014: Should You Put Your Podcast on YouTube?
Subscribe for more →
What’s one of the hardest things about growing a podcast? Discoverability. Having new people find you in order to build a podcast audience. Directories and the other tools you have to promote your show aren’t good at helping new people discover your indie podcast. Yes, indie. Don’t you dare call it unpopular. I will accept alternative, up-and-coming or out of the ordinary.
You might be surprised to find there are platforms where discoverability is, by design, much easier. These are platforms like a good old trusted Google search, YouTube, and the indie pick of the group, Pinterest. Since most of you are recording your podcasts on platforms that also record video (a small upside of the pan-demi is that it has given us more ways and more understanding of how to record remotely), it makes sense when you ask how to grow your podcast, you’ll wonder should I also put my podcast on YouTube?
Not only am I clearing up the confusion of understanding audio vs. video podcasting and where you should put your time, but be sure to stick around to the end of this video for my bonus tip. As well as The Wave’s podcast checklist that will help you on your way to finding new audiences through video podcasting.
So, seriously, should I put my podcast on YouTube? Knowing what you know about YouTube, in that it is better at helping people discover your show — podcast or otherwise — you might think the obvious answer is yes, of course, it is a no-brainer to whack my podcast up there too. It costs me nothing. Sorry, what's the question here?
But it’s not exactly that simple. YouTube, although not as spoken about as other platforms (I see you TikTok knowing things about me before I realize them), has its own algorithms and rules that dictate how it features your content. If you are building a YouTube channel with audio first, you might actually be hurting your discoverability.
Here me out - there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, so it's important to weigh up all of the factors I have lovingly prepared for you below before making your decision. YouTube’s algorithm has the power for one video to reach millions of people thanks to search engines and other people’s videos pushing viewers to yours afterward, but if you haven’t released a video that will keep them watching once they arrive, there is a huge wasted potential.
Here are the things to consider before launching a podcast on YouTube!
#1. Do you know what works?
First of all, do you know what works on YouTube? The same content that people enjoy listening to on audio platforms isn’t the same as what they want to watch on video platforms. The average YouTube video length is 10 minutes long, while the average podcast length is 30 minutes long. That's a significant difference that you have to take into consideration before putting your podcast on YouTube. The question you might have to ask yourself about every segment in each episode is “How important is it? What can be cut? What makes the most sense to keep while being digestable and punchy?”
If you want the whole episode, not trimmed down on YouTube, put yourself in the shoes of the audience and ask “Why would I sit and watch this video when I lead such a busy life? I have so much content pulling me in different directions and also I need to feed that cat, get groceries, return a box to fedex, go on my daily bike ride, do the dishes, water the plants…” — you get it. Why would you sit and watch when you could just listen on the go?
If you want someone to answer that question with “because it is far more exciting than listening” then you have to put in the work. It is not as simple as uploading the audio with a still logo. You might have exported an MP4, but that’s not a video, my friend. Again, they could just go to an app of choice and listen while they ride the bus to work.
Optimizing your channel and each video release will be an important part of being successful. If you want people to want to consume your podcast in video format, you will need to think about how to make it visually compelling. Can you add fun and dynamic graphics, giving them a visual aspect missed in audio? Can you be dress in a way that matches the brand or theme of the episode? How can you break up the video with different camera angles and b-roll or bloopers? Can you make it interactive and pull people in by looking directly in the camera and asking the audience questions you want them to answer in the comments?
Now you might be thinking, what about my audio-only listeners? Will a video version of my podcast mean my audio listeners drop off? As long as you don’t exclude your audio only listeners by references that could only be understood through watching, you shouldn’t have to worry about fewer listeners on Apple or Spotify. There are always going to be people too busy to watch the video no matter how hard you try to make it exciting. My favorite podcast releases the video version a day early on their Patreon, which I am a member of, and I have never once watched the video version. Don’t let that discourage you, it's just not for me. But there are thousands of people who stream it that way every week. If you are releasing video, cater to both and double your audience.
#2. Do you have the time?
So now you know what works on YouTube the next question is — do you have the time — knowing that you will likely have to cut down your episode and that video editing is time-consuming? (remember edits and bloopers and graphics and multiple camera angles and sound effects). Other things you will need time for are adding the closed captioning or generating transcripts, title cards, end cards and credits. YouTube has thumbnail graphics that have to uploaded with every video. You might even need to shop every week for a new cryptic or spooky costume for your Urban Legend podcast.
There will likely come a time when AI magically edits our videos for us, but until that time the video production process takes a lot longer than an audio-only episode. Choosing whether to incorporate this into your show means weighing up time spent and benefits gained. Luckily, The Wave Editing is one option for hiring a team to do the heavy lifting of a video podcast for you. Check out the show notes to learn more.
