Should you put your Podcast on YouTube and is it worth the effort?
In this episode, we talk about this in more detail and also look at the strategy that you should follow in order to get the most out of spending that time to put your podcast on YouTube.
Stay till the end to learn a strategy that I use and that is making me some money from the videos I upload.
When it comes to podcasting the first comparison that people make is with YouTube and Vlogging.
And the kind of comparison that people do is a flat like-to-like comparison. But the truth is that YouTube/Videos and Podcasts are two completely different mediums with different audiences and different consumption purposes.
It is hence that I have never recommended adding your podcasts to YouTube.
But…
Today the situation has changed. Not that the dynamics have but yes the situation has still changed and that is what we will be discussing in this episode today.
Should You Put your Podcast on YouTube?
You might have heard the recent announcement from YouTube about a dedicated Podcast Page that they have launched.
With podcasting becoming the talk of the town, YouTube too is now focusing more and more on bringing podcasters onto their platform.
This dedicated podcast page is already launched in the US and is generating a lot of interest. It is just a matter of time before it is launched in other countries.
That makes it interesting for us podcasters and in fact, it changes the entire dynamics.
About 2 years ago if somebody had asked me, I would have said that if your plan is to upload your audio to YouTube with a static image to go with it, then it is a bad idea.
But that has changed now.
If YouTube’s dedicated podcast page picks up on consumption then you might just be left out if you don’t upload your podcast to YouTube.
To answer the question – should you upload your podcast on YouTube?
Yes, you should.
But there are a few things that you might want to keep in mind in terms of the strategy that you are going to follow.
So, here are a few tips that will help you with ensuring that your strategy is effective.
Content Repurposing
One of the best strategies I would recommend is to repurpose your content.
What I mean is, when you are recording an episode why not record it with the video?
Yes! that’s right.
Use your mobile phone or, even your webcam and record your episode as a video.
There are handy apps out there that can help you use your phone’s camera as a webcam and record it. I love the Camo App which is something you can try.
Record a video. Extract the audio and use it for your podcast. Upload the video to YouTube.
That’s killing 2 birds with a single stone.
If you are recording interviews, then this strategy can be extremely effective. We in fact, tried this with one of our episodes on The Tastes of India Podcast and that episode received more than 18000 views and added more than 450 subscribers to the channel.
The best part – it even brought in quite a few subscribers to our podcast.
You can use a tool like Zencastr to record the interview. It is simple and easy to use and can give you excellent audio and video quality.
This strategy will also help you extract clips for social media purposes.
This brings me to the second point.
Use YouTube Shorts
I have been using YouTube shorts for some time now and I have found them to be effective.
The views are decent and I do get some comments from people asking me more about podcasting as well.
Make smaller clips out of your Podcast and upload them as shorts to YouTube.
You can put together a description that redirects users to your podcast which will help generate additional listenership.
You can use these same shorts for Instagram Reels and TikTok as well if you use those platforms for promotions.
Uploading Audio with Static Images
The straightforward method to follow is to upload your podcast audio with static images.
If you are really uncomfortable doing a video, then you can also use your Podcast audio and add some static images to it to create a video.
Now there is a slight twist that I would recommend in this case.
An uninteresting static image that has nothing but your face on it can be extremely boring for a YouTube user.
Instead, try using a simple presentation with the bullet points of the discussion mentioned in it.
That will give the impression of a presentation and presentations will always be better in terms of engagement and attention spans.
You could add your own twist to it by including graphs, pictures, etc. to make it more interesting.
But all of this will need some effort from your end. In fact additional effort.
If that isn’t something you want to do, then here are a few tips for your static image.
Put together a nice-looking image that nicely shows bullet points of the important points in the discussion.
Keep it uniform in terms of the branding for your podcast.
Customizing for Channels
When uploading your podcast to a YouTube channel, a few things that you might want to keep in mind are-
- While YouTube is putting together a Podcast page for podcasts, it will still be YouTube. So the users are going to be the ones who have the same habit of searching and engaging. Hence it is important that you customize your YouTube uploads according to that.
- Use keywords that are relevant to YouTube
- Add descriptions that tell the audience what’s there in the video and also use calls to action that can drive traffic to your Podcast page or, Podcast website
- Write titles that can hook people into watching your videos
- Create Thumbnails that attract people who are browsing YouTube
- Make your YouTube channel art in such a way that it clearly tells people what they can expect from the channel
- Of course, feel free to upload other videos as well to the channel. But then, ensure that you are marking your Podcast episodes correctly by adding them to a specific playlist
- Keep in mind that the listens on these videos aren’t going to be huge right now. It will remain like that till the time YouTube doesn’t get big into Podcasting. Keep in mind that your objective right now is to build an inventory that can be used when it happens.
Using Affiliate Links
YouTube is excellent when it comes to affiliate marketing. I have used it a lot and some of the videos that I uploaded almost 10 years back still continue to generate consistent revenue for me.
One of the things that you should focus on when you are uploading your Podcast to YouTube is to ensure that you are promoting various products using affiliate links in the description box of your videos.
Even if the views are low, you can still earn some money from people clicking on these affiliate links and making purchases.
This is a nice way of benefiting from the efforts you are putting in to create the videos.
Thank You for Joining
Thanks a lot for joining today’s episode.
I hope you enjoyed the conversation. If you did, then please do recommend the show to people who you think will like to know more about podcasting.
Do subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform, in order to stay updated with the latest episodes.
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If you are new to podcasting, then you might want to join my FREE 10-day course on “How to start a Podcast“, which will help you get started the easy way!
Resources I recommend for Podcasting
Here are some tools and resources that I recommend for podcasting. These are the ones that I personally use and am satisfied with and hence am recommending them.
- Acast Podcast hosting – Acast is my favorite podcast hosting company. They have excellent customer support, have a pocket-friendly plan, and even have a free option with no limits.
- Behringer Audio Interface – You will need an audio interface if you are using an XLR microphone. This is my recommended audio interface.
- Zencastr – Zencastr is the easiest option to record interviews, both audio-only and audio+video. This is a must for an interview podcast. Go to zencastr.com/pricing and use my code “thepodu” You’ll get 30 percent off your first three months of Zencastr professional.
- Audacity – This is the best and the most feature-rich free audio editing software. It gives you a lot of options while editing your interviews.
- Blue Yeti USB Microphone – My recommended microphone
- Tidycal – My recommended calendar and booking solutions
- Fusebox – Embeddable Podcast Player
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