How do you promote a discount code on YouTube Shorts?
A Short opens full screen with sound on, and a viewer's thumb is already moving before the first second ends. The subscribe button and the like column sit on the right, so the code cannot land there and the product has to fill the middle before anything else happens. Open on the product, not the logo — a hand pulling it off a shelf, a coffee being poured, a shoe being tied — then bring in the code once the viewer knows what it buys. Twelve seconds, 9:16 at 1080 × 1920, code on screen from around second five through the end.
Formats
9:16 · 1:1 · 16:9
Length
5-60 seconds
Where it runs
YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok
From the guide to YouTube Shorts
The first seconds, on-screen text and narration
Lead with the subject, not a build-up: the repair, the dish, the before state. One line of on-screen text in the first second tells a swiper what they are looking at, and the narration should carry the next beat rather than reading the same line. Keep spoken sentences short so they land before the cut. Captions make the whole thing work muted.
YouTube Shorts built from a brief and published after you review themFrom the guide to discount code
Product, then code, then expiry
Start on the product with the regular price beside it, then strike that price and show the new one within the first three seconds. From three to eight seconds, put the code itself in large type, centered, with nothing moving behind it. Use the last few seconds for the terms that matter, minimum order and end date, and bring the code back for the final frame so it is the last thing on screen.
Make a Discount Code Video That Puts the Code Where It Can Be ReadA brief you can paste
Paste this into the studio chat, or change the names and numbers first.
A 12-second YouTube Short for our skincare line. Open on the serum bottle being picked up and the cap twisted off, no logo yet. At second five, cut to the code SKIN20 in large text with a plain background, held through the end. On-screen text: 20% off, ends Sunday. Upbeat calm music, no narration needed. End on the product next to the code and the site name.
Questions people ask
Where should the discount code appear in a YouTube Short?
After the product, not before it. Show what the code is for in the first few seconds, then bring the code in around the midpoint and hold it through the end card so a viewer who stayed to see the price also sees the number clearly, away from the subscribe button on the right edge.
How long should a Shorts discount code video be?
Twelve seconds works for a single product and a single code: enough time to show the item, state the discount, and hold the code on screen without repeating it. Longer runs risk the code scrolling past before the offer registers; shorter leaves no time to read it.
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Make this video today
Describe it in a sentence, review the plan and the price, approve, and download the MP4 or post it to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube.