Pinned Comment Strategy for Shorts Growth

Why Your Shorts Views Aren’t Growing Your Channel

Shorts, Reels, and TikToks can rack up views fast. You post a 20-second clip and suddenly 50,000 people have seen it.

Then you look at your long-form videos and realize almost none of that traffic stuck around.

That gap is where most creators lose. The content is good, the hook is solid, the editing is decent, but there’s no guided path from short-form to long-form.

The pinned comment strategy fixes that.

You’re using a feature that already exists on every Shorts video and turning it into a simple funnel that moves:

Shorts viewer → Curious viewer → Long-form viewer → Subscriber

No fancy tools. No complicated automation. Just smart structure and repetition.

What The Pinned Comment Strategy Actually Is

The idea is simple:

You use your pinned comment on every Short to:

Contextualize the clip
Point to a specific long-form video
Reduce friction to click
Create a repeatable format you can use across your channel

Instead of a random pinned comment or a generic call to subscribe, you treat that top comment as a mini landing page.

Your Short hooks attention.
Your pinned comment tells them where to go next.
Your long-form video does the heavy lifting.

Done well, this turns viral spikes into consistent long-form views and watch time.

Step 1: Pick the Right Long-Form Targets

Not every long video should be the destination for your Shorts traffic. You want videos that:

Naturally expand on the Short
Have strong retention and a clear structure
Represent what you want to be known for
Are already performing decently or better

Think of your long-form video as the “extended universe” of the Short.

Examples:

Short: 18-second tip on how to fix echoey audio
- Long-form target: “Complete Home Studio Audio Guide”
Short: Quick clip of a funny client moment
- Long-form target: “Behind the Scenes of Working With Clients for 30 Days”
Short: 15-second recipe hack
- Long-form target: “Full 30-Minute Dinner Recipe With Step-by-Step Guide”

If you don’t have a great long-form video yet, it might be worth creating a “pillar” video that your Shorts can feed into for the next few months.

Step 2: Structure the Pinned Comment Like a Funnel

Most pinned comments are either jokes, random thoughts, or “Subscribe for more.” That’s fine for engagement, but not for traffic direction.

You want a structure that does three things in a single glance:

Reflects what the Short was about
Creates curiosity and a reason to click
Gives a clean, obvious link

Here’s a simple framework you can reuse:

Line 1 - Context / Hook
Connect to the Short and open a loop.

Line 2 - Benefit / Promise
Tell them what they’ll get from the long-form video.

Line 3 - Clear Link
Add the link with simple call to action.

Example for a Shorts tip on thumbnails:

Struggling to get clicks even when your Shorts do well?
I broke down 7 thumbnail mistakes and how to fix them in a full breakdown video.
Watch it here: [link]

Example for a storytelling Short:

This is just one moment from a wild 10-day challenge.
If you want the full story (including what went wrong on day 7), it’s all here.
Full video: [link]

Avoid:

Generic “watch my latest video” lines
Overloaded descriptions with too many links
All caps screaming calls to action

Step 3: Match Short and Long-Form Like Puzzle Pieces

Your Short and the long-form video it links to should feel connected, not random.

If a viewer thinks, “Wait, how did we go from that tip to a 45-minute unrelated video?” they’ll bounce.

Good Short-to-long-form matches:

Clip from a long video: You take a specific moment and use it as a teaser. The pinned comment sends them to the full version.
Micro tip from a bigger topic: One Short gives a single step. The long-form covers the entire system.
Highlight from a challenge or series: A Short shows a peak moment. The long-form brings context and payoff.

Try to answer this question clearly:

"If someone liked this Short, would that long-form video feel like the natural next thing they’d want to watch?"

If you can’t say yes, change the target video or make a new one.

Step 4: Use Supporting Elements Around The Pinned Comment

The pinned comment is the core of the strategy, but you can enhance it with a few supporting elements.

1. Align Your On-Screen CTA

If it fits the flow of the Short, add a quick verbal or text CTA near the end:

“If you want the full breakdown, it’s linked in the pinned comment.”
“Full tutorial is in the pinned comment.”
“I walked through the whole process step by step, you’ll find it in the pinned comment.”

Shorts move fast. Many viewers have comments collapsed by default, so your quick hint reminds them to check.

2. Use the Description As Backup

Most viewers won’t open the description on a Short, but some will. Keep it clean and consistent:

First line: Same core call to action as the pinned comment
Second line: The link
Optional: 1-2 short hashtags

Example:

Full step-by-step version of this tutorial: [link]

#shorts #youtubetips

3. Keep Comment Replies Focused

If viewers ask follow-up questions in the comments, you can:

Answer briefly
Then point them to the long-form for deeper detail

Example:

Viewer: “What mic are you using?”
You: “Shure MV7. I show the full setup and settings in the long video I linked in the pinned comment.”

That repetition reinforces that there’s a “next step” beyond the Short.

Step 5: Make It a System, Not a One-Off

The pinned comment strategy works best when it’s part of your workflow, not something you remember occasionally.

Here’s a simple system you can follow for each Short:

Before upload
- Decide which long-form video this Short will point to
- Draft the pinned comment using your template
During upload
- Paste your drafted comment as soon as the Short goes live
- Pin it immediately
After the first 24 hours
- Check CTR from Short to long-form (YouTube Analytics: Traffic from Shorts → specific video)
- If clicks are low, test a new pinned comment hook on that Short

Once this is routine, every Short you publish becomes a doorway instead of a dead end.

Advanced Tips To Increase Click-Through

When you’re comfortable with the basics, you can start improving performance with a few tweaks.

1. Use Curiosity Without Clickbait

You want viewers to feel like the Short is incomplete in a satisfying way, not in a frustrating way.

Strong curiosity phrases:

“I show the full process here”
“Including the part where it almost failed”
“With timestamps so you can skip around”
“Plus the mistakes I cut out from this Short”

Avoid fake promises. If you say something is in the long-form video, make sure it actually is.

2. Create Short “Trailers” For New Long-Form Videos

Whenever you release a new long-form video, make 3 to 5 Shorts that:

Pull different moments or angles from that video
Each one links to the same long-form in the pinned comment
You publish them within a few days of the main upload

This can send a sudden surge of traffic to your new video and signal to YouTube that people care about it.

3. Keep Pinned Comments Clean and Skimmable

Think phone screen. Tiny font. Fast scrolling.

Your pinned comment should:

Be 2 to 3 short lines
Use simple language
Put the link on its own line or at the end of the second line

Big block paragraphs get ignored.

Measuring Whether It’s Actually Working

You don’t want to guess. You want proof that this is moving the needle.

In YouTube Studio:

Go to Analytics → Content → Shorts
Look for traffic sources and see which long-form videos are getting views from Shorts
Compare: long-form watch time and views before and after you started this strategy

Signs it’s working:

A few long-form videos consistently receive views from Shorts
Average view duration on those long-form videos stays healthy
Subscribers gained from those long-form videos increase over time

If you see views but low retention, the match between Short and long-form might be off. Adjust your targeting and pinned comment messaging.

The Real Goal: Build a Watch Journey, Not Just Views

Shorts are attention starters. Long-form is where you build trust, depth, and loyal fans.

The pinned comment strategy is simply the bridge.

You:

Grab attention with Shorts
Guide interested viewers with a clear pinned comment
Deliver real value with long-form content
Repeat until the path feels natural for your audience

Once you treat every Short as a doorway to something deeper, your views start to compound instead of evaporate.