How to make YouTube Shorts from a podcast, and link them to the full episode

To make YouTube Shorts from a podcast, pick moments that make sense on their own, cut each one as a vertical video up to three minutes long, add captions, upload it as a Short and link it to the full episode with YouTube's related video setting. Then use the Shorts analytics to see which moments people chose to watch. This guide covers the YouTube-specific parts. For choosing and cutting moments in general, see how to turn a podcast into short clips.

Why Shorts suit a podcast

• They are discovered by people who do not know you yet. YouTube says Shorts can help with audience discovery.¹
• They do not compete with the full episode. YouTube says Shorts performance does not negatively affect long-form recommendations.¹
• They can point back to the episode. A related video link sends interested viewers from the Short to the full conversation.²

Step 1: Pick moments that stand on their own

A good podcast Short is one idea with a clear start and a payoff. Look for:

• A strong opinion with a reason. "Most companies hire too early, because…"
• A short story with a turn or a surprise at the end.
• A specific, useful answer to a question your audience asks.
• A funny or emotional reaction that works without the setup.

If you need to explain what happened before, it is probably not the right moment. Our post on what makes podcast clips spread goes into the hook, the structure and the payoff.

Step 2: Cut it to the right shape and length

YouTube treats a video as a Short when it is square or vertical and up to three minutes long. That applies to videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. If you do not want a video classed as a Short, upload it in a wider shape such as 16:9.³

• Shape: export vertical 9:16, which fills a phone screen. Most podcast cameras record landscape, so frame each speaker with their face in the upper half and room below for captions.
• Length: three minutes is a limit, not a target. Most podcast moments work best far shorter: as long as the idea needs. Our aspect ratio and length guide compares every platform.
• Pace: cut the pauses, false starts and "um"s. Dead air is where people swipe away.
• Camera: keep the person speaking on screen, with short reaction shots of the listener.

Vertical

1080 × 1920

Reels, TikTok, Shorts

Square

1080 × 1080

Feeds

Landscape

1920 × 1080

YouTube, LinkedIn, websites

Step 3: Add captions

Many people watch with the sound off, so caption every word, timed to the speech, in a size readable on a phone. Keep them clear of the buttons on the right and the text at the bottom of the screen. Our captions guide covers how to do it in each editor.

Step 4: Check the music and copyright

• Use music you are licensed to use. YouTube says most songs can be used for up to 90 seconds in a Short up to three minutes long, but some tracks are limited to 60 or 30 seconds.³
• Content ID claims on longer Shorts. From 24 September 2026, new Shorts longer than one minute (and under three) with an active Content ID claim are no longer automatically blocked and may stay playable. Nothing changed for Shorts under one minute.³
• UK rules on guests, ads and music still apply to every clip. See posting podcast clips in the UK.

Step 5: Upload it as a Short

From a computer: upload through YouTube Studio as normal. The file needs to be up to three minutes long and square or vertical, and you can choose up to 15 Shorts at a time.⁴

From a long video you have already uploaded: in the YouTube app, open the video's watch page, tap Remix, then Edit into a Short, and select up to 60 seconds. The Short links back to the original video automatically.⁵ This only works for your own public long-form videos. Private and unlisted videos, and videos with third-party copyright claims, cannot be used, and the video must allow sampling.⁵

The Remix route is quick, but you only get a crop of the original. A clip you cut yourself can drop the pauses, switch to the right camera and carry proper captions.

Thumbnail: you can choose a frame from your Short as the thumbnail, before or after uploading, and add text and filters. YouTube says Shorts thumbnails can only be changed in the YouTube app, not in Studio.⁶

Step 6: Link each Short to the full episode

This is the step most podcasters skip, and it is the one that turns a viewer into a listener.

Viewers then see a clickable link to the episode below your channel handle in the Shorts player. YouTube says this needs advanced feature access on your channel, and the linked video must be public or unlisted and follow the Community Guidelines.²

Step 7: Read the analytics and make more of what works

YouTube ranks Shorts on performance and viewer personalisation. The signals it lists include the percentage of viewers who chose to view, average view duration, average percentage viewed, likes and post-watch surveys.¹ In YouTube Studio, the Shorts analytics show:⁷

• Shown in feed: how many times your Short appeared in the Shorts feed.
• How many chose to view: the percentage of times viewers watched rather than swiped away. A low figure usually means the first second did not stop people.
• Subscribers: the change in subscribers compared with your typical performance.

Compare Shorts from the same episode. When one topic or guest does better, cut more moments like it. YouTube says there is no minimum posting frequency for videos to do well,¹ so it is better to post good Shorts steadily than to post weak ones often.

Sources

1. YouTube Help, "Search and discovery tips for Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/11914225?hl=en-GB ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. YouTube Help, "Add a related video to your Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/14075157?hl=en-GB ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. YouTube Help, "YouTube Shorts length and content". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877?hl=en-GB ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. YouTube Help, "Upload YouTube Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12779649?hl=en-GB ↩

5. YouTube Help, "Edit your videos into Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12836917?hl=en-GB ↩ ↩²

6. YouTube Help, "Add a thumbnail to your Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10343433 ↩

7. YouTube Help, "Shorts analytics". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12942217?hl=en-GB ↩