Do you want to make money through a YouTube shorts channel? But there is one hindering factor! You don’t know where to start. A lot of the initial confusion must be related to the first step in the process of building a successful YouTube shorts channel, and that is choosing the right niche or category of the content you are interested in.
The common mistake that most novice content creators initially commit is that they make a generalized channel with no niche specificity. However, what is important to note is that the niche must be specific and definite so that all shorts feed each other, making it easier for YouTube algorithms to recognize the type of content and the audience and help you drive traffic from other shorts available on your channel.
Now, if you don’t know which YouTube shorts niches are going to work best for you, don’t worry because, in this blog, we have outlined the 10 best YouTube shorts niches that get millions of views.
Must be interested in knowing about them. Isn’t it? If yes, scroll down;
10 Profitable YouTube Shorts Niches
Funny Stories
Video ideas: workplace fails, awkward text message screenshots, “things my parents said” scripts, animated joke retellings over stock footage.
Humor works where nothing works. You must have seen millions of views on humorous content available on YouTube. It is because, in a life full of busy schedules and harsh realities, humor serves as a pleasant escape for many, becoming a valuable source of relief and entertainment. With the invention of AI, many content creators are working on this niche using stock footage and AI-generated backgrounds to give a humorous life to funny anecdotes.
Travel
Video ideas: one-minute city guides, cost of living in X, hidden spots locals use, airport hacks, what $10 buys in different countries.
Niche number two on the list of best YouTube shorts ideas is travel. People love what they are most curious about and what is out of their reach. Making people explore the untapped travel places, their unique cultures, and other dynamics will quickly gather views for you. This niche is already making rounds as long-form content, and shorts are no exception. What’s even more worthy to mention is that it is one of the highest paying niches on YouTube. Your channel can surely benefit by making smart use of this niche.
Gaming
Video ideas: one clutch play per Short, settings most players get wrong, beginner mistakes, weapon or loadout tier lists.
Gaming is not just a pastime activity; many people adopt it as a financial source of income. That is why a great number of viewers show a keen interest in this niche, particularly the kids and the teenagers. They want to know the best hacks that can make them win their favorite game, the top trendy games to play, and much more. According to the stats, it is one of the most watched niches on YouTube, with monthly active users to be somewhere around 500 million. You can capitalize on this crazy interest of gamers by producing shorts in this niche. Tutorials, walk-throughs, and reviews work best on YouTube in terms of attracting considerable views.
Fitness
Video ideas: one exercise fixed per Short, form checks, five-minute routines, what to eat before a workout.
With people becoming more and more aware of their health, fitness is coming up on YouTube as a lucrative worth investing niche. Gym freaks usually watch a tutorial before hitting a gym. What good would it be for your channel if they found that there? Fitness channels guiding them on the types and benefits of different exercises are also popularly liked by those who don’t go to the gym. It is because they consider those channels cost-effective ways of improving their muscular mass, stamina, and weight. However, this niche is best for those content creators who have enough expertise to launch one-on-one training sessions, home workouts, and nutrition plans.
Drama
Video ideas: timeline recaps of a story, “what actually happened” explainers, reaction cuts to trending clips.
Drama videos, whether they come in long-form or short-form, do incredibly well on YouTube. Tons of videos are getting millions of views by just talking about popular YouTubers, celebrities, and players. However, just be a bit cautious in this field; don’t upload factually incorrect facts (which is mostly a common scenario in the case of AI-generated videos). Prefer crafting custom scripts. Reviews, reaction videos, and coverage of trendy news are the most well-adopted styles of videos in this niche.
Scary Stories
Video ideas: two-sentence horror, real location legends, listener-submitted stories, unexplained footage breakdowns.
The engagement of scary stories captures the audience of all ages in their pull. Channels that are working on this niche are bound to gain quick growth in the number of subscribers and views because of high demand. The spine-chilling stories with dark humor, aesthetic appeal, and suspenseful touch will allow you to build a good network of audience around your short channel.
Education
Video ideas: one word per Short in a foreign language, a single formula explained, historical events in 60 seconds, one Excel or Canva trick.
Do you have the skill to teach complex ideas in a most entertaining way? If so, why not put it on YouTube to get some monetary benefit out of it? Since the COVID pandemic, education has increasingly been shifted to a virtual space, with many people preferring to learn from the comfort of their home part-time rather than dedicating a full day to it.
For such people, YouTube is coming on top as the most worthy platform for learning new concepts, skills, etc- all without spending a single penny. If you are good at something, you can teach it on YouTube. For example, you can teach foreign languages, digital skills, history, STEM subjects, and DIY crafts to make money on YouTube.
Food
Video ideas: street food in your city, three-ingredient recipes, food origin facts, taste tests, what people eat for breakfast in different countries.
Food is a daily basic necessity; the interest in which will never end, making it a powerful niche liked by almost everyone. You will have a huge chance of going viral if you decide to work on this niche. What’s more? You can have tons of options available to work on. For example, you can select sub-categories, work on country-specific food, share food facts, their origins, diets, exotic food recipes, etc.
Not a cook? You still eat. Review what you order and how it compares to the price. Food reviewing is one of the easiest Shorts niches to start, because the content already happens every day.
Sports
Video ideas: one highlight explained, rule breakdowns, athlete stat comparisons, equipment worth the money.
The next niche is that of sports. It is indeed one of the best YouTube niches with low competition, as evident from the fact that live sports viewership in the US now runs well above 90 million. This showcases that this niche has boundless audience potential. Also, within sports, there are endless sub-niches and topics that you can cover. For example, soccer, basketball, football, cricket (if your target location is South Asia), tennis, hockey, golf, etc.
You can share the latest news, analysis of particular sports events, biographies of athletes, sports highlights or recaps, and sports equipment details. Cricket in particular is underserved in Shorts format for a South Asian audience.
Music
Video ideas: song breakdowns, artist timelines, one production technique per Short, cover snippets, chart history facts.
Music artists have a huge fan base. You can focus on music artists if you are good as a streamer. Fans will watch anything about an artist they follow, from song breakdowns to career timelines. The audience is already there, which is why a new channel can pick up views faster in music than in most other niches. There are countless artists to build a channel around, and most of them have no dedicated Shorts channel covering them.
Which niches work with AI-generated footage
Not every niche survives automation. Scary stories, interesting facts, education and food facts work well with stock footage and AI narration, because the viewer came for the information rather than the person delivering it.
Drama, fitness and gaming struggle. Drama needs judgement about what is true, fitness needs someone whose form you can trust, and gaming needs real gameplay footage. AI narration over stock clips in these niches reads as low effort within seconds.
One caution regardless of niche. YouTube tightened its rules on mass-produced and inauthentic content, and channels publishing AI narration over recycled footage with no original input have been demonetized. Using AI to speed up production is fine. Publishing content nobody meaningfully touched is not.
Also Read: How to Increase YouTube CTR
Final Thoughts
Indeed, UnityFilms discussed in detail how to find the trendy topics to make YouTube shorts on. We have elaborated and mentioned all the YouTube niches with low competition. All you have to do is to kickstart your YouTube shorts channel journey.
If you want a team to handle production while you focus on ideas, our YouTube automation agency service covers scripting, editing, thumbnails and publishing so you can pick one niche and stay consistent with it.
Contact us to talk through which of these niches fits your channel.