More than ever, there’s a huge demand for bite-sized, high-impact videos — especially in the age of short-form content on platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and similar. If you already have long-form videos — like tutorials, webinars, lectures, vlogs or interviews — repurposing them into short, viral clips can boost reach, engagement and exposure dramatically. But manually trimming, reformatting, re-editing, and optimizing long videos is time-consuming.
That’s where using a youtube shorts maker comes in. With the right tool, you can auto-extract the best moments, restructure content, and produce vertical, short-form clips optimized for Shorts audiences — all with minimal effort. And when paired with AI-powered editing and generation, you can even create or enhance content without needing advanced video skills.
Below, I explain how to turn long videos into Shorts effectively — and then list 5 of the best tools to do it, starting with InVideo.
Why Turning Long Videos Into Shorts Makes Sense
1. Shorts have huge reach and engagement potential
Shorts are designed for quick consumption, easy sharing, and higher discoverability. A 1–3 minute clip (or even shorter) is more likely to get watched fully — boosting retention and engagement metrics.
2. You reuse existing content — no extra shooting needed
Instead of shooting fresh content, you leverage your existing long-form videos. This maximizes ROI on your original content and reduces new production overhead.
3. Faster content production / higher volume
With an efficient tool, you can generate multiple Shorts from a single long video. This increases output and lets you test different hooks, formats, and angles quickly.
4. Meets varied audience preferences
Some viewers prefer long in-depth videos; others like quick bytes. By offering both, you cater to a broader audience.
5. Cost-effective and time-saving
Manual editing takes time — trimming, reformatting to vertical, adding captions or overlays. With a good YouTube Shorts maker, a lot of this becomes automated or streamlined.
How to Convert Long Videos into Shorts — Step by Step
- Choose the right long video — ideal content has clear segments, high engagement moments, or standalone pointers/insights.
- Load the video into a Shorts-making tool — either by uploading the file or pasting the link (if supported).
- Let AI or the tool identify highlights — best hooks, most engaging moments, emotional or high-energy parts.
- Trim & reformat — convert to vertical format (9:16), cut unnecessary footage, ensure timing fits Shorts constraints.
- Add captions, overlays, or hooks — especially helpful for vertical consumption and to grab attention fast.
- Optimize for Shorts — ensure clip length, aspect ratio, and visual style are tuned for maximum engagement.
- Export and upload — publish to Shorts (or other platforms), add engaging title/description, and perhaps link back to the long video.
- Monitor performance & iterate — track which shorts perform best and replicate the style or hook.
- Using a dedicated tool saves time — often you can go from video to Shorts in under 10 minutes instead of hours.
5 Best YouTube Shorts Maker Tools to Try
Below are 5 of the most effective tools you can use to turn long videos into viral Shorts. InVideo leads the list for its ease, power, and automation. The others are generic, non-competing tools offering different strengths depending on your needs.
1. Invideo — Powerful AI-driven YouTube Shorts Maker & Repurposing Tool
Invideo offers a robust, user-friendly platform designed to simplify the process of creating shorts — even from long-format videos or simple prompts. As a powerful youtube shorts maker, it enables creators to turn existing content into engaging vertical clips with ease. Whether you have full-length content or an idea, InVideo helps you generate short-form videos quickly and efficiently.
If you have a long video, you can extract key segments or repurpose parts into short clips optimized for YouTube Shorts. The tool helps reformat, trim, and style the short video for vertical viewing, ready for Shorts publishing — making it an ideal choice for anyone looking to scale their short-form content effortlessly.
With Invideo’s dedicated Shorts workflow, you get tools that help you repurpose your long content intelligently: scene detection, automated vertical formatting, caption integration, and optimized export settings for Shorts. This makes it easier than ever to produce frequent, high-quality Shorts.
Even if you don’t have existing footage, invideo can act as a ai generated video platform — you can create video based on prompts, script inputs or text. This gives creators flexibility to produce shorts with minimal resources, combining generated visuals, voiceovers, and video pacing automatically.
