them yet. If you start that to the other platforms where monetization is an afterthought or the

[04:28] payouts are unpredictable, YouTube is the one platform that has consistently paid creators and keeps finding new ways to do it. So when I say it's easy, I don't mean you won't have to work, I mean the conditions have never been more

[04:41] in our favor. The views are there, the money is finally there, the tools are here's what to do right now. If you're not making YouTube Shorts yet, please start. Even one or two a week. Use what

[04:54] than three minutes. If you're already making long-form, then start repurposing. Take your best moments, turn them into Shorts, and let them work for you in the feed. Opus Clip makes this very simple. I'll have a link in

[05:08] into affiliate programs that you can join today. Remember, you don't need to hit a subscriber milestone to start earning on YouTube. Start with tools you attention to YouTube Shopping and the Brand Partnership Hubs. And when YouTube

[05:23] introduces those tools, early movers are going to have a serious advantage. That's why it's easier than ever to make money with YouTube Shorts in 2026. The platform shifted toward Shorts. The views are at an all-time high and the

[05:36] ways to actually get paid just got a whole lot better. The real question is, advantage of it? Let us know what's working for you in those comments down below. And if you want to take advantage of Opus Clip or H&Opus, check out that

[05:48] of Opus Clip or H&Opus, check out that video on screen.