#3. Do you have the money?
This brings me to the next point. Do you have the money? Not only is your safari look for your travel podcast going to be time-consuming to get into, but it is also going to cost you money. Next week you’re covering Paris? Berets and croissants don’t come cheap, mademoiselle.
Aside from any fun visual aspects you might bring to your look to enhance the video experience, you are likely going to need production help for a video podcast — you can’t do it all! That video editing I spoke about? The stuff that will take you hours? It can take you no time at all when you can hire someone, but it is going to cost you money.
#4. Do you have the energy?
Lastly, do you have the energy? Every episode will now need optimal lighting and getting into hair, make-up and wardrobe — even if there is no costume of such involved, you still want to be camera-ready. When you record audio only, you can roll up in sweats if you want to, I won’t judge.
The production of video recording requires a lot more set-up and pack down, potentially adding hours not just to the editing that I mentioned, but also to the recording time you will need to set aside. Do you have it in you to produce your video podcast consistently? Because despite having the potential to reach a wider audience, a video podcast that releases with the consistency of a mood ring isn’t going to get you the results you want either.
✦ Bonus Tip
With all that being said, if you have the bandwidth, video podcasting on YouTube can be a great way to grow your audience, thanks to that discoverability thing I keep talking about. But most people will be more successful picking one medium, mastering it, and producing it consistently over a period of months and years. Be the master of what you do and do it well, rather than try and bite off far more than you can chew. Yep, sometimes my bonus tip is just a really obvious thought nugget.
If you think you are someone who has what it takes to start a video podcast, then I have something special for you. I’ve created the ultimate checklist for optimizing your video podcast for YouTube. Tips for the right titles, descriptions, and thumbnails can be found in this free little guide. Download it now!
✦ Let’s review!
Know what works on YouTube and be willing to deliver that perfect recipe so you do not waste time putting something out that no one wants to engage with.
Make sure you have the time. Producing video content for your podcast adds hours and maybe even days to the process, do you have that time up your sleeve?
Can you afford it? Even the most budget video productions require editing, lighting and a good camera as the bare minimum. Not to mention you time has value and costs something.
Have you got the energy? This is a lot of work, and while the results may be worth it, you need to make sure they outweigh the effort you need to put in to make this work. Make sure you have time to sleep, eat and play, okay?
Bonus tip: Quality, not quantity is the key to success Pick one medium and master it.
YouTube can be a fantastic tool for getting your podcast discovered in a way that is just not possible on other more traditional podcast platforms, this much is true. But in order to be successful in that, there is hard work involved. If you can do it well, I say without a doubt, go for it. If not, stick to what you know you can deliver to the standard your audience deserves, and always stick to a workload that you can manage. This is your dream, don’t make it stressful or a stretch.
Computer-Generated Transcript with Time Stamps
[00:00:00] YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world with over 2.1 billion users. As a podcaster, that means tons of potential for finding new listeners or watchers and growing your audience, but being successful on YouTube. Isn't as simple as posting just any old thing. And this episode we'll discuss the primary questions to consider when deciding whether to put your podcast on YouTube.
[00:00:30] Stay tuned.
[00:00:36] Hey, my name is Lauren Popish and I'm obsessed with podcasting. A little meta, right? I started podcasting after a public speaking event. Gone wrong. Sparked a phobia of public speaking that almost ended my corporate career. Now I help women use podcasting to share their ideas, grow their businesses, start [00:01:00] movements, and leave their unique marks on the world.
[00:01:03] My company, the Wave produces shows for some of the most influential women in health, business, spirituality, beauty, and more. And in this show, I'm taking all of the strategies I've used to help my clients top the podcast charts and I'm bringing them to you. If you're hoping to start, grow, or monetize a podcast, you're in the right place.
[00:01:27] This is Podcast Like a Girl.
[00:01:36] What's one of the hardest things about growing a podcast? Discoverability. Having new people find you in order to build a podcast, audience directories and other tools you have to promote your show aren't good at helping new people discover your indie podcast. Yes, indie, don't you dare call it unpopular.
[00:01:58] I will accept alternative [00:02:00] up and coming or out of the. You may be surprised to find there are platforms where discoverability is by design much easier. These are platforms like good old, trusted Google Search, YouTube, and the indie pick of the group. Pinterest, since most of you are recording your podcasts on platform that also record video, a small upside of the Emmi is that it's given us way more options for how to.
[00:02:28] Remotely. It makes sense that when you ask how to grow your podcast, you'll wonder, should I put my podcast on YouTube? Not only am I clearing up the confusion of understanding audio versus video podcasting and where you should put your time, but be sure to stick around to the end of this video for my bonus tip, as well as the Wave's podcast checklist that will help you on your way to finding new a.