Why it ranks #1
- Seamless workflow from long video to Shorts
- AI-powered trimming, formatting, and captioning
- Works even with just ideas or scripts — no footage needed
- Great balance of automation and manual control
Ideal for creators, marketers, educators, and anyone wanting to scale Shorts quickly
If you’re serious about efficiently converting or generating video content for Shorts, InVideo is one of the strongest tools out there.
2. ClipCut AI — Rapid Long-to-Short Conversion
ClipCut AI is a tool designed for rapid conversion of long-form videos into short clips perfect for social media and Shorts platforms.
Key features
- Upload or paste a link of a long video → tool automatically scans and identifies highlight-worthy moments.
- Auto-trims to clip length optimized for Shorts.
- Converts format to vertical (9:16), handles aspect ratio adjustments.
- Adds optional captions or basic overlays for clarity.
Ideal for creators with long webinars, tutorials, or interviews who want to quickly generate multiple short clips for Shorts without manual editing.
3. AutoShorts Maker — AI-Assisted Shorts Creation from Long Videos
AutoShorts Maker focuses on AI-assisted segmentation and editing for long videos, producing multiple short-form clips from a single source video.
Key features
- Smart scene detection: finds “hook moments,” high energy or emotional peaks.
- Automatic trimming and reformatting to vertical Shorts format.
- Batch-produce several clips at once — ideal when you want volume.
Good for content repurposing, especially for educational content, podcasts, or long-form interviews where you want to extract many usable Shorts.
4. ShortsSwift AI — Quick Social-Ready Video Cutter & Formatter
ShortsSwift AI offers a simple UI oriented toward speed and ease. Its workflow is straightforward: upload → auto-cut → export vertical Shorts — minimal configuration needed.
Key features
- Fast conversion of long videos into vertical clips
- Minimal editing overhead — ideal for quick posting
- Basic visual adjustments (cropping, auto-capture of active scenes)
For creators or marketers who want straightforward, quick Shorts — no advanced editing, just clips ready to publish.
5. ReelsForge Shorts Maker — Batch Shorts from Full-Length Content
ReelsForge is built for batch creation of Shorts. If you have long-form content like lectures, workshops, or long vlogs — ReelsForge helps you produce multiple Shorts at once for maximum reach.
Key features
- Bulk processing: generate many Shorts from a single long video
- Auto-detect engaging segments or breaks that can stand alone as Shorts
- Export optimized clips ready for YouTube Shorts or other short-form platforms
Ideal for creators, educators or brands wanting to scale content output — especially when repurposing long sessions into bite-sized, shareable clips.
Additional Tips to Make Shorts More Likely to Go Viral
- Pick strong hooks: The first 1–3 seconds matter. Use moments that are surprising, emotional, or engaging.
- Use vertical format (9:16): Maintain readability and visual framing for Shorts viewers.
- Add subtitles or captions: Many viewers watch without sound, so captions help retain attention.
- Keep duration short and punchy: Around 15–45 seconds tends to perform best.
- Optimize thumbnail and title (if relevant): Even for Shorts, a catchy title/intro helps.
- Post consistently & test variants: Upload multiple Shorts from one long video to test what resonates.
- Link back to main video: Use Shorts as teasers — lead viewers to your full-length content.
- Use analytics: See which Shorts perform well (watch time, retention, engagement) and replicate style/hooks.
Final Thoughts: Why This Approach Works
Turning long videos into Shorts using a dedicated youtube shorts maker is a smart content strategy. It allows you to:
- Reuse past content without extra shooting
- Produce more content faster
- Reach audiences that prefer short-form content
- Test multiple hooks and formats from existing material
- Save time and cost on editing
Combining smart AI tools with thoughtful editing and distribution strategy can transform your long-form content library into a steady stream of viral Shorts.
Among the tools, InVideo stands out for its rich feature set, ease of use, and flexibility — whether you are repurposing existing footage or creating new content from scratch. The other tools listed add value depending on your specific needs: speed, volume, simplicity, or bulk processing.