[00:02:54] Through video podcasting. So seriously, should I put my podcast [00:03:00] on YouTube? Knowing what you know about YouTube and that it's better at helping people discover your show, podcast, or otherwise, you might think the obvious answer is yes, of course. It's a no-brainer to whack my podcast up there too. It also costs me nothing.
[00:03:15] Sorry, what's the question here? But it's not exactly that simple. YouTube, although not as spoken about as some of the other platforms, I see you TikTok knowing things about me before I even realize them. It has its own algorithms and rules that dictate how it features your content. If you're building a YouTube channel with audio first, you might actually be hurting your discover.
[00:03:41] Hear me out. There is no one size fits all answer to this question, so it's important to weigh up all the factors I have lovingly prepared for you below before making your decision. YouTube's algorithm has the power for one video to reach millions of people thanks to search [00:04:00] engines and other people's videos, pushing viewers to yours afterwards.
[00:04:04] But if you haven't released a video that will keep them watching once they arrive. There's a huge wasted potential. Here are the things to consider before launching a podcast on. Number one, first of all, do you know what works on YouTube? The same content that people enjoy listening to on audio platforms isn't the same as what they wanna watch on video platforms.
[00:04:30] For example, the average YouTube video length is 10 minutes long, while the average podcast length is 30 minutes. That's a significant difference that you have to take into consideration before putting your podcast on YouTube. The question you might have to ask yourself about every segment in each episode is, how important is this?
[00:04:52] What can be cut? What makes the most sense to keep while also making my episode digestible and [00:05:00] punchy? If you want the whole episode, not trim down on YouTube. Put yourself in the shoes of the audience and ask, why would I sit and watch this video when I lead such a busy life? I have so much content pulling at me in different directions, and also, I need to feed the cat, get groceries, return some box to FedEx, go on my daily bike ride, do the dishes, water the plants.
[00:05:24] You get it? Why would you sit and watch? When you could just listen on the go. If you want someone to answer that question with something like, because it's far more exciting than listening, then you have to put the work in to make it that exciting. It's not just as simple as uploading the audio with a still image of your cover art.
[00:05:47] You might have exported an mp. , but that's not a video my friend. Again, they could just go to their app of choice and listen while they ride the bus to work. Optimizing your channel and each [00:06:00] video release will be an important part of being successful. If you want people to consume your podcast in video format.
[00:06:07] You'll need to think about how to make it visually compelling. Can you add fun and dynamic graphics? Giving them a visual aspect that's missed in audio? Can you be dressed in a way that matches the brand or the theme of the episode? How can you break up the video with different camera angles or b B-roll or bloopers?
[00:06:28] Can you make it interactive and pull people in by looking directly into the camera and asking the audience question? That you want them to answer in the comments. Now you might be thinking, well, what about my audio-only listeners? Will a video version of my podcast mean my audio listeners drop off? As long as you don't exclude your audio-only listeners by referencing things that could only be understood through watching, you shouldn't have to worry about fewer listeners on Apple or Spotify.
[00:06:59] There are always [00:07:00] going to be people who are too busy to watch the video, no matter how hard you try to make it exciting. One of my favorite podcasts releases the video version of their show a day early on their Patreon, which I'm a member of, and I have never once watched the video version. Don't let that discourage you.
[00:07:17] It's just not for me. I prefer the audio, but there are thousands of people who stream it that way every single week. If you're releasing video, just make sure to cater to both types of listeners and double your audience as a.
[00:07:34] Hey, I hope you're enjoying this episode. I'm taking a quick break to remind you to subscribe to podcasts like a Girl I Know. When will Podcasters stop asking that? Subscribing means that you get the latest episode delivered directly to the top of your Apple Podcasts app. But more importantly, it actually just helps me prove I'm legitimate and reach more listeners.
[00:07:57] So if you've found any value in this [00:08:00] episode so far, please consider picking up your phone, opening Apple Podcasts, going to the Podcast Like a Girl main page, and clicking the plus sign in the upper right corner to follow this show. While you're there, you can also scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and leave me a rating and review telling me what you learned from this episode.
[00:08:21] These little gesture. Make a big difference in my life. So thank you so much in advance. Now back to the episode
[00:08:33] number two. So now that you know what works on YouTube, the next question is, do you have the time? Knowing that you'll likely have to cut down your episode, and that video editing is time consuming. Remember those edits and bloopers and graphics and multiple camera angles and sound effects that I mentioned earlier?
[00:08:52] Other things you'll need time for are adding the close captioning or generating transcripts, title cards, N [00:09:00] cards, and credits. YouTube has a thumbnail graphic that you have to upload with every episode. You might even need to shop every week for your new spooky costume for your Urban Legends podcast.
[00:09:13] There will likely come a time when AI magically edits our videos for us. I am really looking forward to that, but until that point, the video production process takes a lot longer than an audio-only episode. Choosing whether to incorporate this into your show means WA up time spent. and benefits gained.
[00:09:33] Luckily, the wave editing is one option for hiring a team to do the heavy lifting of a video podcast for you. Check out the show notes to learn more about our video editing services. Number three. This brings me to my next point. Do you have the money? Not only is your safari look for your travel podcast going to be time consuming to get into.
[00:09:56] It's also gonna cost you money. Next week you're covering [00:10:00] Paris Berets and croissants don't come cheap my friend. Aside from any fun visual aspects you might bring to your look to enhance the video experience, you're likely going to need production help for a video podcast. You can't do it all yourself.
[00:10:15] That video editing, I spoke about the stuff that will take you hours, for example, it can take you no time at all if you hire someone, but that means it's gonna cost you some money number. Lastly, do you have the energy? Every episode will now need optimal lighting and getting into hair, makeup, and wardrobe, even if there's no funny costume involved.
[00:10:41] You're still going to want to be camera ready when you record audio only. You can roll up in your sweats if you want to. I'm not gonna judge that. But the production of video recording requires a lot more setup and packed down, potentially adding hours, not just to the editing I mentioned, but also to the [00:11:00] recording time.
[00:11:00] You need to set aside. Do you have it in you to produce your video podcast consistently? Because despite having the potential to reach a wider audience, a video podcast that releases with the consistency of a mood ring isn't going to get you the results you want. now for that bonus. With all that being said, if you have the bandwidth video, podcasting on YouTube can be a great way to grow your audience.
[00:11:28] Thanks to that discoverability thing I keep talking about. But most people will be more successful picking one medium, mastering it, and producing it consistently over a span of months and years. Be the master of what you do and just do that well, rather than trying to bite off far more than you can chew.
[00:11:48] Yep. That's my bonus tip. I mean, sometimes it's just a really obvious thought nugget that's kind of useful. So there you go. If you think you're someone who has what it takes to start a video [00:12:00] podcast, then I actually do have something special for. I've created the ultimate checklist for optimizing your video podcast for YouTube tips.
[00:12:09] For the right titles, descriptions and thumbnails can be found in this free little guide. Download it now from our show notes. So let's review what we talked about today. Know what works on YouTube, and be willing to deliver that perfect recipe so you don't waste time putting something out that no one wants to engage with.
[00:12:30] Number two, make sure you have the time producing video content for your podcast adds hours and maybe even days to the process. Do you have that time up your. Number three, can you afford it? Even the most budget friendly video production requires editing, lighting, and a good camera as the bare minimum.
[00:12:52] Not to mention your time has value and costs too. That's something to consider. Number four, have you got the [00:13:00] energy? This is a lot of work and while the results may be worth it, you need to make sure they outweigh the effort you need to put into it to make it work. Make sure you have time to sleep, eat, and play as well.
[00:13:13] Bonus tip, it's about quality, not quantity. That's the key to success. Just pick one medium and master it. YouTube can be a fantastic tool for getting your podcast discovered in a way that is just not possible on other more traditional podcast platforms. This much is definitely true, but in order to be successful in that, there's a lot of hard work involved If you can do it.
[00:13:40] I say, without a doubt, go for it. If not, stick to what you know. You can deliver to the standards that your audience deserves. And always stick to a workload that you can manage. This is your dream. Don't make it stressful or a stretch. That's all for [00:14:00] today, pod Bros. This show is produced by the team at the Wave.
[00:14:04] Lauren, Deborah writes our scripts. Eva does the mixing and editing. Our cover art was designed by the team at Car Creative, and our theme music was written, performed, and produced by Isaac Joel, thanks for listening. Keep podcasting and enjoy the ride.
[00:14:24] I know better than anyone that podcasting can be kind of lonely at times. Maybe that's part of the reason you listen to this podcast in the first place. One way to beat the imposter syndrome Mind games, an isolation that comes from building something alone is through community. That's why I built a digital community for female podcasters on Circle.
[00:14:47] This small but mighty group is a place to ask questions, get feedback on your episodes, pitch swaps and guest opportunities, and get face-to-face with other women on a similar journey [00:15:00] through live. It's also totally free. If you've ever been disappointed by a digital community in the past like I have, I encourage you to give ours a try.
[00:15:09] Lauren D from our team is the community manager and ensures that this space is lively, friendly, and a place where you actually wanna show up again and again to join the Waves community on circle. Go to the show notes of this episode or visit the Wave podcasting dot. See you there.
